WHEW!

sorry it has been sooooo long! it has been crazy around here and when i have had free time, posting on the blog was way down on the priority list. sorry! here is what has been happening in the life and times of the carr family...

school has been such a great experience for the kids. they can recognize most letters and numbers, they can recite the alphabet, count at least to 10 (sometimes higher, especially caitlin), both can recognize their first and last names, caitlin can write her name if you tell her the letters, austin can trace his name and will soon be trying to write it on his own. they love to read and sing and dance around and they love the time with their friends. caitlin was thrilled that a girl joined their thursday class....both kids love going to school on thursday to see cassidy and do show and tell. tuesdays can be a tough sell sometimes but once there they are great. yesterday a dentist visited their class and taught them about brushing their teeth and how sugar gives them cavities. today caitlin informed me that her goldfish crackers had sugar in them! austin's speeech has improved so much!!! you have to be patient when he's speaking to you because he is really making an effort to get those sounds out correctly, so he does a lot of thinking before/while speaking. i'm so thankful we didn't wait to get him into speech therapy. his one-on-one therapy on thursdays has been soooo great! even though it's only once a week, i feel that's where the bulk of his improvement has come from. he also attends speech at the public school 2 days a week but those are with at least 2 other little boys.

ryan's travel will be winding down soon, but it has been completely insane with him being gone more than he is home. we all miss him terribly. and we have all been sick a ton this winter...the kids had their first ever ear infections and their first round of antibiotics in their lives. austin loves amoxicillin! caitlin HATED her medicine. oh my gosh, i DREADED giving them to her. they are healthy now (caitlin just has a little cough) so hopefully the worst is over. on monday the kids got some impromptu aunt bubs time because i had the worst headache in the world...the pain was so intense i puked for about 5 hours straight. so lynn took the kids for awhile so i could rest. she put them to bed and helped clean up caitlin's puke that night also. thank goodness aunt bubs came to the rescue!

austin and caitlin continue to be hilarious....i have kept track of some funny moments to share...

*over the monitor i hear caitlin sing-song, "you have a mohawk austin!"...i knew that was bad news! sure enough, instead of laying in bed and going to sleep, our little stinkers moved their potty seats to the sink in their room and austin was wet styling his hair. he was soaked but the way he was primping in the mirror was so funny i couldn't get too mad...he looked like he was getting ready for a hot date, standing his hair up and pursing his lips as he checked out his 'do.

*austin's new affirmative response? "OK, you bet guys!"

*caitlin takes her bowels very seriously....she likes to say, "i REALLY gotta push this poop out!"

*caitlin told me "you're my best shopper" all because i bought bananas! gotta love that!

*both kids were pretending to take "arfy" (caitlin's stuffed puppy) to the "doggy hotel"

*austin told me, "i'm married to YOU mom!" i'll remind him of that someday, even though i'm sure he'll pick one heck of a wife!

*austin was running around with a quarter and announced, "i'm going to put this in mine mants (pants)" because he was trying to hide it from caitlin (to whom it belonged!).

*caitlin was holding her baby doll ("baby brooke") and told me, "i have a baby growing in my tummy!" yeah, we don't want to hear that one again for a looooooong time!

*both kids are LOVING their new books, "Pinkalicious" and "Bear Snores On"...austin loves to repeat the titles over and over.

*austin is a natural dancer....he has some pretty sweet moves! he also loves to play instruments (guitar and keyboard).

now, don't go thinking every moment is full of sunshine and roses with these two!!! they are pretty much at each others' throats half of the time...they like to choose the one thing that will be sure to tick the other one off and flaunt it (without getting caught, of course...which doesn't happen [much]!). then mommy has to put on her black and white striped shirt & whistle & play referee! time-outs work some, but the serious punishment is to take away a beloved toy! that gets results FAST! tough love, right?

if i could freeze one moment of the day it would be first thing in the morning...austin wakes up first, climbs into bed with me and snuggles cheek-to-cheek. caitlin climbs in shortly after and we have a partial family snuggle until it's time to get moving to school, speech, or whatever we have planned for our one day "off". i treasure that time and will definitely miss it when they are older.

okay, that's enough for now....more soon!!!

A Vegas Wedding...Uncle Clint and Aunt Sarah

Sorry we haven't been consistent posters lately...Not sure why, just have to get back in the swing of things.

On Saturday, I flew to Las Vegas to see my brother, Clint, marry his long time girlfriend, Sarah. Unfortunately, with my crazy schedule, we all couldn't get out there to see it. I was only in Vegas for about 12 hours, and had to fly to Nashville, instead of home, so it didn't really make a family friendly trip.

I wondered what a Vegas wedding would be like, and it turned out to be really nice, and very well done. Clint and Sarah are really interested in Pirates, so they picked Treasure Island for the events. I hadn't been in there for a long time, but the whole hotel has been redone and the chapel was really nice. There were 18-20 people that came down and attended the event. You can watch it by following this link but only until about February 22nd. It won't work after that, I believe.

We are thrilled for Clint and Sarah, and wish them all the best in their married life together. I was really ecstatic to make it down there, even for the day. It would have been nice to spend more time, but at least I got to be there for the ceremony. It isn't often that the three brothers are ever in the same place, so that is always fun. I also got to see my mom and my Grandpa and Gramma Klem. It was also good to meet a couple of Clint's friends along with Sarah's family and friends.

I did manage to walk away ahead in the casino, also. I put $1 into a video blackjack machine, and managed to get that up to $3...Unfortunately, I gave a $1 back in the nickel slots, so I made a dollar using a dollar. That is pretty good for me...I usually don't even touch anything in the casino!

This is a cell phone picture from the ceremony...It isn't great, but it is the best I have with me!

Congrats guys...We love you!

BRRRRRRR!

It is COLD here today!!! I think it was 10 below this morning (not factoring in wind chill).

Needless to say, we stayed in and stayed warm. It was nice...since Ryan is home, each kid got some individual attention (which they needed!). Austin played lots of hoops with Daddy and Caitlin helped me set the table for dinner. I was able to play a game with Austin while Ryan played and talked with Caitlin. So, it was a very calm, low key day. PERFECT!

I forgot to mention that Caitlin has the rather impressive talent of picking things up with her toes. It is sort of freaky...like she's part monkey or something (watch it...)!

I guess that's all for now...going to head up to bed. All this relaxing has made me tired! ;)

SNOW DAY! :)

Yesterday was awesome. We had quite a bit of beautiful, fluffy snow falling at times all day long...I love to watch snow falling...it is so peaceful. Not much accumulated though. Anyway, we took a snow day from speech at the "big school" and bundled up to play in the snow. The kids were soooooo excited! Once outside, Austin got right to work. He grabbed his mini snow shovel determined to conquer the driveway. He kept getting mad that the shovel slid right out of his tiny, mittened hand...but he kept at it. Caitlin ran out and started making her snow angels immediately! Then they had a couple races across the front lawn while I shoveled the driveway. After about 15 minutes we went back inside. It was sooooooo cold!!! We "unbundled" ourselves and I made some hot chocolate. Austin wanted his with "cream" (whipped cream) & Caitlin decided she wanted that too. She had one sip and was done. Austin proceeded to drink all of his and all of hers!!! Good thing I only had them split one packet of cocoa.

Today school was on a 2 hour delay b/c of the freezing temperatures. We had a relaxing morning at home then headed out. Austin had a rough start...lots of clinging to mommy and protesting. Then I took him over to a toy I knew he liked. So I asked him to show me how it worked...well, he must have wanted it all to himself (or got tired of me) and said, "Leave Mom". Hey, I was just happy he was ready to jump in and play with the other kids...maybe he was trying reverse psychology on me? If he was, it backfired on him...I was outta there. Their teacher said they had a good day and they both looked like they were happy as clams at pick-up time. I love that their school has windows that allow you to see the kids in class without them seeing you! I always hang out for the last 15-30 minutes of their school day to watch how they do...interacting w/peers, attending to the lesson, participating in activities...I like to know.

Some more funny things that the kids have said and done recently...

**Caitlin eating noodles last night..."Mom, these are the BEST noodles EVER!!! You're my best friend!!!" She does have a flair for the dramatic... :)

**Austin playing the keyboard in our dining room. His favorite tune to practice? Livin' La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin!!! (Uncle Travis, you'd be proud of his masterful rendition of your once favorite keyboard song...) Austin was downstairs at about 7am to practice...he loves to tinker with the tempo of the song and throw in some dj features (scratching) as well. Little Herbie Hancock...

**Caitlin telling Ryan about our snow day..."Daddy you may make snow angels. All you have to do is lay down in the snow and move your arms and legs up and down!"

**When Austin doesn't want you to look at him he says, "Don't see me." I think that is so funny!

**Caitlin crying on the potty tonight and yelling at me, "My tinks (short for tinkles) are hot!" If anyone can figure out what the heck this means, let us know...

**Austin the entertainer..."2,4,6...ROCK!" before launching into his guitar solo. Also, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to our concert!"

**Austin telling me "I like Judge Judy. I watch it at work!" So I asked, "Where do you work?" His reply? "I do the laundry, then I get on my motorcycle and make a left turn and go to watch the big guys with my daddy and then I see Mr. Larry."

That's about all for now! Hoping to post pictures soon, but Ryan is gone a lot and he is the slide show guru! :)

Prince Charming

The kids have been OBSESSED with watching Sleeping Beauty...now, listen to this....

Yesterday, Austin woke from his nap and came down for cuddles while Caitlin was still sleeping (or "bleeping" as he would say!). He seemed really groggy so I asked if he was still sleepy. He said yes and then told me, "I gonna take a rest in my bed. Be back in 3 minutes." And off he went back to bed. About 10 minutes later, both kids were awake. Austin told me..."I waked sissy up with a kiss just like Sleeping Beauty."

Wanted to blog that before I forgot....more during naps today....

fun with cocoa!

we went to the children's museum for the "cocoa party" this morning (the kids get super excited if you call whatever activity a "party"). it ended up being a great experience for them! austin was slow to warm up...there were a few tears and clingy moments but once he got settled, he was great. caitlin walked in like she'd been there a million times before. while they were in the class, ryan and i strolled the museum (okay, does one exhibit count?) and then hung out in the museum store until it was time to go get the kiddos. when we walked in to their classroom, austin was so excited that he got to drink cocoa. he yelled, "i drinked my hot cocoa all!" caitlin ran up and gave ryan a major hug...when she finished hugging i noticed that ryan had some powderlike substance all over his BLACK jacket. then i got a good look at our daughter....COVERED in a combo of cocoa and flour. there was not a clean spot on her clothes or shoes!!! turns out that austin and caitlin chose activities that they could do away from the larger group (was told that this is common for 1st timers)...so she spent the entire time playing in a sandbox filled with cocoa powder & flour. it was cute.

tonight ryan and i get to sneak away for a couple hours for a date...dinner at one of our favorite mexican restaurants! it will be good to have some adult time out and about...we didn't really get to enjoy his last trip home b/c i was not feeling great & he leaves again tomorrow morning. his december travel seemed to go by quickly so i am hoping january is the same...we miss our guy when he's gone!!!

caitlin's new favorite phrase? "knock it off!" we told her she can only say that to the pets if they are being bad b/c she was saying it to EVERYBODY!

i've got a ton of laundry to do before my hot date tonight.....more later!!!!!

AHHH...routine!

well, i am happy to report that austin and caitlin had a great first day back at school and are excited they get to go to the "little school" twice a week now. i am hoping after this week we'll see an improvement in their demeanor. two weeks of no routine was awful for all of us! it was made worse by the fact that i was sick and in bed for about a week of that time so we really couldn't go out. ryan was awesome with the kids and held down the fort like a champ...he even came home from his trip early to take care of us. so, while i am still not 100%, we are able to go out for short excursions if cabin fever strikes.

friday i am taking the kids to the children's museum for a class called "cocoa chemistry"...all about hot cocoa. i thought it might be something new and exciting for them to experience....hoping they enjoy it!

some funny stuff that i've seen and heard lately...

**austin being totally baffled (and a little peeved) that santa didn't hand over a black guitar and headphones immediately after austin sat on his lap. we had to reassure him that the elves were still making the toys and santa delivered them on christmas eve.

**caitlin yelling "austin stinked my bed!!!!" which means he sat on her bed while he had poop in his pull up. (just fyi...no poop left the pull up when he sat on her bed...the girl has an ultra sensitive sniffer!)

**ryan, austin, and caitlin...guitars strapped on....jamming to guitar hero. it was a classic sight!

**both kids using the potty for tinkles with NO ACCIDENTS! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now the next step is to get those poops in there and then night dryness.

okay...i know there is more....i'll have to consult ryan to remember all the random stuff i tell him about everyday...if i don't write it down immediately, forget it!