Yum.....Spaghetti!

A few chuckles...

I was cleaning up the living room the other day when I realized it had gotten very quiet in my home...which is a signal for trouble! The kids had been playing with a glow-in-the-dark ball earlier and so I started searching closets for them. I found them in the pantry, although they had given up the ball for a huge bag of fruit loops. They were sitting there eating them by the handfuls. When I opened the door, they both looked up at me with sticky grins and Landon says "Mommy, you don't see me" which is code for: I don't want you watching me. So I shut the door to much giggling and they stayed in there for another 5 minutes or so before emerging with a sugar high.

As we were driving home from preschool the other day, Claire starts telling Landon about cows. "Those black and brown ones have chocolate in them for their milk, so when you milk them you get chocolate milk. You don't like chocolate milk, so you probably should only like white cows, because they are the ones with the milk you drink". This conversation was so matter-of-fact. And when I looked in the rear view mirror to see Landon's expression, he was nodding with a look of total astonishment on his face. Was the astonishment from the cow story or from Claire's knowledge: we'll never know!

Just A Regular Day

I love days like these...just regular things happening with no "appointments" or "dates", just preschool and playing. Claire did not want to leave preschool today, even threw a tiny fit. I think she missed it so much over spring break that now she never wants to leave. I guess I shouldn't complain...if she wants to stay in the halls of learning, then more power to her! Landon has been cranky today, but still refuses to take a nap! He would not get out of the truck today when I was picking Claire up; I'm talking crying and kicking. Well, I figured if he was going to be safe anywhere, it would be in a church parking lot, so I left him. Several moms were giggling as I met them in the parking lot, telling me he was "waving kindly" to everyone who walked by. Guess he just needed to be the greeter today. Besides this, we played: outside, inside, with new toys and old, paper and crayons, and even some glue. We snuggled and watched a little TV with a snack. Nothing extraordinary, nothing spectacular. But these are the things I love about days like this...just the ins and outs of life with kids. I wouldn't trade it for anything, for these are the things mommy's remember and I love that my kids give me the chance to have these things.

He Has Risen!

Beth and Sara came to Claire's party on Friday, and gave her some darling clothes and sunglasses, that will be the hit of the summer!

We had a wonderful Easter day in the Daniel home. First, the kiddos looked for their baskets that the Easter bunny hid for them. They each got some little toys and a chocolate bunny. This was fun and even Landon got into the spirit of looking for his "Mickey" basket. We went to church early for a pancake feed and egg hunt. Although it was a little chilly, there were a bunch of kids that hunted for all the eggs in the courtyard. Claire was very proper about the whole thing, but Landon was ruthless! He is all about "get 'er done". The church service was lovely, then we came home and rested before heading to our surrogate family/neighbor's house for Easter dinner. Ms. Beth outdid herself with all the fixings, and we all ate until we could eat no more. Then we got a little Wii played and visiting done before the night was over. It was a great holiday and start to spring. Thanks Scott, Beth and Sara for hosting us for dinner!

Some Family Time

Geoff's family came to visit at the end of last week. Ling, Lucy and Nana came on Wednesday. The kiddos play so well together, we hardly got anything else done! It was nice here most of the time, so outside activities were first on the docket. From riding bikes, to sliding, to swinging, it was all hail the out-of-doors! The kids all went to Gymboree class on Thursday. Landon and Lucy had lots of fun playing "house" and running around together, while Claire learned about music with Nana looking on. That evening, Papa and Hoopy arrived and we all went out to eat at Doe's. This was a treat for everyone! On Friday, we celebrated Claire's birthday. We made a cake and opened presents after lunch. Claire hit the jackpot, from clothes and bows, to Barbie's. In the mean time, the boys all played Wii and some intermittant Guitar Hero for the girls. The kiddos also enjoyed both video games in the evenings, for they were too busy doing everything else during the daylight hours. Saturday morning, the cousins colored eggs, and the men hid eggs for a hunt. My children had already played this game several times in the days leading up to this event, and Lucy had the chance the day before, so the initial excitement had sorta worn off. But they still had fun, all dressed up and hair blowing in the wind, looking for every last egg. Everyone was gone Saturday afternoon, and after tears of sadness, some AWESOME naps were taken by everyone. Overall, a great time with great people!

Baby!

Our neighbors across the street recently had a new baby, Will. Claire has been anxiously awaiting the time when we were all healthy enough to meet him. We played outside last week for awhile with the big brothers and Claire received an education about babies and their habits. This week, they stopped by our house to drop off a present for Claire. She got to hold Baby Will, and didn't let go until his Mommy said he was hungry.

Babies are something Claire has been talking alot about lately. Ling is due in June, and Claire has lots of questions about Baby Laney. "How does she look right now?", "Where does she get her food?", When can I feel her kick?", and the best one of all "When can I have a baby in my tummy?". Now after the heart attack, there was a short and simple explanation. But Claire walks around with a "baby" (stuffed animal) in her shirt and then miraculously gives "birth". I think Ling and Hoopy had an eye-opening experience during their visit this week when Lucy walked in with a stuffed princess dress and told them "I have a baby in my tummy, too!"

Boxes and Mail

It's been awhile, so I have lots to share...prepare yourself!

Claire and Landon both received boxes and cards this week due to Easter and birthday. The excitement that ensues is generally beyond belief! You'd think someone had delivered the answer to all of life's questions. Both kiddos enjoyed the anticipation of Mommy cutting open the tape on the boxes, rummaging through the packing, and finding what treasures are theirs to keep. They take turns opening the cards they receive, unless of course, they are addressed specifically to one of them. Claire received several in the last week for her birthday, and she nearly fainted a couple of times trying to get the envelope open and see who it was from!

We are now the proud owners of Wii. The few, the sore, the Wii-ers! The kiddos have had a BLAST playing the sports games. Claire is a bowler, I'm talking beats me every time, bowler. She does it sitting down, looking away from the screen, and between the legs...everytime hitting pins and making points. Landon enjoys bonking ("boxing" says Mommy, "yeah, bonking" says Landon). He is a hoot to watch "work the bag" and is becoming a pro. He also does this better than Mommy, along with swinging a bat. I've decided I will stick with Guitar Hero. (Lindsey is not lying, the kids know most of the words...even "Juicebox Hero" (Jukebox Hero)).

Claire's 5th Birthday Video - Remember to scroll down and turn off the music.

Time to Party!

Claire's birthday party was yesterday at her dance studio. We themed it High School Musical. 13 little ladies showed up, plus some siblings, so we had a full house! It was so much fun, though. The girls enjoyed tatoos, crafts, singing and dancing on a "stage", working the "dance mat", limbo, and of course cake and presents. They also played "who sings this song". The songs were all HSM, but I was very impressed how well these 4 and 5 year olds could play the game. The studio was the perfect place, for we had loud music and lots of space to run around (plus no clean up for me!!!). Overall, a success. And in Claire's words "the best birthday for turning 5, ever!"

Sob...

Just a quick update: I enrolled Claire in Kindergarten today. Now, getting past how early in the year it is, that we are STILL in a lottery even though I pre-enrolled online, and that it took nearly 5 hours and two trips (had to pick up kids at school inbetween) to get her enrolled...can you believe that by little blue-eyed, chubby, blond, curly-haired, fun-loving, sweet-talking, crazy smart baby girl is going to Kindergarten!?! If today had not been so crazy, I think I might have had a breakdown. Still might, the night is young! Claire is super excited, for she came with me the second time and got a quick tour. Mommy is excited too, accept it's hard to fathom her being ready to do this! Anyway, we love the school, we know quite a few people that attend there, and it's just a couple blocks away. Overall, it's a good thing.

PS Landon is feeling better, and so is mommy now that steriods are finished!!! He just came in from outside while helping daddy, and said "Mommy I freezing cold, please get me a coat!"

Joys of Childhood

The kiddos have been gourmet chefs this week, making cookies one day and cupcakes several days later. They enjoy measuring, mixing, cutting out, frosting and decorating their baked goods. They make quite the creations, but they generally always taste good! While we were decorating our cakes, Claire let out a little "toot". She looks over at me and says "I know I had SpaghettiO's and Meatballs for lunch, but that was definately not me". How innocent they are!!

Landon and I were drawing together, making various shapes, letters and objects. When I asked him to draw a circle he said "That's a Mommy job, you do it!". Speaking of Landon, my little man has croup. We knew something was wrong when we came back from Kansas, but we assumed it was a cold. But when the barking seal emerged several nights later, it was to the doctor we go! They prescribed him steroids, which make an interesting, already rambunctous two-year-old a little "unfriendly" (in the words of the dr). He does feel better, so I guess it's worth it!

Lastly, the picture is of my "dressed-up" children. Claire tends to change clothes several times a day, depending on her mood. Landon often follows suit, but usually only gets his pants off before becoming side-tracked. This time both of them were "stylin'" in the words of Claire and a "cool dude" in the words of Landon. Well, you can come up with your own conclusion!!

Interesting day

We're back and we're bloggin'! Well, we've had an "interesting" day today, not the "interesting" like my mom uses (haha gram) but just "interesting". Landon helped me wrap some birthday gifts for Claire. Later, I found him wrapping up one of his basketball's with the leftover paper and very long strips of tape. He was doing quite a job! When I asked him who the present was for, he answered "Jackson". He was very proud of his wrapping job and carried that "present" around for close to an hour. Later, I could hear Landon making some weird noises, and I said to Claire "I wondering what that little man is doing?" and Claire's answered (without skipping a beat) "Probably something he's not supposed to be doing!" And second later, when I left to go check on him, Claire chimes "Don't get too mad momma, he's just a baby." He was doing nothing bad, but the whole situation made me giggle.

We played outside, went to the library, played with our friends, and went to school in between. We had conversations about green, presidents, Ms Beth, popcorn and birds. Overall, an interesting day!

Snow day...again

So it snowed a couple inches last night, and therefore there was no school in the area today. Although the kiddos were a little bummed about not getting to go to school (we missed all last week), they enjoyed a romp in the snow. I love this picture...notice the shades!!! It was beautiful weather to play in the quick-melting snow, all of which is non-existant now. Anyway, here is one other quick funny you'd probably like to read:

Claire enjoys watching American Idol with us. As Simon Cowell is making one of his normal rude comments, Claire made a comment of her own: "The man that is taking has a rectangle head". It was the most hilarious observation!

Trip to Kansas

We left Friday morning for Pilsen, to the concern of bad roads. But these babies were not going to let that stop us! We had fun seeing Gram and Poppy. The kiddos played, baked, visited Grandma Svitak, took a trip to Hutchinson to see Uncky and Staci and had a hot dog roast after riding Barney (the pony). In between there was a little pampering, like pedicures by Gram. Both kiddos got in the action, although Landon ended up more wet than pampered!

We had a good time in Hutchinson having lunch, visiting an old train engine, and seeing a movie at the Cosmosphere. Well, Landon didn't really enjoy that like I'd hoped, but he was in awe of the rockets and planes in the museum. On our last night, we enjoyed an evening ride with Barney and a campfire with hot dogs and marshmallows. Landon actually did not balk at riding Barney this trip, but as soon as the fire was started he was a "big helper" to Uncky. Even though it became chilly as the sun went down, nobody noticed due to the good fun.

We left for Wichita and some good times with Nana and Papa. And of course, cousin Lucy. These kiddos played their hearts out! They spent some down time watching cartoons, but also enjoyed being "vets" to the broken bears. We also got to see Ling and Hoopy's new house, and Geoff even used a few tools with Papa to help make it feel more like home. We also played the Wii, at least when the kids would let us! They are some gamers if I've ever seen any!

While at Wichita, we also visited Drew, Shonna, MacKenzie and Conner Jones. These are good friends we miss dearly, Claire especially. MacKenzie and her are "very best friends", and are both budding princesses. Landon enjoyed Conner's company, playing cars and trains. We did lunch together before going to their house to play, and so Geoff and I were able to catch up on "adult" conversation also.

Overall, it was a super time, one which will not soon be forgotten. And now on to the more mundane things in life, such as cooking supper and cleaning up the messes made while putting this blog together! I love it!

Have you been wondering about us?

I know that I am WAY behind on the blog. We've been busy...getting ready to travel to Kansas, hanging out with all the family, and then trying to get things back to normal in Bentonville. I promise that if my children give me a break today, I will blog all the fabulous things we did in the last week and a half. We would like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who kept us entertained while we were in Kansas, because this was an especially fun trip. Yes, a long trip, but a fun trip! Here are a few giggles until my next chance...

Claire stated last night as she's getting ready to go to sleep..."Mom, why did Jesus have to hang on the cross?". Now, I've been staving off such questions with short, to-the-point answers, but last night, Claire was ready to chat about it. A lot. Now, what is the giggle in this situation you ask? The conversation turned from serious to: "Do you think I can change the color of my Barbie hair?".

Landon napped for three hours yesterday, which is a little unusual. So we had a few issues getting to sleep last night. He started in our bed, rolling around..."will you snip my nails?" ..."can I have more milk?"..."look at the race cars". I asked him he wanted to check on Claire, and afterwards he climbed into his own bed. Then..."I'm really pooped momma"..."will you sing Twinkle?"..."can't find blankey, BLANKEY!"..."I need daddy to lay here, you get him".