Chaos 'n' Kisses

Where does the time go?

2010-09-14T08:34:00.004-05:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweetheart!!

We love you so much!

-Mommy

Busy Weekend

2010-08-30T08:15:00.002-05:00

Hi all! I left the camera at home so this is a no picture post....I hate those! We had a busy but fun weekend.

Saturday afternoon we went to Jefferson High School's first football game! For those of you who don't know the high school in the district we live in is only two years old. Saturday was their first football game. It was exciting to be a part of history! CJ enjoyed watching and asking questions while Ry cheered with the cheerleaders. We had to leave at half time so I can't tell you a final score but I do know that JHS won!

After the game we headed to Sophie's 7th birthday party...happy birthday Soph! We ended the night at our neighbors house. It was great to have drinks with friends and listen to the kids laughter as they played.

Have a great week everyone....a three day weekend is in sight!

-J

It's official - he's a kindergartener!!

2010-08-20T07:52:00.005-05:00

It seems like only yesterday we brought home our little 5 lb. 13 oz baby boy and now he's a kindergartener! The first day of school went great! He actually let us take him to school since we promised he could ride the bus home. We got a picture in front of his classroom:

And with his teacher Mrs. Shininger:

I have to say how proud it makes me and Greg that CJ was not scared at all. He was so excited and when we left we gave him hugs and told him to have a great day. He just smiled real big and said bye Mom, bye Dad! We are so proud of you bud! We know you are going to have a GREAT year!!

I promise to start updating the blog more (I think I said that in the last post which was a month ago?!). We have been busy getting ready for school, work has been busy with year-end closing AND I'm training for my first half marathon. In December I'm Memphis bound to run the St. Jude's half. Wish me luck!!

-J

Birthday Boy

2010-06-22T07:42:00.002-05:00

Our little man turned 5 on Sunday! Where has the time gone? He had a great day which started with a VERY HOT t-ball game and ended with Toy Story 3 and cake! I took him, Ry and 5 other little ones to the movies (I had help from two of the moms) and they had so much fun. They all sat quietly and really got lost in the movie. It was so great. They are getting so big! Happy Birthday again bud, we love you!!

-J

Mini Va-Cay

2010-06-18T08:46:00.012-05:00

Hi all! Last weekend we took a mini vacation to Branson...thanks Nana and Pop! We had so much fun. Saturday morning Greg and I did a zipline tour. I was terrified but it was seriously one of the most awesome things I've ever done. I'm not the most adventurous person (understatement) and I'm married to guy who has jumped out of a plane!

Scared Jocelyn:

Excited Jocelyn:

The rest of our time was filled with:

SWIMMING

GO KARTS

BUMPER BOATS

and "HONKEY DONKEY"

This humpty dumpty was at a place where we played mini golf - scary huh?

We all had a great time! We have a big weekend this weekend it is CJ's birthday and Father's Day on Sunday! Saturday I am taking CJ, Ry and some of CJ's friends to see Toy Story 3. We can't wait!!

Happy 5th Birthday Bud!! We love you so very much!

-J

Kindergarten Here He Comes!

2010-06-02T07:58:00.007-05:00

Our handsome man graduated from Pre-K last week. I can't believe in 18 days our guy will be 5! Where does the time go?! It seems like just yesterday we brought home all 5 lbs. 13 oz. of him! He was long, skinny and Mom and Dad's favorite person in the world!! Just to show how tiny he was this is CJ when he was 3 months old:

Look at him now:

Handsome as always!! We are so proud of you bud!

He starts summer school at his "new" school on Monday. Wish him luck!!

-J

Go Cards!

2010-05-20T07:44:00.005-05:00

My apologies to the Johnson family as the title says Go Cards NOT Cubs!! The Johnsons are all Cubs fans (oh the horror) but since CJ lives in the STL he must be a Cards fan....it's a necessity. Do you want him bullied at school? :-)

Anyway, we were offered four free tickets on Monday night for the Tuesday night game against the Nationals. FREE tickets? I didn't even have to hesitate! Since the game started at 7:15 we thought it would be too long of a night for Ms. Ry so she spent the night with Nana and Pop while me, CJ, Greg and my friend Becky headed to the game. It was a perfect night with temps in the upper 60s. CJ just had to have cotton candy which he said tasted like hair in his mouth!

We got to see TWO homeruns courtesy of Lopez and Ludwick! CJ was not a fan of the fireworks as the evidence shows:

CJ may not have liked the homeruns but I did because that meant Sonic blasts were only $.99 the next day. I had one after spinning class. What, I burned enough off before?!

I'll end with my guys who are just too adorable for words:

Saturday I run my first 5k with some friends. I'm so pumped!!

-J

Happy Mothers Day!

2010-05-10T07:29:00.007-05:00

Happy Mothers Day to all you mamas out there, especially my mama and mama-in-law!! I had an amazing day...cards, brunch and LOTS of hugs! I love these three more than words can ever
describe!

-J

We're Still Here!

2010-04-19T08:29:00.007-05:00

Wow, bad BAD blogger! Has it really been since January that I posted? It is amazing how quickly time flies!

What a great weekend we just had! The weather was absolutely perfect. We spent Saturday night over at some friends. We had an awesome dinner while we talked and listened to the kids squeals of fun outside. Thanks Kristin and Mike!

Sunday we had to decided between cleaning (me), staining the deck (Greg) or fun. We chose fun! The kids were so good in church we took them to Elephant Rocks State Park. It was a

great day, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

(BIG thanks to the really sweet girl who offered to take this pic!)

We finished the day with dinner and baths at Nana and Pop's house. Ry crashed pretty quickly in the car. A fun but exhausting day was had by all!

I promise I won't wait 3 months to post again!!

-J

White Christmas

2010-01-05T12:21:00.018-06:00

Happy 2010 everyone! I can't believe it has been 10 years since Y2k :-) I remember all the special projects I did to help get the Paper Company Y2k complaint. Good times!

So all of our wishes came true and we had a White Christmas. Ok, in the STL it was pretty flurries but it was still snow! Christmas morning the kids woke up to snow and Santa! What a day!

We didn't leave for Iowa on Christmas Day as planned because the weather was so bad their way so we spent a lazy Christmas day playing with new toys (or assembling and finding batteries in mine and Greg's case). We had no food in the house so we had pizza from Casey's. Thank God for gas station pizza on days like this!! I mean not even a McDonald's was open. The horror!

When we finally got to Mamaw and Bapaw's house we were greeted with a little more than flurries.

In three days they got 24 inches of snow. 24!! That was on top of the 8 or so inches they already had on the ground. Ry wasn't all that found of snow taller than her but CJ had a blast.

CJ wasn't the only one who had fun.

Greg and I came home the day before New Year's Eve since he had to work and the kiddos stayed with Mamaw and Bapaw until Saturday! They had a great time and Greg and I got to welcome in the new year with friends we hadn't seen in a long time. We had so much fun!! Not only did I make it to midnight, but we didn't get home until 3:30 am!! That is a record for me! Don't worry everyone (Tom :-) I was the designated driver.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and have an even better 2010!

-J

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-21T08:17:00.006-06:00

Merry Christmas to all of you. We hope you have a great holiday with your families, filled with lots of love!! As the kids would say "Happy Birthday Jesus" and thanks for everything you have blessed me with.

-J

Vegas Baby!

2009-12-08T15:37:00.007-06:00

Wow, almost a month since I posted. Bad blogger!! We have been busy. Thanksgiving weekend the Johnson family came to visit. As always, we ate way too much!! We had a great time and can't wait to see them at Christmas.

Greg had a work conference in Vegas last week. I joined him on Thursday. We spent 3 nights and four days away from the kids! It was nice to get away but we missed them. Of course they didn't miss us! Here are some pics from our trip:

-J

Overdue Post!

2009-11-16T08:18:00.007-06:00

Wow, it's been a while since I posted last. We haven't had much going on which is nice! Saturday CJ and Ry spent the night with Nana and Pop. Greg and I went shopping and out to dinner. It was great! We haven't had a night alone in a long time. Before they were picked up Ry insisted on a ponytail. Her hair is finally starting to grow and is getting thicker. She is so proud, can you tell?

I really don't think she can get any cuter! I just noticed hair was a big part of our morning Saturday. Ry had to have her "pony" and CJ got a haircut. He was good as he always is, he loves getting his haircut which the women at Great Clips find strange!! Since he was so good Greg took him to Dollar Tree for a cheap toy. He just had to have the hillbilly teeth. LOL.

Here is Ms. Ry singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star last night when she was coloring:

Next week is Thanksgiving and we are so excited. We can't wait to see Mamaw, Bapaw and Uncle Doug!!

-J

Tricks, Treats and a Big Girl Bed

2009-11-05T08:43:00.005-06:00

We hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. The kids had a great time. CJ was the only firefighter in his class so he was happy about that. Aren't they too cute?

I told CJ Friday night that the plans were to trick or treat on Main Street Saturday morning with my friend Kristin's girls and then Saturday night in our subdivision with our neighbors. He responded and by ourselves the next night. Um, no that's not how it works! They got TONS of candy and since we only had 6 or 7 trick or treaters they got our leftover candy too.

In other exciting news, Ms. Ry moved to her big girl bed this weekend. She was soooo excited. Then when I put her to bed Saturday night, I said goodnight Ry and she said "Mommy, don't weeb me". LOL. The first night she wasn't so sure but she hasn't had a problem since. Here is her pretty bed:

I told her it was a pretty bed for a very pretty girl!

-J

Have you seen our kids?

2009-10-26T08:03:00.002-05:00

-J

Punkins

2009-10-26T07:40:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone! We finally got around to carving our "punkins" this weekend. When I say WE I mean me and Greg! Of course the kids were totally uninterested. CJ said the "punkin guts" were gross and when I tried to get Ry to help me clean out the pumpkin she said "no, I no yike it". We affectionately named our pumpkins Mr. and Mrs. Punkinhead. Here is my failed attempt at a picture of the kids with our new family members:

Notice Mr. Punkinhead is bald? Well CJ and Greg decided he needed a toupe:

Thanks Ry for turning your back at just the right time!

We are so excited for this week! We have the daycare Halloween party on Thursday night, trick or treating on Main Street with some friends Saturday morning and then trick or treating in the neighborhood on Saturday night. Here's hoping for good weather!!

-J

Scrub a Dub-Dub

2009-10-19T08:43:00.009-05:00

Remember the pretty hats I posted about a couple weeks ago? We finally got our order in the mail Friday! Here is Ry modeling her new hat:

And headband:

We had a pretty relaxing weekend. Saturday we made Christmas cookies. Yes, I said CHRISTMAS cookies. I had my Christmas in October stamp camp on Sunday so we rolled out the dough and cut out snowmen, Christmas trees and santas. We even dyed the santa dough red. Which made Ryleigh not so sure about eating them. She kept saying they were play-doh. LOL.

Besides the stamp camp on Sunday we had a pretty uneventful weekend. Ry and I needed some girl time last night so we did facials together. Here is Ry's before picture which includes reminents of red santa cookie on her face:

Scrub a dub-dub:

And the result - Ry with glowing skin (but not real happy she had to stop playing in the soap and water):

-J

Fighting Fires

2009-10-14T09:23:00.003-05:00

Last night when I was making dinner I heard lots of "sirens" in the living room from our two fire trucks. I could hear them putting out fires. When I went in to check on them, this is what I found:

They were "firefighters in their hats and boots".

-J

Mr. CJ's Special Day

2009-10-13T13:54:00.011-05:00

Greg and I thought CJ needed a day by himself with us. He hasn't had a day with just Mom and Dad since Ry was born over two years ago! We knew just the place to take him. The Museum of Tranportation - trains, trains and more trains! We went there last year and he loved it. Since his train obsession doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon we knew that was the place for his special day!

We had so much fun. Not only did we get to have fun on the trains, but they also had a fire truck exhibit. I think fire trucks would be his second love, after trains of course. We got to ride up in a boom which was so fun!! Here we are getting ready to go up:

And the awesome view from the top:

We were there almost four hours. When we were ready to go Dad went to get the car and CJ and I rode the train one last time. I took this pic of us. CJ thought it was funny that I cut off his nose and I was amazed at how many freckles I have!! Seriously, that's not good!

Then we rode the Metrolink to the Amtrak station downtown. I get a free Metro pass through my work and kids under 13 are free so it cost us $4.50 for Greg to ride. That was the best $4.50 we ever spent. CJ loved it. Here he is before his first ride:

We didn't get to see much at the Amtrak station since they are more particular about boarding passes than in the past. So we hopped back on the Metro to go to lunch. By this time we were all starving and sleepy. CJ fell asleep on my arm on the ride back. We went to Red Robin for lunch and then went shopping for CJ's Halloween costume. We found it and then headed to our last stop - Target, where he got Connect Four and Uno.

We ended the night with popcorn for dinner (yikes!) and a game of Uno. At one point our very funny son said, maybe next time we can play "dos". Ah, our little comedian!!

-J

Fall Fun

2009-10-05T08:05:00.024-05:00

I love fall. Cool mornings, pretty trees and any food or drink with pumpkin! Friday night the boys decided a football game was more fun than making pumpkin bread so Ry and I were on our own.

She was a big helper. She dumped everything in the bowl for me. She was surprised that licking the beater from pumpkin bread wasn't as good as chocolate chip cookies! She took one lick and said "here Mommy, I done". LOL.

Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch. The farm we visited takes you to the pumpkin fields on a really bumpy wagon ride!

This is the best picture we could get with both of the kids and the pumpkins. The dirt was more exciting than picture taking!

And yes, these pumpkins are HUGE! One of them weighed 30 lbs!!

Sunday we helped Dad in the yard and played on the swingset.

Oh and Mom forced us to smile for MORE pictures!

Have a good week!

-J

Cute Hats, Good Cause

2009-10-02T08:35:00.005-05:00

I just bought Ry a couple hats from the BriarClaire site on Etsy. These hats and headbands are hand crocheted. The clips are interchangable. I can't wait to get my order! For the month of October for every hat sold she is donating a hat to a children's hospital for kids with cancer. Take a look at her site http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6956412 . She has great stuff!

We're hoping this weekend to take the kids to the pumpkin patch. I'm so excited for fall. Dinner tonight is chili and cornbread and after dinner the kids are helping me make pumpkin bread. Yum!

-J

Happy Birthday Greg!

2009-09-21T07:37:00.016-05:00

Friday was Greg's birthday, Happy Belated Birthday Babe! CJ wanted to have a "surprise party" for Dad so we made him a cake while he was playing softball Thursday night. When Friday came I had to explain to CJ when you tell the person ahead of time about the surprise party it isn't much of a surprise. LOL. Here is Greg blowing out his candles at his "surprise party" with a little help of course:

Saturday Greg headed to Iowa City to see the Hawkeyes beat the Arizona Wildcats. Go Hawks!! While him and Uncle Doug were having a good time, my Dad came over to watch the kids while I painted the basement bathroom. Greg hates to paint so I figured I would tackle it myself while he was gone. Dad also helped me finish some of the trim in the shower. I think it looks great. What do you think?

At least I feel like I accomplished something on our never ending to-do list!

CJ spent the night with Pop and Nana last night and Ms. Ry wasn't pleased. What can make everything better? A popsicle of course!

-J

Thankful

2009-09-17T13:53:00.003-05:00

I read many blogs each day - most of them written by complete strangers. Some are funny, some are sweet and some make me thank God for what I have. The Maxey family lost their beautiful 11 month old baby girl to cancer last night. My thoughts today are filled with prayers and sadness for a family I have never met but who deeply touched my heart. Fly with the angels baby Annette. And THANK YOU GOD FOR WHAT I HAVE!!!!

I love you two more than words can ever say.

-Mommy

Labor Day with Ayo Kitty

2009-09-09T11:33:00.010-05:00

Don't you think every weekend should be a 3 day weekend? That one extra day is so great!

We started the long weekend with a bonfire at the Drury's (thanks guys!). We had a great time and the best part? The neighbor girls watched all the kids so the adults could have some grown-up time. The kids played great together! They stayed up until 11:30 which is SUPER late for our kids and they slept until 9. Yes, you read that right 9 am!!!! Amazing!

Saturday we did a little shopping. The kids needed fall clothes badly. All of CJ's pants looked like capri pants when he tried them on! Sunday we were lazy and didn't do a whole lot. Those days are the best.

Monday we had the Firle family over for lunch and then we celebrated Ry's 2nd birthday early. Her birthday is the 13th and we will be in Iowa (look out Mamaw and Bapaw we are on our way soon!!) so we had cake early with Pop, Nana, TT and Jeff-o. Nana got Ry an "Ayo Kitty" cake.

She didn't have a nap all day so when she opened her Hello Kitty pillow and blanket from Nana and Pop she said "I go ni-nite". LOL.

I can't believe she is almost 2. Where is the time going? We love you little girl!

-J

Big News for Mr. CJ

2009-09-02T07:26:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! This is just a quick post to wish our little guy well on his first day of Pre-K! He moved into his new room today and was very disturbed that his jacket had to be put in a different place. That's our little creature of habit! I know he is going to really love his second day because every Thursday his class takes a trip to the library for storytime. Thank goodness I've gotten him used to the library in the past 6 months!

We love you bud and know you will do great in your new room!

And because I hate posts without pics here is one of CJ from March 2007. He's always been so handsome!

-J

Someday she will be on American Idol!

2009-08-31T10:29:00.008-05:00

Two posts in one day! Here is Ms. Ry singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider and ending with her shortened version of the ABC's. Oh and a request for more cheese. LOL.

-J

Fevers, fireflies, fotos and fights! Oh my!

2009-08-31T09:56:00.009-05:00

We had a pretty good weekend. Friday afternoon I got a call from daycare that CJ had a fever. Once I got him home and got some ibuprofen in him he seemed better the rest of the weekend. He did complain of a headache here and there.

CJ was feeling better Saturday evening so I got the bright idea for us to catch fireflies (or lightening bugs as CJ prefers they be called). The kids were all excited with the jars Daddy got ready for them:

For some reason the idea of putting lightening bugs in pickle jars was hilarious to CJ! After getting them all excited we saw two, yes TWO lightening bugs! Greg said it was probably too chilly out. We did get some good pics while we were waiting for the dark though.

The fighting part of my title came on Sunday when the kids starting fighting the minute they got up. By noon Greg and I were ready to pull our hair out!! Good thing it was nice, we took them outside where we hoped they would wear themselves out and lose their frustrations. It worked!

Hope you had a great weekend!

-J

Wonderful Weekend

2009-08-24T07:43:00.018-05:00

The weather was absolutely amazing this weekend! Greg and my Dad worked on finishing up the kids' new swing set area and I finally took some pics!

Greg and CJ were going to "camp" Saturday night (in our backyard) so he put the tent up early. The kids played in it for hours. Of course they had to fight over which side they wanted and which sleeping bag they wanted, but such is life!! They ended up not camping because, strangely enough, it was too chilly out! I can't believe we can say that in August! Here they are enjoying the tent in between fights:

I want to wish my in-laws a very Happy Anniversary. Yesterday they celebrated 40 years together. Congratulations!!! We love you guys!

-J

Baby Blues

2009-08-18T11:59:00.010-05:00

Ryleigh has always had the most beautiful eyes. From the minute she was born she could smile with them. I remember she went through this stage where her eyes would get huge in a picture like this:

Or my favorite:

How is it possible those eyes keep getting even more beautiful?

Our little girl moved out of the nursery and into the toddler two room yesterday. Why is it they grow so fast??

And speaking of beautiful blue eyes, we can't forget these:

Mommy and Daddy love you two so much!

-J

Sad It's Over

2009-08-11T11:34:00.010-05:00

Saturday was officially the end of t-ball season. I am so bummed. I don't think CJ is as upset as me! I had so much fun teaching the kids how to play. Greg said he will probably coach next year. Yeah!

Ry has been going on the potty like a big girl so last night we went and bought her some big girl undies. I'm amazed at the sizes of toddler underwear. I guess if it were up to Disney and Hanes only 4 year olds would be potty trained? I had the hardest time finding size 2 undies.

Ry picked them all out on her own (Minnie Mouse and Disney Princesses)then when we got home she had to put all six pairs on at the same time. The kid is crazy. She thought it was hysterical. Eh, who am I kidding it WAS hysterical!!

I don't have any new pics, but I found these on my palm. Enjoy!

-J

Johnson Family Drama

2009-08-07T10:38:00.004-05:00

Yesterday as I was leaving my office a friend from the department across the hall told me he saw someone back into my car and drive off. Of course, because of my luck, there was damage to my car! My friend now known as GS (good samaritan) followed her and got her license plate number. GS you are the best! He hung out with me until campus police arrived and told them what he saw. Crazy part of the story...she's parked in the same spot today!! I am now waiting on the detective to call me with her name (in the mean time I went down and took pics of her car's damage on my palm:-)

I work at a large university with multiple cameras, security swipe cards and parking passes that require license plate numbers...did she really think she would get away with it?

On a happier note, CJ told this hilarious story about tacos at school yesterday. He said him and his friends were "super excited" to have tacos yesterday. Mason (his friend) said Ms. Barb bought them at Taco Bell, but CJ "knew they were made special for them". Haha. I would loved to have heard the actual conversation.

Happy Friday!

-J

CJ's Status: Shots Survived

2009-08-03T08:47:00.015-05:00

CJ survived! I told him about 2 minutes before he got shots that he was getting them. His response: Mom, what's a shot?! I knew he wouldn't know! Unfortunately, he will remember for the next round. Through sobs, after getting stuck twice he told me, "I don't like shots".

The kids had a blast at the Magic House. It was totally packed and after 2 and a half hours Dad and I were exhausted! I packed a picnic lunch for us to eat before we went in. Of course all the picnic tables were full and there was no good place to spread our blanket so they ate in the back of the Saturn. I felt bad, but as you can see they didn't mind.

CJ went down the 3 story slide. Talk about stressful! I had to run down 3 flights of very narrow stairs to get to the end before him!

They loved all of the wooden instruments

and the balls that were floating on air (yeah - I have no idea what the technical name of it is).

CJ's favorite was the contruction zone. The place was insanely full of kids so I didn't get any pictures, but they could carry styroform up for the building and dig in gravel. There was even a real bobcat they could play on!

My favorite part? This sign:

As always, CJ is above average!

-J

Yea! Friday!

2009-07-31T07:09:00.001-05:00

I'm taking a half day of vacation today. My Dad is meeting me and the kids at the Magic House. I have been wanting to take them for so long! CJ has his 4 year check-up this afternoon and he has to have shots. He hasn't had shots since he was 2. The bad thing is he now knows what shots are and that they hurt. Is it bad that I have told him he is seeing Dr. Lackey today, but I left out the part about shots? I guess I'll warn him right before the doctor comes in?! Wish me luck!

Have a great weekend!

-J

Mmmmm Peaches Part Two

2009-07-27T08:28:00.012-05:00

We took the kids to pick peaches yesterday. They had so much fun. We also had fun trying to explain to a 4 year old and a 1 year old that they shouldn't bite into every peach they pick! Here they are riding the wagon out to the peach trees:

I had trouble getting pics of them actually picking the peaches, they were all over the place!

Enjoying the fruits of their labor (sorry - I had to!):

Before we left they had to sit on the tractor. We were going to lunch after and CJ said bye, we'll see you there. Good luck on a non-functioning tractor CJ!

-J

Wormy Wednesday

2009-07-23T08:50:00.003-05:00

The weather is still great so we have spent our evenings outside. Last night the kids were helping Greg pull weeds in our "garden". CJ calls it our garden but it's actually the landscaping in front of our house. As they were pulling weeds they found some worms. Here they are searching for more:

CJ was so excited to play with (torture) his new friend.

After this they went straight to the bath!

-J

July? More like October!

2009-07-20T12:31:00.006-05:00

The weather in the STL was amazing this weekend! The high Saturday was only 72! It was more like Fall than Summer. We enjoyed most of our weekend outside.

CJ had a t-ball game Saturday morning. Three of his teammates were on vacation so the Red Sox only had four players! The other team was late so by the time the game started our team had been practicing for a half hour. After two innings this kids were exhausted so we cut our losses and told the other coach the kids were done. I guess if we kept score this would have been a forfeit!

Later Saturday afternoon we went to Grant's Farm. Apparently everyone else in the STL had the same idea! We had lots of traffic and LONG waits, but the kids were good and had a great time. CJ and Ry even pet a snake! No thanks!! Ry loved all the animals. I didn't get as many pics as I would like because the batteries died in my camera. Go figure.

Here is Ry pointing at the turtles. The one turtle liked her and kept moving closer to her. He would move to her and she would jump back about a foot!

The macaws were really loud and Ry thought they were hilarious.

This is the snake they pet. I'm sure CJ is asking the girl a ton of questions in this pic.

In other news, Ry went on the potty last night and again this morning. Yea Ry bear!! She's getting so big!

-J

3D

2009-07-15T07:12:00.003-05:00

We had a great weekend. We didn't have a whole lot of plans which was nice.

T-ball went great on Saturday! The kids were excited to play and really played well. The weather was decent instead of disgustingly hot like it had been so I think that helped. CJ hit one over the other teams' heads. I say it was definitely a home run!! Good job CJ!

Later that afternoon I took CJ to see Ice Age at the theater. I didn't know until we got there it was in 3D. It was so much more expensive, $16.50 for him and me at a 1:00 show. Ok, I think that's expensive maybe it's not. We don't go to movies very often. And seriously, for a kids movie, why are all the glasses the same size. CJ looked terribly uncomfortable in them, but he kept them on most of the time. The movie had some scary dinosaurs and in 3D they were coming off the screen at us. At one point he said, Mom I'm tired we should probably go home. LOL. He sat a little closer to me and then he was fine. He really liked the movie. It's all he could talk about the rest of the day.

Of course CJ wouldn't let me take a pic of him in the 3D glasses, but "Ms. Cheese" was all for it.

I told you the glasses were huge!! Have a good rest of the week!

-J

TGIF

2009-07-10T07:41:00.007-05:00

Sorry it has been a while since I posted. We have been busy! Our 4th of July was good but really wet so I have no pics. We pretty much spent the entire weekend indoors. The rain did let up enough for us to see fireworks on Friday and Saturday. Ryleigh said they were "youd" and CJ sat in the back of Uncle Doug's Jeep to avoid the noise!

I'm hoping to take CJ to see Ice Age this weekend. It will be his first movie at the theater. He's excited and I'm excited for some CJ and Mommy time.

I took a couple TGIF pics this morning.

Have a great weekend!

-J

Fun in Branson

2009-06-29T08:09:00.015-05:00

We just spent a long weekend in Branson courtesy of Pop and Nana! We had so much fun swimming, riding the ducks, sweating at Silver Dollar City and playing mini golf.

The kids thought the ducks were awesome. In case you have no clue what the ducks are this is what they look like:

They go on land and water. Before the ride you get quackers to quack at other "ducks". These are fun on the ducks, but after a weekend of quacking some parents (not us :-) begin to hate the duck people who give these away!

Here is CJ with his quacker:

Ry decided the windy, hot duck ride was the perfect time to nap on Mommy.

The really fun part for kids is once the duck splashes into Table Rock Lake they let the kids drive. Here is Captain CJ:

The kids had a blast at Silver Dollar City on Friday even though the heat index was like 110 and the humidity was around 80% (or more). It was completely miserable. Ry had to have an adult ride with her on most of the rides since she is under 36 inches so, lucky me, I got to squeeze my sweaty self into butterflies and frogs made for 4 year olds!

We had to lie and say Ry was 2 years old so she could ride the bumper boats. She LOVED them! She was giggling and squealing so loud that everyone watching was commenting about her.

On Sunday before we left we took the kids to The Track. They have fun stuff for little kids like rides, mini golf and go-karts. Ry and CJ rode the little ferris wheel they have. Ry insisted on sitting next to CJ so their car was a little heavy on one side.

CJ played mini golf for the first time. He liked it so much we played twice!

I don't have any pics of the kids swimming. They were a little too wild to have my camera out! CJ was so much better in the pool than last year. He even went under water! Guess it's time for swimming lessons!

-J

Weekend Celebrations

2009-06-22T07:08:00.011-05:00

We had a great weekend! Saturday we celebrated CJ's birthday. We met some of his friends at the "bounce place" and the kids ran around and bounced for almost two hours! They had so much fun. Then we had cake at our house. CJ got a new bike from Mom, Dad and Ry.

He had only one accident but got right back on!

The kids were super excited to give Greg his Fathers Day gifts. I took them a couple weeks ago to a place called the Painted Zebra. I let them pick out what they wanted to paint for Dad and what colors they liked. Here is CJ's:

CJ told Dad the bowl was for his popcorn or ice cream. I would like to say he painted the #1 Dad on the bowl, but his very unartistic Mom did it :-)

Here is Ry's:

She loves to paint. The only problem was when I tried to smooth out her globs of paint, she would scream "no Mommy" REALLY.LOUDLY. Everyone in the place would look at us. Good thing she's so cute!!

-J

Get Up!

2009-06-19T13:25:00.003-05:00

I lost a close friend last Friday so sorry I haven't blogged lately. I'm sad and missing my friend so I'm a little preoccupied.

Ok, moving on to brighter things! Yesterday morning Ry decided to help me wake CJ up and I recorded it on my palm. After I recorded it, Ry kept having me play it back for her. CJ came out of his room and said, LOUDLY, I AM GETTING UP! I think he thought she was yelling at him the whole time when I was really playing the video for her!

I want to wish CJ happy birthday early. He will be 4 tomorrow. Happy Birthday Little Man!!

-J

Oh, one more thing. Ry went potty on the big potty this morning. Good job Ry-Ry!!

T-ball Fun?

2009-06-08T08:52:00.005-05:00

CJ had his first t-ball practice Saturday with Dad as the team coach. He was soooo not interested which is why my title has a question mark! When he did play he bat the best and threw the furthest. We watched our friends' girls on Saturday so I'm hoping he was just distracted because they were there. I hope! Here are the few pics I got of him helping dad and playing, um, sort of:

(He looks interested huh?!)

Wow! He's touching the ball!

Ry kept wanting to run out on the field with Daddy. Instead she helped handout uniforms to the team.

CJ was the only kid who didn't want to put his new t-shirt and hat on. Lord help me!! Go Tiny Tots Red Sox!!!

-J

Mmmm Peaches

2009-06-05T08:57:00.004-05:00

G had softball last night so the kids and I were on our own. After I picked them up we stopped by the produce stand and bought some peaches and apples. CJ couldn't wait to get inside to eat his peach so they both had their peach outside.

No, I didn't tell them to eat in the mulch, CJ just decided to hang out there, and of course his sister had to be right by him. I couldn't get Ry to put down the peach.

This is all that was left of CJ's.:

Do you think he liked it??

-J

You know summer is almost here when...

2009-06-03T09:04:00.001-05:00

the kids eat push pops on the front porch!
Yum!

-J

Miscellaneous Monday

2009-06-02T11:52:00.005-05:00

I wanted to post just so I could add this pic:

Isn't that hilarious!? Greg was grilling our dinner and Ry couldn't decide if she wanted to be on the deck with daddy or inside with mommy. This is her kissing me through the glass door! Too cute.

We have no idea why, but while we were eating our electric went out. To waste time Ry helped dad wash his car

and cut the grass

Ok, she really wasn't cutting the grass, just testing out the comfy seat!

CJ was with Pop last night and missed our time "roughing it". Thank goodness or I would have had to answer 500 times why I can't turn on the lights or tv for him! I don't have pics of him from last night but I took this hilarious pic of him in the car this weekend:

It's not the best pic, but it cracks me up. I can't tell if he's sleepy or deep in thought.

-J

Oh, our electric came back on around 8 so we didn't have to rough it long!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T09:29:00.005-05:00

We spent the holiday weekend in Iowa with G's family. We had a great time! CJ had such a good time he decided to stay! He is spending the week with Mamaw and Bapaw and then he is camping his way home. I guess he thought they needed help with the new camper!

The weather wasn't so great so I don't have many pics until Sunday when it cleared up and we played in the backyard and at the park. CJ wanted to play football, which to him means attempting to tackle Dad.

This is where the tackling got him:

Ry had a blast at the park. Some big kid pushed her and told her to get out of the way which forced me to go all mean mama bear on him! We did get one decent family pic.

We got home last night around 5:00 with one less child. The child who did come home with us keeps asking for "bubby" and "Uh-Duck" (Uncle Doug).

We hope you all had a great holiday weekend.

-J

Corny Girl

2009-05-19T08:11:00.002-05:00

We had corn on the cob last night. Ry loves her some corn on the cob.

It's fun to eat and oh so good! So good she wanted to save some for later!

(I just realized that almost every post is Ry sitting in her toddler seat eating! I'll try to branch out a little next time :-)

-J

Pizza Picassos

2009-05-15T09:38:00.005-05:00

G plays softball every Thursday night so we try to do something fun with dinner on those nights. Last night we made mini pizzas. CJ loves helping me in the kitchen. He was all for making his pizza.

Ry was more interested in eating the cheese than putting it on her pizza.

We got them in the toaster oven (I ended up making Ry's as she was too busy scarfing down mozzarella). CJ obviously enjoyed his.

Ry refused to eat her pizza. And I annoyed her with my "please eat one bite" over and over.

The next fun thing we were going to do was make cookies. I got all of our ingredients ready only to realize we had no eggs. I then proceeded to listen to Mr. CJ whine and complain for 20 minutes that he WANTED TO MAKE COOKIES!! Ok CJ, let Mom run out to the chicken coop in the backyard and we can continue as YOU want. :-) Needless to say the Johnson house was cookie-LESS last night!

TGIF everyone!

-J

Slow Down

2009-05-13T07:48:00.004-05:00

I just realized Ry is 20 months old today. Slow down, little girl, slow down. It seems like we just brought her home and started adjusting to having two little ones.

CJ will be 4 years old in a little over a month. I wish they could stay little. I know they can't so I take any little cuddle or snuggle I can get from them right now.

Why does time have to go so fast?

-J

Tiny Piggies with Love

2009-05-11T08:48:00.005-05:00

Hi all! Ry's hair is finally starting to grow so I attempted to put it in tiny pigtails yesterday. She hates the elastic bands so I used little butterfly clips. It took about 20 minutes, MANY m&m's and lots of playing in the bathroom sink to get the job done. Here is our outcome:
She kept them in all of about 15 minutes but she sure looked cute!

I had a great Mothers Day. CJ made me a the greatest gift ever at school:

It's hard read so here is what it says:
My mom is 15 years old.
My mom is the prettiest when she puts on dresses.
My mom likes to make cookies.
My mom always says to do something and I do it. (Nice try CJ!)
My mom is funny when she makes funny faces.

Thanks to my great husband and cute little kiddos for all you did for me! Everyday is my special day with you three!

-J

Da-Darts!

2009-05-07T07:32:00.003-05:00

I should first translate the title of this post. Da-dart would be pop-tart in Ry talk. Our kids live for pop-tarts. This morning when CJ wouldn't get out of bed Ry screamed upstairs to him, "Bubby, Da-Darts!!!". He finally came down only to argue that no, this week he wasn't in love with cherry pop-tarts, but chocolate. Which of course, we didn't buy this week. He finally settled on half the chocolate pop-tart I found in the pantry.

The best alternative for our kids, who change their minds constantly on which pop-tart is the best, would be a variety pack. But most of the variety packs I have found don't include chocolate FROSTED pop-tarts. It's all a big pop-tart conspiracy!!

Ry hopes you enjoy your day as much as she enjoyed her chocolate "da-dart" this morning!

-J

Cookie Hug

2009-05-01T07:57:00.007-05:00

CJ and I made bar chocolate chip cookies last night. Sorry Uncle Doug, but don't worry, we will enjoy them for you too!

He looks so serious doesn't he?

CJ was upset that my mixer got dusty from the flour so he polished it up for me. He's so helpful...

when he wants to be!!

And, of course, we had to taste test them when they were finished. CJ had to give Ry a "cookie hug" while eating. LOL.

Happy Friday everyone!

-J

It's Plantin' Time!

2009-04-27T12:05:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone! We had a beautiful weekend in the STL. It was way too hot (around 90) for springtime, but it was sunny and beautiful. Ry started feeling a little better so we decided to plant some flowers. She helped me by watering them.

I also cleaned EVERY window in our house. I hate doing it but they look sooo much better. Here is a pic of the front porch after we finished the flowers.

Ry's fever finally broke on Saturday, but Sunday I noticed a rash on her belly, back, neck and face. The doctor thinks on top of the ear infection she has a viral infection. Poor baby! Now let's hope CJ doesn't catch anything!

-J

Ear Infections are the Devil!

2009-04-24T08:47:00.006-05:00

I think the devil invented ear infections. Who else would think of high fevers and snot so thick you can't get it out even after holding down your 1 year old and torturing her with this thing?

I got a call at work yesterday saying Ry had a fever. In our house, that means only one thing..the dreaded, terrible, awful ear infection! Ry and I are at home today pumping her with amoxicillin and taking temperatures

Yes, that is dried snot under her nose, I wanted you to get the full effect!

This is what she is doing now:

Coloring will make it all better, right?!?

Easter!

2009-04-24T08:28:00.007-05:00

We had a great Easter. Mamaw and Bawpaw came down from Iowa and Uncle Doug flew in from Omaha. It was a short weekend, but we had fun. The nice thing was we didn't have many plans. We just hung out around the house doing some of our favorite things, reading and eating.

Thanks goodness I have pics of reading not eating!

The Easter Bunny left lots of goodies while we were at church:

Hunting Easter Eggs wasn't much fun because it was cold and damp, but CJ had fun!

Ry wasn't into the hunt long enough for pics, but here she is looking adorable (as usual) in her Easter dress and new sunglasses!

We hope you all had a great Easter!

-J

Update: Some more pics courtesy of Uncle Doug.

Welcome!!

2009-04-22T09:13:00.005-05:00

Hi all! My first post.....breathe. LOL. I'm nervous and excited!

I decided to start this blog to keep in touch with our family that can't be here everyday. We love you guys! This blog will be all about our crazy kids CJ and Ry and maybe some rants of mine or Greg's from time to time. The blog is perfectly titled as our house is pretty much constant chaos, but filled with kisses for our two cuties.

CJ is 3 almost 4 and always has something entertaining to say!

Ry is 19 months old. She is our sweet and sassy girl. She keeps her big brother in his place!

Ok, boring first post, I know, I know. I promise a more interesting post soon!

-J