Cinco de Mayo

My cousin got married on May 5.  After juggling soccer & baseball games that afternoon, the hubby and I left the kids with the sitters to attend their wedding reception.  We had a GREAT time!  We don't often get date nights, so this was a special treat.  They had a photo booth set up at the reception.  We had so much fun with this!!!  Any party definitely needs one of these!

The Kentucky Derby was also on 5.5.12.  The whole family made their picks that morning - based off of jersey color & name.  The kids watched the race with the sitters and we watched it at the reception.  Two of my picks placed!!  I was the big family winner.  Woo hoo!! Too bad we didn't place any bets. :(

The Beauty Pageant

Our sweet Sugie is a fan of the show "Toddlers & Tiaras".  She has all of the moves down just from watching the show.  A few weeks ago, Sugie hosted a beauty pageant in our living room.  Sugie was crowned Ultimate Grand Supreme while the hubby was our Mini Supreme winner.

Even despite this hideous photo, I took home the top Sparkle Wear prize.

I love Sugie's imagination and all of the shows she puts on.  I also love the hubby for being a good sport for participating in all of these activities!

My Nephew's Confirmation

My sweet nephew was confirmed at our church on May 6.  (The service was held in the gym due to the large May crowds/events.) Our family filled up two rows to support our sweet Ty.

 The hubby was Ty's mentor during the confirmation period.  He attended a few dinners and special events with him.

 After church, we ate at one of Ty's favorite restaurants - CiCi's Pizza!  Boy, that kid can eat!!  The cousins had a super time together, as usual!

We're so proud of you, Ty!

The Spring Fling

Each year, Sugie's school puts on a big event called the The Spring Fling.  It's a fundraiser for the PTA.  Each classroom is in charge of a game booth, food booth, or raffle.  We took the whole crew this year after a hectic morning - yard sale 7-1, soccer game 1-2, fling 3-4!

Sugie was excited to visit the Hair Spray booth, where she requested green hair!

While I waited in a very long and slow line with the boys for a clown to make them balloon swords, the hubby and Sugie played various games.  They had a game where you could win a fish.  Of course, our Sugie won!  Yea.  Thankfully, they didn't have fish to pass out at the school.  Instead, we were given a coupon for a free goldfish at the pet store.  (I hope she forgets about it!!)

After the fun, we headed to the cafeteria for slushies!  It was a fun end to the crazy busy day!

The Sweet Niece

How can my sweet niece be old enough to go to the prom?!?  On prom night, the family gathered together to take a zillion and one pics of her and her boyfriend.

Side note - Look at me (on the far left) and then Sugie (the short one).  Yep, we're dressed alike.  It was Sugie's idea!

Doesn't she look beautiful?

Here's Sugie with her cousin.  These girls are too cute together!

Fun at the Dentist

Little E's first official visit to the dentist was last week.  (He went last year to have a front tooth checked out after he fell.)  The assistant called back all three kids, so Little E hesitantly went back with them.  About 5 minutes later, the lady came back with a sobbing E on her hip.  We were transferred to the private family room where he could be checked out with me holding him.  He was all smiles once he was back with me!

The kids actually like going to the dentist.  They get prizes, balloons, and new toothbrushes.  Little E requested a tractor toothbrush, but they didn't have any of those.  Maybe next time he'll be brave like Sugie and Buddy.

Snow Days = Donut Days

Since we had no snow days this winter, Sugie and the hubby have had several days off school this spring.  Buddy usually stays home with them on these days.  That means I get to take my precious Little E to school in the mornings!  I usually put Sugie on the bus while the hubby takes the boys to school, so this is a rare treat!

To celebrate these special days, I take my angel to Donut Bank for breakfast.  He loves the donut holes and cookies and, of course, the special time with his Mom!  I love you, E!

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Our Little Mudcat

Our Buddy's baseball season is in full swing!  He started off great!  He consistently hit off of the pitching machine and never had to use the tee.

 But, things have since faded.  I think he's lost his initial excitement for the game.  When he's focused, he's a great player.  He has a great eye for the ball and can really slug it.  He hit a double in his second game, which is pretty rare in this league.

They play 3 innings and can score up to 5 runs per inning.  There is no time limit on the games, which has caused major delays and headaches.  One game was over an hour late in starting.  This waiting wears the kids (and their parents!) out physically and mentally.

 Buddy is on a team with one of his BFFs from school and a neighbor friend.  This has been so helpful with carpooling and kid activity scheduling!

 What does Little E like to do during the games?  Eat extremely blue candy, courtesy of my sweet niece, and stain his face for an entire day.

 Here's Buddy and Coach Gansman at the trophy ceremony.  Good job, Buddy!

Lunch with the Kids

Someone remind me to do this more often - have lunch with Sugie at school!!

We had the best time at lunch a few weeks ago!  She was thrilled when I showed up!  I got the biggest hugs.  Then, she held my hand all of the way to the cafeteria.  She didn't want me to leave, so I got the biggest goodbyes and even kiss...right in front of her friends!!

I was also invited to lunch with my sweet boys in late April for a Picnic with the Parents.  I set up the picnic blanket with Buddy's room and then went to get Little E from his classroom.  He broke down in tears when he saw me.  He watched me get Buddy and set up our area and thought that I wasn't going to get him.  It broke my heart!  I had a fabulous time with my boys and Buddy's bestie.  They were all extremely wild by the end of lunch!!  Of course, Little E sobbed again when I left.  I love spending these special moments with my kids.  They are my world.

The Garage Sale

Last year, we had a mega garage sale to get rid of all of our baby items.  We got rid of so much!  I hadn't planned on doing another sale this year, but when my girlfriend organized a neighborhood sale, we decided to participate.

I was glad that we participated because we sold a lot more things.  But, this neighborhood was CRAZYVILLE!  I had never seen so many people or cars on our street!  People were everywhere!  The kids, especially Sugie, loved helping out with the sale.  On Saturday morning, they dined on donuts in the driveway while watching all of the activity.  I feel sorry for all of the non-participating neighbors because the traffic was chaotic!

Earth Day

Sugie and Buddy are quite the little explorers lately.  They love catching slugs, worms, butterflies, moths, crickets, etc.  in the bug catcher.  (My rule is that everything must be freed by the end of the day!)

 Little E  continues to be his Daddy's outside the companion.  He loves everything about being outside and follows the hubby around everywhere.

 Here's a bird eating from one of the feeders the kids made at a Home Depot workshop!

 Buddy is so proud of this moth friend!

 To celebrate Earth Day, Sugie and the hubby planted a pine tree in our back yard.  Sugie brought home the tree from a fieldtrip to Berry Plastics.

 We have several animals in our area, so the tree has already been uprooted two times!  They keep replanting it, so hopefully it will grow!

Flour Bombed!!

Little E and Kim Kardashian have something in common - they've both been Flour Bombed!!

Little E's bombing was quite unintentional...  Here's the backstory:  Sugie's friend at school made stress balls out of balloons and flour and rice.  So, she and hubby made 5 stress balls, one made with flour and 4 made with rice.  Guess which one Little E got ahold of and bit?  That's right!  Our precious pumpkin bit into the flour stress ball and got flour EVERYWHERE!  

 The hubby and I were in the garage preparing for a garage sale when we heard him screaming.  He had flour covering his face, in his mouth, all over his body.  He does not like to be dirty at all, so this sent him over the edge.  The pic is after we cleaned out his mouth and face.

Poor Sugie, who got caught in the flour bomb attack, was devastated at the loss of one of the stress balls.  It was a funny moment, for the adults anyway!

Easter 2012

The kids loved waking up on Easter morning and finding the Easter baskets that the Easter Bunny had left.  The favorite item seemed to be a whoopie cushion that was in Sugie's basket!

 The kids also got Pop Rocks candy and loved hearing it exploding in their mouths.

 We had the family over for lunch at our house.  After lunch, we had our annual Easter egg hunt.  The Easter Bunny leaves candy filled eggs for the hubby to hide.  They are color coded so that everyone gets the same amount.

 My sweet nephew with Sugie and Buddy

 The hubby and myself

 Mom and my Grandpa

 E & P

 It was a gorgeous day!  Sugie was so excited about doing a relay race, so we split into teams to balance an egg on a spoon.

 Even my 89 year old Grandpa participated!!

 Sugie's team won the relay!

 Grandpa's birthday happened to be on Easter, so we celebrated at the relay race.  My sweet nephew's birthday was just 5 days earlier, so we celebrated him, too.

 After all of the festivities, Sugie and Grandma worked math problems, while Buddy chilled and E napped.

 I caught someone else napping, too!

Hope everyone had a great Easter like we did!