First Game

Sophia had her first softball game tonight, and as a disqualified "mother of the year" I forgot to charge my camera, so I've got NO pictures. I'm the WORST! She looked so cute in her double french braid, purple team shirt with, you guessed it NUMBER 4!!!!! She had her tie-dyed socks pulled up to her thighs, and her little white glove ready for action. The whole team did cheers throughout the game, and Josh pitched that ball like a champ. Sophia's highlight of the game was having her teacher come and watch. Thanks Miss M.! Sophia thinks you hung the moon and quite honestly was more excited about seeing you than actually playing.

I'm off to Cincy tomorrow for a 2 day continuing education course. Thank goodness for blackberry phones and facebook. Ahemmmm....I mean, I'm really looking forward to learning more about post surgical treatment of hand injuries.... It just sounds boring, doesn't it?

Josh is on childcare duties, and I think this is the first time he will be holding down the fort with both kids alone. I'm not worried a bit. He will do just fine. I'm not so sure I will know what to do with myself.

Until next time......

Sur Surs

Not Enough Time

I was talking with one of my mommy co-workers today about there not being enough time to get everything done in a day. I am not just talking about housework either. I mean housework is part of it, but where do you fit in exercise, cooking dinner, spending time with your husband, spending time with your kids, work, bathing (trust me, I still have to schedule time for this), paying bills, grocer shopping, school needs....Oh heck, I could go on and on. Most days I feel like I don't get to relax until about 9 pm (up at 5 am) at which time all I want to do is sleep. I love my life, don't get me wrong....I am so very blessed in many ways. I just need some simple tips to make life a little easier and that will get me little more time to spend with kiddos. BTW, quitting work isn't an option.

So, any tips?

Until next time....

Let's Get UGLY!!!!!!

Sophia has her first softball game on Friday. She has learned some basic softball skills like catching, throwing, running the bases, and hitting. She has also learned a few cheers and has sort of learned how to spit seeds. Until next time......

Suri's bedtime

As mentioned before, Suri Jean has been doing awesome with sleeping up in her room. She is almost a little peeved when we check on her. Last night she woke up crying around eleven o'clock. I made a 4 oz. bottle up (trust me, this child cannot be that hungry...have you seen her baby rolls?), and took it upstairs. I opened the door and Surs was still crying so I tried soothing her with my ever so pleasant voice and she did not once even open one eye. All this little stinker did was grab the bottle and basically shoooooosh me right out the door. I swear I heard her say "Hey MOM shut the door behind you, you are letting light in".

Until next time....

Bribery

So, we have succeeded in getting one child up in her bedroom. It is the oldest that is being a little stink about it. This is what it has come to: BRIBERY. Good, old-fashion bribery. We told her, "If you sleep upstairs in your bedroom for one month then we will get you a Nintendo". I will update you on how it goes. May God be with us.

Until next time....

Mismatched

Another Friday with Surs. Yeah. I knew we would be hanging around the house today so I had to pull out Suri's "Little Miss-matched" onsie and socks. What is so fabulous about this brand is that NOTHING matches. For instance, the socks come in packs of three and none of them are the same, just similiar colors. For us, that is great since we rarely get pairs of socks together after the dryer. Josh totally doesn't get this concept since this man matches everything. I mean down to sweats. It should be the same brand and coordinated colors throughout. That is way to complicated for me. I can pull it together when I have to, but thank goodness I rarely have to.

We have a fun little weekend planned. Tonight we are taking the girls to CGMSN's version of "Alladin". We are having our regular Friday night slumber party and watching Avatar. Tomorrow we may head to Edinburgh to check out the Under Armor outlet (So that Josh can be fitted in coordinated head-toe UA gear), and Gymboree. Sunday Sohpia is having a friend over to play. Sounds exciting.

Until next time......

Sophia-isms

Sophia has had a few "sophia-isms" in the past couple of months. I will share just one tonight. Here goes:

Conversation with Dale regarding sleeping in her room

Papa Dale: "Sophie. Suri is sleeping in her room now. Where are you sleeping?"

Sophia: "Well, I try to sleep in my room, but sometimes I get a little scared and yell for daddy. Then I just sleep in mommy and daddy's room".

Papa Dale: "But, you have three rooms in your house. One room for Suri, one room for mommy and daddy, and one room for.........."

Sophia: "Yeah well, you and mama Pam sleep in the same room..."

Papa Dale: SILENCE

Conversation over........ It is better to just end a conversation with Sophia than to risk unwanted questions. Because, if you know Sophia at all, you know that she will ask question after question until she gets the answer she wants.

Until next time.....

New stuff

Soph's new cleats and Sur's new toy. Both so proud.

Until next time.....

Happy Birthday

This weekend Sophia and I went to Madison to celebrate Gracie and Mama Pam's birthdays. Sophs and I painted pottery, watched Gracie play softball, and went out to a nice dinner with the crew for mama Pam's birthday. We left Josh and Suri at home in hopes of getting some much needed sleep. NOT SO MUCH! Sophia woke up twice. First, she was mauled by a decorative pillow which caused a major meltdown. Second, she woke up with her feet and legs hurting. This always happens when she plays hard. So much for a good nights sleep. We did have fun though.

Josh made it his goal to get Suri upstairs in her crib (this hasn't happened since she has been born). And......he did it! You go Josh.

Until next time.....

Fridays with Suri

I have been so fortunate to work my schedule out so that I have Fridays off. I usually use this time to hang out with Suri and tidy up the house. Suri and I run errands, play with toys, go for walks, and nap. Suri is now pushing herself up on her hands and knees. She is within weeks of crawling. Let the baby-proofing begin.

Until next time....

Softball Practice

Sophia had her first softball practice today complete with hitting practice, fielding, and running the bases. Sophia's favorite part was "scoring". The coach talked to all of the parents and it sounds like these little ladies are going to have a ball. Not only will they learn some softball skills, they are also going to learn how to spit a sunflower seed shell, how to do a proper home run dance, and how to cheer on their teammates. Sophia was so excited when she found out that one of her teammates is a classmate from school. Sophia and Suri enjoyed their after practice treat together.

Until next time...

Workout Update

Okay, no longer am I the "Big Girl" in the exercise class. No longer am I checking the clock every 5 minutes. No longer am I "cheating" when the instructor looks away. I am almost there. Almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight. But DARN, it was a lot harder the second time around. I can honestly say that I am probably in better condition than I have been since I finished playing basketball. Not that you can tell by looking, but I can withstand a heck of a workout without dying. I can run up to 3.5 miles pretty comfortably. I can make it through spinning class, body-works class, and kickboxing class without skipping a beat. Yeah ME!

So, for all of those women out there worrying about that 50 pounds they gained during pregnancy (yeah, that's right, I said 50. What about it?) don't worry, you can get it back off. Enjoy your pregnancy. Eat that pasta. Have another cookie. It is the one time in your life that you are expected to gain weight.

Until next time....

Spring has sprung

After semi-recovering from her mishap with the bed, Sophia is ready to start a new week. Although, she will be sporting a bruised up nose for her preschool pictures on Tuesday. Josh says "it's okay, it make her look tough". Sophia also has her first softball practice on Tuesday. She is in the "Diamond Duster" league and her team is the "ladybugs". We picked up her glove and helmet yesterday. I'm still not sure how four year olds are expected to function with those big things on their heads.

Suri Jean is just getting more and more mobile. She is all over our family room floor and really prefers being down on the ground and independent. She loves playing with Sophia and really gives some great belly laughs. She has mastered sitting up and only really falls over when Sophs pushes her (I know, hard to believe Sophia would ever do that).

The weekend was fabulous. We spent time as a family with picnics at the park, ice cream, playing outside at home, and of course cleaning (never-ending task). The weather couldn't have been any more perfect.

Until next time.....

Mother of the Year.......Disqualified

So, I thought the unfortunate incident with the zhu zhu pet would be the most traumatizing part of our week. Not so. Miss Sophs decided to really test out the whole "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" theory and you guessed it....one fell off and bumped her nose and lip. It was pretty nasty, blood and swelling and everything. An ice pack, popsicles, and tylenol were needed.

I am now officially disqualified for mother of the year 2010.

Until next time.....

Zhu zhu ATTACK!

Rock Star

Lets just speak truths here. Suri is a total ROCK STAR!

Until next time....

Trash talkin'

I find it a necessity if you live in Indiana and are a basketball fan that you must learn the "art" of heckling early. I wanted to break Sophia in as early as possible.

On Saturday night we watched the Michigan State v. Butler basketball game down in Madison. I was decked out in my Butler t-shirt and Josh of course was wearing his Michigan State t-shirt. All together now "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!". Anyhow, the game was just awesome and I had been up and down off of the couch frequently pointing in Josh's face and well, basically just "heckling". After Michigan State LOST, and with just a bit of coaching, Sophia walked up to Josh and said "Daddy, you need to take your t-shirt back". HEHEHE! Gotta start 'em young, I tell you. By the time she is in high school she will certainly be prepared to be a proper fan.

Until next time.....

Easter

After our crazy Disney vacation we slept in our own beds for one night, then got in the the car and drove to Madison. We definitely qualify as crazy! However, we had a great time. The girls got to celebrate Easter with family. The Easter bunny found them in Madison and they got to have an Easter egg hunt. Sophia found mama Pam's Fun Dip (or as Sophia calls it "blue mouth") stash, stole from her money jar, and used all of her Aveda shampoo. She was kind to her aunt Kami this trip and did not trash her house. Suri did great, lots of chubby baby smiles. Oh, and we gave her a biter biscuit to try and guess what.............she LOVED it!

And just to drive Dale nuts, I turned on every light in every room I entered and exited without turning them off. Hehehehe...

Until next time......

Sophia

I love Sophia so much. I love that she is so outgoing. I love that she is spunky and sassy. I love that she has a great imagination. I love that she never walks. I love all of her facial expressions when she is telling a story.

During our trip Sophia met lots of new buddies. I wish I could be as outgoing and confident as her. This is how she would make friends:

Sophia: "What is your name?"

Friend: "Kaden"

Sophia: "Want to know my name?"

Friend: "yes"

Sophia: "My name is Sophie."

Sophia: "How many are you?"

Friend: "6"

Sophia: "I'm four"


It is so cute to see kiddos having real conversations. Sophia has no trouble talking to anyone. I love that about her.

Until next time.....