Fall is Here

I love Summer. When I was growing up, I hated Fall because I knew what was next. I'm a pretty optimistic person, but I've never been able to embrace Winter. As I've gotten older, I have grown to appreciate Fall. We've had a really hot September, but it's finally cooling off and it's nice!


Cozy in warm, fuzzy sweats.

Michael too.

My niece Abby's birthday was a few weeks ago, but we finally all got together and celebrated on Sunday. Can't believe that little cutie is 4 now!

Abby and her princess cake.

Taylor and cousin Haley.

Yum, cake!

My brother and I. Love to the Mole!

With soccer games and work, Tuesdays are my craziest day. Gotta go prepare!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Spirit Week, Oktoberfest & Lifelong Friends

Still as busy as ever around here!

This past weekend, we went to our church's Oktoberfest after Mass. We met up with our old neighbors (sad that they are now "old" neighbors) and had a really good time! The kids loved the little train and inflatables and I enjoyed a few cups of really cold brews. Ahhhhh.

The kids in front of one of the cool downtown murals.


These days, two beers + camera = self portrait.


The Pear had so much fun in this little train ride!


Don't let the snarl fool you! That's one of his signature looks. Oh brother.


Taylor was totally fearless on the big slides.


I was impressed that Michael is just 2 and could climb this huge rock wall!

A funny sequence:

Michael at the top of the big slide...


...oops! He flipped sideways and log rolled the rest of the way down! He was not fazed.


This little train was definitely the hit of the night. Michael, Taylor and Ben.


On Monday, we got a special visit from one of my dearest lifelong friends. Lea and I have been friends since we were toddlers hanging out at our brothers' T-ball games. She was kind enough to join the Pear and I for lunch.

Can you tell that Michael liked her? :)

Riding the elephant in the lobby of Max & Erma's.


Being a good boy, playing with his crayons and eating his packed sandwich as Lea and I caught up.

Tomorrow is Wilmington's homecoming so Taylor got to participate in her first Spirit Week. Monday was hat day (pink Steelers hat), Tuesday was jersey day (she had a game that night and wore her Blue Jets jersey), Wednesday was crazy day, Thursday was alien day and tomorrow is orange and black day. She totally ate it all up!

Crazy Day:




Alien Day (she actually wore different bottoms, not these Daisy Dukes, haha):




And two shots of Michael being adorable.


Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Wild Kingdom

My favorite show growing up was Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. I couldn't wait for Sunday nights so I could watch Marlin Perkins talk about some cool animal while his field correspondent, Jim, wrestled/shielded himself from/ran from said animal. I've always been an animal fan and I think those critters know it because we always have some animal making its way into our yard. In the last year or so, we've had a turtle, kitten, rabbits o' plenty, a deer and now a cute little frog make their way up our driveway.

We had just finished taking Champ for a walk when i spotted the little guy. The kids screamed for me to pick it up, and since I'm a tomboy like that, I obliged. He was sooooo cute!

He looks like a little Jabba the Hut.

I had to be creative when taking this picture. Taylor wouldn't get within five feet of it!! Michael would have gladly held him, but I figured we'd end up with squished frog.

Taylor posing a safe distance from the frog.

Here are a few more pictures from the week:

They love their Champy (me too!). He didn't feel well this week and I took him to the vet. He's on steroids now and seems to be feeling better.

The Pear also woke up feeling yucky one night, so he got to spend some quality time with Mom and Dad.
The Pear wasn't down long. He was back to his silly self the next morning.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

What We've Been Up To

You know when I title a post as such that I've been a bad blogger lately. I went from stellar August blogger to MIA. We've been busy!

Taylor is fully buying into the whole full-day kindergarten thing. Every single day, I ask her how school was, and every single day, her reply is an enthusiastic, "GREAT!" Her teacher emailed me the other day to tell me how she is a great role model and student.


The Worm on picture day.



She still loves arts and crafts!


She's also spending about six hours a week with soccer. She practices about two hours twice a week and then has games every Tuesday night. Like I mentioned before, she's the youngest on her team (and I'd guess in the league), but she's a tough little nut. At her age level, they set up with three forwards up front, one midfielder, two fullbacks and a goalie. Her coaches play her almost exclusively at midfielder because she'll work her butt off to get the ball no matter where it is! She's absolutely spent after games because as midfielder, she's responsible for covering front, back and the entire width of the field. She loves every minute of it!

Now that Taylor is in school full-time, the Pear and I get lots of quality Mommy/son time. We are both loving it! We almost always hit the park right after dropping Taylor off, play lots of shootball (basketball) in the basement, play board games, color, read and pretty much whatever he wants. He gets bossed around by Tay Tay a lot, so I pretty much let him call the shots when it's just us. He's a good boy, too. He's making great progress with potty training, "helps" me clean and is really a sweety most of the time. He's smart as a whip, knows lots of numbers, letters and all of his colors. His memory is as impressive as his sister's.


Is there any wonder that he has me completely wrapped?


The Pear helping me water my tomato plants. I don't think it's rained since way before the last time I blogged and we KNOW how long that's been. My poor, poor lawn.

Mike is enjoying his new eighth grade math classes. He's already holding open gyms for his players and says that though they will be very young, this season should be an exciting one. Of course, Mike is thrilled that the NFL season has started. As a Steelers season ticket holder, he's already been to one Pittsburgh win.


Mike with some of his best buds (and, no surprise, they are all Steelers fans). Mike, Erik, Lloyd and Jason.

I'm been running around like crazy, but loving life. I never realized how exhausting school is for parents! Lunches, homework, outfits, fundraisers, class parties - there's always something going on. I just celebrated my 5-year anniversary at School Outfitters. It really is a great place to work. Lots of smart, GOOD people who really care about each and every employee. The biweekly chair massages don't hurt, either. :) In addition to work and kids' activities, I've been trying to keep up with my workouts and other stuff like harvesting my insane tomato plants. I bought two tiny tomato plants for a total of $4 back in May. They are HUGE! I've been getting yummy tomatoes off them almost daily for the last month. I probably have 100 green ones on the vines right now!

Look at the size of my two tomato plants!

Yes, I'm still taking pictures of myself. See, I'm still alive.

Here are a few more pictures of the kids, taken this past weekend. We have a lot of fun together!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Good-bye Summer, You Were Good to Us

This summer has been my favorite yet. The kids are older, more independent and, honestly, more fun! They have both grown so much this summer, both physically and mentally. One place I really saw it was at the pool.

The local swim club is right down the road from us, but we always passed on getting a membership. This year, we decided to splurge, and let me tell you, it was worth every penny! We were there almost every one of my days off, and Mike took the kids on the days I worked.

Take the picture so we can get in!

$.10 lolly pops at the pool. A favorite during adult swim.

The Worm went from clinging to my side in the shallow area to swimming the width of the pool in the deep end, without any help. She jumps right in without a worry from either of us. She kind of owned the pool, haha. Her last challenge is the diving board. As much as she wanted to do it, she never did. She still has a week before the pool closes for the year!

Look out below!

Bathing beauty. It's hard to take pictures when you are alone at the pool with the kids!

Now, this is the life!

The Pear is absolutely fearless when it comes to the water. He just throws himself off the edge, thinks it's hilarious when Mike throws him (they call it water bomb) and thinks it's fun to go underwater. He's not quite tall enough to touch in the shallow end yet, but I think he might be there by next summer. Funny how the kid HATED baths and would just scream and scream for the first 15 months of his life and is just a real fish in the pool.

Too cool for the pool.

He obviously enjoys himself there.

One last picture that has nothing to do with this post. :) Taylor needed a picture of the family for her class, so we set up this self-timer shot Saturday night after church. It's a little blurry, but it actually has us all in it, even Champ!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Firsts

It has been a big week of firsts for the Worm! On Tuesday, she met her teacher for the first time at her school's Open House. She likes Mrs. Adams already and has already made her a picture for the sharing wall. (Taylor has her soccer uniform on in the Open House pictures because of the next first...)

Class of 2023!

I had to pull her out of the reading nook. So many books she's just itching to read!

Her locker. Yes, it's pink, a good start already.

As I hinted above, Taylor's first soccer game was also Tuesday night. The Blue Jets came away with the 4-0 win! Taylor did a great job and played really scrappy. She's the youngest out there, so we aren't expecting a ton of goals this year. Still, she definitely holds her own! The other team didn't even get a shot on goal.

Post game pose.

Tay Tay's biggest fan.

Today was the big day - Taylor's first day of kindergarten! She was so excited. I went in late and got off early so I could be there for her. Since Susan (the babysitter) lives right down the street from the school, Taylor and I did a practice run of the walk before and after school. A few of the older girls at Susan's were so helpful and even walked her to her classroom (no parents inside the school today). When I picked her up, she ran to me saying, "I LOVE school!!" Yay!

Annual first day photo.

Another. She looks so much more grown up this year!

Barely able to contain herself on the ride to school.

Taylor at Susan's house.

With some of the girls from Susan's house.

I wasn't really sad at all today. This is the ONLY picture that got me a little choked up. She looks so tiny with that big backpack on!

Taylor and I at Susan's after school.

In addition to her first long day of school (9:15 - 3:50), Taylor had an almost two-hour soccer practice tonight. I think she'll be ready for the weekend!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel