I'm a baseball mom!

I guess I’m officially a baseball mom! Omar did great at his first practice and he said he loved it. He can’t wait for the next one on Thursday night. I met a couple new mom’s, chatted with a friend who’s son is on the team, and ran into another mom I met at  the Sears Portrait Studio when I had Easton’s 3 month pictures taken. Small world!

We didn’t get home till about 7:30 and hadn’t eaten dinner. So I just make mac n cheese and fish sticks. We went thru a box of fish, and 2 boxes of macaroni, along with grapes and pineapple. And they would have easily eaten more fish. Yikes, we’re in trouble. And Easton isn’t eating all of that yet!! I used to get away with cooking 1 lb. of turkey burger for tacos, but I can’t get away with that anymore either. We'll need to start using our Costco membership more often!!! 

April 17th.

Easton got his tubes put in last Monday. The surgery went great. We were in and out of the hospital in just under 1 hour. He seems to be doing well. He must feel better because he’s sleeping much better at night.

Nolan is still crazy about Justin Bieber. The “Easter Bunny” brought him a CD for Easter. He was SO excited about it. And I guess it was worth seeing the smile on his face, but let me just say, I’m sick of listening to Justin Bieber. Plus, he only wants to listen to the first song on the CD. Over and over and over and over………….

Omar starts baseball tonight. So for the next several months we’ll be at the baseball field every Tuesday and Thursday nights. He is very excited because a couple of kids from his class are on his team. I hope he enjoys it. Honestly, I’m a little concerned. Although, he did much better at soccer then I expected him to, so baseball might bring the same surprise. I hope.

I was so proud of myself on Sunday afternoon because I came up with something different for Omar’s lunch. Skewers of ham, pineapple, cheese, and black olives. I knew he’d love it, and it was something other then a sandwich. So when he got home from school I excitedly asked him how his lunch was. His eyes lit up and he said, “Good!” I felt so proud and asked him if he loved it. He said that yeah, he had pizza because he forgot his lunch. Hopefully he remembered it today. And I hope he loves it! ; )

Bitten by the Crochet Bug

I’ve been bitten by the crochet bug, hard. I found a pattern for the cutest handbag online. My head is flooded with ideas for it. I tried to start it last night, but I think sleep deprivation had taken it’s toll on me, and my fingers weren’t cooperating with me. I’ll try again tonight…..maybe.

Omar had his Arts & Academics Expo last week. What a great night that is. I love going to look at all the neat things the kids come up with. And Omar was SO proud. As well he should be, he did a great job.

Nolan’s love of Justin Bieber is in full force. He’s constantly singing, “baby baby baby”. He was watching the music video last night, so now’s he added dancing along with the singing. Nick told him the other night to stop singing, but I said I don’t think he even knows he’s doing it. It just comes out without thinking. I spoke to him on the phone a little while ago and asked if he was singing for grandma. He said grandma told him to stop singing too. I think he needs to learn a new song.

We had an appointment with the ENT Doctor on Monday. She scheduled Easton’s ear tube surgery for Monday the 9^th. I pray that this will give him some pain relief! His last round of anti-biotics were taken last Friday. When I asked the dr. on Monday how his ears looked, she said they looked ok. But…….I really do NOT have a good feeling. The past 2 nights have been pretty bad. And last night he rubbed his ear so hard, and screamed for about an hour before I finally calmed him down to fall asleep. I’m not sure if I bring him in, or just wait it out until the 9^th? I guess we’ll see what tonight brings and go from there. 

Infection #4

I brought Easton back to the Dr. on Friday afternoon in fear of another ear infection. I was right. Both ears are infected again! Poor baby. He has an appointment with an ENT doctor in two weeks to talk about tubes. I've realized now why we haven't gotten into a good sleep pattern. Just when we seem to get to one, he develops another infection. He has about 1 good week between infections. This has been going on for almost 3 months now. So, I pray for some sort of resolution. And he HATES the medicine they prescribe. It's torture every night getting him to take it. I tried sneaking it into a spoon of food the other night. He figured that out and then refused to eat anything else. If only I could explain that it's helping him feel better.

Omar is on spring break from school this week. What a beautiful week to be off. I wish I could be off work too and enjoy the weather with him.  We did take a couple long walks this weekend.  We reminisced about our walks this summer while I was still pregnant. Nolan said, "Yeah mom, when you were still pregnant you had a big fat belly, and after you weren't pregnant anymore you just had a little fat belly."  And Omar said, "and you walked so slow!!" I have to say, it's much more fun pushing the baby in the stroller! He loved it as well.

I've signed Omar up for baseball this summer. Nolan says he doesn't want to play t-ball, he wants to play big kid baseball. Unfortunately, he's not old enough. I'm going to sign him up anyway. I know he'll have fun once he's there. Then it will be one crazy summer. We will be at a baseball field Monday thru Thursday nights for about a month and a half.  And of course summer is Nick's busy time at work. Oh well, they'll have fun!

Omar had a really loose tooth. The boys told me that when they were supposed to be going to bed the other night, they tied a string to his tooth and something else and were trying to yank it out! They were laughing so hard they could barely talk. He pulled his tooth out yesterday morning.

Days Like This.

I really hate days like this, being a working mom and having a sick kid. Instead of taking the day to just relax and make him feel better, I also stress out about not being at work. Why should I feel guilty about staying home to take care of a sick boy?
My day started off ok. I got up at 4:30 with Easton. After I fed him I got rady myself. As I was fixing my hair Nolan came in and said he threw up in bed. Ok.I get that cleaned up. He says he feels fine, gets a drink, and is acting normal. So I think, ok it was a fluke. Then he pees his pants. I should have known something was wrong at this point, but I think I was trying to convince myself that I was going to work. We were just about to grandmas house when he threw up again. So, back home we came. And the vomiting continues. Poor guy.

Easton is standing against everything. I think we will have a very early walker. He turns as he's standing and tries to take a step.

I will acomplish all the laundry today!!!

Here's Hoping.....

Easton has his ear recheck this afternoon. I hope they have both cleared up. However, I wouldn't be shocked if she said they aren't. If they are, I think we might start sleep training. He's getting up way more then he needs to be getting up. I think he needs to go to bed awake and learn to put himself to sleep. Right now he nurses to sleep, And I really don't mind, I actually kind of like it, but I think him falling asleep on his own may help him during the night. And, I would like for him to get up once during the night because I like rocking him in the silent dark. I don't know if I'll find a happy medium here. But I can hope.

The boys had their first dental appointments last night. They were far beyond due, I'm well aware. But, better late then never. The dentist suggested we take Omar to a strictly pediatric dentist because of the future needs he'll have. And because of the Goldenhar Syndrome, they might have more experience with that. They both did really well, and thought it was pretty cool. They each got a coupon for a kids pack at Subway, so they were treated there for dinner.

On the way home I was once again reminded that I live in a houseful of boys, and for years to come I will have to listen to "boy talk". Nolan said to Omar, "Omar, what if they had penis dentists?" This was followed by bursts of uncontrollable laughter. Then, "What if they had a butt dentist?" More laughter. Times like this I wonder what it would be like to listen to stories about pretty pink princesses.

Caterpillars in February!?!?

A while ago I stopped listening to KDWB while in the truck with the boys. Some of the music they play I know isnt meant for little ears. We listen to country music which is what they prefer anyway. But, on Friday while walking from the bus stop Omar is singing, "I'm sexy and I know it". I guess my turning the station in the truck defeats the whole purpose if they listen to it on the bus!!!!

Easton finished his antibiotics, and I'm already thinking that his ears aren't cleared up. I may have to change his follow up to this Friday. Honestly, I don't know that he can make it til the 9th. We'll see what the next couple days bring.

Auntie Amy and Uncle Harlan took the boys to see Star Wars in 3D on Saturday morning. While they were there, Nick and I took Easton out to lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. It was Eastons first restaurant experience and he did great! I can't believe we haven't been out to eat since he was born. It was SO nice to have a nice relaxing dinner with Nick and be able to talk to each other!!!

Omar came running in the house yesterday afternoon all excited. They had found a caterpillar!!! In February. Wierd. They made a little house for it in an old bucket and it slept in their room and went to grandmas house with them today. I'm surprised they haven't given it a name.

Finally some rest.

At our visit to the doctor on Tuesday, she said that his right ear looks better then it did on Friday, but the left one  was still filled with fluid. Rather then prescribing a new antibiotic, she wanted to finish the one he's on and then get rechecked. I asked for a numbing drop that both my sister in laws told me about. She gave him a prescription for that. He was able to sleep quite a bit better that night. And seemed to be better yesterday. Now I'm just hoping both ears are clear on March 9th at his follow up.

Onto good news about Little E, he's crawling!!!!! Up on all 4s. I forgot how cute a little crawling baby is. Nick told me I won't think it's that cute in a few days when he's into everything, and he's probably right, but for now I just smile and giggle at him.

We had a FABULOUS valentines dinner on Tuesday. Unfortunately, Nolan didn't feel well. And I knew it was bad when he didn't want any dessert. Chocolate and strawberries!?!?! He must have been sick. I think Omar ate enough for all of us though.

Happy Heart Day!!!

Nick and I spent last night passing Easton back and forth trying to get him calm and comfortable enough to sleep. Most of our attempts failed miserably. He was diagnosed with a double ear infection, AGAIN, on Friday. The doctor prescribed the same drugs he was on last time. Which was only 3 weeks ago. She then scheduled us to go back in 3 weeks for a recheck to make sure they’ve cleared up. If not, we will have to see an ENT doctor. Anyway, back to last night, it was day 4 of antibiotics so they should have kicked in by now. But clearly they have not. He spent the night crying and screaming and tugging on his ears. We got him calmed when Nick had to idea to put ear muffs on him. He at least settled for about 15 minutes or so. We couldn’t even calm him enough to give him Tylenol. I tried once, it only caused him to throw it all back up. He finally fell asleep at about 2:45 this morning. My alarm went off at 4:00.

I called and spoke with a nurse and she agreed that he should be seen again by the dr. So back we go again this afternoon, another $45 copay, and more missed work. Aaahhh…..the joys. But, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to help him feel better!!

Omar had his friend Joe over to play for a while last night. Nolan was SO excited that he got to join in. 3 little boy running around downstairs having a nerf war is pretty fun. Nick said, this age of having friends over to play, and going over to their friends house came way too fast! I agree. My little babies have grown so much.

I left them each a little valentine pile of goodies this morning. Nolan was thrilled with his star wars M&M treat and heart balloons. I also made them some scratch off tickets. I think they’ll get a kick out of those. Our plans for the evening are to make homemade pasta and alfredo sauce with lobster. And for dessert, chocolate fondue! They don’t know about the dessert. I think they’ll be pretty excited. I have banana’s, strawberries, mango, marshmallows, graham crackers, and pound cake. I pray that Easton feels ok to be patient while we make pasta.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Soooo tired.

I'm so tired today I can hardly keep my eyes open. Easton didn't sleep well last night. My gut is telling me it may be another ear infection. He has an appt. tomorrow to get his 6 month immunizations, so i'll ask for someone to check his ears too. I really pray its just his teeth that are bothering him, but like I said, my mommy gut tells me different.

His two top teeth are going to break thru any day!!!

While sitting at my desk today, I broke out into laughter several times thinking of the bedtime routine last night. The boys were just bouncing off the walls. I was trying to settle them down, and after kissing them goodnight they started giggling. I tried telling them to settle down and it was bedtime, but their deep belly laughs only caused me to start laughing right along with them. It got to the point where I don't think they even knew what they were laughing about. It felt good.  A good hard laugh with them is a mood booster for sure.

Playdates!!!

Omar has been spending most after school days down at his friend Joe’s house. He lives right down the block which is great. Plus, the weather has been so nice they’ve been playing football outside till dark. Of course, Omar being gone means that Nolan is without a playmate. And I feel really bad for the little guy. We try to explain to him that next year he’ll make new friends that live around here. It doesn’t seem to make it any easier, and I can’t blame him. Luckily, yesterday was Tuesday, which meant that the neighbor’s grandson Wyatt was over. So they were all outside playing hunting until dinnertime. Then after dinner they were in the house playing DS until I told Wyatt it was time to go back to his grandmas so the boys could get ready for bed.

Easton is all over the place. He’s resorted to strictly the army crawl. And boy can he army crawl fast! The stairway gate has now become a “permanent” fixture in the house. His favorite thing to get into is Winston’s food and water dish. I think we may need to move them from the kitchen to the entryway.

Easton turned 7 MONTHS OLD on Saturday. I can’t believe it. Time just keeps going faster and faster.

After I got the big boys all tucked into bed last night, I was going to snuggle Easton while I watched my trashy TV. But, I found him lying in bed with daddy sound asleep. So, I took advantage and took a long hot shower instead. After that I started a new crochet project. 

Grandpa Willy Time!

Grandma Barb is off on her vacation! This means Nolan and Easton are with grandpa Willy for the next 8 work days!!! I’m really thankful that he was willing to watch them so I didn’t have to use unpaid time off!!! Hopefully they don’t drive him too crazy.

I think by the time Grandma gets back Easton should be crawling all over the place. He’s SOOOO close. He’s got the army crawl down pat. Put a piece of paper just out of reach and he get’s to it in no time! He loves paper, or anything that makes noise like crumpled paper. And he’ll let you know how upset he is when you take it away!

He gags on both peas and green beans. But anything orange he loves. Peaches seem to be his new favorite.

Nolan always leads a pretty interesting conversation on our way home. Yesterdays was nothing different.

N – “Mom, guess what?”

Me – “What?”

N – “I wish I lived by myself.”

Me – “Really? Who would do your laundry and cook your dinner, and tuck you in at night?”

N – “Well, I would just eat grass. Cause when you live by yourself that’s what you eat.”

Omar brought home a math quiz yesterday. Every answer he got correct. I said, wow Omar you did a really good job. His response, “It was SO easy, easy peasy chicken squeezy.”

I’ve been crocheting up a storm. I’ve made Easton a couple hats, and am working on another one now. The boys want a Mohawk hat, so I’ll try that next.

Pink Eye - Round #2

We’ve got another case of pink eye at our house. It’s Omar this time. He got up this morning before I had left for work and said his eye felt funny. Sure enough, it had some gunk on it and it was bright red. I took him to the clinic and the Dr. said its bacterial pink eye which is not as contagious as the viral. Whew! He said he should be just fine to go back to school tomorrow.

I forgot about these pictures that I took last Friday. Nolan was playing hunting, and this is how daddy and Easton spend a lot of their quality time together.....flying remote control helicopters.

I’m sporting today the second scarf that I’ve finished crocheting! I am so addicted. I love it. I can’t get enough. All I see in my mind is myself crocheting. I have a long way to go, but I’m so excited about it. I’m working on my 3^rd project right now and have the next one all planned out. I just wish I could stay awake longer at night, but 4:00am comes so fast!!! 

Dawydenko House Rules

  Lasts nights dinner was a total bust. And honestly, I kind of knew it would be as I was preparing it. Lime and cumin marinated chicken breasts, quinoa with corn and black beans, and homemade guacamole. I thought it was delicious and am ecstatic to have leftovers!

  Nolan started his weekend off pretty badly when I told him he wouldn’t be going to the Monster Truck show. I found his DS cord cut in half. He said he didn’t know why he did it. His DS is now mine. It went downhill after that for him. Nick found some new artwork on the wall. Nolan admitted to doing it, (pretty obvious when it’s his name that’s on the wall!) but once again, didn’t know why he did it. We took away all his craft supplies for the week. It didn’t really affect him until last night when he wanted to draw his teacher a picture and we reminded him that he doesn’t have anything to draw with.

  We have created some Dawydenko House Rules to work on. The boys came up with them. Its amazing that when I ask them what some rules are that they need to work on, they can spit them right out.

1. Keep our hands off mom and dad’s things.
2. No jumping on the furniture.
3. Pick up our toys without argument.
4. Do not talk back to mom or dad.

  If they follow these rules we’ve decided on prizes along they way. A visit to the ice cream shop, a trip to Toys R Us to spend their gift cards, and a trip to the movies. Hopefully those are incentives enough! Time will tell.

  I made Little E some peas last night, it didn’t go over well. He gagged on every bite. We tried about 5 bites before I gave up and moved on to carrots. I’ll try again in a couple weeks since I now have peas all made in the freezer.

  We took the boys out to a friend’s house on Sunday in hopes of doing some sledding. There wasn’t much snow, but they decided to try it anyway. Omar went flying down the hill yelling and laughing the whole way. Nolan went a couple feet before stopping himself because he got scared. He acts so tough, but it’s all a front.

 

  After sledding we went out to the chicken coop to get some eggs. Omar walked right in and started petting all the chickens, Nolan stood in the doorway and jumped every time a chicken looked at him!

  I’m totally addicted to my new hobby, crocheting! I think about it all day long! I’m getting better at it, and I have a lot of plans for things to make! I just wish I had more time!!

Tooth Fairy Visit #4

Omar lost his second front tooth. It was sort of by accident. He felt and hit his mouth which loosened his tooth more then it was. Of course, after that he couldn't leave it alone. I tucked him into bed and he came running upstairs about 15 minutes later, tooth in hand.

We will be starting to baby proof the house! Little E's rocking back and forth on hands and knees now!

SQUAT Team

Yesterday the boys were arguing on the way home whether they were going to play, “Big Foot”, or “SQUAT Team” when we got home. I tried telling them it was SWAT, but they didn’t believe me. Now every time I think about it, I giggle.

I made Easton a big batch of carrots this weekend. He loves them! I guess he doesn’t take after me. Ish. I freeze all his food in ice cube trays. Last night I gave him 2 cubes of carrots, then 2 cubes of pears. He still would have eaten more! He loves his food. He’s also started using a sippy cup. He mostly just plays with it, but it’s a start. He’s using a sippy cup, but still hasn’t had any formula! And I don’t really feel like quitting breastfeeding yet. I am looking forward to having my lunch break back at work to check out my favorite gossip sites, but for now, I’ll continue to split my break in two, only to sit on a cold floor and pump bottles for Little E.

They boys went skating again on Sunday. They did a great job. I’m dying to get out there myself. I did get my skates sharpened, so I’m ready when the opportunity comes.

We’re trying to make some diet changes at home. And I’m excited because it means I get to cook more foods that I would prefer to eat! Whole grains, brown rice, more veggies, etc. I made strawberry, banana and spinach smoothies for breakfast on Sunday, everyone liked them! 

Something Magical

There’s one thing in this world that makes me stop dead in my track no matter what I’m doing. And that’s watching Omar and Nolan talk to their brother. Easton’s eye’s light up, of course this makes the boys smile too. And they will just stare at each other. Of course this beautiful moment gets ruined when Easton grabs their face. But, up until that point, it’s magical.

On our way home yesterday Nolan asked if he could wear dad’s glasses. After putting them on he said, “Mom, it looks like an old town with these on. Cause it’s so yellow.”

I got my craft armoire last night. We found one on Craigslist for $30. One of our neighbors was able to go help Nick pick it up. We (Nick) got it put downstairs for me, but little E was a little uncooperative in letting me get anything put away in there last night. I do need to find some storage ideas for some of my smaller items. I can’t wait to get it all organized.

Cleaning task – fold the 2 loads of clean laundry. (before it multiplies by 5!!!)

My New Obsession

So, the past couple days my obsession has been to find an armoire for all my craft supplies. I’m so tired of looking thru my Rubbermaid bins, my scrapbooking suit case, and the china hutch drawers for whatever supply I’m looking for. I suggested my idea to Nick and he thought it was a good idea too. This only fueled my obsession to find a hutch and FIND IT NOW!!!!?? And I think I may have found one. And I think Nick may be able to pick it up today!! Yippee!!! The organization ideas are running ramped thru my head.

Last night little E was on his toes and hands. He looked like he was doing baby push ups! And apparently all that work wore him out so much he couldn’t sleep. I think we got about 4 hours. And of course it had to be one of the days I get up at 4 am. It will be an early bedtime tonight.

Oh, and I’ve been working on my crocheting. I’ve made one visit over to the neighbor for help. And I thought I was doing really well until I took a closer look at it last night. All I’m trying to make is a wash cloth. It’s turning into a triangle!!!!! I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Other then that it looks great. I’ll keep trying. Although I may have to start from scratch. Again.

Cleaning Task - pack up the last few Christmas things that are still out.

Clean Kitchen - happy momma!

There’s nothing better then starting the work week off with a clean kitchen. I love it. It makes my morning run so much smoother when I need to get out the door by 6:00am. However, I do admit that I slacked last night in the lunch prep area. I have a great couple of excuses though, one, Desperate Housewives was on, and two, Easton went to bed early which gave me time to paint my nails! So I had to make lunches this morning before I left. At least I had a clean kitchen!

I feel very accomplished today. I got our Christmas tree out on Saturday. Oh the room we have back!!! It feels so good. I LOVE a Christmas tree, but I also LOVE when it’s time to take it out. This led to a LOT of vacuuming. (The bad thing about having a real tree). I also made 4 dinners for the week, 4 loaves of bread, cookies, cupcakes, and more baby food for Little E. We’ll be covered for dinners until Friday. I even made the boys STEAK on Saturday night. I very, very rarely cook beef. But, I have a lot of chicken on the week’s menu, so I thought I better give them a little red meat. I had a spinach salad. And it was goooooooood!

A couple of the recipes I tried over the weekend were so good that I just have to share the recipes.

Aloha Pork Chop Skillet

What you need

2 Tsp. oil

4 Bone-in pork chops (1-1/2 lb.)

1 Each red and yellow pepper, coarsely chopped

2  Cans (8 oz. each) pineapple chunks in juice, undrained

1/2 Cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 Cup KRAFT CATALINA Dressing

1-1/2

Tsp. garlic powder

1-1/2 Cups instant white rice, uncooked

Make it

HEAT oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chops; cook 5 min. on each side or until browned on both sides.

ADD all remaining ingredients except rice; mix well. Bring to boil.

STIR in rice; cover. Cook on medium-low heat 5 min. or until chops are done (145°F). Remove from heat; let stand 5 min.

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

*These are seriously so so good*

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil; you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

These were both recipes that have made it into my cookbook. Yum!!

Easton is moving himself all over the floor. I can’t believe we’re already at this stage. It’s so fun and exciting, but it’s all going so fast. I need to do more video taping!!!

Nolan is dying to go back to school. He’ll be one happy boy tomorrow.  Nolan sometimes mis-pronounces words. The big ones are ambulance, spaghetti, and breakfast. Along these same lines, he doesn’t always use the correct words. This is what I hear a lot of mornings, “Omar, your brain stinks!!”

Omar and Nolan got skates for Christmas for Grandpa Jerry. I took them to open skate at the arena yesterday. They did a great job! Omar even gave up using the walker. I was just itching to get out there myself. Hopefully next time.

I have been doing great on my daily cleaning tasks. My ongoing task that I have been doing for about a year is to clean the dinner dishes every night. It’s so very tempting to just leave the sink full for “tomorrow”, but you know, tomorrow turns into another tomorrow and so on. Before you know it, you’ve got a sink full of stuck on gross dishes, and one crabby momma.

Nightly cleaning task – the boy’s bathroom. Eww. 

The ugly shoes

The new shoes. Omar thinks he's pretty cool in them. Mostly because he ties them by himself.
His bayblades have been a hit at school. I asked him, how was school today. His response......"we played bayblades at recess and Jack has a really fast one." Not the response I was hoping for. He even was at the nieghbors house playing last night with his friend.

Nolan is so excited to go back to school next week. I think grandma is too!

Big Night in the Dawydenko house!

Sometimes I make these big plans for the night during the work day. But then, on my way home, I get so tired that I find it hard to stay motivated. However, last night was NOT one of those nights! I stopped at Michaels and bought yarn and crochet hooks. I actually found a beginners book that came with a set of hooks. After I got Easton to sleep (5 tries later), I hunkered down in the chair with a piece of cake and my crochet supplies. I did get a few rows done. I'm afraid it's not even though. And I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong. Trying to learn from a book might be my first mistake. I'll have another go at it tonight.


I also took the boys into Kohls. My first mistake here was not taking in the stroller. My 20 lb. baby is really too heavy to be lugging around in the car seat carrier. 


Omar convinced Nolan to get these UGLY Tony Hawk shoes. Apparently they're the cool kind. The only problem is they had laces. And yes, I know it's bad, but neither boys know how to tie shoes. But, I figured its now or never, and let him get the ugly shoes. Omar gave me the silent treatment because it wasn't fair that Nolan got new shoes and he didn't. In the truck, Nolan told me that he wanted shoes like Omar has. Really???? He couldn't have told me this IN the store, BEFORE we paid for them!!  In the end, they ended up trading shoes. Nolan with the hope that i'll buy him a newer pair.  After dinner, I sat down with both of them and tried to teach them how to tie. Nolan really takes after me in that he gave it a whole 2 tries before he got frustrated and gave up. Omar is just like his dad, patient as patient can be. And he did it!!!! Then he did it again, and again, and again!!! So proud of him. And the smile on his face when he did it was awesome. 


I also changed the dirtiest diaper I have ever changed! Yowza! Let's just say it was so dirty,  I threw his onsie right in the trash. 


Nick was holding Easton. I walked away from him and he started screaming. I walked toward him and he smiled. So I walked away again, just to test. And he started screaming. Aaahhh, he loves his mommy!! ; )


As comfy as the couch looked when I finished all my nightly chores, I made myself put all the clothes away in my room. And I felt SO much better once I did. Hey, it's not much, but it's something done that needed to be. 


Cleaning Task - Declutter the kitchen counters. 

New Year, New Resolutions

So, after several months of contemplating a blog, I’ve decided that it IS in fact something I’d like to give a go at. My husband suggested it to me while on was on maternity leave with my youngest, but I wasn’t sure what I would write about. However, over these past months I’ve found myself saying, “I need to remember that”, or, “Time is just going too fast!” So, here I am, attempting to capture every crazy, frustrating, hilarious, precious, laughable, milestone that I encounter. And, having 3 boys, I have a lot.

The New Year has begun, and I do have a couple resolutions that I’m hoping to accomplish before the years end. (Sooner rather that later hopefully)

1. Learn to crochet. My sister taught me once, but I don’t remember, and I didn’t do very well at it. Our neighbor is always giving the boys new hats or slippers. She will come over and measure Easton’s feet, and come back an hour later with new little camouflage booties! I’ve become inspired. Plus, I LOVE those homemade wash clothes!
2. Speak my feelings more often. I often walk away from situations and wish that I would have said something. I’m not quite sure why I don’t, but I’m going to really try to change that.
3. Keep on top of household chores. Yeah, totally easier said then done. But…..I will at least give it a good shot. I usually do pretty well at this, but heaven help me if I skip a day. Its amazing how fast the laundry and dishes add up!! It is helpful if I assign myself one chore to do each day. I’ve done this in the past and it really helps to stay on top of things that I normally (choose to) forget. ; )
4. Read/play more with the boys.
5. Really try to find time/babysitter for dates with my husband.

After work today I’m going to start with one of my resolutions. I’ll go to Michaels and buy a crochet hook and a Skeen of yarn. Wish me luck!

I also need to buy Nolan a new pair of shoes. I don’t believe there is a kid on earth who wears thru clothing faster then he does! I was really looking forward to using my Kohl’s cash on a scarf that I’ve been thinking about for myself. I guess that will have to wait.

Omar goes back to school tomorrow. I was rather enjoying the break from packing lunches and making sure his backpack was all ready to go in the morning. But he’s so excited to bring his favorite bay blade to school for recess. He’s convinced that his orange one will beat all his friends.

And it will be more baby food making for Easton tonight. Carrots and apples are all I need to finish making. Then he should be stocked on food for a while.

Cleaning Task – put away the clothes that are hanging haphazardly in my bedroom.