mall day

yesterday i took all 4 kids to the mall. we had a ton of sun at the pool the day before & decided to make it an inside day. zach & kat were very excited about our huge mall. kathryns quote of the day... "wow, this mall has everything!!!" they especially liked the 2 story carousel, and eating a million samples in the food court. i went with the intention of shopping for zach & kat, but we did a lot of futzing around. most importantly, we went into claire's so kathryn could buy 9 silly key chains for her 1 house key, and while we were in there, skylar got her ears pierced! i asked her if she wanted to do it, the lady walker her through the entire process, she picked out her earrings, and bam, it was done!! she did cry a bit, but was over it in about a minute. zachary bought her some cupcake earrings & kathryn bought her a toy for being so brave. how sweet is that? then we had lunch in the food court, from 3 different places (note to self, bring cash to the mall... scurrying around the food court with a bags, a double stroller and a debit card is not the most efficient way to go.) after lunch,we got some actual shopping done! the big kids loved pac sun and old navy. kathryn got tons of cute clothes! it was so much fun shopping with her. after the mall, i was pooped, so we popped in Wizard of Oz to chill for a bit. um, i mean the kids chilled while i folded a ridiculous amount of laundry, did the dishes, etc. then we bolted to the grocery store (yes, everyone wanted to come!) quickly came home, unloaded and threw together some fajitas. we headed out 1 last time because i had a meeting, and russ had to work late, so we did a quick switch-a-roo so he could come home with the kids. it was a busy/crazy/fun day! baby bianca was such a good sport. she was up 1.5 hours past her regular naptime. what a little sweetie.

date night

skylar and i had a special date night. it was so much fun! we got all dressed up, did manis & pedis with the color she chose from target. i actually love it! skylar will probably be a fashionista just like her dad. seriously, russ has great style. anyway... we went to her best friend's dance recital and then out to dinner. before the recital, we went backstage to chat with mackenzie, where she very politely introduced skylar to her dance class buddies. whitney are i were both so pleased with their little manners! it was darling! when we sat down, the 1st act started, which is when skylar started her favorite question of the night, "is THIS mackenzie?" she asked and asked and asked until the 4th act, when her friend came on stage. when she spotted her, she shouted "HI MACKENZIE!" from about 2/3 back in the seats. haha! she sat on my lap the whole time, and i loved it. its rare that i get to give skylar undevided attention. actually, i dont think we've been out of the house, just the 2 of us, since disney on ice in january. i told her we could leave whenever she was ready, and she was a few minutes after mackenzies performance. kenzie did really well! skylar decided she wanted pizza for dinner, so we went to our local pizza joint, deweys. we had to wait a few minutes, but while doing so, we watched the staff make pizza. skylar was totally entertained. she picked all the grapes and walnuts out of my salad for her appetizer, and then proceeded to eat 1/2 a caprice pizza... 4 slices! then we had a huge piece of chocolate cake. she wanted to feed me my cake, so i let her. i also let her jump in the booth, put salt and pepper on whatever she wanted, run around a bit, etc. i told her that we should have a mommy and me date night more often and she said, "sure! but next time we should bring dad and b!" ;-) unfortunately, i did not bring my camera into the dance recital or to dinner. duh!! the pictures on my phone are no good either!

I DID IT!!

yep, thats right, i completed my 1st triathalon. im completely addicted and already searching for future races. if you want to see my stats click here. i wasn't pushing myself because i just wanted to be sure i could complete it. i will be racing in my next one for sure! this was an amazing venue. it was so well organized. the night before the race, they hosted a pratice swim for those of us beginners, or for anyone who wasnt completely comfortable swimming in open water. i am so glad i was able to participate in that. they coached us on sighting (remember i was concerned about the lack of direction, like the line on the bottom of the pool?!) breathing, and did a few pratice starts. it took away a lot of my anxiety. they also let those of us who were competing in our 1st tri, swim in the last wave without time penalty. that was stellar! (and also explains why i finished faster than what the clock at the finish line says.) ultramax did a wonderful job with the organization and all the staff and volunteers were so friendly and encouraging throughout the race. crossing the finish line was amazing. i broke into tears! joy, accomplishment, fatigue... all of the above! once the adrenaline wore off, i crashed. hard. took a really long nap and then went to bed early that night. lets not forget that the baby still wakes up frequently in the night. and on the occasions that she doesn't, she rises a bit before 6. this was not an easy task for a mother of 2 little ones, especially since one of them nurses! baby b was patient while i completed the tri, but she wanted me immediately after the race. its a good thing im still young! i was a bit sore the day after but today i feel fine! a little pain in my knees but thats it. ;-)

the best part of all was having my family there to support me. russ, skylar, bianca, my mom, my dad, my nana, and my brother were all there. it was awesome to see them along my journey cheering me on!! my brother's girlfriend, megan, also completed the triathalon. she and i were pretty close to each other throughout the whole event. she and i enjoyed talking about the training, and preparing together even though she lives in minnesota. it was so cool to have someone to cheer for, look out for each other, and give a big congratulatory hug to afterward!

play date

skylar has had such a busy schedule this week! she is juggling time between friends, home, and sleepovers at grancy and grandpas house. and now we have a stellar babysitter and will be taking advantage of her more often! skylar spent the night last night with grancy and grandpa. i had to pick her up promptly in the morning because we were hosting a play date with some of her best buddies! here they are...

mackenzie kelley... 3 1/2, madelyn kelley... 5 weeks, skylar, 2 1/2... bailey biermann, 20 months... bianca, 7 months.

can you believe we got them all to sit still for that long? bailey was out in about 2.5 seconds but we got the picture! mackenzie wins bc she is sitting pretty and smiling perfectly in every photo i have. she has been trained well. ;-)

the girls had a ton of fun playing together and wore this momma out! i cannot speak for the other mommas, but it was nice to be able to visit with my friends stephani and whitney for a couple of hours. of course, skylar did not nap. last week, when she got out of bed, she said to me "mom, welcome to my NO nap!!!" groan!

anyway, after her NO NAP, grandpa picked her up to take her to see a movie with uncle charlie and megan. she apparently told grandpa that she was observant, and then defined the word for him. she is such a smartie pants! little lady does listen to books well, thats for sure. after the movie, she came back home and played in the backyard with grancy until dinner was ready for her immediate family, grancy, grandpa, and nana. after hosting dinner, she was off to get tucked in early by her daddy. what a long day!

tomorrow she will have a babysitter because my cousins band is playing at busch stadium before the cardinals game! go justin!!! russ and i will be there to partake in the event and figured it would be a ton more fun sans children. ;-)

oh, and look at these pictures!! who loves her sister???? bianca does!!!

cabin fun!

summer is FINALLY here! we have been spending every weekend at the cabin. because russ is an awesome salesman, he scored mondays off work, so now we have a true weekend! we usually head to the cabin on saturday afternoons and now we are able to stay until monday night. its fantastic! last weekend, i took the girls out early so we could attend innsbrook's 30th anniversary memorial party. skylar got to jump in a BOUNCE HOUSE!! she also went down a gigantic blow up slide. both rides she tried to ride on were broken, but she had a lot of fun anyway. we bought a golf cart to run around in out there, and she thinks thats an amusement park ride in itself. here she is, finishing up her snow cone after the party. of course, all bianca wanted to do was chew on my keys. ;-)

in the spirit of summer, aunt mimi bought the girls these custom (of course) coordinated beach towels. i love them! and so do they, as you can see! i think i am going to be ultra cheesy and order one for myself too. i think they are darling! maybe i could even get russ one with a fish on it or something... hmmmm....

by the way, check out skylars long, lanky, legs. she gets that from me, for sure. hahahaha!

we only have a shower at our cabin, and skylie girl is way too big for a sink bath, so ive been giving the girls a "hoosier bath," as i call it, in this pink storage tub. they think its a ton of fun to be crammed in with each other. there isnt even any room for a rubber duckie. hey, ive got improvise! its either that or sandy sheets. ewwww.

we had some serious time in the sun this weekend. of course the girls were coated in sunscreen, and to be ultra safe, we have a little baby cabana for bianca. she was ok with sitting in there, but she mostly wanted to eat the sand! what is it with kids and eating random stuff? sand? seriously?! skylar did the same thing, so i should have known she would too. skylar built a sandcastle, and swam out to the raft with russ. she is pretty brave for being 2.5!

of course, i was behind the camera and not in any of the pics. there will be pics of me next weekend though!!! t-6 days until my triathalon! check back in to see if i make it through!