Sometimes life doesn't go as planned...

So last week, we were supposed to meet a friend at the pool one afternoon! Anyone with two young kids knows that going to the pool is NO easy feat. Not only do have to change both kids into swimsuits and lather sunscreen on, but you have to pack all the necessary items (snacks, water, toys, change of clothes, hats, etc, etc, etc...). Since I have been doing this all summer, I have to say that I am pretty organized and follow a checklist every time we head to the pool which is usually three or four times per week, most of the time without Chris.

So back to the afternoon, we loaded in the car with all the essential equipment, drove to the pool, unloaded everybody and everything into the double stroller, and walked about halfway to the entrance. Only then did I realize that I forgot the most essential item necessary, Andrew's bottle (which was sitting by the sink in a glass of hot water warming up so it would be ready to go). Yes, the 6 ounces of liquid that are necessary to keep him healthy and happy for the next few hours.

So what do you do? Load up, call your friend and apologize profusely, and head home to play in the backyard for the afternoon. Although I missed catching up with a good friend, I would have to say that we enjoyed our time in the backyard just as much or if not more then we would have at the pool! (No trying to juggle a baby and a toddler for two hours at the pool with only my two arms!)

Here are some pictures to prove our fun:

Look Mom, I like our pool just as much as the city pool! I don't have to share toys here;)And I'm more content just playing in the grass and crawl all over the place!
And look who is learning how to play baseball?!?!
I don't know where he learned this face, but he makes it all the time!
And look at Mr. Happy after he finally received his bottle!

Choo Choo:)

One of Aiden's FAVORITE things to do is going to meet Daddy at the choo-choo train when Chris arrives home from work! A couple times a week, we load up in the stroller, hustle and bustle our walk down to the station, take the elevator up to the platform, and await the big passenger train!

This is his "Mommy, I think I hear the choo-choo" face:

I love how the simple things make my boys happy!

Brothers Brothers!

I love my days with these boys, although there is NOTHING easy about being a stay at home mom:) Since Andrew starts crawling around more, he is keeping up and chasing Aiden around the house. Nothing makes Aiden more excited then watching his brother:) Sometimes it scares me what our big rugrat is teaching our little rugrat!

One of their favorite moments in the day is between lunchtime and naps. We always head upstairs, get diapers on for nap, and spend about fifteen minutes playing in Aiden's bedroom before storytime. I seriously think that it may be Andrew's favorite time of day:) Here are the two playing in Aiden's bed (and can you tell that Andrew found on Aiden's pacis?!?!)

Playing together in the basement. And yes, it always turns into a disaster after just a few minutes of being down there!

Look who loves to help feed his brother (and eat the leftover baby food!)

Taking turns with the bus

I love my boys!

Heat Wave!

There has been no break from heat in this part of the country! By about 9:00, it's already TOO hot to hit the park. So last Monday morning after a quick breakfast, we headed to the park by 7:30 am:) Can we say early?!?! The boys had a great time having the play equipment all to their selves and I was thankful that we weren't sweating in the sun!

All ready to play at the park

Walking the beam! (Can you tell that I was in the midst of doing laundry? These pajamas do not match at all. That's the way we roll in our house!)

Look who else loves to climb on the structure!

Summer Days:)

Summer means:

Playing outside ALL day!...
With a little playtime inside (especially for the wee one:))...
Toys, toys, toys!...And a little crawling in the grass...
Getting ready to head to the pool...
And smiles all around...
With a little craft time in the morning...
And lots of playing with the puppies...
And an out of control garden...
Filling up on liquids with our special M and M straw...
Enjoying our kiddie pool in the backyard...
And waiting for Daddy to come home from work...
Making cookies with Mommy...

Swinging at the park...And just having FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

Just a little easy redo:)

So we have these wonderful chairs in our dining room that I just love. Four years and two kids later, all of the chair pads are dirty, dirty, dirty:

So we have recovered them! I bought some new fabric that can be easily wiped and thanks to some helpful advice from my mom and a little magic with a staple gun, all of them have been transformed to this:

Cousins

When we arrived back from vacation, we were lucky to have a short visit from my sister, Jen, and her two kids, Clem and Tal! While Jen was finishing her school year in the Bronx, we enjoyed a few moments with her two rugrats. We enjoyed a few visits to the park and lots of playtime around the house!

Aiden dragging Clem around at the park

The little nuggets: Andrew and Tal

I am so sad to say that we will miss living so close to Jen, Paul, Clem, and Tal. They have decided to leave NYC and head to Bloomington, Indiana where my sister has taken a new teaching job. I wish them luck on their new adventure and am glad that they will be surrounded by green grass, fresh air, and even a normal grocery store. But they will be missed dearly around here and we hope to find time to see them despite the distance!