Delly is 9!

We celebrated Adelle's 9th Birthday yesterday. I CANNOT believe she is 9. She was JUST a baby! I took her and her friend shopping at Justice over the weekend for her "event." In our house, we don't usually do big parties anymore- we have a friend stay over, go to dinner, and we do an event as a family. We had a great time! (On a side note- I did this EXACT thing when I was little- with my good friend Laura. My Mother took us shopping and I even remember what we picked out. Such great memories!)

Max goes to.........

PRESCHOOL!

He did shed a few tears- (Mommy bawled like a baby) but after the waterworks, he had a GREAT day. (first picture was Orientation, he HAD to wear his book bag- with his mini toys in the pocket)

Sept. 9th, 2010

(On the way to school Mark leans in and says "Well, now that all the kids are in school, it's about time to start adoption paperwork....right?" after I pick my jaw up off the floor I said "We will think about that for awhile." So who knows what the future holds.....)

Labor Day weekend

This past weekend was Labor Day, so I searched for some fun and inexpensive things to do in the area. First up was Cacapon State Park. It is BEAUTIFUL...and this is the perfect time of year to head to the park. It was warm, so we went to the beach and made a sandcastle.











Next up was the Air Show which was fantastic. The boys are HUGE into jets right now and they LOVED the fly-overs. It was a great day!






And the last but not least spectacular event of Family Fun Weekend was *drumroll*.......HOMEMADE cinnamon rolls. Yep. Gooey amazingness. Can you smell 'em?

August happenings.....

We have been busy busy bees.

We are back in full school mode- waking every morning to eat breakfast, brush teeth, throwing uniforms on and getting out the door in a blur. The kids are loving school- they both come home with many stories about friends, teachers and fun things they did during the day. As soon as we get home, the blur starts again with snacks, homework, dinner, lunch-packing, uniform washing, and bedtime routines. I enjoy the alone time with Max during the day- but I'm asking time to slow down, because they are growing up so quickly. Wasn't Adelle just a baby yesterday?!?!!?
I'm keeping busy too, by working for two non-profits. I am a Co-Coordinator for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)-which has always been a haven for me; and for Young Lives, a fabulous organization, in which I am mentoring a local pregnant teen. I wasn't sure I could handle both jobs, as well as "manage" the household- (i.e. do EVERYTHING at home), but it seems to be going smoothly so far. I'm pretty sure this is the only time in my life I'll be able to work for non-profs, because as soon as Max hits kindergarten- it's back to the salon for me.

I've also been on a organizational/labeling frenzy. I'm not sure what has hit me, but I feel everything MUST have a label.....everything. However, I've found it makes playroom cleanup time more efficient.

We've also been doing very well at our eating plan- we had our first 100% organic grocery shopping expierence and it was so fun finding mostly everything we eat has an organic substitute. We are still going to the farm for beef, and *trying* to eliminate all HFCS and dyes from our diet. It's been a challenge, but we are going to keep trying.

Sorry about the rambling post...here are some latest pics. (and yes.....that's our fridge...it's was so cute and organzied so I took a picture.)

Oh, and the silly bands have TAKEN OVER THE HOUSE.

First day of school

Oh happy day!

The kids were so excited this morning I was SURE their heads were going to pop off their tiny bodies.
They were happy to have hot cocoa and chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. Adelle was SUPER excited to wear her new Converse "Chucks" on her first day.

Ethan was just happy to see all of his friends. Max starts preschool in a couple weeks, and then I may lapse into a childless coma. They are getting so big!

A few funny words...

A plastic Buzz Lightyear flies past my head and as I turn to gripe at Max...I hear in a sweet little voice~

"MOM! Did you seeeee Buzz flied by hims self!"
All I could do was smile and say "Yes I did!"


Adelle and I are laying in bed she climbs over me to get down...I yell in pain as she crushes my leg. "Adelle," I say.. "You have the BONIEST butt ever!" She replies- "MOM! You don't!
Nice.

And as the kids are playing downstairs, I hear Adelle and Ethan playing house-

Adelle- "Don't give the baby anything sticky tonight, I'll be back later."
Ethan- "Well, I planned to give him peaches for dinner."
Adelle- "Fine then, you're giving him a bath tonight."
Ethan- "Yes Dear."

Then a little later-
Adelle- "Maybe we can go shopping this weekend."
Ethan- "No, I have to go to Afghanistan tomorrow."
Adelle- "Oh, what a shame."
This one makes me smile the most.

I have a dream.....

That's a little dramatic....but I do have a dream of running, not walking 3 miles in October. Keep in mind I'm not a runner, and I haven't been running regularly until recently. I'm doing a training program called "Couch to 5k" and I'm really loving it. I am already seeing the weight come off- not as fast as I want it too, but I guess it takes time. I'm really excited about the possibitly of finishing my first race!
Along with this running, Mark and I have drastically changed the way we are eating. It's all thanks to this movie "Food Inc." If you haven't seen it- DON'T! Not unless you are wanting to overhaul the way you think about food. It scared us to death really made us think about what we are eating. One huge thing we did was switch to grass-fed meat. It's not too much more than regular meat, and from what weve eaten so far tastes just the same. We are also eating a ton more fresh fruit and veggies with our meals. We've never eaten "bad" to begin with, but there is always room for change.
The kids are sloooowly getting used to our new pantry. Max asked for a snack the other day, and I gave him cashews...he looked at me and said "Where da Cocoa Puffs?" He's not sold yet, but Dell and Ethan are doing great.
Let's hope our new plan for being healthy works!