Happy Campers

I have told you before about my inability to build good forts. 

I do my best, though.

And that is enough, even for Dixie...

Lucas and Mere were SUPER mad when they saw Dixie in their "special hiding place"

and demanded that I kick her out!

She eventually left all her own and things got back to normal...

Egg-cident

As I am eating a piece of (not-so yummy boxed) carrot cake,

I want to share with you, how it came about...

As usual, the kiddos wanted to "help" their momma.

And I was lazy and didn't feel like making my carrot cake from scratch...

So I thought, no harm for letting them actually help me.

I was feeling pretty overzealous I think.

Because after Lucas asked to crack the egg, I said "Sure!  You can try!"

He carefully banged it on the counter.

And yes, he definately banged...

Then he gripped it in two hands to split it open...

And created the biggest egg mess I have E.V.E.R seen!

Egg flew across the kitchen, onto me, onto my camera. 

I laughed about it when I recounted the story to Richard, but I did not laugh then. 

Especially, when I grabbed him to rinse off...

Meredith carefully picked the egg shell out of the bowl and threw it on the floor! 

Oh my children, I really do love them so....

But after the egg-cident, we continued...

The cake is made.

The cake is nearly gone. 

And I officially will never neglect to make a carrot cake from scratch again!

Randoms

Here are a few random photos from the past few days.

Nothing exciting to report....

Mere can count in Spanish.  It is hilarious.

Families?!

At a  Law School BBQ last week, I met a woman with THREE children.

Three children! 

We thought the only families at the Law School were of the faculty.

When actually, there ARE students with families, with children!
AMAZING that we have been hiding under a rock, and missed the memo on that one.  

Literally, missed the memo because they have an email chain for those with families.

We learned of a group for the families in the Law School...a support group, a social group....

Playgroups, picnics, parties...all of the important P's!

This past Friday, they were doing another important P --- pizza and a movie.

I was nervous about going since I had only met a few other women and had no clue how Lucas and Meredith would do.  But Richard insisted we try it!

So we didn't have to cancel our Pizza Friday (and got FREE pizza instead!) and got a taste of how our children would do in a theatre without dropping the $9 dollars

(Okay, I really have no clue how much a movie costs these days.  I haven't been to a theatre in about 4 years).

The movie of choice was Ratatouille -- which I had seen pre-Mommy phase, but did not realize how violent and scary it was until I watched it with a room full of children. 

You see things with new eyes once your babies enter your world.

The children were crying, running around, talking, up and down the stairs, in and out of chairs.  Imagine chaos, but managed chaos.  And since everyone there was a "seasoned" parent, no one seemed to care...

Today, Lucas asked me to open Meredith's tea set so they could "cook like Rat to E."

I am excited to learn more about these families and to open another door socially. 

(We have recently met a lot of wonderful couples in our neighborhood, who we mutually enjoy and they have playmates for our kids!)

Living Life

Busy bees we have been! 

Enjoying the warm weather, playing with friends!

Things of note include:

Lucas is on a full month of being nighttime pottytrained. 

He is awesome!  And we are VERY proud!!

Meredith is now trained to sleep in her bed all night. 

Apparently what we were doing worked!!

Richard is studying for exams and classes are winding down.

Things are hectic and quiet all at the same time around here.

Here are a few photos of the past week.

Lucas chillaxin on the cooler

Meredith discovered her father's love of sandals with socks.

Planting grass in the B-I-G empty patch in our yard.

And since this is fresh on my mind, I will share. 

Today we went over to a friend's house. 

When it was time to go, Lucas went up to her and said "Thank you for having us over!"

I was soooo impressed with my baby! 

And that is us living life...

I will try to be better about keeping you updated, but sometimes

things get in the way...

Like LOST, American Idol.

Important things, of course!

Happy Birthday Meredith!

I hope everyone finished their taxes on time! 

We did! 

So around here, we were celebrating Meredith's official 2nd Birthday!

She's decked out in her Abby Birthday hat...

And definately knows what today is...

We just need to work on the fingers a little! 

And even though she is trying to be 5 year old, I cannot even believe that

 2 years have passed. 

I cannot believe that my tiny little Mere has grown from this...

into this...

Our House!

Do you notice anything different about our home?

No!

The answer is not "the lack of vegetation/landscaping around the porch!"

Let's try a different angle...

Do you see it??

We had our entire home pressure washed and the decking and lattice stained.

Isn't it beautiful?

What's even more beautiful is that water actually beads on the deck again!

Before Richard deployed, we (okay, really Richard) pressure washed and put a water sealer on the entire decking.

But 2 years later, we needed to treat it again.

We knew we needed to stain it, but for lack of time, we called a professional.

He finished everything yesterday!

Not only does it look WAY better, but the wood thanks us too!

Meredith's Birthday Party!

Meredith took part in the baking festivities on Friday to help prep for her 2nd Birthday Party on Saturday!

She was super cute, pouring and stirring....

and licking!

 

Yum!

When making the cupcakes, I left Lucas and Meredith unattended for a SECOND!

I came back to see them double dipping their beater.

I'll never tell which flavor it was!

We made 48 cupcakes, minus a few that we "taste tested".

The dessert table!

Richard had a moot court to participate in Saturday morning, so I was left alone to finish last minute prep!

Luckily, my family arrived early to help with slicing, icing drinks and firing up the grill!

My grandfather grilled 28 burgers and 16 hot dogs on our tiny charcoal grill! 

Along side it, we had baked beans, pasta salad, coleslaw, fruit and chips!

(Sorry for no photos, I was really busy!)

The littles really enjoyed dining on the new picnic table!

After lunch, we pulled out bubbles while everyone made room in their tummies for cake!

Meredith LOVES bubbles! 

Everyone had fun trying out the new bubble wands

(Richard had been begging for - AND I did not pay $6 for).

We also tried out our new bubble bucket! 

How many ways can I say AWESOME!  If you have kids, you need one. 

No spills, no trouble, fabulous!

We finally pulled Meredith away from blowing bubbles to blow out her giant candle!

She was in complete AWE that everyone was singing to her! 

She was incredibly sweet.

After eating her cupcake, Meredith ran up to her presents...

Some of my favorite photos follow....

She opened up nearly every present saying "Oh Boy!"

Clapping with her new Kai-lan

Decked out in her jewels and shades.

Meredith had a wonderful birthday! 

She was very blessed to have such wonderful company and to have soooo many cool gifts!

Thank you to everyone who came! 

And Happy Birthday Meredith!

Sleeping Beauty

So sorry that I have been MIA - I typically post daily - and it has been FIVE days since you have heard from me. 

Let's be honest.  I am exhausted....My kids are wearing me thin - hitting, pushing, screaming, throwing things - the time out corner stays pretty warm  (although I do seem to smile nearly all the time and love them to pieces)...

Anywho, putting Meredith to bed is D-R-A-I-N-I-N-G! 
She has gotten the whole screaming thing down.   

And to not disturb my good older child or my nerddy studious husband, I lay down with her...rub her back....give her cuddles. 

I know I shouldn't do this. 

I didn't do it with Lucas. 

I trained him to sleep in his own bed with no troubles.
 
But for some reason, I CAN NOT do it with Mere. 

So back to the REAL problem.  I lay down with Meredith. 

We have just finished reading bedtime stories.  The room is dark.  Meredith's breath slows.  I close my eyes to capture the memory of the moment.

The next thing I know, it is 10 pm (We put our kids to bed at 7 pm) and my back is incredibly sore from scrunching up in a toddler bed.

Most nights, I sleepily stumble to my own bed and call it a night. 

And in the morning I wake up in a cranky mood from too much sleep and a dirty kitchen because I never ventured back downstairs to clean up from dinner. 

If you want to ensure your day goes well, you MUST start out with a clean kitchen.  It is a rule....in the book of life. 

Okay, maybe just my life. 

I do hope you forgive me for sleeping....

I really do have lots to share.  I just forget about it all once the lights go out.

(By the way, tonight we implimented a new plan, where I go for a walk after storytime, so Rich could tell Mere that I wasn't here without lying, and he could put her to bed without such a fuss.  It worked for the most part.  We will keep at it since the weather is so wonderful, and it was great to have bonding time with my first child Dixie.)

Picnic Table

I built a picnic table for my kiddos. 

More can be read about it on http://domesticallydevon.blogspot.com

HERE and HERE

Regardless of the whole process, the kids absolutely LOVE IT!

They want to do EVERYTHING on it!

Eat snacks...

Eat dinner...

Feed babies...

Play with easter bunnies...

Or have a quiet conversation...

I am truly amazed  how they incorporate the table into their day.

It is going to be a sad day when I actually move it outside.

Color my Eggs!

We dyed eggs on Saturday night in anticipation of the Easter Bunny.  The kiddos stayed up past their bedtime, because you can't leave the Bunny day old eggs!

Daddy offered a demonstration for how it was done (sporting his new Charlottesville 10 Miler shirt!)

Lucas had a turn, and very happily splashed the dye everywhere!

Meredith chose her favorite, purple, for her first egg color.

They admired their eggs, which turned out amazingly beautiful!

Do you see little fingers pointing to the colors?!

Many eggs were broken once they started to put stickers on it. 

We "left them out" for the Easter Bunny and put two very tired children to bed! 

Easter Race!

Warning!  This post is photo HEAVY!

On Saturday, Richard woke up super early to run the Charlottesville 10 Miler.

He opted to let us sleep in (since he had to leave the house at 6 am), and I was supposed to meet him after the race. 

After a race, there is always a ton of free food...

Meredith is chowing down on a chocolate moon pie. 

Daddy and Meredith!

The race took place around the downtown area - beginning and ending on the UVA campus.

After the race, we walked about a mile and a half to the main campus for an Egg Hunt.

Here are a few photos from the stroll...

This structure reminds me so much of  the dell at RMWC. 

I have no idea what it is, but Richard says it goes unused.

I really adore the architecture around the campus. 

I took a ton of photos of the churches and buildings being renovated.

Here is a sign welcoming you to the main structure of the campus, where the Rotunda is.

The Egg Hunt took place on the South Lawn, with an awesome view!

Meredith striking a pose!

She got a lot of attention from the students there, who were hooping and raving over her cute factor.

One girl said she should be a model!

Lucas patiently waiting for his race to begin...

The kiddos with Daddy. 

Note: Lucas dressed himself, and we faught majorly this morning. 

He was totally not matching and

I have nothing to do with socks and sandals.

Still waiting...

Ready! Set!

Go!

Collecting all he can...

Examining his loot!

Taking a break to scope out the pink eggs.

Wait a minute!  Is there candy in here?!

The hunt was super fun!  There were only a handful of children there and a TON of eggs for everyone!

The kids grew tired of hunting before the eggs were collected.

The walk back was a lot harder because the kids had been in the sun for so long...

Magnolia tree!

My babies smelling the tulips!

 

We made it back to the car hungry and tired!

And Mommy had blisters on her feet (sacrificing comfort for cute shoes is not a good option!)