bits and pieces

This past weekend we headed to Dorr on Saturday to celebrate Tony and Mom Burgess' birthdays. Us girls headed to Holland to hit up TJMaxx and Old Navy with all the kids and had lunch at Russ'. Later in the day headed to my new favorite store, Aldi's to get a few things. If you do not shop here, you need to! For a family especially with kids, you save a ton. Milk is only $1.79, cereal under $2 (made by post), and cheap produce. I can stock my pantry for around $70! We then headed back to the parents' house for some pizza and cake then headed home. We are thankful for our good riders, Kels slept both ways and they both slept the way back. It's a relaxing hour and fifteen minute drive for Jason and I. Sunday we laid low at home which we always enjoy.

Spring break is just around the corner for Jason and he's hoping to get a lot done around the house indoors and out. Jason's dad is helping out again next Tuesday and Wednesday so us girls have decided to book a hotel and head to Canton, MI to shop IKEA! I am so excited since we need so much for our house. I know I won't buy a ton because I will be so overwhelmed and I am so indecisive. But I hope to get some things including, window treatments, rug for the dining room, and decorations. Macey is excited because she just got a new bathing suit from TJMaxx ($7.99, not bad) and some new swimmies for the pool at the hotel. We can't wait!

I do have to explain some pictures below. Macey has this thing she does. Around 5pm every night she gets a huge burst of energy and feels the need to exercise. For the most part, Macey is a pretty calm, quiet child, so I laugh when this happens. I don't tell her it's almost 5, on her own, she says, "Time to exercise!' or just starts running. She will run around the kitchen table for about 30 minutes straight. Lately she thinks her new flip flops are her exercising shoes and needs those on as well. Sometimes I am encouraged to join in as well does Kelsey. She might be our track star or cross country runner someday???

Kelsey- "op! op!" (help)

Macey- "I'll help her with the necklace"

Kelsey- "Op! Op!"

Macey- "I'll help her!!!"

Loving her puzzles.

Loving her daddy's shoes.

Exercising at 5pm.

"Cheese"

Too loud????

"It's okay Sister."

"Come on Sister smile!"

Favorite place to read books.

Blessings

Elizabeth recently did a post on little blessings from the day. It has inspired me to look at all the small things in the day that make me smile or feel blessed. Here are my small blessings from today so far.....

I didn't have to get out of bed until 7am.

When I went to look in the pantry and fridge for breakfast ideas, they were BOTH fully stocked from a trip to Aldi's and Walmart the night before.

A new curtain that I got from Walmart on clearance last night for $5 looks great in Macey's room!

The sun was out and there was NO wind! A good day for a walk with some friends :)

Macey came up to me after her lunch and said, "I'm ready to take a nap and happily went right to sleep."

Kelsey is still napping and it's been over 3 hours......

Somehow I was excited to clean my floors today. I finally stocked back up on Swiffer wet jet cleaner, and now our house smells clean and looks clean. Always a nice feeling.

It's Friday!!!!!!!

I had new coffee creamer to use in my coffee, always an exciting treat!

I got in a full episode of Baby Story while laying on the couch for a rest.

Well now I should figure out what I will make for dinner- I have 3 new recipes and all the ingredients in my house, now that's a blessing!

just for fun

Here are some random pictures from the day.

She has "stinker" written all over her face.

She's debating if she should stand up

even though I've been telling her, "no."

A snuggie has many uses.

Fun times.

I love how Kels is kicking her legs in the

background trying to catch her "di-der."

Dad comes up with crazy ideas.

Obsessed with her wipes.

They keep her busy for quite some time.

Fun to blow your nose with,

clean tables with, and to chew on :)

taste of summer

I recently got the new Food & Family magazine and have been trying out some new recipes. I have been asked to take pictures of my new recipes so here one is. It was super easy and had a good balance of tartness and sweetness!

Lemonade Cheesecake Pie

1 pkg cream cheese

1/2 C thawed frozen lemonade concentrate

1 tub (8oz) Cool Whip, thawed

1 graham pie crust

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2 tbsp. sugar

Beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy.

Gradually add concentrate, beaitng well after each addition.

Whisk in 2 C Cool Whip. Spoon into crust.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

Toss berries with sugar.

Pipe or spoon remaining Cool Whip around edge

of pie just before serving. Top with berry mixture.

ps. It tastes really good after a day of working in the yard and McDonalds dinner :)

Happy Birthday Grandma!

A glimpse of spring

So I've been sick since last Friday (sore throat & fever, now no voice, cough and head cold) and Macey has a cough again. Jason took yesterday off from work to take care of the girls so I could stay in bed and rest for most of the day. I had more of a voice today and thanks to some cold medication I felt up to heading outside. It was such a nice day and just wish this weather would stay around. Mace had the most fun outside, digging in the dirt, walking through piles of leaves, raking, sweeping, and just doing whatever. It will be nice when Kelsey can fully walk to explore the outdoors. She's a little hesitant about crawling everywhere, plus our yard is still a mess. We have a lot of work ahead of us! Macey's last words before going to sleep were, "I had a lot of fun playing outside today."

And the total is....

$41.88 !!!!!!!

I cannot believe HOW close Aunt Carol's

2nd guess was to the actual total.

I feel like she should win a prize!

Also, here is Kels today in her new 47 cent hat, taking some steps!

Can you tell she loves it? She will hand it to me and ask, "Help?"

DEALS DEALS DEALS

So Elizabeth and I took our girls shopping last night to the outlets in Fremont, IN. We were planning on getting new summer clothes for them, but instead came home with stuff for right now or next fall/winter. We couldn't pass up the deals. After some other bargain shopping I've done in the past, I think I'm all set with Macey's fall/winter wardrobe for next year already. It's a nice feeling! I got only a few things for Kelsey since I know I always have bins to search through downstairs with something that should fit her. After I got home and showed Jason my deals, he kept saying, "poor poor Kels." I guess we'll have to go back! :)

Any guesses as to how much I spent TOTAL on everything on this table?

lazy rainy day

Yesterday it was a rainy day so we took advantage of being lazy.

Kelsey at 1 year of age

Why we love our Roosey Roo:

*Nicknames- Roo, Roosey Roo, Kelseroo, Kels, and Roosey.

*Stubborn eater! She LOVES breads, pastas, peas, grapes and mandarin oranges. Anything

else, I have to find ways to hide it in something or have no other foods in sight to get her to eat

a bite or two.

*has two bottom teeth and two top teeth.

*sleeps 7pm-7am, will take one or two naps during the day.

*loves to try to talk. Will say "up" for up, "ba" for ball, "duh ah" for dora, "di der" for sister, "baa

paa" for backpack, "pur" for purse, etc.

*loves dogs and ducks.

*will NOT leave socks on.

*will sit to watch Milo and Otis for a good 30 minutes straight.

*loves her baby dolls.

*loves to give kisses. I call her my lovey girl.

*can empty a container of wipes in no time.

*has fallen in love with her white blankie and her thumb.

*is a Mommy's girl right now.

*hates her face wiped.

*shakes her head "no" to answer almost any question.

*gets excited easily and kicks her legs like crazy.

*loves to brush her teeth.

*has taken 4 steps as of yesterday on her own.

*loves looking at pictures.

*would rather play with than drink from a sippy cup.

*had her first full bottle of whole milk today.

*makes this silly scrunched up face to make us laugh.

*she has "stinker" written all over her face.

*has been sick way too much her first year of life- double ear infections, pnemonia, croup twice,

urinary tract infection, and strep.

*loves music and dances to any beat.

*loves to climb and get into mischief.

*she makes us laugh all day long.

Macey at 3 years of age

I write this blog to remember what my Macey was like at 3 years of age. These first few years fly by way too fast and since I am terrible at taking videos or recording stuff in my girls' record books, I am using my blog to capture as much of theirs lives as possible so I can look back and remember these days.....

All about the 3 year old we love:

*concerned
*questions EVERYTHING
*asks for a snack all day long
*loves crafts
*loves books

*cautious
*watches Playhouse Disney in the morning (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Imagination Movers
are her favorites currently)
*loves yogurt
*hates washing her hands
*still needs her pink blankie
*eating is usually a fight unless it's called a snack
*loves games- she can beat me in Memory
*enjoys her sleep, many times she will say, "I'm tired, time for bed."
*sensitive
*would rather follow than lead
*observant- notices if I have a new pair of socks on or if I'm using a new can of hairspray.
*great memory- remembers where and when the last time she's wears an outfit.
*potty training was easy with her at age 2 1/2
*sharing is not a strength at this time. She will hide whatever she doesn't want her sister or
friends to play with under pillows.
*curious and nosey- wants to know what everyone is doing and why.
*loves to help in the kitchen-setting table, unloading dishwasher, making dinner or baking.

*loves cuddletime at night before bed with mom or dad.

*her nicknames include- Menamoo, Mace, and Sister.

doctor's report

Macey's 3 yr report

Weight: 29 lbs 4 oz. (35th percentile)

Height: 38.5 inches (80th percentile)

Besides a pink left ear from her cold, Macey is a healthy 3 yr old. She started off not wanting to even stand on the scale to get weighed, but after much bribing and convincing it wasn't so bad, she quickly got on and off. From then on, she was good to go. She talked in a whisper voice to her doctor as he asked her to count, name colors, or follow his directions. For those that know Macey, she can be quite shy at first and has not always been a huge fan of her doctor so this was HUGE for her :) She is proving to me that she is growing up and I am so proud of her!

ps. Her Doctor told her to make sure she eats good (I told him how she's a light eater) so in the car today she wanted some candy and I told her no. Her response was, "But remember Mom, my doctor told me to eat good."

Kelsey's 1 yr report

Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz (25th percentile)

Height: 31 inches (96th percentile)

Our Kelsey Lynn was more than willing to step on the scale. She stood all by herself on the big girl scale and was quite excited about it. She loved her doctor and was very curious about it all. She didn't mind being examined and laid/sat quite still for everything. Then it came time for the shots. She laid so peacefully and had no clue of what was to come, then she jumped and her face turned so bright red and screamed. Not fun. She was happy to get two stickers for being good, but was glad to get out of there!

Let the parties begin!

We had a birthday party with Jason's family at our house on Saturday for both girls. Macey picked out the blue/purple Hawaiian theme for this party. (The Dora themed party is at Dad's house this coming Wednesday night) Kelsey had a bad cold the day of the party and Macey was just starting hers so the timing wasn't great, but they still had fun. Macey's in love with her new Dora scooter and Kelsey can fly with her new walker/scooter. In the last week, Kels has decided that walking might be kinda fun after all and can take one step and can stand for quite awhile on her own. It's just a matter of time. I hope I'm ready for this! We were dissapointed that Kelsey was not interested in the cake one bit. Jason tried making her taste it and smearing some on her face, but she kept shaking her head no and signing "all done". Not sure if was due to being sick or if she's not a big sweets girl. Mace of course dug right in before we even sang, she's in love with her sweets, that's for sure! By the end of the party Grandma had both girls asleep in her lap in the rocker. Enjoy the pictures! There's a lot :)

Birthday girls with dad.

Pouring the purple punch.
The helmet is a hit so far. She even wore it out today for a ride in the car.

Kelsey thinking she needs to try it too.

Notice the frosting.

Not wanting any frosting.

Here we all are :)

Macey looking on thinking,

"Well if she doesn't eat it, that's more for me!"

Hmm.....

I said, "All done!"

Ready to go.

Go Kelsey Go!

One out.

Two out.

I just liked this picture because it's so Macey.

It was right after she woke up in the rocker.