Spatulatta Enchiladas

Lauren made dinner tonight. She made enchiladas from her new birthday cookbook. We invited Dana, Shep and Emma over to enjoy them too since both of our men are out of town for a couple days. (Matt is doing some business development in Jacksonville, FL among other places.) Lauren had a fun time making them and would run to check the oven every 2 minutes to see how they looked. She sure ate a lot too and she even knew they were veggie enchiladas. This might be some sort of little trick to get the kids to eat more. =let them cook the food=

Tyler really enjoyed playing with Shep even though Shep is 6 yrs old. He can do no wrong in Tyler's eyes and he just cracks up at everything he does. Tyler let Shep play with his beloved trains but when Emma went to grab for one Tyler drew the line. I had to let him know that sharing is nice and fun.

Earlier today I caught Tyler playing with one of the toy telephones. He would put it to his ear and say "Hello" and then he'd say "Hey". He said this over and over again. "Hello.....Hey" and there's no mistaking it since it's clear as day. Now that I think of it both Matt and I say this quite often when we answer the phones. Better be careful with what other things we say now that we have two little sponges listening in.

Tomorrow Lauren has her 4 year old check-up and most likely will get a shot or two. Last year she didn't cry and now I think she's going to be very nervous trying not to cry again. Keep her in your thoughts.

Tornado, Bunko and a Birthday Party

That pretty much sums up our weekend here but I'll elaborate a bit for our virtual nearest and dearest.

This week I got a call from the head of the neighborhood Bunko group and was offered a permanent position since someone pulled out. (I've been subbing for a few months now.) I enthusiastically accepted because this really promotes you to varsity cheerleader status in our suburban neighborhood. The only bad thing is now once a year I'll have to host the monthly bunko game. This will entail cleaning my house with a toothbrush (because the Bunko ladies notice), purchasing a $20 door prize which will be reimbursed by the Bunko pot, cooking dinner and providing snacks, drinks and alcohol for 12. This year I'll be hosting in May but GG (my Grandma Anna) will be visiting so she'll be able to help me whip up all the food.

On Friday I had my first Bunko game as an official member. I actually "won" my $5 back for having the most "losses". Go figure. After the game I went outside around 11:30pm and watched the sky light up over and over again from lightening. I never once heard any thunder . There was no rain or wind, only the silent lightening. I thought that was pretty eerie and cool at the same time. When I got home I turned on the news and saw that a tornado had caused massive destruction in downtown Atlanta. It took out all the windows of the Omni hotel which is connected to CNN center and also tore up the CNN cafeteria which I've eaten at many times. It did a lot more damage too to downtown and apparently this is the first time in history a tornado has hit downtown. It was pretty crazy. I'm anxious to hear what Matt has to say after he goes to work downtown on Monday.

Saturday, Lauren had her birthday party at Jump 2 It. This is a huge inflatable toy warehouse. She had 7 friends come and enjoy the party with her. We had our party hostess who did EVERYTHING. From the time we walked in to the time we left I felt more like a guest than the host. She timed the playtime, cut and served the cakes and drinks, helped Lauren open her presents and even wrote down who got what. She also took photos of the whole party and put them all on a DVD for us. It was great. Lauren had a lot of fun but I think Tyler enjoyed it the most. He always had a huge smile on his face. Lauren really wanted Matt and I to be jumping with her so we both got a good workout. While Matt was taking Tyler down the slides, I was jumping around with Lauren. After the jumping part was over we headed into the party room. We had chocolate cake with chocolate icing and a real strawberry filling. (Lauren's choice) Then it was time for presents. She got a couple outfits, some play Chinese food (with chopsticks, soy sauce and even a to-go container,) a Webkinz pink and white cat, a Barbie, and sidewalk paint. She was very happy with her birthday party. We got home and immediately played with everything she got. I still need to figure more out about the Webkinz though because we were both getting frustrated on the web site.

Today we are just finishing up our weekend to-do lists. Planning the weekly dinners, Groceries, cleaning and of course, updating the blog.

I just uploaded all the photos we took this weekend onto my Flickr account so you can see them all there. http://www.flickr.com/gp/30259490@N00/GhtCh6

Enjoy.

I can't believe Lauren is 4!

We've sure had an exciting long weekend. Brad, our good friend from Eugene, OR flew in on Saturday for the Nascar Race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Brad just oozes excitement and adventure so I don't need to mention that he made the race a fun experience although it was actually a little boring. (no big wrecks or big passes that would cause some excitement.) One of the 2 most interesting things about the race was an "almost" fight between the "prison tat (tattoo) crew" and the "redneck crew" who sat a few rows ahead of us. Nothing ever broke out but the tension and immediate response of the Georgia State Police made it potentially exciting. =) The other most interesting thing was Brad following through with a little bet we had. You'll have to ask him about that one though. lol.

And for the most unbelievable and exciting news of this new year.... Lauren turned 4 years old today. I just looked in the mirror and I can't believe I'm old enough to have a four year old. She had school today so to celebrate we brought in cupcakes for her whole class. I was able to come for the birthday celebration. She was wearing her birthday hat and was sure the talk of the students. Tyler and I were invited to come play on the playground during "recess" too. Tyler clicked immediately with her friends and was off playing with the trucks and the dirt. Lauren, in the meantime, showed me her skills on the slides.

After school we took a nap and then after dinner we had our family birthday celebration. Lauren opened lots of presents and then we had some ice-cream cake. She was so into this birthday which was awesome to see. She loved opening presents and just like I used to do...she ignored the clothes and dove right into the toys. =) (she so! needed the clothes though.) We played with both of her new computer games before we went to bed.

The celebrations aren't quite over, however. We are having her birthday party for her friends this Saturday at a local jumping toys facility. Y'all are invited.

To top off this wonderful day today...Tyler said Mommy (well sort of) for the first time. I took a picture of him and I, which you'll be able to see in the link below, and I showed him the picture and asked who that was (I was pointing to myself.) And for the first time EVER...I heard him say "Mommy". I asked him twice just so I could hear it again. It was heart melting to hear and I can't wait to hear it again.

Here are all the pictures from this weekend. There would be more but Brad somehow lost his camera at the races which had quite a few pics on it. Regardless, enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellentee/sets/72157604101980037/show/

March, Snow, Atlanta, C'mon

It snowed this morning. It was 70 degrees yesterday. I don't understand, must be global warming.

Anyway, I wanted to write a little something down before the evening gets hectic. Brad's coming into town tonight and we're having a little neighborhood get together. Dinner and then the guys will play poker.

Lauren is counting down the naps until she turns 4. Every morning she asks how many naps she has until her birthday. She counts both light naps and dark naps. She's getting excited. I need to get on the ball and get her cake ordered (or baked if I feel so inclined) and everything ready for her birthday party at Jump 2 It next Saturday.

We had a playdate on Friday. Her and Tyler and 2 other little girls are in a playgroup with the Mom's club. Every Friday we get together at one of our houses and let the kids play. Yesterday, Isabella, Abigail and their Mom's came over to play. Poor Tyler got his first taste of girls being girls. The 3 girls were playing in Lauren's Dora tent and Tyler tried to climb in with them. Isabella told him point blank that "No boys allowed". She just turned 3. =) Tyler didn't act too hurt by the exclusion but I did notice one tear fall down his cheek. Poor little guy. We need to find another boy to join our group. Other than that little incident they all played together and had fun. Lauren was actually talking to the girls and interacting with them. It was really fun to listen to their conversations. We noticed they would start whispering at times too. We think it's because they knew we were listening.

I meant to post last night but we had an impromptu get together with Buddy and Dana. Buddy and I were mopping the floor with Matt and Dana at the game of Spades when the Corbitt's stopped by. (Gabriel and Mary....Buddy and Dana have gotten to be really good friends with them and they also live in the neighborhood, although they just got an offer on their house and will be moving up North (of Atlanta.) yeah, I know TMI. We all visited for awhile and never got to finishing up our card game nor did I ever get a chance to post.

Ok, I'm off to clean up and get ready for another full house tonight.

it's electric outside...rain is a-coming

Another beautiful day today. You can feel it in the air though...a storm is approaching. At 10pm and it was still oddly warm out. Let's get this rain to come through and then hopefully spring weather will officially be here.

Today the kids and I drove up to Atlanta to have lunch with Matt. We ate at our usual spot... Whole Foods Market. Matt and the kids had organic pizza and I had a greek salad. We also stocked up on the $2.49 wine special of the week. This Merlot was from Argentina but bottled in Australia. hmmm? But it was $2.49 per bottle so that was the important thing.

After dinner we walked around the neighborhood and then the kids took turns playing airplane with Daddy. On one not-so-smooth landing, Lauren bumped her hand to the ground and yelled "ouchee" and Tyler latched on to that one. He was saying "ouch-eeee" and cracking himself up. I love his true belly laugh. I think he also discovered a new favorite book tonight. We read the Froggy book that has the bobble eyes. When you shake it they move. He couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole book.

Currently Matt is roaming the house cleaning up while the potential winners of the poker game are in the basement finishing up. I guess I won't be seeing any return on that $20 I loaned him tonight. Oh well...there's always next week.

and March comes in like a lamb

It's been beautiful the past 2 days. Sunny and 70s. I wish it would stay this way year round. Today was our typical Sunday. I'll describe it as if it is interesting. Wake up, Matt makes us breakfast like he does every weekend morning. (today was waffles, chosen by Lauren) After breakfast the kids & Daddy play outside while I make my dinner menu and grocery list for the week. Then it's off to the grocery store...Kroger because for every $100 you spend you get 10 cents off per gallon at their gas station. At the store, I take Tyler in my "buggy" while Matt and Lauren have their own "buggy" to pick up the coupon items. When we each get the items on our lists we meet up again in the deli section and get mac n cheese and chicken fingers from the deli and eat lunch right in the store. After our tummy's are full we go pay. Back at home the kids nap and Matt and I do whatever we want. Today he mowed the pine straw and I chatted with Dana. Which brings us to dinner. I made a delicious broiled salmon and sauteed spinach with melted feta side dish. Matt barely touched his. His excuse...he doesn't like slimy vegetables and the salmon was from frozen. I can understand the frozen salmon but c'mon slimy vegetables?! Oh well. Tomorrow he gets steak so I think he'll be okay. After dinner we went for a walk in the beautiful warm weather. Then we played outside with the neighbors. Emma was playing with a foam dart gun and Tyler was cracking up everytime she fired it. I wish I got some pictures but I didn't take any today. I will share a picture of me from yesterday. I got my hair done and decided to go lighter. Enjoy and good evening...time to get these rascals into bed.

O Pickles

This week we got Tyler a Thomas the Train. Since we lost his favorite red Hummer we had to get him something to replace it. Tyler was sooo excited to see Thomas at Toys R Us. He played with it the whole shopping trip, the whole way home and all evening...all before we even opened the package. See pics... http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellentee/sets/72157604003496248/show/

The other two things I remember about this past week (since they are still going on are) Lauren's new big-time attitude and Tyler's spoken vocabulary is increasing exponentially. Some of this is awesome and some of this is quite trying...you can imagine which. =)

Lauren first. She has currently replaced "Tiddlywinks" with "Oh Pickles" when she doesn't get her way. Her other little attitude phrases include "Never" and "I won't do it for one hundred years." She must get this from Matt because I know I was a perfect angel as a child. (wink)

She did write her name by herself for the first time this week. She was looking at it on her photo albums we have on the shelves in the family room and she did a great job. (Matt wrote Tyler's name while Lauren told him what letter to write.) I believe her R has a smiley face in it and her E is quite original.

And Tyler this week has been talking up a storm. He repeats things...of which usually come out of Lauren's mouth. And he will point at things and say them...i.e. eyes, nose, mouth, ears, wheels, airplane, train, and many more. He can also count to 10 if you start him out by saying one, two...he'll do the rest if he's in the mood. I think this jump in his vocabulary will help his tantrums. I can tell that he gets joy in knowing we can understand him and he's communicating.

I can't believe it's March already and I'm going to have a 4 year old and 2 years old by the end of the month. They grow so fast.