Best Mother's Day Yet......

7:15am-(Over the baby monitor from Lila's room to ours) "Happy Mother's Day Mommy, now stay in bed because we are going to bring you breakfast in bed".......(Kiara talking while Shawn and Me are laughing from our bedroom listening to the monitor next to the bed)....

That was my first wake up this morning......so I rolled over went back to sleep until all 3 girls brought me in coffee and a piece of toast with butter & jelly.....I love my girls! They then persisted to get their toast and then joined me in bed to eat......very fun!

After breakfast it was time for my scavenger hunt, the girls and dad hid clues and presents all over the upstairs.....So fun and so creative....I LOVED IT and so did the girls! The presents were over the top and the girls and Shawn did a great job of picking out the best presents for me.....From Flowers, to Soap and Body wash, to a gorgeous blue tank top from Macy's, to a UT Reversible Vest, Sunblock, US Weekly, to an iTunes gift card and some Mexican hand painted serve wear for my kitchen....to athletic socks to thigh high socks, and a few athletic tanks.....hope I am not forgetting anything.....it was such a wonderful surprise......I must say he & the girls are bargain shoppers as they were able to get everything on sale....and the girls LOVED going shopping with just daddy!........love it......and to top it off, I also got to get a pedicure today with Miss Heather for Mother's Day.....So fun....I now have beautified blue toe nails!......

Shawn made steak wraps for dinner, with a little bit of my help...and we just enjoyed a piece of Chocolate Cream pie.....YUMO.....All in all we have had a wonderful weekend....I even got Shawn to take BodyPump with me on Saturday morning, we are both really sore, but looking forward to next Saturday's class.....I love working out together!......And today I have had the best mother's day.....my girls truly are angels and I have the best husband in the world......I did miss spending time with my mom today, but I did get to chat with her......and I am so looking forward to our trip to WA in July!......I warn you most of the pics below I am in my PJs.....no makeup no hair done.....

Mother's Day 09

A little bit of Woodthorn fun......

So we have been doing great.....our weather has been a bit humid lately, UGH! The heat is nice though and the humidity has greened up all the yards!....We are looking at a week of 90's ahead of us.....Hot! Hot! Hot! already......crazy....

Tuesday night we had a Neighborhood Girls Night In at my friend and neighbor Jenna's house.....What a great time, we all brought desserts and chatted it up. We have lots of new neighbors so it was nice to FINALLY meet a few of them.....Shawn had fun playing games with the girls at home....and was pretty much asleep when I got home....

We had another great weekend....We did our usual Friday Night Driveway get together with a few of the neighbors....the kids love playing outside/inside and staying up late while us adults enjoy our beverages and conversations in the driveways.....It is fast becoming a Friday night tradition. It is pretty funny when neighbors drive by and see us, they usual park at home and walk back to hang out....So fun! The best part is we get to walk home........Saturday we had our Woodthorn Neighborhood BBQ......a spring social to get to know the neighbors....So fun, there was face painting, bubble blowing, chalk drawing and also a bike parade....the girls decorated their bikes before we went down.....too cute! This weekend we also painted our master bath room cabinets, we are trying to see how we want to upgrade the kitchen ones, whether to paint or stain (since part of the cabinets are wood and part our fake wood)....So today Shawn decided to stain the 1/2 bath cabinet/doors with my favorite stain color.....it will be nice to compare the two.....As of now I am leaning towards staining the kitchen cabinets.....but I love our painted ones in our bathroom....As soon as i get hardware and clean the bathrooms and I will post pics of both.....

Weekend fun Woodthorn BBQ

Earth Day Tree & Solar Lights......

So those that have yards know that they are a total work in progress.......Shawn and I have been working in our back yard, little by little and it is starting to look a ton better.....we still need to do the edging around the grass, weed block, plant more flowers/shrubs/grasses, mulch, and build a pergola....but I am content if we do not get any of that done until we get back (well, the pergola is a few years out)......We did plant a tree for Earth Day, we got it free from our neighbors (thanks Garcia's, they have given us both trees we have planted).........Our new tree is a Live Oak, so it will get big and provide our back yard some much needed shade in a few years!....It is about 3-4ft tall already....unlike our other tree we planted which is 4-5 inches.....This weekend we also took advantage of Costco Coupons and picked up an 8-pack of solar lights....LOVE THEM....They make the yard look so much better and it is nice to have some light out there at night!!! Lila gives a little tour in the album below....

Yard....Looking Better!

Chilled out weekend.....

Nothing much new to report......we relaxed most of the weekend and it felt good to have nothing to do.....Saturday night we did hang with the Garcia's and we let the kiddos stay up late.....they love that! We also figured out the dates for our WA State Trip.....which is pretty much the whole month of July for the girls and me......Should be a great time, I think we have a Mariners game scheduled with my Bro & Sis-in-law....and I believe a par-tay at the Harper's House, but so far that is all that is scheduled....I do think we want to take the kiddos to Pike Place, Pacific Science Center and all around Seattle........We are so looking forward to seeing family and friends!

Shawn bbq'ed a Ham yesterday....I must say he is becoming quite the bbq-er/smoker.....it was sooooo good. We are looking forward to homemade mac n cheese tonight with the ham in it....yumo....Speaking of food, I did FINALLY update The Breezy with some new recipes.....about time I know.....Our weather has started to be steady 80's again......I have to admit the sun always puts me in a good mood!.....I love it. Well I am off to work, walk, parent & enjoy our sunny day!

Up to no good.....

Well, I thought I would provide a quick update as to what we are up too......its not much different then the norm....I am still doing my early morning workouts and loving it....Yesterday I went with my friend and neighbor Sarah to our friend Brittney's BodyPump Class......Wow, what a great workout, I have to admit I am a bit sore today!!! I love the combo of weights with music!!....Shawn and I have also started taking the girls to the gym on Tuesday & Thursdays when he gets off of work.....It has been fun working out with him.....So yes on those days I hit the gym twice....I love it....Next week I think I am going to take the Zumba class.....it is on TU/TH as well....I watched it while I worked out on Tues and it looks fun! Tiring but fun!.......Who knows maybe I will learn some new dance moves! I am still riding my bike and jogging too.....I am trying to road run for 5 miles without stopping......I think I am up to 1.5-2 miles.....Sad, I know....but running outside and in the gym is so different.....Oh well.....as you can see Shawn and I are trying to get ourselves back in shape before we get older and it gets harder.......and also trying to set a good example for our girls.....I have to admit they LOVE going to the gym and ask all the time if we can go....there is so much for them to do there.....a LARGE jungle gym (think HUGE McDonald's Play scape), basketball, books, play kitchen, coloring, and so much more I am forgetting....and KIDS.....oh my word so many kiddos......

Other then working out we seriously have not been up to anything.....I had Mom's Night out on Tuesday.....I went a coffeehouse with my MOPS moms and we got to chat and hang out.....Always fun.....We are sad that we only have 1 more MOPS meeting left.....it will be fun since it is a Brunch.....but hopefully we will all stay in touch over the summer....either a book club or something.....The twins are addicted to their new Leapster Games, Pet Pals....they have take care of a puppy and feed it/walk it/bath it...they can buy clothes for ......I have had to put limits on their playing time....They also have Webkinz that they are begging me to set up online.....I suppose I better do that soon too.....We really need to get a bare bones computer for them to use......anyway......I am off to get my reports done for work.....

Happy Easter Y'all......

Well today has been simply wonderful. We woke up to Easter Goodies everywhere along with plastic eggs everywhere.....The girls were surprised to see the Easter Bunny had stopped by and they enjoyed their annual indoor egg hunt.....It was great to enjoy Easter Morning with Uncle Joel too....He made the trek down from Austin yesterday to hang with us and go to Church with us......after playing with their new stuff and eating breakfast we all headed out to Oak Hills Church for service with Brett & Jenna.....they are a newly married young couple that live across the street the we just love.....My girls love Jenna!!.......Jenna's dad, Max Lucado is one of the pastors at Oak Hills and they invited us to go with them....We had a wonderful time and all 3 of the girls loved going to Bibleland (Sunday School).....It is also the church where the twins will be going to Preschool so that made it extra special for them.....The service and sermon were great and we are looking forward to seeing if this is a good fit for us.....

After church it was off to my friend Sarah's parents house......It was so sweet of her to invite us to her families house for Easter....We enjoyed great food and good fun with a warm & inviting family.....The girls got to play with their friend & neighbor Naomi....They all enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt!!! They also got to enjoy egg fight with us adults....We all brought Cascarones with us and had a massive confetti egg fight.....So fun, and do not worry we plan on bringing a bunch up North with us for a fight over the 4th of July!.....All in all we have had an amazing Easter and hope everyone else did too!!!!

Easter 2009

Good Friday......

Well it had been a great two days for us......Yesterday we had MOPS, the girls LOVE going as do I.....It is so nice to get hand out with other Mothers of Preschoolers while childcare is provided for the kiddos....we have wonderful speakers and make/do fun crafts.....Lila has totally adapted to being away from me, this last Thursday she walked right in and didn't even look up to say good bye....I am so proud of her....she keeps begging me to take her to school, along with the twins.....Too Cute....it sure will be interesting next year when the twins are in preschool and she is not...oh well she will be in preschool the year the girls go to kinder.......I did learn how to make soap at MOPS yesterday, and it smells sooo good and tropical!.....I can already see Christmas gift ideas springing in my head....

Kiara's nose finally did go black and blue....just in time for Easter.....here is her latest look...
Today we headed to a park for an Easter Party.....a friend at MOPS decided to put together a last minute party and Egg Hunt.....We took a picnic lunch and enjoyed good times with friends....We also dyed Easter Eggs tonight.....We miss doing this with the Coffer's but got it done and had fun! Here are some pics from today.....Overkill I know, those are for the Grandparents!

April 2009 Park & Eggs

Maybe we are just boring.....

So haven't figured out why I am so slacking on my blog.....I suppose I just get busy or distracted or dare I say it "maybe we are boring"......or I could blame my usual facebooking ways......and now that I am back at work I am more busy.....who knows....Anyway enough excuses....on with it....

We had a wonderful weekend with or neighbors, we hung out with the Garcia's on Friday night and then headed to Timmy's baseball game on Sunday.....it was so fun!!! His team lost but it was fun to get to see a ball game, I am sure we will attend more.....The girls are getting more excited about playing sports, yay!!! They checked out a softball game going on at the fields too!....Although, MJ is already asking to go to dance school so I am researching that right now....I have found a few and think I may have one picked out, thanks Heather!!! Saturday we headed up to Boerne to Shawn's bosses house for a housewarming party.....It was nice to finally meet his boss and a few of his co-workers......The house is in a new neighborhood called Herff Ranch, it reminded me a lot of the Issaquah Highlands with, different sized houses, an elementary, parks, pool, basketball courts, and trails.....it is still in development and there are more houses to be built but it was nice to see something new.....and the girls LOVED the park! We did work in the yard both Sat & Sun Morning.....We put down some weed block under our front hedge and covered it back up with the rocks we had......it looks sooo much better and I am excited that I will not have to be weed picking all summer.....The girls helped and played out side with Danielle....here are a few shots of some outdoor playtime and what not....They also made their first cake with not much help and even frosted it....there are pics of that too....

This week we have been hanging around the hood, soaking in as much outdoor time as we can before it starts to get "Too" hot to play outside in the afternoon.....I "force" the girls to play outside for 3-4 hours a day......I suppose I shouldn't use the word force as they LOVE being outside....Yesterday Kiara was playing around in the stroller while we were playing outside and managed to fall and land on her face....she is OK but I know some had asked to see some pics, here they are....I haven't seen her yet this morning to see how black and bruised it is......ok Kiara just woke up, it is not too bad, but definetly a little swollan.....

Seriously it is Thursday???

So I am trying to figure out where the week went.....I have been consistently working out this week and I suppose that just helps make the week zoom by.....I am committed to finally lose the last bit of weight I gained with Lila, yes I know she is 2 already.....I have been pretty lazy about those last 10-15 lbs.....so next size down here I come!!!

Yesterday the girls and I went to Storytime at the Library....They love going and listening, dancing and doing a project....so fun for them....then we headed to the park next door, for a picnic lunch and playtime....I think this we be our every Wednesday routine.....it works well for Shawn too, having one car in all.....It is so nice having the new park next to the library, now if they would just make a path so we could walk from the Library parking lot to the park that would be nice, I hate having to strap them all in do drive a whooping 200 feet around the corner.....and get them all unstrapped again....Oh well.....

I have started back at work too! So nice to be back working close to my old schedule after going down to 7 hours last month.......Brain food for sure, nice to be using my noggin for more then just mothering.......Working from home really does help keep my sanity, that the gym and quiet time! I believe it I didn't have those 3 I would lose it daily......for those that asked the bunk beds are working great for the twins and so is the new schedule......The girls still can not wait until they start preschool.....they talk about it daily......Love it!

Weekend in the Yard....

We didn't do too much this weekend.....Just a bunch of yard work and we have TONS more to do! But we love working in the yard....we have been edging and shaping our back yard....hard work because of the type of grass down here.....but it is starting to feel like a back yard now....we still need to put in the black edging stuff and weed block and then plant flowers and top with much but we are liking how it is looking......

As for the kiddos not too much is new.....Lila continues to amaze me with her speech she can say just about anything......Kiara and MJ are loving their bunk beds.....we switched them top to bottom yesterday.....MJ loves sleeping on top too.....I figure we will have to continue trading off on some sort of schedule so they both get equal time on the top bunk....Lila also LOVES the top bunk.....she tries to FAKE sleep up there during story time hoping that we will let her sleep there....So we are thinking when it comes time for her to get a big girl bed we are going to go with a Loft bed....that way she has more room to play in her room....it being the smallest bedroom in the house....anyway.....I am hoping to have a productive week as all the girls are loving their new schedule, I finally broke down and made one up so they have a little more structure to their day and then I drew pictures for the activities on what we should be doing when....they LOVE it, so far sooo good........After working less hours the past month I get to hopefully go back to my regular work schedule.....I actually missed working the past month (I worked 7 hours instead of my usual 80)....and moving forward I think I will be working 78 a month....or something like that.....it all has to do with benefit costs and what not....anywhoo.....here are a few pics from the weekend....

Last Weekend in March 2009

RIP My Cousin.....

So this morning I got a call from my mother around 8.30am Central time, which is EARLY for my mom cause it was 6:30am her time (she sleeps in till at least 9am on the weekends).....So I knew something was up and that it probably wasn't good news.....and of course I was right. She was calling to let me know that my cousin Syril had died in a car accident Saturday night....He was 43.....details about the accident are still being investigated, here is one of the preliminary storeys about it in The News Tribune, I am disappointed to read he wasn't wearing his seat belt......We will sure miss him and my heart goes out to my Aunt Ineze, Uncle Dick and my cousins Bridget and Scott (Syril's Siblings) and the whole rest of the Cookson Clan.....I love and miss you all!.....

Monday Already....Blah!

So here is it Monday again! I say it all the time but I am truly amazed at how fast weekends go by for us.....This weekend was pretty productive as I did not have to grocery shop, I actually finished that during the day Friday.....I got the girls photos back from JC Penny....they turned out so good....I have them up on Facebook for those who want to check them out....

Saturday we took the girls shopping for a few things for the yard and let them pick out some flowers to plant! Very fun, the girls LOVE to plant flowers...Danielle (neighbor girl) brought us over a Oak Tree Seedling so we will be planting that in the back yard soon! Yeah for a shade tree, it is so small right now we will probably have to stake it and keep the dogs away from it.....Shawn and I worked in the yard most of Saturday....I even got a tan.....just the way it goes down here.....So much for "Pale is the New Tan".....We are working on putting down weed stop netting in a few of our flower beds and then probably will get started on edging out part of our side yard and begin the process of making another pretty flower bed along the side of the house....we think this will add a bunch of curb appeal plus weeds seem to be the only thing that grows along our side of our house.....the backyard is still a work in progress too....we are edging it out too....along the entire fence to keep our neighbors grass from creeping into our yard...I hate it because we have two kinds of grass back there now because of it.....Oh well....We so love working in they yard.....and I can not wait for our green grass to come back, just need a few more days of hot sun and it will green up!

Joel came down on Saturday afternoon to stay the night, hang out and help Shawn with his baseball draft on Sunday....He brought with him a yummy new Vodka....Firefly Sweet Tea Flavored Vodka....You can drink on ice, or you can add a bit of water and enjoy w/ a Lemon Slice....OH MY WORD.....it is so dangerous....You have to like Sweet Tea (found at most restaurants all over the south) to like it but I must tell you it is YUMMY!!!......I only allowed myself one glass as I know I could have taken down the whole bottle.....Thanks again Joel for such a fun drink! Saturday night we did another BBQ with the neighbors.....we got started before the others but ate over with them....Makes for a super fun Saturday night.....Sharing food, fun, drinks and laughs....We ended up putting the kiddos to bed around 10pm or so and Uncle Joel for that matter (he goes to bed earlier these days!)....and headed back out for some adult conversation....I can not say enough how much I love our neighborhood, I am sure y'all are sick of me saying that!!! It is just fun to find neighbors with similar interests!.....

Sunday I was able to take a bike ride by myself....Shawn and I were going to go running since Joel was down but we got a late start and he had his Fantasy Baseball draft which lasted most of the day....So I biked about 5-6 miles around the hood....nothing crazy, I could have kept going but could feel my shoulders getting warm (I of course totally forgot sunblock)....but thankfully no burn just a tan....Other then that Sunday was pretty uneventful....we BBQed some dinner and said good by to Uncle Joel.....we were able to get our kiddos to bed at 8.00pm....trying to get them back on their usual schedule......

Shawn finishes up Jury duty today....he had to go back for sentencing today. They convicted they guy and will determine his fate today....it was a pretty nasty case so I am sure he will be in jail for a long time.....anyway hope everyone has a great week....I am looking forward to a few playdates and girls night in on Wed with my MOPS Discussion Group! Yay! Even better that it is at Sarah's house so I just have to cross the street! Love it!

Maybe we should start a B&B.....Totally Kidding....

Well we had a wonderful two weeks with my mother and Carol.....The girls absolutely loved having Grandma here and really soaked up their time with her.....They were very sad to see her go last night......Before they left we manage to have loads of fun!.....

Friday we headed up in the rain to the outlets in San Marcos.....I LOVE them....So many good deals I found an already discounted Coach Purse that I liked and got an extra 50% off of it....made it totally affordable....Plus they have every outlet store you can think of.....After shopping it was off to lunch in Austin. We went to Shady Grove, a great place to eat with good food. We even saw Thomas Haden Church eating while we were there.....My Mom and I actually had to move out of his way so he could walk by.....I was so oblivious that it was someone famous.....so funny! We spent the afternoon at Joel's new place, so cute! The girls were able to unwind and run around....Then it was off to Hoovers for dessert......SO good! The girls got chicken strips and the gravy it came with was simply amazing, probably not good for you but oh well....I see chicken fried steak or chicken in my future the next time we go there!!!!

We laid low over the weekend......Headed down to the market on Saturday morning and then to La Fogata for an early dinner and Margaritas (still one of my favorite places to grub on some Mexican Food)....we relaxed the rest of the day at our house with our neighbors....we love having them over!....Sunday Shawn and I went for a run, just the two of us, and then cleaned up and went shopping and to lunch....it was so nice to sneak in a date on a Sunday afternoon!.....

Here are a few pics from our last few day with Grandma.....

Austin & Market March 09

...and a video of Kiara "Doing her Serious Dancing"....She really FEELS the music!


So tonight G-Dad will be rolling into town.....he will be staying for a few days....We are excited to see him since it has been a little bit and it is so good for the kids to spend time with the grandparents.....plus it will be nice to have G-Dad here for the first few days of the NCAA Tourney.....

Riverwalk and out and about.....

So we have not been up to too much around here.....Monday we headed down to the Riverwalk for Lunch and a little bit of shopping.....we also headed over to La Villita, which is a pretty cool historic part of SA with lots of cute quirky shops and art galleries.....Carol got to see the "Little Church of La Villita".....which was something that she wanted to see since she knows someone that got married there.....


Yesterday Lila had her doctors appt at 9.30a.....but after waiting in the exam room until 11.15a and no doctor yet we got her dressed and headed out to reschedule, since the girls had a picture appointment at 12.00p.....Pictures went well and we ordered a bunch....as soon as I have the smiles by wire I will post the link for all to check out......As for Lila's 2 year appointment, I rescheduled it for this morning @ 8.30am......Our Dr actually called us back to the exam room and got us started, her nurses were running late, anyway she apologized for running extremely late the day before and did let me know that they are hiring another doctor so we will now have 3 doctors at our office.....so no more crazy late waiting......Lila's appt went well, she weighs 21.8lbs (3 Percentile), so we have to keep her on whole milk and start her on a good "high" fat diet.....she isn't too concerned but would like to see Lila put on some weight. Part of it is that Lila is SUPER active.....and she isn't the best eater.....some days she is really good and others she barely eats....so we have supplements for those days now....Her height was almost 34 inches (55 percentile).....so she is sort of tall and skinny......Our doctor did get a kick out of how much Lila talks.....She is talking at a 3 year old level, already putting together complete sentences....blew the doctor away.....I know it has a lot to do with her big sisters.....So not sure if many of you know but Lila sort of walks with a limp so I had the doctor take a closer look and she ended up referring us to an orthopedic clinic that only works with children......So I will be calling to make and appointment....and see where that goes......All in all she is totally healthy and happy!!!!

Tonight we ended out night with a good dinner at the Original Alamo Cafe on Hwy 281.....I swear they have the best homemade tortillas.....Warm and soooo good! We all had a great dinner, this was my first time at this location and it was pretty cool as they have the crazy sky ceiling that tries to get you to feel like you are outside.....The girls LOVED it!

Lila's 2nd Birthday and Neighborhood fun.......

Wow, we have been having a lot of fun around here. We have been enjoying the company of my mom and Carol. On Friday we celebrated Lila's 2nd Birthday.....She had picked Tinkerbell for her theme.....She LOVES "Bee-er-Bell"......So cute. She also picked Cupcakes for her "Cake" and for dinner we snacked on Capt N Crunch Chicken Tenders and a TON of Fruit....We kept her party small this year and had just us and the Garcia's at the party.....Lila loves Miss Heather (one of our awesome neighbors)!.....Lila enjoyed getting totally spoiled by all her family and friends.....Lots of adorable clothes, Mariners Princess Hat, wooden birthday cake kit (SHE LOVED IT & I love Melissa & Doug products! Thanks Kieren!), 4-5 Awesome Kid Books (8 Silly Monkeys is a new house favorite), Princess Mega Blocks, Tinkerbell Doll, a Ballerina Dance w/Me doll, and a Mini Baby Grand Piano! I am sure I am forgetting some stuff, oh yeah she is getting The TAG Junior by Leapfrog, but it doesn't come out until May.....She loves all her gifts and it well on her way to becoming a musician! On a side note she has been peeing and pooping in the potty pretty regularly now....she is in pull-ups and does it all pretty much herself, it has pretty much been all her....(I haven't started "Potty Training" yet)....So she may be easy...Here is an over kill of pictures....We had 3 cameras going so I went a little overboard!

Lila's 2nd Birthday

Here is a cute video of Lila learning to dance with her new Dolly from Uncle Joel! (sorry it is a little blurry but you get the idea)


Saturday we were out and about shopping with the kiddos and just having a relaxing day. We BBQ'ed with a bunch of the neighbors and celebrated Carol's Birthday. As with most parties we had SOOOO much yummy food and Margaritas were flowing.....we could have fed an army of people.....So much fun! I of course couldn't resist making more Red Velvet Cake Ball and Oreo Truffles......So Tasty!....I can not say it enough, we have the best neighborhood and the coolest neighbors around! We were up late too....I think the Lila fell asleep in my arms outside around 11 or so.....and then twins stayed past midnight.....I was so happy that mom and Carol got to experience what we get to most weekends! Of course we slept in pretty late today thanks to day light savings and springing forward......But the later sunlight will be nice!

BBQ & Carol's B-Day......

The bunk is up and so much more....

I have been having a hard time getting to posts....I suppose between work, email and facebook, I just have nothing left when it comes time to blog.....I must catch you all up.....for those that didn't know Grandma Paula and Carol arrived on Tuesday night....We are so happy to have them here again and still can not believe it has been a year since we last saw them. The girls love having Grandma and Carol here and today they treated the girls to a mini clothing shopping spree, each girl getting 3-4 outfits.....so spoiled I must say! And when we got home I think Kiara and MJ switched clothes at least 3 times.....So funny! We do not have too much planned while grandma is in town....but I will do better about posting while she is down here.....

The twins bunk beds finally arrived today. Shawn and I put them together with out too much trouble....Lila was the real trouble because all she wanted to do was help.....So funny....The girls finally picked out some bedding and now that we have the beds up and the new bedding we will finally be able to finish painting their room (it is just TOO white right now).....I must say they love their new beds.....and I will post some pics to prove it! TOO CUTE!

Twins Bunk Beds

Well tomorrow will be a down day as I have a ton of baking to do for Lila's Birthday tomorrow and Carol's Birthday on Saturday.....I can not believe Miss Lila will be two....so crazy....

Whirl Wind of a Week........

Well it has been a bit since my last post....I am trying to remember all that has been going on.....Shawn left on Monday for a Sales Meeting in Vegas....he was gone from Mon-Wed Night...while he was gone the girls and I just had fun hanging out and cooking food daddy doesn't like!

Uncle Joel came down from Austin on Tuesday night so that I could get up at 2am and get in line to sign the twins up for Preschool.....and yes I said 2am....I got there around 1.45am and 20 people were ahead of me.....it was a pretty crazy experience and I know that most preschools down here you do not have to get up in the middle of the night, but the program we chose is a wonderful program and very affordable...that combo is cause for early lines....plus I was looking for a 2 day a week program that are 1/2 days.....most of the 2 day a week programs down here I found were full day.....and pretty expensive......But I am happy to report that getting in line at 2 am paid off and the twins will be attending!! The two girls behind me in line took the last two spots for 4 year old....so I am super happy that Uncle Joel could be here for the kiddos....since I was gone from 1.30am to 8.45am......The good news is that next Feb I will not have to stand in line for Lila (we are going to start her at 3) since the twins will already be enrolled!......Yeah....

Shawn got home Wed night.....just in time for my B-Day on Thursday....yes another has already passed....the dreaded 32.....Ugh, I feel so old.....My b-day was awesome....the girls and I made little tastes instead of a big cake this year.....I loved it, we had Red Velvet Cake Balls coated in DARK chocolate, Oreo Truffles dipped in White Chocolate and Madeline Cookies dipped in Dark Chocolate....it was so fun to have a variety! I got wonderful gifts for my b-day, beautiful flowers delivered, a fabulous pedicure (thanks Heather & Carlos!), an electronic meat thermometer (I Love it, thanks J & A!)...One of my favorite movies 'Love Actually'.....and a new bike/helmet....which I picked out today....(Thanks MOM!!)......I love it! I have to admit it was a bit strange riding today, but after a few minutes it was like being 5 years old again! Ahhh I love riding! I beats me trying to run to keep up with Kiara these days!

So we have a sick household right now.....Kiara has been waking up the past few nights 7-8 times a night (totally out of character)....she finally told me Friday night that her ear hurt....so Saturday morning her and I headed out to urgent care....turns out she has her 1st ear infection....and it is a bad one.....both ears I guess.....so she is now on antibiotics for the first time....but today she seemed much better......hopefully tonight she will sleep all night....Lila and Mikiah have picked up colds to go with Kiara's ear infection.....lets just say last night Shawn ended up in the guest bed with MJ and Lila, Kiara and I slept in my bed.....ahhh, the wonderful things we do to comfort our kiddos!.....Everyone seems a bit better, but Lila has picked up a super nasty cough.....so we will be watching that.....UGH, poor girl!.......

So here are some pics over the last week or soo......enjoy!

Feb 2009

Love our Valentine's Day Tradition.....

Ahhh, so Happy Valentine's Day! Hope everybody had a great one.....We have had a great weekend so far.....today we got up and headed out to go see Danielle's volleyball game....she is almost 10 and lives across the street from us. The girls just adore her and follow her around and are pretty much glued to her when they see her.....I always have to remind the girls to give Danielle some personal space....Anyway, the girls LOVED watching her play volleyball....you know me planting the seed early, Volleyball was probably my favorite sport to play growing up so I really hope one of the twins pick it up.....After volleyball we played at the park at the elementary where the V-ball games were...so fun just running around playing and swinging with the girls and the neighbors....

Then it was off to lunch, I swear haven't cooked all weekend...which means we ate out lunch....MJ picked Chick-Fil-A.....It is her favorite place....and I have to admit the food is good for fast food....after lunch we relaxed around the house for a bit and then headed out through the neighborhood to drop off Valentine's Cookies to some of our neighbors....it was so fun, the girls loved ringing the doorbells and wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day......they were so proud of the cookies they made yesterday with Tim and Danielle (our neighbors kiddos)....Sugar Cookies of course, cut out in heart shape with icing and v-tines day colored sprinkles....The girls also received cookies today from Naomi (another neighbor kiddo) and they all got a single flower from Chance (another neighbor).....he was so cute when he rang the door bell and delivered the girls their flowers....Just Too Cute! After the flower delivery MJ crashed out on the couch and Lila fell asleep standing up and leaning on me.....I didn't know she was sleeping until she leaned back and fell on a pillow....Here is a few shots of that....

So as most of you know our usual V-Tines day tradition is for Shawn to take his "Ladies" out for burgers....we had been looking around at a few places and hadn't decided on a place....then Heather (Danielle's mom) caught me on-line on Facebook and said that they were going to try some new gourmet burger place and wanted to know if we wanted to join them.....(they too liked the idea of heading out to burgers on V-tines day)....anyway....we said we would love to join them....So we all went out together to Gourmet Burger Grill......My word my burger was soooo good and the onion rings were probably some of the best I have ever had.....Every ones food looked and tasted so great...This place is a winner in my book and I know we will be back....Shoot kids eat free on Wednesday (ALL DAY)...plus there are so many tasty items left to try on their menu and not to mention their specials....So great!.....It was so fun going out as a group with Heather & Carlos and kiddos....we had such a good time, it was hard to leave the restaurant......we really love our neighbors....they are so fun and I believe we have many more Friday Night Driveway Happy Hours ahead of ourselves with them and all of Woodthorn North (our part of the 'hood)...........

I think she will train herself.....

Sunday, Lunchtime @ our kitchen table....

Lila: Mommy I go potty.
Me: Oh, you went potty?
Lila: Mommy I go potty.
Me: Ok, lets go change your diaper.
Lila: NO Mommy, I go potty.
Me: Oh, you want to go potty.
Lila: Yes Mommy (as she is pushing her chair back and getting down from the table)

So we go to her potty chair, I have had it out but just so she can get use to sitting on it when she wants (she has gone in it about 3 times total)....anyway......So I take her diaper of (it is totally dry)....she sits down and asks for toilet paper.....and I leave the bathroom.....about a minute or so later she comes out carrying the bowl part of her potty chair..."See Mommy, I go potty".....and sure enough there was potty in there.....so I dump it out and clean it up and put it back in her potty chair.....I ask her "Lila are you all done?"........"NO mommy, I not done!!"......Ok, so I leave again.....she comes and finds me in the kitchen about 3-4min later, carrying the bowl once again....."Mommy look, poo-poo!'.....Oh my word, she seriously carried the bowl with a small amount of poop in it to show me...........It was pretty cute and she was soooo proud of herself....she had it written all over her face......of course no pressure from me, I learned that the hard way with the twins.....anyway just had to share....

Superbowl Fun....

Ah, so another weekend as gone and passed. I can not believe it is already February??? Seriously, where does the time go.....We have just been doing the usual.....I did finally get our taxes done....we had been waiting for Shawn's W2 which of course came on the last day of Jan...Typical I suppose.....I am looking forward to getting our return so we can FINALLY get the girls their bunk beds and bedding......Yep, bunk beds, the cool thing is they look the same when they are separated so if they do not like them bunked then they can have matching beds....I think the beds and new tires for the Suburban (well we had a buy a new tire last week, Shawn ran over a screw, so we only need to buy 3 more) will be our only splurges this tax season, if you could call it that.....the rest of the money will go towards bills and the usual........Since I am only working 7 hours (instead of 80) in March due to budget cuts at WSU....but that will be nice since my mom will be here from March 3rd-17th!....Yeah for Grandma!

This past weekend we had a little Superbowl get together. We got to meet Uncle Joel's lady friend, Jessica. She is awesome and so fun. The girls pretty much smothered her the whole time she was here!.....Dragging her up to the playroom and then back downstairs......it was pretty cute....I would say she passed the girls tests! ;) We also got to meet his friend Edge, super cool guy! "Light Up Carlos" as the girls call him, came over too for the big game.....the rest of his family was sick....Poor guys....Hopefully they are all feeling better today! On a high note for Carlos he did win the Harper Texas Superbowl II....nothing like taking home $50 cold, hard, cash!...

Superbowl was fun, the game was good....and boy did we have a spread of food....Veggies & Ranch, Fruit Kabobs with Fluff Dip, Wings, Capt n Crunch Chicken, Jalapeno Sliders, Homemade Black Bean dip, Jalapeno Crab Dip, Fruit Salad, Salami+Cheese+Crackers, Choc Chip Cookie Cake, M&M Cookie Bars, and Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Brownies (1st time I have made homemade brownies, SOOO GOOD!)......I am sure I am forgetting something....oh well....It was good....I think I ate WAY to much! Good thing I made it to the gym this morning and also took a jog around the 'hood with the girls.....Cause we have tons of leftovers that are calling my name!.....I might even have to do a bedtime jog!

Hope everyone is doing well and also had good weekends and all has a great week ahead ! I will leave you with a pic of MJ.....

This is what happens when you play hard....You literally fall asleep where you are playing!