Back on the Blog Wagon

After our "mini-vacation" (for lack of a better word) to Michigan for a long weekend, I am hopping back on the blog wagon and catching up with my posts. I have caught up with laundry, bow making and dishes and I am now finally sitting down. Whew!

We left on Thursday of last week and headed for our weekend destination in Michigan to visit Papa and Gee and of course attend my friend Stacey's wedding shower (which was great!). Instead of making the 6 hour trip in one day, we stopped in Indiana to stay at the Raddison and take the kids to a local water park the next day. We all had fun and the best part is that the hotel upgraded us to a two-floor suite!! Something I didn't even know existed! Here is a picture of PART of the downstairs which really doesn't show how big and nice it really was.

The water park was a hit the next day. The giant sand area was where we spent most of the time. Unfortunately, the sand continued with us to Michigan and still remains in my car.

We continued on to Papa and Gees house, but shortly after getting on the road, we decided we just had to stop at a roadside fruit market to get some sweet Michigan Cherries. Of course Madison dug in and was very careful not to eat the pit. After she was finished, I got back a bag of half eaten cherries.

All in all, the trip there went smoothly but we were all glad to arrive. Susan's (Gee's) son was in town with his wife and little boy so Madison was thrilled to have a playmate for the first day that we were there. They played together well and seemed to have lots of fun! And yes, her dress is stained with cherry juice as you can see in the picture.

The next day while I was at Stacey's shower, everyone went to a local water park. Very interested people there to say the least. But the kids had fun and that's all that mattered.

So enough pics for one posting. More to come about our time in Michigan a bit later :).

If You Build It, He Will Climb

I pick and choose my battles, and this one I have totally lost.

Need I say more?

Day at the Park

Today we went to a new park by our house. For as close as it is, its amazing we didn't find it sooner. The park was great! Very old school....had many of the same playground "things" that I had as a kid. Things that probably wouldn't qualify as "safe" in today's day and age. Anyhow, the kids had fun and I took lots of pics. Until of course Madison told me to put the camera away.

If it can be climbed, my kids will climb it.

Definitely need to get a tire swing for our swing set at home. They LOVED the one at the park!

Here is Cayden wondering why the ground is moving. I think he is WAY confused!

I've really been trying hard to keep up with the laundry. You know, the one load a day trick that my neighbor Keli has taught me. Some days go well while other days I find myself with a mountain of clothing so high you would have thought the washing machine was on strike. If you remember for previous posts, I have commented that once the laundry was under control, I would tackle the dishes. I am pleased to say that I think I finally have them under control! Take a look:

OK, not really but what's wrong with wishful thinking?

After the dishes were done this morning, we headed on over to Six Flags. Before Wiggles World, we stopped by Toon Town to Visit Scooby Doo. The kids had fun but no where near the excitement they find with the Wiggles Characters.

We are home now and Grandma Joyce has been entertaining Madison for quite some time.

And I think that was her calling for a break.

Manicure a la Madison

OK, so a huge part of the philosophy of Montessori schools (which Madison attends if you didn't already know) is teaching independence and and self direction. However, I often wonder if Madison sometimes takes that a bit too far. Today, she decided to paint her nails by herself.

The hardest part of getting her to wait until they were dried before touching anything!

Fun in the Sun

What else is there to do when it's 90 degrees outside?

And yes, Cayden does have a swim suit. It had just been on and off so many times that I called it quits.

One of Those Mondays

Due to the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day, I ran out of time to post yesterday. So today's news is about yesterday's news. Does that make sense? Anyhow, yesterday we went to Wiggles World! (again). Cayden however, decided he wanted to take an early morning dip in the pool before heading out. Jammies and all.

It was a pretty typical Wiggles World day. We chatted with the characters, rode the "Fruit Salad, Yummy, Yummy" ride and watched the Wiggles Dance Concert (twice). I really tried hard for some new poses of Madison with one of the characters. This is what I got. I'm sure wags was thrilled to be posing for my daughter's personal photo shoot.

And here is a not too exciting video of the kids playing with Wags and Dorothy. The characters are so nice to the kids! I wonder what they are really thinking while they are hiding inside those silly costumes.

Friends, Waterslides, and Cupcakes

Last night was Madison's birthday party! She sure had a good ole' time with her little friends! The pictures say it all!

Here's Madison with her friend from school playing in the new sandbox (more pics of the swingset to come when the whole thing is put up and stained).

Thanks Sean for letting us borrow your big inflatable waterslide contraption !

And this is what you get when you give cupcakes to 3 year olds.

Oh yeah, and Cayden had fun too. Notice the boats he's holding? That would be his new obsession. He ALWAYS has them in his hands! (3 for .25 @ last weeks garage sales).

A Light bulb Moment

The other night I had a light bulb moment or an "ah ha" moment of realization as Oprah calls it. It suddenly hit me that I was really a "mom". OK, let me clarify...I knew I was a mother the moment the hospital handed me my cute bundle of joy and quickly shooed us out the door, BUT it wasn't until I was crawling into bed the other night that the "mom" thing really hit.

It was in casual conversation that I nonchalantly asked pat, "Did you remember to go potty before getting into bed?" WHAT???? Oh Yes, that really did come out of my mouth.

It was then that I knew, because before I was a mom I know I would have NEVER asked my husband that question.

With that said, I have decided to start an ongoing list titled:
Things I Would Never Have Said Before Becoming A Mom

The funny thing is that is doesn't take long for me to remember the things that I have said or say on a regular basis to my kids. So I start my list with the following things I would never have said before becoming a mom:

"Toilet seats are not for licking!"

"Only Doggies go potty in the grass."

"Sweep the floor, not your brother."

I know that there will be plenty more.

Sleepy Cayden

Some things are even cuter in black and white.

10 Reasons Madison Wakes Up at Night

The day (or should I say night) that I can sleep more then 3 hours at one time will be one fantastic day in the Kimball Household. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand that there are plenty of good reasons that kids wake up at night. Things like using the potty or having a bad dream are both very understandable reasons. I however am having a hard time being OK with Madison waking me up several times a night for the following reasons:

1. Lost Lovey (usually at the end of the bed).

2. Night light (AKA closet light) is not bright enough.

3. Nightlight (AKA closet light) is too bright.

4. Dora has fallen out of bed.

5. Dora is taking up too much room in bed.

6. Not ready to be 3 yet; would rather be 2 again.

7. Ice has melted in sippy cup.

8. Clippie has fallen out of hair.

9. Dora needs a clippie.

10. Elmo and Big Bird are cold.

One day (hopefully sooner than later), I will be able to look back and realize this was just a phase.

Picasso??

Here is Anthony from The Wiggles (where else of course?)

Here is Madison's rendition of Anthony:

I would have to say she is well on her way to being famous.

Happy 3rd Birthday Madison!

Today was Madison's 3rd Birthday! She wasn't too excited about being three when I put her to bed last night. She insisted she wanted to stay two. However, at 3:00 this morning that changed and she apparently felt the need to wake Pat and I up to tell us. Her exact words were, "I want to be three now." I put her back to bed and told her that she could be three in the morning. 15 minutes later she told us again.

When we woke up this morning, Wiggles World and the Water park were on the itinerary. By now I'm sure that the Wiggles characters recognize our faces and know us by name. Madison just cannot get enough of them!




After Wiggles World, we walked over to Hurricane Harbor Water Park. Here is a video of Madison going down the Water slide. She is on the slide to the left. She must have gone down the slides 25 times! You can see her doing the happy dance at the end.

After a fun filled day, Grandpa Roger came over and brought gifts and an Ice Cream Cake. Here she is blowing out the number 3 on her cake. She is now finally asleep in bed with her new Dora doll.

So another year down. How quickly our kiddies are growing up!

New Carpeting??

So, it finally was time to do something about the carpet in the playroom. Since converting the dining/living room into a playroom last year, the carpeting has gotten pretty dirty. Ok, REALLY dirty. Dirty beyond repair. In fact, so dirty that it was too embarrassing to post a "before" picture before getting out the Kirby Shampoo Machine to see if it could be salvaged.

I decided to do some research online as to which carpet shampoo was the best before running to the store. Site after site I came across, someone always posted about this Shampoo that you can get from the dollar store (yes the dollar store) called La's Totally Awesome Cleaner. Everyone who wrote said the results were amazing. Even professional carpet cleaners posted that this is what they use. So, to Dollar Tree I went for a 1.00 bottle of Awesome Cleaner. Here are the results:



For those of you who have seen the carpet, I know you are amazed! The carpet truly looks new!! Seriously, go out and get your 1.00 bottle of Awesome Cleaner today!

Happy 4th of July!

We decided to take the kiddos to a local parade on the 4th and there just so happened to be a carnival as well. What could be better for a kid then giant pickles on a stick, watered down lemonade, carnival games with cheap prizes and a carousel that went way to fast? Not one of my favorite places but Madison sure had fun! Thanks Nana for sending the pics!

Perfect Park Weather!

Today was the perfect weather to go to the park! Can't go wrong with low 70's and clear skies. We try to hit a different playground in the area every week or so. It seems to keep them entertained longer this way. Here's some shots from the park of the week. 3 out of 5 stars.

Extreme Makeover

So, last year Nana got the kids some cute and comfy chairs from Pottery Barn. The kids have absolutely LOVED them. They have also Absolutely DESTROYED them. The chairs have been painted on, peed on and everything in between. The bad news is that they didnt wash up well.....take a look:


The good news is that Grandma Joyce came over and had an idea. Whether it was a good idea was yet to be seen. What we were going to do is go to the store and buy some RIT dye, take them to the laundromat and give them a makeover.

So that's what we did! Madison decided that she no longer wanted her chair pink. She was in the mood for purple. Cayden....well, he didnt have much of a choice so we went with Navy. After a couple hours at the laundromat....here are the results! Hold on to your seats!

Just like new!! Go Grandma!!