Home again, home again, jiggity-jig!

We flew home yesterday from a 11-day trip to the Midwest. More on the trip to come, but the kids were so exhausted they actually took naps while we were there. We got in yesterday at about 2:00, but by the time we retrieved our luggage, discovered a missing bag, reported the missing bag, walked all the way to the back of the long-term parking, and drove home it was 3:00.

We put the kids down for a nap as soon as we got home, but it didn't seem like they were going to go to sleep. I went in to get them up, but discovered that they had fallen asleep. At six, I decided we needed to get them up to eat dinner so that they wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night.

I got Nick out of bed, carried him to the bed where we change their diapers, and discovered that we didn't have any. I left him there with his eyes open. While I was searching for diapers, the doorbell rang. The pizza was here and I had no idea where our cash was. Thus, the five-minute search for something to pay him with commenced. I wrote him a check. Finally, I got back upstairs and discovered Nick snoring away on the changing bed. I changed his diaper, which woke him up, and then told him that I was going to get Sissy. Catie was literally still sleeping while I changed her poopy diaper. In the meantime, I saw Nicky pass by, and I figured he was going downstairs to play. I decided to peak in, though, and I saw that he had gone back to bed. So, I placed a sleeping Catie back in bed for another half an hour.

To make a long story a little shorter, we got them back out of bed, but never succeeded in waking Catie up for more than a couple seconds. Nick woke up and played for a half an hour, but happily went back to bed without eating dinner.

This morning, Catie is wondering when we're going on an airplane again....

Busy, busy, busy

There are quails all over the place here. They're such funny little birds. They walk instead of hopping, and they can move fast. They are also excellent hiders.

I heard a quail making funny noises in the irises, and was surprised to find little baby quail chicks. We tried all weekend to get a good picture, but, like I said, they are really good at hiding. At one point, we saw them parading back into the bushes and counted over ten chicks.
Our main project last weekend (Mothers' Day weekend) was landscaping the front yard. It was my birthday present.

Here is a before photo:

We headed to Lowe's and spent a chunk of change on plants.

Then, we got to work. Well, Brad got to work shoveling up the sod.

We stopped in the middle for a science lesson on worms.

"Mommy, are you picturing me?"

At the end of the weekend, this is what it looked like:

Monday was my birthday.

I got a pedicure. :)

Andy and Jenny sent flowers.

Ta-da! The irises are in full bloom now.

The rose bush is also in bloom.

This weekend we ordered rock for the beds. Brad hauled it over and I spread it out.

We'll get some kind of edging at some point, but we can't decide what we want.

She had to get in on the picturing. Excuse her greasy hair. Someone thought it would be really fun to squeeze desitin all over the place and spread it all over her body, including her hair. We shampood her hair twice last night and it still isn't out. Hoping it will work it's way out before we have pictures taken on Friday.

Here's my long-legged boy enjoying some tv. We spent quite a bit of time on the couch this week. About mid-week they both caught colds. There's been a lot of whining around here. Nothing a little Sing Along Songs with Mickey can't fix.

On Wednesday we're heading to St. Louis for 10 days. We're looking forward to a little vacation and seeing family!

Can't pull one over on my three and a half year-old girly

Okay, confession time. I didn't feel like making and cleaning up lunch after running errands yesterday morning. So, we stopped by McDonald's, picked up some happy meals and ate in the car. The car is the only place I can virtually guarantee that the kids will eat a whole meal. There's something about being strapped in with no toys around. :)

Catie was finished with her nuggets and she was ready to get serious about eating her apple slices. So, she asked me to hold her nugget box. Here's the conversation that followed:

Catie: Mommy, hold this.

Me: Catie, Mommy is driving right now.

Catie: Mommy, don't say you're driving.

Me: But I am driving, and I need to use my hands right now.

Catie: But, Mommy, that one hand is on your leg.

I couldn't argue, so I took the box from her and set it on the front seat. I like to think of it as sharpening her reasoning skills, not giving in to her demands. :)

A P-R-K* in our backyard!

While I was garage saling, Daddy worked hard this weekend to build a swing set. We couldn't be happier.

* Spelling words in front of the kids only works if it isn't a word that you spell all the time and you don't spell it every time you talk about it.