Santa is the MAN

1. Santa

I think that I should of started reading the Christmas books and started talking about Santa a bit earlier.  Cameron who now LOVES the man did not have fun when we went for a visit yesterday morning.  My mom met us at the mall and took these great pictures.  The last picture is the one we purchased.  I took a picture of it with my cell phone.  (Way quicker than scanning!!)  And this was $17.  One 5x7.  $17.

2. Cameron's new smile

I am extremely grateful that the boys are actually looking into the camera (at times) when I ask.  They will also give a smile (at times).  Cameron is doing this great thing where he is shutting is eyes so he can barely see.  Sometimes he shuts them all the way.  It makes me laugh out loud everytime and then give him a kiss.  This kid is so freaking cute.  Anyways, here is one of the smiles while we were at my parents house.  They were not allowed to eat the Gogurt on the carpet.  This was their solution.

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I also added so more pictures of the MUCH loved grandparents.  I am just so grateful for their love and support.

3. The pose
I made the boys sit with the sock monkeys again.  I tried to find the ORIGINAL picture with the boys and the monkeys.  It took me to long to scroll through all the old posts so....sorry...you are just stuck with these! 

I was asking them to put their hands down.  **They are still learning up and down***
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Here is another picture of Cameron.  Just LOVE his new smile.  He was coloring during nap time.  Oh, and he knows all of his colors.  

3. Not potty training yet
I have two books in my possesion from the library, I purchased two identical potties for Christmas, and I even purchased an Elmo book that makes noises all about the potty.  Quick forwarning...this is a long story.  I decided to give the boys potty stuff for Christmas.  They don't need much so this was the idea.  The stuff is already wrapped.  Well last night we were playing in the toy room and Owen got a panicked look on his face and said, "poop.  poop?"  He confirmed that he was pooping and wanted to go to the big boy potty.  He ran is little butt there and we got on.  Now a few things...he had already gone in his diaper.  AND the last time I asked if he wanted to go to the "big boy potty" he said no with a terrified look on his face.  Back to the story...we got him up there, put the stool under his feet, and he tried to poop some more.  He then let me wipe him with toliet paper, flushed the toliet, and washed his hands.  He was on top of the world and I am a proud mom. 

This is him asking for a pacifer. 

So last night I decided if he was interested again in the morning we would unwrap the potties and have at it.  I really do not want to try for a few more months but if he is ready...he is ready.  Good news.  He had no interest today.  I asked a couple of times, he pooped in his diaper, he never mentioned it again, AND the Christmas presents are still wrapped.

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4.  They watch TV

I have no idea what happened but something happened.  They are now watching TV.  Holy moly...I know.  I actually turn the TV off.  Yes.  Someone gave them some type of TV pill.  That or they LOVE Chip and Dale. 

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5. Communication

I am sure that I have blogged about this before.  I have been waiting and waiting for the boys to start communicating more.  Those days have come.  I say, "use your words," and they do.  They say the things that they see, they repeat everything, and they learn more words every day.  "Mine" is a favorite out of Owen's mouth.  That boys claims EVERYTHING. 



It SAVES automatically

I know that I have been bad at posting.  Sorry.  A LOT has happened and we have been super busy.  I wish I could write it all out but I don't have enough time!  I also have not been taking many pictures lately.  Sad.  But here a five things that I am grateful for...

1. NEW PAINT

We had a "paint party" and painted the dining room and hallway.  This was much needed and long overdue.  Even just painting the trim made a huge difference.  Thank you to my mom, dad, and Mat for helping me paint.  On Sunday my mom and I did most of the work ourselves.  It was nice to be able to catch up on life without any kiddos around.  I actually felt like an adult.  The green color looks great.  It even makes the floors look better.  Love the new look.  Thank you thank you thank you!

2. Thanksgiving weekend
We had a great dinner at my parents.  Making dinner is a huge task with a WONDERFUL outcome.  Thanks mom!  I went to work that night at 7pm and worked 36 hours of the weekend until Sunday at 7pm.  That is a lot of work in a short amount of time.  My dad spent all of those hours here including hours that I needed to sleep on Friday and Saturday mornings.  I can not express how grateful I am for this wonderful gift.  I know that my children love spending time with their grandparents and I am able to save money on childcare. 

 This is a picture of the boys watching my dad carve the turkey. 

3. Christmas decorations are UP!
On Sunday afternoon my dad put the tree up and today I put on the lights and ornaments during nap time.  I also put up the rest of the decorations around the house.  This year we do not have a gate around the tree.  So far so good.
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4. Lifetime
Today we spent some time at Lifetime.  The boys played while I ran on the treadmill.  (7miles in 60 mins!) In the afternoon we went back to the pool.  We didn't have any major scares.  It was much harder to keep such a close eye on them.  Owen is my little dare devil and only has interest in things that he is not allowed to do.  Keeping him entertained while staying 10 feet from Cameron gets hard at times.  Regardless the boys LOVE the pool.  I wish I could bring my camera but we are just too busy to snap pictures. 
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5. Monday nights
I know that this frequently makes the list but here is a new reason why I just plain LOVE our Monday nights.  I am able to sit and enjoy my children.  I am not worried about dishes, laundry, or what is next on the "To Do" list.  I am able to sit and color, play, and enjoy with no interruptions.

This is long winded

First I want to say...last week I made a list of the five things.  Well a LOT has happened since then.  So here goes the first five....

1. Sitting at breakfast

I sit with the boys every morning for breakfast.  Besides the random mornings we eat on the couch.  But anyways, we sit at the table every morning.  This week I didn't sit down one morning and neither did the boys.  They just ran around and acted like wild children.  I noticed immediately and sat down with them and enjoyed my coffee.  They sat back down and finished breakfast.  It was great.

2. Colors

We have been practicing colors like crazy.  On Thursday night my dad came over to watch the boys while I picked up four hours.  Cameron was able to correctly identify almost every color in front of him.  Not going to lie...I was a PROUD momma.  He won't do it every day but it was a good moment in time.  Huge smile on my way to work.

3. The smell is GONE

For a few days I had a TERRIBLE smell in my dining room.  It smelled like a poopy diaper.  Krista thought maybe I had a dead animal under the house or in the walls.  That was how gross and nasty it was with no obvious source.  On Friday morning I figured it all out.  It was a piece of broccoli that I did not notice still stuck deep into Owen's high chair.  It took me 30 minutes and lots of bleach to get this gross, old piece of food.  The smell is FINALLY gone.  That little sneak.

4. I didn't go to Penn State

Right now there is a huge scandal going on at Penn State.  It actually kept me up at night this week.  As a parent we try to do what is right.  We try to do what is best.  We need a village to raise our children.  We depend on others.  We trust.  We believe.  We do our best.  And we hope that is enough.  My heart goes out to the victims.

5. Lifeguards

I took the boys to the pool last week.  They did GREAT and they loved it.  It ended a little abruptly.  Cameron went under.  It was a flash.  It was quick.  I was actively playing ball with them it turned scary.  The lifeguard had to jump in but I got to him first.  It was terrifying.  Goodness how the mind and body take over.  Glad that is over and Cameron is ready to go back to the pool!

6. Play dates!!!

Here are some pictures from a play date last week.  Five kids under the age of two!

Loved having a play date with Krista and Jiles.  Cameron was upset that we put Jiles on the couch.  That kid cracks me up!

7.  Cleaning
Cleaning my vents and carpets was LOOOOONG over due.  Last Thursday I spent two arms and a leg on getting this done.  I found out that I had mold growing in my vents so it cost me a few extra hundred dollars.  So enough about all of that (yes...I am grateful I have a job)
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So on Thursday we did many activities and had a busy busy day before I picked up work to try to help the new hole in my wallet.  These first few pictures are from 7 am in the morning.  They used all the large paper up while finger painting for 20 minutes.  (And for those of you who notice these things...they are wearing the same pajamas as in the picture with Jiles from Wednesday because they never got out of pajamas that entire day!!  hahaha)

I love how the boys are so different.  Owen has paint EVERYWHERE.  It is over his entire arm, his clothes, the table, basically just everywhere.  Cameron on the other hand painted only with the tips of his fingers until the very end and he started to use his entire hand.
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This was the first time they actually enjoyed play dough.  We have the vests on inside because it was FREEZING outside and they had the doors open and heat off to clean the vents for the entire morning.  Chilly!!

Our snack this week was corn.  They loved it!

 Finally I made my way to Chic Fil A.  All the carpets were wet and toys were everywhere.  I needed to get out of the house so I took the boys here.  Two kids meals included fruit, chicken, juice box, and book.  It was a little less than $7.  I just ate their left overs.  Then they played in their playroom for an hour.  Ha.  Yes.  We were there for 90 mins.  I even had to change two poopy diapers.  It was a well spent $7.  Looking forward to more trips this winter!!

8. My new favorite food
Peanut butter between two pretzels with a part dipped in milk chocolate.  I made some this week. YUM.  Here is Cameron enjoying a bit of my addiction.  I love this stuff.

101 Dalmatians

1. Weekend DAYS

This past weekend was my first full weekend being the day supervisor.  I learned a lot of new things and enjoyed being completely rested to start Monday morning.  I am doing it again this coming weekend.  Yay!!

2. Understanding

It is obvious that the boys are able to understand almost everything that I say.  I have been waiting for this time for awhile.  I can finally see this starting to happen in our day to day lives. 

3. Hmmmmm

So this is not something that I am grateful for, but something I wanted to document.  EVERY single time I pick the boys up from Lifetime I am given a bad report.  Basically the boys are hitting and pushing all of the babies and kids in their path.  Last week while I was getting Owen's shoes on a three year old came up and told me that Owen was throwing crayons at his head.  Yesterday Owen was sitting in the teacher's lap when I picked him up because he could not be trusted.  Cameron hit a kid in the face who was randomly playing next to him (I saw this one with my own eyes!) Just thought this was worth mentioning.  Goodness, this parenting stuff is challenging

4. The changes

A few great changes are happening this week and the coming weeks to the house.  This week I am having the carpets and vents cleaned.  I actually need to buy new carpets but hopefully this solution will last me a few more months.  I also picked out some new paint colors to help put a fresh look on these beat up walls.  I am NERVOUS about adding so much color and such a big change.  The walls are pretty beat up so they need to be repaired before painting.  Hoping to have this project is done sooner than later.

5. The boys

Last week Tanya and the boys came over for a short play date before our afternoon nap.  Right before they left I turned on a movie.  I don't have any DVDs so I put 101 Dalmatians into the VHS. Here are a few pictures of the boys watching.  This did not last longer than a few minutes. 

 First the Ethan and Johnny sat down and then Owen decided to join the party. 

Cameron wanted in on the fun.  I love this picture of Cameron and Owen looking at each other. 

Cameron didn't love his spot on the side so he tried to join the group sitting in front.  It was obvious that wasn't working so I rearranged everyone and snapped a few more pictures.

Here is a picture of baby Eloise.  Looking forward to meeting her!!

So I am typing this out during breakfast and Owen just reminded me that he took all of his broccoli from last night and stuck them into hole in the highchair where they tray usually sits.  My two year old is already hiding his broccoli.  hahahaha

Halloween and a BABY!

1. Halloween

I made Thomas costumes for the boys out of diaper boxes a few weeks ago.  They were not such a hit with the boys.  I take that back.  The boys loved the costumes, just not wearing them.  In these photos I was bribing them with M&Ms.  It worked for about three minutes and that was it.  They enjoyed the rest of the evening running around and playing in my parent's yard.  They were also exhausted VERY tired and were in bed by 7:10!!

2.  Carving pumpkins
A day late.  Yesterday (that would be a day after Halloween) we actually had a beautiful day outside so we decided to carve pumpkins.  Mat was here for the afternoon so he taught the boys how to get the "goup" from the inside. Then we brought the pumpkins into a the bathroom to show them how a jack-o-lantern worked.  As you can see from the photo...Owen didn't like that part as much.  Once we were in the bathroom they wanted to finger paint.  I feel like I am in my own story, If you give a mouse a cookie....

3. French Toast
The boys (especially Cameron) can eat two full slices of the french toast sticks.  These are $2 a box on sale which would make them $.25 a slice.  I decided to make my own this past weekend.  I even added squash to the mixture!  So far they have been eating them but I will admit they are nowhere near as delicious as the store bought brand.  ***Random but....the boys ate a total of 5 hot dogs for lunch***

4. Brushing Teeth
As the boys get older they are being better about letting me brush their teeth lately.  Don't get me wrong...we still have nights were someone needs to be held down and screaming while I do a quick brush but for the most part they are peaceful.  Little win for mom!

5. Eloise Bethany Harris
My sister had a baby girl an hour ago.  She is 6lbs 10oz.   I can't wait to go out to Denver and meet her.  What a beautiful family!

Here is a picture from part of my newly decorated wall.  Yes...there is more than just what is shown.