Ten

1. Michael and Liam have a new friend named 'Jackie'. Jackie is a friend of the imaginary sort. His name comes up during pretend play. Jackie used to be a road-worker, then he was a baker and now, well, he's just sort of a jack-of-all-trades type of guy. I don't believe that he is visible to anyone. He just fills in as an extra character in whatever scene is playing out. The best part is, whenever one speaks to Jackie, one must make their voice lower and deeper. One must also begin by saying, "Hey Jackie....". I need to try & record this because it is hilarious to listen to.

2. Liam peed on the potty this evening without any prompting or suggestion from me. We cheered, we high-fived and we provided mini-marshmallows as a reward. Considering that Michael pretty much just decided to be potty trained, I am completely lost about how to work on this with Liam. Michael and Liam are very different animals. While Michael is the most challenging of the 3, you really don't want to tangle with Liam if he has decided to dig his heels in. But he turns 3 on the 20th and I feel like we have to make some sort of defined attempt to get him on board. I am thinking maybe next week, we will give it a shot.

3. Mike and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on June 1st. We went out to dinner as a family to Red Robin with some gift money my parents gave us. The kids had a fantastic time...as a result, we did too. It's not fancy but it is extremely kid friendly. Tuesday nights they have someone to make balloon animals and do magic tricks...the 'Red Robin' also made an appearance. Mike and I got to enjoy our meals because their was so much entertainment! We are hoping to go out for a dinner to ourselves once funds become a little less scarce.

4. I have blown my own deadline to start running. Again, no excuses, it just hasn't happened.

5. After last week being not so great, this week has been fantastic!!

6. Memorial Day weekend was lots of fun for us. We had a invite to go to the beach but I am glad we opted to stay home. I think it worked out better for us. Sunday we took the kids to a local park to play and then had lunch. My parents invited us over for dinner. It was just a nice, relaxing day. Monday we went to a parade in the morning and a birthday pool party in the afternoon. We were beat by the end of the day but we just had so much fun all day long. I love days like that. If I can get the pics off of Mike's phone, I will post them from the parade. The boys loved every minute of it and Chloe did great in spite of the heat.

7. Chloe can officially play peek-a-boo and can also deliver a 'raspberry' even by request. She is already showing her mischievous side. I have felt from the start that she would have no trouble keeping up with her brothers and so far, she is right there in the mix with them. I just marvel at her every single day. She is a happy, fun-loving baby who is rarely crabby. She has Michael's determination along with Liam's easy-going nature...she just fits right in :) She also cut two teeth and rolled over this week!

8. I have managed to get some much-needed cleaning done over the past 2 days. If I can just get our bedroom cleaned and our back porch straightened up, I can ignore the house for a few weeks and just enjoy every minute with the kids. Something about getting things organized makes me feel so much better. Maybe it's all the (uninterrupted) thinking I do while I am cleaning...I get to clear the cobwebs from my brain while clearing the dust and clutter that accumulates in our house.

9. I think I am finally done being obsessed with Facebook. It took a while but I am finally finding myself bored with it. It's a good thing. I'd rather spend any online time blogging because I feel that this is at least a worthwhile exercise. I have been reading all my usual blog favorites but just haven't been commenting much at all. I am trying to spend less time online overall & I think I'm getting there.

10. Thanks to all the recent cleaning, Chloe's room is finally clutter-free. And I have finally put her in her crib to sleep at night. She has been in the cradle in our room up until a few nights ago. I know, I know--and you should see how much of the cradle she takes up!! But she is my baby girl and our last baby...and I just want to cherish it! Liam and Michael were in the cradle for a while too but it was more like 3 months instead of pushing 7! She has napped in her crib but never slept in it at night. I am happy to report she is doing great :) Although she still likes a little snuggle time in our bed in the morning--and that is just fine with me (sleep issues be damned!).