me:  "Trey, what are you doing?"
Trey: "Trying to play whac-a-mole on Abby!"

Yep, that's my life. 

I suck at blogging.

No, really.  I SUCK AT BLOGGING.  Things were going well there for a year or so and then I got a life.  Well, I didn't get a life, more like life got me.  It just seems that the days pass by so slowly but bedtime is always here before I know it.  Weird.  The kids are endlessly funny, sassy, cute, rotten and all things in between.  I have oodles of pictures to post but alas, I am pretty sure I won't get to it soon.  I mean, I'd like to think I will but let's not hold our breath here okay?!  If by chance pictures do get posted that will just be a bonus.

But, the kids are growing up SO fast that I thought I'd share a tiny nugget of a story lest I forget it one day when I'm old, like really old, like can't remember where I parked the car old....teehee...just kidding mom, I know you're about the only one who reads this :)

So I needed to run to the store today and it has become apparent that when the kids nap they stay up later.  Not so convenient when I have to get up at 4 am everyday.  I made the executive decision that we would take a trip to the store and not do naps.  When I informed Abby of my grand plan she threw a huge fit about wanting to eat her lunch (PB sammy and "healthy" cookies, of course) before we went.  I said that they could eat their cookies in the car or at the store and we'd have lunch when we got home.  That did NOT go over well.  She yelled at me that 'I never feed her lunch.  She's starving and she'll never get lunch again', oh lordy.  Kicking and screaming she went up the stairs, while getting dressed, down the stairs, while going potty and into the car.  Yikes.  I then asked her if she wanted to be the "Official List Holder" and boom, we were all smiles again.  Point - Mom.

At the store we got a cart with a cup holder...ooooh, so exciting.  Abby spent more time putting her cup in and taking it out than actually drinking anything.  At least she was happy right?  Trey drank his mighty fast and then proceeded to try and throw any remaining droplets onto his sister.  Abby was not happy.  We went to the toy section, Abby was happy again.  We did not get any toys, Abby not happy.  Feeling bipolar yet??  

After the toy section it was time to get serious and get our groceries.  Abby was absolutely a riot as she was trying to be so grown up, telling me what was on the list, what we had coupons for, what flavors of yogurt she and Buddy like, etc.  We were going down the cereal aisle and I asked her if she wanted more brown sugar PopTarts since they were on sale.  She said "No.  Well, they are on sale.  I think we need them."  threw one in the cart and then put one hand on her hip, tapped her lips with her other index finger for a minute, grabbed another box and said "Yep, pretty sure we're gonna need two".  OH MY, she kills me!  I didn't want to laugh since she was so serious but I was giggling on the inside for sure! 

And an extra bonus, the kids both got new sheet sets (Tangled for Abs and Transformers for Bud) and SO DID I!!  I got a $90 set for $21.  Nice!

We also measured the kids the other night, Abby has grown an inch since October and Trey has grown 3.5 inches since the end of March.  No wonder their pants all finally fit!

Silly sayings and kid updates

The kids have been cracking me up lately with some of their funny sayings.  Abby sings along to most songs in the car now.  It's amazing how much she can remember and how fast she learns songs.  I think that she's singing the right words but now and then she sings loud enough that I can clearly hear her.  And the other day she was singing along to Paparazzi by Lady Gaga and instead of "paparazzi"  she belts out "Papa Frosting".   How funny is that.  I kinda like it.

She's also on a health food kick now.  Somewhere along the way she has gotten into her mind that junkfood will make her sick and die if she eats it.  Now I'm all for promoting healthy eating but not when she's afraid of DYING if she eats it.  Before she has a bite of anything now she asks 2 questions; "Is it healthy?" and "will it make me feel better?"   Ooookaaayy.  I've decided that she gets honest answers (mostly, she does think chicken nuggets and french fries are healthy!) and hopefully if we don't make a big deal out of it she'll eventually get over her fear.  I mean, she won't even eat 1 M&M without serious coaxing.  I guess there are worse things she could be concerned about.  Along with the food thing she is always asking me to "check her head"..."is it hot, warm, or cold"  I finally got it through her brain that when I say it's "normal" that she is fine.  She's a nut.

Trey is my funny, funny, funny little guy.  He is getting quite an imagination now and says so many outlandish/crazy/hilarious things that I really need to start writing them down as he says them.  He loves his new Batcave toy he got for Christmas and played with it for half an hour the other night, chattering non-stop the whole time.  He loves making things fight and die.............I'm sensing a theme with my kids.  What is that about??!!  His new favorite thing too is HOT CHOCOLATE!  I couldn't get either of them to try it hot forever.  They have both been cold milk drinkers but Trey decided that since Mommy gets hot coffee sometimes that he wanted his hot too.  Now they both love it that way!  I don't know why I'm so excited by this but it just delights me for some reason.  

We did have an awesome Christmas morning here and a celebration the weekend before at my mom's but I haven't gotten around to uploading all the pics yet so check back tomorrow!!

latest cake!

We had my mother-in-law's surprise birthday party last night. 

I offered to make the cake for it and here's how it turned out! 

Trey is my handy helper in the kitchen.  He loves to bake, cook, clean and all that.  So I let him "help" make some of the flowers. He just melts my heart!

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho

It's back to full time I go!  Starting on the 23rd of this month I will be back to a full-time position at the coffee shop.  I'll be M-F 4:45-12.  An opportunity came up and I was pretty confident that if I didn't take it, I wouldn't be offered it again.  And I really couldn't pass up the chance to add a heft chunk to the family money pot.  So, even though I will miss the two weekday mornings I get with my babies I know that I'm doing something that will provide us with more opportunities and the chance to do more things.  Wish me luck!

Catch-up

So apparently I"m not a goer or a doer or a blogger!  Oh well, here's the latest Gardner business. 

We went real Trick-or-Treating this year, Abby was all about it.  She kept asking if she was the best trick-or-treater ever.  Of course she was!  She was a bumblebee and Trey was a monkey this year.  I have one picture I think (lame, right?) but it's on my phone and no matter how many times Jerry explains how to get them from the phone to the computer I just don't remember how.  Oops.  So use your imaginations.

We went to Disney on Ice in November.  We went last year with just Abby but decided that Trey was old enough to go with us this year.  It was unbelievable!  All the princesses/princes plus Toy Story characters and many others.  It was such a huge hit with the kids, I hope they have another show in Everett next year.

We did Thanksgiving dinner at Jerry's parents' house on Thursday and then drove to Bremerton that Saturday to celebrate with my family.  Both events were super fun!  Abby and Sophia are now at the age where they just run off to play and when I went to check on them I was informed that I should GO AWAY!  And so it begins that I'm not wanted when friends are around!

Jerry did most of our Xmas shopping on Wed and Thurs nights of Thanksgiving.  I love it since I'm not much of a shopper!  We have a few more items to get but now it's mostly wrapping and decorating that I have to do...the fun stuff if you ask me!  And Jerry is working a  24-hour shift on Christmas Eve and won't be home until 9:30-ish so it's up to me to keep the kiddos upstairs until he gets home - should be interesting!

We went to Woolley's tree lighting/parade Saturday night and that was fun.  It's a short parade and the SW Fire Truck is always by far the best decorated thing in the parade...all thanks to my bro-in-law Glen.

What happens when Abby and Luca do boy makeovers!

High Tea in the Gardner house

I am not...

a go-er.  Or a do-er.  I don't like having a lot on my agenda or having to be places frequently.  Work, errands, picking up Abby and going to volleyball.  That pretty much sums up the extent to my weeks.  I don't like to have organized time at home.  I like to just see how the day goes.  I don't spend all day doing chores and cleaning stuff.  I like to hang out with my kids and just do whatever suits them for the most part.  Given the choice between going somewhere with my kids and staying home with them I will choose staying at home over 90% of the time.

However, Jerry and I did get a babysitter (Taylor!!  Our favorite girl!) on Saturday night and go to the SWFD Boot the Burn auction/dance.  A few drinks in and I was having a great time.  There were tons of people, some good friends of ours included, and the auction was a huge success!  I managed to not be slurring my words and keep all my clothes on so Jerry said I wasn't embarrassing to him :)  That last line makes me giggle.

And I did take the kids down to the house of one of my besties for a playdate last night.  She has twins and our kids all get along super well.  The boys played swords, guns and video games upstairs and us girls had "girl time" downstairs.  It was super relaxing which is good because this is a long week for us!!  And in case you were wondering, hanging out with Ranelle and the twins falls into the 10% of times I like taking the kids somewhere.  Cheers to great friends.