Doggie and Dirty Feet

So I bet you thought I was going to post about this little girl. Well not exactly....though she did come and stay with us for a few days. I have to say it was not like old times. (Benjamin was scared of Shelby and every time she barked, growled or sneezed, Benjamin cried and wanted to be held. Ethan on the other hand, wanted to pet her and let her sniff him.) We really had to keep an eye on Ethan around Shelby.

I have heard from many people how different two children can be and I have come to realize that with the boys, what brings them comfort is very different. Ethan has really grown attached to his doggie from Uncle Evan. Ethan will not get in his crib without doggie and does not want to leave doggie behind ever. His face lights up when he get to carry doggie around. We got concerned that we might misplace doggie -- Evan was gracious enough to buy us a back-up doggie.

Benjamin on the other hand, loves his "dirty feet." Do you see the plastic pink and brown blob near Benjamin's face? That is Dirty Feet, his plastic pink pig with dirt on its feet. The pig is part of Benjamin's Little People Farm and Barnyard. One day, I pointed out that the pig had dirty feet. And, just like that, Dirty Feet was born and Benjamin will not go to sleep without Dirty Feet. You can also see his paci in this picture. He kept loosing it in his bed and would wake up crying. We got the idea to safety pin his paci to his sleep sack (don't worry -- the string is not long enough to wrap around his neck). Thanks Pam for the great safety pin idea.

We hope that everyone has a night filled with dreams of your own doggies and dirty feet.

'Night all.

Adults Only

The past few weeks have involved a lot of adult only work around our house. Brian and I have been working on several home improvement projects (the final reveal will have a post all to itself). In addition to the work on the home front, Brian is having to shut down his office. His lease is up at the end of May and the company decided that they will not renew the lease. Hence one of the many reasons for creating an office in our house. (The other reason was to free up a guest room upstairs -- that came in handy this weekend!) So, Brian has been busy packing up his office/warehouse. This was the last of the goods to go to the home office -- the boys and went up to Brian's office to see the big truck. We never miss a chance to see a big truck up close and personal.

As I have mentioned before, all the professional, paid people have completed their parts of our home improvement projects......now it all on us to finish. Brian and I have been spend A LOT of time primer, paint and these guys:

All the while we have been planning our first get away without the boys. I have not mentioned it on the blog, as I was worried that something would come up and we would not get to go (as in, I would not be able to leave the boys!). But, we went and had a wonderful time. We spent two night at Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS. It was just the right amount of time. Papaw stayed with the boys at our house (utilizing our new guest room). It took me forever to get ready for the trip with all my lists and schedules typed out -- I am sure that Papaw just laughed at all the papers! We ate at two very nice restaurants and I was able to take my time and actually eat my food warm!

We knew that Brett Michaels (former lead singer of Poison) was going to be at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino next door to us. We walked over there to people watch. For fun I checked the ticket prices for the concert and they were $50 and $60. That seems like a crazy amount to see Brett Michaels. We ended up getting tickets from someone who had extra for $10. Now that is more like it. It was a fun hour and 15 min. But boy was it loud (we have not been to a rock and roll concert in a long time).

Me and my lead singer at the concert!

We are glad to be home and really missed the boys. More about what the boys have been up to very soon.....stay tuned!

Happy Birth Day Ungy

Last Sunday we celebrated Uncle Evan's (aka Ungy) Birthday at Piedmont Park. It was a great day and we all had fun running around. We had Willy's for lunch (you can't go wrong there) and played with the boys. I think Ungy and Papaw ran as much as the boys did. I know that this post is a little late -- we are continuing our work on the home projects we have started. And as Ungy says -- "It's ok, I am going to be 32 for a whole year."

Benjamin loves chips and salsa.

Here we are leaving the park in the limo that the boys got for Christmas -- we love our wagon!

We were glad to be able to help Ungy celebrate his birthday.

Boats and Dough

This week our trip to the park was rained out (we have had so much rain here this week) so we took a trip to the Bass Pro Shop for a "boat ride" and a peek at the huge fish and even bigger fish tank.

The boys are discussing how they will raise money to buy us a boat for some summer fun!

We also made a homemade pizza for lunch earlier in the week. The boys loved sprinkling the cheese on it and then watching it cook. Though, before the pizza was done, both boys were on the floor crying -- it was not cooking fast enough!

The finished product --- they each has two pieces!


After the pizza making experience, the boys are considering making pizzas to make money for a boat!

Yes, I am still here....

After painting the outside of the house we decided to embark on a simple home renovation (it was a simple project because we were paying someone to do the hard stuff (framing, drywall, electrical). But we decided to save some money and be our own contractor. Due to the down time in the construction industry, everyone showed up as promised and we got a good deal on our project. Here is a little something to whet you whistle. The project grew from putting up a wall in our front room and creating an office (now we have a guest bedroom upstairs), to so much more. I kinda thought that the whole project would be over in a month. We are on three and 1/2 weeks and there is still a lot work to do -- on our part, not any skilled people!

The front room before. It was combined with the dining room and made one huge room.

During:

Still during:

So daddy is on a business trip right now -- he won't be home soon enough. The boys and I really miss him. We have had a little of this since daddy has been gone:

Fortunately, we have had more of this:

And this:

The boys are really becoming buddies now. Benjamin always wants to kiss Ethan and is working very hard on sharing.

Sorry it has been so long -- I will make up for it in the next few days. Stay tuned for my adventures with the boy!