Practice

We bought some corn the other day to have with dinner.  Lesley and Leah were great little helpers when we had to husk it, and prepare to cook.  They LOVED that task!

 Leah got a little confused and started eating it before we were even able to take it inside.  She loves corn and she was hungry!

Lesley thought she'd try it too...but oops, she forgot to husk it first.

Silly girls!

I promise I didn't let her eat more than the one bite, and we washed and cooked it right away.  Now, we really hope that Grandma Nancy brings some fresh Iowa sweet corn on our Colorado trip later this summer.  The girls are ready to husk and eat some ears!

Thinking back....

I have neglected the blog a bit this spring, but in an effort to "catch up" and post some photos about a few very important events, here's some photos from Lesley's birthday.  I will keep the blurbs short so as not to bore you too much.

Lesley requested a trip to Cabelas on her birthday.  It was Sunday, March 11th and we tried really, really hard to make it an "All about Lesley day."

When we walked in, we told the Cabelas representative who greets you at the door that it was Lesley's birthday and she requested a trip to Cabelas.  She asked Lesley if she would like some tokens to take to the shooting range.  Of course we do!  She then proceeded to hand us like 40 tokens.  Wow!  We are still using those tokens since the girls don't stay entertained long enough to use all of them in one visit.  If Daddy had his way, he'd use them all up in one visit...but Mommy is more practical and tries to spread out the fun.

Feeding the fish with Daddy, another favorite!

We had a small impromptu birthday party on Saturday of her birthday weekend with some of her favorite friends.  Clara, Jayden, Evan and babies Avery and Julian came and though we requested no gifts (afterall we were in the process of packing up the house to move!), they still managed to make this 3 year old feel very special and loved.  What great friends that we will miss greatly now that we have moved to Oklahoma!

At one point all the kids got up and started pushing the chairs around and laughing up a storm.  It was hilarious!  The moms just started talking louder and louder to be heard over the giggles and noisy chairs.  They finally settled down, sitting around the table again, just resting for a few minutes when Evan spoke up, "Let's do it again!"  And, off they went.  I loved that Leah jumped right in with the big kids.  It was one of the first times I really noticed her joining in on the fun, no longer the baby but one of them.

You can only see Leah's tutu in the above photo, but Lesley and Clara also had some frills on for the party.  Cute!

We went to the park too, at the birthday girl's request of course.

Little sister had some fun too!  She is definitely getting braver and braver with all the slides and stairs on the park equipment.

My girls love to swing!  And, I don't mind joining them either.

Mad Housewife

In the few months of being a single mama, my parents thought I might be turning into a "Mad Housewife" at times.  Just a few phone calls filled with tears and "what are we doing?  moving is crazy!"  

Perhaps they were a little correct...single parenting is tough, especially with all the unknowns we were facing.  When Jason first took the new job, we actually were preparing to move to Dallas.  Then, things changed and it ended up being Tulsa.  It was hard to explain the situation to people, because we didn't know details.  When?  Where?  My job?  For a few reasons, we wanted to wait to put the house on the market until March.  We were blessed because the market prices went up in our neighborhood between January and March, and super blessed that our sold after just 2 days.  Just preparing the house to sell, and then keeping it in show condition for a week was tough enough.  I can't imagine having to do it for longer.

I will admit there were a few, or several, nights when I poured a glass.  I was usually so exhausted, just one glass would help me relax, forget about the laundry/dishes/messy counters/etc.  Mad Housewife was pretty tasty!  Though, I haven't been able to find it in Tulsa yet.  The search is still on.  :)

Something to smile about

In my few short years as a mama, I've learned that sometimes it's best to just not argue.

Here is Leah, in her Christmas jammies, Lesley's cowboy boots, messy after bath hair, and a slice of cheese.

Pretty sure there was a fight over the cowboy boots with big sister after this, but at least she enjoyed them while she could....and, now she has her own pair of boots borrowed from Lilly.  It will be a few months before Lyssa can wear them.

Bubbles x2

We acquired another bubble gun for Easter! That Easter bunny knew exactly what the girls fight over lately...with two, there are twice as many bubbles and twice as much fun.

Here are some photos from mid-March, while still at the old house.  You can see, even one gun produces a lot of bubbles to chase after!

Now, here is Leah at the new house, making her own bubbles on the patio with Linus.

Once Leah got her own gun, she really got to be an expert...that is, when she wasn't busy spilling the big jug of bubbles. Good thing Aunt Aimee and Uncle Mike got the BIG jar as a birthday gift this year.

Lesley had had a rough day and fell a few times, bonking her face causing a bloody nose and also a fat, bloody lip.  She didn't get too excited about the bubbles, but still joined us on the patio.

She was very focused.  Shortly after this photo, she realized aiming the bubble gun directly at mommy while only 2 cm away was pretty awesome.  Mommy did not think it was so cool after she had soap running down her arm, and so the bubbles got put away for the night.

More fun to come!  These bubbles can entertain for quite some time.

The funniest trip to the grocery store ever

While we were in Iowa, we needed to make a quick stop at the grocery store. It was Grandma Nancy, myself and the two girls. As we walked in, I noticed a couple kid sized shopping carts. I thought, what the heck, the girls will love helping out. My mom was game, so we set off to get our groceries.

They sure did have fun....and Grandma and Mommy had a major workout keeping up with these crazy shoppers.  I laughed so hard as they scooted around getting the groceries.

 

I think I spent more time unloading the shopping carts and returning items that we were most certainly not going to be purchasing while at Grandma's. You know, the cupcakes, boxes of macaroni and cheese, fruit snacks, cans of olives, etc. It was hilarious to have Lesley say, "Oh, let's buy this!" and just dump it in the cart and carry on with the list in her head.

As if I wasn't laughing enough on this trip, at some point Leah abandoned her shopping cart. So of course, Grandma Nancy had to track it down and try to finish up our shopping. Quickly.  I turned around to the sight above...hilarious!  Thank goodness I had my cell phone handy to snap these photos.

If only every workout could be this funny and cause me to laugh this much!

The Aquarium

We are lucky that our new house is only 10 minutes away from the Tulsa Aquarium. We've already visited the turtles, seahorses, sharks, and sting rays three times in the few short weeks we have lived here. With the season pass we purchased, it's not a big deal to drop in at 5 minutes till they close the outside doors, and spend 45 minutes checking things out before they kick everyone out.  It's almost like we have the whole place to ourselves!

They have a lot of smaller tanks.  In a few of these were the sea creatures from Finding Nemo.  Since I knew there was a good chance we'd see Nemo and Dori look-a-likes, I encouraged the girls to watch that show the day we stayed home with the flu.  They were so excited to find Nemo and his friends...and even the scary jellyfish.

They have a lot of interactive exhibits, one being the turtles.  So far we haven't made it during "feeding" time, but it's still fun to get close to the little (and bigger!) guys who think you might have something on a pole. 

These are the sting rays you don't get to touch, though it sure doesn't stop Leah from trying.  If only she knew what these guys might do!

This is the tank you can touch the sting rays.  Of course, Lesley is too scared to even think about it.  Leah on the other hand reaches right now.  She however thinks touching just the water actually means she touches the sting rays.  She gets so excited when she really hasn't touched them.

Daddy must have been telling her something about these clams.

No pictures from the shark tunnel, it's very difficult to get good shots there with all the reflections and artificial lighting.  You'll just have to come check it out for yourself.  :)

Lesley already knows right where the aquarium is located and is always quick to point it out when we are near.  I think we'll be visiting there often in the year(s) to come!  They are building a new exhibit for loggerhead turtles which is something to look forward to.  Fun, fun, fun!

A trip to the park

Jason started his new job in Dallas the first week of January, so the girls and I had a lot of time together...just the three of us. With the weather being so perfect for much of the spring, we wanted to go outside as much as possible

I tried to go on walks around the neighborhood a handful of times,  but Leah is in a stage where she doesn't want to ride in the wagon or stroller.  And it's never fun to push an empty stroller while constantly, every 2 seconds remind a certain toddler to stay on the side walks, and remind another little girl to not go so fast because little sister is slow.  I think we made it successfully around the block once out of like a dozen attempts.  I remember a few nights carrying an unhappy, perhaps screaming toddler home while sternly reminding older sister to stay close.

So, the park was a great alternative and usually resulted is much happier kids and Mommy!  We visited all the parks around our house often. It was a perfect way to burn off energy and let the girls play with little supervision from me. Fresh air is always a good thing for the kids, and for mommy too!

Lesley ran over to the playset before I could even get Leah out of the car on this specific night.  I had to turn around and snap this photo...she is getting BRAVE.  And, it often makes Mommy nervous to see this type of adventure going on.

Leah was in such a good mood this particular night.  It was a really good evening for us!  

Having now been a single mommy for close to 4 months, I have more respect for parents who do it for more than a temporary time period.  It's tough!  There were a lot of sleepless nights, tears from Mommy, and feelings of inadequacies.  The girls are generally very good, but working 40+ hours AND being responsible for daycare drop off & pickup, cooking, cleaning, laundry, prepping a house to sell, etc. is HARD.  I had very, very little time for myself.  It was tough.  So happy we are past that now.  So, so happy.

This park is near the train tracks and towards the end of a long walking path that goes quite a distance through Johnson County.  It's great in the evenings since it's in the shade and near a bike path.  We could almost always see bikers going past.  Even though the train tracks were close, they were across a stream and behind the trees.  Leah would always get nervous and cling to my legs when she could hear, but not see the train.  I think if she would have been able to see the trains, she wouldn't have been quite as nervous.  But, it was nice to keep her close since the trains were pretty consistent and went past often.

I am loving her curls right now.  Though I'm sure she'll grow to hate them like I do mine.  I'm hoping we can make it through the summer without a haircut, but when she gets all sweaty, it's kind of gross so I'm not sure.  I just don't want to cut those curls off.

I'm still planning to post some old stuff.  Though I feel like I took zero photos from January-April, I don't want to skip those months on my blog.  Just in case I ever make the effort to put it into a blog book for the girls to have in the future.

First sights

 

This is what greeted Mommy when we arrived in Tulsa.

Lots of boxes!

I couldn't even walk through the kitchen at first.  I had to move the boxes before I could actually unpack them.  It didn't make sense to try and unpack the boxes if I couldn't get into the cupboards or pantry.  I spent the first two days unpacking and organizing the kitchen.  It was overwhelming and felt like a never ending process.  Even after I had all the boxes in the kitchen unpacked and some what put away, I thought I was missing just one box.  As it turns out, I found three more boxes marked "kitchen".  This of course meant I had to reorganize some cupboards to accommodate more things.

And, after everything was unpacked, I ended up with almost two boxes of things to purge.  Though not necessarily fun, it's helpful to be forced to go sort through EVERYTHING in your kitchen.  I quickly decided a few things could be given away.

Don't worry though, I had some helpers.  Not necessarily good helpers, but still smiling faces.

 

The play set has been one of the BEST parts of the new house.  

We hadn't told Lesley about it yet and the girls and I didn't get to Tulsa until after dark the day we drove down.  The next morning she was helping me in the kitchen when she spotted it out the window.  She looked over at me and whispered, in the quietest voice, "Mommy, a swing set."

Then, she ran to get her Daddy and Leah and tell them too.  It was so awesome.  She was so, so happy!

And, so were we.

  

They couldn't wait to get out there!

 This was another reason unpacking the house has been so slow.  We have spent A LOT of time outside swinging and sliding.

 It's usually Daddy's first stop when he gets home from work every day.

We have enjoyed several meals on the new playset.  The girls cannot get enough of it.

Daddy just needs to put a new coat of varnish onto the swing set and hopefully it will last many years.

Loss of Sleep

This is why I am losing sleep these days...as the girls grow, our queen size bed is no longer big enough.

Every night the girls go to bed in their own rooms, but a few mornings a week, they end up in ours.  It's sort of laziness on our part, since it's just easier to bring them to bed with us so we all get 30-60 minutes more of shut eye.  But, it's also because I love snuggling with my babies, even if they are growing up, and when Jason was working out of town for so long this winter/spring, it wasn't a big deal and nice to have a warm body next to me.

Now, we either need to invest in a bigger bed (not likely!), or just deal with being pushed out.  Too bad, Daddy is never one that loses his space.

There's no place like home

Due to the timing of our move, we were kind of homeless for a few weeks.  So, the girls and I headed to Iowa one weekend since we knew there were empty beds there!

The weather was nice and the girls had a blast as usual.  Leah enjoyed a ride around Grandma's farm.  Lesley was such a good big sister to pull her around.

Of course Mack was around, because he ALWAYS shows up when Lesley is there.  Grandma Nancy says she won't see him for weeks, but as soon as the girls arrive, so does he.

They wanted to feed and pet the horses, but Lane and Zip weren't having any of it.  No chance they were going to walk into the corral when there's all that fresh, green grass.

Then, of course they had to check the strawberry plants...with Susie's assistance.  Lesley thought they looked good, and according to Grandma they will be ready to start picking when we are up again Memorial Day weekend.  Yeah, there is nothing better than fresh strawberries!  (And, ice cream.  Tasty.)

Then the monkeys started jumping on Papa's bed.

For a long time!

Now I know why my mom always hated it when we jumped on her bed.  Let's just hope there are no stitches for my kiddos unlike Uncle Andy.

Leah was being sneaky and trying to get Grandma's shoes on.

We even made a stop at Great Grandma and Great Papa's house.  It was a lot of fun, and as always the food was quite tasty.

Papa went to see Uncle Andy and help with his house projects, while the rest of us stayed in Avoca for the night and eventually headed to see Aunt Aimee, Uncle Mike, Lilly and Lyssa.

And boy did the girls have a ton of fun!

The jeep came out and Lesley jumped behind the wheel again.

Then we had to go check out Lilly's new ducks.  My girls did not want to get too close...there was a lot of pointing and squealing going on.

Lilly is wondering what the big deal is while Lesley appears to be scared for her life.  Oh my city girl.

Lilly decided she will just have to show Lesley it's no big deal, the ducks are "friendly".

Break time!

Then it was off to feed Rosie, Lilly's new baby cow.  When your mama is a vet, people just tend to give you animals.

I love how Rosie is not willing to take her eyes off the little ladies.

Lyssa even came outside with Grandma.

Then they went to call the big cows in for treats.

Again, Lilly = an expert.  Lesley = scaredy cat.  It may look like she is going to give Tulip a treat, but really she would just throw it as soon as the cow's tongue would stick out.

Our little farmers

Mommy tried to help Lesley, and she was a little braver.

Riding Lilly's bike that happens to look like a horse

These ladies look like they are headed for trouble.

Lesley always thinks she needs to repair the jeep.

You might notice that Leah acquired her own set of cowboy boots on this trip.  She was always jealous of the big girls and their cowboy boots, but thankfully Aunt Aimee dug around and found a pair of Lilly's old ones that fit perfectly.  She insisted on wearing them every day for the next week, she probably would have slept in them had we let her.

The ladies also had to check out the deer (fake) in the front yard.

It was a GREAT weekend visit to Grandma Nancy's, hopefully next time we can plan ahead a little more and Papa won't already have plans to help Uncle Andy so we can see him more.