What's in the camera this morning?

I'm trying to keep up with blogging these days.  But when weekends like this one happen, I sometimes have to go back and look through the camera to figure out what we did.  I found lots and lots of smiling faces-- hope you'll enjoy them.

This little spunky monkey continues to amaze me.  Her language is taking off at the speed of light- putting together 3 and 4 word sentences and repeating literally everything she hears.  She can count to ten (although she skips 6 every single time, don't know why) and knows just about all of her colors.  I wish I could claim credit for this, but I believe it should either go to Joshua or Elmo.  And since I'm sharing what I am proud of about Lauren, it is only fair to also share that her two other favorite words are "NO!" and "MINE!" (please note the emphasis, and realize that it's only half as much as she really puts into it).  This is a girl who doesn't take crap from anyone- especially not her brother.  So the spats are high energy at our house.  But for all the spunk and all the personality, there is a whole lot of sweetness to balance it out. 

Pictures of Joshua are hard to come by these days.  He has been enjoying his summer vacation a whole lot.  He says he likes it because he gets to "sleep in".  I put that in quotation marks because he hasn't slept past 7:00 yet, but I do have to say that I'm enjoying not having to rush him around in the morning and shove breakfast into him to have him out the door at 7:40.  That will all come rushing back to us far too soon.

I love this picture of Lauren.  Like every other 19 month old I've ever met, she is fascinated with bubbles.  I believe it is safe to say she has eaten at least one bottle of bubbles so far this spring and has spilled the equivalent of at least 4 more, but she persists at practicing. 

Lauren spent a large chunk of Saturday afternoon playing with Joshua's grill set that he found while we were rummaging in the basement looking for some small size pajamas to share with a church friend.  Our strategy of keeping some toys hidden in the basement when we moved works really well except for when we allow Joshua into the basement, at which point his eyes widen like he has just seen Heaven.  He suddenly remembers all of the toys that he forgot about and insists that we bring some upstairs.  I can only say that I hope we can find somewhere else for him to be when the day comes that I yard sale the majority of said toys.  But Lauren got great enjoyment out of this and cooked up a storm for me.  Her favorite thing to make was "coffee" in the cups.  Guess she knows her Mama likes her coffee (although not right now!).

After getting ready for church on Sunday morning, Lauren came downstairs and declared to Josh, "Wook Josh!  I pretty!"  And pretty she was in her little Osh Kosh jumper and pink monogrammed bow.  (Thanks Libby for sharing this little outfit gem from Brooke's stash!)  She was hugging her beloved Monkey who had just come from two tumbles in the washer after she threw him in the toilet on Saturday night.  Joshua obliged his baby sister pretty well, told her how pretty she looked and then let her cuddle on the big chair with him while I got the last few things around for church.  I love the relationship that is developing between them.  In the moments that it is sweet, it is super sweet.  And we cherish them when they happen.

Much more to share, but I'll stop here because my Monday post has taken me until Wednesday to actually publish.  I have more pictures in the camera from our already full week of summer fun.  More exciting information after tomorrow, I hope.  

Weekend Fun

We were SOOOO ready for a long weekend!  The kids and I packed up and headed for Lewistown on Saturday morning.  Daddy stayed home to spend some time on the golf course and do a whole bunch of work at the house that never seems to be easy to get done with two extra little "helpers" (and trust me when I say we use the term loosely).  We arrived at Nana and Pap's house before lunchtime and spent nearly every moment of our trip outside.  We've been so anxious for nice weather, although I have to say that this immediate jump from cool, wet and rainy to 100 degrees was a bit drastic, but I'm not complaining.

Lauren's big accomplishment this weekend was learning how to "drive" the Gator.  I almost find it hard to believe that Joshua was this same age when he learned how to drive it, but you could search the blog for sometime around May 2008 and see pictures of an 18 month old Joshua driving in circles in the Gator.  His sister was not to be outdone.  She was a bit reckless, but I am happy to report that there were no insurance claims filed this morning for collision by toddler over the weekend (although there were many close calls).  The Gator became our biggest source of arguments this weekend as there are only 2 seats, so there is always one munchkin left out.  And, given the fact that none of our children are what we could honestly classify as "easy going", none of them took kindly to being the passenger either.  I was super proud of Joshua, though, because with just a little coaxing he would defer to Brooke and Lauren for a ride.  I'm not sure he loved the idea, but he complied, and really that's all we ask.

Sunday morning we got up and went to church (where I spent the majority of the time in the nursery with Lauren), but as soon as we got home, we ate lunch quickly and then ended up outside yet again.  Big VIP points to Uncle Zig for picking up the 100 SPF for the fair skinned Dugans in the crowd.  I had left my stash at home and feel certain we'd have amassed third degree burns if it hadn't been for the frequent application of sunscreen.  Libby and Zig brought their large blow up pool to Mom and Dad's and set it up for the kids to splash in.  They all had a ball!

Lauren snoozed in the car for a few extra minutes after our quick run to pick up more shorts and bathing suits for the kids.  (I hadn't exactly anticipated just how HOT it was going to be when I packed the bags before leaving home.  Thank goodness for JCPenney!)  She was parked in the shade with all of the doors open, but awoke to the squeals and shrieks of Brooke and Joshua before too much time passed. 

It didn't take her long to get in on the action, though.  She loved the water!  I already think it's going to be fun to plan some afternoon swimming trips with each of the kids individually.  Joshua and I had such fun last year when we went, and I can already tell that Lauren is going to be more daring than her brother when it comes to the water.  Check out those curls on her head, too!  When it's warm or humid, her hair goes to all over curls!  I love it!

Nana and Pap cooked up a fantastic picnic for us that evening, and Pappy Ray and Pappy Fred and Freda came over to eat with us.  All of the playing had clearly worked up an appetite for Lauren, because before Pap even pulled the hamburgers and hot dogs off the grill, she climbed up to the table and said "EAT!"

After the pool water was emptied, the kids seemed to gravitate toward the dirt pile and played there for quite some time.  And let me say that it was evident in the tub water that evening, as well as by looking at their fingernails!  I have been cleaning dirt out from under those nails since we got home!  But, I believe it's safe to say that they had a fantastic time.

We returned home late yesterday morning, although through tears from Joshua because he really wanted to stay at Nana and Pap's longer.  He told me that 5 nights would be sufficient, but I'm thinking he would feel the same way about leaving to come home.  I love that they have such a great time, but it breaks my heart every time we have to pack up and I see them get upset.  We spent the afternoon yesterday while Lauren napped, helping Jason finish up his outside work pulling weeds and cleaning up the landscaping around the house.

It was a full weekend, but a great one!

Lately...

Lately, we've spent a lot of time pretending to be Superheroes.  Between store bought and self made costumes, and the good old-fashioned "use your imaginination" costumes, I think we can pretty much act out any Superhero scene you can imagine.  In case you wondered, the picture above is Joshua being Thor.  He and Grandma made his wing hat, his cape was a Christmas present that is used by one of the children every waking minute of the day, and the hammer belongs to one of Lauren's pounding toys.

Lately, we've been spending a lot of time outside when it isn't raining.  We're loving meeting our new neighbors and getting to know them a little better.  We're really looking forward to some summer evenings spent enjoying the deck while the kids run in the yard.

Lately, we've been very caught up in our own little comedian ... Lauren.  It's customary to find her without any clothes on after supper time, and despite any effort to reason with her, it's no use.  As you can see below, though, even if you're naked, it never hurts to have a set of Tiffany's silver beads to dress up the ensemble.

You can see a little bit in this picture how her hair is finally starting to grow.  When she's hot or it's humid outside, it lays in curls, which I can't keep my hands off of. 

Lately, we've been making some big plans at our house.  Unexpected blessings abound, and we are so grateful.  We've been busy lately, but not too busy to enjoy every moment of our little family.

Picture overload expected from our weekend trip to Nana and Pap's.  Joshua has been counting down ever since I mentioned we were going to be headed there on Saturday, so I sure hope they're ready for him!  

So blessed...

I know that I say it a lot, but I am so very blessed.  But yesterday was one of those days where it was just so apparent that it can't be denied.  Yesterday, instead of attending church as I normally do each week, I had the opportunity to participate in our church's second annual "Be The Church" Sunday.  Volunteers from the church were out in the community, living out our faith in real actions that made a difference to others, showing them God's love through us.

I volunteered to go to the local grocery store and be a part of a mystery shoppers program where donated gift cards were handed out to shoppers who looked like they could use a little help with their bill.  What I thought would be an easy job turned out to be quite challenging, but as we prayed for the right people to come across our path, God certainly provided.  We were able to help a family with a baby in the hospital in Philadelphia who is working just to make ends meet.  We helped a woman is who caring for her grandson with special needs, desperately trying to keep her head above water.  There were so many others- about 20 gift cards in all, many who cried tears of gratitude on their way out of the store.  Some who were so shocked they didn't know what to do or say.

The best part about all of this is that it was totally anonymous.  We were working directly with the cashiers at the store to get the cards to them to be used with their orders without them knowing where it came from.  It wasn't about our church, but only to bless others in a way that meant something to them. 

As it turned out, I think we were just as blessed as any of the families we might have surprised with a little relief at the time of checkout.

After the morning was over, I jumped in the car and went home to spend the afternoon with Joshua and Lauren while Jason enjoyed some golfing time.  I was immediate struck by how unbelievably blessed I am- to have a nice home to live in, to have two healthy kids, to have never worried for a single second about how I would be able to afford to feed them.  I am so thankful, and so humbled by the Lord's provision in my life.

What a day!

Knoebel's!!

There is a whole lot of blog posting going on below this one, so please don't miss the three catch-up posts that I've done today.  I hope that this will be the beginning of my getting back onto a regular routine of posting just about daily.  I've missed it!!

We took FULL advantage of the first warm, sunny Saturday in a loooooooong time by taking the kids to Knoebel's yesterday afternoon and evening.  Libby and I have been talking about it for what seems like ages, and I'm so proud of all of us for actually making it happen.  Big points to Libby, Zig, my Mom and Brooke for making a long trip to be able to spend the day with us at the park.  Everyone had such a great time.  Except for one freak rain shower (although nothing surprises me anymore with the weather we've been having!), we had a beautiful day to be at the park.



This was our first attempt at a ride for both Brooke and Lauren.  Libby and I were placing bets about who was going to try to jump out of the boat first.  All of my money was on Lauren.  But we were both very pleasantly surprised by how well they both did.  Joshua is an old pro at these kiddie rides by now, but he did a great job of showing the girls what to do.

Brooke steered clear of the rides that went way up in the air like the planes.  But Joshua didn't let flying solo slow him down.  

 The Mini Whip was the serious highlight of the entire trip for them.  We squeezed them all into that tiny little car (mostly to keep Lauren from sliding right out of it) but their giggles were music to our ears.  Every time they'd whip around the corner, their grins got bigger and bigger.  Lauren summed this one up when we got her out of the car.  She said, "MORE!"

After breaking my little toe trying to get Joshua off of the fire trucks (yep, you read that right), Mom and Libby were a huge help with wrestling Lauren.  She's still a little too small to ride some of the rides, and her patience is not her strongest quality.  But between the three of us, we did OK keeping her content.  I was thrilled to see her let Nana and Libby hold her since she's usually so tough.  Hopefully, at 19 months, she's learning just how cool her Nana and Aunt Ah-La (what she calls Libby) really are!



It was tub time when we finally hit home, and after a quick snack and our tubs, everyone was ready to go to bed.  I have a feeling I say this each and every time I post about Knoebel's, but we are so lucky to have this cute little park just a short 25-30  minutes away from home.  We plan to take full advantage of its proximity this summer, so if you're heading that way, let us know!

End of the Year Preschool Program

 Thursday night, May 19th, marked the official end of the school year for Joshua this year.  That evening, all of the preschool classes got together to perform a special program for all of their parents and grandparents at the school.  To say it was adorable was quite an understatement.

 Here he is, on stage, doing his sign language motions to Jesus Loves Me.  The impressive part was that Mrs. Deitrick also taught them how to sing it in Spanish too.  And with the theme "Around the World", it was perfect.

Joshua did all of the motions and sang his little heart out the whole time.  We were so proud of him.

At the end of their section of the program, Joshua got to stand with Mrs Deitrick and Mr. Baughman on stage to get his diploma for having completed the year in K4.  He was so proud of himself, but not half as proud as we were.

I'm sorry to report that Lauren was an absolute disaster the whole evening.  Sadly, when Joshua's name was called to come get his diploma, I was out in the hall trying to get her to stop crying.  I blame it partially on the ear infection that was brewing (confirmed the next day at the doctor's office) and partially on the hour of the program.  We really can't count on doing anything with her after 6:00 pm that requires her to sit still or stay in one place for longer than a minute or two.  So, I'm taking applications for babysitters for next year's program!

Field Day Fun

I'm attempting to catch up a little bit.  And there's lots of catching up to do thanks to my little blogging hiatus.

On May 13th, Jason and I were lucky enough to accompany our little K4 man to his annual field day at school.  There's no way to really depict what this day entails, other than the fact that it is a total free for all with 100+ 3, 4 and 5 year olds running about everywhere.  The gym and the outside of the school are set up in stations that the kids rotate between in their little groups.  It is is safe to say that Joshua had a blast and it appeared that the other children did as well.  Here are some of our favorite pictures from the day.

The kids in Joshua's group challenged Mr. Baughman (the principal) to a potato sack race.  There was a lot of giggling and a lot of falling down, but I think everyone, including Mr. Baughman had a good time.

Here is Joshua with his friend Spencer.  If I was more technically adept, I would link back to a similar picture that we took of the two boys last year.  Something tells me they would appear more grown up.  And really, who needs to be reminded of that, right?  Please don't miss their painted faces, especially because the artwork was courtesy of moi.  I am limited in my face painting skills (as I am in so many other things as well that motherhood seems to highlight), and the whole time we were painting their little cheeks, the other moms and I kept wondering why there weren't a few high school girls who had been suckered into being the face painters for the morning!

After all of the running and jumping and throwing and baseball batting were complete for the morning's activities, it was time for the family picnic.  Each family laid a blanket on the floor in the lobby and one of the high school grades cooked a hotdog lunch for us.  After scouring the food line and reading labels, we determined that Joshua was OK to eat with the others, although there were peanut butter cookies in too close proximity for my liking, but after a little discussion with the servers about making sure their gloved cookie hands didn't make it into the chip bowl, I said a prayer and went with the flow.  After lunch, all of the kids got medals for their sportsmanship and effort, and I think you might notice a very proud little guy...

After lunch, we presented Mrs. Deitrick with her end of the year gift- a scrapbook with a page made by each of the kids to say thank you to her for a wonderful year.  As she was looking through the book, I thought it was totally appropriate that all of the kids gathered around her.  I swear (except that I try not to) that Mrs. Deitrick is like the pied piper with 4 year olds.  They flock to her and she has such a special way with them.  It's been a wonderful school year for Joshua, and since we've made the decision to keep him in K4 another year next year to let him catch up in age with the rest of the kids, we're thrilled that he'll get to be in her class again.

Mother's Day

I've been horribly absent from blogging in recent weeks.  And there's no good excuse.  But it's time to get back on track, especially with a whole lot of exciting things going on here lately.

I'm sorry to say that it took us until after tub time when these two little munchkins were all cleaned up and in their pajamas until we got our annual Mother's Day photo this year.  But I had a very special Mother's Day- complete with church, a visit from Nana and Pap that the kids loved, and a whole bunch of love from the kids.  Joshua was especially sweet, hiding his special Mother's Day present that he worked on at school under his bed from Friday until Sunday morning.  He only told me about it 200 times between Friday and Sunday morning, but insisted that we keep it a secret.  He did proudly remember on his own on Sunday morning to bring it to me when he woke up. 

Suffice it to say that, although I have a full time job, there is no responsibility I have ever had that I love more than being Mommy to these two precious kids.  But I know I'm not alone in feeling that way.  Every Mom I've ever met feels exactly the same way.  And that, my friends, is the beauty of Motherhood.

Happy Mother's Day everyone.

Happy Easter!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter holiday.  Our holiday has spread over the past two weeks, which works out well in a lot of ways.  We celebrated Easter with Grandma and Grandpa last Sunday with a yummy dinner at our house and an egg hunt for the kids.  I learned how to make Grandma's famous scalloped potatoes and learned a hard lesson about the dangers of the kitchen gadget called a mandolin.  I'm still missing the piece of my finger that got in the way of the blade.  But we ate a whole lot of yummy food, braved the gale force winds to hunt eggs in the yard, and just enjoyed some time together with them.  The kids loved it, and so did we.

 Lauren "assisting" Grandma with the potatoes.

 Assessing the loot from the egg hunt.  Holy cow do we ever have a lot of candy!

This week was an absolute whirlwind of Easter activities.  Joshua's Easter party at preschool was on Wednesday morning, and I was lucky enough to be there.  The kids painted some adorable Easter eggs, retold the Easter story that they had been learning over the past week, sang some fantastic songs, and baked resurrection buns (crescent rolls with cinnamon sugar marshmallows baked inside them that disappear...the tomb is empty, get it?)  Given the plethora of peanut products and peanut contaminated candies that show up at Easter, I preferred to be there to monitor the situation and give Mrs. Deitrick one less major issue to remember in the midst of the party.

Thursday I saved a little time in the evening to go to the Maundy Thursday service at our church.  I had gone last year and had been immensely blessed by it.  This year was much the same.  It was a beautifully haunting service that gave me the time to really reflect on the crucifixion.  So often I find myself spending my time and energy thinking about the resurrection part of Easter- because it's a whole lot more joyful.  But the Thursday and Friday parts of Easter are just as important.  And I love that this service brings our church together to do the hard stuff as a church family.

Friday afternoon, amidst the hustle of packing and preparing for our trip to Lewistown, I had an opportunity to participate in the prayer vigil.  Our church divides the Easter weekend into half hour time slots.  Church members sign up for slots to go to the church and pray.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  But when I got there, I found prayer requests that had been presubmitted and a sanctuary that had been beautifully decorated like a garden.  And that 30 minutes passed faster than any other 30 minute period I can recall.  What a blessing to be a part of something so special.

Jason and the munchkins met me in the parking lot when my prayer vigil spot was finished.  And we were off for a great weekend at Nana and Pap's house.  Libby was still recuperating from her wisdom teeth surgery on Thursday, but she was there too, ready for fun with her favorite niece and nephew.  There was much giggling, much running and chasing, many Easter eggs to be hunted and a whole bunch of food to be enjoyed.  It was awesome.

The kids' table at our Easter dinner on Saturday evening.  (Aunt Libby sat at the 4th chair!)

These are slightly out of order, but I'm done fighting with Blogger this evening. Don't the kids all look adorable in their fancy Easter clothes?

We had a little sing along at Club Bob on Saturday afternoon.  The kids loved it!

And a quick shot of the kiddos ready to head downstairs to hunt for eggs.

It really was a great weekend.  We were all happy to have spent a great weekend with our family in Lewistown.  Being there makes me miss them even more.  Joshua has started really having a hard time when it's time for us to leave to come home.  Today there were quite a few tears when it came time for goodbyes.  Poor buddy seems to have inherited my emotional tendencies--- wears his heart on his sleeve and can't hold it back when the tears start coming.  Broke my heart to see him sad to come home.  Once we got here, though, he was happy to be back in his routine and seemed to get back in the swing of things just fine.

Our sugar high has officially worn off in the past two hours, so both kids crashed hard tonight.  Will be more to come this week!

Not exactly what I had in mind.

On Thursday afternoon, I got to spend some one on one time with Lauren.  As you might guess this treat centered around her 18 month doctor's appointment.  We had fun, though (all except for the shots).  We even squeezed in a trip for some groceries together and I loved watching her say hello and wave to every single person we passed.

 

Then we got home.  I was expecting a quiet night to get a few things done.  After all, I had some special plans over the weekend and I needed to get a jump on the laundry and a few other little jobs that I didn't want looming over my fun.  And that's when I realized I was NOT in control.

Joshua was sick.  His nose was running like a spigot.  He threw up.  He was burning hot.  He cried and cried and cried in my arms until he fell asleep.  At 4:00.  We were in for it.  The night was bad, and he needed to stay home from school.  I stayed with him because the fever was a little scary for me at least and I somehow felt better knowing that I was at least looking at him and feeling his head every 15 minutes.

It became apparent that my Saturday plans weren't looking good.  Mom, Libby and I had planned a shopping day about 2 months ago to go to the outlets at Hershey to have some girl time (without kids) together and do some spring/summer shopping for the kids' wardrobes.  Although Jason was perfectly willing to deal with the illness related duties on Saturday, I didn't think it was fair to leave him with a weepy miserable Joshua and a ticking time bomb Lauren, because we all know it's only a matter of time before your healthy children pick up whatever the sick one has.  I find it incredible that these children can't share a toy to save their lives, but as soon as one of them has a germ, they're all of a sudden blessed with generosity for one another.  It's like a sick joke.  No pun intended.

All plans of getting out of the house on Saturday failed miserably.  The only bright spot in the afternoon was that Lauren (after refusing her nap, God help me) and I got to go to the grocery store.  The high point of the day was a half hour spell outside that ended in tears on the part of both children.  Remember....weepy and sharing of the germs.  I knew Lauren was doomed.  Then Jason cooked a delicious steak dinner on the grill that, looking back on it, was truly the highlight of the weekend.  (It really tasted good!)

I was hopeful that we could make it to church.  That is until I felt Lauren's head upon her waking in the morning.  She was the next victim.  And so we stayed in our PJ's and cuddled on the couch for hours and tried to make the best of it.  Joshua was coming out of the fog, so at least there was only one crying at a time.

I was looking forward to work on Monday morning.  I had an opportunity to go to a big conference in Harrisburg with United Way to talk about Early Childhood Education and business investment into it.  The Governor was supposed to speak, as was the CEO of Sesame Street.  I was really looking forward to it.  And then the phone rang and we learned of the bug's third victim......Grandma.  And all plans to go to Harrisburg or even to the office today were shot right to you-know-where.  Jason's work day was more important than mine and so I decided to stay home again today.  This house arrest is starting to work on  my nerves, I have to tell you.

So, suffice it to say that the last few days haven't worked out anything like I had hoped.  Nope, this isn't at all what I had in mind.

Despite Lauren feeling SUPER crummy today and crying more than not, here was our only photo opp today.  Poor baby is sick.  I'm only thrilled that my #1 baby is much much better today.