(This post contains commentary and phrases provided by Megan.)

Daddy and Megan fled the scrapbook house and spent the weekend at Gran and Papa's empty house. They had a fun Friday night watching Lady and the Tramp. Saturday morning they went to feed Grandma's dog, but on the way something happened.

Megan was in her first car wreck. A lady in a black car pulled out and hit them while they were driving down the road! They are both okay and the lady had insurance. Whoo hoo. The truck looks a little ugly right now, but it'll be fixed soon.

After the car wreck, they went on a date. They played games and bowled at Alley Cats. Megan hit the jackpot on one of the games and won over 800 tickets. She also bowled very well, I heard. She said it's okay if we all go bowling again as a family (which means I can be invited next time).



They got donuts for breakfast this morning and then played around the house waiting for Gran and Papa to get home (her idea). She played toys and sidewalk chalk all day.

I was glad when they got home tonight...I missed them! Connor did too. Megan is so lucky to have such a good Daddy who doesn't mind spending the entire weekend alone with her. And I'm so lucky, too!

Where have I been, you ask? Well, I've been holed away at my house having a scrapbook retreat weekend with my friends, courtesy of Grandma. Normally I go on a scrapbook retreat the first weekend of May. I had to miss it this year because well, I've got a newborn and am nursing. So, Grandma offered to help me host one here at my house. Here's how it worked...we moved the furniture, set up a bunch of scrapbook tables, pulled out a bunch of supplies, invited over some friends, and scrapped the weekend away. Grandma watched Connor and brought him to me to feed. She also cooked all of our meals. It was SO relaxing and wonderful. I had a good mix of friends here, and I got a lot done. Okay, I talked more than I worked, but that's part of the therapy! Anyway, a HUGE thank you to my mom, to my friends, and to Jeremy for taking Megan for the weekend (more about that in a minute). I don't have pics of me cropping this weekend, but here's Connor hanging out with Grandma.

Thursday was Megan's last day of school. They had a pizza lunch, watched a movie, and had an ice cream sundae party. Oh, apparently they made visor hats, too. Megan loves hers. We explained to her that school is out for the summer, and she's pretty sad about it. But she said she will not miss having to stay on her mat.

Megan and I play this ridiculously fun little game together. It's called, "Connor says...". We get Connor into a situation and then we pretend we know what he's saying (we speak for him). And we crack ourselves up. Sometimes it's so funny that we have to grab the camera and make up even more stuff afterwards.

This one is: "What the heck is on my head?"



This one is: "Puhh-lease will you take this hat off my head?"



Sorry, Connor. Maybe one day I won't act like a 3 year old. But for now it's fun.

Last night we went to the Rangers/Yanks game. We got in, got our food, got seated, and then a very unwelcome guest arrived: RAIN DELAY. If you haven't ever tried to sit through a 2 1/2 hour rain delay with an energetic 3 year old, I wouldn't recommend it as a form of leisurely entertainment. Holy smokes. She latched herself onto Papa for most of the time. She was tired before the rain even hit.


She played many games during the downpour, including "Run and jump onto Papa".


Meg and me right before the first pitch. We had to run to the concession stand to stock up on sugary sweets in order to stay awake...at least until the Dot Race.


Megan practicing her whistling.


We left after Megan fell asleep in the 7th inning (almost midnight). She just woke up and is very disturbed that she slept in her Ranger shirt instead of a nightgown. Better go put that fire out. Thank you for the game, Papa! Nothing like the atmosphere of a Rangers/Yankees game.

Megan and I made up a new song today. It goes something like this:


Here's an updated video of Connor. His big accomplishments are: smiling, "talking", heavy breathing, head bobbing, and spitting. This has all. Enjoy.

Yeah, I'm blogging backwards. That's how I roll today.

Today we went to the park for a picnic with some of our friends. Megan had a blast. She played on the swings, the merry-go-round, the slide, and ran around the entire park area. At one point the kids were running down the path. I called for Megan; she turned around and yelled, "We're going into the future!" Her imagination is running full speed today.

Megan told me today that she wanted to be a mermaid. Fair enough. Ariel wanted to be human, right? After our park trip today, she was a filthy mess. FILTHY. Like dirt in her hair and in other odd places. So, I decided to let her be a mermaid for the day. She took the longest bath ever. And then she decided that was long enough to be a mermaid.

This is how Connor helps me cook sometimes. He just happened to doze while I was baking a cake. Usually he "talks" and smiles at me the whole time.

Regardless if this jinxes the sleep session tonight, I must brag on my kiddo. Every night for the past week, Connor has slept at least a 7 HOUR stretch without waking to eat. At least. Some nights he has made it 9 hours. He is extremely predictable. I can tell you what time of the evening it is by his current actions. He eats at around 5:30 p.m. and is extremely happy and playful until he eats again at 8:30 p.m. Then he screams bloody murder for at least an hour while he rubs his eyes and frantically freaks out. I feed him again at around 10 p.m., and he's out until at least 6:00 a.m. At that time, he wakes up extremely happy and playful, eats, and goes back out for at least another 2 hours. Clockwork. I hope this clockwork gig sticks around. I could get very used to it.

Slightly related, Connor's crib is here and assembled. Thus begins the "am-I-ready-to-put-him-in-his-own-room" overanalytical paranoia. The answer, obviously, is no. But then when will I be ready? Hmmm...at least it is here and it looks nice in there.

She asked both of us that question today. I'm sure she'd LOVE it. We love to have him here, but he's got to go back to college soon and get good grades again. For now we're enjoying all the time he'll give us.

We've tried to stop him, but it's become pointless. He's found his thumb and he's not afraid to use it. *sigh* We have 2 thumb suckers. The only nice thing about it is that he soothes himself to sleep instead of my fumbling around for the pacifier. (That's my effort at looking at the bright side of things.)

Okay, so I'm totally having post-wedding let down. I'm so sad that the whole thing is over and was over so quickly. I'm sure some other people would agree with me.

Simply put: the wedding was wonderful. Kati was gorgeous, the ceremony was enjoyable (comical even), the flower girl was well-behaved, the reception dinner was YUMMY, and it was just fun, fun, fun. I couldn't stop smiling, which is a big change for my otherwise grumpy self lately. It was just an all around very happy day. Of course Kati and Ryan were the picture perfect bride and groom. And my aunt and uncle were in their element...they made great parents of the bride. It was very enjoyable for me to watch their reaction as they watched Kati be so happy all day. Talk about heartwarming! *sigh*

Although we were all rushed, and slightly late, we all managed to get to the rehearsal. Megan practiced walking down the aisle and getting to the right spot. We decided that for everyone's sake, we'd have Megan sit down after she dropped the petals. I was having nightmares about her flashing her undies or picking her nose or trying to get next to Ryan. Connor got to enjoy some special time with Grandpa.

Afterward, we went to Pappasitos for a delicious rehearsal dinner. Ryan's parents did an excellent job! It was a nice party. Megan got a wedding Barbie for being the flower girl. I got a neat black, white, and pink personalized bag with goodies in it. It is so darn cute! And man, was I stuffed full of yummy fajitas and such.


After the dinner, we kidnapped Kati and took her to Pete's Piano Bar in Addison. We had such a blast! Kati got to go up for embarrassment 4 times...the last one being the best. There are pictures of that night on someone else's camera....some very friendly soldier was home from Afghanistan and kept volunteering to take our picture as a group. I'm pretty sure we have at least 10 of us. Oh, and there are some of Kati up on stage. I must really get my hands on those pics...

It's takes a lot to get girls ready for a wedding! We went up to "Weddingville" on Thursday afternoon to spend some special time with Kati. Megan got her first pedicure with Aunt Kari, Granna, cousin Jackie, Kati, and Mom. She picked her toenail polish color and she even got flowers!!! Stephanie did our hair the morning of the wedding. She had such patience with Megan...

Today we went to the zoo with our friends Jack and Marla. It was hot, but we sure had a good time. The kids decided, for some reason, that they wanted to see a hyena, but unfortunately we never saw one. They were sad. But we did get to see some other cool animals and the moms got to play with the cameras (so the truth comes out...).

A chimp with an attitude. This dude cracked me up.

Flamingos sleep on one leg...Megan can do that too, she says.


The zebra that they saw, but later declared that they didn't get to see.


The baby giraffe. Who does, according to Megan, "have a long neck too even though he is a baby".


The hippos were asleep under the water until Jack's sweet little voice coaxed them out for a show.


Connor's first zoo trip was just so darn thrilling.


And they smiled, together, close to each other, at the same time! Miracle!

When Meg was almost 3 months old she would crank her head to see the Ranger's game.


Connor does the exact same thing. It's funny though...it's only to see the Ranger's games and not shows/movies. True fans.

The theme at I Heart Faces is laughter. There are some wonderful entries. This is my first time to "play" on I Heart Faces, and well, it's seriously intimidating. Oh well. It's not my first panic attack of the week.

Megan and I were bored the other day, so we set up a photo shoot. Despite our silly noises, funny faces, and antics, Connor would not crack a smile. I was about to put the camera away when...not only did he smile, but he laughed too. I managed to snap it just in time. Every time I look at this picture, it makes me laugh.

Megan: Mommy, what can we do?
Mommy: In a little bit you can help me make mini meatloaves.
Megan: Now?
Mommy: Later.
Megan: Why not now?
Mommy: Because the meat is frozen. It needs to thaw out.
Megan: Well, you know that's what the microwave is for? Put it in there so we can hurry and make those meatballs.

There is not much that goes on with Connor that Megan misses out on. Seriously, that girl has to have her hands in the middle of everything. Diaper changes, spit up, choosing outfits, ETC. You name it, she wants to do it. So today, she wanted to give Connor a bath. And I let her! I held onto the bathtub, and stayed close, but she did most of it on her own. She was so proud. I only had to rescue a body part once (but I will spare you the details of that one).

My wonderful day started with a deep, self-reflective, and intellectual conversation (about adult topics instead of kid issues) with my husband until 3 a.m. It was so past due and just like old times. Although I figured we would both be sorry a few hours later, I didn't want it to end. Thank you for that present, J.

Selfishly, I declared today "my day". We didn't have any plans with anyone else, and I just wanted to spend time with the kids and hubby doing things that we love to do together. Yes, I dared to wear my "Supermom" shirt today! It's my joke shirt.

My somehow sympathetic children slept until 10:30 a.m., so it wasn't too consequential that we stayed up all night! How did that work out? Megan and Daddy made a very yummy breakfast while I spent time with Connor. After breakfast, Daddy and the two kids went to run an errand. Yes folks, it was Daddy's first time out with the two kids on his own - and they all got back home in one piece! (I'm not the one who had doubts...) Then Megan told me that she wanted to scrapbook with me - whoo hoo! - so we scrapbooked for a few hours. It was enjoyable company and conversation. Daddy and the kids took me to "linner" at a local Italian restaurant and YUM-O! I think I found my new favorite restaurant. I had alfredo with sun-dried tomotoes, mushrooms, and artichokes. Mmmmm....after dinner, Megan wanted to watch a movie (because that is her favorite thing to do). So she watched while Daddy, Connor, and I took a snooze.



Before the sun went down, we planted my new Mother's Day present - a coconut daisy. It's the tradition; my gift each Mother's Day is a plant for my flower garden, picked out by the kids. It is planted next to the flower I received last year. Seriously, I think of Megan, and now Connor, each time I see those flowers.

I have all of these profound thoughts and sentiments floating around in my head, but it's all chaos. Therefore, I will just say this one thing: I LOVE being a mom.

We were outside working in the flower bed. Megan was playing with sidewalk chalk and flitting around the yard. It was very pleasant. Until...


I found a grub worm and warned Megan not to step on it. What I missed, by laughing so hard, is that she was hanging, feet curled up underneath her, from the pole screaming her head off. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were torturing her.



Don't worry. Daddy took care of the worm. All is well.

Last night we had such a treat! We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's to welcome: Uncle Scott home from college; Grandma home from Utah; Granna and Double G from Brownsville. Megan was in center of attention heaven.


Uncle Scott is home for a visit. We'll keep him very entertained and busy.


Megan and Grandpa played outside for hours despite the arrival of the cold front. Her hands were freezing when she finally came in.

Thank you for our treats and letting us hang out until after midnight!