Lawnmower Fun

Today started out incredibly well thanks to a little forethought on my part.  I made protein pancake batter last night so it was ready to go this morning.  I read and drank coffee until I heard the boys stirring, then through the pancake batter on the griddle and breakfast was ready in a matter of minutes...easy, healthy and delicious!

I had forgotten how much I love blackberries too.  YUM!  

With our bellies full, we were off to Story Time.  Thankfully the weather held out for us and we had a great turnout.  Today's features were...

My boys love this one and requested it for Story Time this week.  We're on a Bill Martin Jr. roll and I don't mind one bit.  

They also chose this fantastic book that we found at the fabulous book store in Vero Beach.  It's a winner for sure thanks to the rhymes and the flaps for kid to lift.  The boys LOVE interactive books like this one.  It was a hit at story time as well.

Our next stop was music class.  I think I love Miss Rabe as much as the boys do.  She always brightens my day.  I love her sense of humor!!  The boys loved her new flashy balls.  They hope they'll be seeing those again very soon.  The player piano is always a hit as well.  Colton especially loves the pedals.  I love watching how Colton taps his foot to the beat of pretty much every song.  It's his new thing and I totally dig it.  That kid has rhythm!  While Colton keeps the beat, Mason can recite all the lyrics.  They're quite the duo.  

After music class, we got a visit from some very good friends who came bearing gifts for the boys.  They have not stopped playing with these lawnmowers since they got their hands on them...

Their favorite feature is the gas can.  They love stopping to fill up the tank every 5 seconds.  It's ADORABLE!  They even mowed the bushes for me.  I hope they're this excited to mow when it's time for the real deal.  

They did manage to take a break from their mowing for a bit to let me get in a long run.  It felt good to move even though I was a little slower than I would have liked.  I know I say it all the time, but it's the truth, I have the best running group ever...

They had fun watching for big trucks and dogs...so easily entertained.  

They were easy to please when it came time to dinner--yogurt and leftover pancakes were their foods of choice.  I decided to follow their lead with low-fuss meals and made myself a GIANT salad and threw a piece of fish in the toaster oven to enjoy along with it.  We may or may not have enjoyed some cookies and chocolate-covered goji berries for dessert.  

These little nuggets of love are a new favorite in our household.  YUM!  

Time to put my feet up and keep plugging away at my book...it's getting REALLY intense!

Solo Story Time and Other Tuesday Happenings

This time change is doing crazy things to my kiddos.  They slept til 8:40 this morning, which is really only 7:40 before the time change, but it's amazing what a difference an hour makes.  Thankfully Leah was here to man the troops while I went to lead Story Time solo.  I have to admit..it was actually quite nice to be able to just lead story time without having to worry about keeping an eye on the boys as well.     ..so thanks to Leah for a bit of a break.  Today's featured stories were...

The boys can read this one to you.  They love it and so did all of the kids at story time. 

This is a new favorite of ours, picked up from the amazing book store in Vero.  I'm pretty sure I remember reading it as a kid myself.  I love classics!  It was a hit.

After Story Time, I swung by the house to pick up the boys for Music Class.  We had fun, as always.  The piano is always a big hit, even if only used for crawling under and around...

It's hard to believe the semester is almost over. We love music class!

We spent the rest of our morning exploring the big scary waves at the beach and looking at the shells on the sand.  It wasn't the most beautiful beach day, but you know what they say... "if you're lucky enough to be at the beach, you're lucky enough."

Leah's so good with the boys.

Leah and I kept the boys safe from the scary waves.

I also managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the gym for some intervals on the elliptical while reading my new Jodi Picoult book...

So far it's really good.  I also squeezed in some lower body work on the machines.  I'm normally a free weights girl but it was nice to change it up a little today.  

And after a bike ride with the boys, I had some fun in the kitchen trying out a new recipe for butternut squash enchiladas.  It was delicious!!  Her's were definitely prettier than mine so check out her picture from her blog.  They did taste just as delicious as hers look, however.  I highly recommend trying it out.  

Time for some bracelet making with the sister.  Can't believe her stay is coming to an end...so sad!