Easter Fun (96/365)

Izzy dying eggs. All she really wanted to do was play with the egg catcher.

Alice, on the other hand, would have dyed eggs all night if she could.

She later went on to play mad scientist with all of the colors.

The end result. I have no idea what we're going to do with them

though since Matt and I don't want to eat them.

(click to view larger)

Growing up Matt always searched for his Easter basket and it was a tradition he wanted to pass down to our kids. This year Alice is actually old enough to go looking.

Here's where the Easter bunny hid hers this year.

Izzy's was in plain sight on the coffee table. Alice was glad to help Izzy see what she got.

Also, see how it was still dark outside? Yeah, I got up at 5:30am in order to not be rushed getting ready. Alice must have heard me because she got up and joined me in the bathroom. I thought I'd be able to get her back to bed, but Izzy woke up a few minutes later and there was no point anymore. It made for a very long day for both of them, but they did pretty well.

The best gift? Well this wasn't from the Easter bunny at all, it was from Alice.

When we were at Kohl's the other day, Alice saw this book and said that

we had to get it for Izzy. With as crazy as Iz is about Alice's book like this I couldn't argue.

Of course, Alice is having issues letting Izzy have her own book.

We met Annie for mass, and afterwards we went back to Annie's house and had a very yummy breakfast, and Annie set up an egg hunt for the girls. Needless to say Alice was very excited!

Duckie bubbles that later, due to the crazy wind, got in her eyes.

Recognize the cross, James? Alice insisted on wearing my

Happening cross since we were going to church.

Izzy actually left these ears on for much longer than we thought she would!

The kid hates to have anything on her head!

The kids totally trashed Ann's living room. Thankfully she didn't mind.

Hope you all had a great Easter too!

It's Uncle Ry Ry! (95/365)

Ry was in the area today so he decided to stop by and see us while he was here. It was a great visit, and one that involved some book reading, some suntanning, and lots of mud. Thank you, Ry, for helping out while I cleaned my baby, and then my bathroom. See you Friday.

Happy Easter (94/365)

I'll get some proper photos up when I'm not tired to the bone (I can
no longer stay up till 12am and then get up at 5:30am). We had lots of
fun with the family starting with mass and breakfast with Annie. The
girls enjoyed tearing her house apart, and I enjoyed taking a quick
catnap on her awesome couch.

Later we went to Mom and Dad's where eventually the whole family got
together for good food and good times. It had been a while since all
of us had been together so it was very nice to see everyone.

Both girls woke up when I got up at 5:30am, so needless to say they
crashed when we got home around 9pm. And I hope they both sleep well
tonight!

Talk About a Shopping Spree! (93/365)

Alice and I went to Kohl's today and, as you can see, I dropped a
pretty penny! I got a few things for me, Alice's entire spring/summer
wardrobe (including a pair of oh so cute sandals), a kids lawn chair
(ok matt, rub it in), nightgowns, and an "MP3" player book just like
the one Alice got for Christmas (except Dora) for Izzy since she is in
love with Alice's.

I spent a lot, got a lot, and definitely SAVED a lot! Just about
everything was on sale for 50% off or more and nearly every item I
bought for Alice was $4.80! I sure had a hell of a time checking out
though! I made it a point to write down all the sale prices as I
shopped and at checkout nearly everything rang up for too much. The
poor clerk had to scan and then manually discount each item that was
incorrect! Thankfully she was very helpful and understanding and said
that the computers went down earlier and probably caused the issue.
Oh and I walked out with $70 Kohl's cash too!

It was a productive trip, but needless to say I was glad when our 3
1/2 hour adventure was over!

Today Was a Blah Day (92/365)

So here are some pics of the beautiful day that was yesterday. We went outside and played until Matt came home. It was SO gorgeous that we decided to stay out and play even longer. We played with Play-Do until our neighbors came home and the kids wanted to play. The day couldn't have ended better!

She Isn't Always Bad (91/365)

So I was a little hard on Alice last night. She's not always that bad. Yes, she does tend to act a lot like Jekyll and Hyde lately, but when she's sweet she's sickeningly sweet. For example:

She ADORES her sister. She loves nothing more than to make Izzy giggle. I hope they continue to have such a good relationship because so far it's been awesome.

She's always willing to help me clean. Just today, she helped me by cleaning up the disaster of a toy room (otherwise known as our living room and dining room) all by herself. I didn't even have to keep reminding her to keep it up like I usually do. She helped me fold laundry, make dinner, and clean the kitchen too.

She is my social butterfly who you can't help but smile from ear to ear at when she's playing with her friends. She could care less what toy she's playing with, she just wants to be around other kids.

No matter how mad at her I am, she can always find something to say that makes me melt and smile. "Mommy, this is the bestest dinner EVER!" she said to me tonight. I try not to give into her, but sometimes she just knows how to get on my good side.

If I could bottle up these moments, they might just make the crazy psycho moments a little bit easier to deal with.

Talk About Payback (90/365)

I'm beginning to regret all those times in my childhood when I was hard to live with.

Ok, so I've regretted them for a while now because looking back I realize just how impossible I was, but today I'm regretting it for a much different reason. Today was one of those days when all my misbehaving and back talk is coming back and biting me in the butt - ten fold.

Alice has really come into her age as of late. She's no longer saving it only for when we're here at home either as this past weekend it was even noticeable to Annie, who only sees her on weekends for the most part. I texted Matt at some point today and told him that I was going to lock myself in my room and pull my hair out because I just couldn't take it anymore. Fortunately not long after that I finally got her to take a nap and I got a break. She woke up after Matt came home and it wasn't long before he got a taste of what I had been dealing with all day.

Needless to say it ended with a certain little girl not finishing dinner and screaming her head off while Matt got her ready for bed. I'm surprised my neighbors didn't call the cops she was that bad.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I Think Alice Needs a Sandbox (89/365)

It's days like today that make me wish we had a house.

It was a gorgeous day, and tomorrow is supposed to be even better. We
made mud castles, looked for bugs, and ran amuck. Needless to say both
girls went to bed early tonight!

If You Don't Find Yourself on Here (88/365)

I appologize as my little artist couldn't be bothered to draw anymore.
However, she did find it necessary to draw two Izzys. Oh wait, one is
Izzy and the other is Izzy in octopus form.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Arrrrrrr, Me Matey (87/365)

This is the closest thing Izzy will get to having her ears pierced
before the age of 13. Who knew that fruity Cheerios (bet you didn't
know they existed, didya?) could be so stylish?

Lesson #437 I Should Have Learned the First Time Around (86/365)

Never turn your back on an almost 1 year old.

And when you find them climbing on things,

grab the camera before rescuing them.

Ok, maybe NOT the last part.

Guess What Day it is (85/365)

Izzy is finally getting the chance to enjoy pancake and popcorn night. And now that we have Netflix streaming on the Wii, we're adding movies to our Friday nights. Speaking of Pancakes, I made ours (well, the batter anyway) in the blender tonight, it's quickly becoming my favorite appliance. We've had one for years, but I never used it until recently. Now it has a permanent place on my counter and I use it every day. I think it's actually replaced my stand mixer as my favorite!

Izzy approves.

She Likes to Keep Us on Our Toes (84/365)

Turns out, Izzy just wanted to make sure we were paying attention to her - her EEG was completely normal!

Guess it was just spastic Bathje genes after all.

Izzy the Chef (83/365)

Come and visit us and she just might share her creation with you too.
Oh, and I can't help but be reminded of her Great Grandpa Rice when
she smacks her mouth and it comes out sounding like a tongue click
like he used to do.

Somewhere in there she's a Rice.

Ten on Tuesday (82/365)

1. Since starting our Weightloss Challenge in January, Matt has lost 32.5 lbs and I've lost 17. He's been on the ball with this change of lifestyle, but I haven't really been until recently. Hopefully I can keep it up!
2. Tori has been doing great too - in fact she's been leading the pack nearly every week! She and Matt are neck and neck now, but there is still time left!
3. Izzy has been cracking us up lately. We were watching The Princess and the Frog tonight after dinner and she started singing along with the music. I will have to get it on video, it is too cute.
4. Then she outdid herself and started drying the dishes. No I'm not a slave-driver, but she did steal a clean sock when I was folding laundry and proceeded to "dry" a bowl.
5. I actually got this one on film. I didn't catch her the other day when she had a bowl and spoon and was mixing up a storm.
6. The weather has been beautiful! It's been so nice to get out of the house and get some fresh air and sunshine. We even met Daddy when he came home today and made some mud pies.
7. We're gearing up for a lot of events. Annie and I are planning Kathy's bridal shower, Izzy's birthday party (finally sent the invite off to the printer), we're going to Indianapolis on Izzy's actual birthday to do Race for the Cure with a bunch of my MoGo mommies, and of course Easter.
8. Don't know what MoGo is? It's a group of women I met online when we were all pregnant with our October 2006 babies. We're a tight knit group of women and I can't wait to meet up with them for a good cause!
9. I've discovered the best cure for chapped lips. We have a huge bottle of Aquaphor for Izzy for when her face gets chapped, and out of the blue I decided to try it on my lips when my Softlips wasn't cutting it (and I loathe ChapStick) and I was elated to find out that it works so well!
10. I should head off to bed. I'm trying to get my butt to bed before 11pm these days and if I don't go to bed when Matt does I tend to stay up way too late.

Night all!