Last night

We had such a great weekend. I feel like it has been ages since we could follow through with all of the plans we'd made. Usually we've made plans, then someone would get sick. But not this weekend. Friday night was great at Buffalo Wild Wings and shopping like I mentioned. Saturday during the day turned out busier than I thought. We got up and ran to the mall, Target and Sam's Club and did some shopping. Try taking a family of 5 to Sam's Club and letting everyone pick out what they want. It equals a pretty hefty bill! Sounded like a good idea at the time- not so much. My kids love going to Sam's on Saturdays though and trying all the food samples. We are suckers for buying what we sample too. We came home with half the things we tried. We actually came home with a box of soybeans. I never would have imagined that the kids would like them nor had I ever had them before. Quite tasty though and extremely healthy. You just nuke them and shell them (you can't eat the pods they are in). I was frustrated because I got a big box of Eggo waffles and when we got home and unpacked, the box didn't have all the waffles in it. It was supposed to have 6 packs of 10 waffles, and it only had 4. Weird! The box was taped up and unopened, so I have no idea where the other 2 packages went. I had to go back to Sam's today just to exchange the box of waffles.

After running errands, we picked up Evan (Brooks' friend) and Jaxson (Cobe's friend) and headed back home for the kids to play. Jaxson had invited Cobe to spend the night, so I ran those 2 boys to his house around 5:00, and Evan's mom picked him up around 4:15. Ryan's parents came over at 5:30 to watch Brooks and Sadie for us to go out. We picked up Darcey and Brian and went to Bar Divani in downtown G.R. We had a great dinner and great drinks. I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant!!!!!! We left there and went to the B.O.B. We spent most of the night at the Monkey Bar. It was a great time.

This morning we went to church. After lunch, I ran Cobe back over to Jaxson's so he could go to Battle Creek with them to Brianna's gymnastics meet. They are getting back tonight around 9:00. Sadie took a 4 hour nap, so I got to enjoy some peace and quiet with Brooks after running back to Sam's. Whew! A busy but fun weekend! Off to watch Big Brother- I've already missed 7 minutes of it.

Friday Morning Playdate

Friday morning Sadie had Presley and Eva over to play. They all 3 really got along well and easily entertained themselves. They enjoyed playing with the kitchen, the dolls and strollers, and putting on Sadie's make-up. And they loved saying cheese for the camera. :-)






Ryan, Lynette, Matt and I had a great dinner last night at Buffalo Wild Wings. The food was great, tons to choose from, and relatively cheap prices for all you get. I have half a buffalo chicken wrap to eat for lunch today. Yum! Lynette is not well at all, but she was a trooper and determined to get out of the house for awhile after having sick kids herself all week. Hope you're better today!!! So they went to stock up on meds after dinner for her, and we went to Rivertown. Ryan and I were in a splurging mood obviously. He got 2 pair of jeans at Express and I got a pair of BKE's at the Buckle. We normally don't buy expensive jeans, but oh well, we did last night. haha I also got some tarts and another tart burner at Yankee Candle. Lynette had given me an electric tart burner for Christmas. I am hooked! I feel like my house always smells so good, and several people we have shown it to comment on how good it smells. The one Lynette gave me is very pretty for Christmas, so I got a plain cream one with vines on it for the rest of the year. I discovered that my favorite scent is citrus, so I got some orange tarts and lemon ones. Other than picking up a birthday present for Brooks for Mary Jo, we didn't get anything else.

My baby boy is turning 5 this week on Thursday. For some reason, it seems like Cobe should be 8. But it does not seem like Brooks should be 5!!!!! He is all excited about kindergarten though and can't wait to ride the bus like his brother. Where does time go?

Brooks is having his little buddy Evan over today to play. He can hardly wait! Other than running some errands (we are out of milk, oj, and some other basic necessities), then we will be home all day until we go to GR tonight. We still don't know where we are going, but I anticipate having fun wherever it is.

Strong Willed Kids RULE!!!!!

I have 2 strong-willed kids, and most of the time, their strong wills create problems. But when they make up their minds to do something, it's done. So, Sadie is completely potty-trained. She hasn't had an accident in days. She pees and POOPS on the potty! She also has now gone on a public potty, so I think we are over all of our trials. I told her she would get Princess Lippies (lip gloss) when she started pooping on the potty, so girlfriend was all about it. I'll still put a diaper on her for nap and bedtime, but during the day, she's a panty girl!!!! Yay! I thought Cobe (my other strong-willed child) was potty-trained early, but he was about 2 years and 4 months old. Sadie beat him by a few weeks! haha

We are heading out to Grandville, but later on tonight or in the morning, I'll post pictures from Sadie, Presley and Eva's playdate this morning.

Great pictures of the grandparents

Mary Jo and Jim came over tonight to give the kids Valentine's. The kids were so happy to see them! As you can tell from their skin color, they just got back from a week in Mexico- Riveria Maya. They sure did pick a great week to be gone and miss all the snow here. They actually got back on Sunday during the blizzard, so it was not a great travel day for them. They were supposed to fly in late Saturday night, but their flight out of Mexico was delayed, then their flight in Chicago got canceled, so they stayed in Chicago overnight. They had a wonderful time- I am leaning towards going there when Ryan and I eventually go somewhere tropical. Below are some pictures of them and the kids.


Brooks and Grandpa
Sadie and Grandma. Can you tell that Sadie had a haircut today? Brooks must have decided she needed one and cut her hair on the top while I was at work. They got in our bed and Brooks was wise enough to put the trashcan under them, and he snipped away on the top of her head. Ryan didn't even realize that Brooks had cut her hair. When he went upstairs, he saw hair everywhere on our bed, but thought they had dumped it out of the trashcan and the hair was from me cleaning my hairbrush. The whole story is just a riot to me! He didn't know until I explained it to him tonight that Brooks had cut her hair!
Look how pasty white my kids look next to them!!!!
This is a great shot to me-everyone is smiling and has their eyes open. :-)
And this is the silly shot. Just as cute!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone has a great day of L-O-V-E ! We gave the kids their Valentines this morning- Webkinz for the boys and a stuffed poodle for Sadie. Sadie got some books, candy, and a headband as well. They boys got DVD's and candy. I gave Ryan some new jeans, 2 shirts and some candy. He gave me a bottle of champagne. Party on! Champagne is my favorite and it doesn't take much...

I am WAY excited for Survivor tonight. Yes! A new season has started and the boys and I will be tuned in every Thursday night. Cobe is so glad that Ozzy is back on- his favorite player of all time. I am just glad that Johnny Fairplay is GONE!!! It would have ruined the season for me to have to watch him any longer. I am also excited that Big Brother is back on- with a new twist- couples! I can't tell if I'll like it better/same/ or worse yet, but at least it is something to watch when Ryan is at work.

The realtor came through our house this morning. I taught her daughter several years ago so I already knew her. She is very nice and is known as an aggressive realtor, so hopefully she can do the job that needs to be done... SELL! She said the only thing that needs to be done is for us to clean up our baseboards some- either with a Magic Eraser or with white paint if the eraser doesn't do the trick. Other than that, she doesn't want to do a thing. That was nice to hear since you start to get a complex about your house when it doesn't sell for so long. We will meet with our builder again once he decides the final price he will buy it for if it doesn't sell in 6 months. Ryan and I plan on cleaning out closets soon-- maybe when my mom is here to watch the kids and keep them out of our hair while we pitch things they think they can't live without. We made it through our closet so far and under our bathroom sink, but we have at least 2 more closets that need work and the storage room in the basement.

We are going out with Lynette and Matt tomorrow night to Buffalo Wild Wing (is that right Lynette?????) in Grandville. We may have to hit the mall as well b/c Ryan thinks he needs a new wardrobe. I can't wait for a night out- seems like it has been awhile. Saturday during the day we have no plans (YAY!) because Cobe doesn't have a soccer game. We will be sleeping in over here for once! Saturday night we are heading to GR to go out to dinner with the Bekins and to see what else materializes. So I am excited after sitting home last weekend for the ENTIRE weekend with a sick husband and kid, that we can get out for some fun nights this weekend.

My mom and dad fly in on Tuesday (YAY again!!). My dad is staying until Sunday and my mom is staying until the next Friday. My mom being here for almost 2 weeks equals RELAXATION for me, right mom??? :-) I hope the snow takes a break for awhile when my dad is here at least- he can't stand snow and cold weather. It was so nice yesterday seeing the beautiful sunshine for the first time in a long time.

Off to work- my student teacher started full-time yesterday, so it is weird having a shadow. She seems like she is going to be great and already has picked up on what to do. She won't start teaching until the first week of March, but then she'll teach that whole month- both of my classes. I'll be bored!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Wow! It's been awhile

for me anyway. I know a lot of people don't blog as much as I do, but I do enjoy keeping my family informed and up-to-date on our lives.

Dilt, thanks for the comment! And I am sure people are wondering about our nicknames. Haha

Nothing much going on over here. Sunday we were STUCK inside all day during the blizzard. Church was even canceled. We couldn't have gone anywhere even if we wanted to- it was that bad out. Monday was a snow day and we were home again all day. Justin came over to play for awhile, and Cobe had a soccer game at 5:00, so we went to that (they won 11-2). Yesterday we went back to school/work, and I was actually glad. I usually love snow days, but I am about sick of them lately. At least I would like them spread out.

Today Sadie went to Presley's to play while Ryan and I met with our builder. She has been wearing panties for a few days now, and we made a big deal out of the fact that she can only wear diapers at night-night time. So she refuses to wear diapers anymore. She has done so well with her pee-peeing. She goes on the potty every time. She isn't quite as successful with the poo-poo, huh Kristen? She went in her pants at Kristen's this morning. I felt horrible, but at least it was contained to her pants. She has gone on the potty twice before, so I don't know why she isn't as quick to catch on to that part. Oh well- I'm just glad she is ready to give it a go. (even though it is much harder to be in a public place now- she has an aversion to public potties!)
I think girls are much more difficult- boys can go outside or in a bottle if we are in a bind- not true for girls. :-)

Our meeting with our builder was extremely successful! He gave us our final plans and our final price, both of which we are extremely happy with. A realtor is coming in the morning to go through our house and to put it back on the market. Yuck! Dreading that! I enjoyed having a break from showings ALL the time. We had a few by owner, but not many. Our house will be completed by the end of June, so I guess I at least know an end date to the madness. :-) We went to a parade home that our builder is building after our meeting, and seeing that brought back all of my excitement to build!!!!

Well, I am off to Wednesday night church. We haven't had it for the last 2 weeks due to snow, so this will be the first in awhile. I'll post again soon with weekend plans- got some fun stuff coming up!

A few more...

Here are a few more shots that Lynette touched up/made black and white. Isn't she talented????