Thirty-One Days

I can't believe I actually did it. Granted, I had a little bit of help from Todd these last few days, but I did it. I blogged each day for 31 days. That's hard. Luckily, between Easter, bruises, hair cuts and illness, I had more ammo than I usually do. Because I went 31 days in a row, don't be surprised if you only hear from me once or twice a week for awhile. There is such a thing as being overwhelmed...and I'm sure you are!


I had a fantastic weekend! Mom and I drove to California for a much needed weekend of rest, relaxation and shopping. We made great time on Friday until we hit Del Mar, but didn't rush at all and just enjoyed the ride. We stopped for lunch and took our time, and just enjoyed the drive and talked a lot. We went straight to San Clemente to see my grandma and it was good to visit with her. We then left to see grandpa for a while before it was time for a really late dinner. We ate at a fun little Mexican restaurant in downtown S.C.

Since our trip was so last minute, we didn't have any hotel reservations. We thought it wouldn't be a problem, but we were wrong. We finally called Todd to have him get on the computer to find us something. Luckily he did and we found a hotel to stay for a couple of nights. It wasn't the one we wanted, but we were running out of options and it ended up being a good choice.

Saturday morning we got up early, had a good continental breakfast and headed off to the Orange County Fairgrounds for a fun swap meet. It's one of my favorite places to visit when I get back to California. Mom and I walked around and shopped some and spent a few hours just enjoying the cool weather. Afterward we went to Islands for a fast lunch, then off to visit with some friends. Before we stopped at their house, we drove by the house I grew up in. It looked wonderful! It's been a few years since I last saw it, and the new owners have taken great care of it. I had planned on taking a picture, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. We drove around the corner to visit with one of my mom's best friends from high school. Oddly enough, I went to school with her youngest daughter too. It was great to catch up and our fast visit turned into a two and a half hour chat. It was a lot of fun.

After we were off to get pedicures. We went to the same lady that we always went to when we lived in California. Whenever mom goes back she sees Julie and Julie always asks about all the girls and me in particular. It's been almost 7 years since I last saw Julie, but she recognized me the minute I walked in. That's so funny to me!

Mom took me over to a fun little place called Bella Terra after our toes were dry. To me, it was Huntington Mall, but boy was I wrong. They've made some great changes to the shopping center and we shopped for awhile before leaving to get some dinner, then came back to do some more shopping. We did a lot of that!


Todd woke us up Sunday morning with a sad story about Dylan. It's not a sad story to anyone but me...the mom. He told me that Dylan woke up and talked to Todd and had the normal morning discussion. They started eating pancakes for breakfast and about halfway through Dylan got very sad. He asked what was wrong and she replied, "I lost mommy. Mommy's gone."

Talk about a sad way to start your day! Thankfully Todd immediately picked up the phone so she could talk to me and we had a good conversation. I got to talk to Dylan a lot this weekend and that made the trip easier...and harder.

Finally mom and I checked out of the hotel and drove to Long Beach to go to a flea market mom wanted to visit. More shopping, but we were up for it. But it was cold! I found the one and only thing I bought as we were walking down the first aisle. It was a cute, white doll cradle for Dylan. It's wonderful and she'll love it. I need to give it a fresh coat of paint and find a mattress for it, but it's fantastic. I can't wait to give it to her. Unfortunately, that won't be until her birthday...in September!! Can anyone give me a reason to give it to her sooner??

Once we were done at the flea market we drove almost literally around the corner to my family's favorite place. The ribbon store! Actually it's called the Fabric Barn, but I think the only thing that's really ever purchased there is ribbon. Tons and tons of ribbon for so cheap! It's really amazing and a lot of fun.

At this point we decided it was early enough to head out of town and start the trip home. We wanted to make sure we had a few hours to shop some more at the outlets in Cabazon so we grabbed some lunch at a fun deli by our old house and started the drive. We made it to the outlets and as soon as we got out of the car we were freezing. We knew we wouldn't be shopping for long. We hit the first couple of stores and found nothing, then got in the car to drive to the next section of shops. There were 4 stores we wanted to get to. We were semi-successful and decided we were too cold to continue any further so we just got in the car and drove.

And drove.

And drove.

We got home last night at about 10 and unloaded all of my packages. I had such a great time spending some good one on one time with my mom and I'm glad I was able to get away for the weekend. Thank you mom, and thank you Todd for taking the kids. Next time I hope we can add a few more (or all) of the sisters to the group and have a fun girls road trip.

Home

Well, we decided to come home a day early. It was another fun day with lots of shopping, but we're home and tomorrow, you'll hear all the details!

13 hours...

Finally after 13 hours of shopping and spending lots of money we are back in our hotel room. We are going to get some rest before starting again for another full day tomorrow. More details when I get back in front of a real computer...

Alive and well

Nicole and her mom made it to California and are currently looking for a place to sleep. We'll let you know how it turns out tomorrow.

A Little Too Late

That's how it feels tonight. A little too late for a picture and a post. But seeing as I'm only 4 days away from completing two more of my To Do List, I can't just give up now.

So here's my picture for the day:

What you're seeing is my empty bag. You may wonder why I have this picture and what it's significance is. Let me tell you.

Tomorrow morning at 8am I am leaving for four days. I will be back Monday night. My mom and I are going to California for a little R and R and some shopping, because come on, what's R and R without shopping?

This bag is the bag I've yet to pack. It's 10:15 and I haven't packed. In fact, I haven't even begun to think about packing. And I'm not going to. I'll get up early tomorrow and get it done. I'll make a list tonight, and get it done in the morning.

In the mean time, because I have four more days of posting to complete my goal, I will post each day, and I will take pictures for the next four days. There just won't be any pictures in my posts. They will be just fast updates each day telling you about my day and how much I'm missing the kids. When I get back, that's when you'll get to see all the pictures of the fun things we found on our mini vacation.

What Not to Wear

This post is actually kind of ironic. My sister, Shanen, posted an entry today titled, "What to Wear." I think that makes this entry just a little bit funny.

A few weeks ago I was at my sister Bryn's house for a girls night in. We were supposed to scrapbook or craft for a few hours and we never got around to it. We talked and looked at some magazines and ended up watching an episode of What Not to Wear. I've never seen this show before, but I knew Bryn liked it because the episode we watched was one she had TiVo'd.

As I watched this show for the first time, I came to a realization. I should be on it. Seriously. I should go on this show because the woman they were giving the makeover to, could have been me. There were only a few differences, and I don't think those differences necessarily worked in my favor.

1) She was a mother of three, not two.
2) She worked from home, but often had to meet clients.
and
3) She was 15 years older than me.

Now I think the first one is a wash. It shouldn't matter if you have two or three kids. The second one I think was bad for her. Wearing jeans and t-shirts, or sweats or capris to a business meeting is never a good thing. The third, I think is bad for me. I'm only 30 and there is no reason why I shouldn't be more fashion conscious. Other than the fact that I have NEVER been fashion conscious. I've tried to change my style, but I'm all about comfort. Always have been, probably always will be.

But does that mean comfort has to be sacrificed to be stylish? Probably not, but until I get my own makeover, have unlimited funds or have my own personal shopper, this is bound to be the way it is.

I came to another realization today.

Dylan needs the makeover more than I do.

Here is what my two year old pulled out of her drawers when she needed to get dressed:

Now, no matter what anyone says, I'm not THIS bad.

Just let me know when I can sign her up for What Not to Wear: Toddler Edition.

ABCs

As I sat in my office tonight sending e-mails to Whit while she took the train home, I got to listen to one of the sweetest sounds. I listed to Dylan playing with Todd. But it wasn't playing make believe or having a tea party or naming all of the Little People animals.

Dylan was playing a game that we've started playing on a more regular basis. A game that Todd has never seen us play, a game I don't think he even knows about. In fact, I'm not even sure I'd call it a game. Dylan thinks it is, I think it's a learning tool. She loves it, and it was wonderful to hear her "play" this game with Todd.

We have a huge boardbook that teaches the letters of the alphabet and numbers 1-10. It has different items that start with each specific letter and a cute running poem that tells about the alphabet. Dylan enjoys this book. She always has. But lately we've started taking the letters from her leapfrog magnetic set and she chooses a letter and matches it to the correct letter in the book.

She can't sing her ABCs, in fact, she doesn't even like to try, but she loves to match up the letters, and she can now identify almost, if not all of them.

Tonight I listened to her call out a letter, and Todd notice she was right, then turn the pages in the book until she found the right page. This happend three or four times in a row without Dylan making a mistake. I think Todd started to pay a little bit more attention to her game and was somewhat surprised that she knew her letters as well as she did. I finally went and grabbed the camera to take a shot or two of them learning the alphabet together.

The Homewrecker

My eye still isn't feeling great (which still makes using the camera tough), but I wanted to share a quick picture with you.

This is going to cause my marriage to crumble. I know this, Todd knows this, yet he got it anyway. Should that be some sort of sign to me??? Should I be worried?

Like I don't have enough to complain about with his electronic habits. He needed to go and get himself a Blackberry.

I also thought I needed to keep myself accountable for my list of 101 things in 1,001 days. I've decided that each month I'll post an update on my progress. I'll list what I've accomplished, and what's in progress, and maybe which items I'm hoping to tackle next. This way, I'm not only answering to myself, but others know what I'm up to also.

personal

1. spend three hours once a week for a month on me and only me COMPLETED (thanks Diana)
2. go to bed by 10pm every night for a month
3. make a 101 list COMPLETED (this was a gimmie)
4. return all phone calls within 24 hours for a month
5. return all e-mails within 24 hours for a month
6. get a pedicure as needed for 6 months
7. have a meal with friends once a month for 6 months IN PROGRESS

marriage

8. talk without distraction each night for a week
9. say I love you every day for 6 months IN PROGRESS
10. give hugs and kisses every day for 6 months IN PROGRESS
11. celebrate anniversary somewhere other than home overnight
12. find one new thing we both enjoy doing together
13. laugh together each day for a month
14. have date night once a week for a month

spiritual

15. attend all HFPE meetings for a year STARTS THURSDAY
16. read scriptures personally every day for a month
17. attend all three meetings on Sunday for two months straight
18. have 100% visiting teaching for a year IN PROGRESS
19. read the book of mormon cover to cover
20. prepare Sunday lessons before the weekend starts
21. no caffeine for a month
22. watch all four conference sessions STARTS IN APRIL
23. say personal prayers each night for a month

health, beauty, and fitness

24. lose 15 lbs
25. ride the elliptical 3x’s a week for a month
26. go for a walk 3x’s a week for two months
27. don’t eat fast food for a month
28. make dinner every night for two weeks
29. stop biting my fingernails for at least one month
30. get LASIK
31. take a yoga class
32. drink only water for one week

for the house

33. get Dylan into a twin bed
34. organize the kid’s clothes and closets
35. keep the car clean for one month
36. organize craft room
37. keep craft room clean for two months
38. get Isaac into a twin bed
39. redo kids’ bedrooms
40. redo master bedroom
41. paint kitchen

travel

42. leave the country
43. visit a national park
44. see Wicked somewhere in the country
45. stay at the Hotel Coronado in San Diego
46. visit a state I have never been to
47. visit a friend out of town
48. start an Italy fund

reading

49. read each day for at least 30 minutes for two weeks
50. read a book by a new author
51. go to the library twice a month for three months
52. start and finish a book in one day (at least 175 pages)
53. read the ensign every month for 6 months IN PROGRESS
54. read the entire book club book for six months

finances

55. put money in a travel fund for NY
56. put all spare change in jar for 3 months
57. make and keep a personal budget for two months
58. don’t use the credit card for a week other than necessities (food, gas, bills)
59. for one month spend money only on necessities

hobbies

60. use the camera everyday for a month IN PROGRESS
61. finish family cookbook IN PROGRESS
62. blog every day for one month IN PROGRESS
63. bake something new once a month for six months IN PROGRESS
64. be comfortable with and "get" my camera IN PROGRESS
65. complete two Daily December Journals and have them printed
66. take a photography class
67. take a German class
68. be proficient in photoshop

crafts

69. complete three mini albums STARTING SOON
70. complete two different knitting projects IN PROGRESS
71. decorate the master bedroom IN PROGRESS
72. take a knitting class
73. complete a new sewing project once a month for 6 months
74. finish Dylan’s scrapbook
75. start Isaac’s scrapbook
76. finish Isaac’s scrapbook

for others

77. be a secret santa
78. donate clothing or other items
79. donate blood
80. do a random act of kindness for someone in the neighborhood

for dylan

81. hug her, kiss her, and tell her I love her everyday for a month IN PROGRESS
82. say prayers with her every night for a month IN PROGRESS
83. teach her to ride a bike
84. sign her up for soccer
85. enroll her in swim lessons
86. get her potty trained STARTING SOON
87. teach her to do a somersault
88. read or sing to her every night for a month

for Isaac

89. teach him the ABCs and to count to 10
90. take a mommy and me class
91. enroll him in swim lessons
92. get him potty trained
93. read or sing to him every night for a month
94. say prayers with him every night for a month
95. hug him, kiss him and tell him I love him everyday for a month IN PROGRESS

household chores

96. clean all the bathrooms once a week for a month (I hate this chore!)
97. get all the laundry and ironing done on Fridays for 3 months
98. wash and dry pots and pans each night for a month (no air drying!)

odds and ends

99. no tv on in the bedroom for a week
100. no computer for three days (at all)
101. no tv with the kids for a week

This is my list in progress. I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how many I actually have in progress without even realizing it. Here's to hoping I can keep it up.

Its only a laceration...

This post is going to be a little on the short side and I've got a guest typist (thanks Todd).

For the past three days I've had a splitting headache and yesterday morning I woke up with a bloodshot right eye. By the end of the day it hurt to keep my eye open. My brother-in-law (Austin) offered to give me a massage in hopes of relieving the pressure but I only discovered my eye hurt more.

Todd wanted to take me to see a doctor last night but I was able to convince him to let me sleep on it. It was a good thing too as he got called into work a few hours later.

Fast forward to this morning and I woke up to an eye that was matted shut. Todd called his mom to take care of the kids while we rushed off to Urgent Care.

Two hours and $50 later the doctor told me I probably had a small scratch on my eye. It sounds worse to say a lacerated eye so that is how Todd has been selling it. Some eye drops to prevent any infection or possible "pink eye" and we were off to celebrate Easter Sunday. My headache is still there, my eye still hurts and now I've got to put these stupid eye drops in every 4-6 hours.

At least if it doesn't heal up by Tuesday I'll have something to write about. Off to get some "shut eye" now. Tomorrow I'll write about the rest of our Easter celebrations but here is a quick preview. Trying to take pictures with only one eye is tough, it did happen but this preview goes to Todd.

A Successful Trial Run

Last year the Kreipl family decided to have an Easter picnic dinner at the park the night before Easter. This way, everyone was free to see other family members on Easter Sunday, or free to do their own thing. We all had such a great time last year we decided to make it an annual event.

Today we met at the park at about 4pm and let the kids play while we finished getting dinner ready. It was such a beautiful afternoon and all the kids had a great time playing on the slides, in the sand, with the footballs and other various balls, and just running around like crazy people.

We even had a water balloon toss competition. Dylan didn't quite understand the concept. She didn't want to throw the balloon, she wanted to walk to me and hand it to me.

Dinner was fantastic as usual and I think between Todd and I we must have taken close to 500 pictures. That doesn't even include all the other cameras that everyone else was using to capture these fun moments on film.

We also had an Easter egg hunt for all the kids. After dinner was over the moms took the kids to Bryn's house and the dads stayed behind to hide the eggs. Each family brought about a dozen candy-filled eggs for their own kids. That way we knew exactly how many eggs each kid could find. Obviously for Isaac 12 was unnecessary so we only brought him 3. That was the right number. After he had two, one for each hand, he wasn't interested anymore. Dylan loved to find all of hers, and was disappointed when we told her she had found her 12 and needed to stop. I can't wait to see how she does tomorrow since this was only a trial run for her.

Here are a few shots of the afternoon. I could post so many more, but I thought these would have to do.

Chop, Chop

Yesterday's post was all about my kids' horrible hygiene habits. Okay, as parents, it's really our job, but I like the sound of it better when I say it's the kids' fault. Today I decided to take action.
And break the law too.

After a fun evening in the backyard it was time to give the kids a bath and that's when I did it. I finally cut both their fingernails. That means no more scratches for at least two days. And I pulled out the scissors to give Isaac a little trim.

I made one very important discovery.

I should never take scissors to anyones hair. Ever. Isaac's hair is shorter, but it's also a lot uneven.

Take a look.

Luckily I know hair grows and soon enough we'll get his hair cut by a real professional.

Growing

This will be short and sweet.

Thursday is my "free" day because Grandma D comes to watch the kids. That means I'm not home during the day to take pictures of the kids or anything else for that matter. On top of this, we went to my parents to visit some friends and didn't take any pictures, got home in time to rush a bath for the kids (again, no pictures) before putting them to bed late.

I did get a couple of shots though. They were to document a recurring theme in our house lately.

For more than a month we've needed to get the kids' hair cut. We even tried twice and it didn't happen either time. Today, I also learned we need to cut their finger nails too.

So, to commemorate these observations, here are three pictures. The first is Isaac's rat tail, the second is Dylan's rag mop, and the third is Dylan's claw of death. Unforunately Isaac was so tired I couldn't get a shot of his talons too.

My Promise

Just after the new year I bought a book at Target.

This book.

That's right. I bought a book to teach me how to knit. I've wanted to learn for quite some time, and when I saw this book in the dollar section, I figured what the heck. My friend Whitney knits and crochets all the time and I knew she was coming to visit in a few short weeks so if I had any questions or problems, she'd be able to help.

After a quick e-mail consult with Whit, I went to JoAnns and bought a pair of needles and some yarn. I opened my trusty book and set to work.

Two weeks later I had mastered casting on. And that was it. Luckily, Whit was now in town and I knew I could get some face to face instruction.

As luck would have it, that instruction didn't come until about 35 minutes before she was scheduled to go back home. But, just like I knew it would, that face to face instruction was just what I needed. Whit had a way of explaining the stitches to me that the book never could. It's funny how seeing something is so much easier than reading to me. I love to read, but there's nothing like hands on learning.

Well since that night almost two months ago I've been working with that skein of yarn...and another one. I'm not quite finished yet, but I hope to be soon. I'm working on my first knitted project.

A scarf.

It's a simple project with a nice pattern, and I'm loving it. I am able to knit while I watch tv at night without having to think too much. The problem is, I don't pick up my project very often. I need to work on that. I'm sure that I can finish it in just a few days, if I'd actually make progress on it in those few days.

So here's my promise. I promise to finish this project. By Mother's Day. Actually a few days earlier. I promise this project will be done before we leave for Alaska. This scarf WILL be worn in Alaska.

That's my promise.

Slides and Sugar Cookies

With our first full day with Pa, we decided to make it a good one. We ate cinnamon rolls at the bar, then headed off to the park.

For the first time we basically let Isaac roam free. I'm a little surprised I let that happen considering his track record over the last two weeks (see here and here), but I thought it was a good way to get some fun shots of the kids, let Isaac play in the sand, and be able to focus on Dylan some also. I think we made the right call. Both the kids had so much fun and Isaac only bonked his head once. After a quick kiss and hug he was up and moving again like nothing had happened.

I'm not sure when it happened, but Dylan now loves the slide. And not just any slide, the tallest spiraling slide. I think it's great. She climbs up the ladder (not the steps) and goes to the highest point and slides down with the biggest smile on her face. Isaac even got in on the sliding action and went down once or twice himself.

We left the park and had lunch and ran some errands before it was nap time. While everyone slept I decided to try a new sugar cookie recipe that I found on a friend's blog, here. I made up the dough and put it in the fridge before baking the cookies just after dinner. I thought decorating some Easter sugar cookies would be a fun activity for Dylan and Pa. And everyone could reap the rewards. Again, it was a good call.

Dylan enjoyed adding sprinkles to the cookies Pa frosted, and Isaac enjoyed eating. Actually, we all did.

I think overall it was a good day with Pa and we'll be sorry to see him go tomorrow.

Ribbit

That's what Dylan named the frog. So original I know, but I don't think she quite understands that she can give it a name. You ask what her frog's name is and her response is either, "purple" or "ribbit." We'll go with Ribbit as his name. It works.

Today was no different than yesterday as far as the frog was concerned. Each meal was eaten next to the frog and even baby doll got to spend some time looking through the glass at the new addition to our household.

I thought it was so cute that she wanted baby doll to lean into the glass so she could get a good look at the frog. But, I had to draw the line when she wanted her doll to touch the frog. That was a disaster waiting to happen.

Today we also got a special treat. Todd's dad came to visit us from San Diego. All day long Dylan was looking forward to Pa coming to visit. She knew where his room was, and even picked out a chair for him in the theater. And even better than that, she took to him immediately. There was no "warm-up" time necessary. Once she woke up from her nap, she was giving Pa a hug and holding his hand while dragging him to the kitchen to show off her frog. See, everything goes back to the frog!

Pa brought special treats for the grandkids too. Grandma Nancy sent all the fixin's for a fun Easter basket for each of the kids. So, before they woke up, Greg and I set to work to make up the baskets so the kids would have treats.

Dylan zeroed in on them immediately. She wanted to see all the presents and wanted to know which one was hers. As soon as dinner was over she asked Pa for a treat and was happy to look inside and see all the fun things that were just for her.

Here are a couple of shots of Dylan and Isaac with their Easter baskets. Dylan wouldn't put hers down for the rest of the night. Thank you Grandma Nancy and Pa!

The Perfect Pet

First off, Dylan has wonderful nursery teachers. She loves them. Each week she asks about going to church and to class. She knows exactly where her class is, and doesn't look back once she walks through the door. She just loves it. I love that she enjoys it so much, and hope that it continues.

Today after church, when I went to pick Dylan up from nursery, I had no idea I was in for such a treat. As usual she was excited to see me and ready to walk out the door without a backward glance either. It's funny, she goes to class and leaves it the same way, utterly excited and happy. I reminded her to say thank you to her teachers and to make sure she had everything.

Her teacher handed her a fish-shaped hat she had colored (but didn't want to wear) and Dylan thrust it in my arms. I then went to take the other thing she was holding and she promptly swung it out of my reach and said, "No mom, my frog." Uhhh, what? She was holding a clear plastic bag filled with water, and I was sure there must have been a fish in there to match the hat she had colored.

Imagine my surprise when she told me it was a frog. I asked her to stop swinging the bag around and show me her frog. My stomach was just in knots thinking we now had a frog to take care of. How could her nursery teachers have done this?? Giving 10 two and three year olds a frog was not good. What were we supposed to do with this thing?

As I took a closer look at Dylans frog I let out my held breath. It was a slimy frog, but it was also purple. And fake. It was absolutely perfect! Dylan adored her frog and wouldn't let go of the bag. And I knew just what to do with it.

As soon as we got home I found an old glass fish bowl in a cupboard and I filled it with water. I then dumped the frog inside. Dylan thought it was a perfect home for her frog. She sat at the bar and watched her little frog, and occasionally I caught her with her hand inside his bowl, poking at him. She must have stayed like this for 10 minutes or so.

As soon as she heard Todd come home, she was so excited to show him her frog. Again, she sat at the bar and told him all about it.

I don't know what inspired her nursery teachers to give away this perfect pet, but I will forever be grateful. The presentation was perfect. I mean, what two-year-old wouldn't love a plastic frog? But a plastic frog in a baggie filled with water is so much more exciting. And I am so glad I don't have to worry about feeding or cleaning a fish (or a frog) and that this "pet" will never die.

Out with the Old...

and in with the new.

Earlier this week Todd sent me a note wondering if I wanted to buy some theater-style recliners for the theater downstairs. We currently have a sofa, loveseat and an EZBoy recliner. I wondered how he intended to get 5 more recliners in the room. His response was to sell what we currently had, and buy the new seats.

I didn't really care one way or the other, and honestly thought there was no way we'd be able to sell our couches and sell them in time to buy the other seats before they were sold to someone else.

With our luck we'd probably sell our couches, then find out that the other chairs were gone. This way, we'd end up with an empty theater. That didn't really upset me too much because I figured that would be as good a time as any to turn the theater into a play room for the kids.

Either way, it was going to be a win-win.

As fate would have it, we had multiple people want to buy our furniture immediately, and the seats were also still available. Todd borrowed a truck today and picked up his brother on his way to North Scottsdale to get our new theater seats.

Dylan loved the big chairs and has already designated one as her very own. Although, she is more than happy to share with Isaac, just not me.

Here are a few shots of the kids in the new chairs and one of how the theater now looks. Todd has a little bit of finishing work to do on them, and I want to make covers for them, but all in all, I think they'll work out just fine.

When it Rains, It Pours

What a week! And I'm so glad it's over.

Just to recap the last seven days...

Last Thursday Isaac fell on the elliptical machine and got a goose egg on his head.

Friday I took Dylan to the doctor (after four long days, AND nights) to find out she had strep.

We dealt with the strep and crankiness all weekend.

Monday we took Easter pictures, then Isaac decided he wanted to dive into the toy box and split open his forehead. This, in turn, scared the daylights out of me.

Then last night Isaac woke up with a fever, and that continued to be the theme throughout the day. We took him to the doctor, and thankfully, no strep, but no other diagnosis either.

Poor Isaac. He's had one rough week. All day today he was so unhappy. He was so warm, he wasn't eating, wasn't sleeping, wasn't playing, and worst of all, wasn't smiling or laughing like he loves to do. He needed to be near me. If I got up and took two steps away from him, he would get up, start crying and follow me around until I either picked him up, or sat down so he could sit on my lap or right next to me. He was miserable.

I took a couple of shots of the kids throughout the day today. There isn't a lot of differences in any of the pictures because we basically did the same thing all day. They sat on our bed watching tv, and I got up occasionally to change the laundry.

I figure two good things came out of today though. First, I got 5 of my 8 loads of laundry done, and second... alright, maybe only one good thing.

A Child's Prayer

It's time for a proud mama moment.

For about the last year and a half or so Todd and I have been saying prayers each night with Dylan before she goes to bed. Each night it's the same prayer for repetition, with just an occasional change. For the last 9 months Dylan will occasionally repeat the prayer after me. I will say a few words to her, and she'll repeat them to say the prayer herself. About 3 months ago, Dylan started choosing each night who's turn it is to say the prayer.

Tuesday night, she took another step forward. We started the bedtime routine the same as any night. Once we were seated on the floor for the prayer, I asked Dylan whose turn it was. She promptly responded, "Dylan's turn." We folded our arms and I started as usual, by saying, "Our dear Heavenly Father." Dylan, as usual repeated the words. I hesitated for a moment, and Dylan continued on without me. She remembered all the things and people we pray for each night (except mommy) all by herself, with only a buzz word from me when she got stuck. She took two buzz words to get through the prayer.

I was so proud of her. My two year old little girl just said her first prayer all by herself. Todd was so excited for her and scooped her up into a big bear hug and told her she was a big girl and was so smart. I couldn't believe it. Dylan was praying all by herself.

Just to prove it wasn't a fluke, Dylan decided it was her turn again last night. I mentioned yesterday I was hoping to use the camera to catch the prayer but my battery had died, so tonight I was ready. And so was Todd.

Once again, it was "Dylan's turn" to pray. Todd grabbed the camera and actually took an audio recording of Dylan saying her prayer. I think we had to use a few more buzz words, but you'll get the idea. Some of you may be bothered by the fact that we recorded her prayer, or took pictures of her praying, but my goodness, how can you not capture something so pure, perfect and innocent if you have the chance?

Here is a picture of Dylan saying her prayer, and a video that Todd put together.

Slim Pickings

That's what I have today regarding photos. I am a huge procrastinator. HUGE! Because of this, it was 8:30pm before I grabbed the camera to take a few shots. I was hoping to get a picture of Dylan saying her prayer tonight. No such luck.

I got five pictures taken before my battery died. Only five. Two of Isaac, one of Dylan screaming and two of Dylan playing in the closet. Not a lot of fun if you ask me.

Serves me right for procrastinating.

Here's all I've got. Not even a fun story to tell. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get that shot of Dylan saying her prayers and I'll tell you all about it.

Resilience

It always amazes me at just how resilient kids are. Less than 24 hours ago Isaac had blood pouring out of his forehead and today, when you look at the picture, if you didn't know any better, you'd just think the mess on his forehead was an extension of the mess all over his face.

If it weren't for me freaking out every time Isaac took a step, you'd never know that he hurt himself yesterday. The kid just bounces back like a champ. Gosh, I love him!