Time to wash?

I bought Ryland a new shirt, and he was very excited to wear it.  Now. 

I told him that I would wash and dry it, so he could wear it later in the week when it warmed up outside.  He asked me if I had washed and dried it about 30 minutes later.  I told him no, and this is what I found in the laundry room....

 

Ryland threw the clothes in dryer on the floor and put the wet clothes in the dryer.  He then informed me that the washer was ready for his shirt. 

 

He wasn't so subtle in telling me it was time to wash, at least he is helping with chores.

Racing at play group

We had a great morning racing with our play group friends.  We all met at an indoor racetrack with battery operated vehicles.  The children weren't always the best drivers, but they had a blast.  Ryland cruised around in Lighting McQueen chasing his friends.

Reed didn't have any luck getting a car, so we played and snacked.  He was a trooper, but he wasn't interested in just riding.  If he couldn't drive, he wasn't going to participate.  He did like wearing a helmet and screaming "GO" at the fence.



Shades

Reed is back to normal and ready to play, but first he needed his sunglasses.  He loves to wear shades, even if they are upside down.

 

Stomach yuck

Reed has been fighting a stomach bug today, and my little man just isn't himself.  We cuddled all day, and now that Dad is home, they can have some cuddle time.  Hopefully, this will run its course quickly, and he will be back to his normal self.

Buddies

The boys wanted to watch one more show, so they laid out their nap mats beside one another.  I was thrilled to see them be so sweet to one another.  Of course Cooper wanted in on the buddy action, and he curled right up between them.

 

Powder

When the house is too quiet, there must be a bit of trouble somewhere.  I ran upstairs to help Ryland get some clothes, and it turned into a discussion about colors and matching.  It took all of four minutes, but I couldn't help but notice Reed was awful quiet. 

I found him in the guest bedroom in the diaper drawer.  He had found the baby powder and sprinkled it around on the floor, himself, and in the drawer. When I asked what he was doing, he just said "powder".  He grinned from ear to ear and started shaking his head from side to side.  He knew he was in trouble.

Lesson Learned

How can a simple vase teach me a lesson?  It started out as offering a little help to a group for a big charity fundraiser, and it has turned into a big lesson for me.  I need to learn to say "no" and sometimes just to be quiet. 

After working with a wholesaler for several years, they unexpectedly closed without notice last week.  The really bad thing is that I had received a price quote for a few things for the charity event.  I passed along my price, so that they could enjoy the savings and the decorating budget could go a bit further.  Now that the wholesaler is closed, I can't find the same prices at any other wholesaler.  I haven't exhausted all options yet, but like I really need one more thing on my plate. 

I did go ahead and "fix" the vases they are using.  While removing glued on crystals, digging out the old styrofoam, painting the ugly green and purple to a glossy black, gluing on new crystals, and putting new foam and moss inside, I had plenty of time to think. I love working on projects like this, but I do need to learn to slow down.

Making hearts

I made the mistake of browsing Pintrest for Valentine treats for Ryland and Reed's class.  I found tons of adorable ideas, but we picked heart shaped crayons.  We found a pan at Ross that would work great, so we got an early start by giving it a try. 

It took a little while to get the paper off the crayons, but the first batch turned out really cute. The boys thought it was super cool that they could color with hearts. Only three more batches, before we can package them and call it complete. 

Goodnight

 We made a big pallet in the family room, so all of us could watch a little TV.  It wasn't long before we noticed that both boys were asleep.  Ryland was bundled up under a blanket on a pillow, and Reed looked like he had on a straight jacket. 

Goodnight, my loves.

Flowers

After a very stressful week, the flower designing is in full swing.  The color scheme made a slight shift due to availability, but the white hydrangeas looked so much better than the green ones.  I set up a make shift studio in the garage with a few tables, and I turned on the tunes. Back in the zone.

Here we go...

Today was the day we got serious about the gym again.  I have let it slip over the past couple of months, and I had noticed a change in the way I felt and how my clothes fit.  John Chris also mentioned feeling blah, so we agreed to buckle down and get back into it.  No pain, no gain? 

Chuck E Cheese

Ryland was invited to Colton's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese.  It was Saturday at Chuck E Cheese.  Need I say more?  It was nuts!  We had a great time playing games and winning tickets.  Ryland really worked up an appetite, because he ate three pieces of pizza and three pieces of birthday cake.  My only request was for one token, so we could get a sketch.  I love this machine, and we always get one.  Today we made semi-silly faces.

Office Mess

 What started with the addition of gliding Elfa baskets in the office cabinets, quickly turned into a huge mess. I noticed a mildew like smell when I was emptying the cabinets, so I pulled everything out to find the bottom shelf had collapsed.  Major water leak!

We removed the cabinet and bookshelf to see how bad the damage really was.  We were shocked to realize that we would have to remove the wainscoting, sheetrock, insulation. Hopefully, we can have the office back in working condition quickly.

Red Dog Right

One of our favorite spots to eat with the kids is Red Dog Right. They have great half price pizzas and decent drink specials.The kids love it because there are coin operated games that give candy for prizes.  We hit a new low tonight when we caught our adorable children laying on the floor eating candy.  Lots of candy.  I guess we were visiting with Kelsey and Carl and didn't realize how much candy they were winning; however, they were in heaven.

Writing his name

While Ryland was out of school for Christmas, we focused on learning letters and numbers.  He also practiced writing the letters in his name, and today he put it them all together. 

Cheesecake Factory

Ryland and I had a fun day together, since Reed returned to school.  We talked, ran errands, and treated ourselves to lunch at Cheesecake Factory.  While we waited on our food, we assembled a Lego dune buggy.  Ryland requested cheese pizza and lemonade, and I was already thinking of dessert.  Their strawberry shortcake is amazing! Amazing!  Ryland's expression says it all.

Bedside Art

When I was getting in bed tonight, I noticed two pieces of paper taped to the urn on my nightstand.  I looked a bit closer and realized it was the pictures Ryland had colored earlier this afternoon.  After he finished his masterpieces, he taped them on the container to surprise me.  I love my Ry Ry!  He is such a sweetheart.

Playgroup

We were all very excited to see our play group friends and get back into the "groove".  This Monday we met at the indoor playground at Gateway church.  The boys love this place mainly for the mechanical rides.  No need to bring quarters, because the rides are plugged in and go, and go, and go. 

Party time

Ryland's buddy, Trent, celebrated his fourth birthday with a party at Leapin Lizards.  The boys had a great time jumping in all the huge bounce houses and running around chasing each other.  It was all fun until a big green lizard came out. The parents were so amused at the timidness of our kids.  They were pretty sceptical.

 

 

After a little parental persuasion, the group made their way closer to the lizard.  Ryland still wasn't interested.  He decided to think about it a little longer.

 

It took every mom in the room to get this group shot.  

 

Then out of nowhere, the music started blaring, and the lizard started dancing.  The boys were not impressed.  Do you know what will fix this?  Cake and ice cream.



Haircut

Ryland's hair grows so quickly, and he has needed a haircut for the past few weeks.  I asked him if he wanted to get a haircut, and he told me he wanted me to cut it at home.  I have cut his hair before, but I am always at a loss for what to do with his sideburns.  I asked Nana while she was in town, and she said she agreed to give it a shot.  We decided to go ahead and trim them short with hopes of training them to go back more.  Ryland was very happy with the haircut, and he was all smiles.

It's Christmas

We celebrated Christmas again, and the boys were absolutely thrilled to open more gifts.  Nanna and Papaw came to visit for the weekend, so we were back in the holiday spirit. 

 

 

Ryland was beyond words when he opened the rescue set. He just screamed with joy!

We all led Reed out to the garage for his last gift.  He knew what it was the moment he saw the track.  The grin is precious.

 

The new toys gave the adults several moments of quietness.  I hadn't heard anything out of Ryland for a while, so I wanted to see what he was up to.  I found him in the dining room playing. I just love this age.  He is getting so imaginative and exploring new things.

Happy 2013!

We are off to a great start for the new year.  We woke up late and played all day!  This is the life.  Too bad reality takes back over tomorrow.  We have big plans for 2013 and plan on making lots of wonderful memories.

Enjoy every moment!