Meal Planning Monday

Let me preface all of this by saying that I plan on doing this every week so that I can look back and get menu ideas without having to look through the magazines and to remember what we liked and didn't like.  I also plan on updating this throughout the week, if it is a new recipe, to comment what we liked and/or added. 

This is a typical week for us. I plan 4 dinner meals and we wing it or JJ cooks on Friday-Sunday. I put JJ on the Fast Diet the middle of January and started cooking healthier for all us so most to the meals I cook are under 600 calories. JJ has done great on this diet and lost 12 pounds the first month. We both ate a little less healthy while he was in Germany so this is the week we are starting back on the healthy routine. 

Meals for the week of March 22, 2014

Kicking BBQ Chicken Quesadilla Found in Cooking Light Magazine April 2014 (Healthy)
We made this Monday night and it was DELICIOUS and only 383 calories for 1 quesadilla! I actually added smashed butternut squash to the quesadillas to get some vegetable in there. The flavor of the squash really complimented the barbecue sauce and cilantro.   Both kids ate the heck out of this and H asked for seconds and licked his plate clean. It was easy, delicious and all in one little package you could eat with your hands so we will be making this more often. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers - Moms recipe
We had this on Wednesday night and as usual is a big hit. I like it because everything is all in one little bell pepper. You have your mean, rice, cheese and the bell pepper is a vegetable and tastes delicious when eaten all together.

Pork Tenderloin & Cannelloni Bean found in Cooking Light Magazine April 2014 (Healthy)

I served this with a side of red potatoes and green beans for a little bit more vegetable and sustenance. This was good. The kids & JJ loved it. For some reason there was a bitter after-flavor to me but nothing that would keep me from making this again. 

Carne Guisada (Latin Beef Stew) Skinnytaste.com (Healthy) 

The perfect winters day

Today was a day I had waited for for over 15 months. The weather is unseasonably warm (high is 81) and Florida's Snow (what I affectionally call Pollen in the winter) made a thin yellow blanket on top of everything. And the Keitzers could be found outside!  

I was on one of our adarondack chairs reading a book while the kids played. Together. That's right. Not only were we enjoying the warm winters day with enough breeze to be comfortable but H & A were playing together in the backyard. 

A is finally old enough to walk around so I am not freaking out about her crawling in dirt but she is still young enough to think everything her brother does is amazing and worthy to copy. H loves having someone to boss around but is kind enough to choose activities that A can play along with. 

 

One moment I hope to never forget is the two of them spinning in circles laughing. H looks at me with a smile and said "I spin in circles with my sister!" This is the very first time he has called her his sister and it made me feel like we were finally a family. I needed H to acknowledge the relationship to make it complete. 

Day 15

I pre-ordered the movie Frozen last night. Since we aren't ready to take the kids to a movie, I figured this would be a good way to see it. That and everyone I have talked to has said that this is the best Disney movie in about a decade in a half, and that is from parents. A lot of people LOVE it so I thought that it would be good for us to have on hand. I also figured it was time to start buying movies that that kids would like; not just old ones that we love. Mom wants to see it too so maybe we have a movie watching party for the kids. 

I almost bought Hungry Hungry Hippos at Target today. I remember when we had family game night growing up and I thought that it might be fun for us to start with H.  The game is for ages 4+ so I figured I would give it a few more months before we get it. 

I am so ready for you to be home. You will probably be almost home by the time you are reading this. 2 weeks is too long. 

We stayed at dinner with Mom and Dad until about 7:30. I came home and immediately put the kids to bed. H slept until 7 and A slept until 8. It was pretty great! I made H lay in bed with me until 7:30 watching a show to kinda keep the noise down so A could sleep longer. 

I spent the day cleaning the house for you. I am pretty sure this is the cleanest the house has been since we moved in. Pretty much the only thing that I didn't clean was the blinds. I want the house to be clean when you get home. I have decided that I want to hire some cleaners to come in and deep clean the house about once a year. I think that would be awesome. 

I switched out the toy box for the kids and they seriously spent the morning quietly playing with the toys. It was gloriously amazing. 

While cleaning the kitchen I decided that we should put open shelves on either side of the window in the kitchen. I think that it would create more storage and a place to put any serving dishes or fun stuff that we got from Henny. 



H slept for about an hour during nap time today. Once we was awake, he stood at his door and talked to himself very loudly. Here are some things that he said:
"She loves to party!"
"What is your name? What is your name, NiNi?"
"Uncle, Uncle, Uncle Kevin. Are you going too, Uncle Kevin?"
I would love to know what was going on inside this kids head. 

H & A were/are very excited to spend the night with NiNi & Poppa. This morning H announced that NiNi & Poppa are going to see him tomorrow. I let him know that they would see him tonight and they were going to spend the night over there. At this announcement, A grabbed her shoes and brought them over to me. I tried to tell her that it wasn't time to go yet. She started screaming and went and stood at the garage door saying "Please." Kinda broke my heart. 

I dropped the kids off with Mom & Dad at 5 and came home to finish cleaning the house to get ready for you. I think that you are currently in the air on your way to Jacksonville. 

Can't wait to see you!

Day 14

Today was a good day. The kids woke me up promptly at 6:30.  We hung out until it was time to take H to school. 

Since Mom's group was cancelled, Sarah & I met for breakfast at Panera. I have not been to Panera in a long time. I have a caramel latte and an asiago cheese bagel. DELICIOUS! A & EB were great while there. They really didn't look at each other too much in the first 20 minutes but after that they copied everything the other person did. Sarah & I decided that if the weather is nice next week we are going to get the kids together for a water playdate in their backyard. 

After breakfast, A & I went to Target. I got some nude heels because I realized all my heels are wintery and I need something to wear to Mallory & Tylers wedding. I also got a storage bin for H's clothes so we can get them out of our room! Get excited :) I also had to get some more cereal because H is going through it like crazy. 

We had some time between Target and picking H up so I headed home. The whole time I was putting H's clothes into the storage bin, A layed on the ground reaching under our bed. She finally pulled out the Doc McStuffin case that I thought I had thrown away. It wasn't broken or anything; it had just gotten lost under our bed. When H got home he was so excited to see it. He spent the whole time before quiet time letting me know that it wasn't broken and that A had found it.  Pretty cute. 

Darby has finally started to sleep on that soft thing your dad got her. It is on the floor by the brown chair and the sun hits that area during quiet time so that is her favorite place to spend quiet time. A did not wake up well after quiet time. She only slept about an hour and was all kinds of cranky when she woke up. 

I was reading my blogs and found out that the Veronica Mars movie opened this weekend. That is something that we ARE going to see in the movie theater! I am super pumped about the thought of Veronica Mars, a coke ICEE and popcorn! HOLLA!!!

Dinner with Mom & Dad was good. The kids were great and loved seeing Mom & Dad. M & D are going to have the kids spend the night tomorrow night so that they can actually get some sleep while I go to pick you up.  

I picked up my Cuckoo clock while I was there but still have not been able to find the plates that Henny gave me.  I know that I would not throw them out but I have no idea where they are! Mom is going to help me look in the attic some time this week during spring break. 

Nina sent me a text tonight asking me if you were in Germany. This is the first I have heard from her in 16 months. Did you put anything on Facebook?  She is going to be in the states for about a month and a half for work and Kristens wedding so we are going to get together. I actually miss her and can't wait to see her.  

So... that's all that I have for today. 27 hours from now I will get to pick you up! I love you and I hope that you were able to get a good nights sleep. 

Day 13

H did not sleep well last night. He woke up 3 times and would cry... all before 11 pm. So, I didn't get to sleep until around midnight. The one good thing is that he woke up from his cold and would go right back to sleep as soon as I would go in and turn on Hootie. The last time that I went in, he looked at me and said "I yove you mom." That was really nice to be the last thing that I heard from him.  I think  tonight I am going to put a big book under the mattress near his pillow to help with drainage. I am sure that he woke up because he was stuffed up. 

I forgot to tell you yesterday that I ordered Mallory & Tylers wedding present. I realized that their wedding is not that far away so I had it shipped directly to their house. 

I am glad that you had a good day. It makes me feel better knowing that you are getting stuff done and being successful. 

A has started walking up the step in our house without using any assistance (chair, table, etc). I think that is a big deal. Even H noted it to me and clapped his hands and yelled "Yay Anns". Sometimes that kid can be so sweet. 

A is getting smarter and smarter. She really is communicating well. She was cuddling in my lap and pointed to my water. 
A: Mamas
Me: Yep. That's mine
A: Mamas (pointing to the water again). 
Me: Yes. That is Mama's water. Do you want water?
A: Nods yes
Me: Do you want me to get you some water?
A: Nods yes and says "Wawa".

I don't know why but that amazes me.  She is just such a talker. 

H has not been nice to her today. He does not want to play with her and she is trying so hard to play with him. The electricity was off all morning (not sure why since since it wasn't raining). H decided to play with his legos. I am all for it since he hasn't played with them in a while. He made a train and was working construction with the Legos. A tried to join in by adding a man and bringing in a car and he grabbed the man from her hand and tossed it to the other side of the room. I was furious! 1) you don't throw toys around, 2) she was trying to play with him and he was being a raccoon. 

I kinda feel bad for H. To survive, I have made a few new rules that I think are rocking his world and might be a bit much all at once. I have started the "If you ask about watching a show, the answer is no" and "if there is something on the ground and you step on it, I automatically take it away for a day". The kids loves to step on stuff just to step on stuff. Just because something is on the ground does not mean that you have to step on it. I am tired of it, so I am taking away his toys when he steps on them and they aren't supposed to be stepped on.  I have also started doing chores. I still have not printed out the chore chart but every morning we make his bed, put his clothes in the dirty clothes hamper and tidy up his room and he gets to put a coin in his dinosaur bank. I tried to call it a piggy bank but he quickly corrected me to let me know that it was a dinosaur not a pig. 

My clothes from The Limited came. I want your opinion on a few of them. I like them but I am not sure if you will like them. 

H did not nap today. Instead he played in his room and kept calling me to tell me that Hootie isn't glowing. I had to remind him that Hootie isn't glowing because quiet time isn't over. 

Poor guy must have grown over the night. The poor guy fell more times than I could count. It was almost annoying. Not almost, it was really annoying. Every time I turned around he was crying because he fell. 

A cracks me up. After we talked to you we played for a little bit and then I announced we were going to get some dinner for me. A literally  did her happy feet dance and yelled "Yay Yay Yay!" That girl gets excited about food of every kind. 

Here are some pictures of her having a tea party:

H went right to bed tonight. He brought the whole bucket of legos in to play with and didn't even play with them at all. Very surprising since he was been staying up to play with his toys.  He must have been VERY tired. Maybe that is why he was crying a lot today. 

 Small group is cancelled tomorrow. Lynn is out of town with her daughter. I am bummed about that but it will be nice to be at home for a little bit and get stuff done before H has spring break next week. 

I love you and can't wait to see you in about 48 hours.

Day 12

Only a couple more days until you come home! H & A both woke up around 6:45 which was a nice little break for me. That extra 15 minutes was great. I was finally able to fall asleep without taking a Tylenol PM. 

I am really sorry that you had a lot of work, and stressful work today. What you are doing sounds insane intense and I can understand that you would be worried your calculations were incorrect since there is millions of dollars on the line. I know that you will make the right decision and there is no shame in asking someone else for their opinion before you make a final decision. 

I love that H woke up today and announced "I love Daddy!" It was really cute because we weren't talking about you at all. Clearly you were on his mind. The kids are going to be crazy excited to see you Sunday morning. You will not be able to get them off of you. 

Today was pretty normal. Nothing really crazy happened. I think that A is getting some molars in and that H has a cold. Both kids have runny noses both H sounds legitimately stopped up. Poor A must not be sleeping well because she is constantly rubbing her eyes and the second she gets in the car, she gets all glassy-eyed and zones out. She also kinda looks awful. I feel so bad for her. 

The kids discovered the "treasure" from H's birthday while Uncle Kevin & you dad were over. It has been 3 days now and both kids love to wear the necklaces around the house. A is demanding to wear them everywhere!

H came home with a Shamrock today.  He has been talking about it since Monday and was very upset that it didn't come home with him on Monday. It is a cute little shamrock and he was so excited about it that I wanted to put it up immediately.  It is actually pretty cute and doesn't look crazy bad up in our living room but I think that I will move it to him room in the next few days. 

After quiet time we called Gma to make sure that she was home and then packed up and headed over there. We were there for about an hour and a half. She looked good and was up and moving around. The kids loved her tiaras and magnifying glasses. 

H told her all about our trip to the beach and a restaurant. It was really cute. Gma was very glad that we were spending time with your dad. She thinks that it is very good for him.  While I was there, Margeaux and Traci called to wish Gma a happy birthday. Both were very surprised to hear that you were in Germany. Clearly there is not a lot of communication between the Keitzers and the Blacks right now. It made me feel good that we had gone to visit her since no one else was today. Aunt Sheila & Uncle Jimmy are taking her out to dinner. If they weren't, I was going to order pizza for all of us but I am glad that she is getting a nice dinner for her birthday. We will have to try to see her next week.  H & A came home with some cranberry juice and Cheddar flavored rice cakes which H calls "Cheetos". Where he learned the name Cheetos I have no idea but both kids loved those rice cakes. It cracks me up the Gma always sends H home with some kind of food.  The kids had a great time and it was really good to see Gma since I didn't get to see her at E-street. 

We love you and miss you! I can't wait to see you. Only 3 more days until I see you! I hope that Thursday is better than Wednesday for you. 

PS: I just had cereal for dinner after the kids went to bed. It was amazing until every time the spoon hit the bowl and made a "clink", H would start whining and crying. I waited until I finished to ask him what was wrong and he asked me if I was going to eat ALL the cereal. Your son was seriously crying in his room because he thought I was eating all the cereal.   That kid is crazy!

Day 11

Darby is back to scratching herself constantly. On Sunday I am going to have to get something to spray in the back yard. Every time she comes in from going to the bathroom I find a flea on her. I know I am not finding all of them because she keeps biting herself. I put Frontline stuff on her on Sunday but I am thinking that it might be expired because it doesn't seem to have done anything for the fleas. I can't bath her every day to try to get the fleas off.  I got a notice from the Vet that she is due some shots so maybe I will take her in next week and see what new flea medicine they recommend.  Her medicine isn't doing much good when she is getting flea bites all the time. I just feel so bad for her and don't know what to do about it right now. 

H woke up right at 6:30 and did his "Ding Ding" thing at the door until I quietly told him he could leave the room. It always cracks me up when he imitates a a doorbell to leave his room. Where did he come up with that. A woke up at 7, which was nice to get stuff together with just one kid. H asked about watching a show this morning so, my answer was no since he asked about it. He waited a few minutes and quietly whispered again about watching a show. I reminded him of my rule and told him No. He handled it well and he and A played until it was time to go to nursery. 

Both kids were really excited to go to nursery. It cracks me up how excited they about going places. Yoga was really good; much better than last week. It was very calming and relaxing. I didn't want to go and almost sat in the parking lot and read a book while the kids were in nursery but I made myself go and I am very glad that I did. Sarah wasn't at yoga again today because she had to register Audrey for kindergarten. Blows my mind that she is going to be starting kindergarten in August. 

After yoga H asked for a taco for lunch. He has been really good while you were gone so I thought I would treat him to Taco Bell for lunch. We watched Dora the Explorer while we ate lunch. He watched it last time we were at Casey & Sarah's and is now obsessed with it. I think Dora was a mistake because when it was time to go for quiet time he freaked out! He would not stop asking about watching Dora after quiet time. I reminded him of my rule and told him to make a good decision during quiet time and we will see if he can. Well, he ended up whining and crying himself to sleep because he wanted to watch Dora. That kid and his TV. I don't know what to do about it!

I have had a hard time falling asleep at night. I didn't want to nap today so that I can sleep tonight. So, after lunch I had one of your leftover Doubleshot Espresso from like 2 Christmas' ago. It really woke me up and I was not tempted to nap during Quiet Time. 

After the kids woke up we went outside to use the water table. (This you know). This is the first time that A really used the water table and she had a great time once we watched how H was playing. 

They both had a great time. We played outside for about an hour and a half and then headed in for dinner. The kids had corn dogs with carrots & apples and I had a frozen Thai dinner. Interesting fact: A is not adverse to a curry sauce. She constantly begged for some of my food even after she had a bite. 

After dinner things kinda went downhill. H became very bossy and whinny. Not very, EXTREMELY. He went to the time out chair twice and finally at 6:15 I announced that he was going to bed early because clearly he was tired and/or needed some alone time. He flipped out and was so upset that he couldn't even get his underwear off to go to the bathroom. I finally told him that if he didn't go to the bathroom and undress for bed that he would go to bed in his underwear and I would strip the sheets off the bed. So, that got him to straighten up. We read 3 books and then I left. He didn't cry or anything; which really surprised me. 

So, that was my day. I am very ready for you to be home. I keep thinking that things are getting easier and they are in a way but when H freaks out, he has started really freaking out. It is weird going to bed at 8 when I am not trying to escape you... just kidding. 

I love you and can't wait to see you on Sunday night... just kidding. I know you are coming home on Saturday. I am just on fire right now. I wish we were skying so that you could see me laughing at my own jokes.   I love you and miss you. 

PS: They are just started playing the Charlie Brown music on Arrested Development. I can't get away from that music!

Day 10

So, you know how I have been wanting to get A a forward facing car seat. Well, I looked back today and her poor legs were all scrunched up. That is when I had the genius thought. Why not take the the car seat that we don't like out of the X-terra and put it in the Pathfinder until we decide if/what car seat we want to get. I know; genius right! A loved it. When I first backed out of the driveway, she just sat there and giggled. It was the cutest thing. I don't remember H being this excited about it but then he was 4-5 months younger. 

After we picked H up from school we came home and had lunch. Then it was Quiet Time. Both kids went down for a nap really well and slept for an hour and a half. As soon as they woke up we went outside to play. It was such a beautiful day and I did not want to hear H whine about the TV so I figured that was a good solution. 

The kids loved playing outside and put down a blanket and laid in the shade while listening to a NPR podcast. It was a very nice afternoon. 

About 30 minutes after we got out there, your dad & Kevin showed up. Both kids were very shy around Kevin, understandably. H warmed up to him sooner but he probably remembers him. A was a little shy but soon she was flirting with Kevin. They kids had a great time playing with him. He was very eager to play with them. H told Kevin all about the stuff from his party and found his gold, which he called "Golden." He had Kevin all around the yard playing with the swords and searching for his buried Golden. 

It was really good to see Kevin. He has gained like 40 pounds and looked good. It was good to talk to him and just know that he was completely normal. I didn't ask him much or your dad, but I heard your dad tell Kristin that Ron thought he was in a great state of mind and had an idea of a good home for Kevin to go to. I think they are going to look into it tomorrow.  I know that Kevin really looks forward to seeing you. 

So, that was pretty much our day. Pretty boring but it was great to see Kevin. 

Love you very much!!!

Day 9

Every time the time changes in the spring I have hopes that the kids will sleep later. No such luck today. I woke up at 6:45 the new time which is 5:45 in her head. I made her stay in bed until 7:15 new time. Is that bad? H came out around then so I figured I had to get her up. I really wanted her to sleep in because I just could not fall asleep last night. 

I have really taken a liking to Arrested Development. It is so quirky weird but cracks me up. I think that you would like it too.

I ordered a new marriage certificate. I need a certified marriage certificate for the passport and the only thing that I could find was the marriage application. I have no idea where our marriage license is. I couldn't even find a scanned copy of it. It was only $12 to get 2 certified copies mailed to me. I figured I would get an extra one in case I don't get the other returned from the passport office. It really bothers me that I can't find the license. I know that we had one at some point because I used it to get my drivers license. I rarely misplace things so when I do it REALLY bothers me (as you know). 

I am glad that you got to see the sites around Berlin. I can't wait to hear about the Holocaust museum. (Sadly I just had to spell check museum. Either my brain is not working yet or I am an awful speller... I will let you pick which one).  I can only imagine what it was like to see all of that. I can understand how Checkpoint Charlie wouldn't really mean anything to you. It is just a site where people went in and out of. From what I understand, nothing really horrific happened there other than families being separated but that isn't really anything that would move us. 

A did not nap this morning. I put her down after the kids bath. I am wondering if she is cutting out her morning nap or if she was cold because I only put her down in her diaper. These are the things I get to ponder on while you are gone. Riveting aren't they. 

Church was good. The kids were adorable, of course. The message was on the lines of Lent and things that you shouldn't do during Lent. The message today was "Going at it alone". Jenn Arnold did the sermon and it was really good. 

After nap we immediately ate snack and went to meet your dad at the beach. The weather was great. It was warm but not hot and the beach was busy but not crowded. It was great. H took to the sand as soon as we put the stuff down. He did not like walking on the sand with his shoes so as son as he could take them off, he loved it. A, on the other hand, did not like the sand at first. She freaked out that there was sand on her feet and sat in your dads lap for the first 15-20 minutes. Any time you asked her if she wanted to get down and play she would try to climb higher in your fathers lap. 

After A had watched me play in the sand with H, she finally decided she would try out the sand. After that, the kids played in the sand for an hour and a half! It was crazy! I never expected them to be so entertained. We will definitely have to do it again because it was really relaxing. 

Around about 5 I asked the kids if they wanted to go see the ocean. I carried A and H walked with me. It was all well and good until the first wave came. It would have been fine if it had been a normal wave but this was a pretty decent wave. He was knocked down and then the water took the sand from under his feet. It did not sit well with him. So, the beach ended rather quickly and we changed and headed to dinner. 

Your dad was completely in his element. He was so excited to show off his grandkids to his friends. He actually waved people down in the parking lot to look  at the kids before we left. It was pretty cool.  Dinner was good and of course the kids were charmers but we didn't leave until about 6:45 so they were really tired and went straight to bed. I should have given them a bath after the beach but I will just give them one tomorrow morning. 

I enjoyed the time with your dad. It was nice to spend time with him without you there. It feels a little more comfortable between us now. After dinner the other night and tonight, it doesn't feel like you HAVE to be there. 

I asked your dad the plan for tomorrow. Evidently Kev gets released from jail at 12:01 tonight but your dad isn't picking him up until around 9 am. He told Kev that if they won't let him hang out in his cell until he get there that he could try the park across the sleep and see if he can sleep on a bench. Kinda test out what it would be like to be homeless so he can make a really informed decision about whether he wants to do drugs again or not.  They will probably swing by here between Quiet Time and dinner. 

I am excited to see your brother. Both H & A were really upset that we had to leave Grandpa so I let them know that he would be coming over tomorrow with Uncle Kev. I told H that Uncle Kev had been on a trip for a long time so I was excited to see him. H tells me that he doesn't like Uncle Kev. I am really worried that he is going to say that in front of Kevin tomorrow. I will flip my lid on him if he does. That is the last thing your brother needs to hear. 

I am so glad you got home earlier than expected. Only 6 more days until you are home!

I love you and can't wait to see you!

Day 8

The time is going to change tonight and I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, I loose an hour of sleep; on the other hand, the kids might sleep until 7:30 instead of 6:30 and we will be able to take walks after dinner since it will be so much lighter. 

I forgot to tell you that I told mom about Sarah telling H she didn't love him. Mom  told me not to worry too much about it. She said that Preston's mom has been making a really big deal and going around all the time talking about how Preston is "in love" with Sarah. She has Preston wear his Superman cape to school and will talk about how the "S" is for Sarah. Evidently this has freaked Sarah out hardcore. So much so that her mom has requested that Sarah not be in Prestons class next year! So, Nicole (Sarah's mom) had a talk with Sarah and told her that if anyone says I love you it is very ok to tell them that you don't love them. So, since we talk about love so much I think that H said it to Sarah and she just said what her mom told her to. I do think that Sarah likes H and doesn't hate him and was just doing what name her feel comfortable not anything meanly. That made me feel better.

Also, I think that A really misses you. Last night she actually tried to jump for joy when Poppa came in and would not let him go. She actually cried when he tried to leave the room one time. She is missing having a man in her life. 

The kids woke up at 6:30 on the dot. I was hoping that they would wake up a little later since they didn't get to bed until about 7:30 but no such luck. We watched Bob the Builder while eating breakfast and H went around the house all morning singing Bob The Builder. It was awesome.

We played around the house until A woke up from her morning nap. Her morning naps seem to be getting a little shorter so maybe she is cutting them out. While A napped, H & I played in his room. We put together his puzzles and he was pretty good at it. Not great since he is a 3 year old, but way better than I expected. I really enjoyed just being quiet and putting puzzles together with him.  He actually asked me to buy some more which I think I will do since he is a good activity for his brain development and quiet. 

While A was sleeping Sarah text me to say that Casey had decided to forgo his free pass and hang out with his family. I had kinda hoped that he would do that since he hadn't really seen his family all week. I am very glad that he choose to do that. I think that it speaks volumes of how far he & Sarah have come that a) she was willing to let him have a day off after working so hard and b) that he wanted to hang out with his family instead of having time to himself. 

Since the playdate was off, I decided to take the kids to the park. Both kids were crazy excited. While I was getting everything pack A saw her snack pack and turned to me and said "Please Mama". She is 16 months old and just put 2 words together! I was really excited for her and how far she has come language wise. 

Mom and Dad met us at the park which turned out to be a really good thing because A was very cautious about being at the park with a bunch of kids she didn't know so I had to stay by her until Mom & Dad arrived. 

The park was great! The weather was fantastic and there really weren't a lot of kids around. A went down the slide with NiNi a few times and would say "WEEE" everytime she went down. We went out to the dock and got to watch a couple of boats cast off which H thought was fantastic. The boats would make bubbles while in the water and A just sat there saying "Hi Bubbles"! Another 2 word sentence! I tried to get a video of it. You might need to turn up your volume to hear it but it is so cute. 

While at the park we ran into Dr. Weaver (my old orthodontist). I asked him about A's lip tie. He said to wait to take her to the Orthodontist until she is at least 8. He said by then she should have lost most if not all of her baby teeth. He confirmed what I had read about the procedure causing scar tissue that would make it hard to decrease the gap. He said that once all the adult teeth come in they should actually close most of the gap on their own and THEN we see if we need to cut it. I feel better having spoken with a Dr about it but I hate thinking of her growing up with that big gap. 

Since you have been gone H has taken to napping on the floor. Not really sure what the correlation is for him but he will not nap on his bed. Also, today is the first day that he has cried at either nap or bed time which I am rather enjoying. It is nice to have him just accept that it is bed time and play until he is tired. 

So, I spent $93 dollars at Publix when I went in for 4 things. They had BOGO frozen soft pretzels. Since I have been craving Auntie Annes pretzels, I figured I would try them. I got regular salted and a sweet box. Hopefully they will be good because I will be sad if they don't. I got lunch meat and cheese for myself to make sandwiches. I am very tired to fast food so hopefully I will be able to make myself eat it. I also got some shampoo that mom recommended. It had better be good because the shampoo and conditioner together were $45. Luckily, with how much I wash my hair, that will last like 3 years. I also got some stuff for dinners this week so I shouldn't have to go back to the store or get fast food this week too many times. 

Was A shaking her head "Yes" when you left? If not, it is hilarious to see. She leans her head back and then very emphatically drops it down but in slow motion. It took me the longest time to figure out what she was doing when she did it. Makes me smile every time. 

After Publix, we went in the back yard to play and pull some more weeds since the weather was so nice. I really think that is where Darby is getting her fleas. Almost every time she comes in from outside I find a flea on her. I know that Julington Creek Pest Control sprays for them but I think you and I should also spray a couple of times, if we can, to help get rid of them. Her medicine isn't going to do any good if she gets new fleas every day. :(

We had leftover pizza from Sanitionis for dinner tonight. I actually really enjoyed it leftover. H is loving it because we have now had pizza for dinner 3 nights in a row. I am glad that we are going out to dinner with your dad tomorrow so it won't be 4 nights in a row. 

Kristin is not coming to town. Puppy is still not doing well. Evidently they made yesterday a very good day for him. All his favorite human food, afternoon in the park and Adam & Mary came over to play with him last night. Since she isn't coming down, your dad asked that we come after church for some play on the beach and early dinner at Cafe 11. I really think that he wants some grandkids time before he has to start watching 24/7. H seems really excited about it so that will be fun. 

Talking to you on G-mail Chat today was good for my soul. I felt like we were text messaging like we normally do. It also felt like it was when we were both working. It made you seem just a little closer for that hour. I am very glad that we got to do it. This time, 7 days from now, you will be almost home. I think that has been really good for me. I haven't really had to parent alone yet or had a chance to miss you. This just solidifies, for me, how much in love with you I really am. I don't go a minute without thinking about you. (Darby is licking the tears off my face as a write this. That is good because I am no longer sad; instead I am kinda grossed out that I am letting her lick the tears off my face.)  

I love you dearly and hope that you have a great day in Berlin tomorrow. I will probably be with your dad at Cafe 11 tomorrow when you call so I will make sure that I have skype open on my phone.