BORRY!

that's what Austin would say instead of "sorry"...anyway, "borry" we haven't updated the blog in awhile.  it's been a little busy around here!!!

we have spent a ton of time outside enjoying the summer weather.  we do a little bike riding, hopscotch, drawing with sidewalk chalk, playing on the swingset, playing in the sandbox, running around with the neighbors...all the outside time leaves little time for the inside activities such as housecleaning and blogging (darn).  :)

we are also getting ready to celebrate austin and caitlin's FOURTH birthday!  HUH?  when did that happen?!?  on their actual birthday we will enjoy 2 mini cakes from a local bakery and open presents (they are getting "big kid" bikes from daddy & mommy!).  next thursday, they are taking some ice cream cone cupcakes to school for all of their friends.  then comes the big candyland party.  i love planning their bday parties!!!  we are having the neatest cake decorated like the game board (with candy, of course), a candy buffet, a bounce house, and a party game or 2.  i am making all of the decorations so that has been somewhat of an undertaking...if you know me well, you know i tend to overdo it with the festivities...martha stewart wanna be...

okay, more later...we now have a laptop so i can update as they play...HOORAY!!! :)  they are now playing duck duck goose with their neighbor friend, mae.  

Little Romeo

And no, I don't mean the "rapper"! Today Mae (our neighbor who's 7 that the kids LOVE) came over to see if they wanted to play. I told her they would be out after dinner. So while I cleaned up I told them both to use the bathroom before they were allowed outside. I heard Austin go in and turn on the water...sometimes he pretends to "tink" but instead just washes his hands! Well, I asked what he was doing...he told me "I wetted my hair so Mae doesn't see it all crazy." Yes folks...I do believe we have a little crush going on! :)

Not much planned for today...just some time with daddy...he returned late last night and leaves again tomorrow morning for a couple days. Austin is a wreck without Ry!!! Thank goodness Caitlin has been on her best behavior. That helps me out a ton. I don't think I could handle her going diva on me AND Austin acting out. Gives me an anxiety attack just thinking about it! :)

Tomorrow my mom and gramma are coming to visit. The kids are "buper" excited about that. They want to show her how they ride bikes (Austin is a pro now) and Caitlin wants to show how she can swing all by herself "like a big girl". That's all they have been talking about!!!

Okay...gonna go enjoy some cuddle time with the whole family! YAY! :)

Busy weekend!

Seems like we were on the go all weekend! Friday the boys mowed the backyard (always an exciting time for "mini Ryan" [Austin]). Then Caitlin & I went to Walgreens & I took her to Ritters for an ice cream treat. We surprised Austin with some ice cream for all his hard work mowing with Daddy. She was cute in Walgreens...pushing the little cart & putting the items up on the counter to be rung up. Saturday Ryan took Austin to his work to pick something up and then Austin wanted a haircut (YAY!)...so we each got some alone time with a kiddo. Which was very nice! Caitlin and I went to Target and then out to lunch. She was perfectly perfect the entire time. Ryan said Austin was great and so talkative on their adventure too! I think that even though they don't like it initially, it's nice for the kids to just have some time to themselves without competing for attention. Not gonna lie, it was like a walk in the park for me too....one 4 year old is waaaaaaay more managable than two! ;)

After naps on Saturday we went to buy a new grill to replace the one that bit the dust in a terrible wind/rain storm at the end of last summer. So Ryan spent a couple hours assembling it while the kids played. The new grill is almost exactly like our old one...soooooooooo excited that we got it....we are habitual bbq'ers in the summer! :)

Friday & Saturday Ryan & I had "movie nights"...it's something we enjoy but rarely get to do! I'm glad we took the time to do it...both movies were EXCELLENT! Friday we watched "Seven Pounds" which took awhile to get into, but was very good once we figured it out. Saturday we watched "Slumdog Millionaire". Our pastor's son spent a few months in India with an organization called Truthseekers International & said that the depictions of poverty were completely accurate. A very sad fact. So with that knowledge before seeing the movie, I watched it with a different perspective. In my adult life, I have seen & read 3 things that I would say have "haunted" me...the book "The Pact" by Jodi Picoult, the movie "The Kite Runner", and now "Slumdog Millionaire". Uplifting, eh?

Yesterday we did some things around the house....the boys mowed the front yard, Caitlin and I laid in the grass & chatted and then explored the ants that were on the sidewalk. Then we all went to Kroger to stock up on meat for the grill! Ryan cooked the burgers (YUM!), we had a family dinner (the kids' favorite was the "melon" - cantaloupe and watermelon) and then had bath time. After that the kids went to bed...they BOTH have the sniffles which usually equals a NIGHTMARE with Caitlin because she won't take any Benadryl which helps immensely at bedtime.

This morning we read about a million books. I LOVE that the kids love to read. Austin even stopped mowing to join in story time! They have these little ABC books (there is a small book for each letter of the alphabet) with a picture and its name on the opposite page (ie: cat - then there's a picture of a cat)...they enjoyed spelling out each word this morning. IMHO they are incredibly smart little kids! I created a matching game to help them learn their personal information (first, middle, last names; phone number; address; city; state) by writing each thing on 2 paint sample cards. Austin's set was blues & greens; Caitlin's was pinks & purples...anyway...we laid out half of Austin's set in the dining room & half of Caitlin's set in the office. I kept their other halves in the living room. The game was...I chose a personal fact from my cards, we went over it, then they took their card & ran into the other rooms to make a match & bring it back to me. THEY LOVED IT & didn't want to stop playing.

Some of their latest funny sayings...

*Caitlin saw a picture of Joe Biden on the internet and asked me, "Is that Bob Evans?" Oh my gosh, I was rolling!!!!!!!!!!

*Austin got some paint on himself & told us happily, "I'm a work of artist!" :) Sooooo cute!

*Caitlin also saw a picture of Nancy Pelosi and asked, "Is that Judge Judy?" LOL!

Today is going to be low key. It's supposed to be beautiful outside all week, so we'll be outside most of the time after naps. Austin's public school speech cuts down to one time a week starting this week, so for the summer we'll have Friday's free. Thursday they get to take their bikes to school for their version of the Indy 500. Austin is looking forward to that...Caitlin is not, due to her phobia of the buckle on the helmet.

Okay, gonna go play now!

Mother's Day

Ah, I LOVE homemade Mother's Day gifts! The kids each decorated a plate for me...SOOOO cute! I plan to display them in the kitchen once I get a couple plate stands. They also made some cute crafts at school...their handprint with a little poem (always a favorite!), a little milk carton vase with a foam flower with their picture in the center, an "interview" about their mommy (the answers were so sweet!), and a picture of me with each of them that they drew. A., C., & daddy also brought home a HUGE beautiful flower arrangement for my viewing & smelling pleasure. :)

This weekend was pretty low key...the kids spent all morning/afternoon with Bethany and her boys as I had my surgery Friday. Then Friday night they spent the night with Lynn & John so I could rest (& be in the "vicodin zone"). Ryan picked them up on Saturday afternoon and played with them while I rested. They were a little freaked out that I was not normal...Austin likes to say I'm walking "weird"! It has really sucked not being able to snuggle properly or lift them up. :( Yesterday I was off the vicodin and on 800mg ibuprofen...so more alert. Hoping today will be even more of an improvement....better be...Ryan's back to work!!! :) Anyway, all the surgery found was a polyp...still no help with my right side pain! Follow up appointment is in 6 weeks, so we'll see what's next (if anything).

Planning to go outside this afternoon....hoping to try a short walk to feed the ducks. Later in the week, maybe we will hit the zoo and plant some flowers around here.

Greetings...

from the Carr Family Sick Ward! UGH! As of Wednesday night, every single one of us has been sick! Caitlin started @ 3am Wednesday (technically Thursday, I guess)...I started while getting ready to shuttle the kids to school on Thursday...Austin started @ school on Thursday...and Ryan started yesterday!!! We took the kids to the doctor just to make sure it wasn't "swine flu"...it is just an ordinary virus. She thought Austin might have strep so she did a culture (THAT went over well!!! NOT!). It was negative, but she informed us that his tonsils were huge...I see a tonsillectomy in his future (that thought makes me want to cry.....I don't want my babies having surgery!!!). :(

This week will be busy around here...hopefully we will all be on the mend. I am beginning to make the kids' birthday invitations. Can't believe they will be 4 already!!! We are doing a Candyland theme this year since they love the game and also consider candy to be a primary food group! Really, who doesn't?! I have grand ideas for the party, but still need to set up a budget to see what's feasible. You wouldn't believe how many websites have ideas for this theme!

It has been so rainy lately! Finally today the sun is shining so I think after naps the kids and I will go outside to play. Austin LOVES riding his tricycle in the front yard. He always says he's going to work to "watch the big guys on his computer" (like daddy!). Then when he's done "working" he pulls his bike into the garage right between our cars. So funny! Yesterday he told Caitlin he'd bring her a "cheerleader poster" from his work. Classic. Caitlin loves to play in the sandbox...she just stands there and makes creations...she pats the sand into the toys, makes hills, talks to herself. It's really cute to watch. She also still loves hopscotch!

The kids love playing a Diego game we found on noggin.com...it's like Tetris for little ones! I am so impressed that they both can do it all on their own. They even figured out how to use this crazy mouse we have! Speaking of which...Caitlin is pestering to play it now...I'll post more later...Hope you had a great weekend!!!

Cousin Ethan's Christening

On April 19th we got to see Courtney and Edward's son, Ethan, Christened. He was very cute and we were really glad to be there to see it. It was the first time I had been able to see Ethan, as I have only heard from Kim and the kids how cute he is. I agree with that after seeing him. He did great, didn't cry at all. We enjoyed the service and were really happy that we could be there. Austin and Caitlin did great sitting through "grown up church." We only had a small adventure in the middle of the service trying to find a restroom for Austin, but it all turned out well!

Here are some pictures that Kim took...

Clint and Sarah's Visit

Well, since it has been 2 weeks since they were here, probably about time we get a post up! Clint and Sarah came and visited for a few days and we had a great time. They had lots of time to play with the kids, which was fun, we played some Guitar Hero and Wii Bowling, and I even managed to get them to the last Pacer game of the season.

We didn't do anything really out of the ordinary, but the weather was beautiful so we got to spend plenty of time outside playing.

Austin and Caitlin will be talking about Uncle Clint and Aunt Sarah until the next time they can see them. They always have so much fun with them.

Kim and I enjoyed catching up with them too after the kids went to bed...at least until the last night they were here when we were all exhausted from a few days of playing non stop with the kids.

Enjoy the pictures!!!