Photo Shoot

My how they grow! I feel very lucky! I have two beautiful children who have brought into my life a lot of wonderful friends... those friends have brought into my life other friends or family. And due to that we have Jeff... my dear friends husband... who does photography on the side. He may not have a studio but he did not disappoint me in the photos he took of the kids. Granted, my kids are amazing subjects (hee, hee).

Here are the results of his indoor photo shoot.

Memorable Memorial Day!

The day isn't even quite over but boy has it been memorable!

First we went to get the kids indoor pictures taken by the master photographer extraordinary (smile) Jeff. The kids had as much fun playing with Julia and Ryan as getting their pictures done. Then as we were looking at the shots... crying from the basement. Lexi was "getting her exercising done" on their elliptical and somehow pinched her leg. Wow! Straight line of pain across her ankle.

After some tender TLC from mommy and Erica, we ventured home in the rain. Our BBQ and pool plans were rained out at Sunset but we decided to go to their Grill and eat with friends.



Here Lexi joins her little buddy Sophia for the end of Tinkerbell movie. Note still nursing ankle with ice pack. It is looking much better by this point!

Don't worry! The blue/green lips on Lexi were not from the cold ice pack but from the ring pop that Erica gave her after the photo shoot. Good thing all photos were finished by then!

To get a better view of the way the rest of our lunch was rained out... click on the above photo!

The rainout should have stayed indoors! But alas it even soaked our indoor lunch! It came through the ceiling of Sunset's ballroom and after soaking their floor... and after the staff rushed us out of the grill area right below... it soaked the grill's ceiling and started flooding the area we were just sitting the floor below! Wow! The enormity of this is not caught on film I am sorry to say! It was amazing as it poured from the ceiling and onto the floor. It was a huge waterfall!

Drive home was to flooded out Meridan Road. I think the heaven's opened up and emptied their bathwater!

Hoping to have much less dramatic second half of the day!

Summers Soon

Time is running down for preschool for my little guy! He has been going to Maryville Baptist's Kids First program for four years now. I am so proud of all he has learned and all the friends he has made. He graduated Thursday night (pictures and video coming soon... so ADORABLE). We have one more make up week due to the weather we had. Then a full fun summer before he runs off to kindergarten. And run he will go because he is ready. He can read now. Can you believe it? He writes! He does math! He isn't my baby anymore. I am so proud of him! Thank you to everyone who helped shape his life so far. Bring on summer! I will cherish every moment!

(BTW, didn't dress them alike on purpose! Erica, you must be subconsciously rubbing off on me. This has happened two days in a row. So unless that means I am going to start vacuuming and cleaning like you then it has got to stop! ... hee, hee)

One Two Three Jump!

With the days of spring coming to a close (although someone needs to tell Mother Nature) it also the end to an era of YMCA classes. Okay OUR era, I guess. As Nicolas starts Kindergarten next year it means that he won't be going to the gymnastics classes there during the day anymore. It also means I am not spending 2 hours there every Monday anymore! Boo Hoo for him but yippee for me. Kind of. I do like all the wonderful mom's I have met and talked to hour after hour each week.

So today being our last long Monday at the Y for gymnastics I brought along my camera to get some special moments.

(click on the collage below to get larger view)



Lexi jumps into the pit. I remember when she couldn't get in without me and now she jumps in from the highest point she can find.

Apparently her favorite thing to do whenever she gets free play is the trampoline. More then one teacher came up to me to tell me that she can't wait to jump on the trampoline and will jump with big smiles until it is the next child's turn. Then she patiently waits on the side until she gets a chance again. In fact, to get the foam pit picture I had to ask her to jump in and she nicely let me know she would prefer to stay on the trampoline.

The last photo is her waiting for her turn again... and posing a bit for the camera.

Nicolas, on the other hand, loves the foam pit it seems most of all. I love this photo as this is the exact way angle I took it. And being the wonderful boy he is, he hung out in that position until I could get just the right focus. Unlike Lexi who is still a flea on a hot skillet and most of the time my SLR isn't even fast enough to catch her cute poses!

Nicolas waits by the slide for his turn in the pit.

The last photo is Nicolas and Cooper. They were in line to do something else in the room and Cooper sweetly took his little buddy's hand to make sure they didn't get separated in line. We are so lucky to have such sweet friends in his life!

Well, my boy, you are growing up and this time of me running you here and there during the day is coming to an end.

Who am I kidding? NO! Now it is going to be soccer, tee ball, rock climbing, music lessons, friends houses, parties... augh... and who knows what else I am not thinking of that will happen every day and evening after school gets out!?!?! Remind me later to treasure every moment, kay?

Did You Know?

Okay, sometimes I come across things that I never knew... and wonder how many other people didn't know those things either. Or, I knew something that I figured everyone else knew but it turns out some people don't. I mean really... if I knew it then it has to be common knowledge, right? So thought I would add a post every once in a while and then also tag them so you can click on the "Did You Know" tag on the right to view past listings.

Email me with any things that you "knew" or now "know" to share!

Today, did you know?

• Most stains can come out of clothes if you soak them (with like colors) in 3-4 scoops of Oxy Clean powder for at least 4 days!!!
• There is a syndrome called Burned Tongue Syndrome where your tongue feels like you burned it but it is all the time? (trust me on this one as it has happened to me for two springs in a row now and it SUCKS!) I thought I was just going nuts but apparently this is not a sign of that... it is actually a syndrome!
• Your dishwasher is more efficient and actually cleans your dishes better if you run your water in the sink until it gets hot first (most people it takes 30 seconds but here... up to 3 minutes). Then the dishwasher will start out with HOT water instead of the first few minutes running cool. I know our kitchen sink is so far away from the hot water heater that it takes a while to warm up.
• Rinsing your dishes is actually a waste of time, energy and water! Trust me. This one is well documented as long as you have a newer dishwasher. But alas I can tell this to Shawn until I am blue in the face and he will still rinse the dishes until they are practically clean before he loads the dishwasher. Alas, I have given up on that here (smile)... well, I guess I mainly load the dishwasher so we aren't wasting too much water at least.
• We have a great guy who comes out yearly it seems to replace a belt on our washing machine. He said it is from overloading it. Well, not sure since we stopped doing that. He told us jeans and bedding keep him busy. People who overload their washing machines wear down the belt faster. Not to put in more then 4-5 pairs of jeans per load as they weigh a LOT when wet. Same with putting in comforters. They seem to fit fine but when wet they weigh a ton and wear down the machine and belt. I think I am maybe doing that with towels. Hmmm..... So even if your washing machine has "room" for more... think about what is in there and what it will weigh wet.
• Fresh eggs sink in water. So if you have had eggs in the fridge longer then the expiration date, don't just throw them out! Eggs are good longer. Float them in a glass of water. Stale ones will have air accumulating and they will float or bounce and not settle to the ground. If it stands upright but doesn't actually float then it is still good to bake with. Some people say to add 2 tablespoons of salt to 2 cups of water. I do it both ways.

What do you "know"????

Spring Fling is a Family Thing

Saturday was St. Vincent De Paul's Spring Fling. A blessed church who does blessed work for needy people. So of course the Vetter family was all there to show their support! A bit cooler then everyone would have liked. But the kids still found their usual way of having fun, fun, fun!


The cool weather may have effected the quality of the brats and hotdogs but not the Bobby's Ice Cream that Grandpa & MaeMae's booth was serving up. Nicolas and Lexi were more then willing to share a cup. Lexi had the absolute best seat in the deal! Cousin Kai arrived about half way through the cup and was willing to scoop some bites too. So he sat down next to Lexi. They all just passed it back and forth to share. Nicolas to Lexi to Kai to Lexi to Nicolas to Lexi to Kai to Lexi.... um, do you see a flaw in this? Hee, hee... they never caught on that Lexi was getting two bites for each one of theirs. I honestly don't think she caught on either. We did and thought it was so very funny!

Lexi loves to ooh and ahh over her little baby girl cousin, Edie!

And Lexi's mommy loved all the wonderful Edie holding time I got there when I snagged her from Grandpa right after this photo.

I think Lexi is having a wonderful time in the bounce house.

Nicolas and Lexi bounce and bounce and bounce...

Finished up the evening with fun music and dancing before heading for home. We had to broker with them to head to the car. They were having so much fun and didn't care that it was way past their bedtime. Shawn got lots of fun video.

Mommy's Special Day

I am one lucky mommy!

I am one lucky mommy with two wonderful children and a great husband and father!

Why am I so lucky? Because without them none of me would be complete!

I have so many wonderful friends that would not be in my life if it wasn't for these two little people. So many friends now that I can't even count! And I cherish each and every friendship I have made. Thank you to all those other mommy's for being part of my life and the lives of my two babies! You all deserve a very special day and I hope you each got it!

To get ready for our Mother's Day, Nicolas, Lexi and I got to work on their gifts to their grandma's!

First we sat outside in our Mommy & Me t-shirts so we could paint. In the beautiful day as we sat on a tarp out back we painted pots blue to match the blue sky. Then they let me help them put finger prints all over the pots in yellow, red, white and other rainbow filled colors. Later when it all dried, I turned them into ladybugs, bumble bees, caterpillars, flowers and fluffy white clouds.

They were so excited when they saw them later! I was too. And they were very, very excited to give their special pots to their grandmother's.

Of course our little Lexi couldn't help but paint herself a bit too.

Nicolas shows MeeMaw his fingerprints.

And Lexi admires her own.

I get wonderful, wonderful cards and homemade books that cause me to cry too. So really glad I didn't get all fussy dressed for this part (augh). Shawn took them to pick me out some flowers. Lexi's had to be all pink and Nicolas specifically wanted red roses. Fitting from both! Nicolas painted and designed out my wrapping paper even.

I am a very lucky Mommy!

Run, My Little Buddy, Run

A bit out of order I believe from other postings that I am yet to put on here. But so excited to share my Nicolas' break out into the world of tee ball. He loves soccer but he was so very excited for this day. They pitch to the boys three times and then let them hit off a tee if they can't hit with coach pitch. So here he is... our little #3 in yellow... as he takes Coach Mark's pitches. Look how little he appears. And yet look how determined he is as he runs to first base (they only run one base at a time). I'll post more soon. But loving this moment!

And below is our little guy bringing it home!

Funny how these guys all feel the need to slide into home. Every time he came around it was a good slide! I have to say I loved seeing those cute little dirty pants as I threw them into the washing machine. But not as much as I loved to see that cute little smile when he stood up from home plate!

Soccer 2009

Well, it is the end of the 2009 Spring Soccer Season! Sad but very proud of our little team!

This year they took on kids a year or more older then them. They didn't win all the games like they did last season... okay, they didn't win any of the games. But they didn't care! They got out there and fought and were such a different team at the end of the season as even they were at the beginning! I adore these kids! I feel very lucky to be this soccer mom! I never ever thought I would be so willing to give up my Saturdays and haul all that is needed to be at the sidelines. Yet another time that mom's and dad's put their kids first! And we are rewarded with wonderful memories and smiles!

Thank you to Marty and Mark for once again being amazing coaches!

Already looking forward to Fall 2009 Season!

How did our mother's survive?

How did our mother's survive our childhood without drinking or being on mood altering drugs? I look at simple childhood things and wonder since I want to just keep my little ones from doing everything that could get them hurt.

Monkey bars! What the heck? We did them all the time AND climbed and sat on top of them. Nicolas is good at ours now and I always gets scared he will fall and break a bone. Really frustrated when the swingset company puts them on so that the swings can get tangled in his feet plus the other side has no ladder so they have to drop down in when the get to the other side.

Here Nicolas shows Meemaw his monkey bar talent when she stopped by to drop off a plant. Lexi, of course, needed to show her talents too. Luckily she is not ready to do it without daddy's help.

Later, his friend Cooper and his mom were over for a bit. Cooper and Nicolas started swinging and jumping off the swing when it was high in the air. NO! Not a good idea right? Yep, I remember doing that too as a kid. But it was different then. The ground was softer... our bones were stronger... the air was more cushioned. I am sure of it!

Knock Knock... Can we come in?

Julia and Ryan came over to play again...

giggles from downstairs in the corner of the basement. I moved Lexi's new Rose Petal Cottage that she got from Meemaw and Pawpa to that corner so that we could open it up and have her roomy cottage.

Giggles... a tea party was going on! Yep!


It appears that formal attire was requested as Lexi dressed up in Snow White. Didn't quite understand the hairdo she chose but no matter as she was having fun playing house with her friend Julia!

I really love this photo, Erica! I am glad we grabbed the camera. Um... and really glad you were there soon after when we spotted the spider over our heads too! You were my hero!

Soccer Saturday

Another day of soccer for our five year olds. Yep, playing the bigger kids is harder but they are determined and don't give up. I am so proud of them! Watch out next year because our kids will be so ready!


Jack, Nicolas and Tyler stand ready to defend their team!

Nicolas takes it to the goal. With help from teammates once the ball got there, it was one of their only two goals of the morning.

Lexi gets some attention from Daddy as he watches Nicolas. I must admit she is getting bored these days. We have moved her stuff further away from where the players wait for their turn and that means no players are coming to play toys with her during their breaks. Sad for Lexi. Okay, sad for me as she spends the entire time hanging on me for a playmate!

Our little soccer family after the game was over.

Mommy Moments

Lexi: Mommy, I am getting bigger and too big for my changing table.
Me: You are getting too big for your table.
Lexi: Yeah, I have a baby in my tummy.
Me: Really!?!?
Lexi (proud): Yep, she's in there. I swallowed her and now she is in my tummy. It is dark in there.
Me: It is?
Lexi: Yeah. I opened it up and there she was. She was not broken because I didn't use my teeth when I swallowed her.
Me: Shew. Thank goodness.
Lexi: Yeah. I took her out and rocked her but I couldn't hold her because I wasn't strong enough. But I looked and she was in my heart.

What a good mommy she will be!

Now, for my not-so-good-mommy moment.
I woke up with a bad sinus headache so I didn't get up with my alarm. I woke up later to the patter of happy little feet running across the kitchen. Okay, kids are up. Gotta get up headache or not. I headed to the bathroom to go potty.

Bang! Kitchen door shuts. Hong! Honk! Car horn.... What? In the car? Crud, I gotta stop peeing. But I couldn't. It was one of those pees that won't stop.... just kept going and going like the Energizer Bunny! And all the while I couldn't stop stressing about the kids in the car.

Finally, I was finished. I ran downstairs and open the kitchen door only to find two very proud little kids, buckled in the front seats of our white car. Yep, great photo op.... except that I was still so worried I calmly said "let's get out now, let's get out now, let's get out now" in a soft calm voice .... over and over and over until they complied. Hmmm.... should I have them recreate it for the photo op???

Camera Shopping Online Tonight!!!

When Nicolas finally decided (and that totally was what it was) to use the potty one of the many, many promises we had made to him was that he was then able to go to the movies and have popcorn and soda for the first time!

Well, same promise was made to Lexi. And the beginning of March Lexi also decided on her own that she was ready to potty train. She was going to be a big girl and get to go to the movies and eat popcorn and soda.

The first problem was finding a suitable movie for our little jumping bean! There are just a few TV shows she will sit through and only a couple movies. What was going to hold her interest at a theater? And would she sit through a 3D movie?

So the 3D movie that Ryan gave Nicolas for his birthday sure came in handy. We decided on Sunday to give it a test run. Nicolas sat through it all (unlike that hysterical first time when he ripped off the glasses and ran to me in terror as the bugs appeared to be flying right for him.) Lexi on the other hand only lasted ... 15 minutes or so? Um....

Well, we finally did it Monday night. Tight busy schedules and short memory made it a lot over due. Of course she didn't mind. And it turned out great! We went to see the regular version of Monsters vs. Aliens tonight. After the poor test run on Sunday we opted to drive to another theater where we could see the movie but not in 3D. The theater was all our own! Perfect! Monday rush hour appears to be the ideal time as there was nobody else in there and that meant she would not bother anyone at all!

So big tub of popcorn, rootbeer and a ticket in hand... or was it my lap? She wasn't a big fan of those floppy big seats compared to her light weight frame of a body. She did great though! Watched the entire thing and is already talking about when we get to go again.

"It was wonderful" "spectacular" "amazing" according to Lexi.



When Nicolas went we got some cute photos (also had the entire theater to ourselves for The Bee Movie). I pulled out Shawn's work camera which I took because I didn't want to lug our big SLR again in my purse. It was dead! Augh! Life moment number 8 zillion that I have missed because I just have never committed to a new point-n-shoot camera for my purse. Instead Shawn had to pull out his phone and snap this fuzzy shot and email it to me. I guess it is better then totally missing the moment. But barely....

So, tonight! After I finish making Nicolas' collage for being a star student this week... I have got to order this camera and the hand held video one I want.