I love my video monitor...

...and here's why:

So the boys and I ran a bunch of errands this morning. They ended up falling asleep both for 10 minutes, but at different times. Carter fell asleep in the car on our way to Hobby Lobby. Logan fell asleep a half mile from Hobby Lobby - transferred into the back of the cart, sitting up and slept for 10 minutes (not comfy...but it was funny to watch). Carter woke up upon transfer into the front of the cart. Due to their 10 minutes naps, when I put them down at 1, when we got home, they both weren't quite ready. They both putzed around their rooms for a bit. During Carter's putzing, I noticed Carter opening and closing his drawers. Then I watched him keep his shirt drawer open and he proceeded to toss out his shirts (and laugh). After I chuckled at this little stinker on the video monitor, I went in his room told him no (his hands went to cover his face because he knew he did something wrong), cleaned it up and I put him back to bed. If I didn't have the video monitor, I'd be ticked off if I saw a cute little guy wake up from his nap and then find a messy room!

Logan has never once thought of this, but Carter is a bit of a different story. Logan has since covered himself up with his covers and has fallen asleep. Carter has played with a couple toys and read a book and is walking around his room with Tao finding a place to rest (psst....try your comfy bed).

Love these boys!

This past week...

This past week was busy - here are a few things we did:

Logan played with some play-doh...Carter did too, but not as long. Logan had the most fun with the scissors.


Carter found his rainboots in his closet and just had to wear them. This is his 'cheese face', which he ends up tilting his head all the way back.


And, of course....here he is with Tao the elephant (pronounced like 'cow', but with a t)


One of the boys favorite things to do before bedtime is 'Airplane'. (pardon the poor quality pic)


(I cannot get this picture to turn....ah well...)


Logan got this art easel as a Christmas gift, but I was waiting to rotate it in after summer. They have a fun time with it!

Parties, prayers and church

A Party

We had another great family weekend. Saturday afternoon we had another birthday party - a 4 year old princess party. They had a castle bounce house and the boys were excited. They hung out in the bounce house for about 15 minutes, then the moved on to the swingset. :)

Meanwhile, the little girls, giggled and squealed and jumped. There was only one other boy there...who was the same age - but they didn't play together till the end. As John was standing next to the bounce house, the girls delightfully declared John the 'shark' and were giving him orders. I looked at him and asked if he was still looking forward to possibly having a girl someday. He laughed and said that a girl will likely take more energy. :)

They had a pinata....it was Logan's first time when he actually understood what to do. He gave it 3 pretty good cracks. :) It was nice as the pinata was filled with 100 calorie snack packs instead of candy. At least if they eat a bag, it is not a crazy amount. :) We left right around bedtime, so we came home, changed and sent those kids to bed. Logan was being a stinker and wanted to watch football in Daddy's room (hey - pretty sure it is MY room too). The Bears pre-game was on. So John, against my better judgement, finally caved and we decided he could stay for 10 minutes - then off to bed. Naturally when he went to bed...it was tears all over again. The kid was just over-tired. He was weepy and whined himself to sleep. In the meantime, John and I dozed off in bed. I woke up at 11:30 and noticed that Logan's light was on. I went in to shut it off and it stunk....poor kid finally pooped (he was constipated for a couple days). So perhaps his whines were a bit more about his struggles. Poor guy. If he would've just told me, it would've made our night easier. Ah well.

Prayers

So a few weeks ago we said prayers at dinner time. I admit that it is not something John and I do regularly. We both did growing up and still do with our extended families, but living with just the two of us, it was something I guess we just got out of the habit. The boys both do great with putting their hands together, bowing their heads, being quiet while John and I say grace and then they say 'Amen'. So as we are not in the habit...it is so funny...cuz Carter is! Everytime we sit down as a family, Carter puts his hands together and says 'Amen'. No joke - every family meal! He hasn't done it at lunch time with just me and the boys...but every dinner when all 4 of us are together. As soon as he says it, we all put our forks down and say our prayers. Just so cute.

Church

So, along that note - we also don't go to church as often as we should. Part of it is while Logan is pretty well-behaved now, Carter is still in an exploring stage and let's everybody know how mad he is if he is restrained. While we have Tao (elephant) and he helps, sometimes even he can't quiet him down in a tantrum. We end up spending most of the sermon taking turns taking him outside...of which we then don't get much out of church. Coupled with that and the fact that our church is about 20 minutes away with a service at 11....it is tricky. The boys almost always fall asleep on the drive there - then we wake them up, get them back in sorts and sometimes the service is longer than an hour. Then it is lunch time and they fall asleep on the way home.

So I suggested finding a church closer and John is on board. Logan and I tried out our first church today. I am taking Logan to get him in the habit of going in hopes he'll continue to set a good example for Carter. John is staying home with Carter until we find a good church. One of our requirements is having a mother's room. Well this church today didn't have one. When Logan & I sat down in this very small church, I smelled him (more poop from that constipation). I went to change him and the bathroom didn't have a change table - pretty clear sign that it is not a church with many small children - another requirement. Ended up that we were one of 35 folks in attendance that day (small church)...only one other kid younger than 18 was present. It was a contemporary service, which John and I prefer, but it was almost concert-like as it was very loud. Logan thought the drums and guitars were pretty awesome! He did great in the service and many of the older couples around just thought he was the cutest thing! The service started late, had a couple interesting folks and pastor and ran a bit long....So I have another church pegged to try in a couple weeks. I've heard September 18th is National Go Back to Church Day...for everybody to get back in the swing as summers people tend to stray...so we'll aim for then (plus our other 2 Sundays until then are busy...).

Sunday afternoon

This afternoon John hung out with the guys to do his Fantasy Football Draft - at Hooters....one of his least favorite places (...right....it is one of his faves). The boys took a 3 hour nap, which was super - I went through all their toys downstairs...threw stupid McDonald's plastic toys away, put some 'baby' toys away in the attic and organized the rest. While organizing, I found all these Thomas the trains. Later I found 2 more upstairs....and I know we have at least 2 wooden ones in the wood train bin. I think it is clear that Thomas is the favorite....and that we don't need anymore Thomas'!!



Whew....oh it feels so nice to not have such craziness in the toy dept. going on! I still have a lot of organizing for crafts and such....but this was a great start. When the boys woke up, we went for a walk around the block. I pushed Carter in the buggy and Logan literally ran around the block 3 times. Burn that energy!! Below is a picture of Carter just being adorable.

We had some great family time when John got home shortly after dinner. This picture doesn't capture it best, but Logan was staring at John...then John would make a funny sound or face and Logan would laugh hysterically! Here he was even grabbing his belly while laughing...so cute!



Logan was still a pickle to put to bed - this time his eyes hurt. I wonder if he was feeling a bit of allergies and rubbing his eyes ragged. I got a cool cloth, wiped off his hands, then laid the cloth on his eyes. It seemed to do the trick cuz he fell asleep very shortly after, with the cloth still on his head. :)

Great weekend and great family time! I do LOVE my family and spending time together!!

Random

So Disney is on at our house quite a bit - not that we watch it all day...but we do wake up with it...and depending on the day, it may be on for a small portion. But at night, between several channels, sometimes I just watch Disney - the cute shows. So one of the shows, Good Luck Charlie - the teenage daughter does video diaries for her baby sister giving her advice. There are so many times I think how great of an idea that is! While I do like to take the time to type it out...sometimes I have a story, which I know once I start typing...and all the details I love to share...well it will just take forever. That is kind of why I paused for a bit. I love that we have so many experiences as a family to share, but putting it into words to capture...it's kinda hard sometimes. Anyway, that was all - just wanted to share that if I find a way to do a video blog and post it to share their stories...I just may. Granted, then I'll probably watch it and analyze it and not want to post it or want to redo it cuz I sound like a dork....whereas with typing, I NEVER sound dorky... Right....

On to random moments from today...

As usual I open the garage to start the car and get everybody loaded. While doing so Logan opened the door and Buddy got out. Again. He used to be so good with staying in our yard, but the more we go up to my in-laws house where they have several acres of open land....and connecting driveways - Buddy thinks my neighbors yards and the street are okay to run into. He typically ends up across a somewhat busy street at my neighbors house where his BFF golden, Codi lives. I remember the first time this happened I panicked...grabbed the boys and walked...holding Carter with Logan running by me - chasing this darn dog around 2 blocks...before I was smart enough to grab the stroller. Now when it happens I sigh, get the stroller, some treats and the leash - then we go on our way. Well today as soon as Logan realized what happened, he said 'Mom, Buddy got out and is running away'. Then he proceeded to go into the driveway and yell 'Buddy, do you want a treat?'...then he started clapping his hands and patting his knees. Oh man, I was too busy laughing at him to know where Buddy was. He was just 2 houses down, but close to the street. He kept yelling for him and clapping. Oh so funny...he clearly knows my routine! I grabbed the stroller, the boys and the leash (no treat since clearly saying I had one wasn't working). We walked around the corner ad I waived the leash and he came running thinking we were going for a walk. I did feel badly, but I had other plans and he was walked back to the house. Sorry Buds....

Well there is more I'd like to share - but I need to listen to my eyes that are half open. Goodnight!

Meet Tao

So Carter's lovey is a mini pillow pet Elephant. My MIL sent it for Valentine's Day and it hasn't left his sight since. Well, to be honest...it is not ALWAYS with him...but pretty close. Thankfully it is light gray and is not an obnoxious color or anything! Logan had his pacifier - but it was just for bedtime/naptime. I will get there with Carter, but right now, it travels with him to keep our sanity. :)

The elephant's name is Tao (sounds like cow with a 't'). Everybody kept asking if he had a name and we always just said 'no...just Elephant'. It is a lot of pressure to think of a name for a stuffed animal that is always with him - I'd rather him come up with the name....but he's a little toddler.... So lately we've noticed that he tries to say elephant....he uses the last letter and tries to go backwards sounding something like 'Tao'. So....that is his name. Traditional? Not so much...but it is what he calls him and we like it. :) If he is being whiny, all we have to do is say 'Where's Tao?'...and Carter immediately leaves us and goes on a search (even if it means going upstairs) to get his lovey.

Anyway, because it is always with him...this poor thing gets a beating! It gets dropped, washed, stolen by the dog, washed, sneezed on, washed....you see a pattern. It 'used' to have a tail. At the fitness daycare I go to, the tail fell off. In that place now was a hole....where stuffing randomly fell out. My Mom came over a week or so later and stuffed it like crazy and sewed it up. Well somewhere in the next week, the hole came undone...perhaps it was because it was stuffed so much - it was hilarious watching Carter try to walk around holding his animal. So I took some stuffing out...then some more...then some more....and while visiting John's Mom, she sewed it back up.

Then a few weeks ago, a hole entered near the ear - more stuffing came out. My house at times may look messy just from random stuffing falling out or from tissues that my ridonculous dog has ripped to shreds (thanks Buddy)...which by the way, I think we know who is causing holes in the elephant. He just is a dog that LOVES stuffed animals. I had lost my needle and thread and recently found it....sewed that sucker back up! I also searched through all my buttons and sewed on a new eye (because oh yeah - that fell off at one point too).

Fast forward just 2 short days later. Carter was dying to go outside with Buddy while I made dinner...I had no problem...except that he wanted to bring Tao. Against my better judgement, I finally gave in so I could do dinner without a screaming toddler either banging on the door to get outside, or banging on the door to get inside to get Tao. About 10 minutes later, I see Carter is no longer holding Tao....crap! I bolted outside and thankfully Buddy is getting much better at leaving the scene of the crime when I come running out like a crazy momma! There went not only the new eye, but the old eye as well. And the one hole was now much bigger. So back to the sewing kit I went. I patched up the hole and we decided to leave Tao without any 'eyes'.

So yes, we have a blind elephant without a tail, named Tao on our hands...but we love him.



Tao is pure magic - just ask anybody who has witnessed it. If Carter is cranky or whiny (kinda the same thing) - all you have to do is give him Tao and he immediately is quiet. There is no interim period of quiet whining...just. pure. silence. It is quite remarkable. Tao in his left hand, right thumb goes right into his mouth.



Isn't it funny how this post was going to be a quick story about these next couple sentences...but due to my lack of blogging the last few months, I had to introduce the main character...and I write how I talk...and well...I am a talker with lots of detail!!


Because of random stuffing falling out of Tao despite no hole (that I know of...), I will find Carter walking around with a small piece of stuffing in his left ear. Only ever his left ear - it is so funny!! Here is a picture of him just yesterday...with the stuffing in his left ear. What a goofball!

A Day with Thomas

Today we took the boys to 'A Day with Thomas'. It is a cute event all centered around Thomas the Train. While the boys really do play with a variety of toys, they both do truly love to play with trains. Our time slot to ride on Thomas was at 1pm and we got there at 10:30, so we enjoyed many of the other activities until then.

We first visited the Activity Tent - you can color pictures of Thomas (Carter colored), get a Thomas tattoo (Logan got Thomas on his hand; Carter got Diesel on his arm); you can make a postcard (Logan made one); you can play with train tables (they both did this for a bit).



Then we rode on a green Electric Train. After we were on and seated, the conductor told us that it was a 35-40 minute ride. Um...what? Here's why. While we were packing up the stroller I tossed in Tao (Carter's must-have elephant) into the stroller. John said that we shouldn't bring him along cuz we had enough stuff. I reluctantly agreed though I knew better. About halfway into the train ride, the train stopped (it was a single track and we had to let another train pass). The conductor came back and asked all the kids if they wanted a turn to blow the whistle. But of course! Logan was one of the first to get up there. Another lady had to help them...there was no longer room for John or I to get up there to help (very narrow train). Me Too, I mean Carter, had to have a turn as well. We waited until the end, stood up and he took a turn. We went to sit back down...that is where things took a turn. He thought we were done. He screamed. Loudly. I quickly whipped out fruit snacks, crackers, juice boxes...all the things I had as distractions throughout the day were going to be used on our second main activity, but I had to do what I had to do. Electric trains are quiet. The rest of the kids, for some reason, were quiet....except for Carter. Carter was appeased for only a short while with the food and drink....then screaming quickly re-commenced. We tried to stand with him, but he wanted to have us walk. Ugh. It was our first LOUD tantrum in public that we could not calm down quickly. I gave the folks an apologizing glance while trying to avoid eye contact at the same time. I just prayed that we didn't rile up any other kids. I did shoot John a glance of 'wishing you had that elephant now, aren't you?'. He understood and we vowed to never make that mistake again. :) Luckily after what was probably 5 minutes (seemed like 5 hours) he settled on his thumb and onto his Daddy's shoulder. Immediately upon exiting the train, Carter and I made the somewhat long walk to the car to get Tao (afterall, we still had Thomas to ride on). John and Logan stayed and played a round of mini-golf.

We grabbed a bite to eat, watched trains go by, checked out the model trains, Logan played in a mini bounce house maze for a little bit, watched a little bit of a Thomas movie in a tent...then we stood in line for Thomas. We took the diaper bag, including Tao onto the train. About 10 minutes into the ride, just as we were about to stop to turn around...Carter whined once and was getting antsy. I whipped Tao out so fast, he smiled, grabbed it, insert his thumb into his mouth. All. Was. Silent. :) Naturally on this train, it was a LOUD train with a bunch of excited kiddos that were making some noise. So had we not had Tao, it would not have been AS big of a deal. Plus, the ride was only 20 minutes. But hey - it was a success!

We then stood in line to get a picture with Thomas, which turned out fairly well. :)


All in all, it was a fun Thomas the Train kind of day!!

A fun day & night!

Yesterday I drove down to the school that my Mom & sister work at. I was helping my sister get her classroom all decorated and my Mom always loves to show off her grandkids. :) The boys didn't sleep on the way down, so they were nice and awake when we got there. (We have learned that if Logan sleeps on the way down, he is a tad cranky when he wakes up and not always excited to say hi to new people and hug those that he loves). My moms friends immediately showered them with hellos, juice boxes and cookies - yeah they pretty much won them over!

We headed up to Aunt Dawn's classroom and oh, they had so much fun! After shutting the door so nobody could escape, the boys just played and played while Dawn and I hung posters and such. Aunt Dawn's team is doing a camping them...so Aunt Dawn even had a cool small tent in her classroom with a lion (not sure if you see those camping too much) and a snake. Aunt Dawn also had fun little toy animals to play with ...in her classroom...despite the fact that she teaches junior high! They thought it was all pretty cool. And let's not forget that Aunt Dawn also had crackers...they just kept eating...especially Carter.

At one point we did venture out into the hallway and Aunt Dawn opened a couple lockers for them to check out. They loved it and we got a couple really cute pictures!


We left the school and went out to lunch with Aunt Dawn & Grandma. After the boys weren't eating...I reflected back to all the crackers & cookies they had been spoiled with. Well, that explained it. They fell asleep on the way to Aunt Dawn's and both transferred wonderfully. This gave me an hour and a half to hang by my sister's pool with my mom and sister - so nice!

My parents had offered to take the boys for an overnight...in fact, they had all their grandkids, except the oldest and the youngest (that is 6 kids...are they awesome, brave, or crazy? - I think a little combo platter, but definitely awesome.) They apparently took them all to McD's and they played around in the tubes like crazy and ate a really good dinner. Okay, sure, McD's is not the healthiest place so 'good' is used differently. The fact that Logan actually ate his whole dinner is GOOD!!! He is such a tough kid to get to eat sometimes! I think having his cousins eating so well, helped. :) hm....if only we lived closer, we'd eat together more often!

They had a great sleepover - they all played so nicely. They fell asleep kinda late.....like 10/10:30ish...eeks! And I guess Carter woke them all up around 6:30 with an awesome scream! Yeah...you're welcome!

Meanwhile....I left around 3 to head home. I quickly cleaned, let Buddy out and put on a dress....for I had a date with my husband! He took the 3:30 train home, changed and then we went to Olive Garden. While waiting, we ordered some drinks at the bar. I got a pomegranate margarita martini...it was yummy...and strong...and I had an empty stomach. I think we all know where this is going. After a few sips, I was a bit woozy. I thought it would get better after I had some food...but wow - I was a smidgen drunk...off one martini! I am a cheap date. :) Amongst other craziness...I believe in the nice atmosphere at Olive Garden, I may have said loudly, "What, what in your butt?" See....John and I are a bit goofy and sarcastic at home. So when somebody says 'What?'...that is often our response. I just did it loudly at an inappropriate place. Thankfully I wasn't sitting towards the other customers...so I ignored any looks I may have gotten. How embarrassing.

We drove home, changed into painting clothes, then went over to our friends house to help them paint as they are just moving in. We had a nice time, painted 2 of the 3 rooms and shared some laughs!

Best part....John and I slept in until 10AM!!!!! Buddy wasn't too annoying in the morning with his allergies (itching & licking). There was a thunderstorm - so it was just so lovely. :)

Everybody had fun and everybody was refreshed! (Granted, they boys....they are currently a little melty...but worth the fun at Grandma & Papas house!)

Our 2nd birthday party this week

It seems between August - November...all kinds of friends are having birthday parties! Today was a pretty cool one. It was at a place nearby called Jumps N Jiggles. It has 2 rooms: one with climbing structures and tubes to crawl thru and another with a giant carousel! So between those 2 rooms no child should be bored in the 2 hours!

Good thing too: no bloody lips today - hooray! :) John and I got a bit dizzy riding around on the carousel. Then a lightbulb moment hit us...we let Logan ride alone on every other carousel...why were we hanging with him on this one? So he then went solo and we took turns with Carter. Thankfully every so often they wanted to go play in the other room and gave us a break. They had a fun time and it was nice for both John and I to see them playing so well together and having such a nice time. :)

At the end of the party, the 'goody bag' was to create your own candy bag. Logan thought that was pretty cool and wanted the m&m's, jelly beans, skittles & lollipops - he wanted it all! The bag will be hidden and they will get a few little treats here and there! :)

Carter's 18 Month Checkup

After a well-needed nap from the super fun birthday party...we headed to the doctor's office. I could not have been more proud of both boys at this trip! We all held hands nicely in the parking lot. Carter didn't run off once we entered the office building. While we waited a couple minutes to be called back, the boys played with the fish mural on the wall. Funny - I asked Logan where the eel was. Carter thought I asked where his ear was - so he pointed to his ear. Then the two goofballs walked around with their fingers in their ears! They thought they were hilarious!

We were called back and Logan immediately sat on the bench and waited nicely. I stripped Carter down without any complaint and answered all the questions which proved that Carter is progressing right on track. He can run, stack blocks more than 2 high, say at least between 7-20 words (he can say more)....I'm sure there are more; I just don't remember. Here are his stats:

26 pounds 11 ounces (60th percentile)
33.5 inches tall (80th percentile)
Head: 19 inches (50th percentile)

Overall, he is growing at a great rate! He is now 1.5 pounds greater than Logan was at this age; still one inch shorter.

When the doctor came in, Carter didn't cry, though he did scope him out. I asked him to say doctor...and he did! Dr. M was impressed. While the doctor was asking me questions, Carter pointed to the tractor on the border and the doc was impressed that he was picking out objects and naming them. That's my boy! :) Then he started poking around. Logan instinctively got up and went to the end of the table. The doctor would show Carter what he was going to do by doing it to Logan first. Logan was a champ! Without having prepped him with what we were going to do that day, Logan let the doctor listen to his breathing...then Carter said 'me too!' That is how the visit went for looking at the eyes, checking out the ears and so on... Even when Carter was poked in the belly and checked out and doing exercises with the doc, he did great. I was very proud of him! He did cling to me a bit at first, but still let the doc touch him, which was just perfect.

Carter was all caught up on shots, so he didn't even need one! The boys both got stickers, said Thank You to Dr. M. and we were out the door within 25 minutes! Love this doctors office - we don't often have to wait longer than 5 minutes in the waiting room and 5 minutes in the office. :)

I am thankful for another healthy checkup! Way to go, Carter!!!

A birthday party

Today we had a busy day planned. We had a birthday party at pump it up. Both boys did great pretty close to the entire time! I remembered socks this time...so it was a big relief. I was able to go in with the boys when they started getting clingy. They thought it was pretty cool that I was in there. Because most of the kids were Logan's age through age 5, I was pretty much the only Mom bouncing around. Every so often, my good friend Kathy joined me. :) It was a lot of fun. I did head into one obstacle course, which was very difficult when Carter decided halfway through that he was done - like turn into jello and scream done. I still had to climb an inflatable wall one-handed while holding said screaming jello. It was good fun. But then - it was time to put on our shoes and head in for lunch & cake.

One would think that would be where things calmed down. No. During the cake, Maddie's dropped onto the floor. I picked it up and during that time, I have no clue what Carter was trying to do - perhaps trying to swing his leg over to get down?? I don't know. Anyway, he kind of flipped off the bench and smacked down on the hard floor. People gasped a bit, I picked him up and waited for the big wail - of which everybody (which was mostly friends of mine, so it wasn't awkward or anything) turned and looked. I said 'oh he's fine'. He was just exhausted and this scared him a bit. I looked at my shoulder - oh, apparently he's not as fine as I thought - there were little dabs of blood. He must've bit his lip. While he was on my lap and I was trying to get some water on a napkin to blot...the little stinker is already putting a forkful of cake in his mouth! Needless to say, he was just fine!! Granted he had a fat lip - and he had his 18 month checkup....of course!!! Oh well, it was a fun birthday - happy 4th birthday, Leo!

June Trip to WI

I took the boys with me to visit my in-laws up in the Cheese State in mid-late June. On our way up, we picked up my SIL, Brittany, niece, Myella and their dog, Oakley (my boys looovvee him). It was a nice ride - the kids napped, the dogs behaved and Britt and I chatted.

We arrived and headed out to the Greenville Zoo. I was told this was a small zoo. I guess compared to Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, that is true - however it was MUCH bigger than the small zoo's I've visited in Chicago. We saw several cool animals and played on their big playground...but the coolest thing was probably the two grizzly bears! They were playing - jumping in their pool, sliding down their slide...they just put on a good 10 minute show for us!

Afterwards we headed out for ice cream. The funniest part was my SIL, Brittany wanted an ice cream cone (but she had to leave the zoo early since Myella needed a nap). My niece Meghan and I drove her cone home - approx. 2 miles. But it was a HOT day. The ice cream was not uber-firm (even for soft serve) to begin with. By the time we pulled in the drive way, it was dripping down Meghan's hand!! We had even tried turning the air conditioning on high and holding the cone in front - it was a losing battle! It provided for some great laughs for Megs and I...and Brittany got to quickly eat her cone!

The next day, the boys and I, along with my MIL, SIL, Sandy and nephew Alex headed out to go strawberry picking. Because it was a bit late in the season, the strawberries were soooooo tiny! While we picked a ton, but it didn't look like too much cuz they were so small. People though they were raspberries. I freezed most of the strawberries for smoothies later and toppings on ice cream or in a sauce for pancakes....but my MIL also made several batches of strawberry jam. Oh yum!!! It is super delicious - my boys and I love it!!!

We took a dip in the pool on this hot, gorgeous day. Carter and Myella chilled in the baby pool for a bit. Sometimes Carter came in the big pool with Logan and I. The one who kept getting in the pool SO much was our water-dog, Buddy! Oh man. He's okay if others are in the pool, but I think when they boys and I are in there he either feels left out or wants to protect us. We tried blockading the in-ground pool, but it didn't work. He ended up getting locked in the garage (no worries - it is a ventilated, 4-car garage...he was by no means cramped!

We left around 2, which was my idea...but was a bad one. Not only did I hit Milwaukee traffic, but then Chicago traffic as well. Bummer. I also took a wonky way home - towards Madison...which while I enjoyed no traffic for a bit....when I did hit Chicago traffic, it is was in small towns with lots of stoplights. Ugh.

Great trip - next time, we leave after lunch or around 4. :)

Summer 2011 - Recap 1

Okay...since I apparently don't have the time to update as often as I'd like...here's a recap of our summer thus far:

• I joined a gym back on April 30th - while it was to help prep for the triathalon I completed, it was one of the best things ever! I've not only lost a few pounds that were hanging on, but toned my body much more and I just feel great!! I am now much happier when I look at my body in the mirror...or in pretty much any outfit! I am down 10 pounds from where I was BEFORE Logan. So we have been spending some days at the gym. Since I am a stay at home mom, I certainly don't want to put my kids in daycare every day just to work out...but I do go 1-2 times during the day. Then sometimes I go at night after the kids are in bed...and John's asleep (since he gets up early). :)

• I was running a mommy group with my friend this past year...which ended up using more of my computer time than I thought (maybe I can blame that for my lack of blogging...yeah, we'll do that). :) It is a great group of moms and I love being a part of the group...I just don't think I have the time for organizing all the events - heck, I am still trying to FIND events for us to do....and if you know me, I am not a stellar researcher. Anyway, we relinquished the group to a fellow Mom who is doing an awesome job so far. That is a weight lifted off my chest!

• My brother had a day off work, as did my mom (and my sister & nephews always have the summer off)....so we all went to the zoo!! It was a first time out with my mom with just her kids and all her grandkids!!! It was great! My sisters kids, since they are older, brought some friends, so we didn't see them too much. The rest of us, trucked along. It was funny to see the difference it kids. James' kids thought every site was awesome and they were ready to move along. My boys thought each site was awesome and wanted to stay at that exhibit for about 10-15 minutes! This reminds me very much of Dawn's boys...even when they were little! It was a very nice day out and we did snap a few pictures to capture the memory.

• We also headed to my sisters pool and enjoyed some fun time. However....my boys are different dudes in the pool when I'm there. Mom, mom, mom, mommy, mama, mom, mommy, mama, mom, mom, mom. My sister says Carter reminds her of Stewie from Family Guy. Some days that is SOOOOO true! In the pool this particular day, it definitely was! Then Logan also wanted me. Logan is a pill sometimes. It's hard - while my family lives an hour away...it is easy enough to make a day trip without it being too much driving (in my eyes)...but the thing is, Logan only gets to sleep for one hour. One hour is enough to take some edge off...but not nearly enough. It sometimes takes him a half hour to get re-warmed up. So in the pool, nobody else could play with him cuz he was being a bit of a crab. Once he is warmed up...he is hilarious; he is fun in the pool; fun in the house with the toys; and always wants to feed Chubbs *the guinea pig* a carrott. By the time we leave, he doesn't want to. Now, if he could only warm up from the get go.... :)

I will do better!

I look back at my blog and just think how WELL I did before....I have been a super slacker with it! It's not that my day is busy with two very busy boys and a dog with whom will be glad that the weather is cooler so he can go on walks again....or that when I sit down at the computer, my brain needs to decompress...or I feel that I should be a decent instructor and work on my class... Man, check out those excuses!

Okay, so my goal is to post at least once a week...however, I'm aiming for 3 times a week! I don't write a journal to capture these moments, so this is my outlet to help me in my old age...or for my boys to see what a truly awesome childhood they had!!!

Carter's in a Big Boy Bed!

This past weekend, at 17.5 months, we switched Carter to his toddler bed. We mentioned it around 14 months (when we switched Logan)....but Carter wasn't ready. For starters, while he takes several steps at a time, walking alone (without any toys) is not his preferred method. He does stairs well enough, I'm not quite ready to have him come out of his room and be near the stairs without our knowing. Yes....we removed the gates once Carter mastered turning around for the stairs. John and I can't stand living in a gated community. Perhaps it is the type of gates we have that were annoying to open, but nonetheless we were glad to be free of them!

So after a few months...and after Carter mastered walking...we continued to hem and haw. See right now, Carter still sleeps until 8-8:30. We knew that Logan had started waking up earlier shortly after he switched to the toddler bed....but every kid is different. Logan currently wakes up early right now 6:15-6:30, but he climbs into my bed and either watches some cartoons or plays with some toys while I catch a bit more shut eye.

But we decided to just go for it. We all helped take the crib part down together (it converts) and then we helped Daddy assemble the toddler bed. The boys climbed around in there and Carter was very excited.

The first couple nights so far have been great! We stay in his room for now and read to him to help him fall asleep, then once he's out we leave. He stayed asleep all through the night and got up around 7:30 - not to shabby!!

Let's hope it continues to go so well. Yay for a crib-free household!

Train Day

We had such a fun adventure today as a family! We drove to a nearby train station and boarded the train. The boys were both very excited. We sat on the top (as that is where Daddy sits when he rides the train daily...). We went about 4 stops - both boys really excited the whole way! They kept looking around the train...then back outside. At one point, a freight train passed us going the opposite direction. Logan's eyes were nearly cross he was trying to look at it all!

After 4 stops we hopped off and walked a half a block to 2Toots. It is a cute little restaurant where your food is delivered via a little train. Our friends Kathy, Drent, Maddie and baby Emma met us there. The kids were so excited to be together and eat together. We had a nice lunch....a little distracted by all the train action, but they did very well.

We said good-bye to our friends and saw a bunch of police cars zooming around downtown, just up a block. We walked over and saw even more police, firetrucks and an ambulance. Then we noticed smoke about 2 blocks up just billowing. I pray for the family whose house or business caught on fire. That being said, it was very cool for Logan to see the firemen in action. We saw a couple of them wait for the call for a back-up truck and you can tell as soon as they got it. They all quickly grabbed their gear, ran to the truck and sped outta there.

We walked around a bit more waiting for our train. Carter was so super tired, so John and I took turns carrying him...which did I forget to mention it was 90 degrees with a heat index around 98? Yeah, next time we attempt a cool adventure like this....we should pick a cool day. :)

The train ride home was just as exciting and the boys were conked out within minutes of being in the car. It was a very fun family day.