Finally

This week has been so busy with Burger working his second shift, extra long hours. It's really tried my patience. When he was home, he was sleeping so I was in charge of the kids and house. When he was at work that naturally left me in charge of everything. So, the whole taking care of everything for everyone all the time has really worn me down. Tomorrow Burger does not work and we are all really looking forward to it. Monday he will go in for second shift, but no more over time! So he will be home and be able to go to bed at a decent time. Which means he will be able to wake up in the morning when the kids are ready!

Bunny Ears!

The kids in bunny ears. Obviously. Emrick then took hers off and ate them.

Today was so gorgeous outside. We went out and cleaned up the back yard a bit. Still much more work to do out there but I got a start at least! Then Jacob got to go to my parent's house to play. He thought he was the luckiest boy in the world! Emrick and I went shopping at Target.

Busy Weekend!

We went to the Phelp's Youth Pavilion, Chuck E. Cheese's, and to the mall to meet the Easter Bunny. Whew.

The Youth Pavilion was really fun. We were there yesterday for 2.5 hours and I was so ready to leave. Emrick was ready to leave. Jacob could have stayed for another couple hours. He milked a fake cow, pretended to fish, climbed in rabbit holes, built a house with cardboard and magnets, played dress up and went on stage, colored and cutout his own mask, and various other activities. We all had a super time. Definitely a place we will be returning to!

Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch today with Megan her beautiful children. Between us we spent 230 tokens! Whoa! I won 7 tickets on the Deal or No Deal game and Jacob fell in love with the roller coaster game. I brought my camera but forgot that I never took the memory card out of the computer. So there are no pictures of Chuck E. Cheese.

The Easter Bunny was his regular self today. Both my kids sat and let us take pretty good photos. There was a big sign that asked parents to refrain from taking their own pictures with cameras or phones so I followed the rules. Later my mom was slightly annoyed that I read the sign and followed the rules. I want my kids to learn that the sign is there and the rule is for everyone. Even if it means I have to spend way too much money. I did buy my parents their own 5x7 picture of the kids and the Bunny, though. Then I took pictures of them outside of the bunny arena with their ears on! Adorable. Then, since we were at the mall, we went into Old Navy and I bought them each a new hat to keep the sun out of their eyes. We had a really fun weekend and my kids were totally spoiled rotten!

Fun Days!

This picture was taken this morning before work. Jacob was being crazy and Emrick thought he was funny. I was trying to picture her dress and leg warmers because I am in love with them!

When Emrick wakes up from her nap, the plan is to go to the children's museum. They are having dollar admission this week for spring break and I want to take advantage! Jacob doesn't know we're going so it's a surprise and I hope he loves it! I also hope I can get some more cute pictures of the kids having fun.

Last night we grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and steaks. I made potatoes, peas, and brownies. We had ourselves a feast! Tomorrow Burger starts working strange hours. For ten days he will be working from two in the afternoon until two in the morning. It should be interesting to see how that works out. We have no current plans for he weekend. We were supposed to be going to the aquarium in the Mall of America but then Burger was offered this overtime so that trip was canceled. I'm over it. We'll just have to go a different time.

As a last note, every single time I spell check the only thing that is highlighted is Emrick's name. It's rather annoying to me because I type her name a lot. Which means tons of yellow shows up when I spell check.

Big News!

So, maybe not as exciting for anyone else but the big news of the day is that Burger and I are planning on purchasing a new camera. I am really excited but also nervous because I don't know much about cameras besides how to point and snap a picture. I will be doing some research and trying to figure out what will work best for me. I want something that will take nice pictures but also really simple to run!

I never did get around to bleaching the toys last night. We went to gymnastics but when we got there the parking lot was near empty and I suddenly remembered that there was no class because of spring break. So we went to Toys'R'Us instead. Then came home and put Emrick to bed and gave Jacob a tub then my mom and I went back to Toys'R'Us and bought more stuff. Today my goals are to get the dishes done and put gas in the van. I also wouldn't mind to have a Shamrock shake from McDonald's since they won't be around much longer.

Mondays don't have to be so bad...

Emrick is almost completely healed. Her feet are so much better and her little behind is almost clear! Hooray! Jacob hasn't gotten any spots so he should be good. I am planning on bleaching the toys when the kids go to bed tonight just to be sure.

We went on a mini one day family trip on Saturday. We had a nice time and Jacob got to try out the DVD player in the new van. He was really excited about that! On Sunday my mom watched the kids while we took some trips to take junk in. Our garage is a little cleaner and our porch is a lot cleaner! I went through our dishes and have a box to donate. Spring is definitely the time of year to go through every thing and get rid of a bunch! My next stop is the kid's dressers to get all the winter fabrics out of there. Emrick is wearing a lovely spring dress today but Jacob doesn't have much in the way of 'spring' wear. They don't make as big a selection for boys as they do girls.

Tonight is gymnastics and Burger's bowling. Burger has a chiropractor appointment directly after work. I am hoping to get to Target soon but Emrick is conveniently napping. I have no idea what to make for dinner tonight and that kind of stresses me out! Oh well, this Monday isn't going so bad but not so great either. I guess we'll see how it ends.

Emrick liked the fishies!

We're OK

Today is going well. The kids and I went to Toys'R'Us to buy seat protectors for the leather seats in the van. I don't want any permanent damage from car seats! Then I decided that since I have to unbuckle the seats to place the protectors I might as well bring the seats in and wash the covers. Not such an awful chore unless you own the Graco Nautilus like we do. Since the seat works with a five point harness and as a high back booster and finally as a no back booster there are three separate parts to the seat cover. And when I take them off and wash them then I forget how they go back on there! Emrick's seat, on the other hand, is a piece of pie. I love her seat, besides the fact that the buckles get twisted rather easily. Oh, and the knobs to adjust the straps digs into the seat on the car something fierce. She is still rear facing and will remain that way until she's at least 2 years old or, if she will let me, until she is 35 pounds. That is actually the whole reason we bought seat protectors. Because of her seat. Anyhow, at Toys'R'Us all the Take Along Thomas trains are 40% off right now so Jacob got to pick one out. He was really excited. Then when we paid I found out that the seat protectors were also on sale. Nothing amazing, but $3 off each. So it was kind of a fun trip to the toy store today! Emrick has no new blisters today, which is exciting. And I am hoping she is almost done with this hand foot and mouth thing. Jacob hasn't had any blisters show up so I am also hoping that he is not going to break out. Tomorrow is Friday and that's always fun. I am looking forward to the weekend and thinking healthy, happy thoughts!

And then there's this...

Well, the van is fixed. Burger and I picked it up yesterday when he got off work. Thanks Mom, for watching the kids! Burger went in and talked to them and they paid for the whole repair. So the van is ours, now officially. So today I decided to give the kids a tub before work and when I was drying Emrick off and getting her dressed I noticed some blisters between her toes. Huge blisters that looked realy sore and uncomfortable. After a visit to the doctor this afternoon, it's official, she has hand foot and mouth disease. Sounds really scary but it's justa viral thing that kids commonly get. It's kind of like chicken pox, you only get it once and usually adults don't get it. There isn't anything to make it better faser, you just have to wait and give Motrin. When new sores stop showing up, then she is better enough fo me to take back to the Y. Until then we will be haning out at home. Crossing our fingers that Jacob doesn't catch it, but it sounds like the chances are slim.

Sigh

Well, we went out Saturday to look at vans and ended up buying one. New to us is a 2003 Chevy Venture with not quite 84,000 miles. Leather all around and heated seats in the front. A DVD player for Jacob, with headphones. All the bells and whistles you could want. We drove it home and moved in. Then later that evening we drove it to the grocery store and the 'check engine soon' light popped on. We stopped at the dealer but they had just closed and told us to come back Monday (today.) Today I called and set up an appointment with their service department then called the dealer we bought the van from. He was unable to answer his phone so I left a message asking him to call me back. An hour later he hadn't called me back so I called him and told him the situation and he said he would talk to me when I got there for the service appointment. But when I got there, he was no where to be found. I talked to his sales partner instead and when they found out the catalytic converter was the problem he told me that the warranty on the van doesn't cover that. Then he offered that they would pay half the $250 bill. I called Burger and my dad and they both said that if I like the van to pay and have it fixed instead of returning it. I do like the van so it is in being repaired right now. Whether the van turns out to be a good choice or not, I will say that I am not impressed with Community Motors in Cedar Falls and will not be buying from them again.