Going on an egg hunt

This weekend was our squadrons annual egg hunt and the kids had so much fun. They played on the trampoline, jumped in a bounce house, and tried very hard to jump into a freezing cold pool (they were not successful). Carter had never hunted for eggs before so he was a little lost at first but caught on quickly and became the egg grabbing pro. Addie was thrilled that she found the "special" egg which was green glitter with a gold dollar inside. She quickly took the dollar to her room and even slept with it!

Happy Birthday to Me

Each birthday is becoming less and less of a big deal around here but Addie insisted on making my birthday as special as hers have been. In fact, she was quite disappointed to find out that Henry had not purchased me a birthday cake, specifically a princess one. So, after church on Sunday they ran by Dairy Queen on the hunt for a princess cake. They didn't find one but the Oreo Blizzard one was just as good. Thank you sweet Addie girl for wanting Mommy to have a special day.

On Saturday we went to Destin and shopped and played since it was BEAUTIFUL outside. I'm thrilled to have my good camera back from the shop and bought several "matching" outfits for the photoshoots I have planned with the kids over the next few weeks.

Happt St. Patrick's Day

I don't have a ton to say so I'll let Addie and the pictures tell today's story...

Addie has been learning about leprechauns at school and this morning she said to me, "I need to wear green so the leper doesn't come and get me because he is a pinchy man."

At school while they were outside playing the sneaky leprechaun came into their room, turned over the chairs, and scattered gold coins and shamrocks. You would have thought he (Ms. Kay) had brought Addie a million dollars. This is just one of the reasons why I adore her preschool. They always do things to make the day special for the kids.

And of course what post would be complete without a few cute photos. We drove to Destin to meet up with my friend Kristen for a bit and then stopped and played at the fountain at a shopping area.

A Party

Sunday our church had a lunch following the service for military members. We went and Addie and Carter had so much fun. They got goodie bags and got to eat lunch with the big people. Addie kept saying, I love having a party.

Shoes

Addie has become quite particular when it comes to her shoes. She really prefers to wear her flip flops that have pink bow on them or her pink sparkly tennis shoes, but sometimes those just wont work and she has to wear good old fashioned tennis shoes. I buy her the ones with Velcro so she can get them on and off herself and this is how she likes to wear them.

Never mind the fact that I tell her they look silly, she still wears them like this everyday.

A new look

My baby got scalped! No kidding she went in to get her hair cut with hair down past her shoulders and came out with an awful mullet. I went to wash Carter's paci and came back and the woman had chopped three inch layers at the top of her head and left the back long. I had told her I wanted some long layers cut in and evidently three inches is long to her. Addie started crying and saying it wasn't pretty anymore and so I started crying and as nicely as I could told the lady to put the scissors down. We left with her awful mullet hair cut and I called the only person who I thought might be able to fix this mess, Candace. I started driving toward base and when she didn't answer her phone the first time I came up with this plan that we would just sit in her driveway until she got home. Thankfully she answered the second time so she didn't have to be surprised to see this crazy lady crying in her driveway. We got there, she gasped (it really was that bad), and we rushed Addie to her bathroom to wet down the mess and try to fix it. I wish I had a before picture but I was so upset I didn't even think to take one. We had to cut it shorter to fix the awkward layering and so she is now the proud owner of a sassy bob. It will grow... it's just hair... I know all of those things. But, when your little girl doesn't think she is pretty anymore because her long hair is gone it just breaks your heart. So, without further ado... the new and improved Addie.

Run Schadow Run

This past weekend we headed to the little town of Seaside so Henry could torture himself on Sunday morning and run a half marathon (13 miles). Many other people from base were running and our friend Amanda found us a villa (and I use that term loosely, motel would be more appropriate) in Seagrove Beach so everyone could walk to and from the race. The reviews online were spot on... $10 room, $1000 view. We were right on the water and it was pretty. We got down there, got Henry registered, and then came back to the villa to get ready for the 43rd spaghetti dinner.

 

 

On our back porch... Addie was our photographer so it's a bit blurry

Sunday morning started EARLY since Addie and Cater decided that sleeping was not a priority to them and I was up with them at 4:45 (yuck). Henry was out the door at 6:30 and we loaded up and walked down to see the finish line around 8. It's a good thing we left when we did because Henry, even though he swore up and down that he wouldn't be there before 8:30, crossed the finish line at 8:28. He wont brag on himself so I'll do it for him... that's running about a 6.5 minute mile through the whole race. And, he finished in the top 25 out of 3000 people. Not bad huh? We hung out for a bit, and then out kids, thanks to the early wake up call, melted and we headed home for naps.

 

Pre-race pic

  

There he is in the blue shirt

  

Post race... doesn't even look like he broke a sweat.  

Addie watching the runners

Making a mess

I've never liked messes in the kitchen and I've always been reluctant to let my kids feed themselves because I know how messy that can be. Carter has decided that he no longer wants to be fed yogurt/applesauce/anything so I've been giving him a spoon and letting him do it himself. This results in a MAJOR mess but he loves it and it's made mealtimes less of a fight.

 

 

On another note... if you love coffee like I do then this recipe will delight you. Take 12 cups of brewed coffee and one can of fat free sweetened condensed milk. Combine them in the blender and chill. SO good and very similar to Starbucks (which I go to WAY too much).

Dancing Queen

Addie's dance studio is gearing up for their spring recital and yesterday they invited the parents to come watch the last 15 minutes and to pick up their (overpriced and cheap looking) costumes. Addie had her heart set on purple but she ended up getting assigned green. And at first she was really sad, but then she realized that Tinkerbell wears green and she got very excited to be dressing like Tink. The little girls were all so cute but I have the feeling that when it comes time for them to dance on stage it's going to be mass chaos!

 

 

We also took the plunge into the world of technology and got iPhones this past weekend. I LOVE it and can't believe I had my crappy old phone that I had to shake to get the battery to charge for so long. And, Addie loves it too! She's already learned to bring it to life and find the games that she wants to play on there. 

A new begining

Blogging... well, I guess technically we've been blogging for years with our baby home pages site but it's generally been only about the kids. Which is great, but we are about to start a new exciting chapter in our lives and I would like to include somethings about all of us, not just Addie and Carter. So, therefore I am exploring the new world (sort of) of blogging. We aren't getting rid of our baby site because it's a fabulous photo sharing site and many people have it bookmarked but I will be cutting down on the posting over there. I will cut and paste the important stuff but the everyday info, fun stuff, and generally stuff about our life will be shared here. After all, I didn't just spend two days working on headers, backgrounds, signatures, etc for nothing!

So, here's what's new...




Our house is on the market and so far we have had no serious bites. None. We have had a low ball rent offer (umm... yes, I would love to rent for half of my mortgage), and offer to treat it as an executive rental (which entails us leaving our furniture and having it filled about 4 months a year... no) and a woman who just didn't have the financing. I'll be honest, I'm nervous.

Henry and I have just started taking the Financial Peace University class offered by our church and we have learned two important things... I hate to budget (anyone surprised) and that I am a "free spirit" when it comes to money and he is a "nerd". We have been challenged to write down everything we spend to see where exactly our money is going and to start saving so that we have 3 to 6 months of cash in the bank. We have always been good savers but our money is pretty spread out with investments and this idea really hit home with the thought that our house could potentially sit empty for a several months this fall. The final challenge of the class is to pay cash for most purchases since it hurts a little more to pay cash and therefore you are less likely to make impulse buys. This is going to be a huge challenge for us but we're up to it. I'll keep you informed as to how it is going.