Starfall

My kids are 4 and 2 and already we're fighting over computer time! And it's all because of starfall.com which they are in love with. It's a great site to work on literacy skills and the kids love building pumpkins, snowmen, turkeys, planting flowers and all the other neat activities. Check it out!

Thanks for the advice!

And even for those who just wanted to tell me how crazy & funny my kids are - trust me, I know! I will save their new video for shower time (I usually save them for road trips) and station them in my room nearby so they don't have too much freedom. It actually helps if they are separated but that's hard to do. And although I'm trying to get them off having candy daily, I can put that Halloween candy to use as "rewards". And of course there's good 'ole threatening them with their lives, haha.
It was easier when I could put them in a swing or bouncer and I guess I'll be doing that again soon enough. I will also try to remember they will only be this age once and one day they will be wanting to sleep until noon instead of being up at 6 am : )
And, of course, I won't allow it : 0

Help!

Okay, moms (and others)- I'm looking for advice. I can't seem to shower and get ready without a disaster occurring.

The other day Ben appears in the bathroom and announces "I'm a cheetah!" with Brinley right behind him saying "I'm a cheeto!"
Luckily they were dry erase markers and the spots were fairly easy to remove.
That same night while making dinner, Ben cries "help" and I have to rescue him from a rabid inflatable ring. This was just funny : )

Today I let Ben play in the bath while I am putting on makeup and Brinley has a little tea party in her room. All is under control until it's time for Ben to get out and before I can finish...disaster strikes again.

Ben introduces water to Brinley's tea party and runs to me and wants me to look. He was so excited like he wasn't going to get in trouble!

This is the wall...

and the ceiling...

And of course the carpet ...was...soaked!

Ugh!

He apologized of course but here's my question...

What do you do with your kids while you shower and get ready???

And please don't tell me you get up before them because I'm not getting up at 5am!

President Obama

Although I didn't vote for Barak Obama (and am still proud of John McCain, even in defeat), I can appreciate witnessing such a historic election and I still believe we will have a female in The Whitehouse in my lifetime...Go America!

Today's appointments

My first appointment was a parent/teacher conference just to let me know how Ben is doing...he is great! But Brinley broke some leaves off a plant in the office and the secretary didn't take too kindly to it - oops, sorry!
Our next stop was my OB check-up. I think it was our shortest visit there ever- 45 minutes including waiting room time!...again everything moving along. The baby is very active and my doctor was okay with my 7 pound gain since last time it was only 1 pound - again, oops! She told me to be careful through the holidays : ) haha and measured me and feels confident it will be a February baby. My next appointment will be in December (post Thanksgiving...yikes!)
And my kids were great...well, with the exception of the broken leaves so they got to pick out books at Barnes & Noble afterwards.

Arcadia

Sunday afternoon we thought it would be nice to check out Arcadia Lake just outside of town since we didn't venture out there last summer. (I guess the thought of going to a lake after living near the ocean wasn't too appealing...but now we're getting desperate, haha)

We started out on the playground.

Then ventured to the "beach"- Brinley obviously thought she was back at a real beach and stripped down!

They miss it.

Some rock throwing...

Just up Route 66 is the famous "Round Barn of Arcadia" built in 1898. I spotted it on my way to Tulsa a couple weeks ago and thought it would be fun to stop.

The top story - the old man downstairs said you can whisper on one side and it could be heard loud & clear on the other.

Brin hopping her way back to the car, as a frog this time instead of a "hopperoo" which I guess is her version of a kangaroo.

Then we got a pizza and went home to eat it out on the patio to finish up our exciting weekend!

Halloween withdrawl

Brinley on Sunday morning...

Bricktown

Saturday evening the weather was perfect so we spent it at Bricktown! Lots of pictures.... Brinley hopping along with Aunt Lindy...and I do mean hopping because she hardly walks anymore, she hops everywhere she goes.

It was the first time we've seen these fountains - very neat!

I love this fall picture of Bryce and the kids!

We saved some bread from Spaghetti Warehouse so we could feed the ducks on the canal.

Brinley making a big throw...and a nice belly shot : 0

My kids found this little patch of grass up on the street level and for some crazy reason wanted to roll on it!

So we found a nice big hill they could roll down...

again and again.

Mom & Brin

Ben found a tree to climb

and I like this one because the fountain in the background.

Brinley giving the musician some $$$

Then they got down!

They were dancing like maniacs - it was hilarious!

One guy nearly walked into the brick wall because he had his head turned watching them dance, haha.

They put on quiet a show! Wish I had their energy.

Then we had to call it a night so we could go home and set our clocks back. BIG thanks to Mom & Lindy for coming to visit - it is so much easier on the kids than driving 7-8 hours in a weekend then cramming it all in : ) Love ya'll