Lady Bugs and Brownies

The forecast this morning predicted mid afternoon rain. In an attempt to get some fresh air, before the skies opened up (again), we took a walk to the river. As always, the kiddos had a blast exploring the world around us, looking at lady bugs, feeding the ducks and chasing each other all over the place. It was great to get out and even more wonderful to see the water levels a little higher! We have REALLY needed this rain.

We arrived home with time to spare. A couple hours later the rain began and I decided it would be a great time to make daddy some brownies! The kiddos LOVE to "help" me bake. This is a good thing because daddy has a HUGE sweet tooth!

I let them lick the bowl, one of my favorite childhood past times. It was super cute and OHHH so messy! It was the perfect afternoon. 

Commencing sugar high in five.. four.. three.. two....

L to R

Libby, Russ, Ally and Molly

"I LOVE chocolate mommy!"

-me too Molly, me too. 

"Don't forget to lick those fingers!"

-Ally, trying not to miss a drop 

LOVE the mustache buddy!

-Russell man

*I SWEAR I wash this shirt (daily), it's his MOST prized possession! If I would let him sleep and bathe in it.. he would! *

Our chocolate covered fairy!

- Libby

I hope your ALL having a great week!

Life is but a dream....

A little Tuesday serenade by our little Libby...

.

"row row row your boat gently down the STREET!"

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

We Miss Our Daddy!

When Conor is away (for work) we miss him terribly. He has been gone several days this week and the kids have started looking forward to his phone calls just as much as I do. 

The conversations often sound something like this....

"Hey, Daddy! You, you on a plane??"

-Molly, always the excited phone conversationalist

"Hey Daddy! What choo doing?"

-Russell Man

"Hey Daddy! You come home soon?"

-Ally 

(she asks me,"where is daddy" 1000X's a day- no joke!)

"Hi Daddy! I love you Daddy! Bye Daddy!"

-Libs, ALWAYS right to the point!

We miss you Conor!

Have a great week everyone!

A Zoo Adventure!

My cousin Bridget and I took the kids to the Folsom Zoo. We met up with two of my girlfriends (and kids) who LOVE a good adventure just as much as we do. 

Life is better with FRIENDS! 

We had a blast and loved seeing all the rescue animals. The kiddos were happy to be free from the house. We ALL enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air as we checked out the animals, played at the park and then took a ride on the train. A great day was had by all... and a GREAT night of sleep followed! ;)

(L to R)

Libby, Molly, Bridget, Ally, Lauren and Russ

Little "B" with Big "B!"

"Big Ali" and Owen

Feeding the animals!

-Me and my kiddos

Alicia and her nephew Vincent

Vincent and Russ

The FOUR Wild Ones

(L to R)

Ally, Libby, Russ and Molly

Our train ride

Molly and Mommy

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Sharing all our love!

For The LOVE of The Scooter!

Auntie Barb surprised the kids today with an early birthday present, SCOOTERS!! She even let the wild ones help her put them together, CRAZY woman! Our Aunt "Barbie" (as the kids call her) TRULY has the patience of a saint. 

Thank you for the scooters Barb! More importantly, thank you for being such a HUGE and LOVING part of our lives. Movie time (quiet time) would be so boring without you!

"Auntie Barb, my scooter is broken!"

-Russ, impatiently waiting his turn (in his favorite shirt).

"Check out my wheels! Freedom baby, freedom!"

-Russ, ready to out scoot his sisters.

"I LOVE it mommy, I really LOVE it!"

-Libs, proclaiming her latest tag line.

Just as Barb (and the rug rats) finished putting the scooters together, my Aunt Teenie, Cousin Bridget and Cousin Patrick stopped by for a visit! Perfect timing guys.. the more helpers the merrier! 

So, we took the kids outside for a test drive! With a break in the rain we plan on taking FULL ADVANTAGE of the sun the next couple of days... 

"Look at him GO, he's a natural, Gen!"

-A very proud Aunt Teenie with Russell

Libs and Cousin Patrick

Cousin Bridget and Ally

"Alright, let's try that hill one more time!"

-Stubborn Ally

Bridget and Molly

Patrick stayed with us the rest of the afternoon and kept the peeps playing hard!! Thank you Pat!!! They love their (my) cousins so much and it's such a nice help for me. I actually got some chores down without 8 extra hands "helping!" It was heaven! 

Tour de back yard!

-Pat and the kids

Nothing better than family!!

We really do have the most wonderful and supportive family. Our life is full of love, laugher, hugs and kisses. Life may not be pefect but our children will NEVER lack in love. NEVER!

All I Need Is A Whistle!

A common phrase we hear is:

"It must be so nice (easy) for you with built in play mates! They must keep each other busy all day long!"

While, YES, it is heart warming and AMAZING to see the strong bond they have formed, the truth is, most of MY day is spent breaking up fights. They fight, and fight, and fight over every single thing in this house.   It's the nature of the beast, I mean, 2 year old! 

Lately, being all cooped up (due to the MUCH NEEDED rain), I feel like all I need is a striped shirt and whistle!

We really have tried to make the best out of it. Spending time with friends helps so much! On Monday we hung out with our favorite three girls and their best friends.

L to R

Ally, Makena, Lissy, Calum, Molly, Evan, Riley, Libby, and Russell

Today we stayed home and cleaned house. Yep, when all else fails and the fighting has reached catastrophic highs.. pull out the vacuum! They also love to sweep! Yep, we are raising little clean freaks! 

In between all the scrubbing and folding and dusting.. we managed to have a little fun too. Well, when they weren't fighting over the dress-up clothes, that is! 

"Silly Mommy, why are you using the vacuum on the couch?"

-Ally, Russ, Libby and Molly (climbing to higher ground)

Molly, ready for her safari!

Little Libby, the artist!

Russell, our dare devil!

Ally, our love bug

Molly, the mommy's girl, and Me

Russ and Ally, devising another plan to drive mommy bonkers!

PS: Thank you for all your sweet comments about the new layout. We needed a little color around here! I'm going to add the new blogger buddies (from comments below) to our list tomorrow. If you would like to be added let me know! 

New Look!

I'm working on the blog layout right now. Our talented friend, Hilary,  gave us a fresh new look! Now, last time we did this... I lost our "blogger buddies" list. This time, I've made a back up and hope I don't do the same thing all over again! If I do (oh lordy), I'll get it back up and running within a couple of days. If you would like to be added just let me know! 

Wish me luck! ;)

"Oh boy, duck and cover, she's talking HTML codes again!!!"

- Russ

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Heart Day!

Love, 

Libby, Molly, Russ and Ally

... Moments before the sugar high hit!

I just wanted to share the LOVE! 

I hope you ALL had a great day!

Safety First!

We have not had the best day over here.

With the torrential downpour turning on and off like a faucet, followed by sunshine, followed by hail, followed by sunshine, I couldn't help but notice the same volatile behavior in our kids. It's been one melt down after another. I felt more like a referee than a mommy and to be perfectly honest.. I wasn't very good at either. Yep, it was one of those days.

However, it ended on a note that made me laugh so hard I had to share.

We MUST be doing something right..

I was getting ready for the bedtime routine. The kids were in the family room waiting for me. As I was busy getting things together, I heard Russ yell...

"Okay, put your seat belts on, we need to be safe!!!" 

With that, I spun around. To my surprise their they sat, purched on their slide, on it's side. They were pretending it was a car! Russ, was playing ME! 

He repeated himself again and I started to laugh. "Seat belts on, we NEED to be safe!" With that the girls saw the amusement in my face and started chanting along with him.. 

"we NEED to be safe, we need to be safe, we need to be safe!" 

The chorus of 4 little voices proclaiming the need for  seat belt safety in harmony was just too much for me to take. I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. Who knows, I may have just been ready to go off the deep end. Either way, it made me smile. 

Happy Friday the 13th!

"We need to be safe!"

(L to R)

Molly, Russ (back), Ally and Libby

Rainy Days Are Better With Friends...

The kids thought this rainbow was the coolest thing they had ever seen!

We have had some rainy days this week. We have sure needed them! Our poor river is looking mighty low. 

With the sun on vacation, we've been trying to stay busy inside. We've had lots of visitors, craft time, and learned many new songs in an attempt to pass the time productively. 

Shelby, Barb, the kids and LOTS of play dough

Ally and Mommy

Libby, carefully separating the pink!

"I love it mommy!"

-Molly LOVING her snake 

(made by the talented Auntie Barb)

"I do it myself mommy!"

-Ally

Today we had a play date at "Big Ali's" house. We've been looking forward to meeting up all week long.The three of us mommy's brought together our (many) toddlers and had a FABULOUS time. We wore them out. I'll admit, I'm a little pooped too;). We can't wait to do it again next week.

St. Francis High School Class of '97, '96, and '97!

Julie, Ali, and me

"DUDE, we are so outnumbered!"

-Russ (left)

"It's cool man, just think.. we are gonna have it made in high school!"

-Owen (right)

"Would you like cream and sugar with that ?"

-Russ, making his signature beverage for the ladies

"Can we keep him Mommy?"

-Molly, loving on little Brody

"This is the best rainy day EVER!"

-Molly

"Ready or not.. here I come!!!"

-Russell Man

Ladies who lunch

-Molly, Libby, Maggie and Ally

"No boys allowed!"

-Molly, Maggie, Ally, Libby and Lauren

"Am I ready for my close up?"

-Sweet Ally

"Peter Parker, is that you?"

Russell, one handsome caterpillar!

Libby, embracing her pink obsession!

Molly, looking up to Lauren

Ali, the bounce house was a brilliant idea!

Happy Friday EVERYONE! 

I hope you had a great week.