Scoops

Rachel wanted to help me clean my bathroom today (I promise it was her idea!). She helped me clean my mirror and then helped me sweep the floor. While we were cleaning, she decided she wanted some ice cream in a cone. I told her I thought that was a great idea and well-deserved since she had worked so hard. I remember one of my friends telling me about a new ice cream place in Watkinsville, called Scoops. So, we went. The place was so adorable. It was painted in beautifully bright colors and had way more than just ice cream. It had chocolate covered pretzels and assorted fudges. It also had a huge pastry and coffee section, plus about 100 different kinds of hard candies, gumballs, chewy candies and caramel covered apples. I have to admit that I was just as excited as Rachel and Bradley! I could have picked out a dozen chocolate items in the case, but we all decided to just get ice cream. Rachel immediately zeroed in on the rainbow-colored, vanilla flavored, "Superman II" ice cream. She liked the look of it and decided on a cake cone. Bradley sampled hers and decided he wanted that too. We ordered him a cup of ice cream, which he wanted nothing to do with. He wanted a cone like his sister. The ice cream lady was nice enough to give us a cone and we scooped a spoonful of the Superman ice cream into Bradley's cone. He was immediately satisfied and squealed with delight. That was probably the messiest ice cream I've ever seen. Both kids turned blue, red and yellow all over their faces and chins. And Bradley eventually had it all up and down his arm and on his shirt and pants since he had decided to bite the side of his cone. But, we were all happy and enjoying the simple pleasure of ice cream. It's amazing how something so simple can make us happy! (Too bad I like it so much!) Anyway, it was a very fun visit to Scoops and I'm sure we'll go back soon. (Rachel asked if we could go there "everyday when we wake up.") We probably won't go that much!

The best hubby

It's funny how I can manage our household relatively well while Nick's at work. I don't mind doing the cooking, cleaning, laundry and keeping the kid's happy while Nick's gone. But, it never fails that as soon as he gets home, I am so thankful he's there to help. It's weird how a sense of relief washes over me and I just feel like I'm not doing it alone anymore. (Not that I ever was, but he offers me so much support!) And, on the off chance that he's not home in the evening to help, I handle everything fine (for the most part). But, if he IS home, I expect him to help and I really need him. I guess that's just the way 2-parent families work. There are times when one of us carries the "load" (whatever the "load" may be) and there are times when we relish in the help our mate brings to the picture. Of course, I'm always glad to see Nick because I love him and truly want to talk to him and miss him while he's gone. And, the kids are so excited to see daddy because he's so much fun! Rachel misses daddy immensely while he's at work. If he ever has to leave for work in the morning before Rachel wakes up, she's very distraught that she didn't get to hug and kiss him. We usually end up calling daddy to tell him hey and that we're disappointed that Rachel didn't get to see him. Rachel is very much a daddy's girl; she thinks he's the greatest and can do and fix anything. We're so thankful to have the best daddy (and hubby)!

Picture Day

Well, today was picture day for my kids. We've been using the same lady since Rachel was a tot and we love her. She's excellent with kids and works extra hard to get them comfortable and to get the best shot. We've always been so pleased with her work and I can't wait to get my CD next week with all my pics on it. I picked out 2 spring-y outfits for the kids to wear and was so excited about getting pictures made. However, Bradley wasn't into the picture session whatsoever. He was interested enough at first, but then decided he would much rather be attached to me (hip, leg, arm, etc...) than by himself or next to Rachel. We tried about a million different things, even including Bay and an Easter egg (filled with jellybeans) in the pictures. The only decent ones of him included Bay. Of course, I really don't care. I was willing to add anything to the picture in order to get a smile or a pleasant expression rather than a frown or a tear. We walked all over the photographer's farm and did some outdoor pics and some in her studio. She took about 100 pictures and I'm guessing 10-15 were of Bradley. But, the ones she got were excellent when she showed me what she captured. And, we got some beautiful ones of Rachel. She was such a trooper as usual! She did exactly what she was supposed to do for each picture and tried her hardest to distract and/or get Bradley to smile. She was also good about standing next to whatever perch we were trying to get Bradley to sit on for as long as we requested. What an angel! She really is the best big sister and I hope Bradley appreciates how good she is to him one day. The photographer offered to re-schedule if I wasn't happy with how few we had gotten of Bradley, but I told her I was pleased with what we did get. I know his disinterest in the photo session is totally reflective of his age. He doesn't want to do anything that isn't 'his' idea. And, most of the time when he was upset, he wasn't crying hysterically, he was mostly angry that he wasn't getting his way. Anyway, the photographer was extremely patient and understanding and still got some really good shots! I can't wait to see them all!

2 Little Monkeys

I think my kids are monkeys! They would rather scale, jump or hang on any object rather than using it for it's intended purpose. At home, it's chairs and tables that they constantly turn on their sides and climb up and slide down. They'd rather stand in their kid-size rocking chairs than sit in them. They'd rather slide down the backs of their comfy kid-size lounge chairs than lounge in them. Even when we go to a park, they'd rather climb UP the slides than slide down them the right way. Rachel likes to swing from bars and slide down the pole and run everywhere as fast as she can! They have so much fun being little monkeys and at least it's good exercise! Today we went to a local playground and had the place to ourselves. It wasn't raining, but it was quite chilly with the wind whipping around and the sun hiding behind the clouds. But, we played for about 45 minutes and had a blast!

Puzzled

Bradley has taken a sudden interest in puzzles. It seems like, at 20 months, he's too young to understand how to do puzzles, but he gets it. Rachel's been a puzzle lover for so long now, and I guess Bradley has learned from watching his big sis. Today, Bradley found his fishing pole puzzle which is just puzzle pieces of fish with little magnets on their back and a little stick with a string and a magnet on the end. Anyway, Bradley loved "fishing" for puzzle pieces with this magnet stick/rod. He was so patient as he steadily held the pole over the different little fish. I was very impressed with his hand/eye coordination. Of course, I think it's a sign of brilliance that he was doing this at his age. And, he did have trouble putting the right fish into the right spots, but he tried. It sure was cute watching him concentrate so hard.

JuJu turns 4!!

Waiting to eat yummy pizza!!!

Playing pin the sticker on the pony

Trying out JuJu's new swingset

JuJu's swinging hard!

Bradley trying out JuJu's new slide

It's hard to believe that the girls are growing up. This weekend, we went to JuJu's 4th birthday party. It was a great party, but the trip down wasn't that great! It turns out that this coming week is the BIGGEST week for Spring Break! There was an unusually high number of cars on I-75 from up North. I couldn't believe how many cars there were from Michigan heading south to the beach. The weather was very yucky...constant rain that makes traveling dangerous and miserable. When we reached Perry, GA, we decided to take some alternate side routes to get out of the congested I-75. That definitely sped things up and we made it to Julia's party in plenty of time. Both kids traveled exceptionally well...very little fussing or complaining and they watched a steady stream of DVD's. Anyway, we checked into the hotel and then got to Julia's party and had so much fun. Julia invited us, both sets of grandparents and her best friend from school, Bella. So, it was a very intimate crowd of her very favorite people and Rachel, Julia and Bella had a blast running around giggling and playing. Juju's party theme was My Little Pony, so Wendy and Matt had cute pony decorations, balloons and an adorable cake! The girls even played stick the flower on the pony (blindfolded). It's the pony version of Pin the tail on the donkey. Bradley enjoyed the party too. He loved playing with all Juju's toys and running around their house.

Our hotel experience went fairly smoothly. Bradley had a little trouble falling asleep. It took him about 15 minutes to quit trying to get off the bed. He finally gave up and fell asleep on my arm. The poor baby was exhausted...he hadn't slept a single minute the entire way down to Bainbridge. After we got dressed and ate, we headed back to Wendy and Matt's house for more playtime and fun. JuJu had gotten a great swingset for her birthday and we hadn't been able to play on it yet since it was raining the day of her party. Rachel and Bradley LOVED her new swingset. We played on that while Nick and Pop went to get some lunch. We left shortly after lunch and had a rain-free, uneventful drive home.

What a wonderful, fun-filled weekend!