Izzy Ice Skating

Izzy has recently started ice skating lessons. This was taken at her third lesson, and although she doesn't really skate - she also doesn't fall!

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Mother's Day 2010

Long overdue, I know. But better late, then never.

Mother's Day was fantastic! When Pete had asked me what I wanted, my immediate response was some time to myself. I wanted to poke slowly through stores and sales racks, as well as some time at home to clean out my closet. I didn't need gifts, but rather time - time away from the little ones that gave me rights to the holiday in the first place. Pete being the smart guy he is suggested that I take Saturday to myself so that I could focus on the kids/family on Sunday. It sounded like a perfect plan to me!

However, Izzy had other plans. She woke up Friday night with a fever and thought she was going to be sick. She never did throw up, but she stayed in bed all day Saturday. The poor girl went between sleeping and lounging all day long. It was actually a perfect day - despite her being sick. We watched all the High School Musical movies snuggled up in my bed :-)

Sunday ...oh, sweet, sweet Sunday! It began with Pete making our regular Starbucks run. After coffee he made me breakfast. He made me crepes! Crepes with fresh berries and homemade whip cream. YUMMERS!!!




We didn't really do much because Izzy still wasn't feeling 100%. Pete did take them to run a couple errands which gave me a little time to myself. Then came the gift giving ceremony! I had told Pete that I didn't really want/need anything, but did give him a couple small ideas for gifts the kids could get me.

Pete went WAY overboard! The creative guy he is put together a series of gifts relating to "Mind, Body & Spirit".

For my Mind: Candles from the kids and a renewal to my Us Weekly subscription.


For my Body: Starbucks gift card and a couple mani/pedi gift certificates.




For my Spirit (or Spirits): a bottle of wine AND a subscription to the Wine of the Month Club. I am the proud recipient of one bottle or red, and one bottle of white each month. How cool is that?



*don't be jealous of how fabulous I look! I had gone for a run right before all these pictures were taken. ...and honestly, I can't remember if I even showered that day :-)

Pete also had my car completely cleaned out and washed. ...and gave me a couple gift certificates to have it done some more!

It can't go without mentioning another gift I received. My youngest brother Andy (the one who flies fighter planes for the Air Force) sent me flowers for Mother's Day. The card said, "Nice Work, Molly". How awesome is that? I got a dozen roses and calla lilies. That boy's mama sure raised him right...even if the real reason he sent them was because a girl who works at 1-800-FLOWERS is sweet on him :-)

Friday Before Mother's Day

Nearly two weeks ago I had the privilege of being the guest of honor at the kids school. At 9:00 Drew and I had "Muffins with Mom" and at 11:00 I had a "Mother's Day Tea" with Izzy. Truth be told, I love the 3 kid-free mornings that I have (even more so now that Pete is gone) but I was looking SO forward to spending this Friday with the kids.

Since Pete was gone the kids and I had to take our own pictures before we left for school. I may have a couple budding photogs on my hands, no?

Me and my little man (taken by Izzy)


Drew's class only has 8 children in it and one was missing that day. We met in his classroom and after a few minutes of playing we had muffins, juice and chocolate covered strawberries. Then the teachers read each child's "Mom Interview". Drew was called up front and stood next to his teacher Mrs. D as she read his answers.


All About The Worlds Greatest Mom - by Drew Swyt

-My Mom's name is: Molly (most kids said mama)
-She is 60 (most kids said 3 - I was by far the oldest) years old.
-My Mom's favorite food is: turkey sandwiches (I like, but not my fave).
-At home, my Mom spends most of her time doing: mowing the lawn (the funny thing is that the week prior I mowed the lawn for THE FIRST TIME EVER! - but in Drew's defense it did take me 3 days)
-My Mom helps me: build legos
-My Mom's favorite color is: red and orange (red is my favorite and Izzy has decided that orange should be my "2nd" favorite).

After the interviews the kids sang us a song before we had to leave. Drew has always LOVED music class (just like Izzy - their music teacher at school is FANTASTIC) and gosh did he belt out this song. I wish I would have asked them to sing it again so I could have recorded it.


The princess herself (taken by Drew)


*You may notice the SAME matching dresses from last years Mother's Day program. I would link you to last year photo, but I feel as if I have aged (not so gracefully) ALOT in the last year and would rather not be reminded.

We met Izzy's class down in the gym for our tea. This is how I found my daughter waiting for me when I arrived. Isn't she so ladylike sitting in her dress :-)


We had the most delicious lunch of chicken salad, pasta salad and strawberry shortcake! We also sang the "Tooty Ta-ta" song and then had the interview.

My Mom is Special - by Izzy Swyt
-My Mom's name is Molly.
-My mom has blue eyes and yellow hair.
-My mom is 36 years old.
-My mom likes to work on the computer and play with Chloe and me and Drew outside.
-My mom is prettiest when she is at home cooking.
-My mom is funniest when she tickles me.
-I like for her to cook cookies.
-I don't like when she cooks grilled cheese.
-She likes for me to help her bake muffins.
-My mom is very smart & knows all about Chloe!

Here is a picture of Izzy with her two wonderful teachers! I have been blessed with both the kids having fantastic teachers this year.


They also made me some super sweet gifts, but I just got a call for a house showing so I must go clean!

I sure do love these little faces! Wait til you hear how they spoiled me for Mother's Day...

Tire Swing

Last week I watched Miss RC for a couple hours while her parents were at a meeting. She got here at 12:30 and the girls played outside until 7:30! They did not step foot in my house for a single moment (not even to go to the bathroom) because I would not let them...they were full of sand, dirt, and gross creek water. In fact, we had to beg them to eat dinner.

This is my view of the neighbors yard from my deck...and just beyond those trees hangs a tire swing.



Let the fun begin...













This next picture is one of my all time favorites of Rylie (and I have quite a few)! Look at that face full of childhood joy ...and then look at those sandy creek feet :-) That is some good 'ole country living fun!



When not on the tire swing, the girls could be found "hiking" the creek, making puddles (or bathtubs) along the edges of the creek to wash their golf balls in (we have found 160+ thus far), and build sandcastles.



Some of the 7 hours spent outside was in our own backyard - we had a sprinkler, slide and itty bitty pool.





Every so often the girls would take a break and retreat to their shaded spots for a popsicle. ...as to not be put out too much I would just toss them over the railing.



I am not sure where Drew was during most of this outdoor fun (wait, I remember...Pete got home early and played some Wii with Drew) but this is the only picture of him I took that day. He and Chloe have become quite fond of one another. Drew will sporadically just stop what he is doing and walk over and give her a little belly rub and rub noses with her. So sweet.



Around 4 we started tossing around the idea of going out to dinner with RC and family. ....but since the girls were playing SO nicely and having such a good time we decided to stay in and order pizza. Steve brought Jack (their yellow lab) over, as well as a bucket of beer and the adults hung out while the kids exhausted themselves.

At the end of the evening the dogs and children all had to be hosed down outside due to the volume of sand.





I don't think we could have planned a more perfect day. The girls played fabulously (which is rare when being together for 7 hours!) and we were able to enjoy an evening with some fun friends. In fact, we had so much fun on Friday that we all went out to dinner on Saturday night! Not only did we go out to dinner, but we went out for a really fancy dinner...with kids!

Boys

I love me some Drew!

I told the little stinker to go potty before we had to pick up Izzy from school.

I heard the door shut - went to investigate - and saw this (how lucky was I that my camera was on the stairs?)



In his defense, I never told him where to go potty :-)

Spa Day for Izzy

It was a big couple of days of "firsts" for Miss Iz. She lost her first tooth and she got her first mani/pedi.

No special reason for the pampering for my girl ...it is just somethin a girls gotta do for herself sometimes!













She also got her nails done, but since I was clear across the salon (getting my pedi) I couldn't really get a decent picture. She sat quietly, and occasionally grinned at me when we made eye contact, but basically she took it all in and just enjoyed herself :-)





I look forward to many more mother/daughter spa days! ...I think some of our best conversations may occur as we both sip our favorite beverages and relax into a foot bath of bubbles.

She Lost Her First Tooth

It is with great sadness that I announce Izzy has lost her first tooth. Unfortunately I have yet to properly grieve this loss due to the hysterical ball of mess my 5 year old was upon loosing her tooth. You would have thought I got rid of her beloved Chloe for cryin out loud!

For the past two days Izzy has told me over and over again how much her tooth hurt. All the while she refused to let me touch it. Finally today I told her either she lets me get a finger on it or we go to the dentist to make sure nothing is seriously wrong. As soon as I touched it, I knew it was only a matter of hours til it came out.

We went to Target...Izzy was a very poor listener (quite common with her these days)...she was sent to her room as soon as we got home. I heard a shriek from her room and I knew. I just knew it was the tooth ...and that it was gone. That shriek said it all!



I thought the tears were because she had swallowed it? Nope...she was just upset she lost it. She didn't want to lose it. I am not allowed to tell her teachers, her friends, or her daddy and Drew. Chances are all of the above will notice the gap in her smile.



After she had a chance to settle down, she finally allowed me to get a couple shots of her new grin.





I can't believe my baby has lost her first tooth. Tonight as she laughed and giggled I had an equal amount of "wow, she looks SO cute" excitement as "wow she looks so old and is growing much too quickly" sadness.



I may just put off registering her for kindergarten until next week. I don't know if my delicate little mommy heart can take much more growing up this week.

It is amazing what happens when you don't blog for a while. I received numerous phone calls this weekend asking "what's up". Hmmm, what do you mean? Well, apparently when I don't blog for a few days my family/friends begin to worry and pick up the telephone!

Me: Hello
Caller: Hey, how are you?
Me: Good. How are you?
Caller: Everything okay? Kids good? Any house news?
Me: We're good. House is still for sale - totally sucks! Kids are good. We got them tennis rackets and are going to play some tennis this weekend.
Caller: Oh. I was worried because I hadn't seen an update on your blog recently.
Me: ....I see. Well, thanks for picking up the phone and calling to check on us :-)
Caller: You sure everything is okay?
Me: Yes :-) Just took a blogging break, but am finding it interesting how many people call me now!

There is a small part of me that thinks I should just let everyone suffer and "make them" pick up a phone...but we have lots fun to share, so check back tomorrow for an update.