Happy Birthday Unc!

Today is a very special day....Mr. Matney's birthday! All us Healds sure do wish we lived closer and could spend the day with you. We love you very much and hope that you have a great day!

The girls helped make a birthday sign - let me just go on and tell you that it says "Happy Birthday Unc! Love, the GA Healds" since you won't be able to read it. Getting them to sit still isn't going to happen until they are old enough to really understand a bribe!

State of the Household Address

Dead flowers outside can never be a good sign. Very inviting, aren't they? Sigh! It has been a long time since I updated the blog and a while since we have seen most of our friends. No worries, we are all still here. I just have been feeling like this dolphin....

That's not good either, is it?!?! Long story short I've been more and more tired for several months, started having migraines and some other random things so I finally went to the doctor. Turns out my iron level is way below low so there is a reason I feel horrible. I've gone from being the girl who is up, has worked out, showered/dressed and cleaned house before the girls are awake to the girl who goes to bed at 9pm, wakes up when the girls do and naps every single day...and I am still always exhausted and feel like crap. All that sleep has left little time for accomplishing much. If you are waiting on a thank you card, for me to return a phone call or email, or just wondering why we've become antisocial for a few months please know we love you! I've finally found an iron supplement that doesn't make me sick, I'm taking something for the migraines and am crossing my fingers that I'll be back to my old self soon!

Until then, I'm slowly but surely getting caught up thanks to my Stud of a house keeper....

This was Jared vacuuming on Father's Day. Poor guy - although the dog sheds like a woolly mammoth and was his Father's Day gift. Nothing like saying, "Hey Honey, here's your present, now vacuum up his hair!". After a total meltdown that I had (that probably scared him just a little!), Jared has picked up a lot of the slack around here and been very understanding of my inability to stay awake need to sleep.

So the moral of the story is 1-  treat your body well and don't run it into the ground because you need it.  And 2 - marry well enough that if you are dumb enough not to pay attention to rule 1 your spouse is a good guy who will take care of you until you're better. Thanks, Stud Muffin. The girls and I love you!

Halle Kate video

My brother got a video off my phone and onto youtube for your viewing pleasure! Halle Kate was wound up a few weeks ago and I taped her talking to my mom. She is so darn funny! Here's the link.
Halle Kate Monologue

Life these days....

Here is a picture that sums up life these days...HK being goofy, Max chasing a kid with food and the vacuum cord under it all because I'm constantly chasing a kid or dog cleaning up something. We're all in love with Max but he is one hairy dog. And my kids make one lots of big messes.

Welcome Summer

Just one week into summer vacation I am already wondering how in the world we're going to make it through the next 13 weeks! The days are long but the weeks, months and years are FLYING by. During the year we got up with a schedule 4 days out of 5, I had 2 days to run errands with only one kiddo and it wasn't 100 degrees. Right now I have two girls screaming "it's hot!" the minute we walk outside. So, what's a mama to do?

Get online, read some reviews, toss the kids in the car and go buy an inflatable pool at WalMart! Ha! It made for a happy Daddy and Matney this weekend.

Why are drinks always better when they are from a big people cup?

When HK woke up we got the sprinkler out. Everyone had a great time getting wet, even Max!

We got smart and moved the umbrella from the table next to the pool for some added shade.

Good times ahead! I've got a tarp coming from Amazon and hope to be able to cover it up at night and change the water every few days.

Gymnastics

The girls are taking gymnastics this summer. It's just a intro class offered by the rec department at a local elementary school gym so really it just means the girl have an air conditioned room to bounce around in once a week. Works for me! We're there with two of their best friends, Mackenzie and Caleb. Fun time for kids and mommies!

All lined up and ready to go!

Matney spent a lot of time up here. As my nonclimber she was VERY proud of herself.

HK bounced all over the place.

HK and Caleb tried very hard to find ways to get in trouble in a room with only a few padded objects. Give them another week and they'll have figured out how to climb the walls!

Matney spent a lot of time just rolling around.

And at the end everyone gets a sticker. Happy kids!

HK the big helper

Halle Kate is such a big help when it comes time to feed Max - NOT! She makes a mess of a dog a bigger mess! As soon as HK or Max hear food hit the bowl they both go running. HK thinks it is great to grab handfuls of food out and get Max to eat them out of her hand. She ends up with a dirty hand, I end up with an even dirtier floor and poor Max has to hunt down half his food.

 

Please make her stop!

Special Shirt

This is Matney's special shirt for the last day of school. All the kids put a handprint on it and Matney's, of course, is pink. God bless her teachers for getting all those hands in all that paint! I love preschool for the craft time if nothing else. Matney gets to paint, I don't have a paint mess in my house and we're all happy!

She picked out the pink polka dots bow because it matched her handprint. She's a fashion diva all right!

Last Day of School

I am so very sad (for multiple selfish and non selfish reasons!) that Matney is done with school for the year. We all had a great year being in Mrs. Jen's class and will miss her very much. Matney almost didn't make it to the last day of school because she woke up with a swollen face. Can you tell in the picture above? She didn't look like my child! Poor thing had little slits for eyes. She developed a rash the next day but we never figured out what she'd been around. Anyway, here she is with her "ocean" - blue water, sand, shells and sea life stickers. She is so proud of that ocean!

The class got a special snack.

Matney and her best friend Madigan. See Matney's hands covering her cup? I'll explain that in a second.

Look across the table from Matney (purple bow at the bottom). Halle Kate doesn't believe in being left out. She's the only sibling in the room old enough to get down and walk around - come on people, having babies back to back is easy, what were you waiting on?!?!? ha! - so she's gotten to know M's teachers over the year and participate in several activities. I kept her out of "make an ocean time" but there was no way the kid was skipping snacks!

She was such a proud big girl!

Here's Matney's cup. She was covering it so that no pretzels or chex mix contaminated her chocolate!

 Dear Mom, I know I often refuse to leave your side but I want to go to school next year too. This place is cool. Love, Halle Kate

Dear Halle Kate, School starts in 13 weeks. No worries, your little wild self will be there! Love, Mom

I hate that I didn't get a picture of Matney and Mrs. Jen together. Thankfully we bonded over a love hate relationship with all things glitter this year and learned we live around the corner from one another. Matney will be having a playdate with Mrs. Jen and her daughters soon! It was so hard to drop my baby girl of those first few weeks of school but it was a great year for all of us.