My Mom, Dad, and sister Natasha came out for a visit. It was wonderful to have them here. Frank and I were able to go on our first date in a year. We drove up to Raleigh and ate at P.F. Chang which was soo tasty. On Saturday We drove to Wilmington, NC and went to the aquarium and then the beach. The water was a good temperature so we all got wet helping the kids from getting knocked over in the waves. Then the boys built a sandcastle, and by boys I mean even the big boys.

Monday we embarked on a crazy journey of trying to fix all the projects my house needed. My parents and sister worked their tails off because they are super nice and since my husband and I are seriously deficient in the fix-it gene. We got it all done with just enough time for them to crash into bed to wake up at the crack of dawn to catch their plane home...... to go work on the projects in their own homes. I hope they all know how much I appreciate their visit and as Frank puts it, their slave labor.

Here's a few pictures of our Day trip to Wilmington...... and by the way it really does take 5 adults to watch 4 kids at the beach.

Happy Birthday

Joseph turned 5 today. He is such a joy to have, very sensitive and loving. He got his skittles from his grandma today and ate a few and then passed them on. I saw Derek chowing down on them and told Derek he needed to save them for Joseph. Joseph calmly said, "Mom, I already had some." So we all ate Joseph's birthday candy as a family. Derek helped him open his presents and blow out his candles. I guess I can see why so many people ask me if they are twins; they don't look that much alike but they are the very best of friends.

A month ago we went up to Frank's brother's house. While there visiting cousins, Joseph fell in love with a toy I very briefly saw. The whole trip home, Joseph talked about wanting a dinosaur castle for his birthday (whatever that is). I ignored it for the most part until a week later I was looking at bikes on the internet for his b-day. I didn't click off the pages fast enough and so Joseph asked me why I was looking at bikes. Not one for surprises I said for his birthday. In dismay he dejectedly said, "Mom, I don't want a bike for my birthday. I want a dinosaur castle." Needless to say, I called Jennie up on the phone and asked her about the toy. Of course stores don't sell it anymore, but thankfully there's always e-bay. Joseph got his dinosaur castle and is super happy about it.

Lorelei is a terror. I looked away for 2 minutes and she had done this to Joseph's cake. I yelled and then laughed and laughed some more.






Here's what we turned it into (a dinosaur castle birthday cake)

Joseph by the peas.


When you're too lazy to wash dinner plates--------------- use Tupperware lids!!!




What's better than sucking your thumb? how about sucking all your fingers!

my garden

push ups

Call me crazy, but I've decided I need some kind of program to help me get more fit. I can't run. If I run I feel like I'm dying. I'd rather be completely unfit and huge fat than run, so.. I've been attempting walks with the kids and it just isn't regular. The weather changes and blah blah. So this is what I'm starting

http://hundredpushups.com/

I have done my initial test and will be starting week 1 shortly.

New Pacifiers

I bought Lorelei some much needed new pacifiers at walmart the other day. She was so excited when she saw the package. When we opened it she was jumping up and down. Then she noticed there were two in the package. What a lucky girl!! She would put one in her mouth while holding the other and then would switch the two. I'm guessing that wasn't as satisfying as she wanted so I walked in on this:

Chew Toy Anyone?

In case you couldn't tell, Christian is definitely teething.

Lorelei

I have an incredibly independent 1 year old. She doesn't ever ask me for food - she just goes and finds some. First she checks the floor to see if I haven't cleaned up what she dropped from breakfast or lunch. Then she climbs onto the table to see if Joseph didn't eat his crust again. If I've managed to clean everything up she just finds something. Like in two of these pictures, she just opened the raw oats and started eating them. Yesterday somehow she managed to get a tortilla out of the fridge and eat that. She also has begun climbing in ernest- as shown in the other two pictures. (in the time it's taken me to type this, I have had to save Christian three times. two times lorelei put his blanket on his head and sat on him, once she was stuffing a plastic candy wrapper in his mouth. Also she got out the dishwasher soap and was carrying that somewhere.............. and right now she's playing in the DVDs. )

Washing Woes

My washing machine has been dying a slow death. We bought a brand new washer/dryer set 3 1/2 years ago that cost way too much money (top loader). I didn't know you were supposed to make sure you used the different settings until it was too late. After a year of constant regular washing I find the permanent press cycle didn't work. Since I hadn't been using it, I wasn't too concerned. Then we move and my washer gets a little more temperamental. Then we move again and I find it won't advance from stage to stage within a cycle (ie.. agitating to rinsing to spinning). I had to manually move it or it would keep repeating the one it was on. I dealt with that for a month and now my washer won't fill up with water. The water comes out, but then it constantly drains.

To say that Frank and I aren't handy people is a really big understatement. We are the people who didn't own a hammer for the first 3 years of our marriage. Frank used to hang my pictures up by hitting the nails into the wall with his shoe. Finally after 5 1/2 years of being together we own two dollar store screwdrivers and one hammer. So for us to fix anything, is well, a big joke.
So we needed a new washer. I found this washer on slickdeals . So I'm getting a front loading 3.5 capacity washer for under 500 total (including delivery)! I'm soo excited... Except it's not coming until the 15th. I don't think we can wait that long to do laundry so unfortunately I have to go to the Laundromat.

Thankful for PBS kids