Dying Eggs

Each year, the kids have dyed Easter eggs at school. The hubby decided that it would be fun to do it at home with the kids this year. They had fun writing on their eggs before dropping them into their chosen colors. Buddy’s favorite color is red and Sugie liked the yellow, since we didn’t have pink.

The eggs turned out very bright and pretty! Buddy had a super time putting stickers on his red eggs. He chose the fire truck and ball stickers!!! Sugie stuck with butterflies and flowers. They proudly showed off their creations to everyone on Easter.

Egg Hunt #2

The kids 2nd Easter egg hunt was at our church. It was a gorgeous day to be outside!! The kids were separated into different age groups, so the hubby and I each took a kid. (Sugie, of course, picked her daddy to go with her!!)

While Sugie did an awesome job hunting eggs, Buddy was entertained with songs and a story. Sugie’s hunt ended just in time for her to come help Buddy with his hunt.

It’s so cute watching the different age groups. Sugie’s group found all of the eggs in a matter of minutes! Buddy’s group had extra eggs left over b/c the kids had done enough hunting! Sugie kept trying to get Buddy to get more eggs, but he was satisfied with his haul!

After the hunts, we ate delicious brownies and spent time with catching up friends. It was a fun time for all!!

I feel pretty, oh so pretty!

Oh, boy! We’re in trouble now!! A few weeks ago, Sugie came home and said that she wanted to dress prettier tomorrow for school. I agreed and asked why she wanted to do this, but she didn’t give me any answer.

Later that evening, she again said that we needed to pick out a pretty dress for school the next day. I again asked why she needed to look so pretty tomorrow. She replied, “Because Brennan asked me, too.” My heart sank! She’s only 5 and trying to dress to impress a boy!!

She came home the next day very appalled. Apparently, only 2 people had told her she looked pretty and Brennan was not one of the two! She was crushed!

Birthday Goodies

Ok, this will be the last post on my birthday. But, I was very excited in the week leading up to my birthday because I received so many exciting gifts from restaurants! (I must have found a list sometime ago of birthday freebies and signed up for them all!) Here’s what I got:

Coldstone Creamery – Free ice cream creation
Culver’s – Free sundae
Baskin Robbins – Free ice cream
Lonestar Steakhouse – Free dinner entrée
Fazoli’s – Free dessert
Logan’s Roadhouse – Free Nutter Butter Fudgeslide
Quizno’s – Free cookie
Schlotzsky’s – Free sandwich
Texas Roadhouse – Free appetizer
Arby’s – Free milkshake
O’Charley’s - $5 off meal

There were a few more, but I can’t remember them all! Good thing I’m not too worried about my weight right now b/c those were some tasty offers!

Sugie's Brutal Stabbing

Poor little Sugie Bear was stabbed at school earlier this month!!! I received a call from the school nurse that Sugie had been stabbed in the eye with a pencil by another student, but that the bleeding had stopped and that Sugie wasn't too upset about it. WHAT!?!?! I was very upset by this!!

It turns out that Sugie and another girl were writing together. The other little girl started erasing while Sugie was lowering her head. The pencil lead caught Sugie on the eyelid and left a 1/8 inch scratch. It took almost a week to heal, but Sugie never seemed too affected by the injury. (Very surprising from a child who thinks a paper cut is the end of the world!) She's just super lucky that her eye closed just in time or it could have been a much worse scenario.

Buddy and another new disease

On April 1, I received a call from daycare that I needed to take Buddy to the doctor. He had a few spots by his mouth and they needed to make sure it was just eczema and not some contagious disease. (I quickly realized this wasn’t an April Fools Day joke.)

So, I took Buddy to the doctor and discovered that Buddy had fluid behind both eardrums and possibly, maybe had Impetigo. Leave it to Buddy to get yet another weird childhood disease!! So, Buddy got to spend the day shopping with Mimi! He had a great time!

More birthday celebrations....

For my next birthday event, the hubby took me out to dinner at my most favorite restaurant!!! I was a little hesitant to go since potentially bad storms were on the way. Of course, after we dropped the kids off at P&E’s for a fun evening, they issued a tornado warning right where my babies were!!! (They went to the basement bathroom and hung out for awhile!) Despite my concerns for my family, we had a delightful dinner together! I even saw a friend that I used to work with at the restaurant. It was so nice to catch up with her!

Poor little Buddy started feeling bad that evening. He shook and shivered and had a fever. The poor little guy didn’t sleep very well. He kept moaning, waking up & crying that his bed was falling down. He woke up perfectly fine the next morning!!

On Sunday, mom cooked lunch for the family, in honor of my birthday! Thanks, mom!! Mom helped Sugie make me a beautiful bracelet. She was very proud of it!

The Easter Bunny

A few weeks ago, we took the kids to their first Easter egg hunt of the season. They got a treat bag and did a few crafts when we arrived. Then, it was time for the big hunt! Buddy didn’t really know what was going on. Sugie wanted to take off to collect the eggs, but was so sweet and helped her little brother along. All in all, they came away with a decent amount of eggs. (I think that a few of the really little kids didn’t even get one egg.) There were a very limited number of prizes, but the kids ended up winning one prize to share – Easter Egg-shaped bubbles!

After the egg hunt, the Easter Bunny came out to greet the kids. Sugie immediately ran over to him and gave him a big hug. Buddy just stared and slowly backed up into everything in his path. The moment we arrived at the hunt, he was so worried about the Easter Bunny being there and kept looking for him.

We watched while a few kids got their pictures taken with him. We thought that this might make Buddy more comfortable with the whole experience. We could definitely tell the 2 yr olds from the 3 yr olds just from their reaction to the Bunny.

Sugie didn’t mind at all when it was her turn for the picture. Buddy was actually fine with the hubby holding him next to the Easter Bunny, but was NOT going to sit on his lap. (See how tightly he’s gripping the hubby in the pic?) But, of course, when we left, he waved and blew kisses to the Easter Bunny. What a fun morning it was! Kids are so neat!

30 - something

Well, another birthday for me has passed on by. I'm quickly nearing the mid-thirties!! Thanks for Grandpa, who still believes that I'm only 29!!!

The hubby and precious children met me for a special dinner out on my birthday. I was still very full from lunch with my co-workers, but still tried to eat. Frequently during dinner, Sugie kept asking when they were going to "have the celebration". We had just been to this restaurant a few weeks earlier and she remembered the staff singing & clapping for a lot of birthdays.

Sure enough, after I forced down some of my dinner, I heard a lot of rhythmic clapping. The hubby said that they were headed in our direction with a huge mug of something. It was one of the biggest brownie sundaes I had ever seen! Sugie thoroughly enjoyed the birthday song, while Buddy tried to pull the stones out of the wall. (He ultimately succeeded, which was our cue that it was time to go!)

At home, the hubby and kids surprised me with gifts, a yummy cake, and pretty flowers. I love how excited Sugie gets about birthdays!! Poor little Buddy was so exhausted that we had to put him to bed before my birthday celebration at home. What a nice birthday!! And this was just the start of my big birthday weekend!

Spring Break - Friday

Another fun day with the Daddy! They started their day with a special breakfast at the Donut Bank! After running a few errands (for some of my birthday goodies!), they ended up at Walther's Family Fun Center. She and her daddy played a round of putt putt! I think that she did pretty good! They spent another afternoon outside all day working and playing. Could Sugie have had any more fun over Spring Break? I don't think so.....she was spoiled endlessly!

Spring Break - Thursday

The hubby had Thursday and Friday off work, but still had two classes to attend on Thursday morning. He got prior approval from his professors to bring Sugie along with him to class. One class was a Kindergarten class, so she was the perfect visitor! The teacher had a special table set up for Sugie, filled with paper, markers, stickers, princess tiara, UE shirt, books, etc. Sugie read to the class and even got to be the teacher for awhile. The whole class was geared around her. She had a blast!!!

At the next class, Sugie sat in a special chair next to the professor and helped her grade presentations. Then, Sugie passed out cookies to everyone. I think Sugie's ready to go from Kindergarten straight to college!

After class, they had a fun lunch and shopping trip with Grandma. Then, she and the hubby came home and played outside all afternoon. Daddy definitely earned a bazillion bonus points for the fun day!!

Spring Break - Wednesday

Sugie got to sleep in a little bit on Wednesday at Mimi's house. After a morning of jewelry making, they headed out to pick up my sweet niece and went shopping! Sugie picked out a new dress (pink, of course) and even picked out an outfit for the new baby. She was very excited about this. They had lunch at Steak N Shake and then did some more shopping downtown.

That afternoon, Mimi took Sugie for a manicure. Although my sweet niece tried to convince Sugie to pick out yellow or black nail polish, little Sugie decided on pink with sparkles!! The nail tech painted a flower on one nail and a horse on another. Sugie was so proud of these!!! It was another fun day!

Spring Break - Tuesday

Tuesday was Sugie's day with P&E - and another fun day it was! They went to Walther's to play mini golf, but Sugie wanted to play all of the games instead. Then, she played in the monkey tubes. Sugie also got to go to Chuck E. Cheeses again and play a lot of games there!! When they got back to their house, Sugie rode her scooter some more! She can home loaded down with prizes and goodies from their day together. Sugie even thought about Buddy and picked out some prizes for him. She is such a sweet, loving child!

Utterly exhausted from her busy days, Sugie fell asleep on the way to a birthday party that evening at Pump It Up. Sugie was quick to tell everyone that the party's end time was way past her normal bedtime. She had fun playing with her school friends at the party, but was ready to relax when it was over at 9.

After the party, I dropped off Sugie at Mimi's to spend the night. Mimi said that Sugie fell asleep right away!!

Spring Break - Monday

Since I'm saving most of my vacation days to care for the baby this summer and the hubby is saving his for student teaching this fall, Sugie got to spend each weekday with a different person.

Monday was time for playing at Grandma's!! They went to the mall, where Sugie picked out some really earrings, not the big plastic ones that she typically wears. She felt like such a big girl. Then, they went to lunch at McDonald's. After a few hours out on the town, they went back to Grandma's where Sugie rode her scooter for almost 2 hours!! She had such a fun day with her Grandma!

Later that night, Daddy let Sugie and Buddy get into the "big tub" in our bathroom. Buddy wanted to do some "simming"! The kids have a blast in the tub!! It's really deep, so they really can swim in there!!

Spring Break - Day 3

We had another birthday party to go to on Sugie's 3rd day of break. Poor little Buddy fell down two concrete steps and got a huge knot/bruise on his head. I felt so bad for the little guy. He quickly calmed down when his Aunt and Cousin brought out some Wiggles toys for him to play with. He loved them so much that they ended up letting Buddy keep them for good!

After the party, we all had a picnic outside in the backyard. The weather was perfect and my kids love to be outside. It's so fun watching them play together. Sugie drives her pink (of course) Harley while Buddy drives his truck. The follow each other all over the hilly yard!

Spring Break - Day 2

Mims was in town from Arizona to visit a new grandson, but took a full day to spend time with my kids. They had a blast at Chuck E. Cheeses with their cousins. Then, they went to Target to look at shoes. Sugie is a complete shoe fanatic, so this was right up her alley! (They each came home with a new pair!) They also played at a fabulous playground, Kids Kingdom, and even stopped for ice cream.

Mims showered the kids with gifts she had collected since her last visit. One of the favorites was a tent with a built in air mattress. Sugie slept in there that night and has taken several naps in there. They really love playing in here. Thanks for all of the fun times, Mims!!

Sugie's Spring Break Weekend Part 1

Forget Florida! Sugie had the best spring break ever by staying in town!!! We started off her weekend by letting her pick where to eat on Friday night. She chose Hacienda, one of her favorite places! (I think she gets that from Mimi!) The night was even more special when she saw Mims there!

Buddy was not thrilled about going to Hacienda b/c he wanted to go to his favorite place. So, we let him pick out Saturday night's place of dining. I'm sure that most parents of a 2 year old would be scared that they'd be going to Chuck E. Cheese or McDonalds. But, our Buddy picked our new favorite restaurant, Zuki, the hibachi grill, or the "fire place". He loves it there SO much! (So do I!)

We're so lucky that we have well behaved children that we can take out anywhere. They are great kids!

Driver’s License Renewal

In the past, I’ve always been pleased with my driver’s license photo. Although I wasn’t excited about going to the BMV to get my license renewed, I wasn’t dreading getting a new photo taken. Big mistake!!!

Of course, after waiting eons in line, it was finally my turn. My belly is huge now and it’s quite obvious that I’m pregnant. However, the lady I dealt with actually asked me if the weight on my license was my current weight. Um, NO!! I would not let her change it, though, since this is just a temporary condition that I’m in.

With the weight issue resolved, it was picture time. I stood up straight and smiled. Apparently, this was all wrong. I wasn’t allowed to smile – or at least show my teeth. This was quite awkward for me b/c I’m a smiley person. Then, she said that I had way too much hair showing. I kept pulling it back, but it wasn't helping. I was afraid that she was going to yank out a pair of big scissors at any moment. She told me to stare at this little camera and not to move. Then, she told me to lower my chin. This, of course, made my huge pregnancy double chin come out. Naturally, I smiled again and she "NO SMILING". Then, she took the picture.

What I ended up with is this horrible picture of me smirking, looking like a deer in the headlights, with 8000 chins and no hair. It's a real beauty. And I'm stuck with it for the next 6 years.

I made the mistake of showing it to my dear, sweet hubby. He thinks it's great fun to mimic the picture. Thanks for your support in my time of need, dear!

One coincidental side note - That same evening I showed this horrendous pic to the hubby, I found an interesting flier addressed to him in the mail. It was for men that were ready for new relationships and to meet new women. He kind of shrugged it off and said, "Well, have you seen your license picture??" Thanks again, sweetie.....

Buddy’s Playdate

At a wedding last summer, Sugie quickly became friends with Helen, a seventh or eighth cousin (?). It turns out that Helen has a little brother who is two days younger than Buddy. So, when Sam was in town visiting his grandma, Buddy and Mimi had a play date with them! The two boys were very similar in size – height-wise and shoe size. Our little Buddy is still packing around a few extra pounds from his infant obesity, so he was a little heavier. They had fun playing in the slides and eating lunch together. Thanks to Mimi and Marilyn for getting these two little darlings together!

Our Accelerated Reader

It’s really amazing how much Sugie can read now!! (It’s also kind of frustrating that she can read my lists, notes, and receipts now, too!!) Anyway, she’s such a smarty that she was put in the Accelerated Reader program at school. This program isn’t required until 2nd Grade, so our little Sugie has quite the head start. She reads books and takes comprehension tests on the computer. She earns points for each correct answer.

Sugie earned enough points this grading period to get invited to a party hosted by the school principal. She was excited to have earned a dog tag for this accomplishment. Most of all, she was excited to be invited to this exclusive party! Last month, she was pulled out of class for special treats and a movie with the other accelerated readers. Way to go, Sugar Bear!