If you want to see some of the pictures I took for Pam's 50th Birthday party, stop over at Cristie's blog and tell her hello while you're there!

Today I've got some pictures from the kids' tumbling class we're taking at the gym. They have one more week left so I finally brought my camera in hopes to get some pictures. I just couldn't do it. Between trying to keep an eye on both kids it was impossible to look through a lens. So I gave up after only 5 minutes and very few shots. Thankfully I got a few of them.

They setup the gym differently every time we go. This time there was a balance beam that had one side lifted up to a mat so they had to balance while walking up it. Max became a pro at that!

Then there was the small mat course they made to get the kids working on their balance while going up and down. Rory had a lot of fun playing on that one.

And of course, the tube was out. They always have the tube out and Max and Rory have grown a bit bored with it but they were excited to go through it so Mommy could take a picture!

I've been debating what I want to sign the kids up for when the summer sessions start. They seem to really enjoy tumbling but swim lessons could be a lot of fun too. And I don't want to over schedule us either. Decisions, decisions!

As if Saturday wasn't busy enough, we made sure to make Sunday just as fun!

YoYo Gayle (Yoyo is pronounced "chu-chee" which is Ukranian for aunt) treated the kids, myself, Katie, Lyla and Rosie to a fun day at the Mall of America! We started out with lunch at The Rainforest Cafe where the kids had a lot of fun watching the snake and alligator move around!

We then went to The Aquarium to see all the sea life they have under the mall. It was pretty amazing how much is under there and it was really nice that they added so many more splash pools for the kids to get to touch the sea life.

Shortly after that the kids started showing their lack of sleep and we headed to Grammy and Dido's to squeeze in naps before Uncle Cecil's 21st birthday party. Don't worry, he let his nieces help him blow out the candle, what a nice uncle.

It was a very fun weekend!

Saturday was a busy day.

We drove tractors.

We played on hay bales.

We helped the boys prepare a tractor to be transported.

We supervised as the tractor was loaded onto the trailer. (Mommy may have helped too, hence missing the pictures off it being pushed.)

And we got dirty, really really dirty.

After all that we brushed off and headed to Pam's 50th Birthday celebration where we ate smores and candy and stayed out way past our bedtimes by the bonfire. It was a perfect spring day!

It's been beautiful outside these last couple of days and with this warm weather the snow has melted and the mud has disappeared almost completely. 

Do you hear me? My life is finally not being consumed by thoughts of mud! This is awesome.

So I bought the kids some paints... 

The intent was to have them paint outside where they could be messy and I wouldn't care. But then Max walked across the street unaccompanied by any adults and got grounded. And we were stuck indoors until Daddy got home. And the paints were sitting there calling to us, begging the kids to play with them.

I did cringe quite a bit while watching them mix the colors together. I mean, everyone knows you can't mix the colors up! So I focused my camera on the paints and convinced myself it was art, and it actually was pretty in the lens.

The paints are now safely tucked away for another day, outside, where they can be as messy as their hearts desire.

Today we're going to focus on Rory. Max has been driving me crazy with his desire to help himself to whatever he wants without asking first, CROSSING THE STREET UNANNOUNCED, putting various products in his hair (yes, it has happened again) and other various naughty 3 year old boy things that quite frankly may give me my first gray hairs.

So Rory, my sweet little baby that still listens to me and needs my help to get things; yes, I'm liking this. First, since I left you with a cliffhanger yesterday, I took her in to the doctor and she did develop an infection. Basically all the pooping has eaten up the healthy bacteria which lead to her getting a yeast infection. (Sorry future, older Rory, you are less then 2 so don't be too embarrassed.) Since it's more then likely this will be an issue for at least a couple weeks if not longer, and it was a pretty bad infection, Rory's going to be quite medicated/protected. Just look at all the stuff on her bed now to help combat this!

The worst is the nighttime routine. We have an oral prescription to give her before bed. Then we change her diaper and put on an over the counter fungal cream followed by the prescription butt cream; pour in a good amount of corn starch and close up the diaper. Then we spot check for any eczema patches and apply Cortisone before smothering her body in Aquaphor. Every diaper change we do the diaper routine and apply Aquaphor to her eczema patches. Seriously, did I not mention that I came home to reality after that wonderful weekend away?! The good news is she's looking a lot better, hopefully it continues to help heal her poor skin.

But I didn't want to focus on Rory to complain. I mean look at this girl! Her hair is getting longer although you'd never know because as it's been warming up? Her hair has been curling up. Seriously, it is out of control every morning. Say hello to our bed head!

She's also been amazing us with her new desire to be a big kid! The other day Dusty walked in the back yard to catch Rory on the second to the top ladder rung on the play set. By the time he got to her she was already up and getting ready to go down the slide. We never even thought she was big enough to climb it on her own and next thing you know she's got herself down the slide all by herself! Which, by the way, is her second favorite activity next to swinging. Look at how happy she is!

She's also growing leaps and bounds with her vocabulary. She's amazed both pediatricians we've seen this week with her phrases such as "Where Maxwell go-go?" and "Thank you Mommy!" My new favorite game to play with her is to ask what her brother's name is. Sometimes she'll say "Mac", sometimes she'll say "brother", but my all time favorite is when she says "Buddee". Seriously? How freaking adorable is that?!

I returned home from an amazing weekend and came crashing back into reality. First off it appears that Rory has developed the toddler poops. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this malady visit my older post on when Max had them. It's really unpleasant and we've had a lot of screaming and crying with the pain that comes from diaper changes and lots of laundry to wash as it's also quite messy.

Our pediatrician called in a prescription butt paste for her that we started using yesterday. When we got this for Max it worked wonders by the first diaper change! Rory's behind looks almost as bad as it did before the medicine. So either she's got another infection or she's allergic to the butt paste. We'll be heading in to see a pediatrician today to have it checked out and hopefully solve this mystery.

While on the phone with our doctor's office to get the prescription yesterday Max disappeared. By the time I found him it was way, way too late. Say hello to my little boy and his new hair style.

Yup, pretty sure he put Rory's Aquaphor all over his head. You know, the super thick substance we use to prevent eczema on her? Well, it's now a hair gel for Max until it finally washes out.

I mean three washes, one with Dawn dish soap, and it hasn't budged. I give up. It's a new look because I'm not going to go batty over this. Thankfully it seems to have worn out quite a bit between last night to today. So maybe, hopefully, it will just disappear on its own.

Dusty and I got away this weekend and it was amazing! First, it was so nice to get to hang out with Andrea and Jesica. (Don't mind my four chins.)

We had a great time entertaining each other with stories about our children, our husbands, and our crazy lives. The three of us have never hung out all together as a group and after this weekend I have no idea why. They were so much fun and we all really hit it off well together! Of course, they had to worry about their men as they barreled through the air on their snowmobiles, trying not to crash and be the first one to the top.

My man? Well he was a bit safer and a lot more dirtier as he was in charge of making sure the sleds were running right and he was always quick to fix any problems that occurred. That was fine with me, its quite impressive to watch him work.

It was also really nice to get to spend some time with just Dusty and have fun with our friends. He was so great about taking one nice picture with me. He really loves when I whip out the camera...

Oh, and we found the kid's trophies! So I am now a proud owner of a kid's Midwest Snowmobile Racing Association trophy.

Obviously I didn't really steal it, I just took a nice picture and put it back safely. You all are so gullible sometimes...

:-)