A Morning at the Mall

Friday while Grandma & Grandpa were at work we headed to Wolfchase Mall to expend some energy. They had a great playground that the kids went nuts over, not to mention the train and carousel. We stayed for about 2 hours and I only spent around $15 to include lunch at Chick Fila. It was a great morning. Eli was so wore out he slept for 3 1/2 hours once we got home...WOW!

I know the glare is bad, but the kids are in there!

Road Trip

Thursday we all hopped into the car and headed for Memphis to visit Grandma Joy and Grandpa Pat's house. Hunter was so happy to be going that while I was loading the truck, he jumped in the back and wouldn't get out! The ride went very well. We watched veggie tales and spongebob. (It is doubtful that these two cartoons are played back to back in any other household in America.)

Everyone packed ready to go!


Hannah "getting Hunter's sillies out" at the rest area.


Eli trying to keep up. It was a pretty steep hill.


Once we arrived at Grandma & Grandpa's house the kids let loose all the energy that had been holding onto. We ran all over the front yard, and destroyed the den. These activities paid off because both were passed out by 8:30pm, yay!

Eli stealing bites of Strawberry ice cream from Grandpa.


Eli teaching Grandma the art of knocking blocks around.



Eli stuck under Grandma's butcher block. Grandpa yelled at me for leaving him there while I went to get the camera.....how do you think I get all of these great shots!!!??!!


Hannah "teaching" Grandpa how to roll Sushi. Oh, and she created a new type of Sushi.....rice with cinnamon and sugar topping! It was yummy!

Sibling war wound

Today Eli received his first "real" sibling war wound. He was in the truck while I was vacuuming the front seat, and Hannah opened the door. Poor Eli fell out head first. Eli started screaming, Hannah started screaming, and I thought we were headed to the emergency room for sure, but no, Eli is extremely tough. He cried for about 2 minutes and then went about his business. I wish I was that tough.

Which leads me to the question when is I'm sorry not good enough? Hannah is constantly hurting other people, animals, things....and since she has learned to apologize, she believes that covers it. My father always used to say that sorry doesn't make it better. The reality of that didn't really sink in until recently. Is it acceptable to say sorry when something, that yes was an accident, but was completely preventable with a few seconds thought prior to the action? I have to agree with my father....yes, causing Eli to fall out of the truck was an accident, but shouldn't she have realized that it would hurt him since he was in the window? And should just making her apologize be my only course of action?

Slow Weekend

We had a very relaxed weekend. Exciting news arrived Saturday morning that Ben was coming home and we had to pick him up at the airport at noon. The kids and I were so happy to have Daddy home for a few days! (Well, two.) So after picking him up, we just hung out around the house and did nothing! It was heaven.

Eli eating crackers.


Hannah's ApadaHappySaurus


Hannah helping Daddy find his bag


Eli taking on Spongebob

Busy Friday

Friday was a busy day in our house, with many photo opportunities, but unfortunately I forgot the camera, or forgot to take pictures when I had the camera. (Shame on me!) This is probably a good thing since Hannah is getting so used to having her picture taken that now she will actually say you need to take my picture. At least she is ready for a celebrity life!!

The day began like many others: slow morning getting everyone dressed, snack like breakfast (I'm not a breakfast person), and Eli down for a nap at 9:45. Once Eli woke up we ate lunch and headed out into the big bad world. We ran a few errands that I needed to get done for school, and then we stopped at Sonic for Hannah's first real ice cream cone. Thank you to the Sonic guy for making it smaller than normal and for all the extra napkins!!! She did VERY well with only one dribble. I was rather impressed. By the way, I also purchased a small dish of ice cream for Eli and I to share, but Eli wasn't interested. It was ok though, Mommy made sure that none of it went to waste! After ice cream it was off to get hair cuts. Hannah was very well behaved. She held very still while Miss Priscilla trimmed her hair. Eli, not so much. I ended up putting him in my lap and holding him down, but we accomplished our goal. He looks very cute, and I am so happy that his hair isn't touching his ears or his collar!!!!

After all that and another short nap for Eli, it was off to the Selene Parade. Thank you so much to the Kreemers for inviting us!! I was very apprehensive about going since it was so late and it was rather cold, but I am so happy we went. We had a blast, well Hannah and I did. Eli has reaffirmed that he is not a parade goer. Hannah, always the out going one, attached herself to a poor gentleman who just happened to be standing next to us. Poor man ended up holding Hannah on his shoulders for most of the parade. Thank you Mr. Brandon!!! The kids really made out, but I secretly gave all the beads to Mr. Brandon's family. We don't really need anymore beads, but I do believe we left with about 15 or so stuffed animals, and some candy. OH! And a spongebob balloon, butterfly light, and a horn! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Kreemer!

20 Random Things About Hannah

My friend did this for her son on her blog and it was really cute, so here goes:



1. Hannah is very stubborn, and too smart for her own good.

2. She is always right. Correct her and she will tell you that she is right and you are wrong.

3. She loves to pretend that she is a puppy.

4. She is truly a sweet person, although sometimes its hard to see.

5. She likes to watch WAY too much T.V. to include Dora, Diego, Spongebob, and recently Super Why.

6. Her favorite color is pink.

7. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up.

8. She loves to take pictures with my digital camera and is getting quite good at it.

9. She would only drink chocolate milk and sweat tea if I let her.

10. She has a very nasty habit of picking her fingers, creating hang nails around her nails. (Thanks Kaila!!)

11. She doesn't really have a sweet tooth. If you are offer her peanut butter crackers or chocolate chip cookies, 8 times out of 10 she'll take the crackers.

12. She has a very quick temper. (I think she gets this from me.)

13. She really wants a small dog.

14. She is very excited about starting school, and will tell anyone who will listen that she gets to go to the big boy green school when she turns 4.

15. She still doesn't really understand that she has two sets of Grandparents at the same time, not to mention Great Grandparents.

16. It usually takes her an hour to an hour and half to get to sleep at night.

17. Her favorite food is popcorn.

18. She still has not accepted her bother coming into the family. Although, this is getting better as he is more able to do as she tells him!

19. "H" is her favorite letter.

20. She is very good at hiding her feelings.

I'm turning into my Mother.....

My Mother used to tell me constantly not too worry so much, "You're going to be an adult for a very long time. Just be a kid." You see, I have always been old for my age. Even at the age of 3 I gave my Mom a good love, bad love speech. I don't actually remember doing this, but I've been told the story so many times that it has become a memory. I never thought I would need to have this discussion with Hannah so early, but today in the car she kept talking about growing up so she could have a cell phone and car keys. Oh my goodness! She's only 3!! I told her just what my Mom always said to me, "You're only a kid for a little bit, and you'll be an adult for a very long time. Don't grow up so fast." Hannah's always logical reply, "But Mommy, I have to grow up to be able to drive, and brush my teeth, and stuff." "But I like you little, I want you to stay little for a while longer, OK?" "Ok Mommy."

Scoreboard, check one for Mommy.
Official score:
Hannah 25
Mommy 1

P.S. Thanks Mom for the great speech. I love you.

Bouncing Craziness

Today we met our Mommy group at Hannah's favorite venue BooKoo Bounce for a day of bouncing fun. Hannah has been looking forward to this for at least a week. She would wake up and ask "Is it CooCoo Bounce day?" Needless to say she was not disappointed at all. She ran around like a wild woman dragging anyone behind her that she could catch, including some of the other moms. Everyone knows Hannah. She is so outgoing and lovable. She even turned into her alter ego Hannah the puppy. (I REALLY wish she would grow out of this.) Miss Amy was able to bring Supergirl Hannah back by telling Hannah that she really missed Hannah the girl. Thank you Miss Amy!!

Hannah showing off her sweaty forhead, and throwing a fit because Xander wouldn't listen to her.

Eli's favorite jumper. I had a hard time getting him to go farther than the door, but eventually he was brave enough.

Lazy Mom Day

Yesterday was lazy Mom day. I was so tired, just exhausted. The kids haven't been sleeping very well, so I guess it was just a build up of sleepless nights. Anyway, since it was lazy Mom day, I decided to go run some errands because I didn't have the energy to entertain Hannah any longer. Crazy idea, huh? It worked out pretty good. We headed to the post office, then to visit some friends, to Wal-Mart to look for a cootie game for Xander (they didn't have it), and then to Payless for some new shoes. Hannah wanted about 4 pairs, we settled on one. (By the way Daddy, when you get home you owe her a pair of shoes...love you!) Since it was lazy Mom day, the only thing exciting I have are some videos of me tickling the kids. They both have great laughs!

Play Date with the Castillos!

This morning started out with a visit from the Terminix man who fixed our termite problem, YAY! The kids and I played on the computer while we waited for him to arrive. Eli wants to play so badly! Don't worry Man, Hannah will soon out grow the old Compaq and it will become yours.

Late morning, our friends the Castillos came to play. We had such a great time with them. Hannah and Xander get along so well because Xander is very laid back. He just ignores Hannah's demands and fits. Just like a grown man!

Xander playing in Hannah's kitchen.

Poor Delaney, Miss Mandy's house doesn't have any thing exciting for little ones anymore. The moment Eli out grows something, it is out the door!

Miss Amy was kind enough to visit Hannah's beauty shop. I really appreciated this since Hannah loves to play with hair and is unable to play with Mommy's mop top. She usually gets stuck playing with Daddy's.

Xander is a master at puzzles. He doesn't even look at the picture on the box!! Amazing.

Eli wanted to get in on the puzzle time too.

Xander hiding from Mom cause he didn't want to go home. That made me feel good!

Thank you to the Castillo family for driving from Metairie to come see us. We hope we can play again soon.

Blah Monday

Today was another uneventful day in the Kreemer household. Went to the gym, came back home to meet with the Terminix man, and went to Grandma & Grandpa Kreemer's house for cake and ice cream. The only entertaining thing to occur was our visit to Whispering Forest Elementary school. I am getting nervous about the whole Pre-School thing since most mother's I know are talking of testing and waiting lists, etc. so we walked to the school in our neighborhood to double check that we have done everything we needed to do. Now, on the way I explained to Hannah that we were going to see if they were read to sign her up. So, when we get to the office the lady looks at me, I point to Hannah, who very loudly says, "Are you ready to sign me up. My name is Hannah. H. A. N. N. A. H." The receptionist found this very amusing. And we discovered that we have done everything we can do until they send us a letter in August for registration and testing. I'm a little uncomfortable with this and think I may need to look into alternatives, but we'll see what I decide.

The only picture of the day. Eli taught himself a new trick!! You should have seen Hannah running through the house trying to get the camera in time to get this picture, luckily Eli was kind enough to oblige us with several sipping poses.

Eli's First Mardi Gras Parade

Today we took Hannah and Eli to Eli's first Mardi Gras parade. He was not impressed. He enjoyed running around waiting for the parade, but once it was time to sit in the stroller, he decided it was a good time to doze in and out. Luckily (for the first time ever!) his big sister was looking out for him and gave him about 4 stuffed animals that she caught. This is really her first real act in sharing in anything other than food. I was very proud.


We bought a silly hat which Hannah had to put on Daddy.


And then on Mommy. Hannah took this picture, pretty good!


The hat was a little too big for Hannah, but she liked it.


Daddy and Eli waiting for the parade to come.


Eli with his beads. See his face, not so fascinated.

He did like the frisbee and the stuffed bear his sister gave him.

Hannah playing in the dirt waiting for the parade.

Hannah dancing to the music at the parade.

Lazy Valentine's Day

Today was a very lazy day for us. Ben arrived around 9:30am this morning from working in Pascagoula, MS. He'd been gone since Tuesday night. Hannah was so excited and proceeded to show him all of the decorations that we made. (I don't know if I should post this part of the story but it is WAY too cute not to!) Well, after such a long road trip Ben really needed to use the restroom so he told Hannah so and said he would be right back. Hannah's reply....."Daddy you can use my bathroom. Make sure that you wipe front and THEN back, and flush the toilet. And put the cover down." SO funny and cute because she was completely serious. After that there was a little tickle wrestling, and then Hannah went off to Grandma Margaret's house to play with Sara and Jennifer where she received 3 red heart balloons and a stuffed dog. The most exciting thing of the day was when the mail arrived. Hannah and Eli's Great Grandma and Grandpa sent them each a bug Valentine's Day card with $2.00. They were both very excited and put the money in their respective piggy banks. Oh, and I got the flowers I asked for to brighten up the house!

Valentine's Day Crafts

For Valentine's Day Hannah and I decided to make cards for Daddy and to decorate a little bit. We had a lot of fun with Glitter and construction paper. She even dressed up for the occasion!




Hannah wrote the letters on this, I traced them with glue, and then she sprinkled the glitter. It is hard to see, but the letters are inside a heart. She did a really good job I think.



Hannah showing off her paper chain.



Hannah on the phone with Aunt Kristi. Do I see a flash to my future with teenage Hannah?