Great Day Today

This is my second post of the day, but by far worth it. What an awesome day outside and the kids and I had fun playing out in the yard. I love hanging out in the yard in the nice weather.

This is Adam when he was ready to go outside and play today. He looks so cute!

Seth told him to look tough. He looks mean!

Adam on the swingset.

Swinging. I swear he will not smile on cue!

Going down the slide.

Abby and Adam out in the yard.

I wish there was more weekend.... :(

Another busy weekend...

Hey everyone. Here are some more photos....

This is Abby before Sunday School today. I thought she looked so cute. I just got this dress for her when I was shopping on my birthday. She loves dresses. Seth took her to Sunday School for me since I was out a bit late last night for my friend Kelly's bachelorette party. He even shaved so he looked presentable, which never happens on a weekend!

The bachelorette party was fun. We had a Hummer limo which was fun. We felt like rock stars. We went to 15 (former Cardinal Jim Edmonds' restaurant/bar) first. Then to Lure on Washington Ave., which was techo music, not really my cup of tea. But it was a good time overall. Here are some pics from that.

This is Kelly's friend, Mary. You can see how the inside of the Hummer was totally pimped out. Felt like P. Diddy.

Mary, me and Lisa.

This is the gang with some of St. Louis' finest. I can't believe they actually posed with us. (This was not my idea.) From left, Lisa, Jenny, Kelly, Carolyn, Mary, Jen, Marissa and me.

This is us at 15. Me, Jenny, Kelly, Carolyn, Jen and Marissa. In front, Mary and Lisa.

Last Monday, Abby's Girl Scouts troop had a field trip at the fire station. Adam got to go, too, which he was very happy about. He is often sad because Abby and I always have somewhere to go and he doesn't always get to go. Plus, he got to go inside a fire truck so that was pretty cool in is eyes.

Here are the girls listening to the fire fighter. That's Abby in the back in the middle of the photo.

Adam inside the truck.

Adam.

Adam. He doesn' look very happy, but he really did have a good time. He's not the best at smiling on command.

Abby's troop: Sarah, Genevieve, Hannah, Ella, Cayley, Emma, Ashley and Abby.

Adam.

Abby and Adam at the fire house listening to a presentation about fire safety. Adam liked being able sit with his sister and the big kids.

Abby had another softball game Friday night and this was the first game Seth was able to go to. Having Seth there made a big difference in Abby's ability to pay attention. She got the ball in the field two or three times and hit twice, so she did really well.

Abby on second.

Saturday morning, Abby had to help with the Girl Scouts' April Showers program. Last weekend her troop put out donation bags to collect toiletries and personal care items for charity and this weekend, we had to help pick up and sort the donations.


Here are the girls with the donations they collected in the subdivision we were assigned to. This is Maya, Abby, Ashley, Genevieve and Cayley.

This week doesn't look too bad. Abby has softball practice Monday and a game Thursday. She has cheerleading Thursday, too, but we'll have to skip that. We close on the refinance we did on our house on Tuesday. Saving $170/month on our mortgage payment. Woo hoo! Steve and Kelly's wedding is Saturday. Funny that is considered an easy week. Have a great week!

Busy weekend...

Hello...I'm slow about posting...again. Here we go....lot's of pictures again.

Abby had her first softball game Friday night. Doesn't she look cute? Her team is called the Lady Dragonflies. It is coach-pitch and Abby hit the ball from a pitch at her very first at bat. She did great.

Abby during warm-ups. Nice action shot!

I have no idea what she's doing here. Not paying attention, that's for sure.

In the field.

That's Adam sitting at the end of the bench trying to hang out with another family. He loves to play on the bleachers near the field and always seems to charm another family.

Abby getting ready to bat.

Abby at bat.

Abby at first base with Coach Brett. Seth was out of town in Chicago on a bachelor party for his buddy, Steve, and I think Abby missed having her dad on the field with her.

Shaking hands at the end of the game. Abby is second from the back.

Afterwards, I took the kids to Fritz's for ice cream. Adam had vanilla with sprinkles.

Abby had chocolate with sprinkles.

Saturday morning Abby had her cheerleading competition. Here she is beforehand.

Adam is so good! This is him sitting in the bleachers waiting for Abby to perform.

There's Abby in the front row on the left.

Abby's squad won first place! Here they are getting their trophies. It's hard to see, but Abby is the third from the back on the left.

Here is Abby with her trophy and blue ribbon.

Abby and Adam.

My friend, Erin, got married Saturday night at Busch Stadium, where the St. Louis Cardinals play. Kind of cool. This is Nicole, Jenny, me and Abby.

The ceremony was actually held on home plate.

Erin and her dad.

You may kiss the bride.

The receiving line was actually on the field. This is me, Nicole, Shawna, Abby and Jenny.

Erin with all of her girlfriends. From left: Tiffany, Jenny, Christina, me, Kathy, Erin, Jill, Abby, Emily and Shawna. Front row is Nicole and Char.

Me at the reception inside Busch Stadium. Kind of hard to tell, but that's the actual field behind me.

My birthday was on Tuesday - 32! I took the day off from work and went running. Then I had lunch with my mom at Bread Co. and then went shopping. Then I picked up the kids early and Seth picked up Cheesecake Factory for dinner and we ate it at home. We've found that is much more relaxing than taking the kids out to eat. The kids and Seth got me new down pillows, which is the second time I've gotten pillows as a gift from Seth for my birthday. They are comfy though. :) My real birthday gift is a treadmill but I need to find the time to research and go shopping for one. It will be so nice to have one at the house.

My mom got me new cutting boards for the kitchen and new tupperware and it was exactly what I wanted. I have been cooking more so I find I have an interest in kitchen gadgets that I never had before. (Raia, I may be using my Amazon gift card for something of that nature!) Dawn got me a new cookbook when we went out for sushi Wednesday night. It looks to be pretty good so I look forward to making something out of it next week.

Abby has another softball game Friday night. Saturday, Abby has to help pick up donation bags with the Girl Scouts for their April Showers campaign. Saturday night, I have a bachelorette party for my friend, Kelly (she's marrying Steve, whose bachelor party Seth was just on). Hopefully things start to settle down soon...I think the whole family is feeling tired from being busy all the time. I think it will slow down soon...I hope...

Oh yeah...I'm so embarassed that I keep talking about doing these races and I don't do them, but I am not doing the 10K I had planned to do this Saturday. Just didn't get to run as often as I needed to be prepared. I'm kind of bummed, but I'll keep at it. Hopefully the treadmill will help. Don't judge me! :) I have such good intentions...

Picture from Dawn's Birthday/Graduation Party

Below is a picture from Dawn's birthday/Master's graduation party at Bottleneck Blues Bar Friday night.

Chrissy, me, Janet and Dawn. Cute!

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a great Easter. Here are some pictures from our day.

Abby waking up all smiles this morning.

Adam was very smiley, too, when he woke up this morning. For the record, we do not keep him in a prison. He still sleeps in his crib. That will likely change in the next few months, we're just not sure what type of bed we want to change him to.

Abby and Adam getting ready for the Easter egg hunt that the Easter Bunny left for them.

Showing off their eggs.

Adam and Abby sitting with their Easter baskets. Other than candy, Adam got Lightning McQueen (from Cars) swim trunks, flip flops, a Cardinals jersey (Pujols) and a Spiderman memory card game. Abby got a swimsuit, flip flops, a shirt and the game Sorry!

Adam showing off his jersey.

Adam with his Memory game.

Abby unwrapping the gifts from us - a softball and bat.

Adam with his gifts from us, a t-ball and glove.

They are ready for baseball season!

Seth and Adam showing that they are twins.

After we did Easter at our house in the morning, we went to my mom's for lunch. She does a scavenger hunt with the kids that is very cute. Here are Abby and Adam finding their first gift, stuffed bunnies. Abby named hers Sarah and Adam's is Soft Soft. I have no idea what that means.

Abby and Adam finding a clue. Notice the white bunny footprints and yellow duck prints on the floor. That's what the kids followed around the house to find their gifts.

We attempted to take pictures, but Adam will not smile on cue for anything. Here are Adam and my mom.

Abby and my mom.

My mom with both kids. This smile of Adam's is a fluke. :)

Neither of our family pictures are quite right, but whatever. You take what you can get. Abby looks a little goofy in this one...

And I think Adam was about done by the time we took this one.

Adam and my mom reading his new Diego book.

Abby and Adam coloring. Actually, Abby was coloring and when I asked Adam if he wanted his own paper, he said, "No thank you, I am just watching Abby." I was impressed. He speaks so well for a 2 1/2-year-old and is very polite.

Adam playing the piano. This is the piano I took lessons on when I was a kid. I can play one song - "Chariots of Fire." A reason to play "Chariots of Fire" does not come up very often. I could also play a slow rendition of Bette Midler's "The Rose" if I had sheet music. My talents (or lack thereof) are not in high demand.

Adam and Soft Soft on the way home. He was asleep before we even hit the highway. Unfortunately, I think he's sick now. His nose was running all day and we had to give both kids breathing treatments before bed tonight. Poor guy. I swear he is always sick. I don't know if it's allergies or what.

And Abby on the way home reading her new Tinkerbell book.

All in all, it was a nice Easter. Pretty relaxing. Back to work tomorrow, which I'm not looking forward to. Next week is crazy busy. Are you ready for this?

Monday - Abby has softball practice at 5:15

Tuesday - Abby has Girl Scouts at 6:30

Wednesday - I have a much-needed hair cut at 5:15

Thursday - Abby has cheerleading at 6

Friday - Abby's first softball game is at 6. Seth is going to Chicago for the weekend for his buddy Steve's bachelor party, so I am on my own for this and the rest of the weekend.

Saturday - Abby's cheerleading showcase at 8 a.m. Abby's last swimming lesson at noon. Erin and Danny's wedding at Busch Stadium at 6. I'll take the kids to my mom's in the afternoon.

Sunday - Abby has a Sunday School Easter egg hunt at 10:15.

It's crazy that the end of some of Abby's activities (cheerleading, swimming) are converging with the beginning of the next (softball). Also, Girl Scouts only meets once a month, but just happens to fall this week. I do this to myself keeping us so busy. I really think I am a crazy person. :)

And because of this hectic schedule, I spent all day yesterday running around getting last minute things for the wedding so that I had everything I needed. I think I left the house at 2 and came back at 7:15. Granted, I managed to fit in some time to get my nails done (a necessity, not a luxury at this point). And although I appreciate Seth's patience for me being gone for so long, for the bulk of that time Abby was playing with our neighbor, Hannah, and Adam was napping, so he had plenty of along time, too. That's important in our crazy schedule, you know. Have a great week and pray for me as I get through mine!