Deanna Rose with Amelia!

I am so far behind on blogging. Bad mommy. Really bad mommy. Life is hectic with 2 three year olds. I am sure you can imagine. If you can't, then bang your head on the wall and repeat. That should give you some insight.

So I will begin back as far as the pictures take me and try to catch up. Sit back folks, this will take a while. Seriously.

A few weeks ago the girls and I packed up our goods and headed out to Deanna Rose for a playdate with Amelia. Sweet Amelia. I conquered my fear of the sand pit and let the girls play in it. See, I have seriously strong feelings about the sand pit. How sanitary is it? All those kids with their grubby, dirty hands digging in the hot sand. It sends me into the weebie jeebie shivers. Not to mention animals. Do they keep cats out of it? Or do the neighborhood cats use it as their personal litter box? I don't know, which is why I never ever let my kids play in it. Except this one time. Yeah, I went crazy that day. :)

Amelia digging in the pit

Katelyn - as sweet as a flower

Amelia - the busy butterfly

Jillian, my lovely 'flutterby'

What? My kids fighting? NEVER. NEV-AH! Who am I kidding? Here's the beginning of a shoving argument when Kate wouldn't let Jillian off the bridge. Awesome kids, AWESOME! Way to show your teamwork and cooperation skills. Love, your sarcastic mom :)

Photo Mishap

Oh yeah. You've been there. If you have kids, you have CERTAINLY been there. It's photo hell. It's when you dress the kids up, fill them up with yummy goldfish snacks, and have juice handy - all coaxing and pleading to please smile for the camera. Then it hits you. SLAM! There is not a darn thing in this world you can do to make your kids smile. Not a thing. Not even a piece of candy. Suddenly one child starts screaming. Not to be outdone by her sister, then the other starts screaming. All the while mommy is dripping in sweat and trying not to have an utter breakdown. The mosquitos start biting and the kids just scream louder. People stare and point. Other moms give you the well meaning "oh dear God that poor lady" look. Then you finally realize - OK game over. No pictures today. Carry on folks. Carry on. There will be another day.

It all started well with Jill

Then the lost looks began

Then the screaming ensued

Ohhhh Katie, I will put this in your room when you are a teenager and I will show your first boyfriend. Mommy's revenge. :)

Yep, the fits continued throughout the park. Good Times!

This is when mommy gave up. I said, 'screw the kid pictures, I am going to capture some photos of things that can't throw fits and scream.'

So they are not screaming here. They started feeding the fish and turtles.

Jillian doing her best impression of a frog we encountered.

Gardner Balloon Festival

A few weeks ago, we decided to surprise the girls and take them to the Gardner Balloon Festival. They had made such great strides in potty training so we thought a little surprise was in order. They love balloons, but they didn't expect them to be so big! It was a joy to see their eyes light up and listen to the squeals of laughter and excitement. What a fantastic night and definitely a beautiful memory!

You poor dogs

You just thought you were going to snuggle and sun yourself at the back door. Suckers. It's dress up time! Check out Katelyn trying to put Mr. Potato Head's eyes on Murphy. Poor Dogs.

Garden

My garden is completely out of control. COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL! We have had so much rain the past 3 weeks that it has become a jungle. Think I am joking? Look at the pictures below. LOOK at how ginormous the zucchini plant is. It is HUGE. It is encroaching on the jalapenos and anaheims. Jason is squirming that his hot peppers are going to get overtaken. He just might be correct. We are going to have to trim up the zucchini and see if it helps. If not, we will have to pull it. Poor garden.

Tomato!

See the beastly zucchini plant in the middle of the garden. I didn't expect it to get so big.

Potty Training 201

I am proud to say that Katelyn is fully potty trained. Shout it from the roof tops

KATELYN IS POTTY TRAINED!

This is AWESOME! She stays dry at night and nap time. She was the easy one. So why would I expect to get off so easily with Jillian? Silly mommy. I would say that Jillian is about 80% there. She poops and pees on the potty. BUT, she doesn't stay dry at night and during nap time. She is getting there. Slowly but surely. In fact, she has done so well today that I am attempting to let them wear big girl panties to bed instead of pull ups. I asked them both what they wanted to wear and I heard a resounding, "BIG GIRL PANTIES!"

Am I going to regret this? Likely. In fact, I would place a safe bet, that YES I am indeed going to regret this. I certainly hope they prove me wrong. :)

Yes, that is Katelyn looking at the funnies while on the toilet. CLASSY!

Jillian isn't thrilled. At all.

Wow I have a sassy one!

I guess we all saw this coming. It's no big surprise. Kate is sassy. Not the "oh so cute sassy", but the "I can't believe that just came out of your mouth sassy." Oh dear Lord. So hear are some conversations we just had at bath time.

K: JILLIAN MAE MOVE OVER

K: Mom, I have bageries (bad allergies)

Me: Yes you do have bad allergies.

K: Mom, be quiet!

Me: Katelyn Harper, are you sassying me?

K: (insert sly smile)

Me: You don't talk to mommy like that. That is naughty and not nice.

K: (insert big sighs, mumbling, and eye rolling)

God help me. She is just like me.