Nice weekend!

Before I get to the weekend, here are pictures from Parents Night for Abby's cheerleading class Thursday night (and the last cheerleading class - yay!).

Abby waiting to perform her routine.

Abby and her partner.

Abby performing.

Abby getting her medal, certificate and green pom, which designates that she moved up to the next level. Every semester, the girls have the opportunity to earn a new colored pom. You start out with red and silver and now Abby has earned green for her first semester. There are 20 different colored poms to earn and some of the older girls have been in it for 17 semesters and made their high school squads this year. Abby had been saying she didn't want to do cheerleading again, but once she saw the older girls doing their routines, which were pretty intricate, she is rethinking it. I'll ask her again in the fall. We are definitely going to try to have a lighter schedule this fall. She is still finishing softball through June and we might do swimming again, but that's it for summer. In the fall, she'll start dance again, which I'll have to find a new place to go since she won't be able to do it through the day care anymore. And of course, Girl Scouts will continue. See how my best-laid plans turn into the crazy schedule we seem to always have? :)

Abby on "stage" with her awards.

We didn't have anything going on Friday night, so we just hung out at home and let the kids stay up late. They watched Finding Nemo and then Abby actually snuggled in bed with me for a while. Saturday, I got up before anyone and began catching up on Grey's Anatomy on Tivo. I watched about six episodes on Saturday. I never get to just veg out like that and it was so nice. We went to dinner Saturday at Cusumano's, an Italian restuarant in O'Fallon at Highway K and 40 that a friend of mine from high school recently opened. We went with Dawn, Nathan and Graham; Dan and his daughter, Anna; Jennifer, Chuck and their daughters, Sarah and Jenna; and Jim, with his sons, Jackson and Landon. It was a little chaotic because we had so many kids but it was still fun.

After dinner, we went to Lake St. Louis to Kevin's parents' house where they had a bonfire going out by the lake. I hung out inside with Abby and her kids, Cooper and Kaylei; Tiffany, and her kids, Macey and Landon; and Shawna, and her twins, Conner and Danielle. It was a nice relaxing evening.

Today (Sunday), we laid around all morning and didn't do too much. Abby got to play with Hannah. After lunch, Abby and I went shopping. I took her to Toys R Us to help her give me some clues as to what she wants for her birthday (e-mail me if you need some ideas). She enjoyed that. Then we went to DSW, Marshall's and Target. She was so good that I took her to Dairy Queen, too.

And now the kids are in bed and Seth and I are watching the season finale of Survivor, folding laundry and trying to get ready for the week. And actually, the only things we have going on all week are Abby's softball game Monday night, dinner with Dawn Wednesday night, and a birthday party on Saturday for Tiffany's little boy, Landon, who is turning one. That makes me very excited. Plus next weekend is Memorial weekend so hopefully the weather is great.

Our vacation to Disney is less than four weeks away so today Abby and I stocked on some of the stuff we're going to need like sun tan lotion and beach towels. I also bought some new tennis shoes so that I don't have to wear flip flops all over and a big yellow bag that we can use to carry all of our stuff. I'm really starting to get excited! Now as long as I can get everything at work taken care of before then. That's my true stress!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Abby's Kindergarten Celebration

Abby had her Kindergarten Celebration this morning where her class performed about six songs and each student had a line or two to say about "All I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten at Pheasant Point Elementary."

This is Abby before school.

This is Abby on the risers with her class. To her left is Vishwashri and to her right is Gavin.

Abby and Gavin saying, "There are seven days in every week but we only have to go to school for five."

Abby and Edvin getting ready to say their line, "Pheasant Point Elementary is a big place. Always walk with a friend."

Hannah, Ella and Genna on the top row. Abby on the bottom.

Me and Abby. It's actually a pretty good picture considering I have had a head cold and no voice all week and I actually stayed home sick from work today.

Can't believe my baby will be in first grade next year! The last day of school is June 1! How time flies.

Mother's Day and Dance Recital

Here are some pictures from last weekend.

Abby giving me my Mother's Day gifts.

Abby and Adam giving me my cards on Mother's Day.

Abby and Adam giving my mom her cards on Mother's Day.

Abby's dance recital was on Saturday.

This was from a pirate-themed song and dance. Arrrrg......

Abby waiting her turn for her tumbling routine.

Abby saluting the crowd.

Abby doing a tabletop.

Abby doing a doughnut.

Abby doing a bridge.

The end.

The beginning of "Walking on Sunshine." She was shaking those hips.

"That Thing You Do."

Look at the serious look on her face. That's how we know she likes it. :)

In 7 to 10 days, all of my excuses will be gone

I bought a treadmill today. This is my birthday present from Seth and the kids. I did some researcg and got a pretty good deal so hopefully it all works out. It is the Spirit XT375. I bought it from Fitness Outlet on Mid Rivers Mall Drive in St. Peters. The owner, Marty, used to work with my friend, Jennifer, and both have promised me that Marty will come out and personally fix anything that goes wrong for free. Delivery and set up is free and it was less expensive than Dick's Sporting Goods. I will be putting it in the basement, which means I have to clear out the area where it will go, which is currently filled with toys. I have 7 to 10 days until then. Like I need another chore on my plate. I am excited though. Between this and my personal trainer, I am destined to be successful in my quest for the half marathon in September! eek!

Happy Mother's Day

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. We had my mom, grandma, Aunt Janet, Uncle Don, cousin Debbie and her son, Brandon, and her boyfriend, Cory, over. Seth made brunch for all of us - we had regular, blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, an egg-hash brown casserole, donuts and fresh fruit. It was wonderful. Everyone left around 3 and my mom stayed a little bit longer. We just hung out with the kids in the evening and had leftover pancakes for dinner. The kids got me gifts - Adam picked out a stuffed puppy - now named Bo - for me. Obviously, he picked out a present he would like himself. He is taking care of him for me now. Abby got me some pungent lotion and perfume. I told her I was going to save it and only wear it at night so Daddy could smell it. Wow - it is strong. Sweet, though, that they took the time to pick out gifts for me.

My present to myself and I guess Seth's gift for me is that I hired a personal trainer. I have six sessions with a trainer at my gym so I'll go once a week for six weeks. I've never worked out with a trainer and thought it would be helpful to get on back on track. It had been three weeks since my last workout and I just didn't want it to go any longer. My first workout was this morning. It wasn't terrible, but I definitely broke a sweat. I think she's planning on working me out harder next week. As the day went on today I could feel myself getting more and more sore. I'm supposed to do four days a week now on my own. I hope it's worth the money.

Abby had softball pictures tonight instead of practice and we had to miss Girl Scouts because it was tonight, too. Tomorrow she has a game. The night of her last game I told her she needed to get changed so we could go to the game and she got this big grin on her face like she was really excited and I thought, "Oh, yay, she's really excited! That must mean she really likes softball." The next words out of her mouth were, "Snack! Snack! Snack!" I swear nothing changes and the best part about sports for her is the snack she gets after the games. Her final cheerleading practice is Thursday and we're both glad it's over. We'll try to do dance again in the fall, but that is it. I need a break and I think Abby does, too.

I can't believe our vacation to Disney is a month from tomorrow. The kids are so excited, but I have so much to do to get ready for the trip and get Abby's birthday presents and Father's Day is the weekend after we get back. Sheesh! It never ends. Have a great week!

More fun for Abby

Last Monday Abby had a dance class that was set up through Girl Scouts. Here are some pictures I got from her troop leader.

This is Sarah, Cayley, Maya, Genevieve, Hannah, Ella, Abby and Emma.

The girls doing crazy poses.

The girls doing a dance routine. Abby is third from the right.

The girls having snack.

Technology has failed me

So last night was the wedding of our good friends, Kelly and Steve. It was a great time and I took a ton of pictures, many of which turned out great when I looked at them this morning. But somehow the memory card became corrupt and they are all gone. That was very disappointing. I'm hoping some of the girls can send me a couple pictures so I can post something on here.

The wedding itself was downtown in Soulard at St. Vincent de Paul and the reception was at the City Museum, which was neat. We went to Lumiere in between, which is also where we stayed last night. After the reception we went to The Dubliner, an Irish pub downtown. It was a good time. So mad about those pictures though.

I wasn't able to write about this on my blog because it was a surprise, but Seth went to Rhode Island last Wednesday through Friday to surprise his mom for her 60th birthday. She was very surprised and I think they all had a good time catching up. This was the first time I was alone with the kids during the week, which meant I had to get them up and to day care and school by myself. It was definitely harder and I had to wake up much earlier, but it really wasn't that bad. Thursday Abby had cheerleading and Adam was really good sitting at that with me. Friday, I had to be downtown for work at 7:30 a.m., which meant the kids had to be dropped off at 6:45, which is much earlier than what they are used to. They were troopers, though, and were extra glad when my mom picked them up early so they didn't have to stay there too late.

One of the gifts we got Seth's mom was a Web cam. We got ourselves one, too, hoping that we can use Skype to talk to her online. I know it's hard to see the kids as little as she does so I'm hoping that will be a great way to bring them together.

The last month has been super busy for us so I'm hoping May will slow down a bit. Tomorrow night, Seth has to take both kids to Abby's softball practice at 5:15 because I have to go to a meeting at Abby's day care about their summer camp program. Abby will still be going there three days a week in the summer and they have field trips and different programs almost every day for the school-aged kids. So this will be where I will find out everyhing we need to know for the summer. I can't believe school gets out June 1 and Abby will be in first grade. How time flies. After the meeting I will swing home to pick up Abby to take her to a dance studio for a Girl Scouts event. It should be fun for them, but I think 7:15 on a school night is kind of late.

Abby has a softball game on Wednesday if it doesn't get rained out again and then cheerleading again on Thursday. Only two weeks left of that and I'm kind of glad it's almost over. I'm not sure Abby will be doing that again in the fall. Saturday, Abby has her dance recital and then Sunday, of course, is Mother's Day. We don't have any plans for that yet, but we'll do something with my mom and grandma. Something relaxing.

I'm so mad about those pictures...Grrr....