Our last free weekend for awhile...

We had a weekend full of not a lot. Nathan had been sick and took some allergy medicine that apparently he was allergic too, so not only was he still trying to stop sneezing and coughing but he got to add hives, swelling, and itching on top of that. Plus, it was mostly rainy and cold so it made for a good weekend of indoor activities. 

Saturday was spent playing games, watching movies, cleaning house, getting groceries, building legos, playing with super heroes, pillow fights and playing Candy Land.

My little shopping helpers!

Pillow fight!

Sunday the kids and I went to church and took my niece Alex with us - the kids love it when cousin Alex is with us. After lunch at Dixie Cafe (Noah had been begging to go there for a few days) the kids and I hit up the nature trail for some fresh air and sunshine. We walked all the way to McDonald's and rewarded ourselves with cookies :) 

This week holds t-ball practice, ballet pictures, haircuts, baseball practice, t-ball game, Noah's first game and Monster Trucks!

I guess it was a good thing we had a low key weekend, because we will have a ballgame or some other activity every weekend until July - lots of memories are about to be made! Plus, I booked our first beach vacation for this summer! I cannot wait to spend a few days here with my little family!

Ball, Eggs, & An Empty Tomb!

We are right in the middle of ball season and pretty much have a practice or game every night of the week - and I love it! Ryan had her first two ballgames last week and Noah started practicing. Nathan is coaching both teams so we are staying pretty busy. Ryan is doing great at t-ball and loving it - she likes to play in the dirt a little too much, but that is normal for a four year old. Daddy promised her a new doll if she tried her hardest and mostly stayed out of the dirt for a few games - so we will see how that goes. Noah is starting out a little more rough. This is his 4th year to play and at times he loves it and at times he could care less. This is his first year of pitching machine, so that is all new too. He gets bored playing in the field since the ball doesn't come to him often, so we are thinking of trying him at catcher to see if that is a good fit for him.

We always have dinner with Nathan's family on Wednesday nights. A few years ago we started hunting Easter eggs on the Wednesday before Easter. I love this tradition. There are only 3 kids so each kid gets to hunt a lot of eggs and not worry about having to hurry or miss out of anything. This year we did it at Spadra park and had a really good time.

Noah was out of school Friday and was begging to go to daycare with Ryan - he loves it there and Ryan loves it when Noah comes with her. So, I spent my kidless day by cashing in my Valentine massage from Nathan, grocery shopping and cleaning house all by myself - it was nice! That night Nathan and I got to have a date night! We went to Fox & Fork for dinner and then to see Fate of the Eight - the last Fast and Furious movie and it was better than I was thinking it would be, since sequels usually are not as good, but it was a good ending to the series. I love getting the chance to eat dinner without potty breaks and crayons and seeing a movie without sharing popcorn and saying "shhhhh" over and over :)

We had family pictures taken Saturday morning and then after a quick lunch inside McDonald's (the kids pick this week for  where we would eat we don't normally go inside) we headed to a first birthday party for our friend's son. As soon as we got there the kids saw the trampoline and just had to jump on it - we don't have one since our yard is not flat anywhere so they were so excited about it! The rest of the evening we hung out playing board games, video games and watched a movie together. Then it was off to bed so the Easter Bunny could come!

The Easter Bunny brought Noah a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy, mini lego set, movie and some chocolate. Ryan got a Moana doll, movie and candy. The kids elves dropped by to drop off a little Easter gift too :) We then went to church for Easter Bunny pictures and an awesome message! Then it was off to Grandmas house for the annual cousin egg hunt!

The rest of our Easter was spent on the four-wheeler, playing in the yard, and playing games. Another busy week full of a parent's meeting, ball practice, ball games, family dinner night, book fair, grandparent's day, and lots more!

Fun Run, Fun Movie, Sunday Funday

Friday night Nathan was busy working on race cars so the kids and I wen to Chili's and had movie night - two of our favorite things to do :)

Saturday morning we started out with a Fun Run for the kids. I had asked both kids if they wanted to run in a race and Noah was all about it but Ryan did not want to - she honestly wanted to stay home and sleep in, but Nathan was working so she had no choice but to come with us. Once we were on the way to the race she asked if she could race too - I had a feeling she would. She said she really wanted to race but wanted Noah to hold her hand the whole time. Noah said he would. I told him that if he did that he may not get a medal for placing since she will not finish as fast. He said he didn't mind and he would stay with her (proud mommy moment #1). Once the race started, all the kids took off, including Noah leaving Ryan behind. Ryan yelled "NOAH!" and he immediately stopped and came back and grabbed her hand (proud mommy moment #2). The race was only 1 mile, and I could not see them for most of it, but I was so happy to see them come out of the trees hand in hand and smiling, still together (proud mommy moment #3 - which almost made me cry). They each got a medal and were so excited!

Stretching :)

The kids and I had lots of errands to run after the race. Check the mail, go by my work, pick up all the Rhea Lana signs we put out and get groceries. By the time all that was done Nathan was done working so we got to meet for lunch. After lunch we went home and played in the yard, cleaned house and played games. The kids have been asking to go inside and eat at places we usually go to drive-thrus at. Last weekend it was KFC, this weekend it was Taco Bell. They seemed to be a little more excited than I was, but there big smiles over the little things made it more than worth it. After dinner we went to see the new Smurfs movie and it was much better than I was expecting. I watched Smurfs a little as a child, but don't remember much. This story was cute and had a great message.

We went to church Sunday morning - the message was SO good! Then lunch at Western Sizzlin, one of the kids favorites. Then we went home and played in the yard, rode the four-wheeler and Noah had his first attempt at hitting on the arm pitching machine. It will take some getting used to, and he was doing better by the end but it is a big change from the tee. We ended the night all sitting together watching Trolls - it was a nice ending to the weekend.

This is going to be a busy short week! Ryan has her first t-ball game today. Tomorrow Ryan has ballet while Noah had his first ball practice, followed by Ryan's second ball game followed by a board meeting at the County Club! Stillwell family egg hunt Wednesday. School pictures Thursday. No school on Good Friday so I have a massage scheduled and Nathan mentioned taking me on a date. This all leads up to Easter weekend full of family pictures and egg hunts! Love being busy with all this fun family stuff!

Movies, Shopping, & Dining Out Before Being Bugged :(

Nathan was gone last weekend to Tulsa to the drag races so the kids and I found some fun things to do while he was gone. Friday we went straight to the movies after Noah got out of school. We had been looking forward to seeing Boss Baby for months now and it was so cute! I love watching the kids belly laugh and of course asking if we can go see it again :) We then had dinner at one of our favorites - Dixie Cafe, before we went home and we all in our own beds watching our own movies by 9:00!

Saturday was one of my most favorite days that comes around twice a year - Rhea Lana Presale Day! Last week I loaded up about 200 of the kids clothes, shoes and toys and took them to consign. I work a few shifts at the sale so I get to shop early - which is so nice. I love getting a few hours to myself to shop for the kids and get some great deals! Since Nathan was out of town, I was thankful that my mother-in-law was able to keep the kids so I could go to the sale - they had a blast riding bikes and shopping with her. By the end of presale day I checked by account and I had already made over $300 just at the presale and have made another $100 since then. Prepping items for this sale can be a lot of work, but selling it all at once and getting to see that dollar amount rise over sale week is so rewarding.

All tagged and ready to go!

Loaded up to head to the sale!

Once I got back, we played with lots of toys including the new game we got called Toilet Trouble. Basically your roll the toilet paper and flush the little toilet however many times it says to, and if the toilet sprays you then you are out! The kids loved it - even though it was tap water, it was still squirting out of a little toilet so that was just weird! That evening the kids asked if we could have KFC for dinner (one of their favorites) but asked if we could eat inside instead of taking it home - it is the little things like this that excites them that cracks me up. So, we had dinner at KFC and they loved it. We followed that up with movie night at home and watched Sing! - well, I watched, the kids mostly danced through it :)

Someone got sprayed in the mouth!

I couldn't count how many times she said "ewww, that's yuck!"

Sunday we went to church and Daddy got home just in time to meet us for lunch. We went to Sumo and did a little shopping before heading home to get ready for our week.

At bedtime I saw Noah holding his stomach funny. I asked him if he was feeling ok and he said he just felt like he ate too much - which is something he has complained of before and been fine later. Monday morning when I got up at 5:30 I could hear him moving around so I went to check on him and he said his belly was hurting worse. He didn't have a fever, but it is testing week at his school so I didn't want to expose any of the other kids in case he was sick so I didn't send him to school. When Noah is sick like that I usually keep Ryan home too in case she has been exposed I don't want her to give it to her daycare. I am not very good at staying home, so Monday, before 10:00 a.m. I did 4 loads of laundry, did the dishes, cleaned the counters, dusted, cleaned the downstairs window sills and blinds. I got to go over to work for a little bit while Nathan took over for me at home thankfully. Noah was fine most of the day, ate normally and had no stomach issues. Then I fed him and Ryan supper before Ryan's t-ball practice and his stomach started hurting again So, Noah and I stayed home from practice. As I was putting him in the tub I noticed he had a rash on his stomach and then the threw up :( After he threw up he felt better but I didn't want to send him to school until he was 24 hour symptom free. While he was sleeping I checked on him - still no fever and his rash was gone.

A little fun with Ryan on our bonus days at home

He was fine all day Tuesday and ate normally - but I was feeding him bland things in case he had a weak stomach. I manged to clean and organize my bedroom, switch Ryan's closet from winter to summer, clean the shop up and donate stuff to a local donation center, and clean the upstairs windows and blinds - lots of things I had been needing to do but hadn't had a chance, so it wasn't all bad. That evening I took Ryan to ballet and Nathan let Noah eat some chips - which wasn't the best idea. He said they hurt his stomach a little, but by bedtime he was good again. He woke up this morning ready to go to school and feeling good. I still stuck with bland foods in smaller amounts just to be safe, but I am hoping he is over it and kept it to himself.

We have a busy end of this week with family dinner, working at Rhea Lanas, coaches meeting, Smurfs movie date, Little Mister duties, a fun run, drag races and whatever else we can find to do! So, here is to hoping for our normal busy routine and no more sickness!