My Sickies

Sometimes I wish the kids would slow down or at least take a nap at the same time but for almost a week now I've had 2 little sickies on my hands.

Maddox started having a runny nose on Tuesday and Bella Mae got hers on Wednesday. It's not that it is that bad of a cold..

they both still have most of their usual energy.

But in addition to the usual energy they are also extra whiny..

and extra fussy..

and EXTRA needy..

I took them outside hoping to distract them from their runny noses and to let them soak up some good old Vitamin D.

For Bella it worked like a charm.

She found some mud and felt much better.

Maddox wasn't sold on the whole mud=feeling better idea..

Maddox's exact words were "Ugh! Bella you are NASTY!!"

He likes to keep it clean.

It did end up making him feel better to be outside once he got to swing.

Since the kids were feeling good enough to keep themselves occupied for a minute I made a snack (that's pretty much all I've been able to make since the kids have been a little on the needy side).

My new favorite smoothie:

• frozen bananas
• spinach
• frozen cherries
• 1/2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• stevia
  
  

Add enough almond milk to make it blendable.

And that's it! Now hopefully the squishies will get to feeling better soon! Even if that does mean..

doing the robot until 11pm..

squealing as loud as is humanly possible..

daily trips to the playground...

and sneaking up on the kitchen counter when I'm in the bathroom. I will just be happy that they are back to their happy, non-stop energy selves.

Bella's Birthday Party

Yep, that's right..another birthday party. Since Genny was coming to visit this past weekend we had a little party for Bella. Ever since Maddox's birthday month he has just been waiting for another birthday party so when we told him we were having one for Bella Mae he could hardly wait. But he did.

He waited while I got the cake ready..



and waited while I lit the candle..

and waited while we sang Happy Birthday..

and finally it was time for what he had been waiting for since his last birthday party..

birthday cake and ice cream!

It was slow going at first...

but then big brother stepped in to show Bella how it's done.

He's a pro now you know. He has had 3 birthday parties in the last month.

With a little help Bella Mae dug right in.

The raspberries were the first thing to go.

Actually I think the raspberries were the only part of the cake that got eaten. They are Bella's favorite after all.

After the raspberries were done for it was pretty much just a cake massacre with a little taste of icing here and there.

She also used the icing to get her pesky bangs out of her face. You can't have bangs distracting you when you are trying to demolish a cake!

After cake, ice cream and baths it was time for presents. Maddox got to open his present from Genny since she wasn't here on his birthday.

He needed to make sure Papi was putting his tent together right.

He loves it! Thanks Auntie Genny!

The birthday girl needed a little help with her presents. Maddox didn't mind..he's a pro.

Sure it was 9 p.m. but that didn't stop Bella from trying out her new toys.

She was determined to use her swing right away even if she had to do it herself.

She didn't get out of her swing until we took it outside to hang it (at 10 p.m.) and give her a few swings before calling it a night. Who am I kidding..after the cake that wasn't happening at least until midnight.

Good thing we're used to our little night owls. Besides, what my babies want, my babies get!

Cherries and Bright Ideas

Last week we went to a friend's orchard to pick some cherries. They sell their u-pick organic cherries for only $1.oo/lb! I couldn't believe it. Since cherries are on the dirty dozen I don't get them for the kids very often even though they both love them. It is pretty hard to find organic ones at the store here and when I have they were $6.99/lb! So at a dollar a pound I was going to stock up!

Maddox started sampling right away, of course.

The cherries really weigh down the branches so they actually hung low enough for Maddox to pick them.

And eat them right off the tree.

Bella Mae had fallen asleep on the way there so when she woke up we were already picking..

..so I gave her a bucket and let her have her way with it.

She took her time picking out the perfect cherry.

And then inspecting every centimeter of it to make sure she had made the right choice.

And then dug in..

again and again. She definitely loves cherries!

And it's a good thing since this is only 1/3 of what we picked and brought home.

Apparently gorging yourself on cherries makes you do some crazy things..

..and act all around goofy!

Bella Mae decided to be my little helper supervisor while I pitted all the cherries. First she made sure I had everything set up right on the table..

..then she taste tested all the cherries she could get her cherry stained hands on..

..then she decided that all my hard cherry pitting work was deserving of a drink break and she was kind enough to make me some cherry water.

While I cleaned up the cherry pit mess the kids needed a distraction and I had the bright idea of giving them some snack puffs.

They had a bright idea and decided to make a "beach" with the snack puffs. I think my bright idea was counterproductive.