Thursday, June 28, 2012

New Toys

My mom bought the boys some new riding toys this week.  It's too bad we can't use them for a few days.  We did get out earlier this morning.  I love this tricycle.  It was handles that can be used to push and steer it and it has a harness to strap him in.  It can all come off later to be a regular ol' tricycle.
 She also got Cooper a scooter.  He loves this thing, although he makes me a little nervous on it.  Check out his eyes.  They both got their haircut this week and once his hair got cut off, Cooper's eyes have been shining.

 Steve got home from work and our house was a disaster, every room.  He said he can always tell when we don't go anywhere cause the house is a wreck.  I guess that is a good sign we had fun. 

Since we didn't have anything going on and it was too hot to be outside we decided on a Kinect party. 


 I love watching Cameron trying to play, it's hilarious.  He was kicking up his little leg. 

I can't really explain it, other than blogging hasn't been much of a priority right now.   I try to go running every other night and when I get done there are other things to do.  One of my favorite things to do is go back and read old posts, so it's a bummer for me right now.   I'm sure I'll snap out of it.  We've been swimming a few days this week, Cooper has warmed back up to the pool nicely.  Cameron wants to jump in, over and over and over again.  I'm hoping to get some pictures this weekend.  Speaking of this weekend, stay safe, it's going to be a hot one.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A Lesson in Real Estate

Lately Cooper has been talking about the house that Scott got him around Christmas.  He loved this thing.  It kept us busy for days.  Sadly, as most boys are, they got a little too rough and it ended up being thrown away.  It was fun while it lasted.

We told him we could get another but we needed to get rid of something else first.  The boys haven't been playing with this lately and I knew we could get about $20 out of it so the Fisher Price house went today. 

 I'm gonna be honest here, I was sad to see this go.  We got this for Cooper's first birthday.  He played with it all.the.time.  We gave it to Steve's parents right before Cameron was born since we didn't have room.  We got it back when we moved and at first Cameron loved it.  But now he does and follows what Cooper does so it was just sitting in our basement not being played it. 
 Since we were able to successfully sell a house today, we bought a new one.  It isn't exactly the same as the one Scott got, but it will do.  And it was half off.  Score!  I'm thinking of going back to Rite Aid and get the rocket ship for a birthday or Christmas.
 Seriously adorable!  Gotta be just like big brother.
 I love it cause we can all play.
 I thought he was doing a pretty good job on the tree.

Hopefully this one will last a little longer than the other one did.  At any rate it will keep us busy a for a while.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

I can do it, I can do it

I have putting off blogging about this because I was afraid I would quit again.  As of tonight I have completed week 6 of the couch to 5k.  I started this last Spring but for whatever reason I quit.  I wasn't that it was too hard,  life just got in the way.  This was before Cameron got his tubes, we just put our house on the market, and I was helping a friend out by watching her little girl after school one or two days week.  I just gave up.

I still had my goal; I would run a 5k one day.   A couple months ago I read Grass Stain's blog about The Color Run.  It sounded awesome.  I texted the info to Alicia, I knew if anyone could get things done it would be her, and before night's end she had a team set up.  I thought if I ever run one, this would be it.  I signed up and had every intention of getting started right away.  I will be darn if it wasn't almost another month before I started training again.  Since I had previously did the first two weeks I started at week 3.  It's an 8 week program designed to build you up to running 30 minutes without stopping, running 3 times a week.  I don't think I can run 3.1 miles in under 30 minutes so I've been trying to run 4 times a week, finish the program and add a minute or two here and there so I'm running about 35 minutes non stop.  

I finished up week 6 tonight which was 20 minutes non-stop.  The past three runs leading up to this have been a total of 18 minutes but I've walked a minute or two in between.  The longest non-stop running was 12 minutes.  I had been dreading this all day.  Once the kids were in bed, I was off.  Steve has an app called imapmyrun.  It calculates your distance, pace per mile, calories, etc.  I took his phone to check out my distance, I ran 1.7 miles at a pace of 11.54/mile.  I have to keep telling myself; a 7 minute mile or an 11 minute mile, is still a mile. 

Call me crazy, but I've already found an app that gets you from a 5k to a 10k.  Once I complete this, I'm all on it.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Random Thoughts

My boys can fight and pester one another to no end, but deep down I know they love each other.  I don't know what to really call this or what they were doing, but it was cute.
I signed Cooper up for tee ball in Charlestown.  They keep pushing back our start date because uniforms haven't came in yet.  We have still been practicing though.  Cooper is getting great at hitting the ball,
 He has hit a pop fly a few times into the weeds behind our back yard.   Yup, they are infested with bumble bees.  I've had to get the rake out a few times.

Cooper is just like me, I think we are the same person.  He wakes up so grumpy, every morning.  Once he calms down and has some breakfast, he is a different kid.   Gotta have his food.

My poor little Cameron.  You know how when you have your first child you spend almost every waking moment playing with that child.  Cooper has no idea how to play by himself.  He just can't do it.  Cameron on the other hand has no problem.  He has warmed up to his therapist so well for a child who struggled with separation issues.  Poor guy, he just wants someone to play with him.

I was reading Cooper his devotional tonight, I came across this verse: 
Esther 2:17

Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins.
Yes, it is a children's devotional. 

The best plans are the unexpted ones

Tracey texted me this morning to let me know that Melanie was bringing the kids over to play and we should join the fun.  Once Cameron finished up therapy we headed over.  I somehow ended up with all the kids outside.  Well, Levi and Corbin were playing guns or shanks or something.   The first thing I see when I get outside is Maggie.... wearing a fleece hat.... in 90 degree heat.

 Move over Lukey Bear....Maggie has a new man.
 I got conned into pushing all the kids on the swings.  "No problem girls, I'll take care of the kids".


  
With 6 kids and a baby, lunch went fairly smooth.  Usually that is the most chaotic. The kids had a great time playing outside and it was good to hang out with friends on this Monday afternoon.  Thanks for the invite, Tracey.  Sometimes the unexpected plans are the best plans.

Father's Day 2012

We started a tradition a couple years ago of giving Steve his gift on Saturday.  We are so rushed on Sunday's that it's nice to relax a bit.  I saw this homemade card on Pinterest and loved it.  It was so cute and Cooper had fun helping me tape things on.

 We got him a gift card to Old Navy to go shopping.  He hasn't been clothes shopping in a long time. 

We didn't do much this weekend but just spend quality time together.  Steve is such an amazing dad and has such a wonderful relationship with our boys.   They adore him!  Cooper always says to him, "daddy lets me, you, and Cameron go downstairs to play and mommy stay up here". 

Steve has been helping out our youth at church on Sunday's so he doesn't get home till almost 1.  He surprised me Sunday by getting someone to fill in and coming on home.   It was so nice to have lunch together after church.  

We ended our weekend by going to my in-laws to celebrate Father's Day with them and Scott's birthday.  It was again a really fun night and good quality time together.   We moved into our house last Father's Day, so it was wonderful this year to have a relaxing few days with my 3 favorites.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

What we've been up to

Not a whole lot of anything, really.  Cooper started story hour last week at the Charlestown Library.  This is how I keep Cameron occupied for part of the hour.


 He also likes the "cheese", otherwise known to adults as a camera.
 Just because he's cute.
 Yesterday we met Alicia and her gang at the park for lunch and some playtime.  Jake and Goober, as Jake calls him, are a hoot.  Inappropriate words and all.  There was lots of talk about pee and poop.

 Cameron is in heaven at the park.  He's my outdoor boy.  Cooper likes being outside too, but Cameron could live outside.

 I was pushing Cameron on the swing and tried to get the camera in front of him to take the picture, I hoped he was smiling but no such luck.  Check out that dirt on his face.  Both my kids were filthy.
 Someone had a dog with them, well Cooper is terrified of dogs.  He wanted me to hold him tight.  Then he made funny faces.
Its a good time, thanks Alicia for meeting us.  Cooper always has a fun time with Jake.  The bonus of the day was the nap Cooper took. 

The rest of our days are usually filled with errands and such.  It's nice not to have to be on any set schedule for the summer.  Soaking it up all I can.




Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Rollin' with it

Today was all about rollin' with it.  My first planned activity of the day was to take the boys to a park.  I chose the playground at Silver Creek Primary school.  Why haven't we ever been here?  It's perfect for little ones; it's gated and was built for kindergartners and first graders.  I knew we would love it once I saw it, plus it has playground mulch instead of those annoying pebbles at Speed and Perrin Park.




 I love that my 4 1/2 year old is scared to go down just about any slide but my 21 month old had no problem climbing and sliding down the highest one in the park.
We lasted all of about 15 minutes before Cooper informed me he had to poop.  It's a good thing we only live about 2 minutes away.  It was still early and a little chilly so I promised them we could pack and lunch and come back later.  Of course we get home and Cooper no longer has to use the restroom.  We play for a while, pack a lunch, and head back around 11:30.   This time we make it a total of 5 minutes before Cooper poops in his pants.  Of course!  He said he didn't mean to, it is very rare for this to happen.  I felt bad for him actually.  They were both crying on the way home, I didn't want him to think he has being punished for doing it, but he couldn't necessarily stay there.   Once we got home and cleaned up we did the next best thing; a picnic lunch on the patio. 

 It didn't take Cameron long to play in the water table.  May I mention it was filled with rain water.
You can't play outside without playing in the sand.  Like my homemade sand table?


 Cameron decided that the sticks in the backyard needed to be in fire pit.

 At times it can be a bit challenging parenting two children who are complete opposites.  I have to say thought I do love the free spirit Cameron is.  He isn't scared of anything and not afraid to get a little dirty. He may keep me on my toes but his roll with it attitude is good for my soul.
Since both boys were covered in rain water and sand I felt a good bath was in order.   Cameron followed it up with a two hour nap, Cooper watched Up, and I managed a short nap.  It was a good day, a good day indeed.

Monday, June 4, 2012

A weekend to remember

What felt like months of planning, our girls weekend to Nashville finally arrived.  The week leading up to this I think we were all holding our breath and praying for no sick kids or husbands.  God must have been on our side because it all went down without a hitch.  Tracey and I headed down to Bowling Green shortly after lunch and soon after arrival we loaded up in Brittany's van and heading to Nashville.  Not before a quick picture, of course.


 We stayed downtown Friday night.  Not too much on our agenda but food and a little shopping.  And lots and lots of fun pictures and laughter.






 As a disclaimer, I did not buy the blue sunglasses. 
 If you are in Nashville, you really need to embrace it.  That of course means cowboy hats and boots.  Tracey walked away with a hat and got me a pair of boots.  I just couldn't help myself, Brittany had on a pair and they were oh so cute.  I found some for a good price and went with it. 



 Can you believe we had tip a bad Elvis to get our picture taken with him? 
 Here is the really fun part of the weekend, we met Grass Stains!   Here's the story, back when we were in the planning stages of this trip I took a shot and asked Grass Stains how far she lived from Nashville.  I told her about our trip and lo and behold she was in.  Of course she brought a friend, I mean we really could be stalkers.  Her and Melanie, someone we have come to know on Twitter, along with Grass Stains's 8 month old daughter made the trip up from Alabama.  Our plans were to meet up for lunch and shopping on Saturday.   We heard they were downtown for dinner on Friday so we stalked found them to say hello.   They both couldn't be more sweeter in person than they are on the Internet.  
 One other fun part of the night, we were walking through a restaurant and I saw this.  Those that don't know, Peyton Manning went to college in Tennessee.  They love him down there.
 After a late night hanging out and laughing we were up bright and early for a fun day of shopping.  We went to Opry Mills outlets.  This place was heaven.  It's huge!   We could have easily spent two entire days here. 
 Before meeting for lunch we had two missions; find me something to wear with my boots and find Tracey a purse.  Mission was accomplished.  I found a cute dress and this sweet little plaid shirt.  I took it straight to the bathroom to change into it.  I was channeling my inner cowgirl this weekend.
 The Coach outlet was calling Tracey's name.  It was down to these two precious items.  She ultimately decided on the one with the shoulder strap.  That is of course after two visits to the store.  Purses are important, you need to make the right decision.
 Grass Stains, who I will now call Katherine, and Melanie must have decided we weren't too scary and still met us for lunch.  We had lunch at the Aquarium restaurant.  It was neat.  We even saw a scuba diver feeding the fish.  We had great conversations throughout the entire meal and not a single awkward moment.   Katherine came bearing gifts as well.
 This is now proudly displayed next to my bed.
 Not to be outdone, Gretchen also came with gifts.  Everyone of us, with the exception of Gretchen, has a May birthday.  She bought a variety of GiGi's cupcakes for us to share.  They were yummy! 
 After lunch we did a bit more shopping before it was sadly time to say goodbye to our new friends.

I am so happy I took a shot and invited Katherine down to meet us.  Her and Melanie were such a delight to meet in person.  Hope to do it again one day.  I am thankful for Steve for taking such good care of our boys while I was away.  The house was even clean upon return.  Beyond thankful for a night away with my girls.  We fit a lot into 24 hours, yet it turned out to be the most refreshing thing I've done in a while.  Can't wait for the next one.