Whew! A long one...

Okay, so I know I haven't blogged a whole lot. It is NOT because we haven't done anything blog-worthy, but I have limited free time lately. We got home from Utah and then my wonderful Aunt Arlene died. I got back on a plane and headed back to Las Vegas for her funeral. I still plan to do a blog just on that.

I got home and then started working full time right after that. I have been working in a dental office on the days I don't do Trainings. It has been over 4 years since I have worked full time, so it has been an adjustment. Tom and I used to go to the gym in the evenings and now since I am not home with the kids, every hour after work with them is precious to me. I need to learn how to get up early to work out, but that hasn't happened yet. This week I worked 6 days because I had to teach a seminar which are Friday/Saturday. Oh and it was in Atlanta, so after working all day, I had to turn around and drive 4 hours home. Tom's brother Todd got married this weekend, so Tom went out to the wedding. Since I had to be working in Atlanta we had a little child care dilemma. Thank heaven for Cassie. She watched the girls for two nights while I was gone. They had a great time.

In addition to working, our kids our at that "growing up" age. Ella has been potty training and doing an amazing job. I think she would be fully potty trained if we didn't lead such hectic lives. She doesn't have many accidents while wearing big girl underwear, but if she is wearing a pull up she won't tell us if she needs to pee. If it is not pee, she will just head to the bathroom and go herself until she is done and then she will yell for us. Whoever created flushable wipes is my current hero.

Ella has also had a love affair with her bottle from the very beginning. That was her comfort. She hasn't been attached to blankets (like Audrey) or pacifiers, but that bottle was her LOVE. We have really curbed her usage, but it has been really hard to break that night time bottle. About two weeks ago I had an idea. I told Ella that the Bottle Fairy called and she needs bottles for other little kids. Ella could pack up her bottles and the Bottle Fairy would bring her a toy. Ella got excited, then asked, "Do you think the Bottle Fairy would bring me a princess dress?" You betcha. So last Sunday morning Ella packed up all her bottles and we put them in a bag by the mailbox. A few minutes later the doorbell rang and there was our bag, but it was filled with a dress. I dont' have any pictures in the Bottle Fairy dress but hopefully soon. Audrey isn't ready to give up bottles, so it has been a double challenge for Ella because she still sees Audrey's bottles, BUT when we remind her about the Bottle Fairy dress, she does okay.

So here is a glimpse of what we have been doing. One evening right after getting back from Utah, there was a reading night at one of the local libraries. They were bringing Princess Presto and Wyatt from Super Why. Tom and I took the girls and met up with Cassie and her kids to see them. There were an insane amount of people, and the girls were a little scared to get too close, but they were so excited to see them anyway. They made these Super Why masks while we were waiting.

While Tom has been home with the girls, he has been honing his skills...baking skills. He has made a couple marvelous cakes. Plus, he usually has dinner ready by the time I get home. What a great dad and husband!

Last weekend we took the girls down to Columbia to the Riverbanks Zoo. It is much smaller then Asheboro, but the animals are closer together so it was probably better for our age kids. They loved it. There was also a carosel and a little play area so we had them worn out by the time we headed home.

My Wild Animals

Meercats

And our last animal adventure has been at our own house. Ella was digging in the back yard the other day and we didn't notice anything, but a couple hours later as we were helping her brush teeth for bed, I looked down and her arms had about 30 bites. We are still not sure what they are from. They have finally cleared up, but here is what they looked like. Any guesses as to what caused the bites? They never came to a head so we are ruling out ants, they didn't stay in her so I don't think they were chiggers.