Mother's Day

May 10--12:  I had a fabulous Mother's Day!  I think what I usually expect for Mother's Day is to feel a little spoiled and to spend some time with my favorite people... I got both for sure this year!  On Friday I got to attend my first "Mother's Day Tea" with my favorite Kindergartner.  Sadie's school spoiled us with several cute and thoughtful gifts, some yummy snacks, and a special musical performance!  Perfect start to my Mother's Day weekend:

One thing I had really been wanting was a date night with Marc... As it gets closer to baby time I'm trying to log as much one-on-one as I can because I know it will be harder.  He always does a great job of spoiling me with some fun mother's day gifts (and Sadie LOVES going shopping with him) but this year I told him what I really wanted was to pick out an outfit and blankie for our baby boy and some cute comfy hospital pj's for me.  I had also really been wanting to do an herb garden this year--I got both on our date night!  We did some shopping, had dinner at Chipotle, more shopping, and dessert at Applebees.  During the dessert time of our date we did some brain storming and communicating to come up with a behavior plan for Sadie--I really wanted to get something in place for her before summer/baby!  I think this was one of the most fun dates we've had in awhile!  Marc didn't feel the greatest, but he was a trooper... I enjoyed every minute of our 5 hour date!

Home Depot--Buying Supplies for my Herb Tower

Kohl's--an outfit and a blankie for baby C

On Sunday Marc let me sleep in and he made breakfast for us (not really any different from our typical weekend mornings!) and the kids surprised me with cards that they made.  After church, we decided to use a gift card to Outback to go out to lunch.  As always, eating out with little ones is interesting, but they are my FAVORITE little ones! I can't particularly say that I enjoyed EVERY minute of our 2-hour lunch (yes--it was really that long, not including the "15 minute wait" that was really 40 minutes!)  But also can't say that I would change it...

7 1/2 Months

On Tuesday Marc helped me put together my herb garden... He even planted all the herbs for me and kept searching various stores to find the chives that they did not have at Home Depot... He's pretty great!  I love  having this right outside my kitchen door.  I can't believe how much everything has already grown and I have LOVED using all my fresh herbs.  They smell so fresh and AMAZING!

Mint, Lemon-Thyme, Chives, Dill, Sweet Basil, Parsley, & Cilantro

Teacher Appreciation

May 6--10:  I was so excited to help Sadie plan some fun surprises for her teacher for "Teacher Appreciation" week.  We did some Pinterest browsing and she helped me narrow down the choices to 5--1 for each day.  I also had fun making some cute tags with my friend Michelle. 

This is what we ended up with:
Monday:  A Package of Highlighters... "You make every day BRIGHTER!"
Tuesday:  Bath & Body Hand Soap... "You Deserve a HAND!"
Wednesday:  Crystal Lite Peach Tea... "You are TEAriffic!"
Thursday:  Jr. Mints, Mentos, & Mints... "You were MINT to be a Teacher!"
Friday:  Scentsy Warmer w/ Wax... "Kindergarten Makes SCENTS!"

Best part... I spent less than $8!  I had the hand soap in my gift stash (I always stock up during semi-annual sale) and I got the scentsy free when I had a party.  Already excited for next year... have I mentioned that I love Pinterest?  And giving gifts?  And crafting with my friends?  I think Sadie is picking up on my loves as well! 

House Projects

 May 4:  I've been very motivated recently to finish some house projects... I guess this is my form of "nesting".  Why bother cleaning--it will just get dirty again!  However, I did make myself a big list of "before baby" projects that I'm slowly but surely checking off... this was one of them.

This is the hallway between our kitchen and dining room.  As soon as we moved into this house I wanted to use this wall to make a kiddo art gallery.  I had an Uppercase Living party back in December and ordered this fun wall decal.  I finally got Marc to go to buy the rest of the needed supplies and help me hang the wires.  I have a whole stash of Fall and Christmas art projects, so I'm excited to change decorations for the seasons!

Stay tuned for more fun house projects...

Summer is Coming

The weather this spring seems to fluctuate from cold rainy days, to sunny 80 degree days... a consistent reminder that summer is coming!  Another reminder--Sadie started an ABC countdown to the last day of school--on Monday she will be on letter K,16 days left!  

We have all been taking advantage of the warm days...

• The kids love to feed the heels of bread to the birds (the heels have become know in the Gorsch house as "birdie bread"!)
• We love being able to walk Sadie to school again.  We walked almost every single day through mid-January.  The cold weather in Jan/Feb/March and the rainy days recently have left us driving many mornings.  We were excited to start walking again over the last couple weeks.
• I LOVE being able to send the kids outside to play.  I always wondered when I would feel okay letting them play outside without being physically right with them.  I know feel fine sending them in the back yard to play.  When they want to ride bikes/play with chalk in the front I go out with them.
• Marc got the bikes down and we have enjoyed a couple family bike rides.  We got Sadie's first bike out of the basement for Macey and she is already a pro!  The kids spend time daily riding their bikes (even sometimes in the rain!)
• We've had fun practicing t-ball and soccer in the back yard.  Kinnick and Sadie are getting much better hitting the ball when we pitch to them.
• We've been LOVING park time!  I will admit that I get less done in our house, but I'm loving being outside with the kids on a regular basis. 

Last week, Macey had her first "skinned knees" of this year and OH MY, you would have thought she needed to go to the emergency room.  This happened on our way to Sadie's school and I had to carry her the rest of the way there and most of the way home.  At home we had to promptly apply bandages and cream.  An hour later when I dropped her and Kinnick off at Kidz Korner (at the YMCA) she limped into the play area--the workers got a good chuckle out of that!

On "May Day" I let the kids break out their new swimsuits.  We celebrated the hot weather with our first Popsicles and water play of the year.  I will admit--after experiencing a few days in the low 80's, I'm thankful that my pregnancy will not last all summer!

Girl's Date Day

April 27:  Both the girls received Claire's cards in their stocking from Grandpa & Grandma this year.  We had been saving them so we could have a fun girl's date day and we finally got around to it!  The kids and I spent the morning garage saleing while Marc helped with flood clean-up.  When Marc got home, we took off for the mall while he and Kinnick had a "boys afternoon."  This is the first time I took both girls on a "date day" together and we had a blast! 



Sadie is an old pro at shopping with gift cards.  Now that she is reading and getting some very good math skills, I don't have to help her at all.  In fact, she had picked out and paid for her items (she knew she would have leftover $ on her card) before I even realized what she was doing!

Macey, on the other hand, was a novice at shopping with gift card.  This was her first experience and she had no idea that her gift card would limit the choices she could make.  I walked around the store with her as she continued to fill her basket with anything and everything she wanted until I finally cut her off.  When it came time for the decision making process, this is what she had to work with...

She chose the thing she wanted most (a Hello Kitty set with lip gloss and nail polish.  After that, I helped her select 2 items off the $1 clearance rack to finish up her spending allotment.  I will give her credit in the fact that she can make choices MUCH faster than Sadie!

Sadie chose a make-up kit (from the clearance rack--she knows to check there first every time we shop at Claires!) and a Mt. Dew lip gloss.  She ended up with $3 left on her gift card and is still saving it for a rainy day...

Macey couldn't wait to put on some sparkly pink lip gloss and try on one of her ballerina rings...

She was also super excited to have her very own shopping bag to hold her new treasures!

What date isn't complete without some yummy food?  I let each girl choose a special snack--Sadie picked a hot pretzel with cheese dip and Macey chose a cookie.  They also got a strawberry smoothie to share...

Because it was a special date day, I let the girl's chose a ride to do--they picked a "roller coaster" ride and had a blast!

Another fun treat we did was the photo booth.  Sadie asks to try it every time we are in the mall and I had told her she needed to wait for a date day.  The girl's got their pics taken together in a "BFF" design.  The machine gives you 3 photo strips, so we each got one to remember our day.

Before we left we had to visit the puppy store.  Both girls were excited to see a little puppy that looked so much like Wrigley.  We also had to stop in the play area for a bit...

I love being the mom of two sweet girls.  I'm so excited for all the fun "girlie" things we have to look forward to.

As Macey and Sadie always say, "Girls Rule and... " you know the rest!

Rainy Days

WOW--we had some rainy days (as did lots of places in IL and elsewhere!)  On April 17--19 we got ALOT of rain.  We were not directly affected, our basement stayed dry and Sadie's school stayed open.  However, several area schools had to close for multiple days due to roads being flooded.  Many families in our church area had to evacuate their homes--some lost nearly all of their belongings and their houses.  I didn't get to directly see the devastation, but Marc was able to spend Saturday, April 27th working alongside with many community and church volunteers doing flood clean-up.  He helped an 80 year old man move belongings out of his house--some to trash, some to salvage.  He also spent time helping tear up ruined flooring.  He met another man who said he couldn't begin to try and repair his home, he was letting the bank take it and trying to figure out something until he could get back on his feet. 

I can only begin to try and imagine what these people are going through.  We have never experienced this kind of devastation on a personal level.  It's hard to understand why bad things happen but Marc is always quick to marvel at how God's work is shown in times of devastation.  He never fails to point out to me (with amazement) how it is so awesome to see people come together to help each other--I guess it's part of the human spirit.  God created imperfect people and we live in an imperfect world, but he gave us the tools we need to be his hands and feet to those who are hurting.  It was amazing to see how the Minooka churches came together to meet the needs of the community.  They collected clothing and household items, gift cards, food, etc. for people in need.  Many people offered up their homes as temporary housing.  The churches organized work days to help people clean out their homes.  The churches fed and clothed people.  I'm so proud to be a part of a church that is committed to being the hands and feet of Jesus!  Our work is not done--it never will be... as long as we live devastation and destruction will be a part of life.  In times like these I choose to see the good, be the good, and hold fast to the promise that I have a perfect reward coming when this life is over!

On a lighter note, Kinnick got this adorable raincoat and boots from his cousin Jaren just in time to enjoy the rain.  He and Macey discovered that they really like playing with worms...  Happy Spring!

 

Visit from Grandpa & Grandma

April 20 & 21:  My parents and sister Kassie came to visit for the weekend.  The kids were so looking forward to their visit and we had a lot of fun!  They arrived on Saturday in time for us to have lunch together.  After lunch, Kinnick and Macey went to play with some friends while us adults and Sadie volunteered with "Feed My Starving Children."  Last year was our first experience helping at a mobile packing event.  Our church teamed up again this spring with several area churches to offer a mobile packing event.  We loved it and had so much fun bringing my parents and sister to help serve this year! 

 

Our entire small group volunteered together this year--it was so great to serve alongside them!

 

If you haven't heard of Feed My Starving Children, I highly encourage you to check it out!  (I linked it to the website up top.)  They offer packing sites and mobile packing events (your organization pays to bring the mobile site and facilitators to you).  It is a great experience!

Saturday night, Grandpa & Grandma (and Aunt Kassie) took the kids to eat at McDonald's playland and to see their first 3-D movie.  They saw Life of Pi.  It was fun hearing Macey and Kinnick talk about all the animals--their favorite was the tiger. 

While they entertained our kids, Marc and I got to enjoy a group date.  We went with several friends from church out to eat and to see the movie, Camp.  This movie is based on "Royal Family Kids Camp."  It's a camp (with locations across the US) for foster kids.  Adult sponsors and counselors spend one week each summer loving on these kids and blessing them with special memories.  Last year, our family participated in a walk-a-thon for RFKC and Marc and I were blessed to serve at camp for one day last summer with our small group.  This movie opened in select theaters across the US--it was a great opportunity to spread the word about Royal Family Kids Camp and also to raise money for the organization.  10% of total profits went to benefit the international organization.  40% of the profits from the local theater that we went to directly benefited the camp we worked at last year.  Not only did we support a great cause (which felt awesome to do on a date night!) but the movie was fantastic!  Not sure when it will be released on video, but I highly recommend it.  You can watch the trailer HERE.  *Note--not for kids, it is rated PG-13 because of the abuse portrayed. 

On Sunday after church, we got to enjoy lunch at KFC with my parents and they stayed for Kinnick's soccer game.  It was windy but the sun was out and we had a great time.  I'm so glad they came to visit!

 

Macey's First Haircut

On April 16th, Macey had her first haircut!  Just a trim, really--it wasn't a drastic difference by any means.  My friend Lisa came to our house to cut both girls' hair (who doesn't love a stylist that makes house calls?!?)  Sadie went first because Macey was scared.  Sadie had about 4 inches cut off (and was not happy with me because apparently that made her the girl in her class with the "shortest" hair--not really!)  Macey was still scared but I was finally able to talk her into giving it a try.

 

Before:

Before:

 

Getting Ready...

 

All Done (and showing off a little bag of locks):

This didn't have the same affect on me as Kinnick's first haircut, but I do realize more and more each day how big my little girl is getting!  Learning new things and accomplishing so many milestones all the time...

Cousin Zoo Trip

April 12 & 13:  Jason & Trista, Jadyn, and Jaren came to visit for a weekend.  They arrived around 9 on Friday night and the kids had a blast running around and playing for as long as we would let them!  On Saturday we packed lots of adventure into our day.  We started with a girl's trip to the American Girl Doll Store...

 

It was a quick trip--Jadyn had money saved to get some new things and Sadie took some of her remaining birthday money to pick out something new for her doll.  She also enjoyed a surprise summer outfit from Aunt Trista!  Macey loved going along for the trip--she can't wait until it's her turn for a doll!

The guys stayed home and Jason helped Marc put new brakes on our van.  When they were done, they met us at the Zoo!  We enjoyed using our zoo passes to get all of us in for free (and free parking!)  In just 2 trips, we've already recouped the value we paid for our pass!  We started with a picnic lunch and then went to check out the seasonal "Dinosaurs Alive" exhibit...

 

The exhibit was mostly outside, but also had a tent with dino-skeletons and birds...

Macey was truly terrified of the BIG dinosaurs!

She was crying!

 After the dinosaurs we checked out the Swamp building, the monkey house, and the penguins.  We also laughed a lot at Jaren and Kinnick attempting to chase the peacocks (until they got in trouble!)

 

Jaren was super excited for a trip to Chuck E. Cheese because he wasn't sure if it was real...  We stopped on our way home from the zoo and it was PACKED.  We decided not to eat but still let the kids play games.  

They had fun playing for about an hour and collecting lots of fun prizes...

After a fun-filled (and exhausting) day it was home for pizza and a movie--perfect ending to our day!  We all went to church the next morning and Jadyn and Jaren stayed for Kinnick's soccer game.  As always, the kids had a blast with their cousins.  We wish we lived closer so we could hang out more often!