Happy Wednesday

So - how do you like my new lay-out!? My friend has been changing the background on her blog a lot lately which inspired me to change my own, and I’m amazed that I managed to do it! I am not a computer genius you see, but luckily the webpage where I got my new background gave me very easy steps to follow in order to upload this new background on my page! I don’t know if ‘upload’ is even the right word, but oh well... haha. I think it’s fun to have a fresh new look for this page of mine!

So anyway, here is the latest in our world… Chris’ parents and Alex planned to attend the local Memorial Day parade on Monday morning and they wanted the girls to go, so I told them we’d play it by ear and possibly go… as it meant I would have to take the girls alone, since Chris’ major bathroom remodeling project was going to take him ALL day on Monday. So after sleeping in till 8 a.m. (WOW!!! The last time I did that was before 2 kids I do believe!!) somehow I managed to get myself, Chloe & Maya together by 9 a.m. so we could make it to the parade which started at 9:30. I am amazed we pulled this off… especially since it was just me loading up both kids, finding a parking place, unloading the massive double stroller out of the van, and then finding Chris’ parents and Alex at our designated ‘spot’ on the curb in front of the municipal building… Now mind you I arrived with crazy looking & curly wet hair, from taking a shower right before running out the door, so I was probably quite a sight to behold, but we made it! haha. And I’m glad we did.. the girls loved it… Chloe was perched atop “Uncle’s” shoulders the whole time and Grandma held Maya most of the time and they had fun. The people in the parade threw LOTS of candy this year, and Grandma had even come prepared with a brown lunch bag decorated with Chloe’s name on it for her to collect her treats in! Chloe gathered a lot of candy with the help of her 13 year old uncle. :) Then we came home and Chris was going to town ripping out our old shower walls & tub and it was a HUGE mess and a noisy & stressful project, so we dropped off our candy and then walked down to my Grandma’s to stay out of the way for a bit. After lunch & a nap, we awoke contemplating attending Chris’ cousins’ graduation party, but this also meant another adventure for me, alone with the girls… And I wasn’t so sure I was up for it… I’d had a rough time taking care of them 1/2 the day, even though we had a good time at the parade, lunch time and putting them down for naps did not go well.. But, wanting to get out of the house (as well as eat free food:) - I packed up the girls and we were off on another adventure. Of course my in-law’s were there and lots of other family, so I had plenty of help with the girls when we got there, but Maya didn’t want anyone but me, of course, and it was like 80 degrees out and not a fun day to have a clingy 1 year old! We were both sweating to death! But eventually she warmed up to Grandma as she drank a bottle of milk, which calmed her down. I enjoyed a huge array of delicious food and made up Chris a huge plateful of food to take home with me, which he greatly enjoyed later. I was glad we went.. Chloe always loves playing with a ‘new’ selection of toys as well as with the little girls who just adore her and follow her all over the place. When we arrive, one of the little girls will say to the other “Chloe’s here! Chloe’s here!” hehe.

Anyway, by about 7:00 that evening, we finally had a tub and shower again.. (my poor overworked husband!) And it had been such a sweaty and summer-like day that we ALL enjoyed taking a shower or bath that night! Chloe was not so sure at first, but I think she has grown to like the new tub. haha.

On Tuesday we were going to have a play-date with some new friends, a girl in the book study who goes to my sister’s church, has 2 little boys who are very close in age to Chloe & Maya, so we planned a play-date at our house, only to have it be cancelled at the last minute because they all came down with a cold and of course didn’t want to infect us! She did invite me to a Mom’s Group, though, which will meet at her house next Tuesday morning and I would be able to take the girls with me even… but it’s a half hour away and starts at 9:30 so we’d really have to rush to get everyone together in the morning, like we did for the parade on Monday! So I don’t know if we’ll go… we’ll see…

So since our Tuesday morning plans went out the window, instead I packed up the girls & we returned something to Babies ‘R Us and got $23 back and shopped just long enough to find some cute tennis shoes on clearance for $3.40, so even though we have little kid shoes galore at our house :) I bought a pair for each girl. Kids’ shoes get dirty so quickly and they come in such bright colors like pink, purple and blue that it’s fun to have shoes to match various outfits. haha. I’m telling you, these girls have more shoes than I do, which I realize is a bit crazy, but I don’t care. P.S. Maya is now wearing a size 5 and Chloe is in a size 6, on the border line of a 7. Yes, my kids are going to have big feet like their Mommy & Daddy it seems. Sorry, girls! (Chris is a size 13 and I’m 9 or 9 1/2!) After our quick shopping trip, we drove down to my Mom’s since we had so much fun there last Tuesday and this time we made macaroni and cheese and cheesy biscuits for lunch - what a treat! It was fun and again, Maya fell asleep on the way home… It is so nice to be brave enough to take the girls places by myself - I feel like I have so much more freedom and I’m amazed it doesn’t stress me out as much as it used to. :) It’s a good thing.

Anyway, that leads us up to Wednesday, today… I am enjoying not being surrounded by cranky, whiny kids today by being at work. :) Since Chris has been doing this silly bathroom project, I really feel like I’ve been “going it alone” lately at home and it’s just plain tiring taking care of the kids by myself. We have yet to figure out why Maya is SO cranky all the time… we’ve made the comment a few times it seems she’s entered the “terrible 2’s” a year too early!! UGH. She is just a handful… and just making messes and getting into things she shouldn’t be, constantly!! Say a prayer for us. :)

Anyway, I feel like I have written a novel so I should probably end it here… Have a good rest of the week!