2.  Your child takes their blankie and curls up on the little kid couch in the waiting area of the Hourly Care center and starts to go to sleep.

3.  You say it’s time to go to bed, and your 2 1/2 yr old daughter walks around looking for where she needs to go and doesn’t realize she gets to stay home and go to bed.

4.  Your car looks like an adult and 2 children have taken up permanent residence.

5. You can’t find something, and realize that it’s probably in the car with the remainder of your belongings since nothing ever gets brought back into the house.

and….

6.  You haven’t sat down for longer than 30 minutes today and had a laundry list of things to get done in one very short day…and no, I’m not going to ask for more hours in the day…I’d just be even more tired!!!

I think the kids and I need a day off!

 Lara using the kickboard

  Ethan having fun using the kickboard

If you have facebook, there are some better quality videos.  The pool is indoors (we are in WA after all) and the flash makes the photos too dark.  But, this is with my little point and shoot camera and not my nice one.  

 Lara practicing kicks on her back

 Ethan practicing his kicks

On another note, I lost another 2.4 lbs and hit my first 5 lbs!  Next goal, 10 lbs so 5 more to go!

We spent the day with friends (what would life be if you didn’t have fantastic friends to help keep you busy during a deployment!?) and enjoyed our little town’s parade with lots of fancy sports cards (corvettes primarily), horses, a re-enactment group that shot blank rounds and sent Lara running into my lap, horses, a marching band and just over-all fun times.  There was then a free carnival with  train rides, bounce houses, music, balloons…you name it, they had it.  For having to handle two kids by myself, I was a little nervous, but, thanks to fabulous friends, we all helped each other out with the kids and the day went pretty smooth.  I then grilled some chicken burgers and hot dogs for dinner and we played outside in the back yard. I’d say it was a pretty good day….except for the fact that Lara didn’t sleep well and Charlie was a nervous wreck thanks to the fireworks going off in the neighborhood.  They are legal here, which is kind of a pain.  But, this year was definitely better than previous years with them stopping much earlier.

  Ethan’s orange balloon sword.

Here are some examples of our snacktaxi’s!  We LOVE them!

I love that I’m saving quite a few plastic baggies every time we pack a picnic lunch.  Plus, don’t have to worry about packing lunches only to find you’re out of baggies!  I have 4 of the sandwich sacks and 4 of the snack sacks.  Really, I bought them to see if I could figure out how to make them myself.  But, I think it’s alot easier to just buy them

Here are some photos from the zoo:

It was another warm day, but we had fun as usual. Of course, we always wish that Bryan was here with us!

No, I’m not going to post my weight, but, after the 1st week, I’m down 2.6.  

I still want to lose 30 lbs, but I’m one of those that gets very frustrated when looking at a big number. So, for now, my goal is 10.  So, I have 7.4 more to reach my 1st goal. After I hit 10, I’ll start looking at another number.  

I’ve also started back walking. I did my 5k walk back in May, and my legs were just killing me. Come to find out, I had the wrong kind of shoes for the way my feet are.  So, with new shoes, and shins healed, I was back on the go this week.  I also did pilates 2xs.  I bought the dvd series after I had Ethan, and they worked. I’ve just been so tired lately, that finding a time has been tough. But, I know I have to get on this if I want to be a healthy example for the kids.

I’ll keep everyone updated on my journey. I do have a reward planned once I reach the 30 lbs, so I’m very excited.  30 lbs won’t be all I need to lose in the end, but it’s a good start.

Last Friday, after fighting with Lara during naptime, I made the decision to move Lara into the toddler bed. This is actually NOT her toddler bed. This is Ava’s that I’m selling for Carol.  But, I figured Lara could use it, I could take some photos of it, and all would be good.  And, on Saturday, I sold it!  Lara’s bed is in the process of being painted purple (her choosing) and will hopefully be done in a few days once I get back to the garage to finish. I have it primed, but not painted yet.

And yes, she sleeps with that many stuffed animals. We have roll-call every night before bed. She also currently has 3 fleece blankets as well plus two smaller lightweight blankets.  I can’t imagine how she’s not burning up!

She also got to pick out a new pillowcase with, what else, Princesses.  It also came with a fitted sheet, so she loves this. And, I made her a large fleece Princess blanket that she picked out.  She also got a new nightlight…and yes, she picked it out..so, it has Princesses on it.  Her room was so dark at night that I couldn’t even see when i went in there when she rolled out of bed. The past two nights, since getting the nightlight, she’s done really well.  If she’s rolled out, I guess she’s gotten back in bed by herself.

Wonder where he gets this from???

Yes, she’s wearing a strawberry hat with a princess dress and Ethan is a multi-functional safety officer with his Fireman hat, jacket and boots, but his Policeman shirt and pants.

I love these kids!!  They crack me up.

Life has been crazy lately.  We came back from the beach and have been just stinkin’ busy.  Never a dull moment in my life.  Kids drive me nuts most days and within 10 days, they will both spend about 20 hours in hourly care. I NEED A BREAK!! HAHA  

I just need to get my life back in order. My time as MOMS Club President is coming to an end, and as much as I have enjoyed my time over the past 2 years, I’m ready to be a normal member again and get my house back in order. I’ve really let things lapse around here. I keep thinking that I know where something is, go to find it, and it’s no where to be found.  I bought Father’s Day cards. Send Bryan’s from the kids in his box I mailed before the beach.  Could I find the other ones?!  NOPE!  Finally found them today after searching for 3 days.  Sorry, Tommy, but your card will be late. 

I used to be so good about keeping on top of things. But lately, I stash papers so no one will see them, filing hasn’t been done in probably 1/2 a year, the garage has things just thrown out there amidst the yard sale chaos (stuff will be leaving my garage TONIGHT! Yippee!), and the cars are even worse. I haven’t even finished unpacking the pontiac from the beach, and the poor yard.  It so needs to be mowed, but when have I had time?  Well, I will get time to accomplish some of these goals with the wonderful help of hourly care!

Ok, on to the real reason I’m blogging and the real reason everyone visits: The kids!

Funny things being said/done lately:

Lara (to Ethan as he handed her her cup in the car): “Ahh, thanks honey!”

Ethan (talking to his dad this morning on the phone): “Dad..is that you?  See the pancakes and bacon? These are your pancakes.  You come get me and Lara will go with Mommy”. He also picked flowers the other day and decided I should either let him go give them to Bryan, or just mail them.

Lara- has greeted me multiple times in the morning by coming into my room. Yes, she’s climbing out of her crib, and can open the door. It’s time for the toddler bed. It still needs to be painted, so I’m hoping to get that done in early July.  Until then, it looks like she might be sleeping on a mattress on the floor (or we may borrow the toddler bed in the garage that was a friend’s until I get hers finished).

Ethan- has a new cowboy hat.  It’s a “real” cowboy hat.  Black.  He loves this!  Yet, he doesn’t call this a cowboy hat. It’s his new “Secret Agent” hat.  Gotta love that boy’s imagination!

Lara (while playing with her brother):” I’m the mommy.  Ethan’s the baby.  SHHHH MOMMY!  Ethan’s sweeeping!”

    Ethan’s reply:” MOMMY!  Not you, Mommy.  Mommy Lara!”

    Lara’s reply:” Ethan…mommy said go to sweep!”

Ethan woke up the other morning. I said we were going to go play with friends. He replied, “We’re going to the zoo!  And Tyler and Timothy’s coming!”  Ok..no where in our conversation did  I mention the zoo or Tyler and Timothy.  But, he made up his mind what was going on.

Lara when you ask her her name: “I’m Lara…Lara A-wib-a-bith (Elisabeth)”  

Ethan while watching Super Why on T.V.: “Look…it’s ME! (Wyatt) It’s Leah! (Princess P)”.  Every show now has it designated as to which child plays which part.  This comes up later in the day as they are playing.  Most of the time, you will hear Ethan dictating to everyone their parts.  So bossy!  Wonder where he gets it!? (BRYAN!)

Lara when you ask her a question:” SURE!”  We’re working on “Yes, Ma’am”  and not “sure” for answers!  She’s also getting great at trying to stall at bedtime/naptime with “I’m thirsty” “I’m not tired” “I need a hug!”

Ok, that’s what is going on with us.  I’m sure I’ll finally take pictures.

Until then, here are two more from the beach:

Getting ready to go to the beach. Hanging out in the house before we left.

Only in the Pac NW will you find kids at the beach wearing a sweatshirt with no pants to go play in the sand and water.

We, Michelle and I, were out enjoying the sunshine during nap time, and she spotted something in the water. So, I grabbed my good lens for the camera.  We did end up seeing 2 whales at one point. They were out playing.  Krista called the front desk and we found out that they see grey whales and humpback whales.  But, judging by the size, we figured the grey whale was probably what was out there.  It was so funny to watch them playing so close to the shore. Funny thing was no one actually at the beach saw it. I think b/c we were up on a cliff area that we were able to see it a lot easier.