Tuesday

With Poppi here helping to hang the cabinets and finish the kitchen, Matteo is having a difficult time understanding why Poppi cannot play.

Below you will see a start to our kitchen:



Things are looking up :-)

Memorial Monday

So as it turns out the downpour of rain prevented us from going to the parade...something I was looking forward to for about a week now.

No worries, Poppi arrived today to help with the kitchen! :-) Check back in to see daily updates.

Grandma

Got the kids all dressed up nice and early and off to the parade we went - - only to find out the parade is TOMORROW!

Well not a wasted trip - we visited a park I have been meaning to visit -

The kids had a blast running around and following the trail

Then very last minute Grandma and Gramps came out for a BBQ - which is saying alot about our company because the food choice was limited and the serving dishes not exactly high class.

Chloe May loves when Gramps sings to her!

And being in our backyard is how we enjoyed the day - couldn't ask for more.

P A R T Y

Our house with literally upside down this morning - first we had some tile men come and lay mud in the kitchen floor - a first day out of a three day process.



Then our neighbor the electrician came and re-did our electrical box - no power in the house for 7 hours!

A trip to the dump to unload lots of garbage, well I am sure you can tell how overjoyed we were when 2 PM rolled around & it was time for some P A R T Y!!!

How can it be, that  little boy we met when he was 23 months is now turning FIVE!!!  Yes Dear Friends, our buddy Caleb is turning 5 and ahoy matte get our your pirate gear because this pirate party is sure to please!

How many parties do you get to throw canon balls at a REAL pirate?

 

Add to that a pirate hunt and a pinata and you've got yourself a rocking party. 

Though they didn't socialize too long, Chloe May and her gal pal Rory took time out for a hug.

After coming home and unwinding, well we wound back up again with some good old sprinkler time!



As the day passes by - if you drive by our home, you are likely to find one of the kids running around wet and in their underwear - just be glad it's not the grown-ups! :-)

And in 5 short months, Matteo too will be crossing the "5" threshold - which is completely unbelievable to me - I reflect upon the saying "Days drag on, but years fly past" - think about it and goodnight. 

zoo

After last night's kitchen view - I decided the kids and I needed to get away today - and so I packed up early and we went to our local petting zoo.

Matteo had a blast bottle feeding the baby goats - especially when they were head-butting each other.



Not sure what was so funny about the piglets, , but I just think Matteo finds everything and anything funny - most recently the word "underpants" -just say the word and he cracks up!

Yes, she is still our Dolly.

Seeing our friend Clive the Camel is always fun - after all how many times a year do you get to meet a camel?

While Matteo enjoyed a pony ride, 

Chloe May did too - but since I was holding her no photo opp - but she did let me take her picture sitting on the below stationary animal.

 
And then it was back home - to where Daddy spent about 3 hours removing staples from the floor and priming the kitchen for yet a busy weekend!

Blading

Our daily routine after dinner has become roller blading - as I figured I paid for the blades and I need to encourage Matteo to use them and to practice. Obviously Daddy is learning as well - but he is really helping and encouraging Matteo.



Chloe May never misses an opportunity to trail behind the boys.

And here is where we are at - breathe - breathe.

Holding hands

This morning the first thing I hear Matteo saying on the monitor is "Chloe, do you want to hold hands" - of which Chloe May replies, "YEAH" - - naturally I grabbed my camera and ran in for the below photo - - and with that I knew the day was going to be great!



Sure enough after therapy, Matteo met his friend Johnny at the park for a really great playdate - complete with tag and climbing.

We then headed back to our friend's house for more playtime and some yummy lunch!

From there we went over our friend Ally's house for an afternoon and early evening of pool time -

and I kid you not, Matteo was in the pool from 1:30 until 6 PM - nonstop (with the exception of potty breaks).

Funny diddy  - at the park I called our friends to say we'd love to come swimming, but Matteo would have to go in his underwear since I forgot his bathing suit - to which Matteo told me - "I'm not wearing any underwear Mommy" - seems as though when I tell Matteo to go and get dressed in the morning, he has decided he doesn't need to wear underwear anymore!  Haha, to be honest I"ve been a bit distracted with the kitchen that I haven't even noticed the lighter laundry load!  :-)  We continue to have discussions about the necessity of underwear during the daytime.

Yes Dear Friends, today was a great day - hope your day starts holding the hand of someone you love.

Fixed!

Great news, my car is fixed and good as new - - though I am out a deductible - no biggie though everyone is safe and healthy!  Cheers.

ladybug ladybug

Having released our ladybugs in the garden at dusk yesterday, we awoke this morning to a garden full of pretty poka dot ladies :-)

When I tell you these "ladies"  kept Matteo outside playing with them for 2-3 hours I am not kidding, he and Chloe May loved picking them up, moving them (usually outside of the garden...to which I know not the purpose), and had us singing "

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,

Your house is on fire and your children are gone,

All except one,

And her name is Ann,

And she hiding under the frying pan.  (Does it bring back childhood memories)?

And in the "close but not quite there", Chloe May is signing "bug"  :-) 

 

with my car in the shop being repaired and the spackle men done, this week is already starting off on a better note!   

GOAL!

Ok I really think the below picture is my favorite! Chloe May awoke this morning saying "teo teo" - -and put her arms around Matteo to which he snuggled up on her (still asleep!).



And causing me to tear up - GUESS WHO SCORED TWO GOALS AT SOCCER TODAY!!!! Three seasons was all it took - sadly Daddy had to stay home to work and missed it - but man what a feeling for both Matteo and myself when he scored the first goal our whole team of Moms and Dads broke out yelling his name at his wonderful accomplishment! What a great smile he had - again forgot my camera, but I don't think I will forget it anytime soon!

And Chloe May had a great time on the toys afterwards going down the twisty slide all by herself for the first time ever!

Gramps and Grandma came for a visit and Matteo was so beyond tickled pink to have Grandma here he didn't say hi or speak to Gramps for over 1.15 hours! Poor Gramps, but Chloe May certainly loves him.

Well this week is starting off awesome already!

Getting better

Like I said, fastly becoming my favorite!



And today things started to shape up a bit better - with the sheetrock man and his 3 helpers coming and blowing out the kitchen with sheetrock and spackle. I do warn you however if you eat here you are likely to ingest some dust on your dish/fork or spoon - no harm though :-)

Went to a bbq today where Matteo took his official first dip in the pool for about 15 minutes, diving board and all! Chloe May opted to simply stick her feet and hands in. Dam me for not taking my camera!

And on a brighter note I myself fixed the washer! That's right, Mr. Whirlpool or whoever I am after your job :-) You see on three different occasions I would stick my hand in the washer and spin the drum.... which made a terrible sound.... then tonight I found it - SOMEONE left a 6" nail in HIS pants pocket that clearly fell out in the wash and ..... well same color as the steel drum.... difficult to find, unless you are a pro like me :-) Could it be our luck is turning around :-) Thank the Heavens this week is over.

Lights and signs

At Tyler's party last week - as a party favor we received one of the best party favors - a bug container (complete with tweezers to pick up ants, etc.). Well Matteo took to this favor in no time - quickly coming home and picking up any and all bugs that would not be fast enough to get away. Most of course were squished in the tweezers, no matter, he still enjoyed himself. Well Daddy got into the action and caught the below huge spider one night - who then went on to lay eggs and we were on a mission for the better part of the day to feed the mama!

By the next morning, the spider had eaten her eggs and died - oh well.

And thanks to our signing friend who not only dropped off bags of clothes for Chloe May for the next 2 years, but also she graciously gave us this doll her daughter had outgrown much to Chloe's delight!

And having started wiring for lights at 9 AM - I do believe Daddy finished around midnight.  The below picture was taken post-Daddy (who never curses) uttering the "f" word (thankfully no one but me was in the room) - - taken around 7 PM!

 
And in other this week really sucks for us - on my sole day off from school and therapy (Fridays), a friend asked me to do a favor for a neighbor, which I did, only to ask DAddy to pick the clothes up from the laundry mat - which he did but did land himself a ticket for rolling through a stop sign as opposed to stopping.  He said he was worried b/c his gas light was on and he was afraid to stop!

This week is just beyond long - - I am sure there was an extra hour or day in there somewhere! 

Sleeping together

Pictures of my two cherubs sleeping together are fastly becoming my favorites!

Demolition

One thing you can always count on when the monsoon arrives here on the Lane: Daddy will be on gutter duty! And sure enough with today's constant downpour and all the stuff from the trees falling, Daddy not only cleaned our gutters, but our neighbor's as well.



We then spent the day taking apart the kitchen as our new tile is being installed Memorial Day weekend and our cabinets arrive shortly after and well..... we will soon have a new kitchen.

Until then...breathe, breathe, breathe.

Will prove quite interesting to still provide healthy food for our family with limited cooking space. However I am optimistic that in 2-3 lonnnnnggg weeks, it will all be worth it for DECADES to come.

Oh and our washing machine broke this evening........ and because we opted for the extended warranty, we have to wait 6 days for them to come and fix it........ however as Daddy pointed out, we have our health and this is simply all material.... but I do feel as though I am being tested an ever so slight bit. And there are times today when I silently cried at the overwhelmingness of it all. Tomorrow is another day - and agian we have our health.

Rain Rain

With the week calling for mainly rain, we had to be sure our umbrellas were in working order - CHECK.



And these two are sleeping together all night long - believe it or not! That means Mommy gets to get a nice hot shower in the morning before everyone wakes up (much to my delight). And I have to say they really love sleeping together.

Sunday peace

With all that bouncing yesterday, you would think everyone slept in today - - no such luck!

 

However with the rain in the morning and soccer being cancelled we took the opportunity to work outside when the day cleared up.

After mowing the lawn, you can see how nicely our grass grew in the backyard (recall we received 10 yards of dirt 3 weeks previous).

We purchased a few pieces of sod for those spots of the lawn that never grow grass (due to frequent use).  We don't expect it to last, but boy does it look great. :-)

And lastly, our garden is growing nicely and as a finishing touch we added Aunt Lois' gnome.