Downtown Street Festival

I have about twenty things I should be doing tonight, so of course instead I am updating our blog.  :)

Tonight we hit up our town's annual Downtown Street Festival. I am absolutely in love with our town... and the summer street festivals are some of my favorite things ever. One of the talented Young Women in our ward was singing, so we had to try and go and see her perform.

We roamed around, grabbed pizza from the HS football fundraiser, watched some entertainment, ran into a bunch of friends, and tried out a few activities. Andrew's favorite was dunking the mayor in the dunk tank. The assistants tried to help him out by lifting him up higher, but he got so mad! He wanted to do it all himself! They let him get a little closer to the target than most and he managed to hit the target 2/3 times... thus dunking the mayor twice. He was VERY proud of himself.

Now he thinks our next project at home should be creating our own dunk tank. :)

Kevin grabbed a cupcake and I grabbed some insanely delicious dark chocolate sea salt caramels from the local chocolate shop. I think we would both agree that my choice was hands down the most delicious one. Kevin was practically scouring my caramel bag for any last remains.

They had a free bounce house and somehow we managed to arrive at the perfect time so that Andrew and Catie got to be the only bouncers. Maybe because it was almost 8:30pm and all other good parents already had their kids at home in bed? The kiddos were in heaven!

Our last event of the evening was the train. I think it is a rip off every year ($3/kid or adult... even babies)... so this year I was so happy that the kids could ride without us. I was hesitant to let Catie go by herself, but Kevin assured me she'd be fine and she totally was. It was ADORABLE to watch Catie and Andrew chatting and waving while they rode around. Catie kept making the choo choo sign with her arms and the conductor pulled the horn thing many many times which kept her so excited!

She and Andrew just waved and waved at us while they rode for a good almost five minutes.

We got home a little before nine and we were all completely wiped out! I was so glad we decided to go... despite already being exhausted before we left!

Quick trip to Arizona

At the end of last week I took a quick trip to visit my Grandma down in Mesa, AZ. I met Elise and my dad down there and thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to spend with my Grandma along with a few of my cousins and aunts and uncles. The trip was only maybe a 30 hour one... but we packed a lot of socializing in!

Somehow once again I really only managed to snap pictures of my food. After we arrived and chatted with Grandma a bit, we headed off together to a favorite family mexican restaurant that we've been going to since we were super little- Mattas. The cheese crisp is delish and I ate wayyyy too much!

Thursday evening was spent watching hours of Olympics and listening to Grandma's stories. She told us again and again how much she loves us and appreciated us coming to visit her. 

Elise and I spent the night at a local Hilton and I was super stoked when we discovered this M&M machine in the lobby. Yum!

We slept great and went on a nice run in the insane heat on Friday morning. We spent the rest of the day hanging with grandma at the hospital and lounging at her house watching the Olympics and chatting and napping. On Friday evening we got to see a few more cousins and aunts and uncles briefly before I headed home on my late night flight.

I came home to happy kids who had enjoyed lots of fun with their dad while I was gone! They shopped, went out to eat, fed the duckies, went swimming, and even ran some errands for me. I was so grateful to Kevin for taking over so that I could have such a special visit with my grandma.

Now I just need a few days to recover from this weekend! 

Some Pregnancy Thoughts...

Baby Jack (as Andrew has been calling our kiddo) has been super active lately. Maybe he's trying to live up to his namesake- Andrew's hero- Jack Jack from The Incredibles.

It might also be due to all of the attention his sister has been giving him. When I change Catie's diaper she likes to kick me and then smile and say, "baby?" ... this does not bode well for Jack's future with his big sister.

Despite her kicks, Catie seems to be super aware and excited about babies lately. Every time she sees my stomach she says, "baby!!" and loves to say "nigh nigh baby" and give my stomach a kiss at bedtime. It is super cute. She loved having Baby Mackenzie visit earlier this week... though had a major meltdown when baby M was in her high chair or playing with her coveted toys. Good thing Erin brought her own high chair.

For me pregnancy also = no patience whatsover.

My kids have been pushing every button imaginable this week and I've been trying to love them extra in return. I'm reading an awesome book called Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs by Ellen Galinsky. I'm currently in the chapter about communication. It talked about how babies prefer their mothers the most during their first few weeks alive because no one else's voice is loud enough when they are in utero. I have a feeling Baby Jack is going to know and like his siblings more than me by the time that he arrives because their fighting and screaming has been so loud this week that he probably has no clue I am even around.

For me pregnancy also means I eat a lot of treats. Fortunately my hobby of blogging and doing crafty projects keeps my hands busy so I actually eat less treats than you'd think. I am a bit of a hoarder though and want to have the treats... Catie is starting to discover all of my hiding spots. I can't deny her ever. Her little "treat treat" is too adorable.

This pregnancy I have been all about mexican food. I make a lot of mexican manicotti, taco soup, taco salad, quesadillas, etc. If you can believe it, I had never made enchiladas until this week- EVER. If I had known how easy they were to make they would be on our weekly meal rotation. But, let's be honest... I don't have a weekly meal rotation :) I will be making them a lot from here on out though!

Today I had a doctor's appointment for Baby Jack. The doctor said that I am 26 weeks and 2 days. Last time I went to my appointment I had gained 6 lbs in 5 weeks and they were appalled. It was probably due to all of the traveling we've been doing and extra food (lots of Chick-fil-A fries in NC and VA)... and less running (since it was 106 degrees in the south). Today I weighed in less than last time, so it all balanced out. Considering I have a spreadsheet from each pregnancy with my detailed weight gain by month and it is EXACTLY the same every pregnancy (no matter what), I haven't been too concerned. Since I'm down a pound or two than my normal goal it just means I can eat an extra cookie at Paradise Bakery today. :)

The doctor also told me that the baby is measuring big. They aren't concerned about it (esp since I don't have gestational diabetes) but want me to come back for my next appointment sooner. I am hoping that the baby is even bigger next time so that we can prove I've been right all along and the baby is coming sooner than they expect. I've thought their due date prediction has been off the whole time. Kevin is hoping the baby arrives on Halloween so that Baby Jack's name is extra meaningful.

Overall I am so grateful to be healthy and have such a great pregnancy so far! I feel less old and tired this time around, so I'm thinking it might be boys versus girls for me... cross my fingers it stays that way!

Lazy Saturday

Last Saturday was mega productive, so it was only fair that this Saturday was the exact opposite. The only real thing that got done was the dishes.

We slept in until 9am and then our babysitter from down the street showed up at 9:45 so that we could say goodbye to Catie and take Andrew to the movie theater for the morning showing of Pixar's Brave.

We got a few treats and drinks since we were at the movies... and then thoroughly enjoyed the movie together. Andrew was so engrossed in watching the show that he barely broke into his treats until the very end. Meanwhile, I ate a box of Milk Duds far too quickly and felt sick the rest of the movie... AND the baby decided to have a dance party in my stomach from all of the sugar. 

Little dude asked if we could go see the movie again tomorrow, so I think he liked it.

After we got home, we played with Catie for a little bit and then she went down for one of her typical marathon naps (almost 4 hours). Kevin and I lounged and watched the Olympics and napped (and Andrew had quiet time) until late afternoon and then we had a family trip to the pool. It was lovely to have Kevin there so that I could swim some laps and have free arms a bit.

The highlight of the swimming trip was anytime I went close to Andrew and he would yell, "I DON'T WANT TO SWITCH!" I guess he thought if I was hanging out with him then his dad had Catie and couldn't throw him in the air as much. Him screaming and pushing me away made me feel so loved ;) Fortunately Catie did the opposite and was clawing for me at any opportunity... so I didn't feel too hated.

Andrew and I ended the day with some BabbaBox craft fun and then we watched some Olympics until he hit the sack.

I loved our lazy Saturday!

Weekly Excitement

We didn't do anything really out of the ordinary this week, but it was a lot of fun. Most days my only goals are to do something fun with my kids, exercise, and possibly attempt to organize an area in my house. Sometimes I add in chores :)

Having such simple goals make the days pretty easy. I am also attempting to sleep in as much as I possibly can. One day this week I slept in until 10am and the rest of the days I slept in until closer to 9am. At first I was thinking that I should feel really lazy... but I'm choosing to ignore that feeling and enjoy every single day. I have no clue how baby #3 is going to rock my world of sleeping... so I am saving up sleep now!

Catie is really into dress up lately. Now that all the dress up clothes are organized and in one spot, they are the "go to" play activity for both kids. Andrew puts on his space suit pretty much every day during quiet time and Catie is constantly finding new hats, jewelry, and costumes to make herself pretty. Andrew helped her get all decked out in his pirate costume the other day. It was adorable. He had pirate camp this week and made lots of piratey themed crafts... so both kids have been into pirates this week.

Catie has also been cracking us up with some of her talking. This was just a video Andrew and I thought was funny because she just kept saying "no" to everything Andrew said.

Andrew also did his first graffiti work on our walls yesterday. During quiet time he went into my bathroom with a pencil and drew all over our bathroom door. It could've been much worse. I was taking a nap downstairs and was completely oblivious. I had a hard time being mad when I found the artwork. It was actually pretty good... so my main lecture was more about how sad it was that his awesome picture had to get erased and how if he'd drawn it on paper we could've kept it. We obviously talked at length about all the things we are allowed to draw on our house... and then I made him scrub the bathroom wall with soap and water and it easily came off. Yay!

On Thursday we also had Japan Day as part of a Global Cultures themed week that I was participating in with my Toddler Approved blog. You can read about all of the activities we did here. It was fun to revisit some good memories from when we lived in Japan and share them with Andrew. He loved the silly fake sushi that we made.

Today we had a fun celebration to kick off the start of the Olympics. My friend Chrissie and I have been doing weekly "Camp Mom" activities and this week some of our other friends were able to join us. The kids did some Olympic themed crafts and activities and had fun just goofing around.

Aunt Jessie came up to sleep over last night and helped us at our Olympic celebration this morning. Catie LOVES her and even learned to say"Jess"... so having her around was so lovely... especially when she was feeling clingy. Jessie and I also had fun relaxing and watching shows and chatting during naptime... and then later in the afternoon we went jogging. I pushed the double jogger the 1.5 miles to the park and then she was nice to push it the 1.5 miles uphill home. :) Highlight of my day!

After she headed home, the kiddos and I went swimming. We've gone several days this week and now I am loving it even more because Catie finally decided to like her floatie. I gave her an ultimatum yesterday and said she couldn't go in the pool without it on (because otherwise she is super dangerous and is always trying to push me away). Somehow the fact that I was serious clicked and she enthusiastically wore the floatie. Victory! Swimming is now pure bliss.

Tonight the kiddos got decked out in their new Team USA outfits courtesy of Grandma Julie and watched a little bit of the Opening Ceremonies. Catie watched the NBC video highlights and a little bit of a the pre-show commentary and Andrew watched until 9pm.

Both were so cute decked out in their new outfits. Go Team USA! We are so excited for the next two weeks of Olympic watching!

This weekend we are looking forward to more swimming, organizing, and a Mom, Dad, and Andrew special trip to see Brave at the movie theater!

Trash Trucks and Cuddles

Catie's favorite new word is trash truck. She ran around the house all day today hoping to look out the window and see it come by. Monday is trash day. If she didn't wake up at 9:30am, she might have seen the trash truck earlier. She passed time by trying on every hat that she could find in the house.

I love this post-nap pic of her when I asked if she saw the trash truck and she grumpily said, "NO!"

To make her happier, we did a trash truck art project and read our favorite children's book on the subject called Trashy Town... it still didn't make up for only having seen the trash truck once. Fortunately we managed to see one again on our way home from getting Andrew at camp.

I love that she is so passionate about trash trucks and trains. Andrew was too, so I have her covered with books and toys!

The other favorite part of my day is Catie's bedtime. 

She is such a cuddler. I've started a bedtime routine with her recently where we'll just sit in her rocker in the dark and talk about her day before I put her to bed. I talk to her about all of the fun things we did that day and then I listen as she talks to me. It is so adorable how much she tries to say... even though I can't understand any of it (other than a few words here or there)! While we chat she will just snuggle up against my chest and suck her thumb when she isn't talking. We just rock and rock. It is positively adorable and so different from the energetic little personality that runs around the rest of the day.

I love it!

Bitten by the Organizing Bug

Somehow nesting kicked into full gear this weekend and I now have a desire to rid my house of every ounce of clutter. It is going to take awhile, but I made some progress.

Having a son who likes to save every random scrap of clay or paperclip makes de-cluttering a constant challenge... especially since he takes after me.

I've been taking some pictures along the way of my disasters... so then I can recognize how much I've actually accomplished. Catie and Andrew have been helpful with redoing all the organization as it gets done... so they spent most of the day swimming, napping, or out of the house with Kevin on Saturday so that I could concentrate :)

This is the land of lost toys. Andrew & Catie love to chuck random toys here when it is clean up time. You can't see it since it is behind the family room couch. I trashed a lot of it and shipped a bunch of it back to other parts of the house where it belongs.

So nice to have my sparse family room back!

We temporarily relocated a few things into this holding bin space for toys... but we'll probably replace it soon with something a little more stylish for a family room.

I cleaned and organized one of my three craft cupboards. I have an office and craft supply addiction and might need an intervention at some point.

Picture the before photo of an absolute disaster... that is what Andrew's toys looked like. I dumped all of the toys from his room and the family room onto my bedroom floor and sorted through them and dejunked. Then we finally put this IKEA bookcase into his room. It has been hanging out in our downstairs hallway for about 5 months.

I love the clean look of his room from the hallway and not being able to see all the itty bitty toy pieces.  

I still have a Google doc filled with things I need to do... but things are coming along. Andrew will be enjoying Pirate Camp this week and so I have 3 hours on some afternoons to work on house projects while Catie naps... or tries to help.

Pirate Andrew

and my little clothes sorting/organizing helper