School's Out!

 Summer vacation started yesterday!  School is out for summer, and we have a busy few weeks planned.  I thought I would finally update with a few pictures.  Baby E turned 15 months old yesterday.  Where has the time gone? AK is 7 1/2 now and growing like a weed.  We went to back to back birthday parties at the waterpark yesterday.  E loved it, although I couldn't get her to smile for any pictures.

I still hope to find time to update my blog more often.  Keep checking back for posts...if anyone is out there reading :)

Long time, no post

Wow, it's been a long time. I am wanting to get back to posting soon. Life has been crazy busy, but I think I am finally getting the swing of the two children, full time job, and full time grad student thing. Maybe. Be back soon with updates on our lives :)

Laundry Day

As soon as I finished getting these hung up, it started to sprinkle.

Luckily, it didn't last long.

Signs of Spring

It was 80+ degrees here today. I think we skipped spring and went right to summer! I'm not complaining though. I am happy to be able to take baby E outside and give her a change of scenery. I spent a good bit of time (for me) outside over the past few days, and I noticed all sorts of signs of life! My hydrangea is sprouting new leaves. The hostas are poking their tips out of the ground. The tulips have grown (and gone actually).

However, the most exciting things I saw were birds building in my birdhouses! I saw a tufted titmouse flying in and out of my bluebird house. Tuba noticed it too, but he didn't bother him (or her). Then today I saw that my wrens are back!! I like to think it's the same pair of wrens every year. They were very busy cleaning the old nest out of the birdhouse and replacing old stuff with new stuff. It's amazing to watch them fit long twigs into such a small hole. I look forward to watching them this season!

I also did a little bit of cooking today. I found and made this recipe for homemade granola bars a few weeks ago. They were very yummy, but got really hard after a day or so. That didn't stop me from eating the entire pan myself though! I decided to make them again, but this time I only cooked them for 23 minutes instead of 30. Oh.My.Goodness! They are extra tasty and chewy. Perfect! John liked them enough to take some to his coworkers :)

The granola bars will not be helping me get back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. Neither will the peanut butter filled pretzels that I inhale all day long! I bought the economy size at Sam's a few days ago. Not good.

Speaking of pregnancy. My baby is 7 weeks old today. Where has the time gone? I only have 2 more weeks of maternity leave left :( I don't know how I will ever be able to get up and get ready for work AND get there on time! It's usually 1:00 p.m. before I can ever seem to get in the shower these days! I better start practicing soon.

Fluff Addiction

I am addicted to fluff...and no, I'm not talking about the stuffing that Tuba keeps ripping out of my patio cushions. I'm talking about cloth diapers. Who would have known I would rather buy adorable cloth diapers instead of adorable clothes...for me :)

I am enjoying our cloth diapering journey. Washing diapers every other day is not as bad a I thought it might be. It's not too gross either. Yet. I'm not really looking forward to the day E starts eating solids, as that will change what lands in the diaper (if you know what I mean!)

I spend a lot of time on the Cloth Diapering board on BBC. I also spend a lot of time on various cloth diapering blogs. There I enter numerous giveaways hoping to win a free diaper, but it has not happened yet. Maybe one day soon...

Here is my cute little E's tushie all wrapped up in an adorable diaper :)

The De-Stuffer

This is what I saw when I looked out the window the other morning...

How did I feel? Very unhappy. That used to be the seat cushion to our outdoor loveseat.

See, we have been having a major de-stuffing issue around here.
And a hole digging issue.
And a barking issue.

The culprit?



It's a good thing he's so cute.
Stinker!
(you can see the remains of the towel he chewed up scattered around him)

Any advice???

She's here!

My sweet girl decided to make her appearance early!

Born February 19, 2011
6:14 p.m.
7 lbs 5 oz
20.5 in. long

We are all in love!

Especially her sister :)