A human feeder?

Who doesn't LOVE this yearly tradition of making homemade bird feeders out of pine cones and peanut butter? It's a bit messy, but oh so fun! The biggest problem we had: keeping little brother from eating the bird seed!!!

Since little brother wanted so badly to eat the bird seed, we decided to make 'human feeders'. With a little imagination and of course, some sugary sweets, we invented 'human feeders':

All of life's problems can seriously be fixed with a little peanut butter....

The yearly outing for the tree...

I like to think of myself as the more adventurous one and my husband as more of the realist. The past couple of years, we've gone to a Christmas tree farm and cut down our own tree. Those places tend to be expensive, I know -- but I like the experience of it -- making memories. This year, I told my husband that I would let him choose where to get the tree. I found some cheaper, great farms on-line that weren't too far from us and let him look at the websites. But, since I did say I would let him choose this year, I wasn't too surprised when he told me we were going to to go Menard's to buy a tree! Oh well, I guess next year will be my year.

The kids look excited -- they don't really know what they're missing by just going to Menards to buy a tree...

It does look lovely in our living room, I must say.

No matter where we bought the tree, the experience of choosing the tree, bringing it home (without catastrophe!) and decorating it was well worth each moment! (even though I'm convinced that the needles are falling out left and right like crazy because it was a pre-cut tree and not officially 'fresh'! Oh well, at this point we only have 2 more weeks to keep it standing in one piece.)

The most wonderful time of the year, huh?

We have hit full-blown '2 year old attitude' at our house! When he's in his mood (typical development, I'm told) nothing, and I mean, nothing can make this kid happy. He has this screetch that he makes when big sister looks at him, when mommy or daddy look at him or when the cat walks past him. It takes all of our energy to not laugh, scream, cry or lock him in his bedrood when he's in one of these moods. But, you know what the funny thing is -- we still love him to pieces!

Then, there are wonderful moments when big sister and little brother play nicely together, bond in ways only siblings can bond....

Look at big sister -- so proud and happy to be sitting on santa's lap -- I wonder why little brother is so upset? He hasn't learned yet that this large man with the red suit can bring him some wonderful toy on Christmas Eve....he'll learn someday...

It's all about perspective...

Sometimes in life you feel like you have been dealt a horrible hand in cards. There are serious hardships we all face -- whether is with our health (or the health of our family/friends), our relationships (in our marriage, family or friends), our children, our finances, our employment (or lack thereof), etc. But, then that moment comes along to help you put it into perspective.

Today, I took our 1997 SUV into the mechanic to have the 'check engine' light looked at -- oh and the 'brake' light was on too -- oh and the 'air bag' light is lit too. Anything else wrong? So we go to a trusted, small mechanic who was referred to us through friends this past summer and he saved us $200 when fixing our exhaust piping. So, he took a look this morning and said to me, "well, your rubbing metal against metal on the brakes and it's not really even safe to drive out of here". Not exactly what I was hoping to hear -- I was hoping that I could make an appointment for next week, get a couple of other quotes and be settled with the fact that we either need to get new brakes or get a new car. Looks like there is no 'thinking' about anything at this point -- it's not safe to drive and I drive myself and 2 kids around all day, all week, every week. The grand total: $900 plus tax -- OUCH!

As my car sit in the shop getting new brakes I called around and got some verbal quotes: $1200 from another place -- okay, I guess $900 isn't so bad, right? Getting a 1997 vehicle services is like playing the lottery -- how long will the car last at this point, is it worth getting fixed just to have the engine blow next week (I hope I didn't just jinx myself!) or get it fixed and it will last us another year? We will pray for at least 6 months.

As I started feeling bad for myself -- such a large expense right before the holidays....what am I going to cut back on so we don't feel that $900 so much....how many more hours can I work to make up for that $900......

Then, I decided to go for a run and get a fresh perspective and boy, did God speak to me or what! As I was running, I saw a pregnancy test that someone threw out their window -- maybe they didn't get the answer they wanted? And then it came to me -- a fresh perspective -- the stress of $900 to fix the brakes on my car is nothing compared to the thought of an unplanned pregnancy at this point in my life and at this point in our family. Whether or not the owner of that pregnancy test wanted it to be positive or negative didn't matter to me -- what matter was that it wasn't my pregnancy test.

It's all about perspective....

Who's the Big Boy Now?

You know they always say that potty training boys is harder -- well, we might be able to prove them wrong soon!
Here, Little Brother sits on the potty @ daycare - so proud of himself, huh? He's now obsessed with the potty -- he enjoys the flushing most!

What am I running from?

This past May, I decided I needed to do something to get in shape and exercise (okay, at least get active) and I thought, "wouldn't it be nice to run?". Now, I've never been a runner and I still don't claim to be a runner, but I'm trying....

We decided as the "heads of household" of "We Are Reilly" that we would do this together -- something we could do as a couple and spend time together. It started off well -- we ran in a local 5K and our in our first race, we only walked once (that was because there was this massive hill the last 1/2 mile and I just couldn't' fathom running up it!) and our time was ~34 minutes! It was such an exhilarating feeling to complete that race, we decided to quickly find another 5K to run and started looking on-line for other local races. At this point, I still wasn't sure I enjoyed running, but I was starting to see how running helped me lose that baby weight (and since the 'baby' was 1, I thought it was about time!).

I get really excited about scheduling a race and keep thinking that I will one day enjoy running and I will just go out and run a 1/2 marathon (my goal in the next 1-2 years) with ease, but at about then 1.5 mile mark, I start re-thinking my running euphoria and I say to myself, "why would I ever want to run, this really isn't very fun".

Enough time had past that I had forgotten how hard running really is and I had that image in my head once again that I might be a good/fast runner someday. (The concept of running isn't difficult, it's the training your heart and lungs to get into a running rhythm).

So, we scheduled some more races....

Our 2nd 5K, I ran in 35 minutes -- kind of disappointed that I was slower. The 3rd 5K of the summer: 32 minutes and the 4th 5K: 30 minutes!!!

Now, despite running our fastest time, I cursed my husband the ENTIRE race, "I hate running, why are we doing this, I think I'm not going to run ever again, I can't see the finish line, I will have to run for an hour at this rate" (and on and on and on). God bless my husband for sticking by my side as I ran -- you see, he could probably run a 5K in 25 minutes, but my slow feet keep him back.

Now that the weather has been getting cooler and the sun fades away so early in the night, we haven't had a chance to run together in the evenings like we were in the summer. We have a race scheduled next Sunday and you know what -- I actually motivated myself to run 3 times in the last 2 weeks alone -- something I never thought I would do. I'm not highly motivated to exercise -- I find lots of other things to do before I need to exercise, but that's something I'm working on in my life.

So, once again I will go into the race with a wonderful mindset of "I think this time I will REALLY enjoy the race and maybe I'll even find running easy".....but, we all know what happens at mile 1.5....

It's the grey hair...

It was a long night last night -- after Trick-or-Treating and getting the kids to bed LATE -- 8:30PM on a school night...that's pretty late for us at our house! Little Brother woke up at 10PM coughing, choking and gagging on post nasal drip. We did everything possible -- the humidifier in his room, sitting in the bathroom with a hot shower running (for 20 minutes), rocking him, rubbing his back, giving him Tylenol.....but, still he was miserable. So, I sat up with him until 12:45 and I just couldn't do it any longer and put him to bed (after propping up his mattress) and he finally fell asleep!



So, this morning after dropping Big Sister off at school, I decided I was going to scour the Target children's cold aisle and find SOMETHING to help us! I was looking for the Vick's vapor rub last night and couldn't find it anywhere -- I looked for a good 1/2 hour for that little jar. Lo and behold -- it was in the diaper bag and I found it while I was picking up another jar at Target today! I also found some sort of 'honey elixir' that's safe for infants.



After gathering a couple of items to ensure that we will sleep tonight (got some wine ready for mom and dad!), I decided to take a quick look through the on-sale Halloween items. As we were looking (and Little Brother continuing to cough/choke), I run into a fellow mom @ Big Sister's kindergarten. She's very sweet and says, "oh, it looks like you did drop off too and then headed to the clearance Halloween just like me!".



I chuckled and then realized my fate -- here I was, standing in Target with a fellow mom (I don't know any of the other kindergarten moms that well) and as I came to my senses, I realized it -- MY GREY HAIR!



The pajama pants, long-sleeved shirt I wore to bed the night before, the snot-nosed-coughing-gagging-choking son with obvious food and dried boogers all over his shirt/coat, the dried boogies on my shirt didn't bother me....my hair pulled up into a pink sparkly rubber band I found in Big Sister's draw didn't bother me either, the fact that I hadn't taken a shower and probably smelled not-so-fresh didn't even bother me. It was ALL THE GREY HAIR that was visible with my hair pulled up in the sparkly pink rubber band that bothered me the most!



I was mortified to the point that I rushed home and after getting Little Brother down for a much-needed nap, I pulled out the box of hair dye and went to town! Now, I feel much better -- bring on all the kindergarten moms at pick up -- I'm ready to meet you!

Happy Halloween, 2010

Little Brother in his Halloween pj's -- thanks to Grammy! We have worn these as much as we could before the big night-- and even underneath our costume! I just can't get enough of those little stripped legs.

In years past, Big Sister wanted nothing to do with anything 'girly' of the sort....this year, she's turned a new leaf: Tinkerbell was her costume of choice! We were going to have Little Brother go as Peter Pan, but I was too lazy and he wore a hand-me-down: a dragon.

Big Sister is THRILLED to celebrate Halloween and dress up and collect candy....Little Brother isn't too interested in his costume -- with a little screaming and prompting, we finally got the costume on -- BUT, he wanted nothing to do with standing for a picture!

@ our neighbor's house: "Look mom, I can reach right in here and grab a whole handful of candy - without even looking!"

Big Sister with her LOOT!

First Day of Kindergarten

Another First: First Day of School at the "We Are Reilly" household -- Big Sister!

We choose to send her to a private, all-day Kindergarten program at the local Christian school -- so, we are happy that they get to pray before school begins each morning.

It's a small school, as you can see -- this is the entire student body -- from Kintergarten to 12th grade!

Walking to the car with daddy after the first day....

Yes, we are STILL here!

I know it's been FOREVER since I posted on here, but it's been an interesting journey as we started Kindergarten. It's been about 1.5 months now that Big Sister has been in school and she's loving it! It's taken me that long to get into some sort of groove and I don't really have it down pat yet -- each week changes from the previous, that I haven't had time to sit down and really put energy into this blog (as you can tell!)

So, I am going to try to at least get some photos up -- for those of you who still check this site -- and some stories along the way.

Little Brother is getting not-so-little anymore, but he'll always be my baby. He has a facination with all mops -- here he is at WalMart.....helping them keep the store clean! He also enjoys balls, sticks, golf clubs and tennis rackets.....don't ask me why.

Big Sister just LOVES school -- she is thriving in the structured, all-day environment, it was definitely the right choice to send her to all-day Kindergarten. She carefully picked out all her supplies at the beginning of the year with daddy....he has more patience for that sort of thing than I do.

Girl's Breakfast

One of the perks of working in the type of work I do is that it's sometimes very flexible with the hours that I work. The last couple of weeks I have been slow at work, so I was able to go into work late and take Big Sister and her friend at daycare out to breakfast!

"Mickey Mouse" pancakes!

The girls colored the entire time! It was a nice morning outing.....definitely what we needed to start our day out right.

Summer Fun!

We've been LOVING the local water park! This is the most time we've spent outside during the summer since Big Sister was born -- the heat and humidity is often unbearable....but, with the pool, slides, lazy river, wave pool and friends -- we can spend as much time as we want outside and not get overheated!

Big Sister & her friend....

Little Brother and mommy...this was taken pretty early in the season -- we're still pretty pale :)

The Budderman

Yes, we have a silly nickname for the Little Brother: 'budderman' -- whenever we say it when we're out in public, people give us silly looks......but, you know what, he's the 'budderman' to us at the We Are Reilly house!

After you watch this short video...you'll know why he's our silly Little Brother! He cracks us up!

WOW -- it's been a while

It's been such a long time since I've been on here....it's not that I'm neglecting all of you (there are about 3 readers who don't comment on this blog), but it's that many, if not all readers are also on facebook -- that's where I post all of my pictures -- so, come on and join me over there if you're really wanting to keep tabs on our lives.....

But, in the meantime, here are some pictures:
This was the picture I used to create a lovely photo tile for daddy for Father's Day! Daddy LOVED it! :)

Here is the photo before I changed it to sepia -- I really enjoy playing with photos and making them all 'artsy'....just wish I had more time to play on the computer!

School Assessment

On Wednesday, we have Big Sister's school assessment at her new school -- kind of like a Kindergarten screening. I figured she would be all excited about going to school and being in the classroom, etc. But, she informed me today, "Mommy, I am not going to meet my teacher and I am not going to talk to her and if you can't stay with me (the parents are asked to leave during each individual child's assessment) then I am leaving with you and I'm not staying either!"

This should make for an interesting first impression......

Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to Wednesday now. Big Sister's first day (or to be honest, more like first week) of preschool (2 years ago) began with the teacher having to get her out of my car and holding her while she cried for me as I drove away. Her first day (or week?) at the new babysitter's house began the same way -- the new babysitter (when we began 1 year ago) had to hold her kicking and screaming as I drove away to work.

Do I sound heartless? I may, however I also know my own daughter and I know how strong her will is -- often stronger than my own. But, I also know that if at any moment I turned around, it was all over and there would be no turning back and I would have dug myself a larger hole than I can even imagine.

So, we'll see how Wednesday goes, but I'm going to take a deep breath and do what needs to be done -- "I am the parent" is my new mantra!!

Pre-summer fun

I know it's not 'officially' summer yet, but there have been several very warm days for us to break out the kiddie pool and water park passes and have fun!

This summer, we bought passes to the "largest" water park in our area -- since Little Brother is free this summer, I thought we should - take advantage of the closeness of the park and the fact that I only had to buy 2 passes (we didn't buy daddy a pass, since he works so much!) We went to the water park on opening day and the first 3 days it was open -- we LOVE it! Big Sister is able to do lots of things they have for the younger kids and she's becoming a little fish!

Nothing says keeping cool like a dip in the kiddie pool! Little Brother loves the kiddie pool (he's not too thrilled about the water park yet). Plus, having bigger friends over to play is even better!

Starting School

Okay, so I keep telling people that "I'm SO excited for big sister to start school this fall". "She's ready for school and I just know she'll love it!". Then, when someone asks me how I will do when she starts school, I always just said, "Oh, I'm SO ready for her to start school too -- she demands such mental attention, that it will be wonderful for her and I already send her to daycare 3 days a week, so it really won't be that different for me.".

Then, I called her new school today......that's when my emotions changed.

See, I needed to find out the first day of school so that I could request that day off of work. I thought, oh it's like 4 months from now, right? But, I need to start putting requests in for work.....long story, I'll spare all the details.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number and asked my questions and got my answers. Then, I hung up the phone and it hit me, "my baby girl is going to school next year". She's going to a BIG brick school with lots of other children and a teacher and a principal and a lunchroom and music and art class. My baby girl.......

What if she is too shy to make friends, what if she can't button her pants after using the bathroom, what if she gets sent to the principal's office, what if she doesn't like her lunch, what if she tries to boss around the other children, what if, what if, what if?

Oh my gosh, maybe I'm not alright about this whole new season of her life -- starting in the fall she will no longer be my preschooler --- she'll be "school-aged".....ugh, I don't like the sound of that!

I think I'll need a little help with this transition....

Cowboys and Cowgirls

Getting together with our cousins is getting to be so much more fun now that big sister is getting older and 'wiser' -- figuring out that sharing thing and getting along with others is such a WONDERFUL concept!

Little brother is always close by.....learning from those big cousins!

The lone cowboy (who doesn't look thrilled in the least bit) and the 2 cowgirls

"We LOVE our new hats, Grammy!"

Happy 5th Birthday Big Sister!!

I didn't realize how important a 5 year old birthday was until this week....Big Sister is turning 5 tomorrow -- Earth Day! She has been so excited this week -- at the last minute, I decided to gather some friends together today to celebrate the big birthday:


nothing say "Happy Birthday" like frozen pizza and good friends, does it?

Decorating cupcakes -- outside, of course -- all those lovely sprinkles!

Riding bikes and a tank in the driveway -- seriously, what could be a better birthday than riding a tank with your friends?

And of course, can't forget your 'best friends' on your birthday party day! We did birthday lunch and birthday dinner -- just to fit in all our friends!

Let's be outside!

This is a very random post...that's about as much as I can get out these days: randomness. Luckily, my husband has learned my randomness and is able to make some sense of it -- at least most of the time!
So, Big Sister is turning 5 soon and we always tend to have too many parties -- with her cousins (whose birthdays are in March) and now Little Brother's birthday in March. So, this year we decided to celebrate her birthday with my husband's side of the family at Easter. I thought that this was a good choice, but there were TOO many presents flying around here on Easter (it was fun though... the next day was LOVELY -- I'm being sarcastic -- it was hard to tell her that 'no, we're not getting more presents today' and 'no, you can't eat more candy')

Easter egg hunt -- that sneaky Easter Bunny hid some eggs while we were at church (THANK YOU Aunt Lolo and Uncle Fuzzy!)

Even Little Brother found an egg (okay, 'found' an egg after I told Big Sister to leave it there in the grass so he could pick it up!)

Having a little picnic outside -- we LOVE the new picnic table Little Brother got for his birthday!