Happy Valentine's Day!

I won't even begin to start to tell you just how late I was up last night finishing all of the Valentine's goodies for Dylan to take to school today.  Apparently, I grossly underestimated just how long all of it would take. 

Dylan decided he wanted the super hero tootsie pops again this year.  I remembered that they were an easy task so I guess I thought they would just take me about 30 minutes to crank out 30 of them.

Wrong!! But they are very cute & Dylan was excited to hand them out to his friends at school.

Then I had this wonderful plan of making some gorgeous brownies with beautiful candy coating on top and sprinkles to give to the teachers.  It would be this beautiful gift....they would praise me and ask how I did such a great job.  As though I was "super mom"....

Then THIS happened.  NOT what I was picturing at ALL!!

So those ugly brownies went into an even uglier tupperware dish for us to eat later (despite the ugliness...they still tasted good!) and I had to rack my brain on something I could do last minute to give to the teachers.  I remembered how I made a candy coated popcorn mix for Easter last year that was delicious.  I checked my supplies and I actually had some red candy coating that had been leftover from something before. So I popped a couple bags of popcorn, drizzled the candy coating & poured on some sprinkles.  Threw it all in some ziploc bags and put them in the same cute goody bags I made for the kids at school.

(Much more attractive!)

When all was said & done, this momma was beat! But I was still able to get the boys up and going and excited for the day. 

(You see it, right?  You see their excitement, don't you?)

That's better! 

It was a lot of work, but the boys looked adorable & they had cute goody bags & valentines that they were so excited to hand out. So it was worth it! 

Easy (Non-Candy) Valentine Goody Bags

Dylan's school is having a Valentine's Party tomorrow.  We were the first to sign up for what item to bring and of course Dylan chose goody bags.  I figured that since Valentine's Day is a pretty "candy-centered" holiday that the kids really didn't need a goody bag filled with even more candy.  They were all exchanging Valentine's during the party which would pretty much guarantee an abundance of the sweet stuff.  So I decided that we would take a different route with the goody bags.

I started out with just plain old brown paper lunch sacks & cut them in half with pinking shears.  Punched a whole in the top & threaded some red ribbon for a handle.  Then I cut out a heart from glitter paper & attached it to the front of the bag.  Not too shabby for last minute, huh?

I went to Target to round up some fun stuff to put in the bags.  I found some really cute assorted foam stickers that came in a huge tub, tattoos (pirate for the boys, hearts for the girls) & bouncy balls.  I found some Valentine themed Disney coloring pages online & printed them out, rolled them up and tied them together.  I also included some crayons to color the pages with.

A pretty good little assortment!  The best part was that Dylan helped me put all the "goodies in the goody bag".  He kept saying "Wow, we've got lots of work to do! I love working!"

After all 28 were finished....it DID feel like work!

Being a Busy Little Bee...and Some Brutal Honesty..

I've been a little M.I.A. lately and it's definitely not by choice.  Things at home have been changing (my husband trying to find a new job) and I'm in the middle of typically the busiest time of year for my job.  On top of that, over the past two weeks I've been in the middle of being on the "ick" side of an audit at work.  Then on top of that, for some reason, I've decided to start about ten different projects at home...decorating, crafting, working on the Etsy items, etc. 

Needless to say it hasn't been pretty.

And apparently, neither have I.  I should have seen it coming.  About two weeks ago we were all minding our own business at home on the weekend, the TV was on but no one was really paying it any attention.  Then out of nowhere, a commercial came on.  You know the type...the one that gets really loud like your TV is on at full blast to grab not only everyone in your house's attention, but everyone on the block's attention. I tried to pay it no mind. It'll be over soon.  But apparently Dylan was not so strong.  It was a hair commercial.  You know the type, with the model girl and all her long, thick, bouncing, glorious hair, whipping it around in the air from side to side and telling you that just by using this shampoo you could have the same kind of hair.  Of course I noticed the commercial (it was too loud not to), then I saw Dylan watching it. He turned to me and goes "Mommy! Do you want you hair to look like that??"  My first thought is ....UGGGhhhhh... of course baby! Every mommy of two little boys would LOVE their hair to look like that! But reality sets in....and my poorly made, two day unwashed ponytail is the best you're gonna get today!  But instead I sweetly say "yes, baby..that would be beautiful".  He smiles, nods and passes the thought. 

Nothing more was said or done.  He passed the thought and I thought I was in the clear.  Then we went on a Target run this weekend.  I decided I was going to roam the women's clothing section (who could resist?) with Dylan.  That's when Dylan saw the pictures and advertisements on the signs, looks up at me from the cart, and in the most honest and sweet way goes "Hey Mommy!!! Do you want to look like those girls?!???!!!"...while pointing at the signs.  Completely embarrassed because there's about 15 people around us in the same section that all heard him (if you know my sons...you know they are not quiet by any means) who all looked over while he said that.  I tried to brush it off quickly and said "yes, baby" quietly and tried to navigate myself away from the area as quickly as possible.  It did not work. His very quick response was "OK, THEN. DO IT!!!" As he looks at me like I should magically transform into a skinny, big haired, stylish dressed and wonderfully accessorized human being. I. was. mortified.  About 10 of the 15 people in the area started cracking up.

Leave it to a child to give you the most brutal honesty you could hope for.  Apparently, I've got some work to do!  So the next few weeks apparently I'm focusing on looking like the best "hair commercial, Target model" I can be!

Busted!

Tonight we were up trying to relax and find something (anything!) to watch on TV.  The boys had been in bed (supposedly asleep) for well over an hour.  However, we kept thinking that we were hearing Dylan talking.  Every time we turned down the TV to try & listen, we wouldn't hear him. 

After about an hour Russell got up to check on Dylan and remind him that he was supposed to be sleeping.  He came back to tell me Dylan wasn't in bed and to come look where he was. 

Dylan had apparently got out of bed and gone to the bathroom.  He'd shut the door to the bathroom (very unusual....we always try to get him to shut it when he goes, and he never seems to remember!) 

This was so weird!  I knocked on the door and I hear a sweet and innocent little "Who's there??"  I said "It's Mommy.." and opened the door.  This is what I found...

 (Can you see the terrified look in his face of "Oh no! Am I in trouble??!")

He'd been in the bathroom for over an hour playing in the sink, mirror & brushing his teeth!  I couldn't help but completely crack up laughing!  Who goes to the bathroom to play for an hour just to delay going to bed??

 

(His reaction after realizing he wasn't in trouble..)

This seems like a random occurrence until I remember back earlier this week when I went to wake him up for school and found a bottle of his toothpaste in his bed!  

I think our latest visit to the dentist made quite the impression on him! :)

If at first you don't succeed...

This weekend we had planned on finally getting some pictures done professionally of the boys.  Apparently, this was a much larger task than I had imagined.  When Dylan was a baby it was a much different story. We had all the major milestones photographed, and although it seemed difficult (the day of) it was relatively easy in hindsight.  With two boys, it is apparently a way bigger fiasco.  We had the perfect outfit planned for Blake and what we thought was the perfect outfit for Dylan planned.  Blake had already worn his on several occasions and Dylan's had been purchased and hanging in the closet just waiting for the perfect photo op.

It seemed as though I had the whole situation planned out perfectly and no "hitches" could come into play.  That was until Saturday morning about 2 hours before our scheduled time for pictures.  I was quietly ironing Dylan's adorable white button down shirt to go under his little man sweater vest that was supposed to be paired with his new skinny jeans.   After finishing the pressing of his shirt I had him try it on with the entire outfit.  He consistently wears a size 5T - across the board - so I never in a million years would have thought the shirts would not have fit.  They were...enormous!! It looked so tacky!  I felt bad for the kid, I'd talked up this outfit to him so much & he was so excited about it, he didn't realize just how terrible it looked.  I decided..."ok, don't freak out...we'll buy a new shirt at the mall on our way to get the pictures done...we'll be ok."  I told him to go grab the jeans....the new jeans...this kid is so hard on jeans! He'd worn them just a few times and after he put them on...BAM!...yet another hole in the knee!  The one pair of jeans that were supposed to be good enough for pictures has yet another hole in the knees!  "Ok" I thought.."We'll buy a pair of jeans while we are there too. Don't freak out."

After scrambling and trying to get everyone out of the house we had approximately 30 minutes to buy a shirt & jeans for Dylan and get the boys to the photo shoot.  We got to the mall and found that all the stores had already turned all their merchandise to spring clothes (Blake's outfit would not match at all).  Then Dylan proclaims that he has to go to the bathroom.  Russell took Dylan and I told him that I would run to one more store and for him to call me on my cell.  Five minutes later I realized my cell was dead. :(  This day is turning so crazy!  I decide to stay in that store & wait for them and wandered around the boys section trying to find something, anything, that would work for Dylan.  As it turns out Russell & Dylan were circling the store looking for me (& calling my dead cell) as I was circling and looking for them.  Needless to say...we ended up missing our appointment.

Once we realized there was no hope left in making the appointment for the day, we went to yet another store and found some cute clothes for Dylan.  We were able to make another appointment for the following day (after a little begging to the studio) and ended up getting some amazing pictures of the boys.  These were supposed to be Blake's milestone (9 months...1 month late) and Dylan's milestone (4 years...3 months late) and then pictures of the boys together for the first time.  The photographer was amazing and was so great with both the boys!

After we actually made the appointment (on time!) on Sunday we decided to celebrate our little victory by going out to lunch.  Dylan showed us his best "forced" smile (the photographer was amazing at getting the "real" smile not this one!)

And Blake did his one and only expression for pictures!  The entire time during the shoot he had the look of "Who the heck are you??"

(He apparently is NOT a fan of getting his picture taken!)

The pictures turned out great & I can't wait to share them with everyone!

Little Man Code

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleManCode

Well, it's not 100% complete, but it's up & running! I'll be adding on more items within the next few weeks.  But I'm so excited to get this far!  Go check out my site!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleManCode

Catching Up (Again!)

Well, well....I guess the other morning after waking up at 4 am with a sick baby and two cups of coffee later....I was a little over zealous in thinking I would be able to attend a baby shower, child's birthday party, hang out with the kids & still catch this blog up.  It was a little crazy of a day!  So here goes the catch up....

We made the long trip to Kansas to spend some holiday time with my family.  Its a rough 8-9 hour drive and we were a little concerned about how Blake would do with it (he's not a big fan of his car seat and his screams will let you know it!)  Surprisingly, both boys did great!

(Dylan...always the best passenger)

I'm so mad at myself for not getting any pictures while we were there.  I had the camera out and just never took any! (Slapping myself on the hand)  I did manage to get a couple from the basketball game that we got to go to.  This was a first for all three boys!  Dylan was not too keen on it at first.  His ears are so sensitive and the loud noises scared him.  But eventually he adapted to it and ended up having a good time.  Blake just stared in amazement - lol!

We had a great time (as always) visiting my family in Kansas.  When we returned home, it was time to put up all the Christmas items.  Blake wanted to chip in and help me clean everything up.  He used his lovey to "dust mop" the floor.  He was waving it around everywhere!  

(I have no idea where he got his obsessive cleaning from...wink,wink)

And then the final picture is a "just because" picture.  I'm adding it just because it cracks me up.  Blake has started informing me whether or not he approves of the food choices I make for him. This face means, "I do NOT approve!" I call it the "EWWW!" face.