There are no words....

..... to express just how mischievious Darci Marie can be!

What is this you ask? Well, it's nail polish of course. I found Darci sitting on our bathroom floor trying to paint her toenails. She was so cute I couldn't be mad at her though....

For the record, I can find no product that will remove this amount of nail polish from the carpet....

Looks like we'll be replacing it sooner rather than later!

A changing of the seasons, and our lives!

What's new with us in the last month you ask? Yes, I'm sorry, it's been over a month. *ducks head in shame*. We've been beyond busy (nothing new there!), but busy in a good way. Changes are on the horizon and I feel that as a family, we've hit a new milestone. I'm sure this sense of togetherness comes from Addison becoming quite the little person, and Darci developing more and more each day. Addison and Darci interact so wonderfully (any mother of more than one child knows that this only when they're actually getting along!!) and are so cute when reading books, playing playdoh and coloring. So sweet, I tell ya!!!

Anyways, back to our changes. 1) Nathan was able to be a stay-at-home Daddy for the last three weeks!! It's been pretty awesome seeing his bond with the girls get stronger over the last few weeks. They sure are daddy's little princesses. Why was he home for three days, you ask? That leads to change # 2) He got hired by a new department and starts on Monday! No longer a Deputy, he will now be an Officer. We're over the moon with this choice and how things have come together. Nathan has wanted this for SO LONG. 3) With the three weeks off work, he was able to make major progress on house projects. The wall in the backyard is officially built! Woot woot! Long time coming, but now close to absolute completion.

As for me, I'm going through quite the mid-life crisis (can it even be mid-life at 28?!?) and wondering what I want out of life. I'm addicted to change and evolution and it just hasn't seemed to happen much for ME lately.... We shall see what the future holds.

Addison LOVES school and gets angry when it's a non-school day, then tries to negotiate terms that will allow her to go to school. She is her father's daughter!! She loves all of her friends there and the stories she tells after school are HILARIOUS!!! The half-truth/half-imagination/half-complete nonsense stories make my day!! She's growing so fast and her third birthday is right around the corner.

Darci is a fireworker and such an individual. Happy and smiley and quirky and loving and awesome!!! She's been sleeping great (must get the love of sleep from me!). Coloring the walls while we're not looking is her most recent obsession (thank goodness for magic erasers!!!).  Absolutely addicted to music and dancing, wherever she is she will immediately start bopping her head or throw her hands up and dance when she hears a beat.

Loving life right now :)
Chrystle

Fall is here!!

A drive by post of our October activities!
Our trip to the Sacramento Zoo was a blast! The girls absolutely loved everything about it and boy did they take a great nap on the way home ;o)

Next on our agenda for the month was, of course, the pumpkin patch!!!! We actually made two trips to the pumpkin patch. The first, just the four of us, was rained out but we still had fun. The second was with the Hamon family.

Our first, rainy experience at the pumpkin patch:

And our second trip!

And my favorite picture of completely unprompted, sisterly love. Don't they just melt your heart?

Ahhh the carving of the pumpkins. This turned out much differently that I imagined. I thought it was easily going to be the funnest milestone for our family of four yet!!! Nathan starts cutting into the pumpkin... shows Addison and Darci the seeds.... and then I'm sure the neighbors could hear the shreaks!! The look of disgust on their faces was hilarious. Both wanted nothing to do with the process.

Immediately following this picture, Addison had to leave the room because she was dry heaving. Seriously. The smell of the pumpkin made her want to ralph. So Nathan and the girls went in the other room while I carved the pumpkins. Not what I was imagining to say the least! End result, pumkpins carved and kids are happy that it's done, as is Momma.

And next? Halloween of course! Krystal and Kayleigh came over to our neighborhood to walk the streets and beg for candy. The bumblebee, the leopard and the butterfly. Who could ask for more?

Oh! and we can't forget Tucker the squirrel *insert snicker here*



One year ago today

One year ago today, we were getting ready for a day at the pumpkin patch, gearing up for Halloween that was right around the corner. I was so excited to take the girls for the first time.

That all changed when I got a phone call from my mom at 10am, she says that she has the flu and needs a ride to the ER because she's not doing so well. Nathan volunteers to go bring her, and he's there for hours. Inside, I'm bummed because we don't get to go to the pumpkin patch. But I'm also worried about my mom because when I talked to her she just didn't seem like herself.

Hours upon hours go by, and my dad shows up to relieve my husband. They have my mom in a room and are trying to figure out what's going on, but they know it's not the flu. Then the doctor mentions meningitis and we all got scared. I didn't know enough about it to know how scared I should be. After hours of confusion, frustration, and worrying, my moms pain ended at she became an angel.

Our lives changed forever that day. It's incomprehensible how much pain can be caused by losing such an amazing, loving, influential, selfless person. An immense amount of love has to be present in life to feel such an overwhelming sadness in death.

I have the best memories of my mom. Gossiping and giggling like little girls as we sip coffee in our robes. Trading stories about life and love. Shopping and hanging out like best friends, because that's what we were. The mother and daughter label fell off somewhere along our journey together, and what remained was an amazing friendship. She was the most amazing grandma to my girls, in just the short amount of time she had with them. I am thankful to have had such an amazing mom, who has taught me to love selflessly, laugh hysterically and not take the unimportant things to seriously. She taught me to be the best mom I could be and for that I am eternally grateful.

We love and miss you to the moon and back, Mom.

Trying to Make the Grade!

When I think back, it seems like Addison has been a part of Nathan and I forever... but at the same time, it seems like it hasn't been nearly long enough for her to be in preschool! But alas, she has grown up and we decided that we think she will thrive in a structured, group learning environment. Addy has been enjoying her days at home playing with her sister, taking trips to the park with Grampa Steve, reading lots of books and singing with Grammy, and of course her special Fridays where she got to spend her day with her "other mom" Krystal and Kayleigh. But she seemed to be bursting at the seams regularly. She was so sad that there were no longer kids at the park every day (because school is back in session). She's been craving more and more interaction with other kids. While we go playdates regularly with many kids, and especially her BFF Kayleigh, we thought branching out a bit would benefit her.

We absolutely fell in love with her school when we went to check it out. It's not only absolutely perfect for her age, but also has chickens and roosters, a horse, a garden, and an acre and a half for the kids to dominate. The teachers are amazing!! What sold us on the school is that there isn't just one teacher with a bunch of assistants. It's 3 certified preschool teachers at any given time. The children get such dedicated attention and praise. After the first visit, Addison was smitten as well. She didn't want to leave her new "friends".

Our big girls first day of school was on Friday, October 1st. She is going on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday's from 8:30-3pm, with two hours of that designated as quiet/nap time. The morning of her first day, she was brimming with excitement. She couldn't wait and was irritated that it was taking so long to get ready!!

When I dropped her off, she went straight to the little kitchen and started playing. With a quick hug and kiss, she wanted to be independent and left alone

At the end of the day, I was more anxious than anything to pick her up! All day I was hoping that she had a great day, and wondering what she was up to. If she was behaving, having fun, hating it, loving it, missing me, not missing me LOL It was worse for me than it was for her!! When I picked her up, Miss Michelle informed me that Addison had a great first day. She had two sad moments where she missed me and wanted to go home, but she was easily distracted bu her friends and activities. For those who know her, one thing that Addison is have particular about is where she naps. She always tells people she will only sleep in her own bed. So when Miss Michelle told her it was nap time and to lay on her mat (with a blanket and pillow from home), Addison was very unwavering in her belief that she should only sleep in her bed and her "bed isn't at school, it's at home". She ended up only sleeping for a bit that day because she woke up and exclaimed "Miss Michelle!!! Do you hear that airplane?"..... this is slightly frowned upon during "quiet time"!!! hahaha When I told her it was time to go home, she was very upset and wanted to stay longer. Thankfully the idea that she will be going back was enough to pacify her. Yay for preschool!!!

Our First Camping Trip as a Family of 4!!!

Yeah, yeah, I know it's already fall and I'm behind in updating about summer!!

So I was completely pressured into a camping trip this summer!!! Well, it's true that I did WANT to camp, but the thought of camping with a 2.5 year old and a 1 year old was seriously daunting. I envisioned running all over a dirty campsite trying to keep nasty things out of Darci's mouth and keeping Addy from falling to the fire, or the lake, or wherever she could fit (yes, she is a klutz like her Mom).

So we decided to go to Lake Hogan for one night and meet our favorite family, the Hamon's, for a camping adventure. They had already been out there a couple nights, so we were just going for their last night there to try out the whole experience. We got there on Sunday afternoon and had a GREAT surprise. Grampa Keith surprised us!!! He was out enjoying a quiet day of fishing. It made the girls day to see Grampa climbing up the (huge!!!) hill from the lake to our camping spot.

Then it was time to set up camp so that we could enjoy some time on the boat

We spent some time on the water before we headed back for dinner and s'mores!

some time was spent pretending to throw the kids overboard (classic Nathan move!)

Then Darci's "other mom" (aka Krystal) let her drive the boat!! Even though she was more concerned with what all the buttons did!

Dinner and then S'MORES!!!

After this fun (and sugar) filled event, I have to brag about how freaking cool my kids are. Both go to bed alone in the tent with minimal fussing!!! SCORE!! Darci was in the playpen and passed out in no time, and with a little reassurance Addison was a happy camper (pun intended!) in her princess blow up bed.

Rise and Shine!!

(notice the blanket wrapped monster on the left side of the pics? Yeah, that's Daddy) LMAO

Kayleigh and Addison were VERY concerned with keeping their babies clean. Krystal and I can attest to the fact that our girls babies were absolutely.unbelievably.disgusting!!! So what do the girls do? They create a baby washing station, complete with wipes! The most hilarious thing about this is that when they were done with one baby they would lay it on the ground while they finished the next one... and then wonder how the first one got dirty again so fast. Sneaky baby!!!

Overall, I'd say it was a successful attempt at our first camping trip. BUT I am so glad that we won't even consider this for another year and Darci will be much older by then! She'll have much more fun when she can wander around the campsite and explore. The three amigos enjoyed their time together and were loads of fun!

and I am happy to report that the only thing Darci put in her mouth was a dirt crusted hot dog... so it's not so bad right? I had to pat myself on the back when I intervened before she got the muddy, soggy bun in her mouth !! Super Mom!!

Our "Not So Little" Ladies

So much has happened since my last post. So sorry for being such a slacker! I just haven’t made a point to sit down and write anything out….until now! Try to control your enthusiasm. I’m sure you’re over the moon now!


I’m going to do this is sections so that it’s not one mongo novel about the last month. So sit tight!

Update on the little Monkeys:

Darci:

Holy moly!!! I want to bottle up her energy and take a full dose of it every day. She is a total crack up and is stealing our hearts more and more each day. Her newest addiction is shoes, yes SHOES! A little early for the obsession, but it’s present nonetheless. Darci loves to wear shoes, play with shoes, hide shoes find shoes, and lastly, put shoes on here hands and say “Tada!!!”. This was cute in the beginning….then we were losing shoes constantly and unable to tame the shoe monster that she had become. So now all shoes (and I mean ALL shoes, hers and Addison’s) are in a laundry basket out of reach. I couldn’t take it anymore!!! Hopefully this will be step 1 to curing her addiction.

Darci is also talking much more these days. Her words include Hi, Momma, Dadda, Grampa, Addy, Tucker, Baby, Up, and she will repeat almost anything back to us. She has a new found love for books, especially the little alphabet books. We read those at least once a day and she tries to say back the letters to me. She loves when we get to “O” so she can practice “Owl”.

Addison:

Why? Why? Why? We’ve officially entered the Why Stage, full speed ahead! Everything is Why? How? Where’d it come from? How’d it get there? What I do love about this stage is her knowledge in how she asks the questions, it shows she really has a general understanding and wants to know more. She rarely just responses with “Why?”, it’s more like “Why do you go to work?” or “Why does it get dark when the sun goes down?”. Our Addybear is just growing up so darn fast!!

So fast in fact, that preschool is right around the corner. We’ve found one that we (Addison included) absolutely loves!!! She asks every day if it’s time for her to go to school. I think it will be a great experience for her!

Our Little Pollywog

Blood curdling screams come from the bathroom each night when it's time to wash hair in the bathtub, yet, this same child was STOKED to start swim lessons!! 5 days of fun at the pool, learning new techniques to get Addison used to the water. It was a lot of work to get home from work, get the kid's ready and get Darci to wherever she needed to go so that Addison and I could attend swim lessons. Daddy kept Darci most of the time and even brought her to the lessons once.

A slough of toddlers and infants were crowded in the pool. There were some her were super excited (mine included), those who were apprehensive and clingy, and those who were absolutely terrified of the experience. We learned the safe way to enter and exit the pool, how to kick, attempt to float (using a noodle), blow bubbles and go under water. Each task was completed successfully and with great determination on Addison's part, with the exception of the last. When she saw kids were going UNDER THE WATER she immediately just started telling me NO, NO, NO!! I didn't have the heart to dunk her when she saw all the other kids screeching after emerging from the water. Addison enjoyed each day, and loved swimming with one of her friends, Bella. Each day she was asking when we were going back, who was going to be there, what we were going to do, etc. She seriously LOVED it!! Now that it's done she's been pretty upset and continously asks if we can go to swim lessons. I told her the pool is closed for lessons and she told me to tell them to open it.

I wish I would have gotten pictures!! I thoroughly regret not taking any.

That being said, she still screams bloody murder when I try to wash her hair.......

I am lovin these muffins!

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 large, ripe banana, mashed
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 cup all-purpose flour ( I used wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 dash salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
** I also added 1T of flax seeds and left out the peanuts, and sprinkled a little brown sugar on top.



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan or 12 muffin tin

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter, egg, banana, and milk. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture just until moistened. Fold in the raisins and peanuts. Transfer to the prepared pan.

Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven for the loaf or 20 minutes for the muffins, or until a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before serving.

Words of Wisdom to Remember Every Day

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Honesty makes you vulnerable. Be honest anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

Our Backyard AKA The Ongoing Project

For those who know, we were unhappy with the size/layout of our backyard. We felt that there was precious space being wasted with the elevated planter beds (about 4 feet deep lining the largest area of our yard). Nathan decided that area should be covered in grass for the kids to play on, DUH!! So one day he starts moving the concrete blocks that are lining the huge walls of dirt and rocks. The next weekend was spent tearing out the drain and moving some of the extra rock. Then the real fun began, the TRACTOR!! Addison was in heaven seeing a "mini" tractor in our backyard. She spent most of the day at the window engrossed in everything that Daddy and Grampa were doing with it. So, the tractor was used to dig farther into the dirt and relocate it to the side yard so that we could transport it (to various locations!). What we didn't realize at the time was the compacted dirt would look like 10x as much dirt after it was errated by the tractor. I mean, lots and lots and lots of dirt!! So much dirt that we ran out of room.

So at this point the project gets a little overwhelming and discouraging. We just wanted it to be done, without an iota of effort from us :) Thank goodness for great friends!! Krystal talked her Dad into letting up borrow his trailer to haul our dirt. Talk about a lifesaver!! So over the next few weeks we moved a few loads of dirt and rock. Small progress, but progress nonetheless!

Then we hit another roadblock : rain!! and lots of it. So we were out of commission for a few weeks.

This last project weekend was the one that allowed us to see the light at the end of the tunnel. All the dirt is GONE!! All the supplies needed to install the french drain are present and accounted for. All that is left to do is level out the ground, install the drain and put the cement blocks back up. The area that used to be 4 ft of wasted space is now about 1 foot :) I have progress pictures and will post them once I get them downloaded.