Fair time!

We finally made it to the fair this year, on the last day! Thankfully the rain held off and because of the overcast weather, it wasn't too hot! This was Ethan's first trip to the fair. He ended up sleeping most of the time. :)
Here are a few pictures...

My sweet babies waiting for the Wild World of Animals show to start.

Snapping turtle

They do love each other so much! :)

Loved this guy!! He was beautiful!

Gobble gobble!

Maddy admiring the turkey.

Maddy is examining the fuzzy bunny. "Mom, where are his eyes?"

She loved the baby goats!

This was my nephew, Aaron's goat.

E- man, barely awake.

She was finally able to pet one of the animals without it trying to eat her.... 

 or so she thought! ha ha!

Sweet faces!

Absolutely loved this guy!

He was so excited to be at the fair! :)

So much to my surprise, Maddy wanted to ride the camel. I waited in line with her for almost 20 minutes, fully expecting her to chicken out as soon as it was her turn.


Not so much....

Yes, that's right. She made me ride the camel with her. It was actually pretty fun. :) 

All in all a great family day! Everyone should check out their county fair!

Did you hear that?

Shhhh.... wait for it.... SILENCE!!! That is the sound of worn out children actually going to sleep by 7:15. Now, who knows how long that will actually last. But, I will take advantage of this opportunity while I have it. Rather than tackle the mounding pile of dishes in the sink (seriously, how many dishes can accumulate?? I just cleaned those up after PM snack?!?! hey, don't judge me!), clean up the toys that somehow managed to be strewn all across the downstairs, finish up laundry, feed the dogs (poor guys!) or put away the large pile of clothes that is spilling out of my clothes basket (I need a second basket by the way, that way the clothes won't have to spill out when I continue to pile more on), I will sit here and write on the blog. I may even jump onto Pinterest to see if there are any new recipes, even though I just used two new ones today. That is right, I am taking a mommy minute (while also eating my dinner that I was unable to choke down with the kiddos awake)!  I would love to relax with a glass of wine (gasp!) But I am still on "feeding duty" for Little E-Man for at least another 2 months, so the wine will have to wait.  Speaking of... I cannot believe that little stinker is going to be 10 months old!! And that Maddy is 3! Holy moly! Where does the time go?! Having children really puts the time/age factor into perspective. As I mentioned previously, we spent several days at the lake house last week. While we were there, Maddy officially turned 3 and Ethan cut two teeth (top ones and they gave him a really rough time!).  Early in our marriage when we visited the lake we were able to be on "lake time" as it is referred to frequently. This means the same thing as "island time" or "beach time" when you just throw away the clocks/watches, relax and let the day come as it will. I truly enjoyed those times. :)  Since having children, especially now that we have two, "lake time" for us is out the window. I wore my watch the entire time. Even if I didn't wear one, the moods of my children would let me know what time it was. Getting cranky meant, I'm hungry, tired and its crazy hot out here people! what are you thinking letting us be out in this heat for more than an hour?!?! This mood is quickly followed by meltdown central. Thus the reason for wearing a watch, trying to avoid this catastrophe.  After the first night, I tried to keep the kids on a near-to-normal routine, to prevent any MAJOR meltdowns. (though it is really tough to predict when/where/why any meltdowns occur in the life of a 3 year old) Anyhow, I had several evenings to myself while the kids were in bed. I must say, it was relaxing. No TV, computer, cell phone, book (dang it! I forgot my book!).  I was able to reflect on my life and realized how quickly time goes by, especially after having children. There were definitely moments that I missed being able to function on "lake time." Sure, there are times that I miss having a cocktail and floating around for an unreasonable amount of time or going to a winery, or staying out late with friends. There are even times that I miss eating dinner without having to get up a million times, eating a hot meal for that matter, or even using the bathroom by myself.  But, hopefully I will be able to have those moments after my children are older.  Right now, I get to experience a whole new kind of joy and fun in life. Those moments are with my beautiful children. I cannot begin to explain how much those two little ones mean to me. I am so blessed to have two healthy children, a devoted husband and a beautiful home. My children are my world and I am so lucky to be able to watch how they change every single day. Ethan continues to be the happiest baby ever and is now taking several steps at a time by himself. Maddy amazes me with her compassion and intelligence every day. Sure we have our moments of her screaming so much that I fear that our neighbors will hear and an attitude that makes me cringe with fear for her teen years. But hey, she is 3!  I love them both unconditionally and irrevocably. I hope and pray every day that my children have healthy, happy lives and find contentment, happiness and peace as adults. I reflect on things that occurred during the day, things that went well, things that we can do better tomorrow. I sometimes get caught up on critiquing myself, maybe too hard. I just hope that my children know how much they mean to me and how hard I am trying to be a good mom. I have made a promise to myself that I will NEVER take a moment for granted. I will relish in all of the MANY fun moments, I will learn from all of the challenging moments. My children make me strive to always be a better person.  No matter how long or short of time that we will have together, I will cherish EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. 

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  ~Elizabeth Stone

Oh and by the way,  it is 2 hours later. I have finally finished this post. In case anyone was worried, I did feed the dogs :), the kitchen is clean and most of the toys are put away. :) 
Until tomorrow....

4th of July

Well I just finished loading my pictures from our week at the lake for the 4th of July and am disappointed to report that most of my pictures did not turn out. :( This was Ethan's first 4th of July. We also celebrated Maddy's official 3rd birthday there. I am so bummed!! I have 2 cameras for crying out loud! You would think that more would have turned out. I did get a few shots, so I thought I would share the few that I did capture. Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. 


Maddy's Birthday morning. :) 
 

Showing Ethan her princess story book. :)

Maddy doesn't like all of the attention to be on her, so she again refused to blow out the candles. When everyone left, I put the candles in her piece of cake and she had no problem blowing them out. 

Happy Birthday Maddy!!

Impromptu decorations at the new lake house. I tried to use already existing nail holes. This is what I came up with. :)

"train" ride at the 4th of July celebration at Lake Lousia

It was just soooooo hot.

Sweet Ethan, Happy 1st Fourth of July little man!

Taking a break from swimming to have some lunch. :) Love this kid!

After some serious play/lake time, Miss Maddy was OUT!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 4th of July!!

And that is all that I have for now. Hopefully Grandma Harper took some good shots! :) 

The (almost) Swagger Wagon

If you know me, you know that I am a Jeep girl at heart. I have had the pleasure (and heartache) of owning 3 different Jeeps. I have had pleasant times and serious headaches due to my beloved Jeeps. :) My last Jeep was legally determined to be a giant LEMON and as a result, was replaced with a Dodge Journey.  As our family needs have expanded, so has our need for a larger vehicle. I have not EVER been a mini-van kind of girl. However, trying to budget gas in the economy for a larger SUV does not make sense at all so... the result was a serious effort on the part of my husband, to convert me into a minivan mom.  I would like to give a large pat on the back to the marketing team at Toyota for the "swagger wagon" campaign. (If you haven't seen it.... here is the link.) This video alone convinced my husband that this was the way to go! I must admit, the video is hilarious, even more so after having kids! The actual "Swagger wagon" (model SE) is more like a sports car type of feel.  The XLE is a nice ride, has lots of space and is perfect for a family. It meets all of our needs. So... there it is! We welcome the (almost) Swagger wagon to our family. I have to say that we took a trip to the lake for the 4th of July week and comfortably fit all of our belongings in here, with tons of room to spare!


For the record, I WILL own a Wrangler one day. I may be a 60+ year old grandma by the time it happens. But I will be THAT Grandma with the long grey braids, in a bright blue Wrangler cruising down the road blasting "Three Little Birds!"




Until then, I will be sporting the mini-van! :)  Cheers!