What's for dinner?

Long are the days where we eat gourmet dinners and eat out.  Instead we opt to eat in and make kid friendly food.  What's for dinner at our place?  It is wiener wraps and macaroni & cheese.  YUM!

Every time I think of wiener wraps I think back to my grade school days.  I always gave my wieners to my friend Sarah and she gave me her wraps.  Isn't it funny how something like a food reminds you of a memory from the past? 

Anyone want to come over?  We'd love to have you!

Next meal - chicken nuggets :)  Ha!

Together At Last!

Today Makenna had to transition yet again to a new daycare.  As you may have recalled from my earlier post, Makenna was not able to get into our regular daycare center until today.  Up to this point Makenna had been going to a home daycare with 3 other kids.  I wasn't sure how well this transition would go as Makenna's has become very attached to Dave and myself.  This past weekend she would barely let her Aunt Kerry hold her.  At drop off today, Makenna easily went to her new teacher Lezlie and could care less that she was being held by her versus me.  I have to say, I was kind of disappointed.  Part of me wishes she would have cried or fussed a little.  I know most parents would have been thrilled by this but as an mom of an adoptive child, I kind of wanted her to be sad and to want her mommy.  Thankfully big sister Maya is just downstairs and is able to check in on her little sister.  Apparently Makenna did great and had a good day.  She was overwhelmed at first but what can you expect with 8 little ones, 2 teachers, and people coming and going all day long?  I would be overwhelmed too!  We are just thrilled to have both girls under the same roof as life just got easier for Dave and myself.

Before leaving for school, I took some pictures.  I had to promise Maya a gummy bear in order to get a smile.  Strange, I know as Maya always smiles for the camera.

  

All Smiles

One happy little girl...that smile melts my heart.



I just love this one...

Time Out for Myself - BON JOVI!!!

I thought I would participate in this month's "Time Out for Theta Mom Thursday".   The rules: you have to make an hour’s time for yourself sometime during the month, without the kids and blog about it.

 

Do you find it easy to get time for yourself?  I don't.  I find it incredibly difficult.  Part of the issue is I want to be home and be with my family.  The other issue is I just don't take the time.  One Saturday night this month, I actually took time for me.  I enjoyed a night out at a Bon Jovi concert.  Wow, so much fun!  My good friend Andrea snagged awesome tickets near the stage on the raised seats which gave me a great view of hottie Jon Bon Jovi!  I spent the evening with my sister, her husband, my friends Andrea and Tom. 

David decided to stay home with the kids considering he isn't the biggest fan and has seen him twice already.  I'm not sure how he could pass on an incredible concert and a night out of the house, but he did.  It felt so good to be out and to feel like me and not Maya's or Makenna's mom which is how I feel most days.  After the concert we hit a local spot for a round of drinks  and some chit chat.  I loved it!!



This night was not only a blast but it reminded me it is important to take time for yourself.  You may not be able to every day or every week but once in awhile is good for the soul.  Thank you Dave for giving me a guilt free night out!

Twists

About 2 weeks ago, I tried out a new hairstyle on Maya's hair.  I thought it turned out fairly cute but it didn't hold too well.  Maya's hair is fairly soft so twists don't hold as well as cornrows.  I ended up taking them out after a few days and instead did some cornrows in her hair.  The nice part was her hair was already parted in sections so it didn't take long. 

Here are some pictures of the twists. 


It is fun to try something new but lately we've been doing head bands and ponytails.  So easy.  I'll have to visit the blog Happy Hair for some new ideas.

First Trip Out of Town

Have you ever gone on a trip that didn't turn out exactly the way you had envisioned it?   This weekend we took our first road trip as a family of 4 and Makenna's first car trip. We left Saturday am and drove 3+ hours to visit my brother and his family.  I had a plan before we left home.  The plan was this...we would meet my brother and his family in Sioux Falls, make a quick trip to Once Upon a Child, have lunch at a local Ethiopian restaurant, shop at the mall and then drive to my brother's which is 45 minutes north of the city.  Easy enough.

WRONG!  Although we did managed to complete everything, it wasn't without consequences.  The girls were tired and excited to see their cousins and us adults were ready to lose our patience as the girls did not listen and did not make good choices.  I guess I shouldn't have had expectations as it is normal for a 3 year old to be wild after sitting for 3+ hours.

We did make it to a local Ethiopian restaurant.  The food was delicious!!!  It was the first time for my brother and his family.  They gave it a shot and I think they actually liked some of it.  Maya was too busy being naughty to enjoy it  which was a disappointment.


 

After lunch we hit the very busy mall with 4 tired children.  You can imagine how well it went.  Why does it seem when you have awesome store coupons to all your favorite stores, the mall is absolutely crazy?  Apparently all these people had the very same coupons and had the very same idea.  Darn it.  Well we stayed longer than we should have and finally left.  I did managed to quickly stop in at a few places.  It wasn't the most pleasurable shopping experience. 

After we arrived at my brother's the girls could finally burn off some energy.  Maya and her cousin Olivia had a blast playing with each other.  Makenna decided it was time to be fussy while her cousin Rachel was a sweet and calm child.  They really have different personalities.
 

Sunday we had a nice morning and the girls enjoyed dying and decorating Easter eggs. 

 

We also tried taking a picture of all 4 kids.  The key word is "tried". 
 

After lunch, we packed the car and headed for home.  The first 45 minutes were fine as both girls fell asleep in the car.  After a quick stop at Target to feed Makenna, we started our 2+ hour trip home.  It wasn't the best as Makenna screamed for most of it and Maya got upset when her movie didn't play (darn DVD  players).  What seemed like forever, we finally made it home.
 
We actually did have a nice weekend and the girls enjoyed themselves.  I just have to remember to not have any expectations and not to expect my girls to cooperate after a long car ride.  I must first let them run off their built up energy before we attempt anything such as shopping.  I've learned my lesson.

Thanks Jon and Shannon for hosting us!

Parades

Maya enjoyed two parades in the past week.  The first parade was the St. Patrick's Day parade.  Maya enjoyed it with her good friend Wren and her cousin Benjamin (along with Dad and Wren's parents).  The girls loved wearing their hats Dave picked up for them. 

 

The second parade was the Shrine Circus parade.  Maya loved watching all the animals and had many stories to tell her friends at school.


 

I unfortunately missed both parades but I heard all about them!  I'll have to be sure to go with next year.