Swimming Lessons

WOW~this has been a tiring week. Mo has been landscaping daily and uses my car to do so, but I offered to teach Ashlyn how to swim. I have to strap the kids in the cougar bike carrier and pedal them to a friend's pool every morning at 9:30. It is quite a trek uphill. Thankfully, the weather is cooperating and it is only 89 degrees. The pool water is actually chilly and then the air isn't much better. It's funny to see blue lips on the kids. Reece is also learning how to swim without his floaties. He is so brave but lacks the skills needed to get him across the pool. Ashlyn is a very cautious young lady, who is a bit timid. After this week though, she has become a daredevil, jumping in and swimming across the pool. It is so great to see how much they learn in just one week. I can't wait to swim with the kids again after we both return from our vacations. I will give a week of refresher lessons and then hopefully swim with them for pleasure the rest of the summer. I live to play in the pool here and love to see little ones enjoy it as much as I do. Thank goodness my kids are fish! ;)

Signs of Summer

I LOVE SUMMER! It is the best time of the year, even if we aren't road tripping back east. I am off for 10 weeks and get to spend all my time with my kids. I have big plans for this summer: read, relax, run, bike, swim, hike, run, camp, organize my home, rid my home of clutter, run, catch up on my movie list, hang with friends, take some short road trips to visit friends and run my first 1/2 marathon!! Yep, I did it I am officially signed up for a race in San Diego on Sunday, August 16th. The family will take one last adventure to Cali before we head back to school. They will support mommy as I finish 13.1 miles at Balboa Park. We will then head to Sea World for the day! I can't wait. Please pray for me often! I have to wake myself up at 4:30am to run in this horrible Las Vegas heat! I also have to start eating like a runner and cut out all the extra crap I allow myself because I run. How bad can it be really?

Pre-K Graduate

On Thursday, June 14th I was able to be a parent volunteer and help out with Reece's preschool graduation. It was quite an event with some songs and even a ceremonial walk up to the stage to receive a diploma. There were 47 graduates and it was priceless watching them perform their songs. Reece was concentrating so hard on his songs that he barely smiled. I was laughing at the faces he would make and how loud he would sing. He told me a few weeks ago that I would be crying at his performance and it was true. After each class performed their songs, they left the stage to go get dressed in their cap and gown. The classes then proceeded up the aisle and back onto the stage. It was so precious. Each child was called down to receive their diploma and were then asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. Can you guess what Reece said? He wants to be a super hero! When Pastor Greg asked him which one, Reece said he wasn't sure. We all thought he'd say Batman since he is obsessed with him. It was so funny. Lots of the boys said they wanted to be race car drivers, super fast race car drivers and the little girls want to be moms. It was so funny listening to their answers. I can't wait to see how it was captured on the DVD. My baby boy is getting to so big. Next fall he will go with me to Bilbray and attend an extended day kindergarten class. I know he will love it but his daddy will sure miss taking him to Cornerstone everyday.

My kids say the funniest things

Today while hanging out in the house, in between the playground and the YMCA pool, I heard the following things:

Raine was sitting on the floor hiding under the table and said, "Oh my gosh, look at my dog mom!"

Reece was using his Lil Einstein drawing book at the kitchen table while I observed and he looked up, saw me and said "What you looking at lady?"

Kids say the funnest things and I wish I would write down more of them. My two lil ones are growing so fast. Raine amazes me daily with her fearless tomboy nature. Reece is a little engineer; pulling things apart and putting them back together. Every time I look at their little faces, I thank the Lord for entrusting them to me. I am so blessed!

Mother's Day Weekend

Wow, what a blessed life I lead. Saturday I woke up and got the kids ready to swim. We were hoping to meet some friends, but that changed so we had the whole pool to ourselves. It was heaven. My kids are fish and love the water. Reece wished he had someone other than is sister to play with but still had a ball. Raine loved jumping in the pool and proceeded to count each and every time, one, two, free, jump. It was so darling. My babies are so big and independent that I was able to sit on the edge of the pool or even lounge on a chair. It was so relaxing and wonderful. At about 11 am Reece complained he was hungry and wanted to go get some food. We head to Walmart to pick up some snacks for lunches this coming week. The kids decided to eat an apple, cheese stick and Sponge Bob Cheez Its while we shopped. Great, no need to make lunch when we get home, just plop the tired toddlers in their beds. And that is exactly what I did. They napped for almost 3 hours; I even snuck in some shut eye. It was so wonderful. We woke up watched a couple cartoons and then made chocolate peanut butter cookies. It was so much fun. I sent the kids outside to play while I made a yummy meatloaf and the day was done. We ate, bathed and climbed into bed. It was by far one of the best Saturdays I spent with my kids in a long, long time. I don't have a single pic to show for it, just these precious words. Too bad daddy had to landscape, he sure missed out!

Sunday was a good day also. Church, lunch at Claim Jumper and shopping at Town Square. It was a bit hectic trying to shop with to very hot toddlers, so we headed home to nap. That didn't work that well either. Raine fell asleep in the car and wouldn't fall back asleep in her bed and Reece refused to nap. Mo had to leave us to go do more landscaping. The witching hours set in and the kids became quite a handful. I plopped them in the tub to play with bubbles and straws and all was well in Hauguel house again. Pizza for dinner and early to bed. The best part of the day was when Mo brought me home Cold Stone ice cream. No just a Like It size but a quart of my favorite Peanut Butter Perfection! My man knows me so well.

Quotes

I absolutely love this quote!

"One should take childrens' philosophy to heart. They do not despise a bubble because it bursts. They immediately set to work to blow another one."

My kids are this way. They find joy in such little things and when things go array they don't dismay, they look for ways to make it better. We have a marriage bible study on Friday nights and I forgot to get a sitter. I called 7 of my great babysitters but everyone was busy. I called Mo and asked for his help. When I called him back to tell him I found one he said that's great, Reece and I prayed for God to help you. Mo later told me that when he told Reece that I found a sitter, Reece simply said, "I know Daddy, we prayed." I wish I had the faith of a child.

Raine has been a gem lately too. She told me the other day, "Mommy, you stay here with me today?" I wanted to cry because we all know how that is my hearts desire. I told her I would pick her up from Deirdre's house and we would go somewhere fun. She replied with, "to get some ice cream?" So we headed to Sonic to get some yummy treats.

4 more weeks until summer, I can't wait to spend everyday with my kidlets :)

Praise the Lord

I need to sing God's praises for a moment. We have been on a very strict budget since Feb 1st and we are seeing soo many rewards for our efforts. We are $5,000 away from paying off a $20,000 credit card bill. Yes, we are that poor. We just sold Mo's great truck for $18,000 which means we pocket $4,000. Almost the exact amount we need to pay off the visa bill. We will be a one car family for the next 4 months until something perfect comes our way. Mo is a little nervous about this but I have faith, and if I have to ride my little bootie to work to contribute to the debt free cause I will. I am by no means trying to brag because this is all GOD, we have tithed more than ever in our life and he just keeps helping us pay off our debt. We have some time share points we must use this year, so we are looking into local west coast vacations. We are not travelling to the east coast and have put that money to debt. It is amazing the relief we feel knowing where every penny is going and that we are being good stewards with what God gives us. Mo also gave in and is attending the Love Dare bible study every Tuesday night with me. We haven't spent too much time on it but he sees the importance in it. All in all GOD is so good and I just want to remind you that no matter how big your problem is, he is our beacon of hope and trust.

Easter

Family Shot~ Smile Pretty

Reece checking out his goodies

Raine finally happy about something

Raine being a crabby pants, nice hair

Reece showing us yet another egg

We had such a lovely day celebrating the resurrection of our savior. Reece and Raine woke up ready to find their baskets and eggs. I distracted the kids while Mo ran out back to hide the eggs. Raine was rather cranky and refused to look for the eggs. Reece loved every minute of the hunt. He kept shouting, I found another one! I hid the baskets high above the TV so that Dublin wouldn't eat the candy. The little ones had a hard time finding them. Finally Reece spotted a basket and Raine came running over to check it out! It was very cute. I proceeded to get ready while they dissected their baskets. My parents and brother were here to celebrate the day with us.

Spring Break Part 1

The first few days of our break was spent relaxing and watching lots of cartoons. I tired of that rather quickly and asked my hubby to take us to go buy some plants for our front flower bed. It was a heep of dirt with one little rose bush. I was so sick of looking at that ugly thing. We ventured to the local nursery to pick out some pretty flowers. The kids were very excited to pick out some plants also. $44.00 later we came home with a slew of gorgeous plants. The kids hurried and found their watering cans and we started getting dirty. Raine was not fond of dirty hands and constantly wanted to wash them off. She tired of the planting rather quickly and played in the back yard instead.

Spring Break Flew By

I had a wonderfully relaxing Spring Break here at home in Las Vegas. Nope, I didn't travel anywhere. I wanted to so badly but I also want to save money and just be in my own clutter and chaos. It was fun filled and when time permits I will, YES I will, come back and recap. We also had a very special Easter with my parents and brother here in town. I am still enjoying my parents visit and so are my kids. It's so fun having company!

The Finale

BufBloPoFo Topic for DAY FOURTEEN:

So are you sad it’s almost done? Are you going to miss all of your fellow participants? Well, your assignment is to give us a farewell speech. I’m continually amazed that anyone decided to play along with the BufBloPoFo. I say you take it easy tomorrow for your last day and just post a quick “so long” to your fellow participants.

Mr. Michael Garvey esquire and creator of BufBloPoFo gave a grand farewell on his blog, one I will not be doing. I have truly enjoyed blogging everyday and will continue to blog as often as I can. I will continue reading my fellow participants blogs when I am bored and need something to do. I enjoy learning about my friends and their families members via Blogger, Typepad and Facebook. It's my reality TV fix.

I use my blog to communicate with my family on the east coast. I am not sure how many of them actually read it but I also use my blog as a diary. It is so much fun to go back and read about my kids and the things they have accomplished in their life so far. Thanks for reading about me and my chaos over the past 14 days and if you have a chance say a prayer for The Hauguel Family in Las Vegas, NV, we need as many as we can get.

Catching up

"J" as in "John Kreuzer" said this about parenting and I LOVE IT!!

Be understanding. Whatever age the child is now, you were that age too, and probably just as annoying (if not more so).

Be patient. When they're driving you up a wall, cut 'em some slack.

Be loving. Look, these young persons are, quite literally, a part of you. How can you not love that? Embrace them for all of the similarities and differences. Show them that you appreciate them for who they are.

Be the parent you would want (and maybe had). Make time for them. Play, talk, share. It's all good.

Be supportive. Even if you don't understand.

I still have to complete the picture of yourself post. So here I am:

Home from my hair appointment, enjoying Private Practice while icing my knees. I am exhausted from a long day and an even longer week. Today was very productive though and one more day until a relaxing weekend and fun date night with my hubby!

Year Ago...

HMM, I will have to look into this one. Well it took me 15 minutes of searching for my post. I am exhausted so I didn't do it the easy way. As for a year ago, I was talking about Spring Break, heading to Utah by myself with the kiddos since Mo was in Mexico. I did that and it was a blast! We had a ball and the kids did awesome on the drive. Our plan was to go somewhere fun this spring break, but we are not. :( We had the option of heading to Reno or camping in Zion, but we are going to stay home and spring clean our home. Mo isn't going to Mexico this year because he wants to clean out his garage and tie up loose ends. I am so ready for Spring Break, even if it means cleaning my house and purging way too much clutter! My parents will be here so that will be fun! Last year I talked about getting out of debt, that didn't happen but it is this year. I should have added that to my bragging list. We did our taxes tonight and we will put that money to our credit card debt. I am very excited about our quest to live debt free even if it stresses me out to no end. In a couple years it will be worth it and just think next year when I look back at this post I will be able to brag about how much more out of debt we are!!

Advice now, photo Thursday

I'm getting a haircut Thursday so I will post a picture then. I know it's supposed to be right now, but too bad.

For now though I will give my parenting advice. Read the book Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay. I really enjoyed it and it gave some really practical ways to raise your children. I will reread it this summer, when I can really apply it. My children will be so thankful!

Embarrassing Moments

HHhhhmmmm, not so sure how to answer this. I can't pick just one moment, there have been way too many.

1. Weekly, I am embarrassed by the things my children say, what does that say about me as a mom?
2. I have called people the wrong name, a couple of times until they tell me differently.
3. We are in debt and moving back into our first home so we can eventually get back to the east coast or at least out of Vegas!
4. I was supposed to observe a student at another school in the morning and almost showed up in the afternoon. Luckily, it worked out.
5. I got all mixed up in my posting, I think I was supposed to post this one yesterday and the my inspirational list today.
6. I got two traffic tickets in one day, the day before I married my love.
7. I take on too many things and then don't do them well enough.
8. The state of clutter and unnecessary stuff in my home and classroom embarrasses me.
9. My son's horrible haircut. Yes I gave it to him and luckily it will grow back!
10. This list!

Inspirations

I wish I could make a yummy soup, really I just need to try and do it. I am no good in the kitchen, I do try (sometimes) but most of my meals come out of boxes and are easy peasy. If I could take time to do something well, it would be to learn how to cook. Since I have a 2 and 4 yr old and work full time, I will practice cooking this summer when school is out. I will also try to perfect my mediocre baking skills with this recipe! I stole it off my friends blog and can't wait to make it.

Delicious! Chocolate Pie

2 sticks regular butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
1 baked pie shell

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then mix in cooled melted chocolate. Add vanilla and mix. Turn the mixer to medium speed, then add in the four eggs, one at a time, mixing for 4 to 6 minutes after the addition of each egg. Scrape sides of bowl once during mixing. Pour into the cooled pie shell and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. Plop whipped cream on top and serve. Garnish with chocolate curls if you’re feeling sassy.

As for who inspires me, hummmmm my friend Melissa because she is a mean a^& baker.
My friend Shontell because she can stretch a dollar further than anyone I know and pray like no other.
My friend Jessica because she is an artist in all forms and finds time to pursue her dream.
My friend Erin because she is always so giving.
My sister Jaime because she can make any situation into something positive or at least get through it without tears.
My brother Brian because he is amazing at everything he does.
My brother Matthew because he is a survivor.
My mom because she is, well my mom...
My dad because he is such a hard working man.
My children because they are the cutest & sweetest lil blessings.
My best friend and lover Mo because he puts up with me and still loves me!

My list of inspiring people could go on and on so if I left you out I mean no disrespect. I love you all and will continue my list at another time. Good Night and God Bless ;)

New Friend

I have three minutes to write about Lisa, of it's a marshmallow world. I chose Lisa to get an A in Bufblopofo 09, she is married to Mike the creator of this buffalo blogging thing. ;) I would like to meet Lisa because she sounds as busy as me. Two little ones at home, a career and hubby to take care of! Plus she loves peeps, and so do I, but only the yellow ones. I just bought some today!

My question for you Lisa is, what is the first thing you are going to change about your new home and how are you going to do it? Hire people or do it yourself.

Weekend Mayhem

A free post day, we are half way through with our 14 days of posting. Wow, I have been a bit of a slacker not posting very insightful information. I would leave my posting for the last thing to do before bed and then be too tired to think or write. SORRY =(

Weekend Mayhem, is what I want to share.
After work, I had to assist with a wedding rehearsal. Home to eat with the family and play with kids. Bedtime routine. Blogg. Sleep. Tomorrow, I will wake at 5:45, on a Saturday, to run 7 miles; just so my hubby can get an early start on his day of landscaping. After a cup of joe and a nice hot shower I will begin my nonstop running from place to place. Target to purchase 2 birthday presents for 2 parties we will be attending Sat & Sun. Lil Pastry Chef for one of the birthday parties. Home to clean kids and put them down for naps. Church to assist with a wedding. Meet Mo and kids at a friends house where they will hang out while Mo and I go to dinner and the Philharmonic Pops concert. AHHH, I will be exhausted and probably falling asleep during my date night. I remember when date nights were easy. We would plan it all out and go. Now it involves so much work, sometimes I wonder if it is even worth it. What do you all do to make it easier? Not pack so much in your day, so you can actually stay awake and enjoy it?

Sunday is just as busy. Church. Mini Grand Prix birthday party with Reece. Raine and daddy will go home to nap and work in the garage. Back to church for FPU. Dinner. Bedtime routine. Prepare for the week! Spring break can't come soon enough. Pray for me during this oh so hectic weekend. Pray I see the joy in everyone's face around me and that I can actually feel some JOY as well! Then go and enjoy yourself! ;)

Nightmare on Elm St.

My first dorm room/apartment/house is the topic of discussion today.

So my first home away from home was Dodds Hall at Slippery Rock University. The 7th floor in a coed dorm. I shared my room with a junior named Colleen who was never around unless to go to sleep. Our room was right next to the stairwell and since she went to bed at a regular hour and I was a night owl, I would hang out in the stairwell and talk to the other freshman who had no idea your were supposed to go to bed and actually do your work. My friend Holly from the field hockey team moved into the room across the hall and also had an upperclassman as a roommate. We convinced both our roommates to switch rooms. I moved into Holly's room and we had so much fun!

My sophomore year we moved into a house, 417 Elm St with two other field hockey players. The house was a nightmare, so old and in the middle of a half a*& addition/bathroom remodel. Our landlord was horrible and never finished the remodel until a year and a half later. The house and roommate situation must have worked though cuz it was my home during my sophomore and junior year. My mom was a bit worried, but I was fine. I was living off campus with upperclassman and having a blast. I never had to leave my home to go to a party! We'd have field hockey parties and invite other teams to mix with us; baseball and soccer were our favorites at the time. Oh to go back to those carefree days.

Bufbppofo 09 Day 5

Who would play you in a movie? Who would play Mike?

I have no idea about this question. I don't think I had and answer last year either. What do you all think? Mike would definitely be played by Kevin James, ya know King of Queens guy.

Side Note:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!

She is only 39 today and certainly acts 29, but good for her! I hope your day was blessed while visiting with Jaime. We love you!