Week in the Life - FRIDAY!

Woo! We've made it another week and we're all still alive and (somewhat) sane. This is something to celebrate, especially after yesterday.

Our morning started as usual. We got dressed, had some breakfast, and headed off to school. On the way back, I stopped by the store and picked up a few things for dinner tonight. When we got home, I tossed it into the crockpot. Thank you, Julie, for reminding me about this wonderful thing!

After dinner was started, we washed the carseat cover from yesterday. (don't worry, we used the spare carseat today)

And then we thought we'd go fold some laundry.

And play with blocks!

Then Grace went down for her nap. While she slept, I did a few dishes, cleaned up some toys, and checked my e-mail.

Three hours and change later, and Grace was up and ready for some lunch :) Today it was toast, cheese, strawberries, and bananas. She ate every last ounce of it.

Then the doorbell rang. It was our nice friend the UPS man. He brought us some love from Amazon. Wonder what it could be?!?

Ah! Just in time! We're down to only 2 pull-ups left upstairs. Gotta love that subscribe and save!

Then it was playtime. Grace loves the music table.

We also snuggled and caught up on some Grey's.

And played doctor :)

Then, we made Madi a snack.

We picked Madi up from school and played outside a few minutes. Then we had dinner and I left the girls with Matt while I went to a gathering at another one of the spouse's homes! He said the night went smoothly and everyone was down by 830. Go Matt!

Week in the Life, Thursday!

Well, today started way before the sun. Madilyn was up just after 5am. Thankfully she didn't come to us until 7, but I could still hear her playing in her room. I knew it was going to be a long day for her. Grace got up right after Madi came to get us, we went and got her out of her crib.

After a quick breakfast, Madi asked to watch a little show before school. I let her watch about 20 minutes of little einsteins while I got ready for the day. Then we loaded up in the car and headed off to school.

Grace was ready for a nap when we got home (around 915). While she napped, I got dinner into the crockpot (pork chops with a spicy asian sauce) and read a little more of "Mockingjay" (part three of three in The Hunger Games series).

After nap, we sean a few errands and I forgot my camera. Then we picked up Madi. I thought we would have a fun evening at home making some sugar cookies after dinner, but she sure had other plans. She threw the biggest tantrum when I showed up at school because she was not ready to leave. She wanted to stay and play with the zebras. I had to carry her out and up the stairs and to the car screaming and thrashing all with Grace in my other arm. I'm sure I was a very pitiful sight! It gets worse though, because the tantrum continued in the car. Even after I took away all toys, etc, she took off her shoes as we were driving and tried to chuck them at me. She never did stop screaming. In fact, she was SO angry at me for not giving her toys after being naughty, SHE PEED IN THE CAR! ON PURPOSE!!!!! So , if you wondered why I had no post up last night, you now know why. I was busy sending a very naughty three year old straight to bed and scrubbing the upholstery  in my car.

Once the mess was cleaned up and I could proceed, I finished dinner and fed Matt and Grace. After dinner Grace enjoyed some play time before bed :)

Lets hope Friday is a better day!!!

Day FOUR

Okay, call me a slacker today. I really fell off the picture taking bandwagon.

Our day started off leaving the house at 745 (this is super early for us!) and going to the community center to turn in a survey they left on our door. They promised the first 50 people to turn it in would get a gift card. We turned it in, then picked a card out of a bucket. Ours was only $5 to starbucks, but my neighbor got $50 to Target! Score for her!!

Then we took Madilyn to school. Poor kid had to get out so early this morning she was munching her cereal and milk down in the car. Whoops. Anyway, after that, Grace and I hit up the strawberry stand for some fresh berries on the way back home to get our things.

Wednesday is our Bible Study and thanks to the survey craziness, we were already running late. But, I needed Grace's diaper bag and some snacks for her, so we make it a speedy stop at home and then were back on the road! On the way there, we had to stop for gas. This always makes me want to cry.

When we got to the church, I dropped Grace off in the nursery, then went to meet up with the other moms and get some breakfast. We're going to be reading "Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible" this semester. Anyone read it before?

After BS, we came home and napped. Yes, both of us. I stayed up way too late waiting for Matt last night and ended up falling asleep about 20 min before he came home anyway. I didn't even know he was home until I woke this morning. Guess I was tired. Ooops!

After naps was a quick snack, then off to Target for some batteries and a new food processor. Then we grabbed Miss Madi from school and hit up Trader Joe's for a few essentials. This is probably the best store ever. Just saying'. Nothing bad has ever come out of here.

When we got home, we found Matt, who had beat us home from work. I threw together a quick spaghetti dinner with green beans and rolls. When they were finished eating, I took the kids up to bed. Now it's time to go relax and catch up with my husband before I fall asleep again! **yawn**

Day THREE !

Hey, I'm actually keeping up! Well, sort of. Since I live on the west coast, I think I'm the last one to get my post in each night. Sorry!

Anyway......on to Tuesday.

Our day started bright and early. Matt had to be up super early because he had his PT test at 8am today. Thanks to the wonderful traffic situation here in LA, that meant he needed to be out the door before 7am. Yuck. Anyway, when I went downstairs to fix his coffee and pack his lunch, Madilyn greeted me in the hallway. I sent her back to her room and told her she needed to stay there until the light turned green. She was not happy to hear this, but marched her little tush back in anyway. So, I made the coffee and packed the lunchbox, then promptly carried my cup of coffee right back where I belong at that hour of the day.....back to bed.

Around 715, Grace woke up and Madi came out of her room. The girls got dressed and had some fancy cereal for breakfast. Then it was out the door and off to school.

While Madi was at school, Grace helped me with all the chores around the house. We started by emptying the dishwasher.

That is hard work! So, then we had a snack. Yummy puffs, bananas, and a fruit and veggie pouch.

After snack time, my little helper helped me vacuum the downstairs.

Then we did some laundry.

And made a chocolate pie. Because who doesn't like pie???

Uh oh. Nap time.

Some 14 month-er is very sleepy. She also sleeps in some interesting positions.

While Grace was napping, I clipped the coupons from Sunday.

Then I listed all the diapers we're not using up for sale. I hope they sell out!

I also ate some lunch and watched a bit of "The Bachelor" from last night. Mama has to eat some time, right? I don't have photos. I was too hungry.

Nap time ended and I went to pick up a very happy little camper.

She was hungry again, so I fixed her some lunch. Peanut butter and jelly sammy with blueberries and a cup of milk. She seemed to like it.

Before we knew it it was time to pick up Madilyn. She had a good day at school with no accidents and took a nap! Yay! Once we got home, the girls played together and watched Little Einsteins while I fixed something for us all to eat.

Since Matt was going to the Lakers vs Suns game tonight, he wasn't going to be home for dinner. Matt rather despises all breakfast foods expect maybe cereal and bacon. So, when he's not around, we have breakfast for dinner. Tonight it was french toast and kiwi.

Bath time came next! Both girls love their baths. I wish Grace would stay sitting a while longer, though. She likes to stand and sing in the tub :)

I tucked Grace into bed while Madi played quietly in her room. Then as we do every night, she wanted to play her favorite horse game on the iPad before dozing off.

Once she was done, I turned on her lullabies and rubbed he back for a while. Sweet dreams!

Phew. And now it's only 830 at night, but feels much later. I expect it'll still be a few hours before Matt gets home. Perhaps I'll go try that chocolate pie...

Day TWO!

Happy Monday, y'all!

Today was very busy around here. Aren't Monday's always a bit crazy?

We started our day off with some breakfast before getting ready for school. Silly Grace really likes her sleep, so I finally woke her around 8am. She slammed down some breakfast and we were out the door by 820 to take Madilyn to school. After we dropped off Madi, I took Grace over to our neighbor Ann's house. Ann kindly agreed to keep Grace for a bit while I headed off to the dentist for two fillings (yuck!).

After I finished, I came back to pick up sleepy Grace. I brought her home and we played for a bit before she requested her bottle and a nap. You know, because nobody ever lets her get enough sleep around here... She napped from about 1130- 215. When she got up, she had a fine lunch of yogurt, fruit, and crackers. A toddler's delight!

After a late lunch, it was time to do a bit of grocery shopping with Mom.

So, off to Sprouts we went.

Then, we came home and made some yummy smoothies. I never thought I would drink a spinach smoothie, but it was good! You'll have to try these yourself as well. You only taste the peanut butter and bananas (Sorry Madi, Mama is working on a version for you too).

Then we went to pick up Madi. Though she says she had a fun day at school,  her teachers said she skipped her nap and peed her pants. Well, guess you can't win 'em all, huh? Oh well, I still think she's pretty cute.

In the car on the way home from school, we must always have a snack. Today we had cheese, yogurt pretzels, and fresh blueberries. I think she was enjoying them :)

After a quick playmate with our new neighbors who we just found out have a 3 year old as well (hello, playdates), it was time to fix some dinner. Here's the start of what became Disneyland's loaded baked potato soup. It took much longer to make than I had anticipated, but was worth the wait. Pinterest really is giving way to many things I "must" make.

After dinner we had a little playtime before it was time for bed. Matt tucked in Grace while I tucked in Madi. We enjoyed a quiet evening evening. Matt played some video games and I took care of some travel arrangements for my Grandma. Then I finished up this blog so I could get some rest and not worry about what kind of slacker everyone might think I was if they didn't see a post by tomorrow morning ;)

A Week in the Life, Day ONE

Alright, here goes. This next week will be filled with blogging! Yep, you heard me. I'm going to bore each and every one of you with the happenings of the Merritt house each and every day.

Today was day one, and I admittedly forgot to take as many pictures as I had planned. I'm normally much better about this. I'll be better tomorrow. I promise.

Today started out like most Sundays do. Madilyn's clock turned to the "green light" (pictures tomorrow) at 730 and she ran into our room to grab some snuggles with Mom and Dad. After a few minutes, Grace began chatting, so we grabbed her and brought her back to bed with us for some more snuggles.

Then it was breakfast and church. Here's miss Madi all ready to go. Gotta love that it's been nearly 80 here and we've no need for coats most of the time!

Afterwards, we came home and filled up the outside play toys with water. I wish I had pictures of this, but I was too busy having fun with the girls and forgot all about my photo obligation. Anyway, they had a blast and finally came inside (soaking wet) about an hour later.

Nap time! Madi slept almost 2 hours, and Grace slept 4 1/2! That little one sure does love to eat and sleep. Guess she takes after her father, hehe.

After naps we spent most of the afternoon/evening playing out in the cul-de-sac with our neighbors. There was lots of bike riding, running, and snacking for the kids. And much chatting for the Moms and Dads. We really live in a wonderful little neighborhood and have been so blessed by our neighbors. 

For dinner tonight I made our favorite White Chicken Enchiladas. They are so good I have a hard time keeping myself from eating too many! Seriously, if you've never tried these, you must. They are super easy, not diet friendly, and very delicious! YUM!

After dinner comes bath time. The girls love this part of the day. Madi was being camera shy, but I caught a cute one of Grace reading. (I'm sure you can tell by the size of her belly that we must starve this poor child...)

Next, off to bed for the munchkins and some down time for the two of us before the chaos starts tomorrow!

See you then!

Happy Birthday Dear ONE Year Old!!!!!

The festivities have been going nonstop since the day Miss Grace turned one! We spent her actual birthday at Disneyland and had a wonderful time as a family. Grace really got a kick out of it. She took one small nap in the Ergo, but other than that she partied hard the whole day. (Pictures to come soon, I need to download them!)

The fun continued this weekend when Matt's parents and Grandparents flew in. We had a fun birthday party for her on the 5th. Enjoy a fun video Matt and Don put together about the birthday celebrations :)