Splish splash it's hot outside (and in)

So, we had to survive a few hours this afternoon/evening without air conditioning. It was only 100 degrees outside and got up to 86 degrees inside but alas, Nae and a friend from work were able to get it going a few hours ago (thankfully!!). To pass the time, and cool off a little bit, I filled the little plastic pool up after a dinner of Subway and the kids had the best time in there. That's the way it goes, one day they beg and beg to play in the water, I fill it up, and they play 20 minutes and are ready to come in. The next time, they'll play until I make them come inside; you just never know.

The little slide Mya is on provides lots of entertainment as they can pour water on it and go down fast splashing into the pool. It doesn't seem to matter that Gabe and Mya can sit at the top and their feet are already in the water.




On another note, the whole paci takeaway thing has been a total non issue. Alena hasn't cried for her paci even one time and if she does mention them then I'll just ask her what happened to her paci. She'll say, "They broken. I throw them in the trash." and that's it. I really can't believe it as I was all prepared for a battle at bedtime/naptime. Like I said, with kids you just never know...

We finally did it!

Well, today was the day - the day that Alena must give up her pacis. I know, I know it's terrible that she still had those things but the longer she had them the harder it was for me to want to take them away. There was just something so cute about her asking for a specific one at bed time. "No! I want pink paci!" and I loved the way she'd pop it out to tell me one last thing before she went to bed, and then promptly pop it back in, but alas all things must come to an end and this was way past the point of needing to end. I will honestly say, though that if we didn't have another "new baby"coming in just a few short weeks then I probably would have just let her keep it a while longer. I'm learning more and more that with children things that seem so important at the time just aren't later on. When she's 12 and I look back is it really going to matter if she had her paci at 2 or even at 3, probably not. I"m just going to look back and think how small she was. So, I had a little plan to cut the ends off the pacis and then give them to her like normal and let her be the one to throw them away. I'd read/heard they wouldn't take them with the ends cut and let me tell you , it worked. She put one in her mouth and immediately took it out and said, "It broken!" she wouldn't even put the other one in her mouth. I told her if they were broken she needed to throw them away and she went right to the trash can and did it. No problem with her going to sleep tonight, but we kept her up later than usual so she would be really tired. I know we probably have a couple long nights coming up but I feel like at least the hard part is over. So, she's potty trained, and the pacis are gone now we've got to work on getting her out of the crib and into a big bed...

It's H - O - T

Last year when we went to Dallas, the first thing that Gabe said when he stepped out of the car was, "It is H -O -T here!" He still calls Dallas the "Hot place." It has suddenly gotten pretty hot here this week too. Actually it's not the heat but the humidity that's a killer. When you step outside the air is so heavy it's hard to even breathe. For that reason all the outdoor play time unless it's early morning or late evening has involved some type of water. Today after they tired of playing in the plastic pool I pulled out an oldie but goodie - painting with water. This kept the kiddos happily occupied for a while trying to paint the whole porch before it dried.

Alena reminded me of Tom Sawyer white washing the fence.

The big 30

Today is my wonderful hubby's birthday and he turns 30! I'm sure 10 years ago he never dreamed that he'd be married with 4 (almost) kids by the time 30 came around, but here he is. He keeps our family on track, works incredibly hard, and makes life really fun. We all love him so much and want to say, "Happy, happy birthday, Nae (Daddy)!" We hope to celebrate 30 more with you.
I also have to show a picture of the note Gabe did for Nae. It just cracks me up and I told him Nae would have to take it to work so when he's having a bad day it'll make him smile. After all who can be upset when they're "the Master Dude!"

A little lake fun

We took our first trip of the year to the lake today and it was cold! The water actually felt warmer than the air. A cool wind was blowing and I was cold just sitting in the sand. We still managed to grill some hotdogs and have fun, though. Gabe was the only one brave enough to spend much time in the water but I'm sure by the end of the summer we'll be wishing for such a nice cool day.

I think this is a really cute picture, and also,am I the only one who thinks they look alike? Everyone tells me the girls look alike but when I look at Gabe and Mya I think their faces are very similar.

Bikes and Diapers

Sorry about the long delay in posting - all this traveling has gotten me off schedule but after our California trip and a quick trip to Dallas last weekend there will (hopefully) be no more flying for me for a long time. Nae, however has another trip coming up this weekend so it'll be off to VA for the kids and me for the week.

This is Alena's favorite way to ride a bike. She' s not really that interested in her tricycle, but calls this "My bike" and "My seat." Nae will often take her for a little spin while the other kids are riding their bikes in the street.
Here's her very concerned look again ,but she really does like riding even though you can't tell from the picture. She'll scream, "Weeee!" all the way down the hill.
And yes, I realize her helmet is way too big and not really doing any good. She insists on wearing it, though. She and Mya need helmets so that's on our list sometime in the near future.
Speaking of Mya, she also is doing really well with the no pedal bike riding. In fact, I can't believe how far she has come already. Mya is not usually my adventurous, try new things out child, but she's really taken to this and I think she'll be riding with pedals by the end of the summer. I highly recommend this way of learning to ride. Gabe went from never riding a bike to riding a two wheeler in just a few short months when he was 3 and Mya is well on her way as well.

Lastly,it's been a long time since I posted any of Nae's great money saving deals but this one was one of the best he's ever gotten. He stopped by Kroger on his way home from work today to get milk and noticed they had diapers on sale so he went back out tonight with coupons to see what he could get. Grand total: 3 packs of size 6 diapers and 7 packs of size 3 one of those a jumbo pack with 74 diapers, 2 boxes of wipes and 5 packs of batteries which they also had on sale all for $24 dollars. The really great news is that none of these diapers will be used for Alena because I decided to attempt potty training with her last week and in true Alena fashion she has gone all out and done really well. Way better than I expected - not only going to the potty but also telling me when she has to go which the other kids didn't do for a long time. We're so proud of her and glad that it looks like we won't have 2 in diapers at the same time (except for nighttime. I won't be attempting that any time soon.) The size 6 diapers we'll give to Will (who although a year younger that Alena is a good bit bigger) and the size 3s will put up for our new baby. It'll be so nice to pull those out when the time comes.