Grandpa Jeff is in Town

Grandpa Jeff had a few meetings in Dallas so he came down a day early to spend some time with us and meet William.  He got in on Sunday afternoon about lunch time and after some lunch and a little football he and Mike took the big kids to the sports store.Then it was time to come home and head to the park for some JLBBA (Jeff Laschen Baseball Academy).  Thomas had a blast and just as he was getting tired, Elin got attacked by fire ants.  They had crawled into the wagon and as she sat to get a drink of water they started to bite her.  We got the ants off her as quickly as possible and and a few bites later, she was ant free and we were headed home.  Fire ants are a new bad thing around here….their bites feel like a quick needle poke and then they get blisters and really itchy.  We have been luck to avoid them for the most part and hope to continue this trend.

When we got home we had 2 very tired kiddos on our hands.  We got them in and out of the shower and then Grandpa read them a few books before Elin went to bed.  Then Thomas got to go in the backyard again and play with Grandpa and have dinner with us before he went to bed.  It was a fast few hours but we got lots of things jammed in with Grandpa. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday night Elin was already asleep by the time Grandpa got home from his work dinner.  Thomas was exhausted too so he and Grandpa did a few animal calls on his iPad and then a couple books and then it was bedtime.  It was a quick trip for Grandpa, but we will see him in a few more days when we head to Minnesota.

Busy Week and Fairly Chill Weekend

It was a busy full week of fun and friends for the kiddos.  We had a play date at the bounce house.  Thomas and his buddy Tripp ran around doing their own thing and not one time did Thomas get nervous about playing in the bounce houses.  I was super impressed with Elin and her no fear attitude when it came to scaling the ladders and heading down the slides.  She had a hard time keeping up with the boys, but she sure tried her best! 

We also had a play date at our house and the boys ran around being firemen and it was too cute to watch their dramatic play and how concerned they were with rescuing the ladies and babies.The play date rolled into Thomas and his buddy Tripp watching an afternoon movie while the little ones slept.  When everyone was awake we headed outside for some sprinkler, pool and summer fun.  It has been so nice and so far the 85-90 degree days have been easily managed by us with water play and lots of frozen treats.

 

That night Mike decided he would take the kiddos to t-ball by himself so I could get some stuff done around the house.  Practice was at 6:30 and about 6:25 I got a phone call from Mike letting me know T was going to have a pretty hard time practicing because he had fallen asleep. Mike tried to wake him up but was unsuccessful so they came back home and that sleepy little guy went to bed.  It had been a big big day!  That gave Mike and Elin some alone time and they went on a bike ride together.  Then the 3 of us played together in the sandbox before T woke up with a nightmare and upset that he missed T ball. 

By Friday both kids were exhausted and they both took afternoon naps.  When Mike got home from work we packed a picnic and headed to the pool for a few hours.  It was so much fun and Thomas and Elin both made huge progress in their swimming skills.

 

Our garden is rocking and the tomatoes are growing like weeds.  We have had a few strawberries, some cherry tomatoes and now some green beans, but everything else is still growing.  I went to water on Saturday morning and found a pile of grass in the bed…when I investigated it moved and I found 4 little baby bunnies.  Exciting and we can’t wait to watch them grow, but now we need to figure out a solution to keeping them happy and my garden alive!  The bunnies eyes are still closed and their ears are down so they are less than a week old.  Their nest is in the middle of the corn and up against the boards.   Mike and I are going to coral them in and under the corn and hopefully this helps the little bunnies grow and also keeps the rest of my garden alive!  I also harvested the onions and the potatoes that we were growing. I had 5 onions that I planted as starts that survived the cold freezes we had in March and April.  I am really excited as these are the first onions I have really had success with,can’t wait to try again this fall.  The potatoes were a flop as they were not ready to harvest but something ate all their leaves and they needed to be harvested.  We got a handful of small purple potatoes and a few small russet potatoes.

Sunday we got a bunch of odds and ends done around home.  Thomas even lended his helping hands to the neighbor guys and helped them plant a crape merle tree in their front yard.  Elin had her closet changed around and is now getting more ownership of her clothes.  This is a particular disaster, as she typically throws all her clothes out to figure out which outfit to wear.  We are putting a few shirts or dresses within her reach and then she now can get her own underware, socks, and pants from her drawers.  This along with her own personal sized mirror makes the girl happy!

 

T Ball MVP

Thomas had his 2nd T ball game this morning.  Before we headed over to the field we went and picked him up a baseball back pack and a bat.  He was struggling at practice on Wednesday night because most of the other kids had their own bat and were not wanting to share.  Mike was out of town so it took me awhile to see that he wasn’t batting and when I asked what was going on that is what he told me.  When we finally found a bat he could use he batted one time and then practice was over.  Anyway, we solved that problem as he was a great listener during the week and he got rewarded with a special new bat.  We also gave him a pep talk about how he needed to be able to share that bat with other kiddos because that is the nice thing to do, he wasn’t too excited about that but hesitantly agreed. 

T started out the game with a great hit and “RBI.”  His second hit was also fantastic, according to this proud Mama!  When he was fielding he also had a great play where a ground ball was hit to him on the pitching mound and he scooped it up and threw to first…what a great play!  Mike even had a smile and said “wow that was a legitimate play by the little guy.” 

After he had his second at bat he ran over and told Mike and I that he had also shared his bat!  We were so proud of him, because we knew this bat was new and very special.  At the end of the game when the coach was talking to the kiddos he announced that Thomas was the “MVP” of the game and gave him the game ball!  What a special honor and treat for the little guy and his proud parents, not only because he had a great game individually, but because he was sharing and being a great teammate as well!  We are so proud of you little buddy!

Mother’s Day Weekend

Mother’s Day weekend was filled with the people and things I love.  On Saturday morning we were up early to head to Thomas’ 1st Tball game.  Mike, along with most Dad’s/Mom’s were out in the field for the game helping the kiddos know what to do. Elin and I cheered from the sidelines, with Minny Mouse of course.  After the game we came home and then I needed to take off to go to an Essential Oils class hosted by one of Thomas’ former preschool friends mom.  Not quite sure how I feel about oils being the cure to everything, but they smell nice and I got to take home a free bath salt and won an orange essential oil.

Once I got home Mike and Thomas went for a bike ride and to try their hand at fishing in our little pond near our house.  Elin was still sleeping, so I snuggled in next to her and got a quick nap too!  Then it was off to the pool before heading home for dinner, bath and bed.  Sunday morning I got to sleep in, til 8:30!  That used to seem very early pre kids, but now post kids I will take anything past 7:30 and I have “late” sleepers!  When the kiddos came up to wake me up we got some snuggles in and then I headed down for coffee and more cartoons and snuggles.  Mike made Swedish pancakes with berries for breakfast and they were soo yummy.

Then I got my wonderful homemade cards.  They seriously made my day and I still smile thinking about them.  While I was at the oil class, Mike and the kiddos constructed/cut/glued these beautiful cards.  Mike even thought up the “thunderific” and “womb and board” cards himself.  Thomas presented me his card and told me that on the inside he had written “Happy Mother’s Day Mommy, Thank you for being the best Mommy ever and I love you very much!” 

After breakfast we started our project for the day…we started to make over Thomas’ closet.  More on his makeover in a different blog post! 

Thomas had requested to take Mama to lunch for a beer and fizzy drink for Mother’s day, so off to a Mexican restaurant we went, I wasn’t going to complain with not cooking/cleaning and getting a fizzy drink!  On our way home we stopped at Home Depot, picked up a closet bar and I scored a aloe plant. 

We went home, Elin took a nap and Thomas helped Mike and I work in his room, then he got to go for a bike ride and when Elin woke up we all headed to the pool for a dip.  The pool was chilly, but refreshing when it was hot out.  Then it was time to come home for some dinner with fresh pesto from the garden and I got to check over my garden quick.  The tomatoes are growing like crazy and we have several little green tomatoes already…yum…I can’t wait for them to be ready to eat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a perfect way to spend the weekend, nothing over the top, the family I love all around and happy, and I told Mike I was feeling super content with our new life in Dallas.  Hope all the other Mama’s out there had a Happy Mother’s Day!  I feel so blessed to have the 2 and 4 legged babies in my family and to call myself a Mother. 

Thomas Starts T Ball

Thomas started his second year of T Ball on his team the Indians.  They had their first practice and Thomas was more than ready.  He wasn’t hesitant about heading out with his coach and teammates and Mike and I got to watch from the sidelines and play with Elin.  Can’t wait to see what this year brings for Thomas and his teammates. 

On the first night the kiddos practiced running the bases, got to have a few at bats and throwing. 

While Thomas practiced Mike and I took turns watching and then playing with Elin who had crazy amounts of energy.   All she wanted to do was to go out and play baseball with Thomas, so we had our hands full trying to occupy her and keep her busy and content.  It was a fun first night of practice for everyone.

Summer of Soccer and T Ball

This summer Thomas participate in both weekly soccer and a 1 week morning soccer camp and T Ball at our local field.  When we signed him up we thought he would have Tuesday and Thursday night practices.  At our first T ball practice we learned he would also have games, oh yikes!

Soccer was a fairly simple idea (at this level) for the kids; T ball on the other hand has lots of rules to follow while participating in a game.  From the first practice to the last game it was so fun to watch the kiddos progress in their game knowledge.  It went from a cluster of kiddos running and tackling one another to get the ball, to the kids getting the ball and trying to throw it to first base, huge progress for 3/4 year olds. 

During the week of soccer camp, Grandpa and Grandma McConachie were also in town.  Grandpa and Daddy (Mike) got to be the honorary goal keepers a few times and I don’t know who had a bigger smiles, Thomas, Grandpa or Mike! 

Although

it was busy and some nights we missed a practice for soccer or t ball if we were swimming or doing something else, it was a fun way to spend the summer nights.  Thomas loved it and keeps asking when he can start playing again!

Swing Batter

Spring is here in Seattle and along with spring comes Daddy and Thomas time at the park. This is a good thing as our big hitter has been devastated about the fact that he can no longer play baseball in the basement.  Seriously, we go over why it isn’t a good idea every night.