malloy woke up in a sour mood and spent the first half hour of our morning screaming and crying. i took rex in the playroom and played with playdoh while malloy calmed down. i told her she could come in when she was done crying and happier. she finally came in with a smile on her face. we stayed at home mostly today. it was a rainy day. the kids made a fort with neal in the playroom while i ran to wegmans for a few things. 

this afternoon we went to the library to grab some new books and movies. then it was home for dinner, bubble bath, and bed! neal had to go in a few times and tell rex to go back in bed, but after a few times it was quiet! phew! 

'i'm sitting on daddy like a bench' - malloy

today was my turn to co-op in malloy's class today. she's so cute with her friends. she was sitting in circle and would reach over and hug her friends on either side of her and tell them that she loved them. (her teacher didn't really like it so much - she doesn't really seem to give the kids a chance to have that much fun, but anyway...). 

rex did amazing today. he cried a bit when i dropped him off but he was fine until two of his friends started crying. he didn't cry for long! mrs. messina said he did great and was talking a lot today (with no stuttering!)  he colored for about 20 minutes but didn't want to color on his own, so he made mrs. mcgrath color with him the entire time. and she did. love those teachers!! since i was co-oping in malloy's room, rex stayed in his classroom after all of his other friends left and he started to get a little worried when i didn't show up. but he toddled into mrs. w's room behind mrs. messina eating his fruit loop bracelet he made in class. he also made me a picture of a waterfall. he's so cute!!! 

after school, we had to run home quick, go potty, and pack a lunch so that i could go pick up my glasses before nap. the kids did great and were very well behaved while i got my glasses fitted. when we got home, it was naptime. malloy went right to sleep. rex did not. but i did!! i snoozed on the couch and then heard him calling me. he was in bed with the doctor kit all over the place. i put it away and then went back to sleeping on the couch. when malloy woke up, i got up and then checked on rex - he had blocks out all over the place! 

the kids played while i cleaned up a bit and then it was dinner time. after dinner, neal took the kids to the park while i cleaned up some more. (a lot of cleaning up happens when you have a 2 and 3 year old!!) bedtime didn't go as smooth as last night, but it wasn't bad. 

ring around the rosie

it's 'fun thursday' again! i gave the kids the choice between skyzone and the museum. they picked skyzone!!! it's so much fun there! rex was a little bit scared at first but then he started running around and loved it! i think his favorite part was the foam pit! there was hardly anyone there. malloy and i chased each other around for most of the time. we had races and played basketball, too! did i mention it's really fun there?! 

after skyzone, we went to wegmans. malloy got to go play in wkids - a double fun morning for her! she got to play video games (or try to) and ended up playing with a barn and animals. rex got to sample some mango and apple cider bread while he shopped with me. 

after nap, we went to the gym and then ran around the yard when we got back. of course, we played our new frisbee game! then we went for a walk around the block (yes i was trying to tire them out!!) while we walked, we played the i-spy game. they loved looking for what i was talking about. while we were walking, there were about 15 ducks in one yard. we walked past them and some started to follow us. i think they smelled the muffin crumbs on them :) we were almost home and malloy was begging for me to carry her! my mission was accomplished! 

next up - dinner, bath, and bedtime!!! i took all of the stuffed animals, including rex's animals that he sleeps with (even his seahorse), out of the room, as well as the monitor (which they turn on bc there's a nightlight on it) and the nightlight. rex went right to sleep. malloy stayed awake for about a half hour or so before she called out b/c her pjs were too hot. after changing her, she was quiet and went to sleep. 

i got out the fall/halloween/thanksgiving books this morning. this kept them busy for a very long time! 

i went in to check on rex and found him sleeping next to his box of trains.  he must play with something  before he falls asleep! 

malloy wanted me to take a picture of them in their pjs again. 

wednesday = school day! i co-oped in rex's room today. he did great, no crying. mrs. messina warned him when she was going to shut the lights off, he even got to help her shut the lights off a few times! hopefully that doesn't bother him anymore! malloy had a great day at school, too. she doesn't talk about it much, i have to pry info out of her!! and then later in the day, she'll randomly tell me something about school. she told me that she and abby laugh together. i can't wait to co-op in her classroom and see what she's like! 

we came home, had lunch, and took naps. it took them both quite a while to fall asleep even though they're rundown from their colds (or at least i am!! so they should be right?!) after nap, we just stayed home and played. the kids love playing in the playroom now that it's clean! and they were playing fairly well! after dinner, we went outside and ran around for a while to get some energy out! malloy asked if we could please play with the "krizbees". she couldn't quite remember what they were called. she has a new game where she throws the frisbee and then we both race to it and try and be the first one to pick it up. she could play it for hours! i have to admit, it's fun! especially when her throw is so unpredictable - i never know which way the frisbee's going to go!! 

since last night was such a nightmare, i'm trying something different. i put rex down first and had malloy lay on the couch and very quietly watch a movie. so far, it seems to be working. i have no idea if rex is asleep or not, though. the times i wish i had a video monitor! 

he was making this face when we were singing monkeys jumping on the bed

monkey pjs! 

being a very good girl while rex is going to sleep (i hope)

this morning we went to the gym, came home, made some muffins and had friends over to play! malloy was so excited to play with gianna and ben at her house!! (she was happy max and kenadee were there, too, but they're not her classmates!) when ben was leaving, he went in to say good-bye and give malloy a hug. malloy told him that she already gave him a hug. he told her he wanted to give her a kiss goodbye. malloy stood up and wrapped her arms around him giving him a big hug and then they very carefully kissed smack on the lips. afterward, malloy giggled and said "haha that was slimy!" it was too cute! 

after nap, we went to the library quickly - it took about 7 minutes total to pick out books and movies. it was pouring out when we left but luckily we grabbed an umbrella from the van! it was interesting trying to keep all three of us dry but we definitely weren't drenched! 

then it was off to wegmans to grab a few things for dinner. malloy got to play in wkids for a bit while rex and i got a few groceries. 

we ate dinner, took a bath and watched the gruffalo before bed. bedtime is not going so well at the moment! the kids were put to bed before 8 and are still up. their new thing is for rex to take everything off of his bed and put it in malloy's bed. he did it a few times and then the animals got taken away. i went in again and turned off of the nightlight. i went in again and put rex in his own bed. then neal went in and gave them a stern talking to. these are the days that i really consider separating their bedrooms. either that or we need to do separate bedtimes. apparently the sleep buckets are old news! 

ben to the rescue! he helped malloy with her puzzle :)

our apple trees we made 

saturday: 

malloy got her play-doh candy and ice cream set because she filled her sleep bucket! we had fun playing with this in the morning. the kids hung out with neal while i went to the eye dr. after nap, uncle ryan came over and had dinner with neal and the kids and then helped put them to bed so i could go out and have some mommy time with friends! 

 sunday: we played candyland in the morning while we waited for a visit from uncle paddy. malloy did a puzzle with uncle paddy (or at least he watched her do one) and then the kids went to the park with neal and uncle paddy while i stayed home and cleaned. after nap, the kids watched a little bit of the football game while they played. they ran around outside after dinner and then it was time for bed!

rex still doesn't play candyland but LOVES to move the pieces all over the board while we're trying to play

today! malloy had school - rex and i dropped her off and then came home so i could clean and he could play! (we stopped at walgreens quick and got a toy for rex because he filled his sleep bucket!)  he was so excited to be playing on his own uninterrupted by malloy. no one was telling him how to play or that he couldn't play, etc. i cleaned and organized the entire playroom and then he came in and got out his little people and set them up everywhere while i moved on to their bedroom - it was time to put away the summer clothes and get out all of the fall clothes! i think malloy has enough clothes for her to wear a different outfit everyday of the year!! she got a LOT of clothes from bella - it's crazy!!
when we got home from picking up malloy, she was excited to see the clean playroom! (yeah, it was that bad!). she immediately found some beads and went in on her bed and started playing. rex joined her and they played so nicely together - no yelling, whining, bickering - it was HEAVEN!!! they really do benefit from time apart!
it was beautiful out so the kids played out on the deck, ate lunch out there, and played a bit more before nap.
naps went great - they both went right to sleep! malloy filled her bucket and got her baby doll that she picked out! she was so excited to play with a new baby!!
after nap, the kids played nicely with their toys and then it was time for dinner! i made a chicken, tomato, broccoli, and pesto pizza on a spinach, garlic, pesto tortilla. malloy LOVED it and ate her dinner faster than i've seen her eat ever! rex is having a hard time breathing because he's pretty stuffy at the moment. i love his little plugged up nose voice and speech! it's super cute! he sounds like rudolph! the kids played outside after dinner for a bit and then it was bedtime!

cheese! 

playing so nicely

this cracked me up! rex is sitting on the ball playing just like neal sits on the yoga ball in his office instead of a chair. 

malloy's snowman she drew at school :)

things malloy has said today:

as soon as i went in to get her from nap, she said "did you know i have a friend named "gabigail" in my class?  she's adorable sometimes! she doesn't have a friend named abigail and they call her abby.

she was pretending to talk on the phone and she tells her to hang on, turns to me and says "at this point, we should just go see her tomorrow" i love that she  picks up on everything we say and uses it on her own!