Well, this week I've decided to do something a little different instead of the usual spout-off of what we've done this week.
I had one of those Oprah "ah ha" moments yesterday while folding laundry and wanted to share it with everyone. So, here goes......
I, as most women, struggle with the desire to do the household laundry. A few weeks ago, I decided that I needed to change my attitude and try to look at the task of laundry and other household chores as something other than chores. In the process I've learned a great deal about the joy of taking care of my family. So, bear with me as I compare our family life to the task of laundering our clothing.
As I sorted out a few days worth of laundry yesterday morning, I was pleased (maybe) to find my husband's dirty soccer socks, swimming suits, and now Tess' pretty princess underwear. The dirty laundry is a direct correlation to all the fun times we've had as a family at any given moment. We were able to witness one of Brandon's final soccer games this week, play in the water a bunch, and Miss Tess hasn't wet her pants since Monday and is the Queen of potty-training! I have the habit of folding our laundry on our bed and have spent many an hour folding and thinking about our family as I fold. It's been enjoyable to see the folding go from just Brandon and I's stuff to adding Porter, Tess and now Owen. What a huge milestone for us this week to add little girl underwear to the batch. I found myself cheesily nostalgic yesterday as I realized we've hit another stage in our life with our baby girl now a big girl. I almost want to freeze our children in childhood so they never leave my side and I can continue to control the environment that they live in. The clean laundry is the anticipation of all that is to come in the future - or shall I say - the preparation for all the things we plan to do in our time. In two weeks, we'll be adding Porter's school uniforms as school starts. Crazy how time is flying here. I know someday I will miss the swarms of laundry I find myself doing on a daily basis. For now, I will relish in our memories as I do the laundry!!!
Anyhow, enough of my soapbox, as you can tell, we've had another great week. We're so proud of Tess. She has done such a wonderful job this week potty training. I finally decided to get serious and trash the pull-up - which is officially a waste of time, if you ask me. So, she went to the panties on Monday and after wetting like 12 times, hasn't since then! The boys are doing well and loving playing together. Owen loves the attention Porter gives him and Porter loves being the big brother. I think Porter will be a lot like Chris, who as most know, loves being our older brother and protector.
We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer. Tune in next week for more Mitchell news - and maybe more ramblings from me - - -
xoxoxoxoxo
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Water Week!!
Well, everyone knows how us Mitchells LOVE the water - - - this week was no exception! Porter finished off his swimming lessons and passed with flying colors. We are so proud of him. He did a wonderful job and is now looking forward to going to Tucson and swimming with FaFa and Punkin so he can show off his new skills! His exciting news was that he got registered yesterday for fall soccer! Stay tuned, his season starts Sept 9th, so we'll have lots of fun pictures and stories!
We actually had a really busy week. Tuesday was our movie day, and sad to say, probably our last. Miss Tess just doesn't like to sit still for too long and it's getting hard for me to manage her and Owen at the same time. She just wants to dart all over the place and I just can't run after her with a baby in my arms! We had a HUGE milestone with her last night - - - -she went potty in the potty chair for the first time!!! Hopefully we can keep this ball rolling with her! We made a really big deal out of it and got her all excited.
Wednesday our friends from Queen Creek came over for a play date. We took them to the sprinkler pad and had a ball. Afterwards, we came back and played and had lunch. It was a lot of fun. Ethan and Porter are almost the same age, and Tess and Ella are close in age too, so they play together really well. In fact, Rustin and Owen are only 6 weeks apart - so everyone is basically the same age which is nice!
Yesterday we drove to a neighboring city and found a new sprinkler pad. It's a bit bigger than the one we have here and the kids loved it. I even got wet while putting Owen in the water several times. He loved it. It was fun to go with Daddy so he can see all the fun the kids have there too. We finished off our day yesterday with a family trip to the library. So, we're all set on reading materials for a week or so! The kids love to look at books and pick out new ones each time we go. Mommy and Daddy love to read too, so we had fun looking for some new books. We even walked away with a great grilling cookbook. Anyone is invited to dinner to check out Brandon's grilling! He's the best!!!!
Little Owen is still doing great. I had to pull out the next size up in clothes from the garage again. Brace yourselves, he's now dived into the 18 month clothes!! They are a little big, but some of the 12 month stuff is small - it really just depends on the brand and with summer clothes, you don't have to worry about length. He's just a thick boy!!
Well, this week should be another fun one! Tune in next week for details!!
xoxoxoxo, the mitchells
We actually had a really busy week. Tuesday was our movie day, and sad to say, probably our last. Miss Tess just doesn't like to sit still for too long and it's getting hard for me to manage her and Owen at the same time. She just wants to dart all over the place and I just can't run after her with a baby in my arms! We had a HUGE milestone with her last night - - - -she went potty in the potty chair for the first time!!! Hopefully we can keep this ball rolling with her! We made a really big deal out of it and got her all excited.
Wednesday our friends from Queen Creek came over for a play date. We took them to the sprinkler pad and had a ball. Afterwards, we came back and played and had lunch. It was a lot of fun. Ethan and Porter are almost the same age, and Tess and Ella are close in age too, so they play together really well. In fact, Rustin and Owen are only 6 weeks apart - so everyone is basically the same age which is nice!
Yesterday we drove to a neighboring city and found a new sprinkler pad. It's a bit bigger than the one we have here and the kids loved it. I even got wet while putting Owen in the water several times. He loved it. It was fun to go with Daddy so he can see all the fun the kids have there too. We finished off our day yesterday with a family trip to the library. So, we're all set on reading materials for a week or so! The kids love to look at books and pick out new ones each time we go. Mommy and Daddy love to read too, so we had fun looking for some new books. We even walked away with a great grilling cookbook. Anyone is invited to dinner to check out Brandon's grilling! He's the best!!!!
Little Owen is still doing great. I had to pull out the next size up in clothes from the garage again. Brace yourselves, he's now dived into the 18 month clothes!! They are a little big, but some of the 12 month stuff is small - it really just depends on the brand and with summer clothes, you don't have to worry about length. He's just a thick boy!!
Well, this week should be another fun one! Tune in next week for details!!
xoxoxoxo, the mitchells
Sunday, July 15, 2007
It's Swim Time!
Well, it's been another hot week here in Surprise, and it's no doubt that we are definetly in the middle of summer! We are doing the best we can to stay cool and are more than happy to pay our high electric bill! We didn't do much more than the ordinary this week, but had fun all the same.
Tuesday I took the kids to the movies again and they actually got to see a movie that they hadn't seen before. We then met up with Brandon for lunch, which was fun. It's always nice to see him during the day. Wednesday we did our weekly trek to the sprinkler pad. I always have to drag the kids home. They absolutely love it there. I may start taking them more than once a week before school starts for fun.
We got exciting news this week - well, at least I think so - Porter has to wear a uniform to school. I've always loved that idea and so we went to a uniform sale this week and just need to pick up a few more items. He is getting sooooo excited for school to start. I am too, because you can tell he's getting tired of Tess picking on him all day long! So, we have just under a month until he starts.
Porter started his swimming lessons this week and is doing GREAT!! I'll take some pictures this week at his last lesson and post them next Sunday. I keep forgetting to take the camera! We are so proud of him. He has just about mastered the "doggie paddle" and can swim pretty good under water, which is a huge step for him. I've actually been able to convince him to now put his head under water in the tub to wash his hair now! (Now I just need to convince him that taking a shower is like a sprinkler!)
Tess wanted nothing to do with the potty this week - - - What happened to girls being easier to train than boys??!!! I guess with Tess - everything is different! We'll give her a couple of weeks break and then try it again. Anyone with suggestions, please let me know!
Sweet little Owen is now eating his rice cereal twice a day. He just loves to eat! We've decided he'll be our football player for sure. He's doing really well and loves any and all attention he gets from his siblings.
Brandon and I are doing great. They actually poured the foundation on the Mayo Clinic building he's working on this week, so that was exciting. They had to do it in the middle of the night because of the heat. My week was the usual, although I've added a bunch of exercise to meet some personal goals. I hit my goal for the week, so that made me happy.
We hope everyone is doing well. The kids send kisses and "bear hugs" to everyone!
Until next week........
Tuesday I took the kids to the movies again and they actually got to see a movie that they hadn't seen before. We then met up with Brandon for lunch, which was fun. It's always nice to see him during the day. Wednesday we did our weekly trek to the sprinkler pad. I always have to drag the kids home. They absolutely love it there. I may start taking them more than once a week before school starts for fun.
We got exciting news this week - well, at least I think so - Porter has to wear a uniform to school. I've always loved that idea and so we went to a uniform sale this week and just need to pick up a few more items. He is getting sooooo excited for school to start. I am too, because you can tell he's getting tired of Tess picking on him all day long! So, we have just under a month until he starts.
Porter started his swimming lessons this week and is doing GREAT!! I'll take some pictures this week at his last lesson and post them next Sunday. I keep forgetting to take the camera! We are so proud of him. He has just about mastered the "doggie paddle" and can swim pretty good under water, which is a huge step for him. I've actually been able to convince him to now put his head under water in the tub to wash his hair now! (Now I just need to convince him that taking a shower is like a sprinkler!)
Tess wanted nothing to do with the potty this week - - - What happened to girls being easier to train than boys??!!! I guess with Tess - everything is different! We'll give her a couple of weeks break and then try it again. Anyone with suggestions, please let me know!
Sweet little Owen is now eating his rice cereal twice a day. He just loves to eat! We've decided he'll be our football player for sure. He's doing really well and loves any and all attention he gets from his siblings.
Brandon and I are doing great. They actually poured the foundation on the Mayo Clinic building he's working on this week, so that was exciting. They had to do it in the middle of the night because of the heat. My week was the usual, although I've added a bunch of exercise to meet some personal goals. I hit my goal for the week, so that made me happy.
We hope everyone is doing well. The kids send kisses and "bear hugs" to everyone!
Until next week........
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Agua Caliente
We had a great week here in Surprise! Brandon only had to work Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, so we got to have Daddy home for more days than not. Brandon and Porter went to see the new Transformers movie on the fouth of July and they had a ball. Brandon said that Porter's eyes were glued to the screen the whole time!! We had a relaxing holiday and other than the movie, we played with the kids and hung out and had a family day here at home.
Friday morning we headed out for Tucson to spend a couple of days with Fafa and Punkin. (My grandparents - they've got great nicknames!) We LOVE to see them and are grateful they live so close. A few hours later and lots of kiddie songs in the car, we were there. Brandon and Fafa took Porter and Tess swimming while Punkin, Owen and I hung out at the house. Punkin is Owen's favorite and he was very happy to see her. After swimming and playing for awhile Brandon and I took off for a date. (You can't go to their house and not let them watch the kids. They practially forced us to go out!!!) It was so nice of them to offer to watch the kiddies while we went out. We went and saw Ocean's Thirteen, which was fun.
We all got up early on Saturday and headed out to Agua Caliente Park. It's a 101 acre aquatic/riparian habitat surrounded by the Sonoran Desert just outside of Tucson. It was a way cool place; like a little oasis out in the desert! Punkin brought bread and the kids got to feed the ducks, which they loved. Punkin, Porter and Tess were also interviewed by a reporter for the Arizona Star, so we'll have to watch Thursday's edition to see if they made the cut!! We really enjoyed our time there and plan to go back when the weather gets a little cooler so we can stay and have a picnic next time.
We are looking forward to Porter's swimming lessons that start tomorrow. We'll let you know next Sunday how they've gone. I'm going to try to get Tess to cooperate with potty-training again starting tomorrow. She was interested for a few days, and then changed her mind - so we're going to give it another go. Owen turned 4 months old last week and started cutting two teeth. So, as long as we keep the teething tablets and tylenol handy, he's seems to be handling it well.
The kids send hugs and kisses to everyone! Until next week.......
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Summer Fun!
We've had another fun week here at the Mitchells. It's getting REALLY hot here and we're adapting our daily routine to accomodate that. We're finding fun things to do in the water and inside as well. Tuesday I took the kids to some friend's house in Queen Creek for a play date. That made for a fun outing and I also got introduced to a digital scrapbooking program, so now I've found my new project for a while to catch up on all of the million photos we have! We went to the sprinkler pad again on Wednesday and again yesterday with Daddy. We sure love that place and go as often as we can. I think we'll start out our fourth of July this week with an outing over there!
Porter got to go to a birthday party Wednesday for one of his new friends. He had a lot of fun and came home all excited about his new friends. He has one more week until his swimming lessons start. He's getting anxious for that. We found out this week that school starts Aug 13th, so only 6 more weeks until school starts. Starting so early is weird for me being from Seattle. Up there they don't start until after Labor day and then are in school until the end of June! We'll be done here by May 22nd!
Tess is getting to be more of a handful everyday. She truly epitomizes the terrible two's. One minute she's great and then next she's super unhappy! We love her just the same! She loves to explore and entertain us whenever she can. She is constantly doing something that makes us die with laughter.
Little Owen is getting bigger and bigger everyday. I started him on rice cereal this week because he's always sooooo hungry! He's doing well with it so far, so hopefully, that should help keep him full! He will be 4 months old this week. I absolutely love this age. It's one of my favorites. He's so fun as he's interacting with us and smiling and jabbering all the time.
Brandon and I are doing well. Brandon continues to enjoy his new job and has spent a lot of time practicing his guitar this week. He really enjoys to do that and write music as well. As I said before, I've found my new hobby in digital scrapbooking. I enjoy it because I can work on it in small incriments. It's soooo much more convienient than getting all of my papers and junk out all the time. We enjoy most spending time together and with the kids. We hope everyone has a great 4th of July this week. Happy Bar-b-queing!!
Porter got to go to a birthday party Wednesday for one of his new friends. He had a lot of fun and came home all excited about his new friends. He has one more week until his swimming lessons start. He's getting anxious for that. We found out this week that school starts Aug 13th, so only 6 more weeks until school starts. Starting so early is weird for me being from Seattle. Up there they don't start until after Labor day and then are in school until the end of June! We'll be done here by May 22nd!
Tess is getting to be more of a handful everyday. She truly epitomizes the terrible two's. One minute she's great and then next she's super unhappy! We love her just the same! She loves to explore and entertain us whenever she can. She is constantly doing something that makes us die with laughter.
Little Owen is getting bigger and bigger everyday. I started him on rice cereal this week because he's always sooooo hungry! He's doing well with it so far, so hopefully, that should help keep him full! He will be 4 months old this week. I absolutely love this age. It's one of my favorites. He's so fun as he's interacting with us and smiling and jabbering all the time.
Brandon and I are doing well. Brandon continues to enjoy his new job and has spent a lot of time practicing his guitar this week. He really enjoys to do that and write music as well. As I said before, I've found my new hobby in digital scrapbooking. I enjoy it because I can work on it in small incriments. It's soooo much more convienient than getting all of my papers and junk out all the time. We enjoy most spending time together and with the kids. We hope everyone has a great 4th of July this week. Happy Bar-b-queing!!
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