Very Cute

I meant to post this one the other day. I am reminded constantly even though they fight, they truly love each other, and I'm so glad.

Another new family member....

I knew this one was inevitable, but the timing is quite mysterious. Is it a coincidence that our friend Patrick contacted us with an extra Wii for sale the very afternoon I am leaving town for our church's womens' retreat and Dave is taking care of the boys by himself for 24 hours? I can't prove it, but it was the perfect moment for Dave to capitalize on my good feelings towards his effort and thus secure a Wii for our home.

Oh, and in case anyone out there is interested (because everyone here is busy Wii-ing), the retreat was great. Donna Otto was the wonderful speaker. There was great music, drama, special touches like breakfast in bed for all the women, and a beautiful sunny day.

TV Notes

I'm so happy there is finally new TV to watch! Even though we only catch a few shows, our default is HGTV and there are only so many home makeovers I can watch (not Dave, he could watch forever). "Jon & Kate" can only fill the re-run void for so long, I think I've almost watched all of them by now.

Our DVR is taping "Ugly Betty", "The Office" and "30 Rock" tonight. Usually they conflict, so I'm excited to watch all of them. Last week's "engagement discussion" with Jim & Pam was so cute. I am also a huge "Law & Order" fan (not the spin offs, only the original), so it was sad to watch the goodbye episode for Jessie Martin (Ed) last night.

And Oprah has been really good- I really liked the episode with Maria Shriver last week. Who knew she had an identity crisis? And I thought I was the only one. The show with the family "waste" challenge reminded me of the debt diets from last year- hugely motivating. And the Earth Day show was inspiring- who knew Julia Roberts composts her food waste and doesn't use deodorant? And Oprah cuts up her old sweatsuits to use instead of paper towels? Now that's entertainment!

Golf- The fever has hit

We are obsessed with golf around here. You may not be able to see, but there is duct tape holding the Walmart golf clubs together....Thanks to Uncle John for picking up a new junior set of clubs at a yard sale and holding onto them for us.

The last unused wedding gift.... you know you have one too.

While cleaning out for our yard sale, I was considering dumping this. It authentically from Switzerland, but it's just so ugly I don't think we'll ever use it:

What really happens during Daniel's naptime

The 2008 Tour of Parks

I've been chastised by our adoring public that I'm not posting enough. The reason why I can't is because we are never home! We have been out to a park almost every day the last two weeks. The boys are getting to a stage where they want to do something every day and are always asking "where are we going?". It's a preview of what our summer is going to look like.

I've given into their demands (even though I couldn't breathe most of last week because of a sinus infection) and we've been making the rounds.

Last week's parks:
Boyd Mill Ave Park- A covered picnic area and playset with handicap accessibility (great for Wesley) and these big wonderful natural rocks that little boys love to climb. We ran into some of our friends from church with 4 little boys and they all played "Lion King" up on the rocks. All was well until the "jumping off" started. Ouch, we didn't get hurt but we soon went home for naps.

Pinkerton Park- A local favorite, it's always crowded and can be a little difficult to keep up with your child. Also, the swings are not in a visible area to the rest of the playground and Wesley loves to swing. I went with my dad one evening so it was easier to split up with the boys.

Crockett Park- This one is great because it is all shaded (great for our pale boys) and easier to watch the kids. We ran into some friends here also, but they had girls, so Daniel did his own thing. The bathrooms are a trek here, so we ended up leaving because of continued accidents. We were back here at the outdoor amphitheater on Sunday night for a great outdoor concert with our church to wrap up our "church has left the building" weekend. It was so much fun!

This week:

The Zoo- I count this one as a park because it is a great energy burner. We did the entire loop yesterday after preschool, and noticed a lot of new animals. Daniel was fascinated with the porcupines and is always in love with the baby leopards. Afterwards we went to a soccer game to cheer a friend on, so we (ok, just me, the boys were out hitting golf balls for hours last night) were exhausted last night.

Aspen Grove- This one is usually not too crowded, has a close clean restroom, but is not shaded at all and quite hot today (it was 85). Still, I think it produced some good napping this afternoon. We met friends here for lunch and it is convienent. No swings for Wesley, so I think he was a little bored.

The week is still young, we'll have to see what park tomorrow holds....

The newest member of our family....

The best part about our new washer is how dry the clothes are when they come out. Before with the old washer, the dryer could never keep up with the demand. It was always running behind. Now the dryer is beating the washer every time, able to dry a full load of wet clothes in about 40 minutes. The next innovation needs to be an automatic transfer of clothes from washer to dryer. I think it will be called "Daniel and Wesley" and it's still a few years away.

Whirlwind

I can hardly remember the last week, let alone this month so far. Here is what we have been up to:

Last weekend there were 10 Stewarts in the house. It was quite loud and busy around here. Add the three Dennys (who are very quiet) and it was quite the crowd. We took the Indy Stewarts on some sightseeing around Franklin and Nashville, and a good time was had by all. We even managed a girls night out, a date night and some golfing for the guys. After they left, Daniel said, "I don't want my house to be quiet!".

The ongoing outside project is called "free rocks". So far Dave has outlined most of our landscaping with rocks I have collected from the free rock pile in Nashville (thanks Ms. Cheap). Dave has added mulch to the entire yard, and I have cut back the drought-stricken bushes. We still have one major area to "rock" in the backyard, and then I will post some pictures.

We have made the jump to recycling and so far it's been fairly easy thanks to my cool new recycling bins. And added benefit is I have been a freegan at the paper pile at the recycling center and picked up some extra coupons. We've also switched to cloth napkins and the next step will be the light bulbs, which will be an excuse to go to IKEA later this year.

I can't believe how many things are winding down. We only have 3 more weeks of Bible study, one more Moms Together meeting (for which I need to plan a catered lunch), and only 6 more weeks of Mother's Day out. I am busy lining up our summer trip plans, working on a schedule for our babysitter, and making our commitments for next fall.

Daniel is asking things like- "Where does God live?" and Wesley is dancing and singing to himself all the time. They are both obsessed with art projects, cars and playing with balls, especially outside. I can't remember the last time Daniel had a potty accident, and I just put away the last of Wesley's bottles today. It's all going by "super fast" (one of Daniel's favorite phrases).