Day #23, #24 & #25 SAHM

Ok...breaking the rules and blogging 3 days in one.  I'm really busy right now with final details for Girl's Getaway and a bunch of other little things so this is the only way to kinda still meet my goal.  Forgive me and don't judge.

The kids are doing great...keeping up with my busyness which is nice.  Paeton is such a natural born leader and I love that about her.  Well, except when she tries to be my boss.  Details.  She's really been stepping up in doing chores, cleaning her room without being asked, getting snacks for not just herself but for Evan and for teaching Evan words.  I am so proud of that little girl.  Evan looks up to her so much.  He is right by her side for most of the day. 

Remember I talked about Evan throwing food from his highchair all the time?  I think I've solved the issue.  He just doesn't want to be in the highchair anymore.  He loves to eat at this little picnic table with Paeton.  And he's been eating so much better!  Problem solved...for now.

I've been talking to Paeton a lot about doing chores and acts of service with a smile.  I'm not sure if she gets it but yesterday she yelled to me in the front seat, "Hey Mom, I'm running errands with a smile!"  Thatta girl!

We've been diligently working on clearing out the basement and bringing carloads over to Goodwill.  Paeton had a slight meltdown yesterday when we pulled up.  She thought the man was scary who opened the garage door to take our things.  I could understand.  She also started screaming when he began to unload the items from the back of the truck.  She kept saying, "I don't want the scary man to take our things.  Those are ours!".  After a few trips (and I was helping) he said, "Ma'am, I'll finish the rest.  Go sit in your car."  Ok.  We went to Culvers afterwards for a sweet treat :)

I'm taking off tomorrow at noon for the much awaited

Girl's Getaway 2012

in Lake Geneva, WI.  Can't wait!  You won't hear from me till Monday when hopefully I will be very rested and ready to take on a new week.  See you soon!

Day #22 SAHM

Woke up to snow today - must have missed that on the weather because I was quite shocked.  It was a beautiful snow too.  I love wet snow and how it sits on the tree line behind our house.  I grabbed Evan out of his crib and he looked out his window yelling "snow", "snow".  It was so cute.  He loves snow. The kids ate a slow breakfast while I got ready for W.O.W.  Evan was content watching Sesame Street and gazing out the window.  I am thankful for slow mornings and breakfast time that doesn't have to be rushed.  Paeton ate 3 bowls of cereal today...wow.  She picked her favorite soccer tee to wear.  I thought she looked really old.



 

We got home around noon, ate lunch and played for a bit.  The snow had stopped and actually most from the pavement had disappeared.  This is such a weird winter.  Everyone rested/napped from 12:45-3pm which was really nice.  We all needed some rest time. 

For the afternoon, we're working on a huge Goodwill donation right now.  Time to clear out some stuff from the basement.  I hauled a bunch of stuff upstairs so Jodi and I could load the truck tonight and get ready for drop off #1 tomorrow.  I LOVE cleaning the house out.  Such a good feeling.  We do it pretty often which is good but I always feel like we have so much stuff!

Dinner Tonight: Nothing Fancy...Buttered Noodles!

Day #21 SAHM

Monday again - wow the weekends fly.  As usual I was looking forward to getting my house in order and getting on our weekly schedule which isn't really much of a schedule yet but it's my new normal.  Over the weekend a group of girlfriends and I got together with some 'elders' from our church and learned to knit at a nearby coffee shop.  Here's how far I've gotten.  Everyone keeps asking me what I'm making.  Nothing...but I'm knitting!

We had a low key morning today.  The kids played great together while I tidied up.  Evan is really into this bucket of people and animals we've accumulated over time.  He loves to put them under the coffee table all lined up like soldiers.  Paeton, of course, puts the horses in their 'stables' like Secretariat.

After lunch we went to Gretchen's to finish up some details for Girl's Getaway.  Evan napped nicely there and Paeton watched a show while the mommies worked.

After naps, it was time to eat some cupcakes to celebrate Gretchen's birthday...one day early.  We all enjoyed them - they were YUMMY.  Evan REALLY liked them!  I'm still scrubbing his clothes :)

Evan entertained himself with colored pencils when we got home while Paeton danced and sang to "Just Like A Rockstar" and I cooked dinner.

Dinner Tonight: Homemade Beef Nachos

Kids Cheese Quesadillas

Day #20 SAHM

4 weeks down.  Wow!  I have no pictures to share today because I didn't take any worth sharing.  Blogging everyday is getting to be exhausting.  I can tell I'm winding down from this project.  But here's a quick recap of the day.

After a fun filled evening with the Poelzers last night, the kids slept well and so did Jodi and I.  We greeted Carol with many hugs this morning as we hadn't seen her in 3 weeks and our house needed her magic wand.  She was here promptly at 7:30am which all of sudden seems REALLY early to me!  I was out the door by 8:30am with the kids, on our way to a playdate at The Big Backyard.

We had a great morning with close friends.  The kids were wiped when we left.  Evan crashed in his carseat and Paeton actually had a good rest time today!  We were all up and back at it by 3pm.  We had a low key afternoon and right now I'm awaiting the sitter because Jodi and I have a much needed date night.  We're heading to Fleming's Steakhouse for dinner and then I think we'll run some errands.  I find running errands together without kids to be very enjoyable.

I'd really like a picture of us from tonight's date night but every time we get to the restaurant, I think it's weird to ask someone to take our picture....like we're 16 or something.  We'll see if I get enough guts tonight :)

Happy.Friday.Everyone

Day #19 SAHM

7:09am folks...yup, Evan is improving!  He's also not screaming as much when he wakes up which makes me think he's waking up when he should...not prematurely.  The kids snuggled up on their sleeping bags this morning while I prepped some things for dinner and got us ready to run some errands.  I needed one last ingredient for my dinner tonight - fresh basil.  We also needed to get a few things from the dollar store and then a few things from Michaels.  I don't often do this but I let the kids run errands with me in their pajamas.  Sometimes I think they're happier that way - this morning proved me right. 

 A few hours later we were back.  I went to 3 grocery stores to find fresh basil.  That means in and out of carseats 3 times.  In and out of a grocery cart 3 times.  Oh...and finding a cart that has an operationable seatbelt for Evan much more than 3 times.  Ugh.  I never made it to Michaels - couldn't do one more errand after all of that.

When we got home, the kids played while I prepped lunch.  Evan's favorite spot in the house right now is the luggage set by the patio door.  He plays with all his 'little people' and lines them up on the luggage.  And yes, that's sunshine on Evan.  It does come out in Wisconsin!

I gave Evan ketchup for the first time during lunch today.  I thought he'd like to dip his chicken nuggets in it.  I got tied up doing some things while the kids were eating (imagine that?!) and I came into the kitchen to find all of the ketchup gone...and in Evan's hair.  It was DISGUSTING.  To the tub we went. 

I often think about the different stages kids go through.  For each stage, there are things that make them easier than the other child you have.  And there are things that make them tougher than the other child you have.  As I bathed Evan I thought about how happy I was that Paeton doesn't do 'messy' things like this anymore.  But I won't start the list of things I can't wait for her to grow out of :)

While Evan napped and after Paeton completed her required rest time ( I took a hot shower during this time and it was SO needed!) we got out a gift from my mom to work on.  She sent me a box of games and training tools for kids getting ready for 4K.  We don't plan to put Paeton into any type of preschool until she starts 4K in the Fall so this will really help!

Tonight we're hosting our February family to help reach our goal of 12 families for

2012 Dinners With The Ulrichs

We didn't intend for the families to be so close together but our January family pushed into February - no biggie.  Tonight's meal is 'Italian' themed. 

On the menu:

Appetizer: Bruschetta

Salad: Italian

Main Dish: Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage

Side Dish: Roasted Veggies

Dessert: Ice Cream Cake

 Most of this meal cooked in crock pots throughout the day making it super easy.  I even made my veggies in the crock pot.  I received a triple crock pot from Kohl's 2 Christmases ago and that has changed my life.  Thanks honey!

We are so happy to host the Poelzer Family tonight.  The Poelzers hosted us for our very first Dinner of 6 at Spring Creek Church - 3 1/2 years ago.  They are a blessing to us in many ways.

Happy Friday Eve!

Day #18 SAHM

For some reason, Evan has started to sleep later.  I'm convinced this is just a phase of luck but I'll take it.  First cry was at 7:09am today.  Wow.  I didn't even know what was happening - I slept so well.  Paeton got up soon after which was very unusual being that she's my 8:30am girl.  Everyone was really hungry so we went downstairs for waffles and GMA.  I had peanut butter toast - yum.

Earlier than normal, Evan climbed in his chair at the dining room table and Paeton was pulling out crafts.  They like to do crafts at least twice a day.  This morning was watercolors for Paeton and markers for Evan.

I start to get nervous when we're low on food - specifically food for the kids.  When I opened the fridge this morning, I had that feeling so we left for Aldi to get some supplies :) 

Much Better.

While running errands, we got the car washed.  Evan hates the car wash.  This is him 'hiding' from it.  I always think getting the car washed is a good idea till we're in it and it's really loud and the kids are crying.  One day I'll learn.

We made lunch when we got home and after I explained to Paeton 4 times that we weren't having lunch with daddy today.  I told her we could call him after the grocery store and if he answered and was available, we could meet up for lunch.  I kept telling her he might not answer or he might be busy.  He didn't answer after a few tries so we headed home and made our own lunch.  She just didn't understand.

Tonight's our Awana night and we're going again as a family.  I am helping in the Honeybees room again.  No big plans for dinner either.  If you're wondering, I've been using my spare time during the day to do some 'surprise' projects that I can't share till the right time.  Some people have mentioned that I'm 'slacking' with posting about my projects.  Don't doubt me!

Day #17 SAHM

Happy Valentine's Day! 

The kids and I spent the majority of today out of the house.  We had W.O.W. this morning, a quick picnic lunch in the car, a doctor's appointment and a few other things.  We came home to packages on the front porch - super exciting!

We are very fortunate to have two sets of parents that think of us all the time and spoil our children :)  Both Grandmas sent the kids Valentine's Boxes which the kids loved opening and eating from!  Thank you Grandma Marx & Grandma Ulrich!

Jodi and I got the kids a new book for each of them. 

Paeton got 'Girls and their Horses' from the American Girl series.  It has 24 horse trading cards and 2 posters.  She loved it!

Evan got 'Spot Goes to the Farm' - he LOVES Spot books.

I also received a book.  My new small group bible study book, 'One in a Million'.  Gotta love Amazon!

Nothing exciting for dinner - just leftovers and time with each other.  Hope everyone enjoys loving on their families today!

Day #16 SAHM

Starting today with a question.  Do any other SAHM Friends feel more productive during the week than during the weekend?  By Sunday night, my house is a mess and I'm looking forward to getting the house in shape Monday morning.  That's what I spent this morning doing. 

For those wondering what time Evan woke up, we are making a commitment to keep him in his bed till 7am.  Got that tip from my friend Joy.  He was crying at 5:51am.  I leaned over to Jodi and said "Don't touch him till 7am".  He complied. He didn't cry the whole time; just off and on, but still.

After breakfast and morning snack, pulling out the chairs and cleaning under the bar was a must.  It was a disaster zone.  This picture doesn't do it justice.   Another question.  Does anyone ever feel like their kids won't eat any of their 'normal' favorite snacks?  We're going through that right now.  I need new ideas!

 My morning task was getting through 2 weeks of paperwork.  What a mess.  I recently purchased some new file folders so I set out to organize this stack while the kids played nicely.

Paeton can't do enough crafts ever.  I love how creative she's getting on her own.  She made this kite this morning with Evan.  I thought she did a good job.  She was very proud of it.  I couldn't get a great picture though because all she wanted to do was 'fly' it.

Dinner Tonight: 'Busy Mom's' Chicken Fajitas

(that's really what it's called)

I'm light on pictures today because Jodi has the camera for a project at work.  Hopefully more tomorrow!

Day #15 SAHM

Wow...the end of week 3 is here.  And we're ending it with a snowstorm that appears to be a little worse than what Sally Severson on Channel 12 predicted!  This was my toughest week yet but I'm happy we're ending it with Family #1 of our

2012 Dinners With The Ulrichs

goal.  Jodi and I are trying to be intentional in having more families over for dinner this year 'just because'.  Tonight we're hosting The Duty Family so we'll max out with 4 adults and 6 kids!

Jodi was gracious enough to deliver our meal this morning so I didn't have to leave the house quite yet.  We went from not having morning plans to possibly going to Kids in Motion to not going to Kids in Motion to having a friend over to not having a friend over to just staying home :)  By 10am, the kids wanted to do art and Paeton was itching to work on her family mural.

I love how she's starting to add hair to her faces.  Not everyone is guaranteed a nose though.

Evan was content as usual sitting at the table coloring with markers.  When he starts to eat them I know he's either hungry or bored.

The kids and I checked on the status of the snow many times.  Paeton always makes sure the swing set is still standing.

The kids woke up groggy from nap.  We watched Olivia.  Paeton thinks it's so cool that Olivia has a cat named William too.

I spent the afternoon prepping dinner.  Everything needed to cook in the oven at the same time so I wanted all the recipes to be as easy as possible to put together when it was time.

Appetizer: Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies

Dinner: Old Fashioned Mac & Cheese

Side: Cheesy Topped Mashed Potato Casserole

See ya Monday!