camping

I enjoy camping. BUT....I bring ALOT of stuff with me. We have not been camping since Kyle was one and a half. The summer of 2009 I was TOO pregnant to sleep in a tent...and last summer Kaden was crawling and the idea of bringing a baby to a campsite was not my idea of fun. Now...it was time to go camping. Kyle LOVES adventure and needs to be outside. As a mommy of two very active boys I try to find activities that will keep them entertained, safe, and wipe them out for a good night of sleep. Camping was successful at this. We went to Lake Shoecraft near Stanwood. Our friends and neighbors, Nate and Carly, invited us to stay with them at their family property. It was beautiful and fun! We slept in a tent, roasted marshmallows, went in the ski boat, played on the grass, made yummy food, enjoyed a bon fire, etc. All the necessities of a good camping trip.
Our tent is HUGE!
We call it the Schwenke Dome.
It has 3 "rooms" One for Kaden in his pack and play, one for Kyle with a twin air mattress and one for Troy and I on a king-sized air mattress complete the sheets and sleeping bags that zip together for cuddling in the cold weather :)
I have never been accused of "under-packing" :)
We had a great time and we created alot of fun memories. We can't wait until our boys are older and can enjoy camping even more.
Here are some photos of our adventures:


Kaden chilling in his "tot chair"


Morning cocoa---at 6:00am!


Kyle all cozy in his sleeping bag...yes he slept with a winter hat on! It was freezing!


Kaden sleeping in his pack and play surrounded by LOTS of blankets. He wore 2 pairs of Jammies and a winter hat too!


Daddy reading to Kyle with a head lamp


Nate and Ethan by the fire



Troy. Relaxing.


Kyle eating S'mores


Christy and her Riesling :)


Kaden, the flagger


Nate, Troy, Kyle, Caleb, and Ethan on the boat at sunset

The fire pit and chairs. I love the cute little kid chairs!


The Schwenke Dome


Kyle and Ethan


The 3 Amigos
Buddies. Forever.

T-Ball

Kyle is playing T-ball at the YMCA. He is on a 3 year old/4 year old team. He loves it. Kyle has been hitting a baseball (pitched by daddy) since he was 20 months old....so hitting off a Tee seems too easy for him but he does not seem to mind.
What I like about the t-ball team is that Kyle is learning how to take turns, run the bases, use a mitt in the outfield, have good sportsmanship, etc.
He will have many years of playing baseball ahead of him....so for now....we are enjoying the simplicity of YMCA t-ball



Kyle up to bat



Kaden trying on the batting helmet




On 2nd Base


Silly Kaden- Kyle's # 1 Fan


Our Little Slugger!

Happy Mother's Day

Kaden Andrew 7 lbs 11 ounces October 7, 2009



Kyle James 8lbs 4 ounces September 29, 2006

Happy Mother's Day to me!
Being a mom is the one of the best things that has happened to me.
Words cannot express the love I feel for my boys!
My heart aches with love for them and they bring so much joy to my life.
Now that my children are 4 1/2 years old and 1 1/2 years old, I find myself reminiscing about the newborn stage. I love newborns. But....it is also so amazing to watch my children grow and learn new things each day. It is the little things like watching Kaden figure out how to eat with a fork or watching Kyle write his name or ride his bike. These things amaze me. Children grow so fast and before I know it I will be sending these boys off to college. I am trying to treasure every moment, the ordinary days.
So...today I will make toast, wipe runny noses, clean up messes, read a naptime story, comfort a sad toddler who is missing his binkie, remind a 4 year old to go potty before it is too late, hope the sun comes out for at least 30 minutes so they can play outside, encourgae them to eat a vegetable, pretend to be a dinosaur, go to swimming lessons, clean up more messes and tuck them into bed. I am a mommy. It is a hard job. But I am glad I get to do it.

Easter

Easter is a very significant and meaningful holiday to us. We spent alot of time this week talking to Kyle about Jesus' death on the cross and His Resurrection. We used the Resurrection Eggs to tell the story and attended Easter Church Services in Bellingham at Christ The King Church. God's Grace is amazing and we are thankful that Jesus took our place so that we could have a relationship with God.
We celebrated Easter in Bellingham at MiMi and PaPa's house.
We colored eggs, made a bird nest chocolate cake with coconut died green and used M & Ms as the eggs, we went to church, played outside, had an Easter egg hunt, and enjoyed a wonderful meal with the entire family.
Kyle looked so handsome in his Easter outfit. I was nervous that he would not want to wear it but he actually wore it proudly and even asked if he could wear it to Preschool :)
All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!


MiMi bought a loaf of bread shaped like a bunny


Everyone rides a scooter in a suit and tie




Kyle and Auntie Sarah


Mommy and Kyle (They picture made me cry--he is so grown up)



We tried to get a photo of the two boys together in their Easter clothes...but this is the best we could get




Family Photo....not bad



Easter morning Surprises



Kyle found MOST of the eggs! (It helps that his brother is only 18 months old and his cousin is only 8 months old)



Happy Kaden ready to find some eggs


Our little Easter gift :)

Spring Break 2011

Spring Break 2011 we went to Palm Springs to visit MiMi and PaPa. We stayed in a wonderful house with our extended family: MiMi, PaPa, Auntie TT and Uncle Nando and baby cousin Owen, Gino and Ona (sudo grandparents) all together there were 8 adults and 3 kids. It was very fun and wonderful to be in the sunny weather. We went to the zoo, the waterslides, the children's museum, the park, the street fair, played at the pool and enjoyed time with family. It was a great trip. The boys even did great on the airplane. Kaden was "busy" but he was a good boy overall. The down-side to the trip was that Christy got sick. I started feeling dizzy and sick on Thursday. I had extreme dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. We tried to change our flight home but there were no other options so we prayed alot and by the grace of God we made it home without having to use the airline provided "barf bags" Christy went to the doctor on Friday and was diagnosed with vertigo. It is an inner ear issue that causes dizzy spells with nausea and vomiting. It was horrible. I was not able to do much. I could not take care of my kids, unpack, do housework, or drive. Thankfully, the vomiting stopped and I was just stuck with the dizziness. It was ALOT to put on Troy. He had to live up to his vows of "In Sickness and In Health" and he was amazing and supportive. After 5 days of vertigo, Christy went to a Physical Therapist for a treatment for vertigo called the Epley Maneuver and it has made a world of difference. I am still a little bit dizzy but I feel much better! It is amazing how we can take for granted our good health and our "normal" life. I am so thankful that I am feeling better and I pray this never happens to me again. It was not fun. I have been surrounded by friends and family that have helped with the kids, brought us meals, driven me to dr. appointments, and picked the kids up from preschool. My neighbors have watched the boys for me so that I can nap or just lay down without having to worry about them. It has been wonderful. It takes a village! here are some photos from our trip....before Vertigo hit: We snuck away for an afternoon "Happy Hour" and enjoyed yummy drinks and food Kyle had to ride the "carnivore" on the carousel Kyle and the Gila Monster at the zoo Uncle Troy and Owen swimming in the private pool at our house Mr. Kaden :) a photo that will forever be etched in your mind :) Kyle and his goggles Kaden learning to wear his sunglasses Mr. Tall legs at the park Mr. Happy What a great trip. I love my family!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I am wearing green....are you?

I am 50% Irish.
My mom was born in Ireland

Kyle calls Ireland "Irish-land"
It is cute.

I am making Irish Soda Bread today. Yum.
I plan to serve some green things for dinner: broccoli, asparagus, green milk, pea pods, etc.

Photos of my kids wearing green......to come later

did you know....

*Mac and Cheese makes a wonderful hair gel
*It is very difficult to find 2 K's, and 2 E's in the entire box of ABC cookies from Trader Joes
*I had to buy two sets of foam bath letters so that I could spell "Kyle and Kaden" on the wall
*I am terrified to take my 17 month old on an airplane next month
*The Imagination Movers CD has some very catchy tunes on it
*You can lose 6.6 pounds in 10 days when you cut out sugar, salt, carbs, and caffeine
*It is very hard to cut out sugar, salt, carbs, and caffeine...all at the same time!
*When you try to do this....even a fishy cracker sounds delicious!

just a few things floating through my head today.

oh, and the house is now decorated for St. Patrick's Day- Kiss ME! I'm IRISH!

confessions of an overwhelmed mama

confession # 1: I am an overwhelmed mama

-sometimes I put Kaden in the bathtub just so he can be contained in one place for more than 20 seconds

-sometimes I let Kyle watch "just one more show" so that I can get something done

-I used to be organized....then I had kids

-I wish I could be home....by myself....at least 1 hour per week!

-Right now, my house looks like a tornado just hit it

-I love my kids, but being a stay at home mommy is the HARDEST job I have ever had!

No More "Turning" Wheels

I am a proud MaMa
Kyle is officially a big boy bike rider. He is no longer in need of his training wheels (he calls them "turning" wheels)
He has been ready to take them off for quite a while now, but was lacking the confidence to do it. He is not a big fan of "change" so that was the difficult part for him.
Our neighbor boys (Ethan, Caleb, and Greyson) all ride without training wheels so Kyle was motivated to be like them. :)
As soon as he decided to do it and Troy took them off....he was fine.
Off he went.
He never even fell down.
I can't believe my baby is so big! Way to go Kyle!


Daddy giving Kyle a "pep" talk before he rides


Kyle- sit on the seat not the front wheel :)



Ready to go!

Video of his first time riding without training wheels

Yeah!

3 years later

I have not blogged in a long time. Sorry for that. I have not really been myself lately....so here I go....trying to be more like myself.

For some reason, I enjoy taking photos of Kyle and then re-creating the same photo with Kaden at the same age. Here is my latest work:


Ethan and Kyle March 2008



Kaden Feb. 2011
Same hat, same monkey shirt

I love my little monkeys!