Natalie caught her first lightening bug tonight!  Now she is hooked!  Craig tried to get her to do it a few days ago, but it was inevitably good ol' Grandpa Essington who got her to take the leap. I have to remind her not to bring them into the house...she tries to mother them like babies :)

 

July 2 ~ Craig still worked during the week his parents visited - so he was back at his job this morning.  Grandpa spent the day with Katelyn while Grandma, Natalie, and I went off to the mall for a bit.  We had lunch and then walked over to JCPenney to help Grandma pick out some curtains for her living room.  Nat had fun hiding behind all the curtain displays and causing trouble. We walked to the far end of the mall to let Nattie make use of the play area. For those who have been to our mall and can picture it - Natalie can now climb to the top of the big round soccer ball structure all by herself.  She stands up there with no fear (and no railing) while I try to keep pictures of her falling off backwards onto her head out of my own head!  We ended the day with a stop to pet the kitties. There were a ton of really young ones and Natalie wanted to hold them.  She gushed over the feel of their soft fur.  One was purring pretty loud and steadily, so I held it's belly up against Nat's ear so she could hear it.  She still talks about it to this day!

     Craig, Natalie, Mom Essington, and I spent the evening over at Morrison Park in Coralville.  Again, Kate stayed home and shared quality time with her Grandpa.  There was a free concert called "Rockin' Comedy" over at the park.  It was all Christian family entertainment which included music by Chris Rice and Stellar Kart and also comedy by Thor Ramsey. It was pretty loud and crowded, so we were just fine sitting in our lawn chairs near the back of the crowd. They also had face painting and an inflatable jumping tent for the kids. Nat got to use the tent, but we didn't find out about the face painting in time to stand in line.  Nattie was thrilled to be able to jump in the tent with her old friend/crush, Josh VanRoekel!  Josh has grown a lot since I last saw him - he's not so little anymore!  Nat had a blast hanging out with her Daddy and receiving his undivided attention - they were dancing together and he would toss her up high in the sky like he's done ever since she was a tiny baby.  I snapped some photos of them...there is one where she looks like she's ten feet in the air (a small exaggeration, but close)...wait till Grandma sees that picture!

 

July 4 ~ Happy Fourth of July!  Today was a scorcher of a day, like most July Fourths!  Everyone dressed up in their red, white and blue and we headed out to Coralville for some festivities.  We watched quite a bit of the parade...it is a LONG parade. Some of the highlights being the people riding horses, Herky the Hawk, and candy being thrown.  While there we saw the Willhoits and also ran into our neighbors the Mitchells.  Katie slept in the stroller for part of the parade, but was all smiles during the time she was awake.  Her hair was extra curly due to the heat and humidity!  After the parade we took a break and went to Red Lobster for lunch. Then we went back over for the carnival rides. Natalie coaxed Grandma into riding with her on the spinning strawberry ride!  Craig and I also took a turn riding it with Natalie. I've ridden that ride in the past and been fine...but extreme heat and a belly full of shrimp scampi don't mix well with that ride...but all was okay in the end.  That night we watched the Coralville fireworks.  They started out kind of on the dull side, but the ending was fabulous!

 

July 5 ~ Grandma Essington and I went with both girls to the Childrens Museum today.  We arrived just as they were feeding the fish and "Peter" the turtle (Nat's buddy). So Natalie was given the opportunity to help feed them.  We played in just about every area of the museum. Grandma and Natalie had the most fun in the motion room - racing cars and rolling golf balls down ramps and such.  Katie enjoyed the barnyard room - with the area that has soft mats and blocks...it's really the only thing she's old enough to participate in so far. After the museum we had lunch at Panera.  Nat and I used to go there quite often alone and sometimes with friends, but somewhere along the line it got to be too pricey.  Now we are more likely to just grab a taco or two which is friendlier on the budget.  Mom Essington and I enjoyed our salads, while Natalie enjoyed her bagel and fruit.  Katelyn enjoyed a Gerber WagonWheel snack :) 

 

July 6 ~ Craig took part of the day off to work on the swingset some more with his Dad...the thing is a monster!  Mom Essington offered to look after the kids so I could do a few things around the house that I've been wanting to get done.  Mostly stuff like printing out these journal pages to put in binders, placing loose photos in albums, and sorting through items to update Nat's babybook and start Kate's babybook...can you believe I haven't started Katie's book yet?...I'm not as organized as one may be inclined to believe! 

     Craig and I were able to sneak away for a second date night this week. We rode the motorcycle this time.  I don't get to ride with him too often, so that was a treat in itself.  We went downtown Iowa City to a restaurant called Atlas World Grill.  Always heard a lot about that place and wanted to try it.  A tad on the pricey side, but excellent food.  I also ordered a mohito (rum, club soda, lime, spearmint leaves, and sugar syrup) for the first time - yum!  The atmosphere was simple but yet sophisticated and sort of romantic. Craig and I had some well needed adult conversation. After dinner we took some backroads to Cedar Rapids and saw another movie - License to Wed...a bit too cheesy for me, but okay.

 

July 7 ~ We all got up early to head over to The Amana Colonies. Had a big breakfast at The Brickhaus. Nattie had two helpings of eggs - surprising since she's never been much of an egg gal.  Mom and Dad E wanted to make a stop at the local bakery.  Natalie and I stayed outside and took advantage of the wooden swing they had there.  Soon Katelyn joined us and that led to one of my famous mini photo sessions!  Two little girls on a swing...how can that be passed up? 

     Choir sang for all weekend services, so I had practice in the late afternoon.  We started an hour early due to lack of rehearsal during the week.  It was a lot of work, but we pulled it off and I think we did well.  We sang Hosanna, Holy is the Lord, How Great is Our God, How Great Thou Art, and Everlasting God.  Even with the shortage of rehearsal time, I have to say that this was "one of those weekends"...hard to explain, but just a weekend when every time we sang we could just feel the presence of God in that room. You don't always feel that - and that is actually okay - but it is so awesome when it does happen.  It's almost like it's just you and God and no one else on Earth and this total warmth that envelopes you. 

 

July 8 ~ As I said above, choir sang this weekend. My favorite song was probably How Great is Our God where near the end we broke into the chorus from How Great Thou Art - it was lovely. I think the band did an excellent job this weekend as well.  I am starting to get more familiar with the members of choir and am really enjoying their company.  Some of my favorite times are standing out in the hallway with them just before a service or chatting in the kitchen.  Julie Truman just returned to choir after having twins about five months ago - I snagged her phone number and am going to make it a point to call her sometime soon to get together. 

      Natalie had a good time in Sunday school today.  As we pulled into our garage after brunch (had a meal at Iowa River Power with Mom and Dad E), she was repeating over and over "God can do anything!" while throwing her little fist up in the air.  Katie, on the other hand, did not have as good of a morning. Her number was put up on the big screen during the first service, so Craig went to get her and ended up in the cry room for the remainder of the time.  I guess another baby started crying which started a chain reaction that Katelyn just wasn't recovering from. But Craig and Kate did get to meet the Malone's (Josh, Emily & baby Rebekah) while stuck in the cry room together.  Both Nat and Kate were able to hear the choir sing during the beginning of the second service.  Nattie was happy because we sang one of her favorite songs, Hosanna!

     After brunch, Craig and his dad tried hard to finish the swingset. They almost made it - all that was left unfinished was the roof and some plastic "rocks" for the rock wall portion.  But at least Craig's parents got to see the girls swing, slide, and climb before they left for Illinois. It is such a great playset - I am so excited about it!  It is super tall with two levels to play on.  It has a regular swing, toddler bucket swing, and a hanging bar. It has a long tall slide, a tunnel, a lookout area, and the rock climbing wall.  It will be just so neat to have so that I don't have to drag the kids to the park constantly - some days it can literally take hours to get out the door with two little ones.  Craig and his dad spent many long, hot hours putting it together.  Two of our neighbors also have large wooden playsets - they have told us to feel free to come play on theirs at anytime - and that is so nice of them, but it is also nice to now have our own set in our own yard - know what I mean? 

     We all had some of Grandma Essington's homemade ice-cream before we had to say goodbye to Craig's parents. We were all really rushed...it was getting very late in the day...Mom and Dad E had to get back home and our family had dinner plans with the Brezinski's.  So Mom and Dad E were actually still packing as we were leaving for our dinner - they left to go back to Illinois soon after we left to go to Coralville.  Heather and Paul had offered us a computer desk that they no longer wanted, plus they were going to be moving out of state in a couple days.  So we went over to their house to pick up the desk and to have some pizza with them and their kids.  They also had some other friends over as well - Matt and Kim Anderson and their two children, Abigail and Austin.  They met these friends at their church, Grace Community, not too long ago. They seemed like really nice people - we have their number now, so maybe we'll give them a ring sometime.  Near the end of the night, Natalie and Gabriel Brezinski were playing house in Gabe's play tent. It was cute.

 

July 9 ~ Natalie woke us up this morning by telling us that she had just gone outside to play on the swingset!  First time she has just walked out the door like that while we were sleeping.  It was quite scary for me!  We have two sliding glass doors that open up to our backyard - the only locks on them are those lever latch type things, which she knows how to open.  Our yard is fenced-in, but that sure doesn't mean much to neither her nor a stranger.  I had all these pictures flashing through my mind of her falling and hurting herself, walking out the gate and getting lost or run over by a car, or even being snatched up by someone and being taken away. So I made sure to tell her my worries and make it known to her that she is never to leave the house without first letting me know.  We've started to have the "stranger" discussions more frequently lately...and they are so diffiult because she is not even four years old yet..."stranger" is a hard idea to grasp that young. It's equally hard for her to understand such concepts as "choking" - like when I explain to her how she can't let Kate play with certain small toys, and also hard to understand why she can't take more medicine right away when it doesn't work as fast as she'd like. It is hard. So as far as the sliding glass doors go, we have now decided we need something in place to prevent her from opening them during the times we are sleeping or showering. I've gotten many great suggestions so hopefully we'll be able to choose one soon and put it in place.

    

July 10 ~ Katelyn is doing a lot of really cute things lately!  Today she was sitting and playing with a mirror. She saw "the baby" in the mirror and looked at her with such interest. All of a sudden she starts drawing the mirror up to her face and starts giving the baby big, sloppy, open mouthed kisses!  It was the best!  She is also starting to sound out some consonants. She says "bah-bah-bah" really loud and wide! 

     Tonight was my first time at the monthly deaconess meeting.  It started with a potluck and then moved onto the actual meeting. Some of the husbands who serve as deacons took part in the potluck portion as well.  During the meal I sat with Phil and Andrea Gugliuzza and their son David and Nate and Amanda Hobert and their daughter Grace. It was wonderful to get to talk with them a bit more.  The meeting is basically just your standard type of meeting I suppose - we talk about old business and new business and such.  Next time I'm supposed to get a binder full of information to read through. 

 

July 11 ~ This morning was Bible study at Barb's house. I must be honest...I am way, way, way far behind on my workbook. I just can't find the time.  And when I do have the time, I can't find the energy or I'm just not in the right frame of mind, etc, etc.  I think I've taken on a little more than I can handle right now.  But I do so much enjoy the fellowship and the video portion.  And I do love the actual workbook study when I do it.  Also - Natalie loves playing with Eliza Willhoit! 

     The girls and I are absolutely LOVING the new wooden swingset/playset in the backyard!  We are out there everyday - even if we can only squeeze in a mere 45 minutes or so at times. Kate adores the bucket swing and loves to feel the wind in her hair. Natalie loves everything about the structure.  My mother-in-law had mentioned bringing the play kitchen out there to use on the bottom level playhouse area.  I wasn't too fond of the idea,  just because the kitchen is really nice and I didn't want to leave it outside to get damaged by the weather.  But what I did today was stop by Stuff, Etc (local consignment store).  I found this cute play stovetop and some pots, pans, and utensils...it all kind of looks like pretend camping gear to me. I think I spent a total of $5 on it all and now Natalie can keep it outside and it won't matter how ruined it may get. 

     Craig was able to get the roof finished on the swingset tonight!  It looks great!  Now all that is left is to drill those plastic "rocks" onto the rock wall area. He'll probably be able to tackle that over the weekend.

 

 

July 12 ~ Today was a busy day at our house!  The girls and I ran to Walmart for a couple grocery items, Lowes to look for a couple things, and then to Target for a couple more things. Katelyn got fussy halfway through Target, so I picked her up from the cart and held her...well, she ended up falling asleep on my shoulder.  While I loved feeling her warm cuddly body against my chest, she was sure starting to get heavy...not to mention she was drooling all down my shirt! :)  So I made my way through the checkout and a long way down the parking lot to our van - one arm holding a snoring, twenty-plus pound Katie while trying to both push and steer a cart containing my first born Nattie.  It was a sight!  And my left arm sure was hurting later that night! 

     We had a dinner party at our house in the evening. Our neighbors Paul and Tracy Meyers came over with their sons Luke and Carter.  Our other neighbor Karen Mitchell came over with her daughter Dakota (her husband Kelly already had other plans).  We also invited Brian and Shawn Pierce who work with Craig - and their son Lucas.  And even Matt Hudson came for a short while with his daughter Brianne (his wife had to work).  The kids had a blast playing both indoors and outdoors. They ate out on the deck while the majority of the adults ate inside. It felt good to have some people over for the night. Having the baby, trying to adjust to two children, and the recent problems I have had with some girlfriends of mine have all played a part in my lack of social interaction lately.  It's been a struggle for me to reach out and put time, energy, and trust into new (and some existing) friendships.  But this was a fun night!

 

July 13 ~ Our entire family stayed up way too late last night.  So there was a fair amount of sleeping in this morning. Poor Katelyn had a really tough day today. I don't know if she was just sick or teething or both. It was just bad and I felt so sorry for her.  We had to get out of the house mid-afternoon, so we stopped at the mall for just an hour or so.  Returned some things at Target, both girls rode the carousel (Kate for the first time on a pony and not just on the floor in her infant carseat!), a Starbucks coffee for mom, and a promised cookie for Nattie (complete with pink frosting of course).  Kate fell asleep in the car on the way home.  So when we arrived at the house it was a good time to take naps.  After nap we played outside for awhile. When I was consignment shopping the other day I ran across a plastic sprinkler for like $1.50.  I figured that even if it didn't work the price was right. It's an octopus sprinkler...I think it is supposed to shoot water out of the tentacles while spinning around and then something is supposed to happen on the top of it as well.  Well, all it does is shoot water out of the tentacles...but it shoots it high and far and is still kind of fun...especially for just $1.50!

 

July 14 ~ Wow, here it is already August 5th and I'm just now typing out journal entries for mid July!  Needless to say, the next few entries may be lacking in some detail...but here goes...

     Today I took the kids to the public pool in North Liberty.  This was our first trip to the public pool for this summer, and actually Katelyn's first time ever!  I found out that it really wasn't as difficult handling both of the girls as I had thought it would be.  Sure, neither child was able to spend much quality time in the deep end with me, but it was still a good time. We'll just have to save the deep end for the times when there can be one parent per kid.  The girls and I swam with Laura Schafbuch and her daughters, Madelyn and Rachel. Madelyn is such a little fish...she was under the water just swimming away!  Natalie wasn't much into the slide today, but she did enjoy the fountains and the sea creature floatie things.  Kate loved sitting at the edge of the zero entry area and just hitting the water with her hand to make it splash.

 

July 16 ~ The girls and I spent a couple hours at Sycamore Mall today. Natalie calls it "the mall with the sparklies" because they have white Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling throughout the mall. Did a little shopping and shared some bagels at Panera. The tornado sirens went off today due to bad weather...of course they went off in the middle of nap time. So I had to scoop both girls up and whisk them down to the basement. Yes, I was upset that nap time was cut short, but thankful that we had a safe (and now comfortable with the addition of carpet and television!) place to ride out the tornado warning. 

 

July 17 ~ Natalie and Katie started swimming lessons this evening over at Coralville Rec Center. They'll be attending two nights a week for three weeks. Craig and I will both attend with the girls, so that makes everything easier and it makes for good family time :)  There are two preschool classes - Nat is in Preschool 1 where they focus on water adjustment, water entries and exits, jumping in waist deep, exploring the pool, front and back flutter kicking with support, front and back gliding with support, bubble blowing, and back and front floats with support.  She hasn't been in a swimming class since she was an infant, so it has been awhile.  Katelyn is in the Infant Course which is for children 6-18 months old.  They focus on water adjustment, front kick, glides, under water exploration, arm movements, and water entries.  For Natalie's class - parents are not to be involved in the class...it is for instructor and student only.  This made Natalie very nervous for her first night.  So I stuck by Natalie while Craig participated in the baby class with Kate. For her first preschool class, Natalie sat on the ledge the entire time. That was totally fine...but I let her know that her two choices were to either join her class in the water or stay seated on the ledge while class was in session. Mommy would not be holding her in the water and she would not be allowed to sit up on the deck or leave class. At one point she saw the kids having fun playing a game in the water and she asked to join. I lifted her off the ledge and into the water, but she then got scared and did not want to put her feet on the bottom of the pool.  She thought it was too deep...I think the water came up to about her chest.  We'll try it again next time. Katelyn seemed to have a good time in her class with Daddy - and I did get to venture over to that area of the pool a couple times. The good thing about having the lessons together is that the shallow end of the pool is small enough to concentrate on both girls at once. 

 

July 18 ~ Natalie slept through the night in her underwear last night!  Yay, Natalie!  She had already been napping in her undies during the day for awhile now.  She started asking the past few nights to sleep in underwear...I told her that if she could make it three straight nights with a dry pull-up that I would let her try sleeping in her undies. Natalie was so excited and proud of her accomplishment! My baby is potty trained!!

     The tornado siren went off again this evening.  This time it came right at Kate's bedtime and we had to stay downstairs for quite awhile.  Natalie was a bit worried - she doesn't really know what a tornado is, but she does know that the siren means possible danger. 

     Out of nowhere today Natalie asks me "Mom, what does 'future' mean?".  I thought for a minute and said "Well, it means 'not now, but later'...it means 'later'."  That was the best answer I could come up with to satisfy a three year old!

 

July 19 ~ Tonight was the second night of swimming class. The best part was that Natalie decided to take a risk and get into the water!  The smile on her face was awesome!  She got to kick her feet and play games with her peers. Craig and I were able to spend some time with Katie in her class. Katelyn went underwater for the first time tonight!  She did well, but did not seem to enjoy it too much. What she does like doing is splashing with her hands, playing with balls, and trying to kick her feet...she does a real good job thrusting her little legs out behind her in the water. 

 

July 20 ~ Our family left this morning to go to Illinois for the weekend.  My good friend from high school, Christi Rock, is getting married!  Mom and Dad Essington watched the girls for us so that Craig and I could attend all the wedding activities over the weekend.  The wedding is being held in Hudson, Illinois at Christi's parents' house.  Christi is marrying Donald Fulton - never met him, but he and Christi have known each other for a long time now. 

    So tonight was the wedding rehearsal and dinner.  Sara Emberton, Kara Dennis and I were all asked to be bridesmaids along with Christi's older sister, Diane, plus three other gals who are friends of the bride.  It was nice catching up with my high school friends for awhile!  I also opted to give Christi her wedding gift tonight. I gave her two small scrapbooks - one I filled with photos from past memories...the other I left blank for Christi to fill with future photos (her "new memories" I suppose). I thought it would be sweet and entertaining to have her open it up the night before her wedding so we could pass it around.  After rehearsal there was a buffet dinner at a yummy little Asian restaurant.  Following dinner, a group of us from the wedding party sat around a local bar for awhile and had a couple drinks.  While it was a fun time, Craig and I ended our night quite a bit earlier than the rest of the group.

 

July 21 ~ Today was the day of Christi's wedding!  Sara picked me up at my in-laws' house and we went to meet up with some of the other girls to get our hair done. We went to Hairmasters over in Bloomington.  Kara's sister, Jenna, teaches there and was able to have her class do all of our hair at the same time.  Sara and I also decided to treat ourselves to pedicures while we were at it.  When it was all said and done, I loved loved loved my toenails but was not too sure about my hair.  I asked the hairstylist to do a little something with braids on the top...I ended up with what was more like cornrows - I think I was picturing more like some looser type braids pinned back on the side or something. I probably should have just had her start over, but it had taken her so long to finish half of it and I also was trying to convince myself I'd like it better later after getting more used to the style.  Oh well - it's only hair and only one event, right?  After getting our hair and nails done we headed over to the Rocks' home to get dressed.  The bridesmaids were all asked to wear casual sundresses and the groomsmen wore Hawaiian shirts and khaki pants.  It was an outdoor wedding and the flowers were gorgeous!  Christi and Don looked very happy.  We enjoyed some great food during the reception. Melissa Weinzierl came to the wedding and brought her fiance, Tony Mays, along with her - I don't think any of us had ever met him prior to the day.  Also found out that Melissa is going to be a mommy for the second time!  There was some dancing going on for awhile after dinner - great fun watching Christi's parents "get down" and watching Christi dance with Don. I really don't dance much anymore - never was really good at it anyway...but I did participate in The Electric Slide with my girlfriends!  The night ended with Christi's parents sending the couple away to a bed and breakfast for the evening...they left the scene sitting on lawn chairs in the bed of a pickup truck while the theme to The Beverly Hillbillies was played by the DJ.  It was great!!

 

July 22 ~ We visited Craig's Grandma Essington in Monticello, IL today. Mom and Dad Essington rode along with us in our van.  We spent some time with her at her apartment...had lunch and chatted and such. It had been a long time since we had last seen her, so it was good for everyone (especially our girls). 

     As soon as we arrived back at Craig's parents' house, it was time for us to load up the van and head on back to Iowa.  During our drive back home we spied a hot air balloon up in the sky - I think near Galesburg or so.  Craig took a bunch of country roads until we were pretty close to the balloon. It was a really fun experience for Natalie to be chasing a hot air balloon.  I don't know if she had ever seen one before.

 

July 23 ~ Nat had her bi-annual dentist appointment with Dr.Rubel this morning.  All went well - he told Nattie that her teeth looked "beautiful".  Nat was excited to get a new Piglet toothbrush and toothpaste!  All did not go as well when we visited the mall after the dentist appointment. I can't remember all the details (I am writing this entry nearly a whole month after the incident), but I know that Natalie decided not to obey her mom and that mom decided it was time to go home early.  So Natalie threw a huge tantrum all the way from Target to the car...where she then decided to throw her shoe at me.  So Nat had to endure the car ride home with only one shoe and a slightly sore bottom.

 

July 24 ~ Today was Kids Day at the Johnson County Fair!  Natalie, Katie, and I went early to participate in some of the activities.  We watched a little bit of a children's entertainer on the stage, cooled off with some ice cream, picked up a few freebies at the vendor booths, and Natalie even had a pretty flower painted on her face. Daddy met us there in the afternoon to look at the animals and have some lunch. Kate loved the goats and the pigs. Natalie thought the pigs were scary, but did like the horses, goats, and the chickens. She even dared to pet one of the ponies - quite a change for her :)

 

July 25 ~ Natalie attempted to paint her fingernails this morning with a blue marker. Every time we walk by a nail salon she is intrigued.  I think when she gets just a tad older I'll have to plan a girl's day out with her and take her to the salon...that would be really fun! 

     Daddy had golf tonight, so after Kate when to bed Natalie and I went out front and played with the sidewalk chalk.  Our neighbor, Karen, came by and joined us for awhile.

 

July 26 ~ I babysat for Jill Lashmit's son, Abraham, for a couple hours this morning.  Kate loved having a playmate her age!  She just smiled and stared at him and wanted to keep touching him. She seemed a little concerned when he played with some of her toys. When he started to cry she looked so sad to see him sad.

     I had to go to the dentist today to have a crown put on one of my teeth.  I didn't feel like taking the kids with me, so I dropped them off at Chili's to have a special lunch with Daddy. I get to the dentist office and find out that the crown they had for me was not my crown - totally not my dentist's fault, but a pain nonetheless.  So not only did they have to glue the temporary crown back on (after 3 people had tried their hands at removing it), but Craig had taken over an hour off of work for nothing...there was some quality Daddy/daughter time, so I suppose it wasn't exactly "for nothing". :)

     Tonight our family went back over to the Johnson County Fair to watch the fireworks. Natalie thought it was neat because she got to wear her pajamas and eat cotton candy.  The fireworks were pretty loud for the girls (everyone sits real close), but it was still a good time.

 

July 28 ~ Natalie and Katelyn played beauty shop on the kitchen floor this morning. Of course, Natalie was the hairdresser and Kate was the customer.  It was so cute to see them together. It really excites me to know that they will grow up having each other. They also played in the princess tent for awhile...they did their "screaming game".  The "screaming game" is when one of our girls lets out a high pitched scream and then the other replies back with her own (usually equally loud) high pitched scream. Is it a girl thing?  I don't know. 

     Our whole family went grocery shopping this afternoon. It has been a long time since Craig has come along on a shopping trip. Usually it is just me with the girls...and that can be hard sometimes...it takes a lot of multi-tasking skill. 

     We have also solved our "sliding glass door issue" - see entry for July 9th!  After many suggestions, a friend of mine showed me how she uses a large suction cup to stop the door from sliding open. I finally found some at Walmart that were large enough and it works.  What a great, cheap, temporary solution!

 

July 30 ~ I had mentioned before that Jill Lashmit wanted to start a babysitting co-op. She is still trying to get that started and wanted to have a meeting to discuss some group stuff.  I offered to have everyone over to our house for a dinner and meeting.  That way all the moms, dads, and kids could come and we could all get to know each other. I always like to meet the husbands...especially when they may be around my children during the swapping of babysitting.  So we held a dinner - everyone brought meat for their family to throw on the grill and a sidedish to pass.  The kids played inside and outside while us adults talked about the co-op and also got to meet one another.  It was Philip and Jill Lashmit with son Abraham (6 months old), Mike and Stephanie Annis with their daughters Cayley (5 yrs old) and Emily (3 yrs old) and son Michael (1 month old), Codi Heefner with son Gabe (5 yrs old) and daughter Josie (1 year old) - her husband Nile was home with son Seth (3 yrs old), and Derrica Krutzinger with daughter Abigail (10 months old) - her husband Dustin had to work.  Everyone seemed really nice and friendly. 

 

July 31 ~ The girls and I went over to Chuck E Cheese in Cedar Rapids today. Lunch went fine and then we started to play some games.  All was going well until my hand slipped from holding Katelyn's arm while on a ride - her head met the little metal steering wheel...but she soon recovered from her injury and I recovered from my mommy guilt...so the game playing and ride riding resumed.  Everything was fine once again and we were on our way out the door...the door caught the back of Natalie's ankle as we were leaving.  And I tell you - this is one heavy door - it had sliced off some of the skin from the back of her ankle and blood was everywhere and she was screaming bloody murder. So I had to guide sobbing Natalie back into the restaurant while pushing the umbrella stroller which held Katie and trying to hold open this dreaded heavy door. I couldn't really tell how bad Nat's injury was just by looking at it, but I put a couple band aids on it and prayed that it was enough. After calming Nat down and holding her for a long time (Katie just sat there very confused), we went back out to the van and drove home. All three of us were exhausted, so we took long naps. Natalie said her "owie" felt a lot better after nap, but she did not want to go to her swimming lesson.  I think she was mostly afraid that the band aid would come off and that it would hurt.  So I decided it would just be best if we skipped the lesson for that night.  Whew!  By the way, Natalie's ankle ended up being okay...it wasn't as deep as it initially appeared...there is still some redness on her ankle...don't know if it will always be there or not, but she is fine.