Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Today was rainy, damp, dark and just gross. Well, it was outside. Inside, it was full of *early* spring cleaning (my closet looks bananas good!!!), laughing, playing, naps, tickles, giggles, and long bath times. My two little rays of sunshine made it a bright and fun day for us. Daniel had to work late, so that was stinky, but when he got home we piled up in bed and cuddled with the kiddie poos. London had been asleep but woke up when Daniel came in and wouldn't go back to bed, so we let her and Dylan lay with us. I was amazed at how still they were. I soooo enjoyed the time together as a little family. I have been waiting for the day London would lay in bed and cuddle us. *smile* Just a bit ago, I decided that she was about to drift off, and as much as I was loving cuddle time, I thought it would be best if she fell asleep in her own bed. So, Daniel got up to move her and Dylan wanted know if he could lay in her crib with her. I wasn't sure if it was a great idea for actually going to sleep, but it was too sweet of him to want to, so we agreed to it. I stressed to him how important it was for them to be quiet and really go to sleep. I went to check on them, and they were cuddled up to each other sharing a pillow and blanket not saying a word. It was one of the sweetest moments I've ever seen them share. And if though its night time, that was more sunshine to my heart than I could even explain!

And because everyone could use a little sunshine

Food for Thought.

This is my little genius. His name is Dylan, and he is only five years old. He is a lover of of sweets. And a love of his fruits and veggies.

Sometimes, he chooses something sweet for a snack.

But more often than not, my smart little guy wants a fruit or granola bars. Why you might ask? Because he is into all things healthy eating. He amazes me with his love for healthy eating. He'll tell you in a heartbeat that "Eating healthy make you big and tall!" He's learned about healthy eating from a variety of places from home to school to cartoons on Noggin! It just makes this Mommy so proud!

This morning, when Dylan saw me about to poor a glass of Diet Coke, I which I do everyday, he came running up to me and said "MOMMMY! You have GOT to learn how to drink HEALTHY drinks, like water or juice. Why don't you try one of those with your breakfast. That would be so much healthier for you!" (Except that Dyl says "Helfy") I thought about it for a second, and decided to set a good example for my little guy and listen to his advice. So, I had milk with my breakfast. Dylan was so proud of himself for helping me out, and I was just as proud of him.

Later this afternoon, I was going to have a DC, my first of the day, and Dylan reminded me to make a healthier choice. I am all about healthiness, but I had to explain to Dylan that sugary snacks and drinks aren't bad for you when you have them in moderation. Dylan was pretty happy to hear this, but then said "Okay, but you can only have ONE Mommy." haha. I said, "Well, I'll have a small one now and then the rest of it at Sonic when we go get your slushy (we go to Happy hour almost everyday)." I was surprised when he replied "NO, Mommy. JUST one. I guess we can't go to Sonic." He hardly looked sad! My sweet little guy was really okay with giving up his slushy to keep me healthy. I told him I would wait until Sonic for my DC so that we could both have a treat. And that's what we did.

My little guy, he's something special and sweet! :)

This little cutie is pretty sweet too,

Though she is not much on moderation, yet. :)

Daddy Lunch Dates

Yesterday, the kids and I needed to head over to my moms to help her do some household chores that she still can't do since her spinal surgery. They always get very excited to see her, and it had been a little more than a week, so they were ready! To make the day even better, we stopped by Daniel's office and picked him up for lunch. It was a real treat to get to see him in the middle of the day. I remember when we lived 5 min from his office, and he came home really often for lunch... those were the good ole days.

Since we were going to see Daddy, London had to rock this little outfit. I love it and she's only worn it once, so I was pretty much giddy to put it on her again.

I didn't tell the kids that we were going to see Daniel OR that we were going to chickfila until we were almost there. They were SO excited! As soon as we pulled into his office parking lot, London started screaming "Daddy, Daddy!" and just giggling.

We always sit by the glass so that Dylan can play while Daniel and I keep London out in the dining room and visit, but these days little Missy wants to be in on all the fun and play with her big brother. She is not at all big enough to go play by herself yet, so we have to go sit in the stinky-feet-smelling fun play area now. haha! Its a lot louder in there, so talking isn't quite as nice, but its a lot of fun for the kids.

Dylan wasn't much bigger than London is now when we first moved to TX and we would bring him here all the time to play and eat. Its so funny to see London starting to play too. She climbed all the way to the top of the steps into the playplace and was about to head in when Daniel decided that he didn't think she was ready/old enough to do this alone. She would not have taken "come down, please" for an answer at this point, so Wonder Daddy climbed up into the playplace and went through it with her. He just wanted to make sure she would know how to get around in there. How cute is that!?

Yep, he even went down the slide with her! He did the same for Dylan, by the way! He's the best Daddy!

And he's a pretty great hubby too. :)

Today has been pretty uneventful. Daniel took the car into work and also the SUV keys with him this morning. So before I could take Dylan to school (the spare set was lost last year, I think), Daniel had to drive the 30 min back to our house and give me the keys. Dylan was 45 min late for school. Oh well, thank the Lord we all got to where we were going safely!

I've pretty much been cleaning today. I've started my spring cleaning early. Tomorrow, I tackle toys and Thursday my closet! Lord help me! :)

Weekend Recap!

We had another wonderful weekend.

Friday night, we really just hung out around the house. We picked up GForce and watched it in our bed with Dylan after London had gone to sleep. I love getting to have one on one time with each of the kids! I think its SO important.

Saturday morning, I worked at my little PTJ for a few hours and then came home in some seriously icky weather. I had hoped to go to the park and spend lots of time outdoors this weekend, but mother nature disagreed with my plans. So, we played inside and got an early start to our spring cleaning! I went and had a couple of drinks with some friends that night while Daniel stayed home with the sleeping babies. It was fun to get out. It was not fun to get pulled over. But it was nice that I only got a warning. In case your curious, I was following my Tom Tom's direction to turn left when I apparently turned left onto a one way road. Yikes! I'm so thankful it was caught almost immediately and thankful for such a nice officer who let me off the hook!

Sunday, we went back to the same church we tried out last Sunday. We are REALLY enjoying this Church so far. We decided that we would try out Sunday School first and then service this time. I wasn't sure if London would make it through, since her nap time is right in the middle of it all, but we were gonna try! So, we picked a SS off of the church's little brochure. and headed to it. We walk in to a room full of people that are at least 40 years older than us. haha! It was HA.STERICAL. Apparently, we might have picked the seniors class. We didn't care though, in fact I love being around elders and listening to them share their wisdom! We really did enjoy the class and we might just go back again next Sunday. A few of the class members picked on us a little about our ages and then said "but please come back!". So I don't think its set as an actual senior class, I think it just turned out that way. haha! Anyways, after SS, we went to get Dylan out of his SS and take him to Church. But he was having a major cough attack and we couldn't find a peppermint or cough drop anywhere, so we decided it best to head out.

We had already planned to have lunch out, and decided that we would drive out a little ways into an area that we hadn't really explored yet, even though its less than 30 miles from our house. Our area is just so built up that you can 30 miles in any direction and have just tons of everything (churches, restaurants, stores ect) to choose from. Anyways, we ended up a couple of towns over and found a Zazbys!!! We were SO excited because we use to eat there all the time in MS. So forget about a nice sit down dinner somewhere... we are havin ZAZBY'S!! haha. And it was just as good as we remembered. We will be back!

Next we headed for what might just turn into our weekly Sunday tradition, yogurt at the cutest shop I have ever seen! I just can't even tell y'all how perfect this little place is. Maybe I'll do a whole post about it one day. It deserves one. I had my camera on me the whole day, but this was the only time I got it out. I was kind of impressed that Dylan didn't pick out chocolate yogurt with candy toppings (he did last time), but opted for a fruit yogurt and fruit toppings! It was a proud Mommy moment.

Hopefully everyone had a great weekend and will have fantastic week!!

TGIF

I am not feeling well at all today. Not sure what the deal is, but I have a horrible headache. Maybe another sinus infection. I am so blessed that Daniel is able to call in and stay home with me and the kids. Dylan is also sick with fever. The doctor says he has a sinus infection. Poor baby. He has felt fine most of the day, but we let him go out and play, and now he is laying next to me on our couch, not feel well. :( I hope he and I both feel better tomorrow because the weather is going to be BE.A.U.TIFUL this weekend, and I'm hoping for us to spend lots of time outdoors. :) Hope every one's weekend is fantastic.

And just because:

Its Okay Kids, I've Just Lost My Mind

I am not a forgetful person.

I pay attention to small details.

I rarely miss place things.

I keep things in my calender,

but only look at it at the first of the week,

memorizing the rest.

This is how I am,

usually.

But not lately,

for some reason.

Not sure whats going on,

but I think I'm LOSING my mind.

I keep miss placing things.

Like a lot of things,

in the past week.

Daniel is getting a kick out of it all.

Because I'm usually fussing at him for things like this.

Not that I ever fuss at my sweet hubby.

*wink*

Anyways, back to my mind.

And how I'm losing it.

Dylan was the special helper

at school today.

This is very exciting to him.

It also means that he has to bring the snack.

The teachers tell the parents

what to bring.

He was to bring SOY butter

and apple slices.

I obviously had to buy them

at the store,

which I was at yesterday

without even THINKING about the snack.

So this morning

I left my house 45 min early

to go get the snacks at the store.

Because I had forgotten yesterday,

which I (almost) never do.

Then, I couldn't work

the stupid self check out machine.

*Sigh*

Dylan ends up late for school.

And..

Last week I got a note from Dylan's school.

They were letting us parent know

about Pajama day on Thursday of this week.

I really had it in my head that it was Thursday

of next week.

I got Dylan to school this morning,

15 minutes late

(I usually don't do late)

only to walk in and see

kids in their pajama's.

Because pj day was TODAY

not next week.

Dylan looked at me with eyes so wide,

that I thought they might pop out.

So, I dropped him off in his classroom

and left him as the only child not in pjs

so that I could run back to our house

and get him some pjs to wear,

bring them back to him,

change him,

get locked out of the building his class was in,

find someone to help me back in,

only to find that his class had changed locations,

which I couldn't find,

finally find the location

and twenty minutes later,

go home.

An hour and half later

than I normally get home

and half an hour

past London's nap time.

*sigh*

This is just a glimpse

of what it has been looking like

here at the Hilburn House

while Mommy is losing her mind.

Its okay kids, I'll be fine!

*PS. I am NOT pregnant. Really just loosing it. :/

Last night, I made these amazing YUMMY, amazingly EASY peanut butter cookies, when my Hubby said he wanted something sweet while we had nothing (already made) in the house.

Seriously, it took 5 minutes to make and 10 minutes to bake. Not kidding, its that easy.

I mean, look how stinkin moist these bad boys were. And I say were, because sadly they are all gone, only 24 hours later. I'm not joking.

And the Hubby and I may or may not have had a serious discussion about who got the last cookie and why tonight, because neither of us wanted to split it. In case your dying to know, we split it. Because that how we roll.

Enough torture, here's where you can get the recipes:

www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-peanut-butter-cookies-64827.aspx

Your welcome. And Enjoy. :)

Night Gowns and Stories

I know its a little silly, but I have pictured a million times how cute she would be in a night gown one day. I still picture her, a little older, loving them as much as I did when I was a little girly girl and only wanting to sleep in "pretty gowns!".
Well, I had bought a few for her to wear this summer on great sale last month and we had such a warm night last night that I thought... why don't we just try it!? And so, last night London were here very first night gown!

And she looked as cute as I ever dreamt that she would!

I was a little worried that it would ride up on her and be around her waist and thought maybe she would get chilly. She is very hot natured though, so the chances were that she would be fine. I checked on her at least 10 times before I went to bed to make sure the gown was going to be okay through the night. And it was. It didn't ride up or anything. She didn't get at all cold. She just looked so cute that I couldn't stand it! :)

And big brother looked pretty darn cute in his camo pjs too!

This morning, while we were getting ready to take Dylan to school, I looked up and saw Dylan "reading" his comics to his baby sister.

Its just makes my heart so full of pride and happiness to see how much they love each other and how very kind Dylan is to London.

When we picked Dylan up from school, we headed over for an impromptu visit to the park. It may or may not have been partly due to the fact that the park was really close to Sonic and we were only 30 min out from Happy Hour... hahahah!

I'm cooking Daniel's favorite tonight, bacon wraped stuffed pork loin! Yummy! London and Dylan both skipped afternoon nap, so I'm planning on an early night for them and movie night with my Hubby!

Coffee Dates & Lunch Dates!

This morning, we had a coffee date with my bestie, "GiGi" (thats what the kids call her). She is very sadly going to be living in Houston for the next few months. The kids and I are really gonna miss her! She will be coming down pretty regularly though, so that makes it a little better. Anyways, we had coffee with her this morning at Starbucks. She and I use to have coffee together ever Tuesday while Dylan was at school. I would bring London with me, but that was before life got too busy for both of us and London was only about 7 months (and not yet mobile!) Today though, I brought both kids with me to what I told Dylan was "a very quite grown up restaurant". I was a bit nervous that they would be too loud, causing some ugly looks to fly my way, but they were complete angels. I only had to ask them to lower there noise level a couple of times! Yay for that! Now I know I can bring them (and a handful of quite toys) with me.


After all of that fun, we had even more fun lined up with our friend, Raegan. We met her at chick-fil-a for lunch. London was a bit cranky, due to her not having her morning nap, but over all they did great. After we ate our lunches, we went to sit in the play place so both kids could play. London is just getting all sorts of brave and climbing all over every play place we go to (this is very new). So, she was climbing up a little ways in the big play place, when this little girl screams "Ohhh! She made a stinky! There is poop!", then she ran out of the play place. Raegan and I chuckled because we thought the litttle girl was just freaking out over a dirty diaper smell. So I stood up to coach London out of the play place in order to go change her diaper. Well, this being her first time IN the big play place, she didn't know how to get OUT. I decided to climb up and get her (It was only three steps into the thing, she wasn't going far at all) and much to my shock and horror, there is POOP laying on the ground! I checked London's pants and her diaper had come undone and the poop was right at the top of it and just falling out. I wanted to just go hide. lol! Raegan went to get napkins for me, but by the time she had gotten back, a worker was coming in to clean it. I guess the little girl's mom had told them (which is exactly what I would have done too!). I showed her where it was and picked the actual... "uh-ohs" up myself, apologized a million times to all the parents and the worker. Everyone was really nice about it and told me "it just happens sometimes." The little girl's mom came and got her other kids though and was a little snooty with a "We're going to park." comment. Oh well. You can't please them all. *On a side note: I would have been grossed out enough to have left also, but think I would have done it a little more politely. It's not like my 5 year old had gone up the and pooped. It was an accident that got picked up quickly and before any one got messy (thank the Lord!)


As for the rest of the day, we have just been hanging out. I did just tiny bit of laundry, but other than that, I have not been very productive. Its okay though because its Monday, right? Plus, I've been busy playing with this cutey and her sweet brother!

Weekend Recap!

Saturday:

We spent the morning being a bit lazy (SOOO nice), then got moving and went to McKinney to have lunch with my Mom. We hadn't gotten to see her for over a week, so we were VERY excited to get the chance! We ate at a new family favorite ,The Pantry. Then, we walked across the street to the cutest little old timey candy store, Mom and Pops, and got just one lots of yummy treats. They have the most amazing homemade fudge. Daniel got penut butter and chocolate, I had capacino, and my mom got strawberry chocolate. She forgot to get her fudge out of our bag, so we accidently took it home with us Darn It!. And every single one of those flavors were ah.may.zing.

On the way out, I had to snap a few pics of my preciouses.

When we were done with that, we ran a few errands with my mom (she needed help with groceries since she still can't lift much from her spinal surgery). We came back to her house for just a bit, but we had to jet pretty quickly due to my extremely pesky job having to work a little three hour shift at Gymboree.

Sunday:

Has been extra extra fabulous. We tried out a new church this morning and really liked it. We really enjoy our current church, but its so big that its hard to make a personal connection to it. We have done a small class and I have volunteered in the nursery, in part to plug in, and it helped a little, but we just don't feel like we are for sure at home. Does that make since? We do love the church, and we LOVE the pastor, I just which we could shrink it down.Just to give you an idea of what I mean, we've been there for over two years and have almost never seen the same faces twice, and almost our whole street of neighbors attend this church, and we have only seen two of them... each once! Its just huge. Anyways, we really like the church we tried today.

We are going to try it again next Sunday. Its JUST the right size for us, and everyone was so nice and friendly!

After church, we had lunch at Subway, then walked down the sidewalk to a new little shop called Yogurt Story. It was so yum. I won't even start to tell you how great it is, because I'll just ramble for days, but we will be regulars there I bet!

Then we had some grocery shopping to get done. I always like when Daniel goes with me, so it was nice that he could. We headed home thinking that London would take a nap after all of that, but she disagreed. She fell asleep for about 10 minutes on the way home and refused to go back to sleep when we tried to move her to her bed. But her mood was fine, so that was okay.

Since nap time was a flop, we decided to hit the park. Today was just BEAUTIFUL and such nice weather. The kids so enjoyed themselves. AND to make it even better, the ice cream truck came by and I was prepared!! I redeemed myself from his last visit!! hahaha!

Happy 5 years!

This time five years ago, this handsome man decided to make me his wife.

We've been in bliss (almost) every day since then! I love him a hundred time more today than I did even back then. I would chose to remarry him in a heartbeat. He is everything to me. :)

Not only is he a fantastic hubby, he's an AMAZING daddy.

I could really just gush about him all night. But, for now... I must go have a date night with that handsome hubby of mine. Happy 5th anniversary, my love! Its been the best 5 years of my life. I can't wait to see where the next 5 take us, and then the next 50! XOXO * * *