ohhh naptime~ addendum

I used to LOVE nap time. 2 - 3 hours all to myself, the house was quiet, girls were safe, read my Bible, take a short nap ~ not so much the case anymore. On Sunday, we came home from church, ate lunch and put the girls to bed. Ben and I took a nap too, typical Sunday, until at 4:00 LE walks in and had still not gone to sleep, and Bella was gleefully jumping in her bed too. Fast forward to every day this week, it is now 2:30 and they are both still awake. We did the water park and everything this a.m. knowing good and well it would wear them out and they would crash on the way home, nope! If I let them fall asleep now, they will sleep till past 5, which means no 7:30 bedtime, which means no quiet time tonight. They do sleep in the same room, it is the only option right now.

Today, when we got home from water park we changed into dry clothes and they both climbed in LE's bed. I gave them the benefit of the doubt for ohh about 30 seconds. I told them they had to close their eyes and go to sleep. They are in their own beds, but giggling and still talking!

It is now 4:10, brought the girls in my room at 4 to ensure they would not fall asleep, made them stay in their beds until then, Bell could not take it any longer and has now crashed! FIGURES!

water park play day with friends

The girls and I enjoyed some water park fun last week with Daddy's co-worker's kiddos. (Vivienne, star bathing suit was 2 when we 1st met the fam). Aidan is our friend who came and played on Wednesdays this school year, while the girls went to their home on Thursdays while I taught. So thankful the Lord brought them back into our lives!!

She did it!

LE has been very successful with going on the potty at our house for months. This past week she finally went by herself and climbed up using her stool (very hard to do with those short legs). Today, we went to the gym she stayed dry all morning and then when I picked her up she went on the gym potty! (She is afraid of the loud flush, very common I hear from other gym mommies). So, we made a stop at HEB on the way home for a special treat, SKITTLES!!

bravery comes in little packages

We love playgrounds & parks, you cannot beat them for free entertainment (well, if it was not 102 degrees, they might be a tad more pleasant.) We have had our share of outdoor and indoor playscapes this summer and my girls have finally gotten brave!! LE climbed the tall spiral slide and slid all by herself. She was so proud!! This led Bella to be a tad more adventurous and finally climbed up the playscape too. She has not been wanting to slide for a few months, although she used to LOVE them. I think other kids (McDonald bullies) have intimated her.

call to prayer

I blogged a couple of months ago about a friend who had lost her husband very unexpectedly. I talked to her tonight and it was so apparent the rough road she is now walking. She knows she is wrapped in the Lord's arms but you could hear the deep grief in her voice. It took everything I had to not cry while I was on the phone with her. Her youngest leaves for college in a matter of days, her oldest daughter just got an apartment and she is having to move out of the house her and her husband shared. Top it off with having to get a job to make ends meet right in the middle of this storm. Her name is Jeanette and if you would just stop for 10 seconds and lift her in prayer I know the Lord will honor our prayers and continue to sustain her. (If you were at our wedding, her girls were my flower girls.) Thanks!

Express Game

Connor and Jane invited us to the Express Game Tuesday night and the Lord blessed us with the shortest game in RR history, no kidding - 9 innings less than 2 hours. Express won and the girls had a blast.

We also discovered there must have been something in that water tower by our old house b/c these two children look like twins!!

plans changed

Tonight, we were going to do Texas Jumping Beans, but the 2 hour delay of the girl's naps resulted in not enough time to justify using our passes. So, we went to Firehouse Subs on Stormi's recommendation. Man, those were some good subs! The girls split a kids meal and had oreos for dessert, and each got a firefighter hat which comes with complementary fire truck sounds from a certain soon-to-be three year old. The subs are served warm, so the cheese is melty and ohh, they were just soo good. All decor is fire house memorabilia and I love the Dalmatian print table tops. After dinner, we walked the outlet mall in an attempt to wear out some late nappers and burn some of the extra calories!

This week has also had a milestone - Bella can now sit at the table without a booster, she could still use one and probably needs it, but is very determined to be a big girl.

Blue Yonder Rewards

Stefani and I had a great time Thursday night. She brought the girls and I some special surprises, my winnings from her June First Monday Contest and a couple extras. In my box was my charm & hot plate, a book I Can't Wait to Get Heaven, (which I started reading last night, very witty so far - reminds me of Nana), vintage postcards, Lavender Vanilla Sugar Scrub from Old Red Barn Company.

Do you remember these? Bird whistles that you fill with water and then they tweet. The girls loved them, Bella slept wth hers.

Lately, I have been turning the tv off and trying to turn myself onto reading. I am not taking 318 this semester, for scheduling conflicts, but I am trying to read the Old Testament on my own using the study habits I learned in class. I also joined a book club, so hopefully this will catch on and I will be a reader once again. Any book recommendations would be appreciated until I am no longer an animation school widow, but Ben has had a couple of prospects this past week alone!!

rewind of a busy week

This past week we had so much fun. It seemed like every day we were making some kind of special memories. The girls are so blessed with great friends and their friend's Mommies aren't half bad either. We enjoyed bedtime stories with Daddy, baseball, the water park, McDonald's, special surprises, volunteering, and lots of love all week. As you know, I cannot just post a pic of each adventure, so I will be posting pics over the next few days.

What do you think about the new banner? Creating new buttons too, but I will not substitute out the old buttons as it shows where we have come from. Enjoy your weekend and spend lots of time making memories together!

do you share entrees?

It is no secret that we are a frugal bunch at the Richards Family Four. When we go shopping I have trained LE to love the dolls or animals, but then when it is time to leave they have to go back to their mommies on the shelves. Ok so it has worked so far, so please do not teach her any differently.
This week, Ben treated us to La Margaritas. The thing is we, Ben and I, can share a meal, we both can put away an entire entree if given the option, but we can comfortably share fajitas for one. Then, order the girls a plate of beans, meal comes with tortillas, make the girls a bean burrito and everyone is pleasantly full when we leave, not stuffed, but we have each had enough to be content. It seems every time we do this, we get the worst service, oh yeah, & we always drink water. Yes, we are frugal, but that is truly all of the food we need. I will never forget going to eat with a family of 6 and each ordered their own thing and each threw away large quantities of food. It always stuck with me, that my kids will eat what is on their plate and they will not just be handed everything they want - yes, that is another tangent. Anyways, back to waitress - she seemed really huffed that we were so "tight". We tipped her more than 40% though, so just wonderin' I am on the right track? Should I deserve crummy service b/c I am not a big spender???