365:Day 150 ~ Trying to Beat the HEAT!

We decided to have the Bryce’s and the Scheer’s over before we leave town again for an impromptu dinner, playtime, and gab session! Tacos, chips and salsa, and margaritas!!! YUMMO! And our night wouldn’t have been complete without some popsicles! The perfect way to cool off in this crazy hot Texas weather! Are these kids hambones or what?!?!

365:Day 149 ~ round two.

The packing continues … this time for our family vacation to the beach! I mean, I don’t really see why I should put all this stuff away just so I can get it out in a few days. So, I started collecting it all again right after I washed it. Let the packing continue…

365:Day 148 ~ Lake Trip 2009 Comes to an End

This weekend was a ton of fun … one full of memories, laughter, inside jokes, and relaxation with great friends … sweet friends that make up one GIANT family! What a great weekend! It was a little hard to say goodbye today to our cabin, The Front Porch Lodge. It turned out to be so much more than I imagined. As all of you know, I am so not outdoorsy! Like at all! I really didn’t know what to expect, but The Front Porch Lodge surpassed my expectations!

Here’s to a fantastic weekend with THE CREW! Can't wait until next year!

365:Day 147 ~ countless cute colorful crocs.

How cute is this pic? The kid’s room in our cabin was upstairs. I can’t remember how, but they started leaving their shoes at the bottom of the stairs. Today I couldn’t help by snap a pic of their countless cute colorful crocs. For the longest time, I thought that crocs were so ugly, but now I just think there’s something about them on kid’s feet! I can’t resist! And crocs are the PERFECT lake shoe!

365:Day 146 ~ Lake Bound...

Lake Broken Bow was nothing short of perfection! Today was our first day on the boat. The water was so clear, really warm, and perfectly smooth, AND we had the whole lake to ourselves! Just look at this view! It might be safe to say that it’s the best lake I’ve even been in!

365:Day 145 ~ ROAD TRIP!!!

Lake Trip 2009 with our gang of 23 kicked off with a road trip – caravan style! Martin, The Wind’s were the leaders of the pack … followed by The Mitchell’s, The Olson’s, The Bryce’s, The Scheer’s … and the Leonard 4 was the caboose! I tried several times to get this money shot and I’m pretty pleased with myself! :)

And I must say, it was a pretty great caravan – even with the three u-turns and a trip to an off-the-beaten-path Dairy Queen!

365:Day 144 ~ Hey BIG Spender!

Oooooh-wee…Macy’s tooth fairy money has been burnin’ a hole in her piggy bank for weeks now! :) We headed to Target today so she could spend the money that she’s been wracking in lately loosing all those teeth – for a total of a whopping $10! My favorite part was that she chose a purse to carry her money and wanted to pay all by herself at checkout! Precious big girl!!!

365:Day 143 ~ Greatness...

…is the only word that can really describe this picture.

And I can’t even take credit for this one. Daddy was the one who captured the greatness on camera!

Today, the girls and I ran to Walmart to get a few last minute items for the lake trip … one of which was goggles for Carly. She started using them in swimming lessons this year, and I thought it would be nice if she had a pair of her very own. So, she picked out this two-pack of bitty goggles {seriously…they’re the smallest I’ve ever seen} – one blue pair and one pink flower pair!

The two-pack was only $1.50, so I didn’t really actually have high hopes that they would work very well. But she used them at swimming today and they worked fine! And of course, she couldn’t wait to show them to her daddy!

I didn’t even know that this little photo shoot happened, so I was cracking up when I loaded the pics onto the computer just now. And according to Bill, she was cracking herself up while he snapped a few pictures! I tell ya ... our Bixie Loo is a complete nut!

Yep. Greatness.

365:Day 142 ~ It's Just a Start, BUT...

...let the packing commence!

LAKE TRIP 2009 ...

here we come!!!

365:Day 141 ~ daddy.

Our favorite daddy got spoiled today. Hope yours did too. :)

365:Day 140 ~ Five Days and Counting ... Pure and Simple

Welp … it’s officially here. We are headed to the lake for a long weekend with all of our peeps – the Bryces, the Deckers, the Mitchells, the Olsons, the Scheers, and the Winds – yes, in just FIVE DAYS all 23 of us are headed to the lake for some summer fun!

A few weeks ago the kids were watching something on the Disney Channel when a Coppertone commercial came on. I was in the kitchen and overheard them say “tear-free sunscreen” and just about started to jump for joy! I ran into the family room to rewind the commercial {gotta love DVR} to listen to the whole thing. And they did indeed FINALLY come up with a tear-free sunscreen!!! Finally, finally, FINALLY!!!!!

For those of you who have kiddos, you probably know that inevitably you put the sunscreen on your kid’s face, something makes them start to cry, they rub their eyes and thus completely SET THEM ON FIRE! Sunscreen burns their eyes, but it’s just so hard for them not to touch their faces! I’ve been waiting 6 years for a tear-free sunscreen. So thank you Coppertone for creating Water Babies Pure and Simple! I happily grabbed a bottle at Target this afternoon! I only wish that I would have been the one to invent it!

Lake Trip here we come … totally TEAR-FREE!!! :)

365:Day 139 ~ Shhhh......

Wanna know what’s in this bag?

Well. You’ll have to wait until Sunday to find out! It’s a super duper top secret Father’s Day gift for our favorite daddy!!! Oh how I love to be crafty! And how I love to surprise my hubby with special keepsake gifts for Father's Day! In fact, I'm going to go and work on it some more now while I finish watching The Bachelorette!!! Shhhh...... :)

365:Day 138 ~ Not to be Gross, BUT...

…tonight we had a POOP PARTY!

I know what you’re thinking. How is it possible that this wacko mama is STILL talking about potty training! Believe me, I’m tired of it too, but tonight we had a little bit of a breakthrough.

A little over a month ago, Carly had her one and only poop accident in her panties. Well, that was all it took to keep her from going in the potty. Ever since the accident, she has been holding it, not going on the potty, and has just been going in her pull-up at night {which is a really nice treat for Bill and I when we are tucking her in!!!}.

So, tonight Carly was acting like she really needed to go. And being the totally awesome parent that I am I said, “If you go poo-poo in the party, we will go get ice cream for dessert.” Magically and to our surprise, after a few minutes SHE WENT!

Mommy and Daddy made good on our bribe and took the little pooper {and her supportive older sis} to Cold Stone for some ice cream. This particular Cold Stone is located in a pretty awesome shopping center that has a pond right in the middle with a neat little walking path!. So after our ice cream, we went and took a little walk, chatted about nature, and just enjoyed each other’s company!

Best poop party ever.



Oh and P.S. – please excuse the cruddy quality of this pic…Bill took it with his phone.

365:Day 137 ~ A Wonderful Wet Wednesday!

We went to another local splash park today with the Scheers and the Bryces…


* The kids had a complete blast! {natch}
* I took quite a few pictures. {natch}
* There will be many more details and pics coming on our family blog. {natch}


But for now, how stinkin’ cute are the two littlest friends through that sprayer! Stay tuned…

365:Day 136 ~ Hasta La Vista ... Baby Toys!

Every few months, I go through the girl’s toys to pull out what they have outgrown to take it to a resale shop. Whatever money I get, I split between Macy and Carly’s savings accounts … and the stuff I don’t sell, we donate.

So tonight after the kids went to bed, I went through their toys in the playroom {and a few in the family room} and pulled out all of this stuff. This time I found myself being a little bit sad about it though. It was really the last of the actual “baby toys”. The last time I did this I left these few things because of their educational value. But now it’s time for them to go. Just another indication that my sweet girls are indeed growing up! One that got me in particular is the Fisher Price Little People Farm. I have watched these two little mamas play with that farm for HOURS! I even remember the one I had when I was a kid!

But … even though I’m a bit emotional {shocker, I know}, I am THRILLED to be gaining a little space back in our house! It’s sad, but exhilarating! Tomorrow all of these baby toys and books, along with one bag of clothes, will be heading to Once Upon a Child. I’m sure that there are other boys and girls who will love al of it! So I guess all that’s left to say is…

HASTA LA VISTA, BABY TOYS!

365:Day 135 ~ Double Edged Sword

They have no problem getting out just about every.single.game in our game cabinet, but they sure can’t seem to get them back into their rightful spot.

Yes…since about 7:00 this morning, the girls have been playing game after game after game. Which is totally fantastic – they were occupied, happy, getting along {for the most part}, and were genuinely having fun. Unfortunately, putting the games back into their boxes and the boxes back into the cabinet is a whole different story entirely!

But, I have to say that I’ll take it. Even though I’m about to go out to the family room and reassemble the game cabinet myself – I’ll take it because those two sweet sisters had a game day, enjoying each other’s company, together…just the two of them.

So, I’m off to finish picking up what they started! Hope you all had a happy Monday! :)

365:Day 134 ~ all alone.

So.

The kids are in bed.

And Bill went to sleep at 9:30pm {because he has to be at work at 4:00am!!!}

I am all alone.

Ahhh…

365:Day 133 ~ Happy Belated Bday to Me!

Tuesday was my 33rd birthday, but it was a crazy evening and we weren’t able to have a bday dinner. We had our first swimming lesson, which meant we didn’t get home until about 6:15pm, which meant we ate leftovers for dinner. So, we had a little bday dinner tonight! I decided that I just felt like sticking around the house, so Bill went and picked up Pei Wei for dinner!!! YUMMO! It was the perfect way to extend my birthday for a few days!!!

365:Day 132 ~ POP.SECRET!

You guessed it … it was movie night in the Leonard casa again tonight! Not only did Daddy bring home a movie tonight, he brought home POPCORN! We’ve been out of popcorn for a few weeks now. This POP.SECRET Homestyle popcorn is one of two kinds of microwave popcorn that are dairy-free {the other one burns every time I try to make it}. Unfortunately, they don’t carry it everywhere. So, for the past couple weeks I’ve been forgetting to get it when I’m at the stores that carry it! I only seem to think of it at the stores that don’t! So, the girls were nothing short of ecstatic when Bill walked in with a movie AND popcorn!!!

Did I mention that not only is this popcorn dairy-free, it is THE BEST microwave popcorn I have ever had!!! You should really give it a try! I’m thinking that I should have made Bill buy two boxes!!! :)

365:Day 131 ~ Our Old Girl...

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this or not, but our sweet old girl, Tally, went blind between December and January. For the most part, it hasn’t changed the spunky dog we know and love … she still barks at people walking by our backyard, she still tries to chase squirrels and bunnies, she still gets as excited as ever for her food or a treat, she still howls, cries and talks whenever anyone comes over to our house, she still digs in the trash, and she’s still her normal SPASTIC self!

All that really changed is that she bumps into the walls and the furniture if she’s walking with a purpose. When she wanders she does just fine, but when she’s on a mission she hits everything that gets in her way. We haven’t been too concerned, just thought she was getting older. Which is true – next month Tally turns 11.

Well, this morning something peculiar happened. Bill let the dogs outside to go potty, but when he called them to come back in, Tally stood with her back to Bill frozen on our patio. She was non-responsive and shaking just a little bit. Bill picked her up, brought her inside, and tried to get her to eat her breakfast, but Tally continued to just stand there blankly. I tried talking to her, but nothing. Finally, Bill turned her head toward him and asked her if she wanted some food and she seemed to snap out of it. She ate, but I immediately got on the phone with the vet. While I was on the phone with the vet, Tally kind of jumped Sadie just for walking by her {which is really out of character}. Bill got them separated and Tally calmed down.

So, we took her in this morning and the doctor thinks that she had a petite mall seizure. For now, she seems healthy in every way with the exception of her vision. So he’s unsure what caused the seizure and just wants us to keep an eye on her. He said that it may never happen again or that it could even be a brain tumor. We had some lab work done and should get the results tomorrow. It obviously won’t tell us if she has a tumor or not, but it should tell us about her thyroid, kidneys, liver, etc. and if anything is going on in those areas.

Tally has been completely fine the rest of the day. But I can’t help but worry … which is no surprise to those of you who know me well … I’m a major worrier by nature. It’s just that I love that dog more than I can really express. She’s my very first dog in my life and I can’t imagine our household without her. I just snapped this pic a few minutes ago and I felt like it captured her sweet, kind spirit. I love those floppy ears, I love that soft nose and mouth, and I love those deep soulful eyes, I love that sweet face … I just love Tally. So, here’s to hoping that she’s just gettin’ elderly and that nothing is seriously wrong with her. I hope our old girl has at least a few more years in her…

365:Day 130 ~ Rotation!

Well we had a bit of weather related drama this evening.

I was actually planning on being home for the whole night, but my friend, Chelsea, needed a ride to the airport. I was happy to help, and it meant that we could swing by my parent’s house and have dinner with them! So, that’s what we did.

Just as we were finishing dinner, Bill called my cell and said that there was a tornado warning for Plano. We turned on the news and I needed to either stay put or head home right then. For some reason, I just felt like I needed to get home. It was barely sprinkling, so I quickly packed the kids up and hit the road.

I was literally flying home! I don’t remember the last time I drove that fast. But about half-way through my drive, I was on a giant overpass and Plano’s tornado sirens started going off. I started to panic and called Bill to see what was going on. While I was on the phone with him, the wind was blowing like crazy under my car and things started flying through the air.

I hung up the phone, put two hands on the wheel, and hit the gas! I pulled off the highway and into a covered parking garage to wait out the storm. I’m not going to lie … I was scared.to.death. And so were the kids. The wind was blowing the rain sideways into the parking garage and the sky was a creepy greenish brownish color! I did my best to hold it together, and Macy was a big trooper. She comforted her sister while we waited.

While we were hanging out in the garage, I heard on the radio that there was a rotation spotted RIGHT by Bill’s store. Which of course also scared me to death, but I didn’t let on to the kids. About 30 seconds later, Bill called to let me know he was okay and to check on me. He had 40+ employees and customers in his break room taking cover. He didn’t really know what was going on, so he told me to continue to stay put.

Then, Bobby {my second sweet husband} called to check on me! He told me it was safe to head home and talked to me until I was almost there. We were in the parking garage for between 30-40 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity! The kids were SO relieved to be home!

For those of you who don’t know Sadie very well … she is completely afraid of storms. Any kind of thunder and she is FREAKED OUT! They sleep in our bathroom when we are gone – with a baby gate up and the door closed. When we got home, we immediately went to let them out because I knew Sadie would be really worked up. Well, worked up is putting it mildly. She had knocked down the gate, pushed the bathroom rug out of the way, and tried to dig her way out of the bathroom. She tore up our carpet {this pic doesn't even really do it justice}! Poor thing…I know that she was really scared! And poor Bill…he’s going to have to get creative in order to fix our carpet!!!

Carly had a heck of a time going to sleep tonight, and Macy had one bad dream that included screaming at the top of her lungs, and another one a few minutes ago, but minus the screaming. I think that we were all a little traumatized tonight. I’m so glad that it’s over. Wow.

365:Day 129 ~ Summertime, Summertime, Summ.Summ.Summertime!

Today was Goose and Peanut’s first swimming lesson of the summer! For the third year in a row, the girls are taking lessons with Celia and Julia with Mr. Kayl {who you may recall is THE most patient swimming teacher EVER!}.

Both of the girls did a fantastic job! I was pleasantly surprised really! Macy is like a whole different kid than two years ago, and I think that Carly is really going to get the hang of things this summer! Let the summer fun begin!

365:Day 128 ~ This...

…is my husband’s newest addition to his weekly menu.

Tuna Salad.

He decided to give it a go because it’s high in protein and low in cholesterol. For the past few weeks, he’s been trying to find the perfect recipe. He made it again tonight so he could take it for lunch tomorrow.

Have I mentioned that I loath all things fishy? I mean ew. Gross. Ick. It stinks. And looks disgusting. YUK!

Buuuut being the charming wife that I am … I will continue to support his quest to find the perfect tuna salad recipe. I just won’t partake. Or inhale deeply when he making it!

Anyone have a fantastic tuna salad recipe you’d like to share?

365:Day 127 ~ Our Little Doodle PROS!

There is almost not a day that passes that there is not art stuff all.over.my.house. I swear I find crayons everywhere! Both of our girls really love to be creative. In fact, we have an entire cabinet dedicated to art stuff in our kitchen! Macy and Carly are always coloring, doodling, cutting, and creating! And I must say, “please pick up all of the art stuff”, at least once a day!

So, today before I spouted off my mantra, I decided to snap a pic of part of the art destruction … because, well, I secretly love it! :)

365:Day 126 ~ Tiny Dancers

There’s something about this shot that I just love. Maybe it’s that it’s a little blurry. Maybe it’s that I can feel Macy and Ashton’s excitement just before they rounded the corner. Maybe it’s that I’m a proud mama of these tiny dancers.

Maybe it’s all of that.

Macy and Ashton’s third dance recital was tonight. And for the first time, they did two dances … a jazz dance and a ballet dance. They were superstars. They were proud of themselves. And so were their mommies, daddies, and sissies.

I snapped this picture after Erin and I picked the girls up backstage. They knew Bill and Bobby were waiting around the corner to congratulate them. They were so excited to see their daddies … they ran around that corner and jumped straight into their arms. And all I could do was smile through my teary eyes. :)

So, so, SO much more to come on this big night…

365:Day 125 ~ four friends.

Tonight we were heading over to the Mitchell’s house to help Nathan celebrate his birthday and these four nutballs started goofing off on our way there! I swear … these precious little friends stole my heart years ago and I just cannot get enough! I cannot resist those sweet faces! Carly and Landry were hanging back with the mamas {they still get a little left out} while these four were hamming it up! It won’t be long before all six of them are goofing off together! Gosh, I can’t wait…

365:Day 124 ~ Chalking It Up!

Today was Macy’s End-of-the-Year Party at school! It was a splash party with kiddie pools, bubbles, a craft station, a tattoo station, and of course, sidewalk chalk! I thought the kids got pretty creative! In addition to just drawing regular pictures, the kids made big piles of chalk and then used their hands and feet to make hand/footprints all over the place! I love the way they think!

There is way more to come on this party! But I sure hope you enjoy this little snip-it!

365:Day 123 ~ $34.95

Would anyone care to tell me why kid’s jazz shoes need to cost $34.95?

This afternoon, Erin and I and all 4 girls went to the dance store to get Macy and Ashton some new jazz shoes. The ones that they have for class are black and they needed tan to match their costume for their recital on Saturday. Soooo, we got them fitted and then noticed that they were a bit pricey.

For some reason, I just cannot understand why dance shoes are SO DERN expensive … especially for kids! We were smart and got them big enough to wear in the fall, but still.

We cheered ourselves up by heading to grab some dinner at Café Express after our jazz shoe shopping! Chicken salad sandwiches, sweet potato fries, and Dr. Pepper … YUMMO! Shopping and dinner with the Bryce ladies is always a treat – even if the shoes are too expensive! :)

365:Day 122 ~ So THIS is Where We Are Now.

Yep. That’s right. We now have a child old enough to have a YEARBOOK!

A yearbook.
Complete with signatures from the whole class.
That belongs to our kid.
Who is almost totally done with kindergarten.
And thus, is almost a first grader.

Seriously. Where oh where does the time go? Geez.

365:Day 121 ~ Bubblicious!

“The” lake trip with our whole crew is around the corner … 3½ weeks … 25 days to be exact. And, being the obsessive list maker / planner / organized / anal person that I am, I have already started plotting things out in my head, and maybe on paper a little, and shopping.

Like today – I was at the craft store and happened to find some bubbles and glow sticks for DIRT CHEAP and decided that all the “big kids” definitely had to have them at the lake. Pink bubbles for the girls and blue bubbles for Grayson! Is there anything better than bubbles? Well, other than bubbles AND glow sticks that is!!! :)

Here’s to 3 weeks of compulsive planning!