It's story sharing day. Some giggles, some set backs, and some things I just want to remember.

1. Yesterday morning Max came into bed with me and decided he wasn't going to wait until 7am (which is the time I will get out of bed and get him cereal). So fifteen minutes later I rolled out of bed and found Max laying on the couch covered with the blanket, with his back against the heating pad which he had turned on, and the TV showing the P90X exercise program infomercial. Seriously you guys, it was like walking into another dimension and seeing Dusty as a little boy since that is his position every night!
   
   
2. Rory is back into her pull-ups for the time being. While she is going to the bathroom very well, she has decided that she no longer wants to take care of #2 on the toilet and goes in her pants. This has been going on for almost a week now and we pulled the pull-ups out after day 3. Seriously? I'm done doing that kind of laundry, we can just wait it out.
   
   
3. The kids decided to trash Rory's bedroom the other day while we were cleaning up so I could vacuum. They seriously picked up the floor in every room and then went into Rory's room and tossed everything she had on to the floor instead and just thought it was hilarious. I, on the other hand, was furious. So I shut the door and told them they couldn't come out until it was all cleaned up. Dusty got home about twenty minutes later and I left to go to the gym. I get home to find out that Dusty walked in to them spreading Vaseline all over. He cleaned up most of the mess but I was stuck figuring out how to get it out of Rory's brand new drapes. I plan to know all the secrets to removing stains, dirt and grime by Max's fourth birthday. I mean, that is the pace we're moving at here.
   
   
4. Rory can't say "fart" instead she says "sart" which gets me giggling every single time. This is so not going to lead to proper little girl behavior. Then again, having Max and Daddy around pretty much guaranteed we weren't going that route.
   
   
5. And lastly, we are going to have to move the little girl from her crib and into her toddler bed. Yesterday at nap time she climbed out of her crib, opened her door and told me "Mommy I awake" about ten minutes after I put her into her bed. Today at nap time? She kept opening her bedroom door to see if I was still sitting outside her room. I finally just locked it and she must have crawled back into her crib because she's asleep now. I'm really not looking forward to having two kids that can get out of their beds as they wish. This is going to be interesting.

Well I hope you got a few giggles out of those, I on the other hand, feel like I'm running a zoo! They are so lucky they are cute.

As the weather gets colder and we spend more and more time indoors, my house becomes more of a storage closet. Seriously people, where did all this stuff even come from? And worse, the kids are already showing signs of being bored with their stuff! So the other day I figured it was time to try something new. Say hello to a tea party in the living room.

It did not go over well. I thought that adding water to the tea set and some mini marshmallows would entice them but instead we just poured water all over everything and had soggy marshmallow matter all over the table.

So my girl doesn't enjoy too many girly things, and Max was really not buying into the "finger out" rule while drinking your tea. I don't think we'll be pulling that idea out again soon which will certainly help out my OCD. That water spillage was causing me to consider ripping my hair out as I tried to remain the parent that doesn't mind a little spilled water. I DO! I so do.

Today was Rory's last day of tumbling class. We didn't enjoy it nearly as much this time around. The director of the activities lead the class as the regular teacher took a job elsewhere and it really wasn't the same. We didn't sing songs, the activities remained exactly the same for the six weeks, and the kids just got bored.

Although Rory did thrive at a couple things. She is now a master at somersaults!

And she loves acting like a monkey while swinging on the bar.

And although I couldn't get a clear picture, she bounced in that bounce house like it was going out of style. Thankfully, I was able to sign both kids up for a cooking class this next session and I'm really looking forward to it!

Today the kids and I had lunch with GG as she wasn't able to make Rory's birthday party. The kids were so excited to see her! In fact, they were so incredibly excited that they refused to sit quietly and instead insisted on holding on to GG as she laughed and rocked them back and forth with hugs and kisses.

As if GG couldn't love them enough she also made sure that Max got a few presents while Rory opened up all of hers.

After lunch I brought all 10 presents (seriously you guys, we are so spoiled when it comes to GG) to my car and then met up with the kids at GG's car. I get there and they are all crammed into Grandma's little beamer pretending to drive.

(Don't you LOVE the new coat GG got Rory?! She insisted on wearing it the minute she got it and it matches so well with Max's plaid coat. Photo ops will be coming soon with those!)

There were promises for sleepovers and fish feedings and movies before we could finally load them up in the car to head home. It was a great visit!

Yesterday the kids and I went and visited with my grandpa (GG John). His days are getting numbered so it was extremely important for me to get up to see him. I didn't take any pictures while we were there and instead spent my time just being in the moment. He really is one of my most favorite people to be with and I'm really glad we made the trip.

I'm also extremely happy that Dusty surprised me with two portable DVD players for the kids! Let me tell you, that made a mountain of difference for the long car rides I faced alone with the kids. Just look at how happy they are!

On our way home the kids took a late nap in the car and I ended up waking them up for dinner. Usually I don't do a sit down dinner alone with the kids, it's stressful trying to keep an eye on both of them, but as you can see by the picture they were a little road weary so getting out and stretching our legs a bit was a necessity. Thankfully the kids were extremely well behaved. 

It was a long two days of traveling and things did not go smoothly at all, but I would do it again in a heartbeat for those 3 hours we spent with Grandpa. We love you GG John!

Last night we went downtown Stillwater to celebrate my dad's birthday. Before dinner we spent a little time down by the river.

The kids even got to watch one of the big boats head up river which they thought was really cool.

Afterwards we enjoyed dinner on the patio of The Freighthouse were we listened to the boats toot their horns and watched the bridge rise and fall. Happy Birthday Bopa!

Yesterday's post was far to photo heavy for me to be able to accurately show two very fun moments in an otherwise very chaotic weekend. So here are some more pictures from Nora's baptism.

What a happy baby.

Max, Lyla and Rory were able to stand up front to watch Nora getting baptized.

Another fun moment this weekend was when the children were playing in our dirt garden.

And the jackpot, catching Max in the act of pushing Rory down.

I hope you enjoyed them!