Friday & Saturday

TODAY I have to play catch up since I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. I guess I shouldn't say I didn't get a chance as much as I just didn't have time - packing is our new priority around here! Friday we heard for sure that our loan would not have issues going through, and that we could plan on being in our new place in exactly two weeks. Sooo, time to get busy!

Yesterday morning we didn't get much packing done because the girls and I went over to my friend Suzi's house to help out with Eli. Our friend Emily usually has Eli on Fridays, but Emily is out of town at her grandmother's funeral so Suzi asked if I could "substitute." Originally I thought we could have Eli at my house so that I could pack while he was here, but since our basement is wet I figured the kids would have no place to play and packing would be pretty impossible.

So 8:30 on Friday we were at Suzi's....the girls had a fun time playing with Eli. At one point, all three of them were in Eli's little toddler bed reading books. Eli has pretty many toys, so I think it was fun for Calla and Kelsey to play with "new stuff." We did have one scare while we were there when Calla walked by their laundry room. They keep their dog in a crate in the laundry room, but Calla hasn't seen a dog in a crate and didn't realize that the dog could not get out of the crate! She immediately started hysterically crying (I am not exaggerating; she gets absolutely hysterical around dogs) and it took me a while to calm her down after I explained that the dog could not open the crate!

Yesterday was our first sunny, warm day in a while so at around 11 I decided to take the three kiddos to the park. We met up with a bunch of friends, which worked out well since I had some help with Eli! I couldn't believe how much more work it was to be keeping track of three. The three of them were always in three different directions, of course, and so I carried on conversations with the other moms while I constantly skimmed the place for kids. I had packed a lunch for Eli at his house and of course I had the girls' lunch so we all ate there and ended up spending a couple hours playing.

I practically had to drag the kids out of there. Calla was literally sobbing as we walked to the car; she did not want to leave! But we had to drive Eli all the way back to his house (about a 25 minute drive from the park) and I didn't want Kelsey to fall asleep on our way there.

Well, that was bound to happen. Kelsey DID fall asleep on the way there. She does fine if she only naps a few minutes in the car in terms of me being able to transfer her into her bed, but she got a solid 50 minute nap in driving to and from Eli's house, and when Calla and I got her out she woke right up. I tried putting her back to sleep, but she was sooo not interested! Eek! On a normal day I wouldn't be too frustrated, but I was a little concerned (okay, a lot) about packing with two crabby girls under foot.

Turns out I shouldn't have been concerned - I got a decent amount done, and Daddy even got home from work on the early side which was so helpful. He took the girls on a long walk which gave me a chance to get more done, and then we fed them and put them to bed at 7 due to the half-hearted nap!

Then Jonathan and I ate dinner just the two of us in a "living room date." We've never eaten dinner after the girls have been in bed but I have to say it was very relaxing! I also watched some of the "royal wedding" footage while Jonathan fell asleep. (-:

Speaking of sleeping, here's a photo off Jonathan's cell phone of his three girls snoozing in our bed:

below: Kelsey decided to put stickers on herself this day (also from Daddy's phone):

TODAY was a pretty boring day full of packing. Daddy took the girls for a couple hours in the morning to run some errands and eat brunch (breakfast/lunch) at Chick-fil-A while I got some uninterrupted packing in! He brought them home in time for naps (well, a nap for Kelsey), and then took Calla with him on a couple more errands. Then he did the honor of making the pasta salad for his sister Courtney's bridal shower tomorrow while I did some more packing!

Let's just say that when I married Jonathan I had no idea he'd ever be any help in the kitchen, and today he was in there chopping away at vegetables with the best of them. Calla and Kelsey helped me pack up some of their closet, which ended up being very entertaining for them. At different points of the afternoon, Kelsey was trying on a snowsuit, snow gloves, a dress, a different dress, and a different shirt....she has become very interested in clothes! Calla's job was to clean out some of the toys that have ventured under her bed but she got five minutes into it when she unearthed an old puzzle and spent the rest of her "cleanup" time working on the puzzle!

We all got a break from the packing at around 5, when we met some friends at Gino's East for some pizza. Let me tell you, pizza always tastes best when you've been busy working all day! Jonathan and I kept going on and on about how delicious it was. Haha.

We set up a "kids table..."

below: Here's Will, Jake, Leah, Brooke, Anna and Calla. Kelsey lasted at the kids table about ten minutes before she figured out that Mommy wasn't going to sit next to her and wanted to move!

The restaurant was pretty full tonight so they apologized as they sat us at tables next to the arcade area. It turned out to be a perfect spot - the kids all roamed around the games while we finished off a leisurely dinner! Brooke and Leah even had room to do cartwheels. (Kelsey must have been inspired by the gymnastics because she attempted to climb a high chair only to fall and get a black eye. Sad.)

After we ate, our four families decided to take a walk to a park nearby to burn off the pizza calories.

below: Calla scaling the slide:

below: My friend Ali giving the kiddos a "ride" - Ali is the "fun mom" haha

We got home at 7:30 with just enough time to throw the kids in the bath tub before bed.

Our house is definitely in a state of confusion right now...I feel like packing always makes everything look worse (cluttered) before it looks better (or is packed up!). But we are all very excited and feel so blessed to be able to move! Yay

A (rainy) Thursday

TODAY was a rainy day! Who would have guessed???

Calla has been sleeping in lately now that she isn't napping (she usually sleep 13 hours a night now ha!) but today she fortunately woke up at 7:30 or so, which gave the girls and I enough time to get dressed, pack breakfast cereal in plastic sandwich bags, and head to the sports center. I think Calla woke up in a pretty good mood because she had no qualms about going to childcare. It helps that on Thursdays my friend Ali teaches the class, and so Ali's daughter Anna is in with Calla. Calla and Anna were actually sitting and chatting when I went to pick up Calla. I'd love to have overheard what they were chatting about!

Ali mixes up the exercise equipment that we use for her class (probably why the class is called a "mixer" haha) and her choice for today was to use a huge exercise ball. You can imagine how comical I must have looked with two balls (my belly being one of them). Ali apologized to me later! It actually wasn't as hard as it was funny looking.

After class, Ali asked me if my girls and I wanted to join her fam and my friend Brooke's at Monkey Bizness in an effort to find fun on such a rainy day. I said, "Oh yeah I only have to pack up my entire house; I have plenty of time to come!" Haha no I didn't say that, but after taking an inventory of the empty boxes left at my home (NONE) I decided that the girls and I might as well do something fun. (Don't worry, Daddy replenished our supply when he got home from work!)

Between class and Monkey Bizness though we came home and the girls played together while I got ready. They helped me pack a lunch...Kelsey always dutifully carries the sandwich bags over to big Sis, who organizes them carefully in our lunchbox. Kelsey had no problem handing over the food until she got to the dessert (jelly beans) when she literally made a run for it. Too bad she couldn't figure out how to open the sandwich bag!

The girls had a really fun time at Monkey Bizness. I have a punch card there so I got a deal, and Calla enjoyed Brooke and Anna (Ali's daughters). They are such sweet girls and so kind to her. Calla had a lot of fun in the art room. Kelsey had a playmate there, because my friend Brooke's daughter Hailey is her age but Kelsey and Hailey were too busy playing to notice each other! Friendship means nothing to almost-2-year-olds. Ha.

We ate our lunch there and left at naptime. Kelsey, very predictably, fell asleep in the car and then Calla and I spent her naptime doing as much "organizing" and "packing" as can be done without putting things in a box! I also found out that our closing date for May 13th was finalized (it had been up in the air for days...May 16th was the original closing date). You can pray our loan gets finalized in time, since that only leaves 14 days for the appraisal and what not to go through.

One thing on my list I did not have to worry about was making dinner, which was a big help! Daddy called home this afternoon because Opa asked if he could take us out to dinner in Wheaton. He wanted to check out this little Italian place that Jonathan and I had gone to on a date recently. Mema was working, but Opa met us at 5:30. I had crayons and coloring books for Calla, but all she needed to keep herself entertained was a piece of paper and a pen because she spent a lot of the time practicing her letters. She spelled out "chicken" and "pasta" and a bunch of other menu items.

Kelsey spent dinner dropping magic markers and eating on Daddy's lap! She sure loves pasta though; she ate three (small) plate fulls! It was nice to sit and chat with Opa. Obviously a lot of our conversation was about our upcoming move and aunt Courtney's wedding. Lots going on in the Brust family!

There's actually lots going on in my family too...Aunt Kelly found out at her doctor's appointment today that the baby may be coming ANY DAY (she is actually not due until our closing date - May 13th but the doctor is predicting any...minute!). Aunt Katelyn and Uncle David are contemplating a possible move themselves.

Let's just say I am constantly checking my phone because there could be big news updates at any minute! (-:

Speaking of news, I put the girls to bed as soon as we got home so they'd be well-rested for when I wake them up at 5am to watch the royal wedding with me. JUST KIDDING. Haha.

below: a bedtime snack.

below: a bedtime song (an original piece by Calla)



Callaism~

~ "What would you like to order? Chicken? Pasta? Hot dogs?" Calla asked me. She played "waitress" most of tonight's dinner.

Kelseyism~

~ new word of the day: Holly! (the name of Calla's baby doll)

Back to Two Toots

TODAY was the 10th rainy day in a row (according to my personal weather man, Jonathan). Someone told me today that it's a record-breaking rainy April but maybe they were just saying that to be nice (like "perhaps this is unusual"). But the rainy-ickyness is ruining park weather!

I should be thankful that I am more motivated to stay in and pack, but we've found our will to pack a little dampened by the wet carpet in our basement (haha no pun intended). All the rain brought in the leakage, and if any of you have been to our house you realize the first floor doesn't have a lot of room for packed boxes!

Okay, enough complaining already. The girls and I had a pretty leisurely morning; I made them waffles with strawberries and then gave them a bath. Kelsey without fail decides to pee when she's in the bath tub. Today she even sat on the potty for a solid five minutes as I filled the tub, then hopped into the water only to stare down at her privates and announce 'Boo boo!' (with a lot of chagrin). Nothing like emptying the tub just to fill it back up again!

We got our act together and were out the door by 11 or so (only halfway through the day!) as we met up with our friends the Van Rossums for lunch at the playland at church. Jenny was hoping to come as well but was having a rough day with Erik, so I offered to drop by her house and pick up Norah to come with us. I think Calla was more excited to have Norah riding in our car with us than anything else. Ha.

I packed lunchboxes for a "picnic lunch" at church. It was Blake's 2nd birthday today so Julie brought some birthday cake which was yummy. And then we played for about an hour in the indoor play "zone." Kelsey and Blake aren't the best ages for it (a little young) but I think they had a good time just running around so their mothers could chase after them. There is something about the wide hallways in church that always make my girls want to sprint.

We came back home in time for Kelsey's nap, and then Norah sent the afternoon with us. Last time she came the girls played together wonderfully, but the 'girlfriends' weren't getting along as well this time around. Calla seemed extra crabby and Norah seemed extra bossy and the combination meant I kept having to referee nit-picky fights. They were friendly enough with each other though to fit in a pretty lengthy tea party, a dance party in costumes, and numerous coloring book pages worth of art.

Jenny picked Norah up at 5, and then I fed the girls dinner. Calla ate a ton which is pretty unusual. It helped get rid of some of the crankies!

Poor Daddy only had about a half hour at home because he was meeting up with his high school core group guys at 6:30 for their last meeting of the schoolyear at BW3s (a wild wings place). The girls spent that half hour on his lap, which gave Mommy enough time to clean up the dishes and then we followed him out the door.

We followed him out the door because I decided to take the girls to Two Toots for a cupcake. We hadn't been since Calla's birthday last year (click here to remember), and a half a year is way too long to not visit Two Toots. Besides, Kelsey has grown to love trains since then and I thought it'd be a hit.

below: the girls each took "rides" on the horse, Champion. The horse was out of order but that was just as well because I never have quarters on me!


I took some more pics at Two Toots with my real camera but the battery is dead so that will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Calla ate her cupcake within minutes but Kelsey took her leisurely time and didn't even finish the whole thing! She gave some to Calla to eat. We made a fuss over the trains going by; I can't imagine how much little boys must love Two Toots based on how much my girls love that place!

We weren't there too long since we were just getting dessert, but long enough to take us right up to bedtime. I tucked the girls into Calla's bed and they snuggled as they fell asleep. It was cute. I still feel the need to be in there surfing the web on my phone to keep them from quiet so it doesn't take hours for them to fall asleep, but I hope soon they'll get used to sharing a bed and will be able to "settle down" without mommy there to say "shhh!" and "stop kicking your sister!"

Kelseyism~

~ new word of the day: I think she took a day off ; I didn't notice one! I have noticed she says more phrases, like "Mommy, hold me" and "I go up." She doesn't like to say her name, which works out well grammatically speaking because she always uses first-person pronouns. Ha.


below: Kelsey taking in Two Toots....

Another Rainy Day

below: I wish I could do this to Kelsey's hair!

below: her first "updo" haha



TODAY was another rainy day! Jonathan noticed tonight that part of our basement carpet seemed damp. We asked the sellers of that house we're buying to move up the closing date until tomorrow. (Just kidding.)



The girls were in good spirits this morning. I asked Calla if she wouldn't mind going to the gym as long as she was only in childcare during the craft time. She thought that was an excellent idea, so the girls and I went to the sports center right at 9:30 (when craft time begins) and I made sure to pick her up at 10 when it's over. She was pretty pleased with her craft.



She and Kelsey brought their baby dolls along to the gym and insisted I put name tags on them (just like their nametags). Calla even had her baby doll sit in her lap during the craft!



While Calla was doing crafts, apparently Kelsey was getting her hair done because I picked her up and she was sporting a lovely French braid. One of the girls in her "class" did it for her and said she stood as still as a statue! Kelsey was really tickled with it.

We came home for the girls to play for a while and eat some lunch. Then we beat the rainy day blues by joining some friends at the gymnastics open gym. Calla loves the open gym, although I'm not sure how much "gymnastics" is going on ....she and Kelsey mostly love jumping on the trampoline! There's also big medicine balls that they push around. And at one point, Calla was just sprinting around the whole place with her two buddies, Braden and Will. Yay for burning off energy!

The open gym is only for an hour, so we went home and I put Kelsey down for a nap. Calla rested for about an hour (definition of rest: continually interrupting Mommy to ask if it's time to get out of bed yet), and then played with her dolls until Kelsey woke up. Calla is usually very ready for Kelsey to wake up; she gets so excited! Yay for built-in playmates!

This afternoon from 5-6, Jonathan and I went to our marriage counselor and so a high schooler from church came over to watch the girls. Stephanie baby-sat last week so Calla was familiar with her and very excited about her coming! The couch was lined up with toys that Calla had brought up from the basement "to show Stephanie."

Kelsey, on the other hand, greeted Stephanie with hysterical sobs. She settles down the minute we get out the door (we can literally hear her stop as we walk down the front steps) and so I think she puts on the show as an "ego boast" to her parents.

When we got home, Stephanie and the girls were sitting on the front steps reading books. I think Calla enjoyed having a sitter...especially one that wasn't putting her to bed!

We ate dinner, only interrupted by a couple potty breaks from Kelsey.

below: eating ice cream (dessert, not dinner!) on the potty. Sometimes multi-tasking is the easiest way to get the job done.

Tonight the girls went to bed on the early side. They really enjoy sharing a bed! Calla is such a loud snorer, I'm not sure how Kelsey handles the train noises in her ear.



Weather Notes:

~ As I walked into the sports center today, someone walked out and observed, "What a nice day!" Keep in mind it was RAINING! She was referring to the 60s-temperature. Now that will put Chicago weather in perspective! Hahaha.

Callaism~

~ Calla is a little confused by "life" in general. Today she asked me if when she grows up if she could be the mommy and I be the girl. Uh, no?

Kelseyism~

~ phrase of the day: "Time to eat!" There is a little table outside of the gymnastics place and Kelsey sat down and announced it was time to eat. Ha.

below: a performance by Calla (given during Kelsey's nap)

Rainy Monday

below: Well is this a sad showing of today's pictures or what?? I didn't take any today and Daddy took these two because the three of us were cracking him up. We were looking for ants under the furniture.

We always get ants this time of year!


TODAY was a rainy day....it feels like Seattle around here lately. I feel like there's been more rainy dates lately than there are not, and this week's forecast is not proving me otherwise.

The girls slept in a bit, which is definitely a perk of an overcast, rainy day. Then we took our time eating breakfast and getting our act together. I usually try to be out to the grocery store mid-morning on Mondays, but Calla and Kelsey had a pretty elaborate plot going on with their baby dolls so I thought I might as well leave them alone!

I worked on some computer work for the Moms Together event at my church and finally realized it was late enough in the morning that we better get to the store before naptime rolled around!

Unfortunately, it seemed like naptime rolled around while we were at the store. Calla wasn't acting out in a real obvious fashion, but she kept whinning that she wanted this or that and about five minutes of whinning is enough to make anybody's head start to roll. Kelsey, on the other hand, was being a complete rascal. She kept trying to climb out of the cart, so I let her walk for a bit. That actually worked great until I was standing in the checkout line and she decided to take off. I don't know why that happens; they are standing there like little angels and the next minute they are running like they're being chased by dogs.

Miraculously she stopped and I picked her up and decided to buckle her into the front seat of the cart, which caused her to wail and carry on during the duration of our time at the store. I was definitely "that mom" with the noisy child and exasperated look in her eye! (Well, in both of our eyes!)

We got home, the girls ate, and then Kelsey went down for her nap at 1:30 and proceeded to sleep until 5pm! I guess that sprint down the store aisle was worth it after all haha. I had to actually wake her up at 5, and this was after an hour of the light on and Calla and I packing up a bookshelf. And this from the same girl who pops her head up when I tiptoe out of her room!

I think Calla enjoyed the quiet afternoon....she did some coloring, she watched an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba, she cared for her baby dolls and she helped me pack some. Calla has already done more than her share of packing - she has filled two plastic bags, four little purses, and two totes with random toys "for the move." She also packed her little "Calla" suitcase to the gills; she told me to bring out "Kelsey's suitcase" (Kelsey doesn't have one) so that she can pack that one as well.

Tonight Daddy came home and we ate dinner (obviously). The girls and Daddy had a tickle fest on the couch, we read some books, we packed some books, and then Calla fell asleep at around 8. Kelsey did not fall asleep until 9, due most likely to the marathon nap. A line from the "Baby Whisperer" book that reads, "Don't let naptime rob your baby of his/her nighttime sleep" kept going through my head as I tried to force my wide-eyed toddler to her dreams ! (-:

Callaism~

~ There was a little candle (one of those votives) on Jonathan's nightstand for a few weeks. I replaced it with a larger candle of the same exact color (coincidentially). Calla picked up the big candle today and said, "Oh my goodness! The candle used to be small so Kelsey could play with it and now it grew!" HAHAHA. Not Calla's brightest moment, but it totally cracked me up! I showed her the votive and she realized her mistake. (-:

Kelseyism~

~ new words of the day: frog, monkey

Happy Easter!

below: Calla in church (-:


HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!! He is Risen!

below: the girls ready for church!


TODAY Daddy left the house at 7:15ish to assist with ushering in the first service. I was a little nervous about getting the girls ready for church without his help (he is usually a one-man show on Sundays with them) but he left some donuts for us and so the most time-consuming part of the morning (getting them to eat breakfast) was taken care of! Yay!

I gave the girls their Easter baskets and so they were busy applying lip gloss, playing with Play-Doh, and sneaking M & Ms while I got ready. There were a couple tense moments when Calla couldn't decide on which purse to bring (she literally moved the contents of her purse three times until she settled on the "right one") but other than that we had a smooth morning getting out the door!

Calla was pleasantly surprised when we got to church to discover that Aunt Courtney and Kurt were coming. She was so happy about it that she didn't want to go to her class, so she spent some of the service with us (Kelsey of course went to class). During the sermon, after loudly whispering "Can you get my lipstick?" and then later "Mom did you remember to bring my Bible?" to me, we moved her to her class. Calla has not mastered the art of whispering!

After church we drove immediately to Palm Court to meet the rest of Jonathan's family for lunch. Before we ate, we did a little photo shoot outside the restaurant:

below: it was a little windy, but I think these are my favorite of the girls:

below: some family shots.....oops, Kelsey staring at the ground.....

Not much better, Kelsey:

Obviously I need to crop these!

Mommy looking large and in charge....Kelsey looking clueless.....

Sisters!

Cheese!

Over it!

Calla was REALLY tickled about the matching dresses. This Easter dress may replace her "diamond dress" as a new favorite. She really loves it.

For lunch we had a private room, and it was a big group! Mema, Opa, Uncle Stephen + Alicia + baby Braxton, Kurtney (Courtney + Kurt), Uncle Ben and his girlfriend, Megan (until she had to leave to eat with her fam), Poppi, Jonathan's aunt Carole and her husband, Sarge, Jonathan's cousin Stephanie and her boyfriend whose name escapes me, and Jonathan's cousin Caleb.

Mema and Opa had Easter baskets for the girls and bunny ears (of course!):

Kelsey really liked the bunny ears!

Braxton wasn't feeling too hot, but he was a good sport about a photo op with the girls:

43 months old, 22 months old, and 6 months old........

At first we tried putting Braxton in the middle, but Kelsey cried bc she wanted to sit next to Calla.

Between her Easter basket and a bag of activities that I brought along, Calla stayed pretty busy. Here she enjoyed some catch-up time with Uncle Ben (home from college for the weekend):

A not-so-great pic of JB and I:

Ben and Kelsey...wearing a funny face (Kelsey, that is)

We had a couple hours to enjoy a leisurely lunch. The rest of us ate and ate (including Kelsey), but Calla insisted she wasn't hungry and sure enough she did not eat a bite until Uncle Ben started eating his mint chocolate chip ice cream. Suddenly, Calla was starved! Uncle Ben gave her some bites which was nice!

We knew when we left at 1:30 that the girls would fall asleep in the car. Well, shows you how much we know. They stayed wide awake and took forever to settle down and fall asleep once we got home!

Daddy and Kels...

below: singing in the car (maybe if we would have stopped singing, they could sleep!)

After naps, the girls and I got to spend an hour or so on Skype with Uncle Caleb, Pops and Mimi, and Aunt Kimmi and Uncle Jon. Mimi hosted family for Easter lunch. Aunt Katelyn was also a hostess today, having Aunt Corinne over. (-: They sent us a video of cousin Haley enjoying her first Easter! Aunt Kel and Uncle Josh were with his family this evening.

Tonight we just stayed at home. The girls had plenty going on with all their new Easter goodies from Mema and Opa and from their baskets at home. Daddy got to watch a hockey game, which seems a little out of season in my opinion (I'm trying to think "summer!" not ice skating!). It ended up being a really relaxing day!

Hope you all had a blessed Easter Day!!!

Easter Eve!

TODAY the girls slept in, so I skipped my aerobics class and we hung out at the house until Daddy got home from basketball. He was home long enough to walk inside and then turn around and head back out because we were going to the Wheaton Easter Egg Hunt.

The hunt was to be at 10am, at Memorial Park, a little park in downtown Wheaton. Sounds so quaint, right? MAJOR LETDOWN. We arrived at 9:55, only to discover that the egg hunt was over. Who starts egg hunts ten minutes early?!??? Needless to say, there were a lot of disgruntled parents. I am not sure who was running the egg hunt, but they need to settle down and do things on time (not ahead of schedule). Calla did pretty well with her disappointment, mostly because she was distracted by the presence of the Easter Bunny. She gave him a high five as her sissy hid her face in Daddy's shoulder.

Daddy saved the day by suggesting we got to Chick-fil-A for some chicken minis (little chicken breakfast biscuits) and so the girls could play on the playground. Who needs eggs when you have a personal indoor playground? (The place was deserted so the girls had the best time hanging out just the two of them.) We were there for almost two hours before coming home so the girls could play a little before naptime.

Naptime rolled around, and Kelsey insisted on the following sleeping arrangement:

since Calla doesn't nap (well, she hasn't since Sunday!!), I suggested that she "play" quietly in Kelsey's crib while Kels slept in her bed. She stayed in there for almost an hour before climbing out to find out what mom and dad were up to.

Kelsey had a fabulous two-hour nap in Calla's bed (she's been stuck in a 90-minute nap rut for the past few weeks). When the girls woke up, Daddy took them on a walk. Calla rode her tricycle while Dad pushed Kels in the stroller. I knew they were back from the walk when they returned inside with Kelsey wailing "walk, walk!" She could walk for hours, and was not happy when it was over.

But it was over so we could bathe the girls before going over to our friends Brad and Kate's for pizza. In typical families-of-young-children fashion, we got there at 6, ate pizza, chatted briefly, and were home by 7:30. Haha bedtime always puts a damper on evening fun!

But in those 90 minutes, the girls and the hosts spent a lot of time in Braden's jumpy house:

Braden and Kelsey Ann and Maggie are right between my girls' ages (they are 4 and 2 and 12 months) so the five of them traveled in a little pack. Besides the bouncey house, Calla and Kelsey Mae's favorite thing to play is dolls. They brought their own dolls so they could play with Kelsey Ann's doll stuff.

Daddy took this pic before we left. He noticed that Kelsey Mae had put "Holly" down for her nap while we were there:

The plan was to head home and the girls go straight to bed, and that happened sort of. We got the girls in their pajamas and put them in Calla's bed and then they proceeded to take forever to fall asleep! Sometimes sisters sharing a bed can be distracting!! (-:

below: Calla (purple jacket) greeting the Easter Bunny...

Callaism~

~ Calla and Kelsey gathered all their dollies and put them in strollers and "took" them to the airport today (the airport was the living room). Then Calla proceeded to take the dolls out of the strollers (Kelsey protested loudly during that part), collapsed the toy strollers, and set the dolls on the couch which was the "airplane." Then she and Kelsey got activities to do on the "plane" with the dollies. They are experienced travelers! She called me the "planer." I think she meant "captain" because she kept asking me to "drive the plane." I guess "plane-r" is sorta like "driver!"

Kelseyism~

~ New word of the day: nails! We painted the girls nails for Easter. Now Mommy just has to work on her own!

below: Chick-fil-A playland......

Good Good Friday

TODAY we did a lot of this.........

And some of this.......

Today was a leisurely day at home. The only agenda for the girls were dying Easter eggs. Turns out that turned out to take half of our morning!

below: getting set up (don't let her calm expression and arms-at-her-sides fool you)

Reaching for a spoon to "mix" the eggs...

Fun! Before we started, I said to the girls, "Okay let's get dressed so we can dye Easter eggs!" Calla didn't miss a beat. "But mom we should probably stay in our pajamas," she said, "we wouldn't want to get our clothes all messy!" Good point, Calla!

Calla, the mad scientist mixing her colors...

I'm not sure why she is kissing the egg. Actually I think that's one of her plastic eggs...

Flattering photo:

Even more flattering......

below: Kelsey's "decorating" of her eggs lasted a solid five minutes (four minutes longer than I would have predicted)

Calla took egg decorating VERY seriously.....

Surprisingly, no eggs were harmed in the egg dyeing (dying?) process...

We even skyped Daddy in so he could be a part of the egg process for a couple minutes. Daddy and I have skype on our phones so we've started skyping Daddy when we have something important to SHOW him (i.e. a spider / egg dying).

below: an artistic photo, compliments of Kelsey

While we decorated eggs, Calla and I talked about the holiday of Easter and the meaning behind Jesus' death and resurrection and, needless to say, she seemed a little confused. Maybe not. When I asked her if she had any questions about it, she asked me "Can you write Happy Easter on my egg?"

For lunch we decided to do a picnic on the floor. It was fun while the girls were actually eating, but after a while they thought to abandon the picnic in favor of racing around the house. It actually gave me a few minutes to eat my lunch in peace (if by "peace" you don't factor in the shrieks of excitement from all the sprinting). I think picnic lunches may be a good idea.

Both girls seemed tired by 1, so I thought maybe I'd get a solid nap out of both of them. Nope. Calla never slept, and Kelsey slept about an hour and ten minutes. Pathetic! I guess I should have given them time to run around the house....oh, wait.

So during this rainy afternoon we did some coloring and laundry and procrastinating (as far as packing is concerned). I think the closing date is pretty firm as far as May 16th goes. I guess we better check with Daddy to make sure!

Speaking of whom, Daddy arrived at home at 4ish. After some tickle fights, we all got dressed and were out the door for an early bird dinner. Our church's Good Friday service began at 6, so we decided to meet some friends out at Portillo's beforehand to eat.

I didn't think I'd be hungry at 5pm, but of course I had no problem polishing off my food (a salad, in my defense!). The girls wanted "cheese sandwiches" when we arrived, and about fifteen minutes into her sandwich Calla changed her mind and began fussing for a hot dog. She eventually forgot that she wanted a hot dog when Norah sat next to her with a new carton of milk. All the sudden she wanted milk. (Never mind her own cup from home, right in front of her, full of milk.)

We got out of there without buying a hot dog or milk (I distracted Calla with an old trick - a cup of ice! she's been a fan of ice chips since she was ten or eleven months old haha). The service at church was really meaningful, and I think the girls enjoyed their classes as well. Melanie the coordinator had me stick Kelsey in with the 2-year olds and I think she enjoyed "the big kids." Calla helped me drop her off, and Calla escorted her in her classroom like a seasoned veteran. "Don't worry," I could hear Calla telling sissy, "We will be right back. I will come get you. Do you want to play with the toys? See the toys? And have fun with all the kids! They look like fun kids!" (You can tell Calla has gotten a fair share of "coaching" as I walk her into her classes! ha)

Calla did a cross as her craft and was completely tickled with it. She told me it's her favorite craft. When I picked her up she told me she wanted me to meet a friend. I thought she meant a kid her age, of course, but it turns out she meant her teacher. The teacher laughed and said, "I bet you didn't think her 'friend' was 40!"

Her teacher tonight had helped for the first semester in her Owls class and Calla couldn't get over how wonderful it was that they were reunited.

Well as soon as we got home the girls went straight to bed. I put them to bed together in Calla's bed to see how it would work. A couple hours later Kelsey woke up and I realized Calla's feet were on her pillow but since then they've been all snuggled up in there like a couple of little lambs. (-: If Kelsey can handle Calla's snoring in her ear, she can sleep through anything (in my opinion).

Tonight Jonathan and I watched "The Passion" which is a sobering movie but certainly appropriate for a day like today. We both had a song in our head today; I was trying to embed the YouTube video right in the blog but it's not working so if you care to hear it then just click here.

Hope you all had a thoughtful Good Friday!