Pure Barre

 

 

Such a love hate new relationship.

New backyard

The backyard landscaping is complete.  We are really pleased with the final product.  The new trees were a lot smaller than I had imagined, but it will be just a matter of time before they are over the stone wall.  My favorite part is the new St. Augustine sod.  I absolutely love it.  Now if we could only do the front yard.

After

Before

 

Before

After

 

After

 

After

 

 

 

 

Lunch date

 My boys are not shoppers.  This is something that I have had to come to terms with over the past couple of years.  About the only store that they both love to go shopping is Sam's. Maybe it is all the big boxes, the jumbo shopping carts, or maybe it is the pizza.

Ryland actually asks to go to the Sam's café just for a slice of greasy cheese pizza and a lemonade.  I was happy to agree to an impromptu lunch date at the café today after we shopped.  We ate pizza and talked about summer, and it was the best lunch date.

Potty break

We have been working on the backyard with two adorable helpers.  While John Chris adjusted the sprinklers, the boys ran around in the water.  They only stood still for a brief moment to go potty.  Reed watched Ryland and copied what he did, except for actually peeing.

Time for plants

Who needs an actual truck?  The boys and I loaded up tons of plants for the backyard.  We followed John Chris in a flat bed truck full of sod and trees. I can't wait to see the finished landscaping.  Now we better get to digging.

Where is Reed?

I always check the baby monitor before I go to bed, but I found an empty bed tonight on Reed's screen.  It caught me a bit off guard, so I looked really close.  I asked John Chris to take a look to see if I had lost my mind.  He, too, couldn't find Reed. 

We headed upstairs to see what this silly boy was up to.  He wasn't in his bed, under his bed, in the gameroom, in the bathroom, on the sofa in the loft, or in Ryland's bedroom.  We were both getting a little nervous, when we peeped into his closet.  There he was sleeping peacefully with his Ziggy and Nonni.

When I asked him the next morning what he was doing sleeping in the closet, he bluntly told me that he was hiding.  Oh my!  I think we have a character.

Mini Kickers

Ryland has expressed interest in soccer over the last few months, so we thought a mini camp would be the perfect way to try it out.  He was once again really excited about the uniform and the possibility of getting a trophy.

All the excitement came to a halt, when the group was warming up.  They listened to the rules and stretched.  It was then time for 10 jumping jacks.  Ryland jumped out for one and then realized he didn't know how to do a jumping jack.  I saw the devastation all over his face.  He immediately started crying and ran over to me.  We had a little chat, and he decided to get back in there. 

The rest of the afternoon was awesome.  He loved kicking the ball around, making new friends, and learning a new sport.  The coaches told them all to go home and practice what they covered.  We also need to practice our jumping jacks!

Backyard renovation begins

Here goes nothing.  We have killed the grass in the backyard and started tilling it up for the new landscaping.  We can't wait to see how it looks and start enjoying it, but for now we have lots of work to do.  Before and after pictures coming soon.

Great

Ryland was snuggled inside Daddy's under shirt to keep warm after a swim in the pool.  I thought he was being silly, so I peeked in to see what he was doing.  He was eating a Twinkie.  He said the swimming made him tired, cold, and hungry.  I asked if the Twinkie helped, and he informed me that he was great.  I have to agree.  They do have amazing healing powers.

 

One of a kind

I pulled in to the parking lot at Ryland's school, and I giggled.  I guess I should find my place two spots over.  Too funny.

Town Square

I love Southlake Town Square.  It is wonderful to have a beautiful place to enjoy with family and friends.  Today we had a special story time at the library for our play group and then played in the park area by the fountain.

I feel very fortunate to live in such a wonderful area.  It seems like there is always something going on in Town Square, and it is always kid friendly.  When I moved to TX ten years ago, I never would have guessed  that I could find such a wonderful place to live and have a family.  It is a little utopia.

Golf Par T

Ryland's buddy, Brady, celebrated his fourth birthday with a golf theme.  The party goers were treated to golf cart rides around the neighborhood.  It was warm, sunny and just perfect to enjoy the outdoors.

Brady's mom always does an amazing job at decorating and planning parties.  She had several golf games set up around the yard.  One fun game was shooting golf balls off the tees with water guns.  Then the water guns were perfect to chase each other around soaking one another.

 

The grassy cupcakes were delicious and turned tongues very green. Of course Ryland licked all the icing off, but I was so shocked that he wouldn't even try the Jell-O.  Crazy kid!

Blastball Saturday

We enjoyed another beautiful morning at the ballpark.  Ryland had a blast playing blastball with his buddies and playing in the dugout. 

 

 

Reed liked playing with the siblings.  I caught him checking out Jewel while having a snack.

 

When she came over to him, he looked away.  He was totally playing hard to get like he was too cool.  Well, I hate to tell you Reed, but she was after your snacks.  I love these fun little personalities.

 

 

Thomas the Tank Engine

I took the boys to see Thomas at the Grapevine Train Depot.  It was quite a big deal for lots of children, and I was amazed at all the fun things to do while we waited on the train ride.

 

 

One tent had a huge miniature train set on display with several of the trains chugging around the track.   

 

 

Another tent had train sets for the kids to play with.  Ryland and Reed enjoyed racing trains and trying out the different tracks.

 

THOMAS!  He arrived to pick us up just in time.  The boys were starting to get a bit anxious.  The ride was about 20 minutes, and the boys were thrilled the entire time.  A conductor came around to meet everyone and hand out junior engineer certificates.

 

As we were getting ready to leave, we had to get another picture, and Ryland wanted a tattoo.  I was happy to oblige and couldn't help but think how much fun this outing had been.  I can't wait to hear what the boys say next time Thomas comes on tv.

Rodeo Day

Reed dressed up like a cowboy for the rodeo celebration at his school.  He was very excited to ride his horse to class, but the bandanna around his neck was just too much.  He was insistent that he put it in his pocket.  He is a head strong and adorable cowboy.  He had a blast playing the rodeo themed games and petting the animals, especially the rabbits.

 

Is this safe?

We spent the entire day in the yard cleaning and pruning.  Spring is here, and we love spending time outside.  The only problem is that we also like projects.  In order to give the front flower beds a new design, the hollies had to go.  They must be original plants in the flower beds, because they had a significant root system. 

John Chris thought it would be a lot easier and faster to just pull them out with his truck.  He backed up and tied a strap around the holly and then stepped on the gas.  I couldn't help but grab the boys, take 10 large steps back, and close my eyes. 

 

Skating party

Skating!  We went skating to celebrate Harker's fourth birthday.  It was insane!  The minute the skates were tied on our feet, Reed decided he was over it.  Ryland gave it shot with the help of a "walker".  He was a man on a mission to catch his friend, Charlie.

 

 

Reed didn't want to miss out on a thing, so he wanted to push a "walker".  He made some laps acting like he was a big kid.

The fun always ends, and this time it ended ugly.  I think I heard "I don't like this place!  It is bad!  Bad!  Bad!"  I believe it was the physical exhaustion and frustration that finally took over.

Finally...

Blastball has been a sore subject at home the past few weeks.  Ryland played one Saturday about a month ago, and he has been asking everyday since if it was time to go play again.  He didn't have a game for two weeks for Spring Break and one week it was raining. 

We finally had a beautiful Saturday morning, and he was ready.  It was obvious when he walked out to the mound, glove on, and turned to see when the other team was coming out to bat.  Finally, he gets to play ball.

Reed's Surgery

Reed's surgery was early this morning, and everything went well.  He was a little defiant after the happy shot up his nose.  The nurse kept telling me he would relax in about 5 minutes.  About 10 minutes later, she informed me that some children are a little tougher than others.  Duh?  Needless to say, Reed went back to surgery screaming.  He refused to wear the hospital gown, and he would not let them take his shoes. 

 

The doctor came out after about 15 minutes to inform me that he was finished, and it took three stitches.  I was able to comfort him in the recovery room as he was waking, and he wasn't happy.  He threw a fit about the monitor on his toe and refused to drink juice or eat a popsicle.  I pulled a quick one on him and poured the juice in his cup.  He went for it and drank it all.  The nurses were pleased and processed all the paperwork to get us released. Of course when I stood up with Reed, he vomited everywhere. (and twice more in the truck on the way home)

Ryland was a trooper this morning.  He comforted Reed and told him everything would be OK.  He was really sweet and patient.  He is such a great big brother!

Tongue Tied

Reed will have surgery in the morning to release his tongue tie.  We have been talking about it often today, and he seems to understand.  I snapped a picture of him sticking his tongue out, so we can compare it to after the surgery.  We have done this exercise so many times hoping it would stretch or tear.  I have noticed improvement but not enough. This is as far as he can stick out his tongue, and notice the middle indention.  It almost creates a upside down heart where the lingual frenulum is connected.  We are hoping that everything goes well, and the corrective surgery will be beneficial for speech.

 

Chia Pets

Nanna and Papaw sent the boys Chia Pets for Easter.  Ryland and Reed were a little confused when I opened the boxes, because they expected the pet to look like the picture on the box.  Instead, the pets were "naked". 

The prep process for the pets was a little different than expected.  I had the boys all pumped up and ready to plant, and then I read the instructions.  The pet bodies had to soak for an hour, and the seed mixture had to gel for an hour.  Needless to say, the boys were pretty anxious.

Reed scooped the seed mixture right up without caring about how messy and slimy it was.  Ryland was a little grossed out at first, but he got over it.  After the seed mixture was smeared all over, we created a greenhouse out of plastic bags. 

 We hope there is sun tomorrow, so they will start growing.  We can't wait to see their plush, green coats.

 

Ryland's 4 year well check

Today's visit to Dr. McCoy was more than a little rough.  It was the dreaded 4 year well check appointment, and I had been warned. 

Ryland was 39.8 pounds which is 79.10 percentile, and he was 41.75 inches tall which is 79.67 percentile.  He passed the hearing and vision tests without a problem too.  He is developmentally on track and physically performed all the "tricks" the doctor asked him to do.  The only thing left to do was a little blood test and four shots. 

Ryland did great at giving a little blood.  He said ouch when the needle went in but was quickly over it.  He even watched as they filled the tube.  The big problem was all those shots.  He refused to pull his pants down, and he fought me to keep them up, all while screaming, "NO MOMMY, NO, NO, NO!"  The first two shots caused shrieks, and the next two caused all out hollering.  Then it was over.  He stopped crying the second I told him we were leaving. 

The nurse gave him two suckers, and he stopped by the front desk for a sticker.  I promised ice cream afterwards, and Ryland selected Milwaukee Joe's in Town Square.  He wanted to pick up Reed before we went for ice cream, and we met Daddy there too.  Not a bad ending to a rough afternoon.