For Donna

My name is Jennifer Clardy and I'm a good-for-nothin' blogger! I could write a long list of reasons why I've been MIA in blog world, but when you have a dedicated blog friend like Donna those excuses just don't mean a hill of beans...know what I mean, girls? So, this first attempt at getting back into the blog world will be a hodgepodge of stuff...try to contain your excitement. In fact, I'm feeling like bullet points may be necessary.

*Max started T1 (Transitional 1st grade) at his new school, Mitchell Road Christian Academy. We debated a long time about whether to go ahead and have Max start 1st grade or maybe repeat K5. Then we heard about this program at MRCA that gives kids an extra year before they start 1st grade. Max was fine academically but was lacking in the maturity department. So this class has been great for him and is not just repeating what they learned in kindergarten, but adjusting to each child's level. There are 12 kids in his class with a teacher and a teacher's aide so it's a perfect setting for him.*The twins got their first haircut! Gone are the mullets that they so proudly wore and that I wanted to enter into Hannah's ongoing mullet contest. Here are the before pics...the first two are Lane and the second two are Abe.And now the after pic...*Myself, the twins, Andrea and my parents bravely drove to Chicago in October to watch Andrea and Shari run the Chicago marathon. The race was SO COOL and my sisters did great, but traveling with two babies (and Abe was sick) wasn't something that will go down as my favorite thing to do. That weekend was also my parent's 50th wedding anniversary so we went to dinner one night and celebrated.Oh, and while I took the twins to Chicago, Don took Max to Kansas City to see his dad. Max was beyond thrilled and was counting down the days until his big trip. He had a blast and I'm so glad they had a boy's only weekend.

*Ok, I'm going to have to end this post...getting way too long. We've done lots of other things, but I'll be honest, I have been horrible at taking pictures. I use to love taking pictures of everything, but when I'm carrying two babies, diaper bag, purse and who knows what else, I just cannot add one more thing to my shoulder.

Oh wait, one more thing...remember my friend Cheri (click here and here)? Well, her husband is going to be the new pastor at my church which is SO exciting! Not only are we getting a great pastor, but Cheri and I will be living in the same town after almost 20 years! It's just crazy that out of the hundreds of men they looked at they chose the husband of one of my best friends...so neat! Oh, and you Liberty peeps will be glad to know he's a Liberty grad so you know he's got be a good one!

Ok, that's all folks...I PROMISE to be back sooner than the last time! :)

What we've been up to (longest post EVER)

Well, we've gone downtown to Falls Park several times...I celebrated my first Mother's Day as a mom to three children...My mom celebrated Mother's Day with a new total of 13 grandchildren...unfortunately only five were able to celebrate with her (three of those being her favorite).We took many pictures of Lane...We've taken a few baths here and there...Max had his last therapy appointment with Miss Cheryl who we love and already miss...Lane wanted to help Max out in therapy...Sadly, my little boy is a big boy and graduated from kindergarten. :( Max went to our church's kindergarten and next year he will be attending Mitchell Road Christian Academy. He will actually be doing their T1 class (transitional first) which just basically gives him an extra year before he starts first grade. We think it will be just perfect for Max!I can't remember what he was doing here, but they put on a really cute program for graduation.And in June we celebrated the twins 1st birthday! It just so happened that most of my family and Don's dad was here the week of their birthday so we had a big ole' party!They pretty much started crying right after this picture was taken. Wanted nothing to do with the cake.Don's dad and my dad with the twins.My brother Paul and his son, Hunter.Max and his cousin, Hunter showing off their mud beards.My sweet niece, Abby.My sister, Kim, with Lane.My sister-in-law, Lori, with Abe.Alan, Max and Grant getting ready to do the slip-n-slide. We went downtown to eat and go to a baseball game.
Andrea and Abe Max, Clay and Lily over at my mom's house.
Love this picture of my dad and Lane!
My sweet and beautiful niece, Alyssa. She will be a junior in college and is single...anyone know any cute boys for her???

On to July...Don's birthday is July 7 and since last year I was in a fog with two newborns I didn't really do much. Oh, and it was his 40th last year so it should have been a big one. So this year I decided to surprise him with a little trip up north to Charlotte. We ate at one of his favorite restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory, stayed in a great hotel, and then we went to Carowinds the next day. Yes, you read that right...just the two of us went to Carowinds...and we had a blast! We both love roller coasters so we rode them all...even waiting in line a little longer just so we could get front row seats on The Intimidator. Let me just say that I sure wish I had my camera with me that day because there are some very interesting folks in amusement parks. And since I didn't have my camera we paid $15 for this lovely picture just so we would have something to remember our day.Some of you may remember seeing this picture of the last time I went to Carowinds. That HOT girl in the red gauchos and yellow jellies is me.
And lastly, guess who's WALKING around here a little bit? Won't be long before they're running around like crazy!

Some good baby giggling!

Keepin' me busy!

WOO DOGGY...these two cute little things are keeping me busy!Let's see, we've got Abe who is Mr. Nosy. He has to know and see everything that's going on and wants to be right at your feet. He sits patiently by the dishwasher and refrigerator just waiting for me to open the doors so he can check them out. He will crawl fast and furiously when he hears me open the dryer because he loves to pull up on the door and stand there while I put clothes in it. He also makes a beeline for the door going to the garage (or any door for that matter) when he hears it open. And let me just say that the boy is super fast so there have been several times where he's almost escaped!And then we have Lane. Lane is known for her "piggy face" as Max calls it. When she smiles she scrunches up her nose and squints her eyes. It is so cute! She has just moved from the army crawl to a real crawl and she is pulling up on everything too. She's not as steady as Abe is so we're dealing with some bumps and bruises here lately. Although she likes to play independently she does not like it when mommy leaves the room or drops her off at church. We have a little separation anxiety going on right now!I've been trying to do better when it comes to cooking...not my favorite thing to do to say the least. So this is what the twins do while I'm in the kitchen. When they start whining I will pull something else out to entertain them...spatula, cups, tupperware, etc. The floor is literally covered with things by the time I'm finished and I'm usually tripping or stepping on something. But, if it keeps them entertained then I'll deal with it.Check out these little shirts I found at Kohl's the other day. I know I go a little overboard with these kinds of shirt but I thought they were cute. Max wanted me to bring the twins to his classroom the day they wore these so he could show his friends. He was so proud.And these little bath seats have been a lifesaver for me! They love being in the bathtub but I was always rushing them in and out because I have two kids to wash. Well, with these they can play for awhile without falling or slipping. Abe will literally suck on that one toy 95% of the time he's in the tub...I guess it tastes good???Another picture of Abe with a yogurt melt on his face that doesn't seem to be bothering him in the least.And last, but not least, how about a picture of ole Max in his red undies!
Oh wait, I'm going to add this video too. It's kind of long so you won't hurt my feelings if you don't watch it. I just took it last night after they got out of the tub.

Easter party

I've been meaning to take a picture of the twins in these sweaters and I finally remembered to get my camera out before we left the house yesterday. Inger's mom made these for the twins and I LOVE THEM!!! I never bought them coats so they have worn these all winter and get so many compliments on them. Thanks again Inger...you and your mom rock!!!
Check out Abe's teeth...looks like a little bunny rabbit!Max's Easter party was on Friday. They had an egg hunt and lots of other goodies. He had been looking forward to this party all week long and was so excited when he woke up Friday morning. Oh, and remind me not to volunteer to fill eggs with candy next year...I have eaten so much dang Easter candy it's not even funny. By the way, the Nestle eggs with caramel inside are scrumptious.I brought chocolate chip cookies on a stick with a bunny on them. I was up all night making them....HA HA HA HA HA!!!I love this picture. It's all the boys in Max's class. So cute!

So now we're heading into spring break week and the weather is looking great...80 on Friday...woohoo!!!