The explorer.

Kaylee's pet turtle, Sheldon hadn't seen anything but the inside of his tank until the other day.

She was outside playing and decided to take him with.
After she let him loose he 'slowly' moved around munching on the grass and weeds as he ran into them.

I wish I would have got a picture of her laying on the ground beside him the entire time.
[This girl of mine and her love for animals and all other four-legged creatures.] It's the cutest thing.

Operation: Side-yard.

After a year of buying our house we have finally started work on our yard.
It has been a designated area for weeds, and brush for the past 12 months [and recently a nice little dirt track for the kids to ride their quad on] but now it is getting it's makeover.

It is a huge private area that will be perfect for entertaining and we are super excited.
Plans for a pretty deck, horse-shoe pit, trampoline, and swing-set, are now in the works.

Of course me (the so-called photographer) did not take a before picture - just like when we remodled the entire house. (Lee just shook his head.)
Yep, he loves me and my forgetfulness.

Anyhoo, it won't be totally completed until next summer [crazy, how the cost of yardwork can add up so quickly - totally shocked me] but, I will post an after picture. Promise.
(...and maybe, just maybe some 'progress' pictures as we go along.)

It's going to be nice to have it look like a normal yard.
It's been quite an eye-sore for wayyyy too long.

The freckle face.

I have always tried to find features on Kaylee that might somehow 'link' us.
I have even found myself browsing my old baby books to see if I looked anything like her when I was younger and sadly, I haven't been able to come up with anything.
It might sound a little crazy but it actually does make me a little sad that my daughter looks nothing like me.

She's tall, I was short.
She's a blonde, I had darker hair.
She has dimples, I had chubby cheeks.

I have been told that Layton resembles me quite a few times and I can actually see it when I look at a picture of us together.
The kid was blessed with my nose and we have the same cheek bones.
But, Kaylee? Nada.

With this being said, I discovered something the other day when she hopped out of the pool.
The sun was shining perfectly on her cute little face and that's when I saw them... FRECKLES.
I litterally grabbed her by the cheeks to get a better look.
I couldn't believe it. My child had freckles.
[Who would have thought that something like this could actually make me so thrilled?]

Inside I was screaming 'Yay!! She has freckles just like I did at her age' but, when I pointed them out to her she just sighed and said: "Yeah, I've been noticing those."

I remember how I felt about mine when I was younger and it was pretty much the same as her.
I hated them.

But, as a mom who has been trying for 10 years to find something, anything that would make me feel like I actually passed on something from me to her - this discovery totally made my day (and quite possibly my entire year!)

Testing the waters.

We have recently become members of Northview Terrace Swim Club.
Yeah, we thought it was probably time to stop 'mooching' off of the Rose Family and just join ourselves.

Kaylee signed up for the swim team and she started her conditioning earlier in the week.
I have noticed a change in her already. She's more tired and way hungrier than usual.
She's learning that it's a lot of work to swim over 30 laps in an hour everyday.
Now, honestly - I would DIE. But she loves it and is excited for the season.

Oh, and tonight? Even though it was only 62 degrees out?
They begged me to take them for a swim and only because I am such an AWESOME Mom - I took them.
They swam until their teeth were chattering and their lips were blue.

Now, we just need the SUN to come out and stick around...
You hear that Oregon? We are waiting. [Um, we have been for awhile now.]

Preconceptions.

Any of us that are parents have had this happen at least once -  most likely more than that.

Whether it be a friend, a family member, or a stranger in line at the grocery store.
People always have their own oppinions of how we should raise or diciplne our own children.

Now, let me say this: I have no problem with suggestions or advice from a source that means well by it, but my absolute biggest complaint is when someone approaches me with a bad attitude about what I should be doing differently.

It hasn't happened to me often, but I remember when Kaylee was a toddler.
She absolutely hated the stroller and the shopping cart, but anytime I let her down - she'd RUN.
After a few times of chasing her through the mall I thought - screw this!
The next time I was at Wal-Mart, I purchased a harness for her and I will never forget the first time I used it.

We were at the mall and this middle-aged woman kept looking our way. She finally got up the nerve to approach me and said: "Um, you are treating your daughter like she is an animal keeping her on a leash like that. I don't have children but that is just wrong." [KEY WORDS in this sentence: Don't have children.]

I replied: "Well, it beats her getting abducted or hit by a car in my oppinion" and smiled. (While cursing her out in my mind of course.)
She just scoffed and walked off.

I find it funny how people can judge us on how we bring up our kids when they don't even have kids of their own.

Parenthood is one of those things that you have no clue about until you are slapped in the face with it.
There is absolutely no way to prepare yourself for it. I have learned this [and am continually reminded of it] as my kids grow and change.

Before I became a Mom I thought that I had it all figured out in my mind. um...WRONG.

After reading THIS? I couldn't help but laugh.

That was so me back then.
It's funny how time and kids can really change our outlook on life.

It NEVER fails.

It seems to be getting harder and harder for me to drag my butt out of bed in the mornings when the kids have school. Sometimes, I even hit the snooze button more than 4 times and after I finally get up - it takes me at least an hour to actually wake up.

Weekends though? Oh, that's different. It's like clock-work. I am WIDE awake at 7:30... ALWAYS.
While the kids sleep in, and Lee falls asleep next to me, I just lay there. Tossing and turning. I usually just give up and get up after fighting it for 30 minutes. It drives me crazy.

Let's hope that this summer my body will stop playing tricks on me, because I am looking sooo forward to sleeping until 11AM everyday if I choose to.

Lazy - you say? That's right.
Be jealous.

Their full bellies are thanking me.

I am always looking for new recipes to try.
With two kids [who get burnt out on stuff quickly] I am always on the hunt.

I usually try a new one every week or so. But lately, nothing that I have made has been good enough to make twice.

Earlier this week I tried a casserole that was a spin-off of a philly-steak sandwich.
It looked interesting but I went for it anyway.
Lee and I liked it. But, the kids? Yeah, not so much.

Tonight though... I made: this.

Let me just say that it was a total HIT. Even the kid that refuses to eat avacados - had seconds.

Now, I did change it up (just a little) taking out the roasted peppers and adding sour cream.
But, otherwise, I followed the exact recipe.

If you like tacos, and turkey... then try it.
It was MMM. MMM. GOOD.