The Boys' Room

I haven't ever really decorated the boys' room. When we moved it was all we, meaning my mom, could do to get it painted. I had 1 picture on the wall and the diaper stacker hanging and that was all that was up for a long time. Until, my mom recently found some really cute stickers for the wall that are all kinds of different vehicles and since that is what is on their sheets and blankets we thought it would be cute. So here are some pictures of the boys' newly decorated room and Cale is in some pictures because he was really wanting to have his pic made (as you can see in the center picture).

These are some Thomas stickers for the wall that I put up in the playroom. I love these sticker things! They are easy to move and don't mess up the walls. The boys love them too!

A Busy Couple of Weeks!

We have been so busy lately! School is going good, for the boys and me. Here are the boys posing with their bunnies that they now have to sleep with, Andy is so thrilled. They took them to school this month for teddy bear month, but they don't have any teddy bears so that is the stuffed animal they chose. They were both in a picture taking mood that day and wanted me to keep taking their pictures. These are the best two.

Andy is playing dodge ball for the Raleigh Parks and Rec with the guys he works with, a couple of their sons, and a friend of ours. I don't get to go watch anymore since the boys are now mobile and love balls. I tried to go with them for the first time in a couple years a couple weeks ago and it was a disaster! Luckily, Andy's good friend that he works with was not playing and helped me watch them play on the playground since Carter was not even interested in watching and Cale made it about 10 mins before he decided that was enough watching Daddy play and he could do just as good. They ended up having a blast on a very tall twirly slide. This week however, my mom and dad came to watch the boys so that I could watch Andy play. This made me realize that I missed the boys being little four month old babies trapped in their infant car seats when they didn't move and I could go watch Andy play and they would sleep or a wife of some if worked with would hold one of them. I think it is funny how I thought everything about them was so hard when they were babies. I now think back and know that it wasn't all bad. They loved their car seats and slept in them every night until they were six months old and we could do anything with them in those car seats. I do miss those infant carrier days. Anyways, Andy has his big Dodge ball tournament this coming Wed and they are in first place. If they win the tournament then they get to walk in the Raleigh Christmas parade and that means Cale, Carter, and myself will be walking, so lets hope they win!


Here is the big mess they have been making in the playroom while looking at books. They like to dump them all out read them and when they are done with each book they yell, "The End!" and throw it behind them. At least they are nothing like their father and do love to read!

I don't know why they are doing this. Maybe they have seen Andy do it.

Mommy's Birthday Weekend

My birthday was this past weekend and it was really nice. My mom came at the end of last week and cleaned my house, which was the best present ever! Friday night Andy's parents, Grandma and Grandpa, came in for the weekend and we had a great time, especially Cale and Carter. They went to the park and ate at a favorite of Andy's and the boys, Chik-Fil-A, and Saturday night Grandma and Grandpa watched the boys so that Andy and I could go out.

Saturday I had my first sell! A friend of mine that I use to work with and I had lunch together and she bought two sets of burp cloths for two up coming showers. We also did a little shopping together, which was so nice to do without our kids tagging along.

Sunday Andy finally got the boys baseball (wiffel ball) bats and balls and tee out so that they could play. They had a lot of fun, but then I started hitting the ball that Andy pitched and they went into the trees and the boys got really mad because their balls wouldn't go into the "tree tops".

Here are the boys getting ready to play.

Here is Carter at bat.

Here is Cale at bat.

I just had to add this picture!

This is Cale's strange eye rolling thing he does when he is shy. My mom was able to snap this picture at my nephews birthday party when Cale was apparently doing this to my sister-in-law's mom. I could not for the longest time figure out where he got this from and then one day I saw a picture of me when I was pregnant and I was making the same exact face. I guess my kids don't really look like me, but Cale is, I hate to admit this because he is so stubborn, just like me. Carter is mini-Andy in looks and behavior and it is so funny. Cale and I got into some major stubborn battles last week, but his weekend was much better.

Andy Learns His Lesson

I think that lately the boys have been getting into more stuff that they didn't use to do, but it doesn't help when Daddy isn't doing a great job of watching them.
Friday afternoons Andy gets off around 12 or so and since I am working now while the boys are at school, that is my time to grocery shop. Well on Thursday night, Andy had to go back to work and he worked until 4 in the morning and was obviously really tired, so I told him I wouldn't go or I would put the boys down for a nap first but he told me to go. So when I come home, an hour later, Andy had taken the boys down to the basement to play in the playroom and came back upstairs. Well, he thought that since they were playing so nice and quiet that they were being good and he didn't bother them WRONG! Quiet in our house always means, up to no good! When I walked in I ask why they were so quiet. I thought they had fallen asleep, oh but no. They had climbed on top of the pool table, which is used to block the old fireplace that we don't use, and had thrown everything off the top except for you guessed it, the basket of markers. What they threw off, not of the carpet side but the hearth side, were all the pool sticks, wipes and the basket and coloring books. They kept the markers and colored all over the pool table. . After Andy learned his lesson and had to clean the mess up, we moved the pool table out of the playroom, which weighs 200lbs and cause my right shoulder to hurt for several days, and cleaned up the old fireplace. Luckily or at least for now, they do understand to stay away from the fireplace since there is one in the living room that we do use in the winter. On the brighter side, it does make the playroom look much larger.
What I always find so amazing is that when the kids are with other people and far away from us, people think that they are perfect angels. I guess I should take that as a compliment, but sometimes I wish they could always be that good at home. Don't get me wrong they do play good at home sometimes. Like the other night they were just sitting in the middle of the living room floor playing with their matchbox cars, which is their most favorite thing right now, in a little garage, ramp thing and being so good. Andy and I talked about if they were that good all the time the earth would be overpopulated because who wouldn't want sweet kids like that.

Bedtime Troubles

Well for the fourth night in a row the boys have gone to SLEEP after 9:30! We put them to bed at a normal time of 8:00, but they just won't sleep. Two of those night it has been after 10:00! I hope this is a phase that will end soon, because I am tired. I have tried everything from taking sleep toys to pacis and nothing works. Leaving their door open use to work pretty fast, but lately it hasn't worked until they have been in there for an hour. I thought maybe it was that they were growing out of naps, unfortunately, but today Carter slept for not even 2 hours and Cale didn't sleep at all. If they didn't get a nap they would always be asleep before 8:00. Well just pray for the boys sleep and for my sanity. Also, if anyone has any suggestions of how to get them to go to sleep at a reasonable time I would love to hear it. I have thought about separating their rooms, but I am not ready to lose my office/guest room since we have nowhere else to move this stuff and it is nice to finally have a real bed for guests to sleep in and a good size room.

Today was my first MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) meeting, which was so great! The boys did good going into a new classroom. It is not at our church, so I was worried about how they would react, but they walked right in. On the way this morning I was stopped at a red light in front of the Volvo dealership and thought to myself, I wonder if I ask Andy if I could have one of those SUVs if I agreed not to have anymore kids. Well when I told him what I was thinking he told me I made his day and I could have any car I wanted if we were done having kids. I don't know if I am ready for that decision just yet, but with the week I am having I really could consider it.

As far as my burp cloth business goes I purchased a .com for it, so it is now http://www.ohsewcutedesigns.com/. I have bought a few more patterns that I need to add. Also, I have started making paci clips, the thing that keeps the paci from falling to floor when the baby spits it out. Once I feel like I have perfected those I will post pictures on my website and prices for those.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for the boys and me! They did not want to participate in having their pictures made before we left for school, so I will try again when they get up from nap. Andy was nice enough to stay home this morning until we all left, just to help me get back into a routine and to see the boys off. I thought since they were being so ornery this morning they were going to cry at school, but no way! They walked right in like big 2 year olds! I was so proud of them! I was right next door to them, but they had no clue and we will see how long that lasts.

Here is a picture the boys teacher sent of them on their first day. I think that I was the only mom that didn't have a camera that day, only because I was afraid they would scream. Cale and Carter are in the white shirts.

My first day also went very well. There were five 1 year olds in my class today, we are suppose to have six but one little girl isn't walking yet. We only had one little girl that cried for just a little bit. She settled down when we went on a buggy ride, it is a long triple jogging stroller and there are two so each teacher has a stroller. we then took them out on the playground and then came in for "tea party" and some coloring. It was fun and it is amazing how you forget how much more guidance 1 year olds need, meaning they don't know how to sit down when you tell them to. I have a feeling they will catch on quickly and we will have a great year.

Here is a picture the boys' teacher sent of Carter at school. I didn't get one for Cale so I guess he didn't want his picture made this time, but I think that is his arm in the right corner of the picture.

Cale reading with Daddy


Carter crying because he didn't want his picture made



Cale into his TV program and Carter running to the door to go bye bye

Here is what the boys did on their first day of school. They colored a picture using Do A Dots. The yellow sheet is what their teacher send home to let us know what they did, ate, how they behaved and potty issues. They luckily have the same teachers as last year, so I think that makes it easier for them. Although, they did try and walk into the 1 year old class this morning.

Here is a picture of the boys before their first day of school last year. They had so little hair! I was going to dress them in the same shorts, unbelievable they still fit, and a similar shirt just for fun, but Andy didn't like that idea.

Adventures in Potty Training!

Well back to writing about the kids... We attempted to potty train today. I read a book, "Toilet Training in a Day" and let's just say my kids can not manipulated. I read this book and thought how great to have them totally potty trained in like 5 hours, ha! To do it you have to stay in one room the whole time and only focus on using the potty. I knew there was no way we would make it with out major meltdowns. Well, I was right. We did make it about an hour and a half and each one had one accident. Well then we moved to screened in porch and took their potties outside and they each had another accident. Then we come inside for lunch and before I could do anything Carter has another accident. I am not to found of cleaning up huge puddles of urine. They would sit on the potty, but will not pee in it. I borrowed a potty doll from a friend and they were very amazed to see the doll pee in the potty, but still nothing. In fact one time Carter was even acting like he had to go and when I tried to get him to sit on the potty he refused and I didn't want to force it so I wait about 2 mins before we peed in his underwear. If anyone has any tips on potty training I would love to hear them.

In honor of NC State playing their first football game today here are the boys in their new, mommy paid way too much these, NC State shirts. Carter is in the red and for some reason would not look at me. Cale on the other hand posed for many pictures, but I thought this one was too cute.

Here are the boys the other day posing for a picture with their favorite toy! They had only one school bus for about a year and half and recently started fight over it, so I bought another one and you would wonder how in the world we made it so long with only one school bus!