Our first dinner "date"

This morning L had to call and cancel our "date" at storytime because A had an allergic reaction to the mosquito bite he got yesterday at the Arboretum. Poor little dude. She was going to give him some benadryl and see how things went.

We went ahead and journeyed to storytime anyway. We ran into S, the neighborhood lady who was on modified bedrest. She had her baby two weeks ago today and was ready to get out of the house. Brave woman: a 17 month old and a two week old. Needless to say, she didn't stay long.

When we got home I turned my attention to the kitchen. More specifically, the refrigerator. It's been in desperate need of a clean down and some reorganizing. I got the inspiration from the following blog that I just LOVE: http://lesscakemorefrosting.blogspot.com
If you are a crafty lady, I encourage you to check it out! She gave me the idea to make a felt board game of some sort.

Anyway, back to the fridge. My FIL came and played with D so he was out of my hair while I scrubbed, washed, organized and threw out a bunch of expired stuff. Here's the before:



And here's the after:



Now I can see what's in the veggie drawer so I'm not buying more and more zucchini while perfectly good zucchini rots at the bottom of the crisper drawer. I am so in love with it now!!!



Since L and I are business trip widows tonight we decided to meet up and take the kids out for dinner. Nothing fancy, just the mall food court, but at least it's out of the house, right?

After an elegant meal courtesy of Chick-fil-A we took the boys to the outdoor courtyard and D got to run off some energy. Just in time to get him all pooped out for bed! He had a blast kicking the little soccer ball, running through the grass and smelling the flowers. What a boy!

Busy, busy, busy

I've been so busy over the last 9 days! There has been something going on just about every.single.day! Here's the wrap-up:

*Monday the 21st- we had a pool party here at our house for my meetup group. Five ladies came out including R, AM and G. G is the one who I was totally in love with a few weeks back! She never returned my invite to get together after that first playdate so I haven't tried again. She seemed pretty open to hanging out at the pool playdate so I'll try inviting her and X out again.

Tuesday the 22nd- Meetup at AM's. This was a morning playdate with breakfast. YUM! We brought salsa and D liked eating the eggs and cheese. We met S and her daughter P at this playdate. She lives very close to me so I've got to get a feel for her personality.

Wednesday the 23rd- My niece R came to stay the night and we met R and G at the Studio Movie Grill for a little lunch and movie. G didn't do too well with sitting still so we left early. R helped me put together D's birthday save-the-dates.



Thursday the 24th- neighborhood group met at the splashpark. The DMN got a photo of me and D playing in the water and it was on the FRONT PAGE of Friday's edition!!!



Friday the 25th- our first ever neighborhood baby bounce playdate here at our house. We kicked off a new playdate idea and it was a HUGE success!! We have decided to have one every week this summer as long as we have hosts willing to brave the crowds that will inevitably show up.

Sunday the 26th- L and A met us at the club pool for some swim time. She invited us to meet her at the arboretum today to visit the petting zoo that is set up.

Monday the 27th- We met L and A at the arboretum and had fun brushing the goats, petting the lamb, watching the cow eat and gently petting the rabbit. A short cool down in the fountain and some stick hunting and the day is complete!!



We have plans to meet R and A Wednesday afternoon at the Galleria play area.

Bring in the clowns...

Wednesday we had two activities to attend, both at the same mall, so that was helpful on so many levels.

The first activity was a clown show! One of the Ringling Barnum & Bailey's circus was there to entertain us and read to us. On the way there, D kept saying, "clown!" He has a book in the car for traveling that is titled, "C is for Clown". I don't know that he had any idea what a real clown would look like, but he sure was excited.

Once we were seated and ready for the show, three of the neighborhood girls showed up and sat with us. Halfway through the show another of our girls came. When D saw the actual clown come on stage, he pointed and waved! He kept saying, "clown!"

Photos coming soon...please check back!

We had lunch plans pretty much immediately following the show. The ladies from the neighborhood group decided to go to the food court for some lunch and opened the idea up to us all. I had to decline, since we already HAD plans. How does that happen?? I was a little bummed to leave them there but was excited to eat at the fairly new Italian restaurant.



Unfortunately, D was getting tired and about ready to crash, so we decided to make an appearance and then split. We caught up with the meetup girls and had a good chat. Of the five of us, three are preggers and one has a five month old baby girl, so we were the seniors in the group.

D crashed on the way home. All in all, it was an eventful day!

It's the little things...

This afternoon we met A and L at SMG for a matinee movie. The theater was showing Charlotte's Web (the new version with Dakota Fanning)for $2 adult ticket and $1 kid's ticket. The ticket lady let D and A in for free! That's the cute discount, folks.

The boys did great! We brought lunch for them and they ate while the movie played. Both boys started to get wiggly with about 20 minutes left but there were no meltdowns. Next week they are showing Curious George and we are planning on returning. R mentioned that she would like to bring G next week so we'll have to invite them along as well. Even if they don't make it through the whole movie, we're only out 2 bucks!! Can't beat that, huh?

After D's nap we went to Michael's and picked up some materials for a project I've been wanting to put together. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do but I knew that I wanted to make D a form of felt board game. Something quiet that he can play with at church or in the car and not bother anyone.

After checking out all the aisles (twice) we decided on a felt puppy game. I took one long firm piece of felt and folded it in half. They had some felt pieces that are adhesive backed and we picked up 5 colors. I also found some iron on puppies that we snagged. Last, I grabbed some velcro.

Here is the finished product (minus the spinner that I just can't figure out!).



D will spin the spinner and move his puppy to the appropriate colored spot. The object is to get your puppy "home". Cute, huh? And it'll reinforce his colors. He LOVES moving the puppies around the board!! It's the little things, folks...

Three miles and 10 months away

Thursday morning we hosted a meetup playgroup at our house. In the days leading up to the event, we had 8 folks signed up to come and 4 on the waiting list should someone cancel. Well, the morning of, after we ran to PetSmart to drop off the dog, we returned home to find that 5 of the ladies had cancelled last minute! And none of the waiting list ladies could make it, either. Kind of sad, right?

We decided not to let it keep us from having a great time. D helped me make oatmeal cookies. And when I say help, I really mean it! He dumped in all of the ingredients, except vanilla, and even helped me mix it all up. He watched me roll them into balls and helped make sure the cookies stayed in a ball once on the cookie sheet. What a wonderful helper!!!





Three ladies came and we had a wonderful chat about all kinds of mommy things: including breastfeeding, pediatricians and the huge amount of money we have all spent on various toys that were impossible to pass by only to be disappointed at how little time was actually spent playing with them.

One of the ladies, AM, informed me that she lives just 3 miles down the road! Her daughter, M, will be one on July 4th and she loved watching D play like a big kid. She is just starting to stand and seems fascinated with how easy D makes walking look.

AM and I have made plans for this Tuesday afternoon to get together.

Friday I sent out an email to "the regulars" about the kid friendly showing of Charlotte's Web at our local theater. Of the 6 girls who received my email, 3 have responded. Two can't attend due to prior appointments and the other, L, said they'd LOVE to meet us!! So looks like it's a movie date for us tomorrow!!

I found out that R was in the hospital with appendix issues and had to have surgery. I haven't talked to her yet but plan on calling this afternoon to check on her. I bought her a get well card and plan on making some cookies to help her recuperate. Cookies are a GREAT way to help someone feel better, right??

Playing catch up

I've fallen behind again. Now let's get caught up.

I got an invitation on Tuesday from L to meet her and A at the local splashpark. We had no morning plans so we headed out armed with sunscreen and towels. The boys had a wonderful time running through the spouts and watching leaves flow down the water currents. D didn't want to leave!



L and I talked about our playgroup comrade, S, who is under modified bedrest due to high blood pressure. We need to get a meal list started for her. I am waiting on K to email me back with more specific details and then I can send out a plea to the playgroup. I can't imagine being 9 months preggo and having to chase around an 18 month old (her son is a little younger than D).

Yesterday we had two events to attend. In the morning we went to a neighborhood playgroup. She had a bouncehouse set up for the kiddos to jump inside. It started to pour down rain so we ran inside and utilized the indoor toys.

K and B were there and we discussed going to the movies next Monday with the kids. I will be sending out an email to the rest of the "regulars" to see who else is interested.

That afternoon we were to meet R and G at a local running farm. She called us as we were on the way over to let us know that the farm closed at 4 and it was 3:30. We had a quick change of plans and decided to play over at her house instead. It was still a bit muggy and wet out so we opted to stay indoors.

We were there for about an hour and a half. Her husband is out of town until Sunday so she was ready for some company. It was good for G to have a playmate, too. I'm sure he was tired of playing with only Mommy.

He and D played so nicely together. They really do make great playmates.

Poolside, baby!

So today I hosted the first neighborhood summer playgroup- poolside! Seven ladies showed up, ready to take a dip.

I made banana bread and iced down some apple juice boxes for the kiddies and some cerveza for the women to enjoy. The sandbox was equipped with sand toys and we even put up a 10x10 shade over it to help us keep our cool. D and A spent some quality time helping each other fill up a bucket. A even ate some sand and that meant D had to get a taste, too. YUK!

I also bought a $4 blow up pool and dumped all of D's balls in it. The boys loved it!!

I had some sidewalk chalk out for the kids to draw on the driveway, but they were content to draw on the plastic tablecloth instead.



Not a lot of networking going on...just good times in pleasant weather. They were all excited about the upcoming playdates and getting to have some fun this summer.

We are leaving for Galveston today and have a pretty easy-going week planned for next week so far. I've got to fill in Tuesday and Friday, if possible. Any suggestions???