What we've been up to

We started our kitchen remodel and I forgot to post about it. Nick started the tear out back in November and spent a good amount of time planning and figuring out the best way to do this in a clean, manageable way. Over the past 2 months he has redone all of the electrical, lighting, and he installed all new drywall. He does amazing work! I really hit the jackpot with him. We had a holdup when he found a leak coming from the roof. We had to wait 2 weeks for a roofing company to come check it out. Thankfully, it was a small/inexpensive fix. Next up we need to finish the walls, have the floor guy come in to install the hardwood, paint, install cabinets, and order the counter tops. Exciting! I can't wait to see it completed. I'll do a before/after post eventually.

The kids are both doing great in school. Josh gets a little burnt out by Thursday and starts asking about days off, but overall he has transitioned into full day Kindergarten nicely. He loves his teacher and his friends in class. We got a new Wii game system for Christmas and I'm regretting it, sort of. Josh is completely obsessed with it and asks or talks about it daily, even though he knows he can only play it on the weekend. At the same time, he and Maya will actually play it together and have a good time. THAT has been amazing. I love listening to them talk to each other and try to help each other figure out the game.

My handsome guy.

Maya has been working hard for the last 6 weeks to earn a new hamster -- she had a list of things that could be completed for 5 points each. The idea was she needed to reach 500 points before she could pick out a new little guy/girl. Nick took her a few weeks ago and they picked out a brown and white one. She was coming up with some pretty crazy names -- S'mores, Oreo, Kyler (after Josh's friend at school...?), Fudge, etc. We each gave her some ideas and she finally decided on Max. We think she liked that name because she has a little buddy at church with the same name. We like it too! On Max's first night here, she couldn't fall asleep and Nick went in to see what was going on. She had been working on an "About Me" sheet for Max like the animals have at Petsmart...you know, different things like name, age, personality traits, etc. She gets something in her mind and won't settle until she's done! She also started making headbands and scarves out of my extra sewing fabric. As I dropped the kids off at school this morning I noticed her little friend Sadie was wearing one of the headbands. Made me smile. She is so witty and funny. Yesterday we were on our way to her piano lesson and we had this conversation:

"I don't think this muffin is cooked all the way, mom. It is all ooey and gooey on the inside and tastes funky."
Josh- "Maya, I bet it was cooked all the way. Mom always cooks them all the way." (Brown-noser, but I love him.)
Maya - (While getting out of the van) "Well, Josh, you haven't tried a muffin from this last batch. No hard feelings, mom." (slams the door shut)

I'm still laughing about it.

We had fun going to Walgreen's on Valentine's Day to sell Girl Scout cookies! The girls did a great job and sold a bunch.

Putting Max in his new home.

I really love spending my days with sweet Cora. She has started to improve with her vocabulary and is picking up new words and sayings every day. She also started to play pretend more over the past few months. She likes to pretend that her bear is her baby and she changes his "biaper" and wastes 1,000 wipes on getting him clean. She also loves her tea set she got for Christmas and plays with it on a daily basis. She usually makes me sit down with her to have a tea party and will often decide, mid-sip, that I have had enough and will cut me off and pour my "tea" back into the pot. That's when I know I can sneak away and work on something else. It reminds me of the Soup Nazi on that Seinfeld episode, "NO TEA FOR YOU!" We have a good little routine going with errand running and trips to the gym, but I have the nagging feeling that I need to do more fun things with her, even if that means sit down and play at home more. The mommy guilt never goes away but I know I can improve in that area of our life. I do try and include her in the things I am working on. She is great at spraying the coffee table and wiping it down and she really likes to dust with our Swiffer duster. Some of her favorite sayings: "What doin' mama?". Whenever she is doing something she isn't supposed to and we tell her to not do it she looks up with really wide eyes and says, "I KNOW, mom!" (or dad, Maya, Josh) Then she keeps doing it. Naughty girl. She's a good helper. She will often come running into the kitchen with her step stool when she hears me working to offer assistance - "I 'helpa' you, mom!" I'm really looking forward to warmer weather so we can stop and play at the park or just go in the yard and do bubbles. We are getting spring fever but there are still piles of snow everywhere and no sign of a warm up. I love spending every Sunday in Nursery with her and her little friends. It is so fun and I'm soaking up every minute of it.

This girl loves "chee-burgers". Every time we are out running errands and it gets close to lunch time she asks for one. I've only given in a time or two.

I love these little pokey-ears.