Saturday Chores and Sunday Funday

Yesterday morning, I made a to-do list a mile long with hopes of tackling the whole thing before my parents arrived that evening.  We got off to a bit of a slow start but picked up speed as the day wore on.  I was able to check everything off the list except picking up books from the library...not bad, I must say!

I vacuumed and did laundry while the boys played and ate breakfast.  Then we made ourselves presentable and hit the road for some errands which included a trip to the gym for a great full body weights workout...

I followed it up with 20 easy minutes on the elliptical.  It was an EXCELLENT workout if I do say so myself.  Makes me feel a little better about just taking a walk with my mom and the boys today.  I'll get back to the gym tomorrow.  Today it was much more to walk, talk, and soak up some sunshine while checking out ArtsFest.  I may or may not have gotten a little too much sun...woops!  

Yesterday also included a stop at the grocery store so we were well-prepared for our company...

SCORE!!!  

I had to dig into my emergency snacks on the way there and I must say, these simple bars are divine!!   I found them at Target and they only have 5 recognizable ingredients.  They could definitely satisfy a cookie craving....

While the boys napped, my next task was prepping a lasagna to be thrown into the oven for an easy, yummy meal for our company.  I tried a new recipe for eggplant parm lasagna and can't wait to test it out.  

I also had time to vacuum and skim the pool while the boys were sleeping.  After that, I was spent, so we spent the rest of the evening relaxing and goofing off...

Gotta love their muscle shirts!!  They are really starting to love the camera.  Can you tell who's who???  

Mason is in the red and Colton is in the blue.  

Since my parents got in late last night, the boys were already sleeping, but they wasted no time in saying hello this morning...

Sorry Grandpa and Mimsy...there's no sleeping in in this house. 

After spending most of the day outside and just finally filling our bellies with a yummy lunch, everyone except me is napping.  Time to take advantage of the quiet time and do some daytime reading.  Almost done with my book...

I have a feeling the rest of our day will involve lazing around the house.  Fine by me!!  

Tomorrow's a big day...we start our intense swimming lessons.  I can't wait to see how the boys respond to the program.  I have high hopes for them!!  My mom and I have some pedicures on the agenda for tomorrow as well.  Yippee!

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!

Sunny St. Patrick's Day Weekend

It's about time we had a BEAUTIFUL weekend.  Too bad Leah had to leave before the weather finally decided to cooperate.  I hate when that happens for our guests.  She'll just have to come back soon.  We took full advantage of the gorgeous weather by spending as much time as possible outside.  After a couple of quick errands which included this RIDICULOUSLY DELICIOUS impulse buy from Bed Bath and Beyond...

...and a stop by the gym for some full body weights and sprints on the treadmill, we spent most of our time poolside yesterday.  I even stayed out there while the boys napped and made this bracelet for a friend...

After naps, we managed to fit in an outing to the park...

 

The bouncy dinosaur is always a hit as is driving the truck...

The boys waited VERY patiently for a turn on their favorite wooden truck.  I was proud of them for waiting so long.  

We kicked off our Sunday with a visit to church.  We moved the boys up to the two-year-old class a little early and I love how they have a little lesson now and when I ask them what they talked about, they always very proudly tell me "JESUS!"  We love our church! 

I had thrown some corn beef and cabbage in the crock pot this morning and came home to this lovely surprise after church...

I managed to pry the lid off with two spatulas without getting any glass in the corned beef...I hope. I let it finish cooking it with this lovely foil cover...

Guess it's time for a new crockpot.  Always something...

We spent the majority of our day outside again.  The boys spent the rest of the morning playing with their water table and bikes.  We got all dressed up and tried to make it to the parade...

Colton

Mason

...but we had to abort our mission when we realized the parade was further away than we thought and the boys were fading fast.  We ditched our parade plans and switched our mode of transportation to the stroller so I could get in some exercise while they snoozed.  I ended up covering a little over 5 miles before the boys started to stir.  Good enough for me!  After running into the wind for over 2 miles, I was ready for an excuse to throw in the towel.  That stroller never seems to get easier to run with but I do love the added challenge...most of the time.  

Once we got home, we played outside some more until dinner time.  The corned beef was delicious despite the crock pot fiasco and the boys devoured some festive guacamole since I couldn't convince them that cabbage is YUMMY!  Maybe next year...

All that fun in the sun has me beat and I didn't even indulge in a single adult beverage today.  It's almost un-American on St. Patrick's day, isn't it?  Worse things have happened...

Check out how much the boys have grown in a year...

What a difference a year makes!  CRAZY!  s

I'm calling it an early night and heading to bed with some tea and my kindle.  My book keeps getting better and better...