What to do on a RAINY day?

Our play group had planned this trip to the Children's Discovery Museum a few weeks ago and little did we know that it would be the perfect day to go.  Just a rainy day!   For those of you who don't know, the Museum is in Normal right by ISU.  It is a 3 level Museum that is all hands on for the kids.  There are things for them to do like a grocery store to Dr. office, trains, legos, etc.  They had so much fun as well as us mom's.  Jill couldn't join us because Madelyn was sick, sorry Jill!  It's definately a trip we will have to take again.  So much fun.  I highly recommend it to any of you with kids.  Just plan for the day though.  There is a snack shop area there, but we walked down the street for lunch.  A friend of mine even told me you can pack a lunch and take it.  The nice thing is once you have paid, you can leave a come back.  So check it out!

Up on the third floor there was this neat area where the kids could paint on the wall.  We were guessing it was a fiberglass wall and the paint was right there as well as running water to rinse their brushes.  They had so much fun with this.  Such artists we have girls!  I don't know if you can see Ryder in the bottom left corner, and Kennedy who had some green paint in her hair, and then Jack who just seem to have it on his face.  But that's okay, where else can you go like this and not have to clean up the mess.  

What a work of art!

On the Second floor of the Museum there was basically a farm theme.  Big tractors and combines, and places they could act like they were farming and distributing the crop.  Pretty cool!   Here's Jack and Kennedy in one of the Tractors.  They all spent a lot of time here.

Jack is already letting the woman take the wheel!

There was this huge water area, basically like a big water table with a waterfall and lots of toys to play with.  Jack had a little trouble keeping the water where it belonged.  But I am sure he's not the first kid to have that problem.  Looking back, it's no big deal.

Jack and Ryder

Here are a few pictures that poses a question within my own mind.  Just what will Jack decide to be when he grows up?

Perhaps a dentist?  Derek would be so proud!

A farmer?

Maybe a dairy farmer?

How about a plumber?

Or one excited cashier?

No matter what Jack chooses to be, I will be proud!!

Randomness!

Most of you who know us know that we had a baby before having babies.  Charlie.  He is a 4 1/2 pound yorkshire terrier that we got after we were married a year and a half.  We got him when he was 8 weeks old and only 12 ounces.  He was our precious little baby that we treated just like a new baby you would bring home from the hospital.  He is a great dog, unless the mail man or UPS man is in the neighborhood...he just can't help himself from wanting to get a piece of them.  Since having real children, he has kind of taken the back seat, but is still precious.  Yet annoying sometimes.  But just today Charlie had to go to the vet to get his teeth cleaned.  Dogs of his size need to get this done once a year to prevent major infection that could make them die.  So today was the day!  Hear is a picture of just how cute he is.

                         Charlie before...

Little did he know that when he went under anesthesia he would be losing 4 teeth.  The vet said that these teeth were too shallow and were at risk of causing him to become ill, so they extracted them.  They did say this would not hinder him from eating, but come on.....the poor little guy!  This puts a whole new meaning on "Snaggle Tooth".  He's still cute as ever though.  I am not sure if you can tell by this picture, but he only has about 3 teeth left on the top.

          After the trip to the dentist.  YIKES!!!

This would be Jack's new smile.  I have taught him how to smile when asked to and he shows his teeth.  So cute and he loves to do it and then look at the picture on the camera.  Gotta love digital.  Let's just hope our next family photo, he is as cooperative.  Wishful thinking!

                            CHEESE!

I have to tell you about this Christmas present Jack got from Grandpa and Grandma Pflederer. It's the shake and go crash-up race car track.  Jack absolutely loves it and he can play it by himself or with a friend or mommy and daddy.  I seriously wonder when he will get sick of it.  Probably never, but that's okay.  It's just great to see him in his innocence playing with no responsibility in life and no worries, just playing and having fun.  Don't we all wish we could go back that from time to time.  Or just that we could remember that part of our lives and really embrace it. 

                        "I love my track"

Don't let Max fool you, he did not pull up to his Leap Frog table by himself.  He definately needed some help, however, he is doing a good job standing by himself for a short period of time.  And he is so close to crawling, I really think he's going to take the plunge very soon.  Is it just me, or do you just love your kiddos in their jammies!

                     Max loves his leap frog table

                    Hi everyone, look at me!

AHHH, the weather!

What a fun last few days.  The weather as you all know has been amazing.  Sat. morning Johnny and Jack to out to breakfast and to Farm and Fleet, and then off to have some fun in the mud with cousins Grant and Blaine.  I actually experienced having just one child to take care of again.  It's crazy how fast I have lost the realization that one child is so much different that two.  But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have it any other way right now with my two boys.  Johnny and I have found ourselves lately discussing the fact that we are in the best time of our lives.  Young, having babies, and God has blessed us with more that we had ever imagined.  We have a home, healthy children and a source of income, which is alot to be thankful for in this economy.  The just reminds me to have JOY and thankfulness in what God has given us!  Something I wish I didn't have to remind myself daily. 

So sunday night we decided to start a family tradition, what better than a family movie night!  A kids movie that is.  So Johnny made some of his new found specialty, real popcorn, not microwave.  So we sat on a blanket on the living room floor and had popcorn, then goldfish and soda.  Yep, Jack had his first soda, a diet Sierra Mist.  He has had sips before but never a whole one.  He didn't like it a first, I think the cold, bitey taste got to him.  But after he left it to warm up a bit, he sucked it right down.  We watched Madagascar and laughed.  What a great time.  I will say to my surprise the movie had some adult humor in it that I am sure Jack did not catch, but was questionable if he was older.  Still a cute movie though.

Daddy and Jack just waiting for the movie to start.

Meanwhile, Max was attempting to crawl.  The only problem is he is better at going backwards rather than forwards.  But hey, I will take it.  One way is better than no way at this point.  I realize he is only 8 1/2 months, but he has been rather lazy up until this point, which hasn't bothered me until recently.  He gets so frustrated when trying to get to a toy that I wish he would just crawl to be a little more content.

Max stuck under the entertainment center.  I know it 

looks like he is smiling, but he was actually screaming.

On monday we were going about our business as a normal monday, just waiting for Max to wake up from his morning nap so we could go to Wal-mart when Kinze called to see if we wanted to go to the Zoo.  I didn't even think twice, what a brilliant idea on such a beautiful day.  So we packed up and headed down to the good ol' Glen Oak Zoo.  We had McDonald's and sat outside and ate lunch and let Ryder and Jack run around.  Who would have thought in the middle of February we could do that.  But we had such a great time, didn't see a lot of animals, but just being out in the fresh air was plenty for us.  After we were done at the Zoo, we headed over to the huge playground.   Kind of messy, but Ryder and Jack had fun going down the slide and following each other through the different levels of the playground.  And needless to say, Jack was so sad to leave to put it nicely.  I would classify him as emotional, yet stubborn.  So it was all I could do to get him to the car.  And Kinze reminded me that I should be thankful he was just fussing and even walking to the car and not throwing a huge fit, thanks Kinze!  Here are some pics. of our fun day!

Ryder and Jack enjoying their Happy Meals!  Yum!

Ryder and Jack enjoying the slide!  

                       

Sorry, no seals today!  Bummer.

What's for dinner?

Hey everyone,  Just wanted to share a great recipe I made for dinner tonight.  I don't know about you, but I am interested in anything quick, easy and healthy all at the same time.  So here is one.  It's called Kung Pao Chicken and I got it off of one of my favorite recipe websites: www.cookinglight.com.  It literally only took about 30 min. and tasted so good (if you like a little spicy).  Jack even ate it, and that says alot.  

Are there any Biggest Loser fans out there.  I am a nut for the show and have recently gotten Johnny almost equally feeling the same.  He would beg to differ.  But he does like the show.  I just love it because it is so life changing and motivating for me.  It encourages me to keep exercise and eating right as a lifestyle and not just for the moment.  Now don't get me wrong, I still and always will be in love with anything with chocolate or peanut butter/chocolate combination.  And I am not one of those strict people that doesn't eat pizza, chips etc.  I have just learned that it doesn't have to be all the time or just done in moderation.  I believe it all hit me when Jack started eating table food and I realized how many chips I was consuming at lunch.  Again, I am not against eating chips at lunch!  But it made me think that I didn't want him to grow thinking he needed that daily, but maybe as a treat.  So as I began making his lunch consisting of whole grains and fresh fruit, I tagged along.  Now I have always like fruit, but just didn't care to eat it everyday.  Okay.....I am rambling.  On with what I really wanted to tell you.

The second thing I wanted to share today that has to do with the biggest loser.  I have been a work out nut for about 2 years now.  I admit, I can become obsessed.  So I have to keep things in perspective.  It's not easy to hall your kids to the gym everyday when it's this cold, nor is it necessary to go everyday to stay fit.  This also reminds me that the Lord does not want us to develop this kind of addiction, he does want us to take care of our bodies, but not to the point that we lose sight of the big picture.  So my sister-in-law Kristy, shared with me about a Jillian Michaels (trainer for the Biggest Loser) workout video she had been doing. Thanks Kristy!  This is a 20 min. work out that involves strength training, abs and cardio.  I know what you are thinking, 20 mins., no way can I get a good work out in in that amount of time.  But let me tell you, it is hard.  There are 3 levels within this workout so you can work at your own pace.  Oh, it's called "30 Day shred".  I did purchase it and am glad I did.  It's quick, I can do it when my kids are sleeping, or so I don't have to feel guilty about hauling them to the gym, or even if they are sick and you still want to get a work out in.  Also it's a good mix up to my work out routine.  So try it, you will be surprised at how sore you will be.  And no Jillian is not yelling at you the whole time!  Okay, that's enough of my input until next time.

Pre-Valentine's Day Celebration!

Yes it may have been the mom's that were more excited to celebrate Valentine's Day with our little munchkins that can't even make a Valentine box themselves yet.  But, we definately got into it and had a lot of fun!  Jack and I decorated our box in kind of a jungle/pool theme and made homemade cards that matched!  I will have to say that our good friend Ryder took the medal with his monster truck box! 

We have a play group that we try to get together with once a month.  The group consist of Julie Hoerr and her daughter Kennedy (2).  Kinze Schilling and Ryder (2 1/2) and Lyla (10 mo.), and Jill Wilson and her kids Madelyn (3) and Aidan (1).  We celebrated our monthly play group party last weekend at Sam and Julie's house with pizza and exchanged V-day cards and goodies.  The kids ran around crazy getting out every toy that Kennedy owns and needless to say had a great time. Us adults had fun as well, the dad's played poker and mom's just sat around chatting and keeping the kiddos under control (somewhat).   It was a late night, but well worth it!!!  Can't wait to do it again next year.  Watch out ladies: Jack, Max and I are going to step it up and blow you all away with our creations.  I am already planning! Here are a few pics. of our fun.