It's SUMMERTIME!!!

Like many, Memorial Day is the start of summer. This year it was a bit bittersweet considering the place I grew up spending my summers was blown away from a tornado last Sunday evening. I have debated blogging about this loss all week, but after spending the weekend at Ryan's parent's lakehouse the guilt of knowing others were spending their weekend cleaning up situations such as the picture below ate at me and I couldnt help but mention it:

(My parents place at the lake)

I feel horrible that this had to happen. Although I have to admit I havent been down there much in years, I honestly was just thinking this summer that Nora would be old enough to send down with my parents alone. Now because of good ol mother nature that will not be happening. I have no doubt that with the clan that "lives" down there it wont be long before it is all back to normal, but it will never be the same. It is really sad to see so many peoples YEARS of hard work gone with just one swift blow of wind.

On another note, tornado or not, as far as I am concerned it is now SUMMER and I am ONE HAPPY GIRL. I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some hot weather, a swimsuit (though I have to admit I liked this one a little more pre kiddos) and a body of water (be it a pool or a lake). Thankfully so does this girl:

Which is a good thing considering I dont think she has a choice =0)

California Vacation Part Three

After spending the day Saturday in Newport Beach we headed on down to San Diego. We went to Old Town for dinner and then headed back to our hotel. The next morning we woke up and headed to the USS Midway Museum in the morning and then headed to Coronado Beach in the afternoon. We ventured to the Gaslight District for dinner (which I would NOT recommend going to with children) and then headed back to our hotel. I have to be honest in saying that I was a little bit dissapointed in San Diego when we first arrived, but after having discovered Coronado, I was thankful we made the jaunt there. Coronado was BEAUTIFUL. Needless to say, every gap we had to fill in our vacation was spent going there

(This is a picture of Nora on the USS Midway Flight Deck. This aircraft carrier was ENORMOUS).

The next day we woke up and headed to San Diego Zoo. I was excited to go and so was Nora. We saw all sorts of animals including the ONLY panda bears in the United States. Here are some pics from that part of our trip:

 The flamingos were Nora's favorite animal at the zoo. Why you might ask? "Because they sleep on one leg" Silly, silly girl!

Our last day there, we got up and after a quick stop by Sprinkles for some cupcakes we headed to an aquarium to kill some time before we had to head back to Kansas. The aquarium was neat, but I would have rather been spending my time on the beach ;)

Overall our vacation was a blast. We all had a great time and we couldnt have asked for better kids. We truly are blessed to be able to do such fun things with our children. My hope is that this vacation is just one of many that they will remember when they are grown.

California Vacation Part Two

Friday Morning was a sad day. We woke up knowing we had to leave Disney. Thankfully the trip was nowhere near over. Instead we were heading for the beach. Those of you who know me well know that I am totally a summer loving hotter is better kinda girl so the thought of a beach with some sun was enough to make leaving Disney not so bad. Our first stop before heading to the beach that day, however, was IKEA. I know, I know... we went on vacation to California and we spent time shopping at IKEA... I have to be honest though... it is something I have always wanted to do, and besides the two year old who kept on asking where the beach was, I really did enjoy myself. I could honestly go back and spend an entire day in the store just looking. They had SO.MUCH.STUFF. After eating lunch at IKEA (yep they have a cafeteria) we loaded up and headed for our next desination: The Ritz Carlton on Dana Point. To say it was beautiful would be an understatement. It was fantastic. Upon arrival we immediately put our swimsuits on and headed for the sand. Of course, being the Pacific Ocean, the water was COLD, but we had a lot of fun playing  (or eating) in the sand. I tried my best to get good pics of the girls, but both were too busy to pay any attention to me trying to take their picture. Here's what I got though:

Needless to say, we had a good time... but all good things must come to an end... and when you stay someplace as nice as this, unfortunately it comes to an end all too soon.... No fears though... our vacation was not yet over... we were on to our next stop: San Diego!!!
Stay tuned for California Vacation Part Three!!!

California Vacation: Part One

Last week the Miller's headed off to sunny California for vacation. We had a WONDERFUL time. First stop was Disneyland. The girls had a GREAT time. We stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel and Nora LOVED the bears from Brother Bear that frequented our lobby. The conversation more often than not when we were there revolved around where the bears were. We spent two days going to both Disneyland and California Adventure Park. The first day we woke up early to eat breakfast with Minnie and Friends. Nora was super excited about this and even was lucky enough to get to dance holding Minnie's hand!

 After breakfast we hit the park. We went to Toon Town to meet Mickey

After having already met her favorite, Minnie, meeting Mickey wasn't as big of a hit as I thought it would be for Nora. Oh well.

After meeting Mickey we took off for the rides. The first ride Nora rode was the roller coaster in Toon Town. From having taken her to Zonkers in Olathe, I knew she would not be scared. Just as I suspected she had a BLAST. After that we rode ride after ride after ride. Nora begged to ride the "rockets",

the "elephants"

and the "horsies"

Reese liked the horsies too!!

The best thing about this part of the vacation was that the girls got to see their Aunt Molly. We were very thankful that she was able to come along and thus allow us to be able to take turns taking riding the rides!

THANKS Aunt Molly... you truly were a lifesaver!

Stay tuned for California Vacation Part Two

Were Preparing to Go Somewhere Fun....

and once again I am SOOO happy to be a Mama to girls so that I can make things like this for them to wear :0)

Wish us luck! Traveling with TWO kiddos on a 3 hour plane flight and staying in a hotel for several days just might take every bit of patience we've got!

Reese Milestones: Sitting!!

The little lady has finally stayed still long enough to sit! Yep thats right, Reese is sitting. She is also army crawling like a mad lady. She DOES NOT stay sitting long though, she is too curious to destroy play with anything and everything she can get her little hands on!!

Happy Mother's Day

BEFORE I WAS A MOTHER

Before I was a Mother -

I slept as late as I

wanted and never worried about how late I

got into bed. I brushed my

hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mother -

I cleaned my house each

day.

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or

not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about

immunizations.

Before I was a Mother -

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Spit on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of

my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mother -

I never held down a

screaming child So that doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary

eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously

happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours

at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mother -

I never held a sleeping

baby just because I didn't want to put

it down.

I never felt my heart

break into a million pieces when I

couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that

something so small could affect my life so

much.

I never knew that I could

love someone so much.

I never knew I would love

being a Mother.

 

Thank you to the two most wonderful girls ever for making me the Mama that I am. I am so blessed to have you in my life and couldn't have asked for anything more!

Eleanor Lee 8/8/08

Reese Kathleen 9/30/10

Somebody Stole My Baby...

and replaced it with this big girl:

This big girl has made some MAJOR strides lately. Although she cannot sit up, she can army crawl like a mad woman. She can also pull herself up to her knees, say dadadada, and EAT like nobody's business. She LOVES her food. Still hates her bottle and has a strong dislke for greenbeans and peas. This big girl is quickly losing her baby qualities. I feel like overnight she went from a floppy unhappy newborn to a baby who plays with her big sister, loves interacting with others and has a personality all her own. I have to say, I love this little lady more and more each day. Afterall, she is my little Reese-A-Roo =0)

The Best Surprise Ever...

You know what the best thing about being a parent is? You get to give your kids things that you only dreamed of having yourself when you were a kid. Don't get me wrong, I had a swingset growing up and we played on it A LOT, but back then I never, ever would have imagined that they would make something as cool as this:

Thankfully my girls have one awesome, skilled Daddy who loves them dearly! I know without a doubt I would have NEVER convinced my parents to get this doozy =0)

Stuck....

staring at the scale with the same number staring back at me. 148.4. Stuck at a weight I am not happy to be stuck at.
Amazed.... amazed at the fact that this number has not budged, not even up or down an ounce for nearly two weeks. TWO WEEKS. I feel like I am wasting time. Afterall summer is RIGHT around the corner. I really would LOVE to be at my goal weight by then... however, I am starting to realize that is not likely to happen.
Happy... happy because although I have not lost ONE ounce, I also have not gained ONE ounce. I guess I will just have to be happy about this... and read up on hitting a plateau, losing motivation and forcing myself into finding a way to somehow exercise with two young children, one of whom makes themselves sick when left with stangers....
Stay tuned, the rest of this journey just might be interesting!