Second Verse…Same as the First

Well it snowed again, we attempted to go out and play again.  The adventure ended with the equivalent amount of liking…or not liking in Bennett's case.  He was really worried about his gloves, they were attached and he was not happy about it!

He did like being pulled around in the sled…a little.  

So Nolan was on his own, but I don't think he minded…he even made a new friend.

Check out Chad's form in this next picture.  This is serious snow sledding going on at this house.  Speaking of the house, how awesome is it that I took most of these pictures from the comfort of my warm kitchen.  Gotta love the zoom lens on a cold day like this!

Nolan finally threw in the towel with the snow sledding…

So we moved to the front yard where Chad had built him a tunnel and some massive piles of snow to climb on and jump off of.  

A little boy's dream.

And ended with a snack.

Science Center Adventure

I recently took the boys to the Science Center.  If I'm being completely honest I have to tell you that the idea of this trip terrified me.  You see since Bennett has been completely mobile, and by that I mean he laughs at a stroller, I really haven't gone many "fun" places by myself with the two boys.  Call me chicken, but those boys are fast…and they don't listen.  I decided it was time to get over it and go on with my stressful day, but to my surprise it was just the opposite.  It was quite delightful actually.  The boys "listened", they enjoyed a lot of the same things, we had a pleasant lunch and they were both pooped by the end.  Success.  Next stop Magic House…maybe.

I was so scared I didn't even bring my real camera.  You know what that means.  1.  It means business and I knew I'd have little time for "artistic" pictures and 2. It means you are stuck with kind of crappy pictures.  But the day was documented nonetheless and we had a marvelous time learning about the wonders of the world.

First we went on over to the dinosaur area, which is one of Nolan's favorite spots.  Bennett actually got into it too.  We certainly found our fair share of dinosaur parts as we had to visit this exhibit twice.

Here is Mr. B.  He could have sat at this table for hours.  I REALLY need to get me one of these things.  You just put the marbles in and it makes beautiful sweet music (well actually it's kind of annoying, but less annoying than a whiney kid).  

Does this doll freak anyone else out?  In case you are wondering, yes those are her intestines spewing out of her body.  

Now if that didn't amaze you, this might.  Please note Dr. Nolan below.  True or False…as he was giving this poor doll her shots he was chanting "shot shot shot shot shot"?  Now, I'm not sure but I don't think "LMFAO" was referring to this kind of shot in their latest hit song but I could be wrong.  I really need to start listening to Disney Radio don't I?

And here we are learning about energy.  You are supposed to put the coal in the machine to keep it going.  Bennett found this activity to be more like a basketball challenge, and Nolan well he just kind of got in his way.  Bennett threw coal for quite some time, while Nolan moved on to building cars and roller coasters.  All in a day's work folks, all in a day's work!

3 Months Early…and a day late

I can't tell you how excited I am to write this post…finally!  Little Miss Payton decided to enter this world about 3 months before she was supposed to, and actually yesterday was her due date!  Had I remembered that I probably would have busted butt to get this post done by yesterday, but we'll just have to pretend that I'm actually on top of things.  Anyway, Payton came home from the hospital recently and her Mom and Dad snuck me in for a little photo session.  I'm feeling rather privileged these days as I am one of few to see this beauty in person.  And let me tell you she is just that.  Sweet as can be, and is not afraid to wear her some pink (and headbands and tutus) so of course she has a special place in my heart.  Payton's journey home was not uneventful, she fought long and hard to get where she is and we are ever so thankful for this little fighter.  Let the spoiling begin…oh wait it already has!

I'll start you out with a little picture that I have been dreaming of taking ever since Lori told me she was having a girl.  Payton's older brother Parker is a train FANATIC, so this set of pictures could not have been more perfect for them...

  

Then it was just time for some fun, and by fun I mean fun for me really.  Poor Payton was a trooper through about 10 headband changes, a few blankets, and a onesie or two.  Do I think she is a Barbie doll?  Ummm, kind of, is that a problem?

Lazy or Sensible?

Such a fine line.  I can't decide if lately on my Friday's off I have just gotten lazy, or if I have become more sensible in my old age.  In the past there has not been many Fridays that I did not have a whole day planned with the boys.  I'm talking zoo, magic house, park, playdates…you name it we do it.  Lately we have been doing a whole lot of nothing.  Which means a lot of laying around in our PJs  (PJs from an out of date Holiday, thank you Jessie for pointing that out) all day and playing.  If you ask Nolan what he wants to do 9 times out of 10 he says stay home and play, so I guess in that regard I'm one awesome Mom lately.  I just hope I'm doing it out of love for my children, as opposed to laziness (which I think is a little more accurate).  I mean I also cook, clean and do laundry all day in between ninja battles and lego building (shut it Chad).  Here is a little bit of our laziness from LAST WEEK.  Today I actually ventured out again and we took in the Science Center, more to come on that later.

When I start to think I'm just lazy for not bringing the boys to do something, Bennett will do something to totally remind me why we just need to stay home sometimes.  Perhaps I am being more sensible and don't always feel the need to torture myself (in public anyway).  Thank you Bennett for justifying my laziness.

Well Played

Bennett's new favorite thing to do is climb, and quite frankly he's really good at it.  He's pretty stealth like in his maneuvering.  You turn your head for two seconds and he's sitting at the kitchen table holding your full cup of water in his shaky little hands.  That'll make you move quickly, believe me.  I got the below sequence of pictures the other day and I thought they were kind of funny.  He starts out all sweet and innocent playing with his truck, and then boom like a lightbulb went off he decides to climb up on the table.  The third picture you can see the "are you talking to me look" as I was telling him to get down, and the 4th picture is him standing on the table with a shit eatin' grin on his face as if to tell me "nice try lady but I'm the king of this castle."  All I have to say is "Well played Bennett, well played.  You pulled this little stunt off in amazing lighting for my pictures so I let you do it…this time".

Rookie Mistake

First off…Happy Valentine's Day!  Valentine's Day is not huge in my book, although today was pretty good.  I was sitting at the counter this morning and Nolan walked down and said "Mom, is today Valentine's Day?"  I said, "yep it sure is".  He responded with "Yeahhhh, Happy Valentine's Day…I Love You Mommy".  Now, tell me that isn't precious!  You can't can you?  I rewarded him with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Legos and a Light Saber.  What can I say cuteness gets rewarded in this house.  Bennett's present is still sitting unwrapped on the table as I write this.  Coincidence?

Anyway, Nolan had his party at school today.  And he was all pumped up.  Last year he came home and told me it was a "girl party", but he obviously has forgotten that aspect in a years time.  So we were embracing the Valentine tradition and set out to make our Valentine cards last night.  My "friend" Michelle made fun of me for making homemade cards and said I would be the only one who made them as oppossed to buying the box for $1.99.  She was right.  BUT I can't lie, Nolan loved the cards and so did the other kids (boys mainly).  There was actually jumping and screaming involved when one kid opened his (insert pat on back).  So take that Michelle.  Here are the cards we made, I give all credit to Pinterest…

So you might be wondering about my "Rookie Mistake".  Well you see, I thought it would be a good idea to have Nolan sign all of the Valentines.  We got about 4 deep and he was D-O-N-E.  And quite honestly, so was I!  Who knew writing your name a few times would be such a task.  Next year I think we need to start a few days in advance and do 3-4 a night.  Poor Bennett, when it comes time for him to start signing cards we will have to start in like June with his long name.  I'm naming my next kid "O"…just "O".  It's easy and fast.  

I did go to Nolan's party today.  Nothing special, decorated some boxes, handed out Valentines, played a game and ate a snack.  And guess what?  I didn't even bring a camera!  Do you know how proud I was of myself?  Decided to enjoy the party instead of fretting over pictures this time.  Truly liberating.  Although I did snap a few with my phone.  #oldhabitsdiehard

And tonight Chad and I are headed out on the town for a little dinner and dancing…okay maybe just dinner.  We are so romantic I can't even stand it.  

Cool Cats

I have a very close group of friends.  Most of the members of our little crew I have been friends with since high school.  I know, crazy right?  I'll try and spare you all the details of our little Soap Opera but in a nutshell I married one of the guys in the group, my friend Kim married one of the guys in the group and then the rest of the group is basically made up of the girls and husbands they brought in from the outside (gasp).  Most of our other guy friends have moved away, probably to escape us honestly,...Except Mr. Riffee.  Mr. Riffee was bold enough to stick around AND bring a girl into our group.  HE HAS GUTS.  I'm sure he was nervous because girls can be vicious (except me I'm nice to everyone), but he went with it and we are so glad he did.  Amanda is perfect for him and she's a perfect addition to our group.  Besides the fact that she constantly reminds us how much younger she is than us, she's a cool cat.  So put two cool cats together and what do you get?  Cool kids!  Well, I guess there is just one cool kid currently but there is one more cookin'!   Owen is going to be a big brother soon so we thought we should document with some pictures. Hope you enjoy, next time they are on the blog little Jude will be the star of the show!

50% Solution

The other day it snowed for about a hot second…actually a cold second I guess but not sure that would make sense?  It was short lived lets just say that.  Of course I see this as an opportunity to go outside and take pictures play with the kids.  So we bundled them up and out we went.  Turns out we are at about a 50% solution in this household when it comes to liking snow.  One kid likes it, one...not so much.  Bennett literally could not even stand, let alone walk, in the boots that we had for him.  In the living room he just kept falling over, while funny yes, I knew it would mean his time outside would be limited and we would need to act fast.  I just didn't realize exactly how fast I would need to act!

Here is proof that Bennett actually made it outside, and touched the snow.  This is it folks, soak it in.

And here is the kiddo that was dressed totally inappropriately for rolling in the snow, yet kept rolling in the snow.  Yes, he's wearing jeans.  Go ahead, call the Division of Family Services.  We don't have snow bibs.  Please see paragraph above, this snow was very short lived we had to seize the day while we could.  He just kept running, and falling, and rolling and saying "this is so fun Mom, this is so fun."  Ahhh, the little things in life.

And this is where you could find Bennett.  Standing at the door screaming while he watched Nolan roll around in the snow.  Maybe next year B.  Who knows, maybe I'll even spring for some boots that fit!