Beautiful Spring Day

     Welcome Spring!  We finally had a beautiful and decided to take full advantage of it.  It also marked a few firsts of the season.

1. First day of wearing shorts.  Yay!  Okay so I did my summer shopping in February and March trying to will warmer weather.  Well the early shopping paid off today as we all sported our new summer clothes.
2. First trip to the park.  Oh yeah, we definitely went to the park today.  When we used to take Noah to daycare in Gardner we would see construction on a park.  Well I remembered reading recently that it had reopened.  We packed a picnic dinner and left to meet our friends Kelsea and Eli at the park.  The kids had a blast!
3. First booboo.  Ouch!  What would a trip to the park be without a little bump or bruise.  Actually this is the first time we have left with an injury.  Noah was going too fast down a slide ended up flipping over and bumping his jaw on the bottom of the slide.  He ended up with a busted lip, but after a little cleaning he was ready to go back and play.
4. First grass stain.  Boys are so much different.  I don't really remember having any grass stains with Mikayla, but you get Noah out there in his shorts and five minutes later he comes back with a grass stain.  Lovely.

He looks so much older in his shorts and polo.

Yes, I got in on the fun too.  Parks have a way of bringing out the child in me.

So we couldn't get us all looking at the camera at the same time, but it is still a cute picture.

Anyone for Taco Soup???

     I kept reading online about everybody making taco soup.  It sounded good, so about a month ago I decided I would surf the internet to find a recipe and try it out.  We tried it and Yum!  I also have a habit of taking recipes and making them my own by adding or taking away ingredients.  Anyway I decided to add some pasta and make it Sunday for dinner.  Here is my best attempt at replicating the recipe:

Taco Soup with a Twist
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 can red kidney beans
8 oz. penne pasta
1 can chicken broth
8 oz. diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil
1 packet ranch dressing
1 packet taco seasoning
4 cups water

     In a large sauce pan brown the hamburger and drain if needed.  Add the taco seasoning, ranch dressing, beans, tomatoes, chicken broth and about 2 cups of the water.  Bring to a boil.  Add the penne pasta.  Reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or until the pasta is tender.  Depending on how much broth you want you may need to more water as the pasta cooks.

     Depending on the serving size, I was able to feed my family of four and have leftovers for another meal which we put in the freezer.  This could probably be made in a crock pot too. 

     I made it with the regular penne pasta, but I think it was a little big for the soup.  It would have turned out a little better with a mini pasta.  I may continue to tweak it, but the meal is becoming one of Mike and I's favorites.  It's just too bad that it's getting warmer outside, so we may have to wait until fall to break it out again.

Snowball Fight and Other Pictures From the Week

     Yesterday may have been the first day of Spring but Winter was not quite ready to make it's exit.  We ended up with about 8" of snow between Friday and Saturday night.  With the other snow storms the next few days were freezing so it made it hard to get the kids out to actually play in the snow.  Today, however, was warm enough for us to get out there.  Mikayla stayed the night at my sister's so it was just Mike, Noah, and I this morning.  It was still a little bit colder and we hoped that we would be able to get Mikayla involved when she got home, so we kept the morning outside time brief.  Noah still enjoyed the outside and then came in to enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate.  We picked up Mikayla from my sister's and ran a few errands.  Then came home to have dinner.  After dinner we put the kids in their snow pants (the best investment for this winter) and headed outside once again.  Once outside we had a blast having a snowball fight.  For the most part it was Mike and I getting each other, but the kids did get into it.   Here are some pictures from our outside fun, plus a few others from the week.

Disney on Ice

Afternoon in the Snow

A Final Goofy Photo

Just Another Saturday...

     Since Summer is approaching (although you can't tell by the weather today) we have been thrown into the realm of what to do with the kids, especially Mikayla.  We went back and forth on how she should spend her last Summer before she starts school.  Should she stay at The Goddard School, or should we try to get her into some Summer camps that may pique her interest for a specific activity?  We decided on the latter.  Now all that is left to do is read through all the Summer camp information and pick which one(s) would be the best for her.  After just briefly looking, I can honestly say that it will not be the easiest of tasks.
     All the camp looking for Mikayla led me to an activity for Noah.  I have been looking for something that I could get Noah into that would be just for him.  Awhile back I had looked at My Gym as a possibility but had to move on from it because they did not offer the next class for him at a convient time for us.  While looking at their site for their summer camp I noticed that they now offer both an evening and Saturday class that could work for us.  Yay!  Also I saw that they are running a special for two weeks (or two sessions) free right now.  So I signed us up for the free sessions and we had our first one today.  Noah had a blast!  He really loves the ball pit that they have there.  There are also trampolines, tunnels, slides, and plenty of balls of all sizes.  He enjoyed freely moving from activity to activity.  He was a little apprehensive around the instructors though.  I think it will think just a little bit of time for him to warm up to them.  I wish I had pictures, but I was too busy trying to keep up with him to even try and take a picture.  His next class will be on Wednesday night when Mike will be taking him.  I will be busy taking Mikayla to Disney on Ice.  We are also planning on going to their Open House next Saturday and if he still seems to be having a good time, we will be signing him up to go on a regular basis.  As an added bonus he could be in the same class with my niece Ava.  He has missed her since she doesn't come to the daycare anymore.
     One final thing...Rock Chalk Jayhawk, GO KU!  The Hawks are once again Big 12 Champions after beating K-State.

More Kindergarten Stuff and Other Happenings this Week

    On Thursday afternoon we attended Mikayla's Kindergarten Roundup.  Mike and I went into one room to fill out paperwork to get her pre-enrolled and Mikayla went into another room.  Our part of course was nothing really to write about, but Mikayla seemed to have an audience all to herself.  We ended up going at a time when there was no one else there so Mikayla had the Kindergarten teachers all to herself.  And Mikayla being her usual self kept the teachers entertained by telling them stories.  The one they shared with me was how she told them that she loves Taylor Swift, but does not like her first song.  I am not sure if she even knows what her first song was.  It was an interesting conversation between them I'm sure.
     That night Noah did something really cute and sweet.  He really likes stuffed animals and insists on sleeping with at least three each night.  Well I was putting him to bed and saying goodnight when he took his Elmo, Cookie Monster, and two bears and gave them each a kiss goodnight.  He really is a sensitive empathetic little boy.  Everytime someone cries he is the first to point it out and to check and make sure they are okay.
     Today we had swimming in the morning followed by a birthday party.  It was the first day since the beginning of swimming lessons that Noah did not cry when getting into the pool.  Yay!  He was so excited the entire time Mikayla had her lesson about his turn.  He kept on saying "swimming" and wanted Mike and I to let him down.  We managed to keep him entertained by giving him fruit snacks and playing a game of "bonk" (it's where he likes to bonk his head on us, preferably on our head).  So swimming went smoothly and we had a quick bite to eat before heading home to get ready for the birthday party.  It was a party for one of our neighbor's daughters who is turning two.  The party was at their house so all we had to do was walk across the street.  There were plenty of kids to keep Mikayla and Noah entertained and they even did a little painting outside.  It got a little messy, but it was all in good fun.  The kids had a great time!  Just another reminder that Noah will be two soon too.  The time just really seems to fly by.
 

Parenthood...

     I was reading the newspaper the other day and there was an article titled "Parenthood" caught my eye.  I continued to read on as it was about 25 things the author realized about parenthood.  It got me thinking about the things I would put on my list.  So here goes my list of things I have realized or that parenthood means to me (in no particular order).

1. "No" is both my best friend and my enemy.
2. At the end of the day nothing else matters when I get to kiss and hug the two most important things in my life.
3. I now know and understand how it feels to have a screaming child in public.
4. I'm pretty sure I can't give up caffeine.
5. A good night's sleep is very hard to come by.
6. Everything else is second.
7. The kids' wardrobe is always up to date, but I will probably still be wearing clothes from college (possibly even high school).
8. Date night might just be for the two of us, but the little ones are there even if it is not in physical form.
9. Everything I say and do can be repeated and/or mimicked.
10. No matter how hard I try not to be, one day I will eventually become my mother.
11. Timeouts are only a chance for me to have a break from the behavior.  Kids learn little from them.
12. Time goes by way too fast when kids are involved.
13. I can't capture every moment of their lives, but I do my best to make some memorable ones.
14. There is no such thing as privacy anymore.
15. I always have to plan for extra time when trying to get out the door.
16. Each milestone is both exciting and sad.
17. My favorite book at any given time will likely be a children's book.
18. The best thing in the world is children's laughter.
19. I can never get enough of their hugs and kisses.
20. I'm glad I don't have to do it alone.

As a final note, I have been looking forward to the premier of the show "Parenthood" and was able to watch it tonight.  It looks like it could be a good show.