Caroline was busy in her room for a long time last night. She was being quiet and I figured she just needed some time to wind down from her busy day, so I didn't fuss at her. When I was finally ready to go to bed, I peeked in on her one last time. She was almost asleep (at 9:30, mind you) but I noticed something strange on her pillow. It was an enormous pile of wet wipes! I was so shocked I actually turned on the light and asked Caroline how the wipes ended up on her pillow. The container was closed, securely up on her dresser, and there was no tell-tale trail leading to her bed, or sign of anything she had moved to reach that high.

Caroline's reply? "It was an acc-sick (accident)."

Caroline loves her big-girl room. Today she shooed me out the door, "Get out my room mommy, off-limits!" She is 2-years old, going on 12!

On Friday, I took the kids to play at the mall playground and on our way to eat lunch, Rylan announced his menu selection.

Rylan: I want a cheeseburger, Mom.

Me: Are you positive?

Rylan: Yes, cheeseburger, please.

Me: Really, you have never eaten a cheeseburger before.

Rylan: I'm sure I want a cheeseburger.

Me: You know, a cheeseburger has, like, meat on it?

Rylan: Oh, no,no,no,no. Never mind. I want chicken nuggets.

On Saturday, I was sick with a cold and exhausted from single parenting two busy kids. So, of course I decided I also desperately needed a haircut and decided to brave taking both kids with me. We drove the two minutes to Great Clips loaded with a bags of cereal treats and small toys for both kids. Rylan sat on the chairs in the waiting area and I parked Caroline right next to me in the booth. Bless their hearts, those kids were absolute angels! They ate their snacks and didn't make a peep for the entire 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I got a tickle in my throat and was trying desperately not to cough and turn my haircut into a disaster. My haircut turned out great although I still looked a sight with wet hair, no make-up, red-rimmed bloodshot eyes, with huge bags underneath. Rylan looked at me as I quickly hid behind a hat and sunglasses. "Mommy, you look like a princess!" What a precious boy to cheer up his mama's heart.

Garden of the Gods, March 2011

Caroline's worried face. The progression on these pictures cracks me up. She wasn't as bold about climbing on this visit as she usually is.

I can't remember why she made this face. It looks like she touched a sharp rock or something.

Rylan, posing and looking every inch the cool big brother. Both kids spent a lot of time running on trails, and hiding in the bushes. I was glad I had dressed them in brightly colored clothing, cause I had some trouble keeping up with those little explorers.

And I have to confess something else, I had another reason to go to Garden of the Gods besides enjoying beautiful scenery and running some energy off my kids. The Duggars were in Colorado Springs last weekend and I was hoping for a sighting of their extra large family. Focus on the Family had a special event and book signing for them, but the tickets sold out quickly. I had a hunch they might also tour one of Colorado Springs' most famous landmwarks and it turns out they did, just not at the same time as we did. Oh well... At least we got some fresh air and beautiful scenery and I had two snoring kids in the back of the car on the way home.

Like father, like son

Guess what Rylan will be doing this week? Yep, he is starting karate with Charlton. Karate is a huge part of Charlton's life, so I hope this is something the guys in our family will really enjoy doing together. Charlton will actually be helping to teach the kids in Rylan's class.

That also means no more Little Gym for Rylan, we transferred his enrollment over to Caroline. She is going to be pleased as punch when she realized she gets to go into the gym every week and not have to watch the fun from outside! I am a little sad Rylan won't get to finish his sports class, but hope this will be a great new phase of growth for him. P.S. Rylan was really excited to wear his new gi for the first time, but also a little self-conscious. I couldn't get him to actually come all the way down the steps and only got this one quick shot before he ran back up to his room.

My kids are really growing up, both old enough to participate in activities outside our house. I just realized this week that we don't have a crib in the house anymore for the first time in 4 1/2 years. Also, we walked the 1/2 mile to our park this week with no stroller or wagon. Wow, it feels strange and kind of nice in some ways to move out of the baby stage.

Finally!

This little card represents about 7 years of hard work for Charlton. Yes, he is finally officially a Licensed Practical Counselor in Colorado. He passed his national test way back in October, but had to jump through so many hoops to prove he really had enough hours of experience, his classwork was sufficient, etc... So this precious little card finally arrived this past week and we were all super excited. Here's the kicker, though. The state sends you this little tiny wallet card, but you have to pay $150 for a framed matted display copy of the license. They won't let you just buy the larger copy and frame it for yourself, more cheaply, if you want to. Oh well, it is definitely worth all Charlton's time and effort and it is going to look great in his office. Congratulations, Charlton Clarke, LPC!

Bed time stories

To say that Caroline loves her new room is probably an understatement! Throughout the day she will sneak away and I often find her playing in her room. One of her favorite activities is "reading" books on her bed. I have given up on putting her books back on her bookshelf until the end of the day, because she is constantly taking them off to read. One day this week when the windows were open, I caught her sitting on her bed just gazing out the window and watching the world go by below! The transition has been really easy. She actually is excited about being tucked in for bedtime and naps and if she does get out of bed, she stays in her room and puts herself back in bed pretty quickly. Charlton made a white stepping stool for her and that has definitely helped with the climb. I am planning on painting her name and some flowers on it to match her room.

The only minor problem we have been having is that Rylan loves to go wake Caroline up in the morning. No big deal, except that this is usually sometime around 6 am, a little too early for the rest of us. I have had to keep Caroline's door closed after I go to bed, otherwise we will be hearing the thundering of little feet and lots of squeals and laughter before the sun is up.

Black is the new green

Rylan refused to wear green on St. Patrick's Day. Nothing would do but this batman shirt! Silly boy got mad when I told him I had to pinch him...., until he realized mom's pinches didn't really hurt. I made some yummy chocolate streusel bars for dessert. Nothing green about them, but as you can tell, they were chocolatey and delicious.