handprints on my heart

My kids are at such a fun age. They are both talking up a storm, playing so cute together, get excited over the smallest things, and it just warms my heart to see their eyes light up as they learn about the world around them. :) We've had so much fun this summer, and they are developing such a sweet little sibling bond.  Anytime one of them is not home, they are constantly asking, "Where's Andrew/Abby?" While they were taking a bath last night, I just sat and watched them pretend to make "tuna fish sandwiches" (??), coconut milk, and coffee. I asked Abby if the coffee was for me and she said, "No it's for cookie monster" LOL! :) They were both playing so cute, and it was a moment in time that I wish I could just bottle up and have forever. Priceless.

handprint that stayed on that mirror for over a week...I think there's currently another one that replaced it ;) 

Andrew and Abby with Andrew's friend Kylie on the last day of school

Sometimes Todd takes Andrew to the "dad store" (AKA Lowe's) as a father/son outing. As I said-Abby was constantly asking about where Andrew went and kept telling me, "Mommy we need to go pick up Andrew!!" :) When they got home, Abby loudly shouted, "ANDREW is home!" :) It's so sweet. Abby and I went to the "Mommy store" (AKA Michael's) and then grocery shopping where she was constantly reminding me what was on the list that we had made up in the car on the drive there. She is seriously my little assistant that reminds me what needs to be done, or if I forgot something ("mommy where is your purse? Mommy we need to let sadie out to potty! Mommy you forgot that!" while pointing at said item).  :)

We've taken several trips/weekend outings and I feel terrible for not documenting all that we have done. I WILL type up a separate blogs talking about our trip to Vegas (!!), Cape Cod,  and Martha's Vineyard. It's just been too nice outside and by the time we get home, it's either too late, or I just want to mindlessly scroll through Facebook or watch an essential oils online class, etc.

          Snuggle time with her Nani :) 

     Abby playing with her friend Lauren 

Here is how our current daily summer schedule has been. Andrew has been in summer school 4 days a week from 8-10:30, which has been really great. He goes swimming with his classmates 2 times a week at a pool in front of the school. So great! The Fire Department actually came to school last week and were squirting water at all the kids in a big field. It was so cute. :)  I am still opening the gym on Mondays and Fridays so Todd takes Andrew to school on Mondays, meets me at the gym with Abby, and then I will get a workout in while Abby is in the gym daycare. We may run a few errands afterward and then pick Andrew up from school. This past week, Andrew has had preschool sports right after school for an hour. That has been so much fun for him and they've even let Abby join in. :) Abby and Andrew were guilty of taking over a game of duck duck goose (they kept choosing each other and would run round and round the circle laughing hysterically....I finally had to put a stop to that because I could tell the high school girls didn't feel like they should). Another prime example of their cute little bond. :) They both have swimming lessons at the same time on Tuesdays from 12-12:30 which works out nicely because I'm in the pool with Abby while Andrew is in the pool with his instructors. They took Andrew to the diving board last week, and Abby INSISTED she try it too...she ended up backing out once she got up there, but as we were leaving she kept shouting, "Want to try again Mommy!!" while pointing at the diving board. That little girl of mine is so determined, and I just know when she becomes passionate about something, she is going to put everything she has into it until she's the best (just like her daddy). I love seeing that strength in her. :)

We have been to the Boston Sports club pool a few more times and that is always fun. I'm definitely more tan than I've been since having kids which is great. :) We spend most of the day outside which leads to the house rarely being clean (opps...), and dinner sometimes consists of PB&J,  boxed Mac and Cheese, frozen veggies, and an apple. That's what summertime is all about. :) We did actually have a VERY scary incident and I count my lucky stars it wasn't worse. We went over to a friends house to swim in their above ground pool which is just barely too deep for Andrew (he can almost touch the bottom, but still needs his floats).  He was doing great with his floats on, but decided to get out of the pool and play in the smaller pool/slide and swing set. He asked me to take off his floaties, and NO JOKE- he was right next to me showing me a dump truck he found, not even 2 minutes later, as I was talking to a mom about how messy my house has been all summer (random I know..) ...one of the older kids had Andrew and he was coughing up water!! It happened SO FAST!! He had climbed back into the pool (using the big ladder), and got back into the pool without his floats on. :( Talk about a mother's worst fear! I have told him repeatedly DO NOT GET IN THE POOL WITHOUT YOUR FLOATS...but my son is known to ignore pretty much anything I tell him to do. He was fine, but all thanks to an article I read on Facebook about secondary drowning...I was not. I was worried sick the rest of the day/all night long and repeatedly checked on him to make sure he was ok. :( SO SCARY!! He still talks about breathing water and how we need to be careful not to breath water. :( Heartbreaking. BUT he definitely understands now (just like the curling iron incident when he was 2..). He is one that has to learn to hard way sometimes. Thank God it wasn't worse!  

So that's been our summer so far. :) Hopefully I will get around to posting a blog/pics from our camera about our vacations! Happy Saturday! 

Fun times!

It's been too long since I've written a blog. We've been busy bees and just plain enjoying the incredible weather MASS has to offer in the spring/summer. The winter is much more endurable when you experience the gorgeous weather/flowers at the other end. :) We've been busy with Ragnar relay (still need to write a blog about that fun adventure!), swim lessons (Abby started swim lessons this session and is doing SO good!), playing outside, beach trips (it's pretty awesome when you get invited to playdates at the beach), birthday parties, end of school activities and just having a good time outside. :) We randomly took a train to Boston one day and had a fun time. Hockey play offs were in full swing so it was pretty busy in Boston that afternoon. Here are some pictures from the past month.

     gorgeous tulips in the public garden

      mommy swan sitting on her nest 

                 snacks in Boston 

This Bruin Bear scared Abby so bad that she started screaming, "NO care bear!!!!" haha! She has been watching some Care Bear cartoons hence the association. ;) 

                 my biker babe :) 

outside is a must or else this happens...

Note- I cleaned out this "3 seasons room" and put all their toys back there so they could destroy somewhere besides the kitchen/living area. There is also a door that leads out to the balcony outside so we play out there a lot too.  it's working out pretty great so far. :) 

Abby on the balcony in her "Roos" :) 

and here they are in the bathroom while I get ready..2 mobile kids under 5 can do a lot of damage very quickly ;)

Memorial Day BBQ at Sarah and Steve's

searching for MOMO monkey in the dryer before bedtime :) 

                   dinner outside on a patio 

          swim lessons with daddy 

I've been working at the Boston Sports Club for a few months now and am really enjoying it. I open the gym on Mondays and Fridays (which means I'm there at 4:30 AM!), and I'm starting to recognize/learn the regulars that come in to work out before work. Even Andrew and Abby's pediatrician comes in every Friday! :)  The last couple of weeks, Todd brings the kids to the gym, they go to the daycare, and I go get a good workout in. It seriously make me SO much more productive during the day. Yes, I'm pretty exhausted once 2:00 rolls around (I've already been awake for over 10 hours by then!), but I feel so energized after working and then working out! I love it! I've never felt happier and so empowered in my life. They have the most incredible outdoor pool that just opened for the summer and we've been swimming there a few times. It's SO perfect for small kids! Here are some pics from that fun adventure.

It's like it everything here is starting to click, and I feel like I can conquer the world if I work hard at it. :) A new goal I REALLY want to accomplish- actually qualifying for the Boston Marathon! :) My friends Tara and Melanie (from Ragnar), want to do the same so we're hoping to start training to get a good solid pace in order to qualify (which means I would need to run a full marathon at around a 8:30 pace! whooaaa..) When I ran with Tara during Ragnar, most of the time we wouldn't even realize how fast we were running until I looked down and would be like, "Wow! We are running under an 8 minute mile right now!!). Running with a friend really pushes you to run faster/stronger, so I'm hoping we can motivate each other to reach our goal. :) So exciting!

Andrew and Abby are doing good and growing so fast! Summer really is more fun when you have 2 kids old enough to venture out and go places. We are also now pacifier free in the Templeton house!! :) YAY! It wasn't easy, but I used my awesome Young Living flower diffuser (along with different oils each night- lemon, peppermint, and lavender were the best during allergy season) and basically traded it out in place of her paci! She now requests her flower at bedtime pretty much every night! Her room always smells SO fresh and clean after diffusing essential oils throughout  the night. :)

I'm also reading several books right now, most about the chemistry of essential oils and how they work with our bodies to fight off viruses/ bacteria and aid in cellular function. My favorite is a book Tara let me borrow called "Crazy, Sexy Diet" by Kris Carr, a woman who was diagnosed with cancer and beat the odds by transforming her life.  It's like this wake-up call for changing what we eat/our lifestyle habits. It's crazy because she even talks about using Young Living essential oils  (and even calls them "mega potions"),their amazing therapeutic quality, and how they've helped her during her healing journey! That makes me realize how God placed Young Living in my life at the right time: just when I'm really starting to become more determined to focus on the health of my family. I definitely recommend checking this book out!

Todd and I will be traveling to Vegas in a few weeks for my cousin's vow renewal/me and Todd's 8 year anniversary! Todd's parents are traveling to Massachusetts to take care of Abby and Andrew, and I just know they will have a great time with them! I am really starting to enjoy living in the Boston area. While living in Dallas, we were still a pretty far drive from our hometown, so it really doesn't make a huge difference to live clear across the country. ;-)  We've had quite a few visitors this year (my friend from college, Traci just came to visit last month and I had not seen her in years! that was lots of fun!) Our friends Matt and Laura came to visit last summer with their 2 girls and we had the best time! Jake and Leslie came with their son Alex in October (when we went apple picking) and it was so fun! And of course my family came to see us for the marathon, and we had such a good time. Also, one of my best friends, Kelley, lives in New York so she comes to visit us pretty frequently and it's been great! Visits like that would not have happened had we been living in Texas. We will hopefully be making a trip to Texas at the end of August to visit our friends and family. Until then, we will be living in good 'ol Massachusetts (now if I can figure out how to spell the state without the aid of spell check haha!) enjoying the incredible weather, beaches, and pools. :) Have a great week!

Andrew's 4th birthday

I can't believe Andrew is now 4 years old (and apparently neither can he because he still tells everyone he is 3). :) He had a pretty low key birthday, but it was still loads of fun because my parents were in town from after the marathon.

I ordered some cupcakes from a local woman who makes them at her house. I got into a very lazy cooking mode for the last month so wasn't up for baking any myself. :)  Because she thought the color for the printouts came out "too pink," she "upgraded" the chocolate frosting to the ghirardelli chocolate and WOW!! It was heaven. I have a cute video of him opening his present from us (he also got a bicycle), but I can't figure out how to upload videos to youtube. Something I need to figure out! Here's a quick snap shot from the video I took. :)

On his cool new bike! :) 

  

He was so excited to rip that gift open! 

                                                  Diggin in to those delicious cupcakes! :)

I started a tradition of blowing up a bunch of balloons and sticking them in the floor of their rooms the night before and they love it. :) Again, cute video of when I did it for Abby's birthday...but technology and I just don't quite get a long. ;-)


We took the train into Boston and went to the New England Aquarium.  It was really rainy that day so we wanted to stay indoors. The kids really enjoyed it because we got to see lots of neat fish, penguins, snakes, and other crazy creatures. I felt a little bad because I asked what Andrew wanted for dinner that night and he had requested, "Cheesecake" meaning "Cheesecake Factory" which has actually become a random traditional dinner/celebration stop (we ate there for Abby's first and 2nd birthday, my birthday, and then after the Boston Marathon). :) We ended up eating at Legal Sea Food right by the water and mommy got to enjoy a delicious white Sangria. :) They are the best from that place!

And then we went to the amazing IMax theatre connected to the aquarium so we could watch some lemurs in 3D. :) The kids liked it at first but got a little restless before it was over. 

cool glasses :)

I wouldn't doubt it if my daughter strategically placed that figure...hmmm ;-) 

yummy popcorn!!

My kids are at such a fun age. Don't get me wrong- it's a very messy, stressful, ALWAYS testing your patience kind of stage....but it's so fun to see them enjoy the small things in life. :) Like this for example- 

We drove up to Lowe's and Andrew started shouting- "I want to ride the race car!!" I thought he was talking about a car in the parking lot so told him we can't ride in someone we don't know's car.  Nope. He knew what he was talking about and it was the shopping carts at "The dad store" (AKA Lowe's). :) Todd goes on little "daddy-son dates" to Lowe's which is pretty cute. 

Andrew has come so far in the past year, and I am so blessed to have him as my son. He is the most caring, empathetic, energetic little boy I know and I can't wait to see what 4 brings for him.  He's already starting the early process of reading. On paper- he recognizes every month of the year, his full name (first, middle, last), and pretty much any word he has seen multiple times. He saw my name written on my water bottle and said, "That says Mommy Templeton!" :)  He knows all the sounds the letters make and is already trying to sound out words!!! He has such a visual memory that he can recognize where we are going by which route I take, he is incredible at putting together puzzles (he is now up to 100 piece puzzles!), and as I said- his sight words are already amazing. He is a very smart little guy. He's still a big momma's boy and I never want that to change. :) He comes in our bedroom and snuggles up next to me between 4-7 every morning. I love it! He still loves trains and pretty much ALL vehicles (taxi cabs, buses, cars, trucks, jeeps...) and will correct me if I call a jeep a car. :) He is still a pretty good eater (he loves fruits and veggies), but also has a huge sweet tooth like mommy. :) His favorite "food" is probably either pancakes or cupcakes! He recently filled out a questionnaire at school about me (for mother's day), and I laughed so hard I was crying! He told his teacher I was 10 years old (everyone older than him is "10"),  my favorite food is beans (??), favorite color is red, hair is green (LOL), I like to "make some food", and he loves me because I play with him. :) AWE...I don't feel like I play with him enough so that last one really teared me up! So sweet and adorable. What a great idea too. Andrew Maddox is the sweetest little guy (even when he's driving mommy a little crazy) ;-) and I am so so proud of him. 

"mommy, can you take a picture of me with this lion?" :)