Easter Weekend

I had a nice long weekend with a vacation day on Friday. Of course it still went by way too fast. 

On Friday I headed to Des Moines for a little girl time with my sisters. We all took the day off, dropped the kids off at daycare and then headed out of town for some shopping, drinks, pedicures, and girl talks. It was great to spend some quality time with no kids or husbands around. We shopped all day and then ate at a nice restaurant in the evening followed by pedicures that were quite entertaining. We spent the night in a hotel and were all up at our normal time. Funny how that works even when kids aren't around. We packed up, ate breakfast and hit up a few more stores before heading out of town by 10:00 am. 

After Stacy and Cathy left to head back to their homes, I got groceries for Easter and then packed up and headed back home to Calmar with my boys. We had a lovely Easter brunch on Sunday at my parents followed by games with the kids and an indoor Easter egg hunt. Sullivan was prepared and ready to go on the hunt with the big kids. 

We got back to Cedar Falls with plenty of time in the afternoon to catch up on the regular weekend to dos and even had some time to relax. 

All in all, it was such a great weekend spent with the ones I love most. Hope you all had a great weekend and a wonderful Easter.

  

                    

                 

                 

Our Newest Addition and a little egg hunt!

We have good news! We've added a fish to our family. Well, sort of, this isn't just any goldfish. We bought Sullivan a robot fish. Call me crazy, but yes, a robot fish that should only die when the batteries need changing. The best part is you never have to worry about changing the water or feeding it. Let me tell you if the best darn pet yet! I'm not sure whose more excited, me or Sullivan. 

As I mentioned before, Sullivan loves fish! At daycare they have a pet fish in his room and from time to time, he will make a point to show me it in his classroom. Since I'm not ready to handle a pet for Sullivan that he can't help take care of, and I'm not much of a pet person anyways, this seems like a good solution. So far, Sullivan likes it quite a bit when he remembers it's there. He like to sit next to it and he's not afraid to go in and grab it out of the water. Good thing it's a robot fish, otherwise by now we would have a dead fish flopping around our floor. 

This weekend we also did a little practice for the Easter Egg hunt. Last year when we had Easter with my family, Sullivan wasn't sure about the Easter eggs and wasn't interested at all about trying to find the hidden gems. So this year, with a little practice, I think he'll be ready. 

For a video or our practice run at an egg hunt and Sullivan's thoughts on his new fish, click below.

Woof!

Sullivan loves animals. Some of his favorites are puppies, fish, and squirrels. Our neighbors have a puppy and at least once a day he has to climb on our bed and look our the window to see if "woof" is outside. This past week, when the weather was great and we were playing outside, Sullivan spotted our neighbor's two dog statues in their front yard. Immediately Sullivan was drawn to them and thought they were the coolest things. Although, Sullivan loves real animals, he really doesn't like to get too close to them. So stuffed animals, statues, movies or books about animals are best for right now. 

Mike captured these shots of Sullivan loving the "woofs" in our neighbor's front yard.

A new pantry!

For over two years now, I've been wanting to turn our little closet by the back door into a pantry but still use it for coats and shoes. Weird combination I know but you work with what you got, right? Well, the year Sullivan was born didn't work out. We were busy getting his room ready and being parents. Last year didn't work out either. Not sure why, but that year flew by too fast to remember much other than the milestones Sullivan had.

So this is the year! The year I will slowly but surely redecorate and give our house a more "homier" feel that is functional for us. I have big plans this year to paint many rooms in our house. My list may be big but I have already checked a couple of rooms off. I wish I would have taken more before and after pictures, so this little project is the first set. We already have our master bedroom done, and now our pantry. This weekend Sunday was a busy one. The boys 
are already conked out to sleep. I have hopes for next weekend too, but we will see. My goal is to tackle a room every now and then so my list doesn't seem so long and difficult. 

Without further ado. Here is our before and after pictures of the pantry. I still need to find a basket to put on the top shelf for some odds and end but for the most part it's done. I also may look for a better rug to liven it up. 

Before....

Yes, my friends, that is yellow! Bright yellow and I've been dealing with it for almost 4 years. I should have worn sunglasses every time I looked in there.

After....

So much better! I love it and although it's not my dream pantry. This is great and will work for us. I not only have a pantry, but I have somewhere to store my cake decorating tools, my recycling bins, a shoe organizer and a place for Sullivan and I's coats. 

Animal sounds from a 21 month old

Sullivan is learning new things all the time. We work on our numbers, letters, colors, and animal sounds. Though we have troubles with colors and letters we are pretty darn good at the animal sounds and numbers. Maybe he will an accountant and a hobby farmer on the side when he grows up. 

Hopefully this little video brings a smile to your face. I know it does with me. I will have to start more interviews with Sullivan, even some of today's answers surprised me.