"Pizza starts with P"

So we were out and about this morning.  I decided to bring the purse camera back to Best Buy and see what they could do.  They have to send it to Nikon.  Not what I was hoping, but it saves me shipping costs. Nikon had replied to me saying they wanted me to send it in, but I am to cheap to buy shipping material and pay postage.  I have to wait for 3 weeks for best Buy to get it back, but HOPEFULLY I will be getting a new camera instead of a fixed camera. Actually it doesn't matter, the other one looked brand new and practically was.  I'd taken about 20 pictures with it since last May.

Anyway, on our way home Girl said she was hungry.  I asked her what she wanted and she replied with, "Pizza". I said that sounded good but we weren't going to have it.  Then she said, "Mommy, pizza starts with P".  Then started making the "p" sound. WHAT???? WOWZA!!!!  Then we went over some other words and she would tell me what they started with.  We did: apple, octopus, zebra, and walrus.  Walrus threw her a bit.  She got the rest right away.  After those few words she was done with my little game. I'm not going to lie, I was REALLY impressed with her letter sound abilities.  She knows all of them, but I always figured she had to see the letter in order to know what I was talking about.  WRONG!

Oh another funny thing, she will spell out words she sees then yell, "Makena".  Like the letters she just said spelled her name.  hahaha I always correct her then we spell her name.  She's so funny sometimes. Today she was looking at the letters on the car so I heard, "G-M-C, Makena!!".

Once we got home she ate some lunch and she WAS hungry. She ate a lot!  I am hoping for a long nap from her today too.  I have a headache and want to lay down too, but can't unless both kids are sleeping!

Boy still has a mild fever today, but like last night is still a happy camper. The drool is still pouring out of his mouth like usual, which makes me lean towards teething, but I can't be sure until I see that little pearly white poke through!

First tooth or something more?

We're playing the waiting game right now! Cheeks has bright red cheeks and a VERY mild fever.  I hope that it stays that way.  He is otherwise a very happy boy.  He did take a 4 hour nap this afternoon.  I was amazed.  Of course if he has a fever his body is fighting something so now I'm not surprised. He's laying on the floor playing with his toys and working on rolling over right now.

He is getting SO close to rolling on his own.  He grabs my hand and pulls with his arms to get half way, then he lets go and goes the rest of the way on his own.  This is of course from back to tummy.  Once on his stomach he just chooses to stay there instead of going on his back when he's upset.  Rolling the other direction will come with time.

So yet ANOTHER item has broken in my life.  Well, actually 2 items have.  Go fricken figure.  1st is my wet bag.  The cloth around the hande has holes in it.  The sewing isn't coming apart, the cloth is literally getting holes.  Weird. The other item is my "purse camera".  I was so frustrated when I went to use it and it wouldn't turn on.  It had been charged so I knew that wasn't the issue. I have submitted both issues to the manufacturers. I have to send the wetbag in and they will take a look.  If it's a defect on their end they will send me a knew one.  If not, they'll just send it back.  I don't know about the camera yet. I may just try to bring it back to the store and see what they say.  It hasn't even been a year yet.

SERIOUSLY, I should be a professional tester of products.  If it is going to break, it will break for me because I have the worst luck. Who do I contact to get paid for this job or to get the products for free so I can stop spending my own money on this stuff.

We all went to the Children's Museum today.  It was so much fun.  Below is a picture from the lego area.  They have a kiosk where you can take your picture and have it e-mailed to you.  What a great idea. We then went to daddy's work and ate our bagged lunches with him.  It was fun to see his new department and to eat in a quiet setting!

Anyway, I don't have anything else to say, I'll keep you updated on the tooth/illness issue.

I don't really have anything good ....

... to write about.  Some would argue that I haven't yet to  date. If you are saying that, why are you reading what I have to say then?

Well, I take that back! I have a new washing machine.  WHAT?  Yeah that's right a new washing machine. I got myself the best.  I deserve the best, right?  Okay maybe it's not the best, but it's the only one that fit all of my requirements:

• LARGE capacity.  After a little research I found that the largest was 5.2, so that is what I HAD to have
• Top loading
• HE
• Lots of cycle options.  After more research anything over 13 would have been acceptable
• looked nice (this wasn't too important, but what new washer isn't going to look nice?)

I ended up getting a Whirpool Cabrio.  It has 16 cycle options. Ooo la la. I love it.  I've done all of my laundry and I keep trying to find more to do.  I even washed all of my couch pillows. All the bedding is getting washed again too.  I just washed it on Thursday.  hahaha. Of course there was a little fiasco getting my washer.  I went to my local Lowe's and they said they had one in stock, but didn't.  We ended up having to call 5 different stores to find one in stock and a store that was willing to honor the "free next day delivery". My washer ended up coming from the Stillwater store.  I was very disappointed in the other Lowe's stores that were closer.  In fact, I even submitted a complaint online.  Don't worry, I submitted a compliment to the wonderful people that actually DID help me!

So - what else is going on? Nothing, a whole lot of nothing. I think I may TRY to go to the Children's Museum tomorrow.  I'm not sure though.  The moms are meeting at 9:30.  Sometimes that is just too early to get everyone going. I have a new baby carrier (my birthday present) that I want to try out, but it hasn't been very comfortable the few times that I've tried it.  I've contacted the company and they're trying to work with me to figure out what I may be doing wrong. They have a 90 day try it policy, so I'm going to see if I can "break it in".  It's comfortable on my shoulders, but it REALLY digs into my armpits. Ouchie. Here's a pick of Boy chillin in his new carrier.  I was making supper during this picture.  

One of the pics I took to send to the company so they can help me figure out why it's digging into my armpits and hurting me.

Okay, for not having anything to say I sure said a lot.

It was my BIRTHDAY!!

I milked it this year.  We had a 4 day "celebration" of sorts.  By celebration I mean: not having to change every diaper, eating what I wanted when I wanted, having a DQ cake, and going out shopping WITH my hubs!

Saturday we got my cake.  Actually Jared went and got it. He picked out a perfect one (he chose from what they had in the case)

On my actual birthday Jared took the day off!  WAHOO!!  I also got to go out to eat with him withOUT kids.  My awesome in-laws came down from Brainerd to watch the kids so we could eat. I never realized how stressed out I would get when we went out to eat with the kids.  It was so nice to go out and not have to care about other people's dining experience or if my own child was eating like she should. Ahhhh (sigh of relaxation).  Once we got home we went right back out to Costco so I could buy myself some fruit using my in-laws membership.  Mmmmmm.  We purchased 4lbs of strawberries and kiwi.  I also got a large container of raspberries.  yum yum.  Jared just HAD to purchase a case of Monster as well. ugh.

Today I woke up to a bunch of white terribleness outside.  I decided we were going to make the best of it.  Since Boy had woken early he was ready for a nap at 8:30am.  So I bundled up Girl and we headed outside. I had the intention of shoveling while she played.  That did NOT happen.  I was able to shovel about 2 feet down the driveway before I realized it was WAY too heavy for that monkey business.  Once we played in the snow for a bit Girl said she was cold so we went in.  I gave her a snack and turned on Sesame street.  I headed back out and snow blowed the driveway.  The warmth of the driveway mixed with the warmth in the air cleaned that last little layer off and I have a nice clean driveway.

Making castles in the snow

The toys got left behind when she went into the yard to pretend she was stuck!

snow turtle

You can't even tell there is a background here unless you look toward the top.  It was definitely a pretty white snow!

The little bit of driveway you see ... that's about all I shoveled - BUT across the whole thing, that's something, right?

A moment to breathe!

Yesterday and so far today it's been a whirlwind of crazy fun with the kids!

Yesterday:
Went to the jewelry store to pick up my ring that lost a diamond (again).  This time there were 3 other ones loose too. I guess that happens when they replace diamonds.  The whole ring gets worked and things come loose.  They were told to tighten everything this time, so hopefully 2 weeks after getting it back I won't be sending it back AGAIN.

After that we headed over to the bank.  I had to deposit money into the kids' accounts.  Of course I did the drive through since I had the kids.  Well, I knew that would be a mistake.  They put Girl's money into Boy's account.  Now I need to take money from his stash that I forgot to bring with and put into Girl's piggy bank.  I had a gut feeling they would screw it up.  Oh well.  It is an easy fix, just annoying.

We then headed to Toys-r-us to exchange our baby monitor.  I had called the company and agreed that the fact that it was losing a signal every 2 seconds, LITERALLY, was not normal.  They wanted me to send it back and they'd send me a new one.  Uhhhh, NO!!  I have a baby and can't be without a monitor for a week.  Idiots.  So they said to bring it back to the store and exchange it.  Toys-r-us was very good about it and didn't put up a fuss at all.  They were more annoyed with the company for sending me to them than annoyed with me.  I also picked up a pair of khakis and shirt for Boy for $8 (on clearance) since we were there.

After some lunch I headed to Rainbow since I had to get groceries.  I was so impressed when I looked at their produce section when I walked in.  Then I got closer ... ewwwww.  The oranges were all dented in, the cantelope were all literally molding, the strawberries were dried out, the bananas were ready to turn brown, and I could go on.  I was able to find a few things and moved onto the "healthy" section.  I needed to get Girl her yogurt.  Well, ALL of the yogurt was expired.  WHAT THE HE*L????  I was starting to get SUPER annoyed.  I then went to the dairy section to get some other things, at this point I only had some fruit in the cart.  Well, they didn't have what I wanted.  I got so pissed I turned around put the fruit back and left.  I should have just threw it on a shelf, but I'm too nice for that.  I just brought 2 kids into a grocery store and left with nothing.  That is NOT something a parent wants to do.  It's a lot of work to pack 2 kids into a cart and to get them to behave.

So, we headed home.  I was pulling into the garage and heard a big scccccrape.  Uhhhh-oh.  I looked into my sideview mirror and noticed I had run into the side of the garage with the back part of the Acadia.  Ahhhhhhh CRAP ....

I brought the kids in, read nap time stories, and put them to bed.  I went back outside with a rag in hand. I didn't want to look at the car so I took a peek at the damage I did to the garage.  The weather stripping part was in pieces on the ground and some of the door framing was broken off too.  eeck.  Oh man I REALLY didn't want to look closely at the car.  (I took a sneak peek when I got Girl out)  Okay the time had come, I HAD to look.  I took a deep breath and got mentally prepped for calling the dealership to find out how to use my "freebie fix".   I started by washing the area off.  Then I started scraping the handle off with my fingernail.  WHOA - it was coming off.  Hmmm ... I kept scraping and scraping and scraping all over the car.  Then I went on got my magic eraser.  I got to gently swirling and VOILA my car is perfect again.  OMG, that was sooooo close.  I learned my lesson.  Side note: Jared did this SAME thing at our old house with our old truck - he just broke the mirror (worse than it already was) in the process.  So after the kids woke up we went out again ...

I had to go to the post office!  I was crossing my fingers that they would have a box big enough for me to send back my "rainforest" playmat.  It was ready to fall onto Boy and I wasn't cool with that.  The company sent me a shipping label and said they would pay for a box too.  Well, the post office didn't have one for sale.  Then the guy says, "Hang on".  He comes back about 3 minutes later with a long skinny box used to hold broken down file boxes.  Amazingly it fit!!  Wahoo.  He used the tape I brought and packaged it up for me since I had the kids.  Then he adhered the shipping label and sent it away.  Ahhhh one more chore off my list. Next ....

Lowe's here we come!  I bought new weather strip molding and had them cut it to size.  Then I made a stop at the diaper store and did a quick exchange.  Once home I turned on Tinkerbell for Girl and Boy was asleep again.  I took down the rest of the molding and put up the new piece.  Good as new and it cost less than $10. It took me about 10 minutes to clean the car and 10 minutes to do the molding. GO ME!!!!

Today:
We had a normal start.  Then we had some delicious lunch.  As we were wrapping things up the doorbell rang and I thought, "what did I order now?".  Is that a sign that I have a online shopping problem?  Well, to my surprise it was the baby soother that had to be replaced since the motor was louder than the "soothing water" sounds.  (If you're keeping track that's 3 baby items that I had to get replaced in 1 week.  I have the WORST luck with products, really I do.  I bet every manufacturer out there has me in their system by now)  Now that we've been without the soother for a week, boy doesn't really need it to fall asleep anymore.  I may keep it for him to have something to play with when he gets older though.

After lunch we went outside.  How could we not on such a gorgeous day?  Girl spent most of the time with my watering can.  She would catch the water coming off the roof and pour it on my mum (leftover from last fall).  We were having fun.  I even took a close look at the mum and it has new sprouts!  WHAT?  Amazing, spring is here!  So ... after I swept the garage, she took a walk around the yard, she played with chalk, and she learned to pedal her trike, we went back in.  By this time Boy was sound asleep in the stroller.  I also noticed that the dang woodpeckers have been having fun with our fence.  There are a ton of notches in it and there is almost a full hole in one section.  Damn things.  Just another repair for Jared to make.  I told him he just has to stain it so it doesn't look so bad.  He happily agreed.

I plan to head outside again after Girl wakes up.  I had to promise her that we would to avoid the impending nuclear meltdown that was about to happen when I told her we had to go in for naps.  We were already a half hour past time ...

OHHHH - Girl has gone 3 nights in a row waking up dry!!  After a week we're going to switch to underpants.  This is so exciting to me.  Boy is up to 2Tbls of not too liquidy oatmeal at night too.  He is going 5-6 hours before he wakes for a snack then sleeps another 5-6 hours.  Ahhhh.

Well, this little break has ended, Boy is awake and chatting away to the dogs.  Write more another day.

Great Day!

What a great day!  Let me tell you something.  There  is nothing better than  getting up in the morning to a dry diaper on Girl! The amazing part: she was awake talking to herself for an hour before she wanted to get out of bed.  I thought she would be wet like usual.  I was wrong.  I was shocked, amazed, and lavished her with praise.

At nap time I reminded her, like every day for the last week, that she didn’t have a diaper on before going down for her nap.  Let’s just say I’ve been doing a lot of laundry after nap time lately.  Anyway, she woke up dry from nap time as well. This is SO wonderful.  I was getting so sick of having to wash her whole bed, change her outfit and clean her up every day. I was going without a diaper at nap time on purpose though.  I figured a little extra work on my end would pay off eventually.  I figured if she woke up wet and had to change out of the clothes she picked out herself, she would catch onto what was happening sooner than if I let stay in a diaper and thus have no consequences to peeing in her bed.  I’ll have to say, seven days of extra laundry wasn’t so bad.  I know it’s only been one night, but that is WAY better than anything else we’ve had.  I can normally tell that she’s peed in her diaper when I kiss her goodnight when I go to bed at night.  Progress no matter how insignificant it may seem is still progress!!

Boy is doing well too!  He is up to 2Tbls of oatmeal before bed.  He is sleeping more solid and the oatmeal doesn’t seem to  be hurting his tummy or digestive system at all, so I think we’re good. I do have to feed him once throughout the night, but after that I can just put him back to bed and we’re all back to sleep. We did try letting him cry for 5 minutes the other night.  At minute 4 I was prepping to get up and then he fell back to sleep for 5 hours so … WAHOO to that!

Boy is REALLY trying to sit up lately.  If I have him laying on the boppy he will crunch up his little body and pull his head up.  He’s even starting to get his arms involved.  He has them on the side of the pillow and pushes down.  He is so close to doing it on his own.  He can almost make it if he’s in my arms laying down too.  He just really likes to sit when he’s awake.  Speaking of being awake, the time he spends sleeping during the day is really starting to taper off.  I kind of miss the breaks.  I think Girl does too.  I can tell she is starting to be a LITTLE jealous sometimes. She acts out a bit more than usual some days.  When I notice I try to involve her in whatever it is I’m doing with Boy.  Even if it is as simple as handing me the new diaper or helping me put his pants back on.  She’s SUCH a good big sister.  Boy is lucky to have her.  I think he already knows it too.  His whole face lights up EVERY time he sees her.

Yesterday I had to stop at the diaper store for some necessities and on our way home I had to drop some things at Christin’s house.  Well, she was nice enough to invite us in!  Makena and Ava had a quick playdate.  I wasn’t really planning on it, but what the heck, it doesn’t hurt me to change up my plans every now and then.  Plus, it had been forever since I’d seen Christin.  I looked like total crap, but I’m sure she didn’t care. Girl was naughty at times.  She was literally dragging Ava around the from activity to activity.  I had to remind her that forcing people to do things wasn’t the way to do it.  We had a discussion about it on the way home too.  I think she learned it from me though.  When I’m holding Boy and I need her to get on  the potty or to stop doing something I will MAKE her by pulling on her arm.  SO, lesson learned by me.  I need to find new ways to make her do things and save the arm holding for VERY serious occasions like when she is about to run into traffic or something!  J

I’ve been on a “what do I want for my birthday” mission lately too.  I just don’t know.  It’s like Christmas for me.  I never have any ideas.  Poor Hubby.  Birthdays are the only things we buy presents for each other.  I was able to give him a few ideas but I’m not in love with them.  He said, “I’ll just get you something and you can return it like you do every year”.  It was funny but made me kind of sad at the same time.  I just WISH I could figure something out for him.  The problem is that when we want/need something we just buy it. We don’t wait until holidays or birthdays.  Perhaps we should re-evaluate THAT … nah.

Well, when I wrote the first part – my day was great.  It’s still good, but the internet has been down since 2:30.  That’s 5 hours an counting.  It’s so frustrating.  I had things to do tonight.  E-mails to reply to, videos to watch, and a live online tv show to win prizes at.  I have the prize area covered, just in case. I’m crossing my fingers for that $750 glider I know I won’t win.  

And ... I didn't win. nighty night!

He's growing up

So during Thursday's doctor appointment we were talking about sleeping habits of Boy.  I had mentioned that he was waking every 2-3 hours again and she said growth spurts only make that happen for 2-3 days, not for weeks at a time.  She then proceeded to tell me to start him on cereal before bed.  I was hesitant since I have read that their little intestines aren't ready for solids until 6 months, but since she told me to, and I want sleep ... I decided I'd give it a shot.  After discussion we both decided that rice cereal is for the birds and that he'll start on organic oatmeal (made by Gerber, I'm not crazy enough to try to make this, YET).

I haven't given him any oatmeal before bed yet, but I did give him about 1/2 Tbls during lunch today.  Then he followed that up with a VERY large meal of milk.  He has been sleeping for over 2 hours now, which he doesn't usually do during the day.  It's wonderful.

He didn't have too much trouble eating the cereal, but he did blow out a few times when he was supposed to suck in, so it got a little messy.  For those of you that don't remember, the first few feedings of cereal are like spooning pure liquid into the baby's mouth.  The oatmeal is just so watered down with milk.  He was giggling, shaking his arms, and smiling like crazy.  I think he liked it!!  Don't get me wrong, the bib was filled with food that didn't stay in his mouth, but hey - he's only 4 months old.  He'll learn!

Not pleased that he is in his chair instead of my arms!

First bite ... (notice girl in the background showing him how to open wide, HAHAHA)

Not hating it!

Liking it

Notice Girl in the background

Girl always being a show stealer "Look I can drink my milk like a big girl (no cover) plus no hands!"

Eyeing me up waiting for more!

4 month check-up

Our day started off with doctor appointments for the kids.  Boy had his 4 month check-up and Girl has a rash on her bum I can get rid of.  The doctor and nurse were both a little jealous that Girl was watching The Little Mermaid, our doctor even started jamming out while typing things into the computer.  She caught herself and got a bit embarrassed. Who could blame her though, "Under the Sea" is such a good song. Soooo here are the results of the morning:

Girl:
Took a skin sample to see if there was anything causing the rash.  Nope.  Diagnosis - EXTRA dry skin.  Told to use more of an ointment lotion (Aquaphor) from now on

Boy:
Weight: 19# 9oz 98%
Length: 28 1/4" over 100%
Head: 16 3/4" 52%

I don't know where this kid gets the "big" from.  He looks so funny with a big body and small head. Smaller head means a smaller brain, which, through scientific study, has been proven to be more efficient (small human brain = smarter). That's the theory I'm latching onto since both of my kids have small heads for their size. :D

I always wondered who's kids always skewed the percentile ranges by being so big.  Now I know, MINE!!  The doctor and nurse both saw him and said, "whoa, big boy".  The nurse has a 9 month old and Boy is bigger in all areas than her baby.

Boy also has a rash on his butt.  Diagnosis: dry skin just like his sister and he too has to have Aquaphor put on until it heals. ::SIGH::  Is it bad that the first thing I thought of was, "now I have to put a barrier between their skin and the diapers so I don't mess up the dipes".  I think I'm a little cloth diaper obsessed.  Of course this could be because I just got done stripping all the diapers because they had build-up on them. Stripping is a lot of work. Why did I have to strip, well, I forgot to run a load of towels or clothes through the washer and dryer I used when we were traveling.  I forget that MOST people use scented soaps and softeners. All this stuff gets left behind on the walls of the washer and dryer and can easily transfer on the the fibers of cloth diapers. ANYWAY, back to today: what is the deal with my kids and their dry skin?  And who knew that dry skin caused rashes.  I mean, I kind of did since I saw it happening to my kids, but I didn't think that was the REAL reason for the rashes.  I am really glad it's not actually "something".  When the doctor wanted to test Girl's butt to see if it was a fungal cause, I got a bit grossed out.  I also hope that everything clears up quickly.  I put some intense lotion on Girl's bottom when we got home and after nap it was already doing better!

Well, as soon as boy gets up, we're going to try to have a mini playdate with Christin and Ava.  Hopefully he wakes up soon. ::crossing my fingers::

Boy in 18 month jammies

Girl strutting her stuff in my high heels

Just so darn cute!

Who'd of thunk it?

I actually got the driveway cleaned off by myself today!  I ran out during "Cat in the Hat" and shoveled it all to the sides.  Don't have a heart attack people, I stuck my head in the door to make sure all was legit about 20 times.  Then I revved up the snow blower and cleared it all away. Go me!  I followed this excitement up with an hour of play-doh play.  I was ready to be done after 10 minutes.  I didn't think I had a worse attention span than a 2 year old!!

Later, I was making lunch and a "burrito" was on the list.  My initial thought "WAHOO, yumminess!!!!".  Then I read the ingredients.  Hmm, not so yum.  On my tortilla was:

Tomato (a few slices down the middle)
Onion (slice)
Cheese (1/4 cup)
*Heat the above ingredients under the broiler until the cheese is melted, then add:
Avacado (1/4 of a whole one)
Lettuce (1 cup)

I HATE avocado.  I figured this was going to be a disaster.  I made it anyway and you know what?  I liked it.  I even ate the rest of the avocado and gave some to Girl too.  She ate her slice but didn't want more.  She had already had a ton of peas, cheese, and chicken nuggets so I wasn't surprised.  This "burrito" was quite delicious and only 250 calories!  I also added some raisins to my lunch. I had to sneak them though, otherwise Girl would want them all.  They're her new favorite food.  I didn't even let her have them until she was over 2 years old, but now that she's had them ... watch out and hide your raisins!

Back to the burrito talk.  Don't get me wrong, this was no Chipotle.  I LOVE their rice, sour cream, cheese, chicken filled love handles in a tortilla, but this healthy one wasn't too shabby.  I would NOT call it a burrito but more of a warm wrap, but who am I to change the name of somebody else's creation? So overall, another lunch option and I can no longer say that I hate avocado.

The rest of the day should be just as uneventful as the morning!  I have coloring, preschool learning books, and barbies on the list.  After that 15 minutes is over, I don't know what we'll do.  :)

It's March?

Where did the 1 week of March go?  Holy cow time is flying!  Here are some recaps of days:

Sunday: Went up north to my in-laws because Jared went to Chicago for work.  Grandma had made chili for us
Monday: Hung out at my in-laws and enjoyed my time with the kids - Grandpa brought Girl outside to play for almost an hour

"Come on Grandpa, let's go swing"

Chatting away

The slide can be a tricky thing in winter when the bottom is facing directly into a tree!!

Tuesday: Went to Brainerd and shopped with Grandma.  We found some pjs for Boy

huhhh?

No wonder Christin has given him the nickname "Cheeks"

Wednesday: Played around the house and Girl baked a cake with Grandpa

Baking

Talking with Grandma

Thursday: We left around noon, the kids took baths, and we relaxed until bed time. When we got home I had a ton of mail waiting for me.  There was one thing in there that I was REALLY wanting – “Sophie the Giraffe”.  Boy LOVES it.  He was a bit hesitant at first, but now he really gnaws on it  and does his best to shove it in his mouth as soon as he sees it.  He prefers it when we’re holding it and he can move our hands to get it into his mouth.  He’s just so darn cute sometimes.  Then there are the nights lately.  Things got a bit messed up with the traveling and he is in a schedule of waking up every 2-3 hours at night.  NOT cool.  It is exhausting.

Friday: I taped the wood in Girl's room to get it prepped for a "bedroom makeover". Jared primed and painted Girl's room and we also met Grandma and Grandpa for lunch.  They were closing on the house that they sold so they were down here in the cities.  Girl also got to see her Auntie Jenn and cousin B.
I now remember that painting creates such a mess.  We had brushes, towels, drop cloths, paint, tape, etc. all over the upstairs.
Saturday: We put girl's room back together and I realized I have no decorating skills whatsoever. Jared eased himself back into studying.
Sunday: Jared was back at the studying grind as well as being absolutely awesome about helping with the kids.

Here are some pics from the week:

Before

Helping me paint picture frames

During

After