Torture me!

Ok readers, I need your help.

For Relay For Life, we are creating "Teacher Torture Buckets" for our students to donate to. This means they pay for our torture, and the money goes to the American Cancer Society.

For example, each $5 donated into my bucket equals one extra lap of running for me that night.

There are also "big tickets" my students can purchase for $20, which allows them to choose a torture. These can include one week of no Starbucks, one week of wearing ugly shoes, or 10 minutes of "random questions" (my kids can be SO random!). They brainstormed tortures they would like to see and we are working together to create a good (reasonable!) list.

Your turn! What kind of "torture" can I offer you to make a donation?

Can I buy you a Starbucks?

Link, facebook or tweet about your blog?

(That's right, I have a twitter account. But, in all fairness, I have a grand total of 6 followers, so this may not be the best choice).

Make you cookies?

A huge thank you to those who have donated! 

Elizabeth Riley

Allison Williams &

In memory of Howard Rodriguez

To donate, click HERE. 

Or, feel free to just leave a comment with other possible tortures that you think would be appropriate for me :)

A great day!

An alternate title for this post could be: Bad mom strikes again.
Maybe I need a "bad mom" button. Becca?

Anyhow, this morning the kids and I went to a 5K to benefit our school district. We had a blast. The run itself was beautiful. Plus, Lilly started out by really running... running and laughing and yelling and running and laughing some more.
For maybe a block. Then, you know, her legs got tired.
She spent some time in the stroller with Zac. Some walking or running. Some picking flowers. And some on my shoulders.
I. Took. No. Pictures.
Bad mom.
After the run there was a whole block party - hot dogs, jumping castles, face painting, ponies... the whole thing. I did take this one picture of Lilly on the pony on my phone. It's blurry.
Bad mom. Got home, and I realized that my fears had been realized. My haphazard application of sunscreen on Zac had not done the trick. Look at his little cheeks!
Bad mom.

As Zac napped, Lilly and I decided to make brownies.

First, we add the ingredients.

Then we stir them up.

Gotta add the sprinkles.

Quick nap while they cook.
Delicious!

(This was pre-dinner. Bad mom.)
Zac thinks so too!
After snack time and before dinner, we decided to play outside.

Inevitably, they fight over something.

I took a picture.

Bad mom (?)

The thing is, I'm so lucky that I have two spunky, beautiful, wonderful kids who will fight one minute and hug the next.

On another note, Zac has turned from a baby to a little boy overnight.

Not just in looks, but in his actions. He is getting so determined and specific with his play. He wants things a certain way, which leads to frustration if it's not that way. He knows some rules (and that a flirty smile helps when he gets told "no").

Lilly also is getting more "mature." I now have to call her "Diego" more often than "Dora." I love her stories and jokes. Potty training and big girl bed training are coming right along. It must be tough to be 3!

Ok, so when all is said and done, I don't think I'm a bad mom. I have plenty of "bad mom moments," but I promise that I'm just teasing myself by labeling each of them! If I truly thought I was a bad mom, I probably wouldn't share any of it and, instead, only "perfect mom moments." If only I could think of any... :)

Thankful Through Thursday!

Look at my new "Thankful Through Thursday" button!

Becca made me a "20th" button too... look to the right!

So fun! Thanks Becca!

Thursday is here! We have had a pretty laid back week.

Lilly is doing great with her big girl bed! Am I jinxing it by saying it? We haven't really had any issues with her getting up. Bedtime routine has changed just a bit, but we are all adapting. Doesn't she look little in that big bed?

And Mr. Miles of Smiles!

Lilly has been sleeping so well, in fact, that she had a couple of really grumpy mornings. She would tell me that she was sleeping again and just refuse to get up!
We have introduced the tradition (started by Auntie Kendra as a young girl) of morning hot cocoa. So far, so good!

And my main man Zac, enjoying a snack before dinner!

I am Thankful!

The best weekend!

It is an absolute miracle that this post does not contain 99 pictures.
I took 99 pictures this weekend. Not 100... but 99.
The kids and I headed up to Phoenix this weekend to visit with GREAT friends that I have had for many, many years. I met Natalie and Karen in junior high school and we all met Laura in high school. We were inseparable.
Then, time separated us. But not for long! Now that we are all settled down and back in AZ, we are back and it is like things never changed.
Here we are! Laura is behind me, next to her is Natalie (aka Hostess with the Mostess) who is in back of Karen.

Prior to this dinner, however, was a lot of playtime. I mentioned the water table and outside toys in my 20th post, but here are a couple other pics of fun outdoor play!

We got to Natalie's on Friday evening, and had a delicious dinner of pizza and grapes! Natalie and her family live in a beautiful neighborhood with lakes and very hungry ducks. So, we had to go feed them a couple times.

Me and my man hamming it up!

Laura and her family drove up Saturday, and we met them at the toystore for Peter Rabbit. Isn't her daughter, Sara, an absolute beauty?!?

Lilly took storytime seriously.

Zac was just a ham the whole time!

Then... more outdoor playtime!

Saturday night was when Karen came over (her baby boy, Tyler, was sick at home with husband Bernie). We had an amazing dinner of lasagna, bread and salad.

Then. Came. Dessert. Natalie is an amazing cook and baker in addition to so many other things. Look at this cake. Fully homemade. From scratch. Served with port that Michael so generously opened for the occasion. Delicious doesn't begin to describe the entire meal, and especially this dessert.

That evening, Sara and Zac ate dinner and went to bed at their normal times, which was before out dinner. Lilly and Spencer are so independent that we were able to have great conversation and visiting during dinner. Then, Lilly and Spencer went to bed and we enjoyed our dessert.

After dessert, Karen had to go tend to her sick baby and the rest of us headed outside to the patio swing with a bottle (or two?) of wine.

We laughed, we cried, we spilled a little wine...

It was amazing.

Sunday, it was time to head home. Driving during naptime is a very good thing.

A HUGE thank you to Natalie for hosting my crazy kids and myself. Check out her blog post about our great weekend too, by clicking here.

Another HUGE thank you to Karen and Laura in addition to Natalie for being such great friends for such a long time. Love you all girls!

And yet another HUGE thank you to Michael and Josh, who had to listen to so much girl talk and cackling!

Two side notes.

1. Check out my new "button" for my Thankful Through Thursdays posts made by my friend Becca! Isn't it great?!?

2. Speaking of long time friends, I had drinks last week with Stephanie, who was my BFF from preschool through junior high school. Different high schools helped us grow apart, but thanks to facebook we have reconnected and I am thrilled!

The 20th!

Happy 20th!
I love love love the 20th!

Today's 20th post will be short and sweet. We are at my great friend Natalie's in Phoenix this weekend, and are having a blast. I will post about the whole weekend later, but HAD to do a 20th post of course!
Yesterday, the kids played with Spencer's water table. They had such fun!

Today, we went to Dunkin Donuts. Turns out, their coffee really is pretty darn good! I kinda like this picture, even though Lilly's face is a mess and Zac is distracted... those are my kids!

Zac rather enjoyed the last part of Lilly's filled donut.

Next, off to the toy store to visit Peter Rabbit! Zac actually showed a lot of interest and loved Peter Rabbit. Until, of course, I tried to put him on his lap for a picture. That did not go well.

And, Lilly LOVED the story time, but surprisingly didn't want to sit with Peter. She did stand there with Spencer though.

Happy 20th to Lilly, Zac, and Shyla May! Make sure to check out Kendra's 20th post too :)

Thankful Through Thursday!

I had every intention of blogging quite a bit more this week, but I've been plagued with migranes. Fun Spring Break huh? Oh the other hand, at least I haven't had to teach with them!

Thankful Through Thursday is meant to be just a random assortment of pictures, so that my other posts can be specific. Today, however, is specific.

Lilly got her big girl bed yesterday! When she got home from school, it was all ready for her. Look at this face!

Wheeeeeeee!

Checking it all out!

Even Zac was thrilled!

Possibly a little more than Lilly, in fact!

Finally, bedtime arrived!

I took this and told Lilly "Oh you made a funny face" and she replied that No, in fact, she was winking. Of course she is! Who knew the girl could wink!

So, it took about an hour and a half to get her to stay in bed. I ended up laying down with her until she was almost asleep. By that time she was so tired that it was ok for me to leave without her jumping out of bed. The next nights could be long, but she couldn't live in her crib forever right?
And, this morning when she came "pitter pattering" out and asked if it was ok for her to get up, she seemed so happy and proud and I told her we were SOOOO proud of her! It was fun!

Here she is getting ready for school.

Then, knowing that this whole post was about Lilly, I went to take a picture of Zac as he woke up. However, he WOULD NOT wake up, so I took this one.

Pretty cute, huh? He did eventually wake up and got going.

Big stuff coming up this weekend! Can't wait to blog about it!

My day with Shyla May!

It's not too late! Click HERE for my post where you can donate to American Cancer Society / Relay for Life :)

This morning, I get to spend time with my beautiful niece, Shyla!
This little girl is so precious, calm, and playful. I love her!

Meanwhile, we are all decorated and ready for St. Patrick's Day at the Yager home!
See:

That's right. We have a door hanging.

That's all.

Have you met my friend Natalie? Either via blog or through real life?

You really should.

Especially if you like holiday decorations.

Ahem, MORE decorations that throwing something up on the door. Check out her St. Patrick's Day decor. And, while you're at it, make sure to check her decorations out anytime there is a holiday coming up! Oh how I wish I had her sense of housekeeping/decorating. Ahhhh maybe in another life...

Happy Friday all!

Thankful Through Thursday...

Ok here's the deal. I'm trying to be more specific with my blog. Like blog about one specific outing or situation.
BUT... sometimes there are just a bunch of pictures I want to post.
SO... I'm gonna do a "Thankful Through Thursday" post weekly... meaning just a bunch of pictures I've liked from the week.
THEN... the rest of the week I can do more specific, focused blog posts, knowing that I can save my "just because" pictures till Thursday. Make sense?

Before we begin, don't worry! It is NOT too late to donate to the American Cancer Society to help me reach my goal before Relay For Life. Click HERE for that blog post! So far I have TWO wonderful donations, and I am 55% of the way to my goal! THANK YOU!!!

Ok, on to this week's "Thankful Through Thursday" post.

Last weekend, we went to the grocery store and got one of these fun carts. Even Zac wanted to sit in it, so I became "touristy" and took pictures. Yep, in the grocery store. Am I the only mom who does that?

I also told my mom that I'm concerned that I don't have enough pictures of Zac sucking his thumb. He is a THUMB SUCKER EXTRAORDINAIRE! So, my mom took one :)

Oh, and yes, he ALWAYS needs to have a blanket (or, in this case, hoodie) to hold with his thumb sucking. Always.

He is also getting SO good at using his own spoon or fork. So cute! Messy, but cute!

This is him pointing at his eye. He is learning about head, eyes, nose, and mouth at school these days.

In fact... this morning as I picked him out of his crib he pointed at MY eye (coming a little too close for comfort, in fact) and said, clear as day, "EYEEEZZZZZ."

He doesn't yet have many words. Some that sound like "mama" (or, frankly, could be "milk") and "dada" and a little bit like "more"... and now EYES!!!

I like this picture because it incorporates it all. Eyes, thumb, blanket... MY BOY!!

Ok onto Lilly!

Here she is being super silly with her pink bucket. I remember when she could fit her whole head in this bucket and it would fall over her eyes. Ahhhh...

One afternoon this week, we didn't have juice but we had oranges, so Jeremy showed Lilly how to make fresh juice. She LOVED it!

And, just being pretty in pink...
FLASHBACK TIME!

These pictures were taken in March 08 and March 09, consecutively. I like how in the 08 picture, Lilly is being bossy (some things never change, huh?) and in the 09 picture, sure enough, Zac is sucking his thumb. Lilly is probably saying something bossy too :)



Alright time to head into work. Thanks for reading!