Being 2 1/2

We don't really celebrate 1/2 birthdays at our house and if we did I would be a month late, but since they are both officially "1/2" I thought I would dedicate a post to each of them and who they are right now. Plus, this blog kindof takes the place of babybooks in our house, so this is a way for me to show the kids what they were like when they were this age. So sorry about the length and don't feel obligated to read the entire thing - it will be long!
I decided to start with Tate, so here it goes:














Tater (as we call him - he refers to himself as TaterTot!) is quite the daredevil. He will jump on or off of anything he can.




















He is quite the ham and loves showing off - will dance, sing, do tricks. Pretty much whatever you ask of him. He especially looks up to his sister (even as much as they pick at each other, he still wants to be big like her) and he LOVES his cousin Jackson. Soon they will be playing farm together for real.





















Speaking of farm, Tate loves John Deere and green is the first offical color he can name everytime he sees it. I was worried for awhile, but I think he is catching on!















Potty training is another story. That is not catching on, but I have learned from other parents of boys and have decided to let Tate decide when this is happening. Maybe this summer? Who knows, but for now we will take the random trips to the bathroom and the reading of the "dump truck book".

With summer coming Tate will get to enjoy more of one of his favorite foods - corn on the cob. He is messy, but doesn't have much leftover when he is finished!

Still lovin bathtime and doing much better not soaking the entire floor with water. He even lets me wash his face and hair without screaming bloody murder - progress!!

Speaking of screaming bloody murder...Tate does have his meltdown moments just like any other 2 year old. We are pretty lucky that there are that many and he seems to understand the timeout/consequence concept. I will admit that it is really hard sometimes to stick to my guns because the kid is so darn cute and hilarious, but I gotta do it.

Tate has always been a good sleeper and still is. He has since moved onto a big boy bed (aka-crib without one of the sides) and has been doing pretty well. He plays for about an hour after going to his room, but he doesn't really come out and puts his toys away before going to bed. That is a battle I am not going to fight because he is in his room and stays there!

Addicted to chapstick. Sometimes he gets Teagan's lip gloss or play makeup - that is a sight to see!

Everybody at our house loves Aunt Beth and Tate is no exception. We don't get to see her as much as we would like, but she is so good about saving some time for the kids when she is home. Here she is playing trains with Tater, another one of his favorite activities.

Who doesn't love some ice cream? Tate would actually prefer freeze pops to a cone, but would never turn down a couple bites of cookie dough ice cream.

He loves "driving" anything that has wheels. Here him and Teagan were on a 4-wheeler at Bass Pro Shop and Tate decided to take Teagan for a ride.

Right now Tate is totally into Disney shows. We went to see his favorites last fall. Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse are at the top of his list. Some of his other favorites are: Dora, Diego, Max & Ruby, Little People, and Thomas.

Tate can rarely be seen without one of these - his cup or a blanket. He doesn't have just one blanket he has to have, but if he could he would have one with him all day long. We have laid down the law and now blankies are only in bed or if he is resting and watching a show. We started using a big boy cup (no lid) at meals this week and it has gone pretty well. But the sippy cups are so nice that I am not ready to get rid of those for awhile - call me lazy, but we have enough stains on our carpet the way it is!

Tate loves his Hawkeyes! Anything that has a tiger hawk or looks like Herky is "Ricky Stanzi" to him. He is starting to enjoy watching other sports too and we are pumped to get to some baseball and softball games this summer. Not to mention the golf course!

Hide and Seek is one of his favorite games right now. Still not super great at it since he hides in the same spot everytime and tells the seeker where he is at. Teagan is very patient with him though and is a good sport about playing with him for at least a little while. He will also play school, babysitter, and house. Can you tell he has an older sister?

There he is - Mr. Tater Tot Casserole.

Weekend Activities

Another fun-filled weekend is halfway through already, but we had the chance to hang out with both friends and family.

The kids and I made homemade pizza Friday night. I had been wanting to try a stuffed crust recipe and thought these were the best test if it was good or not. It was one extra step beyond however you make your own pizza at home.

I have good luck with Jiffy crust and it is super cheap - bonus! After letting it set for about 5 minutes in the bowl, I spread it out on the pan and let it set for a couple minutes there too.

This picture doesn't look great, but that was Teagan's side of the pizza. Here is where the extra step comes in. I took string cheese, cut each down the middle and laid them around the edge of the crust. All you do is wrap the cheese with the dough to make the stuffed crust.

Here it is pre-baked. I made it a little smaller since the kids and I were the only ones eating.

Here it is out of the oven.

Cheesy goodness! If you haven't tried this yet and your kids like string cheese I highly recommend it for a change from regular pizza.

After pizza we headed over to some friends' house so both kids and adults could hang out. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am so ready to start spending time on decks, watching kids run around the yard, and just enjoy a little sun.

Here are 5 of the 6 kiddos getting ready for bed. Yeah right! Only one of them fell asleep. The rest made it downstairs for the talent show portion of the evening! It was great to get the kids together again. It seems like forever since we have been able to do that. They are all growing up so fast! Thanks Ryan and Amy for hosting!

Random pics from Saturday at home. After I got home from a baby shower this morning Tater decided he needed a little dose of football.

He also did some writing in his daily journal!! There are times when he wants so much to be like his big sister and then other times when he couldn't care less!

After an awesome meal of steaks on the grill the kids did some boxing played baseball on the Wii. They haven't figured out they are playing against each other yet, which is good because not a meal goes by where I don't hear one of them say, "I beat you, I'm done first!" I foresee some intense Mario Kart battles in the Schaefer future!

Tate gave up and watched from the "sidelines" while Teagan finished the game.

Nice form! Tonight Brad was asking Teagan if she could be anything in the world for a job what would it be.

Here are her top 6:

1) A house cleaner - what!! I have to tell her to pick up her own room about 3 times a day!

2) A store worker - where else? Claires, of course!

3) A nurse - to give people shots, not make them better mind you, just give them shots.

4) A baby nurse - "because then if I help them get their babies out they might let me babysit the babies!" Which leads to occupation #5

5) A babysitter

6) A pharmacist - Brad had to mention this one about 20 times and I think Teagan got tired of hearing it and added it to the list. She knew what they did though - a step in the right direction.

Either way, whatever she chooses to be I truly do want her to be happy and enjoy the life she lives. It goes by way too fast to not enjoy it! Have a great Sunday everyone. Hopefully tomorrow I can share an Easter gift project I have been working on.

Spring Fever

I know everyone else feels the same especially looking outside today. Mother Nature is flexing her muscles a little to remind us she is still not done, but that isn't stopping me from doing everything I can to get spring here. My latest project is Mod Podging on tile. You can get really cheap tile at home improvement places and I printed off this picture on regular paper and ink. I cut it to fit, Mod Podged the back and secured it in place. I then covered it with a coat of Modge Podge and it was done.















I really like the way it turned out and am moving on to some quotes. The only problem with that is finding clear paper to print on. I did find some at Michaels yesterday, so I will let you know how it turns out. It is a really simple and cheap project.















My next project was Easter garland for above the deck doors. I grabbed 2-18 packs of eggs at Dollar Tree, used regular thread to connect them together, and tied each end.

It turned out pretty well and gives the kitchen a more festive look. The only problem I had was some of the eggs didn't have holes in them, but some did. The ones that didn't I used a nail to punch one in. Another very cheap holiday decoration.

I also had some time to go through the kids' rooms (again) over my break. I wanted to get through old clothes and toys for a possible garage sale next month. I always struggle with storing all the little "treasures" that the kids have and have found these bags to work amazingly. They are from curtains, shams, and sheets I have bought in the past. They are the right size for about anything. And the usually have an inside pocket where you can put in your own labels. If you have any lying around and need some extra storage pull out some of these babies - they rock!

Another one of my storage solutions. These are on top of the dryer and hold our hair trimmers and random stuff I catch before washing clothes.

These hold the kids' socks that have lost their partners - how are there always so many? I like that the lids snap shut. Not the most attractive storage solution. Maybe I will Mod Podge these too! Love that stuff!

Since an amazing lady I know cleaned up my cupboards (and pretty much the rest of my kitchen!) I have been wanting to add a couple more touches. I found this tweet birdie for $2 at Michaels yesterday. I love the green color and that it makes me think of spring.

Last rant, I promise! I made this recipe for supper last night and Brad really liked it. It was pretty simple and something different. I am adding the link below if you want to give it a try. My only recommendation is: while cooking the sausage cut them up in bite-sized pieces. They will finishing cooking better. Also, it is not the healthiest meal ever, but a nice comfort food meal.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/sausage-peppers-pasta-113822.aspx

"I forgot!"

So how many times a day do you hear this?

Right now they are Teagan's favorite words and the thorn in my side! It started with me finding Teagan fangling her brother over the side of our chair like they were the main stage for Ringling Brothers! When just the day before her dad had said never to do that anymore. Her response to my find? "I forgot!" Really girlfriend? I am pretty sure you knew exactly what you were doing!

Going for round 2 - she got caught putting sugar on some strawberries after being told numerous times that she had had enough for the night. When she thought Brad and I were both helping Tate in the bathroom she dumped a ton of sugar on the strawberries! Brad caught her in the act. Her response again? "I forgot!". This is a smart girl, people! What is going on? Being 6? Being a girl? Both incidents resulted in straight to bed for the night, but cutting down on these would be the best for all of us. Any suggestions?

So, with all these early bedtimes I had some time to finish some books that were on my list.

"Push" was absolutely intense and not for those with weak stomachs. That being said it is a book that has potential to change lives and I hope that all the press and publicity it has gotten gives it the chance to reach an audience that can really benefit from it.

This weekend I rented the movie based on the book. If any of you have read the book, but were putting off the movie due to the graphic content you don't have to worry. It was WAY less intense than the book and was done very well. That's not to say the movie is easy to watch, but I highly recommend watching it.

While on our trip I started reading "Lipstick Jungle" bu Candace Bushnell. I was devestated when the show was cancelled last year and this may have been a last effort to get another dose. I really liked the book, but without giving away major stuff it is nothing like this:

The male characters are so much different than on the show, but if you enjoyed the show I think you would like the book also. Added bonus - I found it for only $3 at Dollar General!!

You know it's a good day when...

...your kids can finally play outside.

...we get to look outside and not see snow! Can I get a woot woot!!

...the Christmas lights can finally come down.

...you can have windows and doors open without having to wear gloves and coats.

...you had enough time to plan ahead for supper. added bonus - your house smells awesome all day, along with the wonderful smell of fresh air!

...you had the chance to have lunch with your Grandma (a blessing in itself) and she sent you home with these! You cannot know how amazing these are!!!

It was definately a great day with some items checked off the to-do list. Plus some time spent with the kids. Daylight savings is kicking our kids in the butt right now and I am hoping we get back into a good routine. Have a great week everyone!!

"Toes in the Water..."

you might not know the rest of the song, but can imagine where my rear was for most of this trip!















Here is a view making the turn into the Cancun airport. All those shades of blue were amazing!

Our beach was in pretty good shape. They are still trying to repair it from hurricanes a couple years ago. The water was pretty rough most of the time, but everyone had a chance to "enjoy"
the waves if they wanted. I for one am not a ocean water fan. I like my no wave pool water!

This was the view from our room. We decided to upgrade and were so glad we did. I was awesome waking up to this every morning!

















Here are 5 of our 6 soaking up some rays. Can you tell who is who?

Dinner at our resort. I loved the food and the food loved me!! This girl got a little carried away and is going through withdrawals this week!

We took a day trip to a park called Xplor where you could drive these amphibian vehicles, zip line, paddle boat and swim in caves. It was a great experience and I can say I have checked at least one thing off my bucket list.

These are just a couple of the 11 towers that we zip lined from. We didn't take our cameras along, but did purchase a couple pics of Brad and I "zipping" along together. It was a great experience and highly recommend trying it.

A night out at Senor Frogs. The staff feed right into our group and we all had a good time, maybe a little too good. Sorry, no incriminating pictures here! I have family members reading this!!

The group. We had an absolute blast together. It is great to be able to share down time and nights out with a great group of people!

We had to leave pretty early on our last day, but not before seeing a beautiful sunrise. It was a much needed break, but also great to get home to our "babies". If you haven't had the chance to do this you need to. Don't wait until you can because that time might not come. It was definitely good for this mom's soul! Adios muchachas!!

My post-vacation present!

We made it back and had an absolute blast on our vacation! I will share some pictures later, but there are some that need to be edited/deleted. You know - what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico!!

When we returned home we found our kitchen about 95% done and I can't tell you how excited I was about it. To start with, we had our fridge water and ice hooked up (finally) after living in this house for almost 8 years.

It might seem like a little thing, but I have had more ice water in the past 2 days than I have in a month. Not counting the trip of course, because I don't think they have water there! HA!! In addition to the water our tub got a new drain. Again, not so exciting, but when you have been giving kids baths with a stopper that they are constantly kicking out of place it is one of the best presents ever!!

OK - so here is the big reveal (minus the dishwasher) that is on its way.

I am SOOOOO in love with it and so happy that we finally just decided to do it. It just needs some finishing touches and then I can move on to more projects. I know the hubby will be so excited to hear that!