Pains, Trains and Automobiles

We are off to a new week here! I love this picture of Brian and Teagan after church on Sunday. It was nap time but she was full of beans and ready to play.
The weather was nice so all the kids were out and about. Tea is calling her buddies over in this shot. The big kids are SO sweet to her and one of the reasons I love our cul-de-sac. We ended up with ten kids -bikes, soccer balls and motorized cars in tow at our house in seconds. They played for about two hours before Tea took a very long nap. Twin Lindsay let Tea sit in her mini Mustang! Both the girls look tired but were having fun!
Brian took her in for a quick clothing change as it got chilly. I love how he paired the jeans with the dress...(hadn't thought of that) and he even has the matching hat going. Good job, Dad!!!
Olivia took Tea round and round on her bike which just made her day!
Alas today we have colds. When I sneeze she says, "Bless you, Mommy." We spent the day indoors and just taking it easy. She got her nail clippers and file out so I am thinking she wanted a mani/pedi in this shot?

Bummed as we were supposed to go to bible study this morning but I feel guilty exposing more families to our germs. This has been a very long month and I am ready to move into some spring weather with lots of healthy Kellys!

Hopefully we'll be well enough to host our Soup Swap/Game Night party on Friday and I am meeting my girlfriends for dinner on Saturday! What are you up to this week?

I so hope you guys can watch this video. I took Tea to a mall last week and they have a super cool train for the kids. She waited all day to ride it and here we are waiting for it to start. She was beyond excited as she is all about trains at the moment!

Technically Challenged

I'd love to say I took a break from the computer for 48 hours ...and 27 minutes by choice. That I embarked on an adventure to refocus my priorities, clear my mind and gain some sort of organic enlightenment. But that's just not the way it happened my friends! My husband doesn't call me "Click-Click" for nothing!

With my laptop officially fried and no idea what we should get to replace it, I knew I would have to break away from minute-by-minute access to the internet when at home. But it wasn't until Brian made a last minute trip to Seattle for a client, taking his laptop with him from Thursday through Saturday morning, that I began to see that perhaps I need to step away from the small screen a tad more often? I can't imagine what I would do with serious high tech functionality at my fingertips!

The timing actually worked out well as we had a ton of fun activities planned for the week! Here are a few of my favorite moments.
I love this sweet picture of Teagan in the kid's boat at our local library. We had so much fun meeting Krissy and Jackson for storytime which include singing, dancing, books, bubbles and more! Can't wait to join them again next week.

She shared toys with the other kids but her yogurt melts? Not a chance!
On Wednesday we had a gorgeous dinner with our neighbors, The C Family! We love them so much and are so happy they moved in next door! On this night Olivia, Madeline and Landon put on a play for us!

Venturing out to collect the post. It's not the same without Nana Betty here!

We hosted our Thursday playgroup this week. I thought this picture of Teagan waiting at the window for Caleb, who had just arrived, was so cute!

The smile says it all!

Sweet Jackson loved his snack and sitting at the table, albeit pink!

Quiet possibly Teagan's first double date?

She has snack on her face but I had to include this because the coat Nana Mo gave her matches her outfit perfectly! Thanks Nana!We had a great play date on Friday at Natasha and Lera's house, a kid's paradise!

Caleb loved the slide!

Isn't this pink poodle rocker so cute? Soon we will redecorate Tea's room with a pink and black Paris theme and this would fit in perfectly!

It's Saturday morning...and what do I hear??? Daddy's home!!!

Hope all are having a happy Saturday! Today Brian and I felt the first signs of a beautiful, sunny springtime headed our way! Spring is the time of year that I feel so renewed, hopeful and excited about new beginnings. Perhaps this is a carryover from my days in Japan when all started anew in spring including the school year just as the cherry blossoms began to bloom?

I am already thinking about the next stages for this blog and expanding it to include giveaways. So for today's comments, tell me what sort of giveaways would interest you? And also what blogs do you like to follow? I look forward to hearing from you and promise to answer each response!

Be Mature

Be Mature....it can be a daunting task for me, even on the best of days my friends! Teagan and I had a blast this morning as we started a new mom's bible study called MOMS: Making Our Mothering Significant. We are reading one of Warren W. Wiersbe's "BE" books. This one focuses on James.

I was a bit nervous going in not knowing anyone and not at all sure that my late little self was indeed in the correct classroom. This is a HUGE church ya'll...as in 3,500 people attended service last Sunday huge. So as I navigated through the various halls filled with other classes meeting at the same time I found a room that seemed to be in the right spot, snuck in the back and bent down low to ask a woman with her back to me...and to my surprise it was a friend of mine, Stacey T!

Stacey and I have been in bible studies at another church together over the years, met for play dates with our girls and had a lot of laughs. She is gorgeous and also one of those people whose sense of peace and optimism just radiates from her. I always walk away from a conversation with her feeling a little happier, a little lighter. Isn't that an amazing gift to be blessed with? And how crazy is it that we ended up in the same class???

I loved meeting all the women and so can't wait to get to know them more. This is going to be such an awesome few weeks taking me right up to the delivery of baby Kelly. Tea had a great time in the class as well though a few tears were shed in the beginning. She loved having lunch at Auntie Melissa's house after and thought it was too funny when we Skyped Nana Mo and Poppy! She'd been asking to go to their house all morning so this was a nice way to wrap up before naptime!

More adventures tomorrow...and this time I'll not forget my freshly charged camera! Be organized, Mommy! Cheers everyone.

All's Well!

Hello friends! We've been missing in action for the past week because I jinxed us with my last post!! After I declared us well and ready to tackle the New Year poor Teagan, Gerry and I came down with the dreaded stomach virus that has made its way 'round the south.

I feel terrible about it because we kept Gerry and Betty in the US an extra week in an effort to keep them from being stuck in Newark due to all the snowy weather...and then promptly exposed them to the worst virus ever! Oops. What can I say? I am The Hostess With The Mostess to be sure! Last week was long and included more doctor trips, pharmacy visits, loads of laundry and multiple sterilization hits around the house.

This was followed by my laptop's hard drive crashing this weekend which has me snagging bits of time on Brian's computer at night until we figure out what to buy to replace the one we had. What a crazy start to 2011! If you have any recommendations for what we should buy or must-have features/programs I'd love to hear from you so post a comment! It has been ages since we've shopped for one of these.

Then just as I was starting to have a serious case of cabin fever we made a full recovery, saw Gerry and Betty to the airport for their flight back to Ireland and the sun came out over a long, beautiful weekend. We went for walks and visits with the neighbors, who flooded the cul-de-sac as happy as we were for the chance to be outside! Today we celebrated Martin Luther King Day and as Brian was off work we took a trip to the local kids science museum where we met up with friends.

This week Teagan and I start a new mom's bible study and I am excited for both of us! I look forward to meeting some more mom's of preschoolers in the area. While I am in the study Teagan will have story, crafts and playtime. Then on Wednesday I have my monthly check-up on the baby (and another chance to predict the gender based on the heart beat rate) and that night we'll have dinner with our sweet neighbors next door. Thursday and Friday we have more playdates planned with the Thursday play date group and at Natasha's...I am feeling kinda spoiled here having so many fun things packed into the week! It's gonna be busy but so welcome after the past few weeks! What fun things are you looking forward to this week?

Here are a few pictures we captured from today.

Nothing makes my heart happier than to see my little girl well and looking so happy! She had too much fun today! She loved the various puzzle tables.

She and Daddy conducted an experiment to see what would float or sink. This included shells, balls, corks, boats and more. She had a blast!

Her friend Lera gave her a BIG hug! They hadn't seen each other since New Year's

And she and buddy Caleb had a kiss which made Daddy nervous! Ha! Teagan calls him "K-yeb"

It was so great to have Dave and Brian join us as it's usually the moms who get to have all the fun on these play dates!

Saying good-bye to Lera but not looking too happy about it. See you on Friday, Lera!

After a great day out we got home to find Olivia and Landon from next door had made the cutest snow woman and man in our backyard from the tiny bits of snow left. We shared a cup o' Barry's tea with them and their Dad. So glad their family moved in next door!

Mom's Best Friend

....is a sterlizer as it turns out! Teagan started out the first day of the New Year with a fever close to 105 that scared the bejaysus out of me and hung around for four days despite a cocktail of antibiotics, Tylenol and Motrin. Thank goodness for her amazing pediatrician who recognized an early ear infection and diagnosed her with roseola which we had never heard of! True to her prediction, the fever broke after a few days and was followed by a mild rash which signaled a return to her sweet little self!

But this meant it was time to break out our Seventh Generation while sending the washer and dryer into overdrive! I spent a good part of the day sterlizing all toys, books, pacis, bed linens, cuddle toys and more. This is just some of her stash from downstairs waiting to dry. As I went through each toy and book I remembered where they had come from and was struck by how sweet her family and friends have been to her and us. Thank you guys so much!

On the second day of the year (and while we were trying to get Tea's fever down) Brian's dad Gerry went to the emergency room with heart attack symptoms. They ended up keeping him in the hospital for two days. Poor guy came back to us so exhausted that I made him some Poppy Soup, always a great healer!

But before all this drama we rang in the new year! We had Game Night at home with friends and it was pretty hilarious! Much better than taking my preggos self to an overcrowded bar or restaurant. We can't wait to do it again! Here's a picture of Dave and Shanna, looking cute per usual!

And I got a great picture of sweet Scott and Natasha! He's one amazing Cranium player....must remember to get on his team next time. One thing is for sure: Twins never need to be on the same side! Poor Dave, Melissa and I kept messing him up!

Natasha is simply one of the most thoughtful people I know. I am so thankful that I met her last year. She came over a few days ago to say goodbye to Gerry and Betty before they head back to Ireland..and brought all kinds of goodies for us in the form of a coveted recipe for Russian Winter Salad and a cool dicer! She knew Tea had been sick and brought her some special cookies. Aren't they cute? They are huge, the size of my hand. Teagan was finally getting her appetite back and became an instant fan! I love the shirt Caleb wore on New Year's Eve that read, "Never 2 Sleepy"He and Teagan are so much alike. Still, neither made it to midnight!

Little Lera always has a smile and giggle for me!

Now isn't this a picture? Thank goodness Brienne remembered Baby Alive got the milk, not the vino! I'll always remember the awesome cheese danish she made us for breaky the next morning! You can spend the night anytime, luv!

2011 is officially underway and we are so looking forward to it! There is nothing like a bit of illness to remind us of all our blessings and what is really important as we kick off a new year. With that in mind we are still praying for our friend Aileen in Colorado and my stepmother Shirley in Texas. They had amazing news of recovery in 2010 and we raise a toast to both of them! And we recently began to pray for my friend Michelle Green who was in my group of moms who met for bible study on Wednesdays over the last few years. Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer right before Christmas and has tackled this news with amazing faith and courage. Please remember her in your prayers and if you'd like to follow her updates they are on http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mecgreen.

Our family is also saying prayers for little Jacob Helvey, a three year old boy we have never met but who has touched our lives all the same. One of my favorite blogs, Kelly's Korner, first brought his story to us after an accident very nearly claimed this three year old's life on Christmas Eve. He and his family are in the midst of an enormous challenge and can use all the prayers possible. Follow his progress at http:///www.caringbridge.org/visit/jacobhelvey.

Thanks for reading everyone! Let me know, what are you most thankful for or looking forward to in 2011?