Cavs Game and 100th Day of Kindergarten!

So I said I would post pictures about 4 days ago, and I am just now getting to it!  No excuses other than life!

Rewind to last weekend...we had our belated holiday party for my company.  This was the best party yet...my 13th one!  Dang am I old!?!?!?!  The girls were lucky enough to stay the night at the Alexanders!  The girls were thrilled to have them and even though Kim couldn't see the kids, I think she still really enjoys them being there!  Meanwhile, the staff and significant others all headed to Cleveland for dinner, the Cavs game, and a night away!  It was "hat" night and we got these super warm hats...which were adorable and perfect for the cold weather!

So cool to see Lebron in action...even if they lost!

Sistas!

Meawhile, back in Columbus....

Suckers!

Bath-time silliness!

The kids insisted on a bath with a bath bomb, so of course the girls ran them to the mall to pick one out!  Spoiled rotten!  I mean just look at those smiles!

Chuckee Cheese!

Morning snuggles!

Cousin love!

The kids were exhausted but had the time of their lives!  They can barely wait to go back there three times a week this summer!

This past Monday was Grey's 100th day of Kindergarten!  We made him a shirt that said "I survived 100 days" with 100 Angry Bird Band-aids stuck on to it!

 It feels like his first day was yesterday and now they are more than halfway through the school year!  Carazy!!!

Miss Sassy Pants!

On Tuesday, we headed to a potential sitter's house...Sonia.  I dressed the kids super cute because of this....and it was a good excuse:)

This girl has no personality I tell ya!

So we headed to see Sonia, the potential sitter I referred to in my earlier post.  I promised the kids Wendys if they behaved...lets just say the kids ended up with Krogers lunch and they are lucky they got that.  No excuses...but maybe their behavior was a sign that Sonia just wasn't the right fit for us:)

 Here are the cute boys waiting for the bus and freezing their tushes off!

 On Wednesday was when Nicole answered my prayers.  We spent an hour and a half there on Wednesday night and before I knew it, we committed to Nicole and let Holly know.  Since Holly was able to start school on Feb 1, Friday was our last day with Holly.  I know the kids will miss her, but I also know that we will still see the Cooks!  This was a pic that Holly sent me on Friday...Tatum was playing Play Doh and kept dropping it everywhere but said...I won't make a mess k Miss Holly?  God Love her!

And after the stress of finding a new sitter and life in general, we were very happy to welcome the weekend.  Danielle, Kristen, and I headed to Barre and then met at Kristen's house for some pizza, snacks, wine, and puzzles while the kiddos played!

Sky came over for a bit on his way home and took the kids home.  Kristen put the boys to bed and we had some nice girl time.  Danielle headed out around 11 and because Kristen and I are such nerds, we finished the puzzle at 2am!  Crazy that puzzles are the only thing that can keep me up!  Luckily I was able to sleep in until 8am!  (Thank you Skyler)!

Saturday was gorgeous out for a January day in Ohio!  It was in the mid 50s and the sun was shining!  Sky took the kids to the gym and I went to Barre and the grocery store....then we all headed up to drop Sky's car off to get his tires rotated and putz around Kohls.  On the way home, Tatum and Sky played at the park while Grey and I went home to make soup!  Skyler took the most epic picture of Tatum.  She had just gotten a toy cell phone at Kohls, and was obsessed!

She actually stop mid-park playin and said, Dad I need to take a picture and then acted like she was taking a selfie!  Who is this girl!  Tatum Kardashian (as Tutu said when she called us later!)

We spent some time outside and then just relaxed last night.  Grey and I made his Valentine Box for school!  Angry Birds of course:)

Sunday was another warmer day, but windier and not quite as sunny.  We went to church, played on the playground, went to Costco and DSW and then spent the rest of the day at home!

Cousin High Fives!

My lil stud in his red pants!

If only this doll house wasn't $429 at Costco!!!

Tomorrow is back to the grind and a new beginning at Nicole's house for Tatum.  (Grey will join her on Friday).

I feel good about it and look forward to this new chapter!

On another note, Grey has been doing really well at school.  Check out this email from his teacher...

 I appreciate your kindness and support. Greyson's last few days of school have been great. He is on task and listening! he has also been kind to his peers. I have been praising him and I think this makes him proud. I will continue to praise his positive behavior. I think reinforcing it at home really has been helping too! Tell him to keep up the great job in kindergarten!! have a nice weekend!

Knock on wood, but I am so proud of my boy and hope this improved behavior continues!

Life...

And just like that another week has passed!  I am not sure where the time is going, but I would love it to slow down just a bit!

This past week has been a whirlwind.  On Tuesday of last week, my amazing sitter, Holly called me and let me know that she was going back to school earlier than anticipated!  She was sweet enough to give me 30 days to find new childcare, but I have to admit I was crushed.  I am not mad at all, just so sad, because she was so amazing with my kids.  I really have been so blessed with uh-mazing child care since the kids were born.

It didn't hit me right away.  I immediately went into "operation new babysitter" mode and didn't let the emotional side of things hit me....until last night.

I had a few leads, but nothing that excited me at all.  I got a referral from a girl at my Barre class and was super hopeful.  The kids and I went to meet her on Tuesday and the kids were rotten...  So that definitely didn't help.  Sonia was great....she was sweet, but stern.  She had a beautiful house, lots of toys, and on the surface things sounded great  However I knew I wasn't totally happy because I kept on lookin later that night.  I was just unsettled.  I tried to tell myself that comparing to Kim and HOlly wasn't fair, but still...  By 9pm, I wound up in tears.  I had finally let the kids know that Holly had to go back to work full time and wouldn't be watching them anymore, and Grey just lost it.  It broke my heart.  That's a tribute to her for sure...but as a mom, that rips your heart out.

I snapped at Sky last night, had a horrible day with the kids, and went to bed just feeling ick!  I woke up and was checking my email on the computer...and popped on facebook and just happened to notice I had a message request.  I accepted and it was the answer to my prayers!  A girl that moved to my neighborhood in September and has two boys (almost 4 and 20 months) was looking to watch a couple of kids to give her kids companionship and earn a lil extra money on the side.  The kids and I met her family after work and fell in love!  So down to earth and just the perfect match!  She is due with a third boy in June so the fact that the Alexander girls will watch the kids this summer is just perfect!  I feel like a new woman and truly feel like everything happens for a reason!

I am too lazy to download pix, but I will tomorrow!  Tonight I am feeling very blessed and thankful!

This and That

I haven't posted in a week but that's because not a whole lot exciting has happened!

Last Thursday Tator helped me pick up a few things from the grocery store.  She is hysterical!  She can drive me nuts and push me to the brink, but my life truly wouldn't be the same without her spunk and wit!

And if this isn't the greatest poem ever, I don't know what is!

Since Sky was working late and Pat always works late, Kristen and I planned a night in with pizza, wine, and kids to play with for our kids!

Kristen was sweet enough to the get the "pieface" came out!  Greyson absolutely loved it!

He thought this was pretty cool too!

The rest of our weekend is best summed up in the below picture!  LAZY!  I hadn't been sleeping well and was just run down!

 Greg was out of town so Dani spent a lot of time at our house.  We cleaned out and re-organized the office!  Didn't it turn out so stinkin cute!?!?!?

 That is literally all I accomplished all weekend and it felt awesome!

I did get some sad news on Tuesday...Holly is going back to school and will only be able to watch the kids for 30 more days.  I am not upset, but I am so sad.  The kids just adore her and she was so good to them!  I already have some leads, but we will really miss her!

So sweet an innocent! (NOT)

Oh so cool!

Winter has arrived

Its pretty ironic how the weather worked out this year.  When I want it to be cold and snowy to feel all Christmasy, the weather was in the 50s and 60s.  And now that the holiday season is over and cold weather is not so fun, winter has arrived!!!  I really can't complain because its been a breeze since last year, but just kinda makes me chuckle!

The kids looked thrilled that its Monday morning and back to the grind don't they?  I share your sentiments guys:)

Apparently Wednesday is a happier day!  These two couldn't not be sillier!  Look at the look on Tatum's face...if she isn't trouble, I don't know who is!

And then they get super sweet on me and love on each other on the way to the bus Thursday morning!

Greyson had an awesome week at school last week!  2 stickers every day!  It seems like the sticker reward system versus the moving of the clip method is working better for him!  Let's hope it continues!

And then here is my graceful and very lady like ballerina!  I mean I pretty much have her in dance just so she can wear leotards and tutus!  (if I'm being honest).  I can hardly wait to see what the dance recital song and outfit will be!

Greyson...so serious on Friday morning!  Dude...It's Friday!

Peace out week!

I mean who is this child and where did she learn the peace sign!!??!!?

 Dani, Kristen and I were geeked all week about our weekend!  We left about 8:15 Saturday morning and headed to the Premium Outlets and Ikea!  We were seriously giddy!  #wedon'tgetoutmuch

Before the shopping extravaganza started!

 We spent 6 hours at the outlets and did quite some damage to our bank accounts!  We struck cold and I am not sorry about it!

We headed up the road about 20 minutes to Ikea at around 4 and spent 2 1/2 hours there.  My feet hurt so bad I walked around in my socks!  Yep, I was that girl!

We headed back to the hotel and chilled for a bit...then headed to dinner.  We all savored some wine and delicious filets!  It was so nice to just relax and enjoy a dinner!  I love my kids, but going out to dinner isn't quite the same when they are in tow!

 After dinner we headed to a wine bar a few doors down.  It was pretty empty other than about 20 Bengals fans at the bar.  We sat by the 2 man band and had a ball requesting songs until the lead singer was totally rude to Danielle when she asked him a question.  At about 11, we called it a night...stopped by the hotel lobby and grabbed some ice cream bars for dessert and then laid in bed!  We watched the end of the Bengals game and crashed!  It was 50 degrees and perfect shopping weather all day Saturday...however we woke up to 20 degree weather and blustering snow!  Say What!!!

We were home by 11 and of course, the kids couldn't wait to get out in the snow!

These two are my world!  And they are pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!

 And just like that it was Monday and I failed to get any pictures of the kiddos before we left.  Thankfully Miss Holly sent me a picture of Tator Bug playing at the library later that morning!

Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful and I really did not take any pictures....I know I know...bad!

I was back at it this morning with PJAY pics!  It was a balmy 0 degrees this morning!  Give me a fire, hot chocolate, a blanket and a day worth of movies please!?!?!?