This is Madeline singing, " I'm a Kitten", with her American Idol microphone from McDonald's. This microphone is one of their favorite toys and causes many fights between them. Sometimes I wish it would disappear! Who needs to spend money on toys when you can have goodies from Happy Meals? The video is kinda blurry since Jamie took it from his phone. She loves this leopard unitard a neighbor gave us. Jamie says she wore it yesterday (while I was at work) with her blue tennis shoes! She stripped down after school today to put it back on. It may have to disappear too!

Happy Halloween!!!

We had a full weekend! On Saturday, Jamie packed us a picnic and we took the golf cart to the lake in PTC. After lunch, we went to the library and on the way home we stopped for a walk! The kids love following the trails through the woods. Jamie and I walked behind them and held hands for a few minutes. Next thing I know the kids are saying, "Let's hold hands like Mommy and Daddy!" How cute is that??

The kids started 4 day 3s on Monday!!!! YES I am very excited! They love school and their new teachers, Mrs. April and Ms. Debbie. Jen put Carleigh in Mom's Morning Out so we had a big day today...we went to the pool all by ourself-no kids!! Can you believe it?? The pool without kids! We had a blast, just laying around! But give me a little credit because I worked Monday and Tuesday!

This has been a busy month for us! We separated the kids into their own rooms Sunday night. They did great and seemed to be excited about their "big" rooms. My parents kept them so we could paint and get everything done. Jamie and I worked our hineys off to get it all ready for them. We had stripped the wallpaper out of their bathroom a couple of months ago, too. (Jen helped with that-thanks Jen.) So we finally finished painting it as well. I am really proud of the results. It makes such a difference to paint and make things feel homey!

I had to post this pic of Tim from the concert. Heather and I had 4th rows seats that were awesome! Heather took some amazing pictures on her camera that I am still waiting for her to download. I took this one and several others on my cell phone. We had such a great time and I have to say...I touched his arm!!! What a stud!!!

Bedtime can be such a hassle now that the kids aren't in cribs. Ben will do anything to avoid going to bed. His favorite excuse is, "I not like my bed". Jamie found them asleep in our bed last night. So cute, but not where I want them! We are working on getting the guest room ready for Madeline so we can seperate them. I have a feeling we will find them both in her bed once they are moved.

I took this last night on the way to my neighbor's house for a beer. Jen and I were on the golf carts and the kids walked in front of us. Its blurry because I had to use my cell phone, but the moment was adorable. My kids have been saying some really funny stuff that I keep thinking I need to post so I will remember it. For example, Madeline and Ben came in my room several times yesterday morning while I tried to snooze. This is a miserable way to sleep cause I feel like I have one eye open to watch them. After about 45 minutes of trying to get me up Madeline said," Mommy, are you going to stay in here forever?". I didn't know she knew the word, forever, much less how to use it in a sentence. As for Ben, he seems to take things literally. One day I got them chicken nuggets on the way to the store. I guess they were hungry because by the time I got to the store they had eaten all their food. I commented, "Wow, what did y'all do with all those chicken nuggets?" Ben was very serious when he said, "I put them in the hole in my mouth." So cute!

We have been to the pool almost everyday since it opened. All four of them go down the waterslide like pros! Jen and I don't know what we would do without the pool! Most days we take PB&Js and eat dinner there. By the time we get home its time for bed and the kids are exhausted! Click on the link to see the "cow" at the pool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaZKnS_ierI

Sorry for another video but I had to add this one of the kids playing this morning. Its hard to tell but they are both laughing, and they spent most of the morning wrestling with each other. Of course, I had to intervene every few minutes when Ben got too rough, but you know little boys...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urKmUbugSuE

School's out for summer! At least for my kids, it is over til August. I plan to have a little more "free" time. Work less and play more! A neighbor down the street has agreed to keep the kids one day a week so I can work. The pool opened Friday and we have already been three times. It is so much easier this year than last year. I do feel bad for Jen though cause Carleigh is all over the place! I will have pool pics up soon! I really am looking forward to the next few months. We have made some new friends in the neighborhood and of course with The Wrights here, I know it will be fun filled. We bought series tickets to the local amphitheater, which has been a blast. It is so nice to know Jamie and I are going out on an "adult night" if nothing else but for those five concerts. Check out the link below to see Jen at the Survivor concert a few weeks ago. She was the hit of the concert when she was dancing around and singing ,"Eye of the Tiger". Its kinda hard to see her because I took the video on my phone, but you get the idea! Love ya Aunt Jen, AKA "Dancing Queen".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT8JtjLMwFo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Zuxvc62kM

I don't know how to set this up right, but this should be a video of Madeline singing her version of "ABC's". Gotta love it!!

We tried to get Ben to sing too. Instead we were able to get a knock knock joke! Who taught him that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lYKR2LvVjc

Happy Birthday Ben and Madeline!!

The kids' 3rd birthday was a success! We had a great time! After everyone left I realized that we are so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family to help us celebrate Ben and Madeline's birthday. Madeline has been talking about her birthday for months. Every time I asked her what she wanted she always said," a pink birthday cake", and Ben was to have blue. So, with Aunt Jen's help, we made a pink and blue cake! Thanks Aunt Jen! The middle picture is from their preschool. Jamie and I took cupcakes to their class last week. Madeline carried the candles around for 2 days, she even forgot about her Dora backpack in order to carry the candles. Ben got some much needed boy toys, like noisy cars. He has been pushing them around the house, making noise and spitting in the process. Grandma and Grandpa got them Razor scooters. Ben can really ride them which seems amazing to me! Thanks to everyone who helped make their birthday so special!

We took the kids to have Easter pictures made today. We also had one made with their cousins, Hunter, Sydney, and Harrison. It was a lot of work and I hope it was worth it. I took these pics right before we left. We leave for Pemborke in the morning so I have been doing laundry and cleaning the past couple of days, in hopes of coming home to a clean house. Happy Easter!!

I looked in the backyard today to find Ben with his pants around his ankles, peeing. Wahoo!! Great news for me. My trips in the house this summer to let them pee will be reduced by 50% now that he will stand!!

I bought my kids these dorky Dora and Diego hats from Wal-Mart. I couldn't resist because they were so excited when they saw them in the store. It just happened that Madeline had on her Dora shirt that Aunt Jen got her. She was also wearing her Dora backpack and eating Dora yogurt. I just washed the backpack because was starting to smell since she takes it everywhere and sleeps with it. Its full of stuff she finds around the house. I have to check every few days for anything that might embarass me. They really aren't sleeping any longer since the time change. One morning Ben slept til 8am, but that's the most they have slept in for me. At least the weather is great!!

Just a quick note, Jamie has been out of town since Sunday morning and will be back tomorrow!! I have been staying up til I can't keep my eyes open, rather than lay there and fret over every little noise in the house. The kids have been pretty good, but they are aggravating each other a lot lately. Ben really knows how to push Madeline's buttons. I am on call two nights a week, so I had a sitter Monday night and Miranda came over tonight. Thanks Randa! The kids love seeing her and Gregg, AKA "Geg". I am so ready for warm weather! Besides just being able to get out of the house, I am so glad I won't have to hunt socks that match for the kids. Today I splurged and bought them both Crocs...so I won't have to look for socks! HA!

I can't wait for the time change. My kids have been getting up at 6:30am. I am not a morning person so I hope the time change will help. When they were in cribs I put toys in their bed and ignored them as long as they weren't screaming. They would wake up and play for an hour or so before I would get them up. I always felt they were happier when they were able to wake up and chill in their bed for awhile. Now that they are in "big beds" and potty trained, I have to get up and help them get on the potty. Ben comes in every morning holding himself saying, "I go potty Mommy". This morning I told them to go back to their room to play. A few minutes later I heard them downstairs. When I got there, Ben had about 5 cups of ice in the back of his dumptruck. They don't understand the concept of ice melting yet. So they carry it around and get mad when its just water left.
About 6 months ago,Jamie took Ben to the ballpark and watched kids playing T-ball, and Madeline and I went shopping. When we passed the ballparks today Ben said, "Daddy take me to play ball". Madeline piped up and said, "Mommy take me shopping". Good times to come!!!

I know I have been a bad blogger lately. We have been so busy it seems. But the kids are downstairs watching Curious George so I had a minute. My children have changed so much in the past few months. They are no longer in cribs, their vocabulary scares me, and most importantly, they are potty trained! So, I feel I have two preschoolers, not toddlers, definately not babies. I went through a couple of weeks of thinking maybe I want one more...but then I came to my senses!! I think we are so blessed to have two beautiful children that we can really devote lots of time to, besides we don't want to be out numbered. Anyway, I love this picture! Its Madeline and Ben with my cousin Kim's two boys, Will and John Mitchell. I think Madeline and John Mitchell have lots of Baggarly traits and favor each other a lot. So I am still here. I don't know if anyone reads this thing but I look at everyone else's all the time. BBB

Merry Christmas!

This is our Christmas card this year. They were sent out a little late but at least they were sent. Maura made them for me and I think they turned out great! Thanks Maura! We had a nice Christmas but we all are exhausted from lack of sleep and running around. The kids have runny noses, again. Ben is asleep on the couch now,which never happens so I know he doesn't feel good. I guess we will go to the Dr to make sure his ears are OK and he doesn't have strep. See you next year!bbb