Weekend Review

First let me warn you...THIS IS A LONG POST WITH MANY PICTURES. If you don't have 15 minutes to spare, then come back later when you do. Ok, so I might be exaggerating the 15 minutes part but I am sure this has to be my longest post to date.

PLEASE...JUST ONE LITTLE SMILE!

So after our fun adventure at the tree farm on Saturday, I decided to have a mini photo shoot of the kiddies in their cute, adorable, kinda matching sweaters. I was sooo excited to get a good shot but as you will see...they were not in the mood to get their picture taken that day.

Both are saying, hmmm nope. Not today mom.

Ryan was being a goober with not wanting to hold Kara. It looks like Kara is warning Ryan that if he tries to drop her one more time, she is going to give him one right in the smoocher!

AND she did! Ryan's expression is sooo funny!

Kara's slight grin is hilarious too!

Now we come to the moment where both are starting to melt down.

Geez louise...this is FRUSTRATING!

Ryan is mad and Kara is starting to warm up to the camera....

and I give up! Score:

My beautiful stubborn children ~ 1 ..... Mommy ~ 0

Mommy Lesson Learned: Never attempt to get a nice picture of children who are hungry and tired. You should always get the group picture taken before you leave the house. The kids will look their best and usually they are in great moods. Next time, wipe the chocolate off your son's mouth before taking his photo.
Hope you enjoyed the show.


JUMP FACTORY ~ TAKE TWO!

We received an invitation in the mail shortly before Thanksgiving inviting us to Kasey's 4th Birthday Party at the Jump Factory on Sunday, December 7th! This was not only exciting for Ryan because he got to go back to this fun place, but it was also very exciting for me because I got to see an old friend and visit with her family! Kasey's mommy, Christy and I went to High School together. She was a super senior while I was a dorky freshman but we became fast friends during our musical, french class, band, orchestra, chorus, marching band, and so many more adventures! Sorry for all the "run on" sentences!

We went our separate ways after she graduated but our paths crossed once again when I worked with her mom at Penske in 2001. We signed up to do a the musical MUSIC MAN with the Reading Civic Opera Company and performed together once again in 2002. She and her husband, Jeremy were able to attend our wedding in 2004. She was pregnant with Kasey at the time. They welcomed their son Owen into their family this past January. I can't believe he is going to be one soon?! We haven't been able to get together much in the last few years so it was a nice surprise to be invited to celebrate Kasey turning 4!

If you remember our last experience at the Jump Factory in early August, Ryan was pretty much afraid of the inflatable gyms! The good thing was he had started to like them by the end of that party so we didn't think he would have a phobia about them this time. Well we were wrong. He practically clung to our legs and refused to go on them unless Chris was there with him! He was excited to see the inflatable baseball game again though.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our second party at the Jump Factory!

But first! Some pictures of the Birthday Girl ~ KASEY!

Isn't she a cutie!?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR KAAAASEEEEY....

What do you get a 4 year old girl? A barbie...of course!

I think she liked it. :)

(isn't that big inflatable green chair HILARIOUS!)

Now some pictures of the boys....


I have to admit, Ryan was pretty good at hitting the small ball with this HUGE bat.
Maybe someday he will be a musician, artist, photographer and baseball player! haha!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, KASEY!

Here are a few more of Ryan...

and we can't forget our sweet little Kara....

She LOVES to pull her brother's hair!

She is such a Daddy's Girl already!

and "That's All Folks!"

LIFE LESSONS

I was thinking about ending my post here. But I decided I must blog about my crazy day after our FUN morning at the Jump Factory. This is a little journal for not only my family but mostly for me to look back on and remember the GOOD with the BAD.

So here's how the day ended...

It's not a secret that Chris has been working major overtime lately. I know how blessed we are to have this opportunity especially with the way our economy is and with people getting laid off lately. I try not to complain but it's hard when you have two little ones and are with them practically 24/7 by myself. I am extremely grateful for the help I do receive from family and friends when I ask them for it. I am also grateful for the help I get from Chris when he is home.

After having lunch together, Chris went into work and he worked all afternoon into the evening. I had made plans to go shopping with my good friend, Lauren after the kids got up from their nap. We were late meeting Lauren because Ryan needed a diaper change right when we were ready to leave. This happens EVERY TIME I need to be some where at a certain time. It never fails....thank god for understanding friends. So we make it there (10 minutes late), I load the kiddies onto the Joovy and we shop til we drop. Ok, we only spent a little over an hour there but I got a good amount accomplished. I quickly learned that the Joovy stroller was not a good choice to use while shopping. It is long, the handle doesn't hold packages well and Ryan didn't want to wear his coat in the mall so the basket was filled with a winter coat. I was able to surround Ryan with the many bags so it all worked out in the end.

We were having dinner with my parents that evening so I bid farewell to Lauren and after making sure Kara was all bundled up (it was FREEZING that evening! in the 20's), I headed out the door and into the parking lot. We weren't even across the street when Ryan starts to scream! I look down at him but I really can't see him because he surrounded by bags. Then it hits me! Oh.My.Gosh! I forgot to put his jacket back on him!!!!!! This poor child was only in a shirt! He was screaming for his hat and I scrambled to find not only the hat but his coat too. After I got him bundled up, I practically ran to where the car was parked. I got them into the car and started it while I loaded the bags and stroller.

This is where the bad turns to worse! The stroller needs to be broken down into 3 separate pieces to fit in the trunk. I was able to take the canopy off and break down the actual stroller BUT the cradle in the front that holds Kara's carseat would not snap off. I spent (no exaggeration!) at least 10 minutes trying to get this piece off! It was horrible. I was freezing. There was no one around me to help. There was one man who walked by me (and I know he had to have seen me struggling!) but he quickly loaded his car and left. And as if it couldn't get worse, Kara started to scream. And when Kara screams, Ryan yells. I tried to calm her down but it was useless. I went back to the trunk and tried over and over to un-click the cradle but it wasn't budging. At one point, I thought about leaving the stroller in a grassy area and telling Chris to pick it up on his way home! I was desperate!

Finally after another what seemed like 10 minutes (I am sure it was only a few), a couple parked near me. As soon as the gentleman got out of his car, I begged him to help me. I am sure they could hear the screaming children in the car and see my mascara stained cheeks, so he agreed to help. And wouldn't ya know it, he was able to snap it off right away!!!!! I must have thanked him a dozen times as they walked away. I jumped in the car and all three of us cried most of the way to my parents house. I felt like the worse mom.

I was greeted with many hugs and a yummy dinner so the night ended on a somewhat good note. Ryan enjoyed watching Cars (the movie) and Kara was her usual cranky self...not wanting anyone but her mama holding her. We arrived home a little after 9pm and Chris came home shortly after that. It was so nice to see him. He listened to my crazy story and with a smile, he reminded me that I was indeed a good mom. I need to work on not letting things stress me out so much. That day was hard because there were so many elements stacked against me. It being bitter cold outside....Feeling the guilt from forgetting to put Ryan's jacket on...Struggling to get a stroller in the car....Screaming children and feeling hopeless.

There are always going to be the days where nothing goes right. I need take the lessons learned from those experiences and grow from them. Years from now, I will laugh with the family about this awful night. Even as I type this, I can chuckle about it...just a little.

And that is my weekend review.