Opening day at the pool!

It was opening day at our pool which did not necessarily mean that it was a warm, balmy day. Instead, it was in the high 60's when we ventured over. Landon and Chase had a blast despite their purple lips and chattering teeth. And in case you were wondering what that brown water is in the corner... they decided to turn on the fountain for the first time this year while we were in the pool. Whatever it was... the chlorine took care of it pretty quickly.

Nothing new...

Not much new to report... we had a busy weekend at the zoo and then testing out Landon's new boat in the lake - video to come. I think Andy had more fun that Landon! We were thinking if we had two, it could be even better - then the boats could race! Andy tackled the garage floor painting project and completed half of it and will do the other next weekend - it really turned out nice. I really appreciate having a husband who is very handy!

Landon continues to amaze me with things he says. Today I overheard him telling himself "Don't be frustrated" and his favorite thing to say out loud is, "That's weird!"

Chase is letting go of furniture to walk, will wobble to the center of a room and realize he can't make it all the way, and then slowly crouches to the ground - he just needs to gain some confidence.

LEAP picnic

Landon and Chase are part of our county's library program and today was the end of the year picnic - they had a blast!

Bored...

My days have become very tedious and yes... a bit boring. I am tied to the house twice a day for Chase's naps and my days begin at 6ish and end around 7:30 (that is with the kid part). Outside of trying to stimulate and teach my kids all day, there are also plenty of "chores" to do around the house - laundry (I seriously think I did four loads yesterday due to Landon wetting his bed), sweeping, vacuuming, feeding the boys, cleaning up after feeding the boys, emptying the dishwasher (which I did at 6:30 this morning), and just generally trying to keep the entire house free of clutter - not including the toys. Today I found myself vacuuming the cracks in my driveway as Landon was playing in the sandbox and Chase was sleeping. Yes, vacuuming. There was plenty to vacuum - those pesky little tree "droppings" that look like worms but crumble when you pick them up, were stuffed every which way in every L-O-N-G driveway crack. Although annoying to have them there, it was not really necessary. But it was an excellent time filler to give Landon his "independent play time" and to keep the boredom from creeping in on me.

I'm Back!

So since having Landon and Chase, it is a challenge to try to keep up with running. Most of the time I am pushing them in the jogger which is no easy feat (all weight combined is about 70 extra pounds!) but sometimes I make it to the gym so I can run all by myself - never thought that would become such a luxury! In my postbaby life, I have not signed up for any races - in fact, I haven't ran in a race since I was pregnant with Landon (and that was the VA Beach half marathon). And now, I finally have the urge to do another - I signed up for a local race. I am hoping that I will survive this little 10k (I am hearing it is quite a hilly course) and Andy has signed up with me as well. In fact, this is the first race ever that we had to hire a babysitter so we could both run!

Earth day festival

Our town had a small Earth day celebration - there was face painting, animals (even a cow you could milk!), and fun music. On the drive over, Landon kept saying, "my birthday party" (which was weeks ago) and I tried to explain several times it was an Earth day party but he was still disappointed when were leaving without having had any cake!

3 going on 30?

Chase and Landon were playing in the family room when Landon comes in and says, "Need to take a break... I playing too rough."

Check-ups

Both boys' had doctor appointments today - for their 3 and 1 year old check up. I am not sure what I was thinking when I booked them both for the same day - back to back slots and took them by myself. If doctors were always on schedule and we didn't have to wait before, during, and after the appointment, it could have gone okay. Instead this:

Arrive at the doctors at 10:22 - appts. are at 10:30 and 10:50. Wait 20 minutes in the waiting room trying to occupy them with crackers as I am reading a "no food or drink in the waiting room" sign. I have to go the bathroom - I go into the one that is just off the waiting room - with Landon and Chase. The toilet is one foot off the ground - Landon thinks it is cool, I am thinking more of a challenge. We made it out of there successfully only to wait another 5 minutes before getting called back. Both boys' have to strip down to their underwear/diaper. We wait another 15 minutes while Landon and Chase rip the paper off of the table and shred it into tiny little pieces, also have removed the books from the counter, and Landon washes his hands three times (he thinks the pedal on the floor is cool).

Finally doctor arrives to check them out. We chat about their yearly progress and before he actually examines them, has to step out to examine another patient's x-ray. So we wait another 5 minutes - both boys' are whining - I am almost out of crackers and drinks were left in the car.

Doctor finally comes back. Examines Landon - does a great job making it more play than work. Chase's turn - all is looking great. Chase needs his shots and they asked if Landon could leave a urine sample (a 3 year old thing). Urine sample? Uh... sure.

So while we wait for them to gather the shots, I take Landon to the bathroom, and am trying to hold the cup for him (which he thought was great) while trying to keep Chase out of the toilet as he is crawling on the not-so-clean bathroom floor. And just as I am getting the lid on the container, and before I could flush, Chase gets into the toilet and picks up the paper on the way bottom.

Back to the examining room just in time for Chase's two shots as Landon looks on. And we are finally off.

I am happy to report that after both check ups... they are doing quite well - they are growing like crazy and are as healthy as a horse!

Hotdog?

Landon was running around playing and he came over to me and said, "Eat me Mommy... I a hotdog."

Chase's first steps!

I am happy to report that Chase has been trying to stay on his feet... I tried to capture a few attempts along with his climbing infatuation!

ABC's

Landon singing the alphabet... not sure what happened to that last letter...

Caffeine Kick

Today I decided that I was going to try to cut down on my caffeine intake... which means that I only had one cup of coffee this morning. I am thinking that maybe I will spring out of bed much more energetic and less miserable if I wasn't so coffee dependent. So after savoring my ONE cup of coffee this morning I had a few things on my agenda: hang two shelves, mail our income taxes (yes, one day before the deadline), and return an item to Target - all with both boys in tow. Chase went down for his first nap and I decided to tackle the shelving project with my little apprentice under my toes the entire time. I made a template, measured, leveled, and taped before the screw hit the drywall. I think I did okay, but the shelf just wasn't sitting right (angling forward a bit) so what would any Mrs. fix it do? Stuff a rolled up tissue behind it... and it was just right. But once I set my vase on it and tried to get it "perfect", the vase fell off and broke. I gave that up for a minute to run to the Post Office (once Chase woke up of course) and as I was shooing Chase out of the garbage can, Landon pulled over the entire certified mail table - pens, papers, and a coffee mug came a-tumbling down. Off to Target for the next errand and as I hopped into my driver's seat, I felt something wet... Chase's bottle fell out of the diaper bag and emptied onto my seat - good thing I was on my way home. So home at last - figured that was the safest place to be at this point and finally made it up to my bathroom and actually had a look at myself in the mirror and found that my sweatshirt had been on backwards all day... back to full on coffee tomorrow!

You can lead a horse to water...

In this story, the horse is Chase and the leader is Landon but Chase actually WILL drink the water! Now that Chase is very mobile (still not walking yet, but a competitive crawler), Landon loves to walk over to things that he knows that neither he or Chase should be...and will just stand there and let Chase do his work. Some days it is the potted plant in the corner that (following Landon's lead) Chase will crawl over to and take a huge handful of dirt and put it in his mouth. Yesterday, Landon lead him under the deck to the not-so-inflated pool which had old, old, old, rainwater in and Chase was splashing around it as Landon watched over him. And just when I thought he couldn't be in time out one more time...Landon poured the bubble solution at the bottom of the drain spout (on the plastic thing that allows the rain to run off) and Chase was splashing around in that and then licking his fingers... always a fun day at the Roemer house!

Folly Beach

Spring Break - yeah! Landon was on his official spring break so we ventured out to the coast. We vacationed with another family in our neighborhood and stayed in a house just 20 yards from the beach just outside of Charleston. We all had such a great time - the kids were so great and besides the chilly weather everything was perfect. We made a stop at the aquarium and a visit to Patriots Point to tour a battleship. Chase ate a ton of sand and Landon (along with Andy) were brave enough to venture into the freezing water to catch a few fun waves. Our nights (after kids went to bed) were filled with playing the Wi (thanks to the Brongs!), hanging upstairs in the game room, and a card night! We all had a lot of laughs - thanks for the great vacation Brong family!

Birthdays

So here we are in April with two birthdays one day apart. Landon turned three on April 5th and Chase one on April 6th. We celebrated both on the same night with separate cakes. Landon was very anxious to get a piece of his cake and had been waiting patiently all-day-long...after the candles were blown out and "no one was looking" he leaned in and took a huge lick of frosting from the side of his cake. They both received such great gifts - thanks aunts, uncles, grandmas, and grandpas for being so thoughtful - the boys really loved having you all here and are having so much fun with their new toys. Landon declared his new "Tow Mater" car his "best friend" today. We just got back from the beach but wanted to get birthday pics out before I uploaded beach pics. More to come...

Update

So it has been a while...not much new to report. We are still waiting for it to warm up down here - we have had a few 70 degree days but then it always seems to dip back into the 50's - brrr! Landon and Chase are having their birthdays this weekend - I just can't believe that they will be 3 and 1 already! Although I am so thankful that we are out of that infant phase (I can't say that is my favorite!) Chase is practicing walking when I am assisting him but he hasn't wandered off on his own yet. I am thinking the big brother presence is making him a bit more timid. Landon pushes him off things as it is now... I am sure he isn't ready to be pushed off of his own two feet! And Chase is still cutting those 4 top teeth - any day now... and hopefully before we leave for the beach on Sunday! My birthday presents from Chase would be getting those 4 teeth and having him walk. Landon has already given me his... the fact that he is potty trained! I can't even tell you how happy I am to have one out of diapers - not only does it save on money...but the wretched smell from our outside garbage can is no longer... thank goodness! I am adding more pics - Landon loves trying on my shoes and then loves the challenge of walking around in them! And we cut Chase's hair - he has transformed from baby to boy overnight!

Too much

So today we ran around and did a hundred things...well not really one hundred things...but maybe 4 or 5 different activities (or stops) in a day which with two boys in tow can feel like one hundred things. After our last stop at Aunt Heather's to see her three day old baby girl (she is very adorable!) and playtime with the cousins, we decided to go to Salsaritas, a delicious burrito place, that is very filling and most importantly fast! Landon is still not taking naps so he was WAY overtired and as we were waiting to order he was walking circles around the other customers in line. And Chase is in his "if I have to be buckled into a highchair for one more minute I am going to scream at the top of my lungs" phase. And all of the other customers were not really appreciating us being there as Chase is continuing to make his high pitched scream sound and Landon is scraping his chair across the concrete floor (similar to the nails on a chalkboard sound). And as I am shoveling my LARGE burrito (yes, large!) into my mouth, Landon is declaring that he is done and he wants to leave and I am telling him (as pieces of rice are falling out of my mouth) that he will just have to wait until Andy and I are finished...that doesn't really work well with a 3 year old...so Andy left with the two boys first...and I finished my burrito...every last bite!

Lake Murray

We ventured down to Lake Murray where our future residence will be when we retire! It was great...we soaked up sun, played in the pool, and enjoyed the views of the lake...and then there was the ride home...I don't think Chase stopped crying/whining until we discovered the magic behind the Baby Einstein videos...well at least it worked for a few minutes!

Easter Sunday

Landon was so excited getting up this morning knowing that the Easter bunny came to visit! He left the bunny a carrot and almonds (the almonds were all Landon's idea) and he found the carrot half eaten and two of the three almonds gone - the bunny was hungry! He hunted for his basket with several VERY obvious hints from us and he found his basket of treats in the coat closet! And at 7:45 this morning he was eating candy... isn't candy the breakfast for champions or was that Wheaties?