Just cuz fluff on the butt is so cute....

What happens when the kids are away....

Wed was kid free for most the day. They spent the day at Gma & Pa's; playing out side, eating lots of food, napping and back outside. All in all the perfect day for a toddler and preschooler! I spent the day working on Cody's party invitations and goody bags, and a couple of other random cards. Yep the whole time they were away, minus a 40 min lunch break. So I put my self into my scrapbook cave:

Wrapped nicely in my nest with all scrapbooking supplies surrounding me I succeeded in getting everything cut out so I could move onto the next step. Cody's party is pirate themed, so I cut out pirate ships, flags, scenes and pirates for 9 invites. Here are the base models, pre-embellishment and shading:

It was time well spent, but it was a large chunk of time. Now of course you'll have to wait for your invite to see the finished project. But for a teaser, here is one of the other cards that I made. It's for one of Cody's preschool friends that just became a big sister:

There are a lot of little details you can add so that plain paper becomes something really fun! The invites and bags still need to be assembled, but it will get there!

Now if I can finish organizing and tagging my things for the Just Between Friends, JBF, sale that's in a couple of weeks I'll be happy! Only about 2 hours of work left, so I can't complain too much.

Bouncopolis!

On Tues Cody's class had a field trip to the bounce house place. It was a ton of fun and Tyler was able to tag along and play too. Enjoy some pictures, click to enlarge them.

Rainy sunday

Yep another boring, rainy Sunday. But it made for cute pictures!

Lucky me....

Look what came to live at my house:

Jealous yet?

She's Crafty.... and a bit of a plea.

I've been crafting again today, well actually started yesterday. Another mom at preschool is due any day to have a baby boy, so I made her a set of bibs. I also made a couple for Ty because I overbought on fabric. So there it is, I've done something productive this week!

"Yes mom, it fits. And I know I'm too Cute!"

Oh, and if anyone wants to enable my diapering habit, here's your opportunity!

Tomorrow the beloved Goodmama is stalking her store and I really want to get in on it. I would really love to buy her box of a dozen, the sell off half of them. I of course don't have the money right now, but if anyone wants to get rid of a $375, and can handle getting $200 back in 6-8 weeks, it would be greatly appreciated! Payment for the rest could be arranged, or if your feeling like indulging me in an early $175 birthday gift, that's awesome too!

You are probably saying, why go for 12 when you can get 1 at a time. Well I've tried the last three times to get just one and haven't been fast enough, or her store has crashed from the high traffic. Her Wish/Switch boxes (sets of 12) are easier to get.

These are also a one size diaper, adjustable in waist and rise, so they will last until Ty is potty trained, and then will still hold a high resale!

Remember that stash nirvana I was talking about yesterday, this would be me hitting it.

Anywho, there's my plea for the night! Let me know if you are interested.

Fluffy Mail!

I can honestly say that the highlight of this week has been the big package of diaper stuff that came yesterday from the UPS man. Since I've been doing this since last summer, I'm still trying to reach my stash nirvana, ie: my perfect set of diapers. So I've been buying a few diapers here and there from recommendations, trying very hard to support the work at home moms, but it's not working out. So my favorites are made in mass production and are absorbant and I love them! I am still longing for a few Goodmama diapers, but unless someone goes crazy and sells them for half price, I probably won't get any.





So like I said, when all this came in the mail yesterday, it made me happy. Probably has more to do with getting to spend some money than anything else!

And for those of you that are interested in what all this is:

• 1 Bummis Super Whisper Wrap in Jungle print (my favorite cover!)
• 2 Bummis Super Brite covers in blue circles
• 2 Thirsties all-in-one diapers in red and ocean (super night time diapers)
• 4 Kissaluvs size 2 fitteds (snaps on like a sposie diaper)
• 4 Kissaluvs soakers (for added absorbancy when out and about)
• 1 Cuddlebug Cloth fitted in "chain" monkey pattern
• 1 Whamies wet bag in dots (dirty diaper bag for when we are out)

This, like scrapbooking, is a bit of a cult. They grab you in and you feel guilty if you leave. It's also like life, either very frugal or over the top expensive! But it's something to love.

Park + Slide = Pain

So that's a little dramatic, but none the less. We go to the park, captain adventure (Tyler) climbs to the top of the biggest slide, goes down head first, slamming his head against the side (S curve slide) and we get big tears, a plastic burn and a goose egg. Never fails! He was tough though, got a hug, some water and back to playing.

As my friend Kelly says, he's got a revolving head bruise at all times!

Ohee?....Ooohhheeee?

Yay, Tyler is finally learning names, kind of! He's started calling Cody by his name, Ohee or Ohdee. Very cute. We walked into Cody's bedroom this afternoon, and he pointed to the top bunk and said, "Ohdee?" Earlier this am when Cody climbed into bed with us, Ty sat up and said "Ohee!"

Funnier in person, but still cute!

Feelin' the love.....

As I walked out of my bedroom this morning, Cody comes running up to me, "Mom come look at the bear we got for you!" That's a nice way to wake up!

It was funny last night because I had a preschool meeting and didn't get home until around 9. I asked Cody, "What are you still doing up?" He said, "We went to get a card for you!" Oops, sorry I asked! But no bear was mentioned, so he didn't spill all the beans.

So after opening my cards I dug out the boy's Valentine's. First they opened the ones I had found them, a little monkey and a book. Cody said, "It's the monkey I've always wanted! Oh, and look, a Dora and Boots book!" Tyler looked at me with his "Oh!" face.

From there we opened the Valentines from Gma & Gpa D. He got a little giggle out of the "Valentineasouraus" in the card. Then opened two more books, "Wow Mom, Cars! It's the book I've been wanting!" He thumbed through and showed me many of the pictures, "cool" and "I have that car" and "look at the race!" So needless to say it was a huge hit.

Tyler opened his card and smiled. Then saw the Thomas book and said "Choo-Choo!" He flipped through his books giving lots of curious looks and "ohs" and pretended to read.

Today was a school day, so off we went after breakfast. Ty loves to play outside with the big kids, so to avoid the crying and going to the ground like a wet noodle, we play until Teacher rings the bell to come inside. After she rings the bell, I walk him to the outside circle and we sing the welcome song, figure out what the weather is for the day, then inside into small groups for a project. From this point Ty is okay with leaving and off we go.

They handed out Valentines at school, Cody was way excited about this. They made bags for their Valentines last week, so it's been on his mind for a while. We gave his teacher a potted Violet plant, she thought that was nice and I figured it would be nice for her to not get candy. Cody's Valentines were small puzzles in boxes, he loves to do puzzles right now, so it's nice to share something he's into.

We came back to pick up Cody early so we could see the Valentine celebration, and so Uncle Tim could see school, and so Ty could play outside some more!
I was lucky enough to be standing there when Teacher decided it was time to pass out the Valentines, so I was recruited and helped about 5 kids with theirs. It was a smooth process, all the bags were set around a table and we started on one corner and went around the table dropping them in. Of course the most important thing to each kid was "where's mine?" So we would find it and get excited at all the neat things inside.

After all the Valentine's were handed out, the kids came in to see the calendar and to hand out Clifford. At the end of story time Teacher passed out the bags as she said goodbye.

Once we were home, we opened all the Valentines one by one, reading the goofy cards and seeing what's inside. Everything was really fun; suckers, a cookie, pencils, tattoos and Cody's puzzle. This was his first time getting to do the exchange at school, so hopefully they will continue the tradition for years to come.

Other than that, nothing else spectacular to report for Valentine's day. I made some chocolate lava cupcakes and we had dinner. Instead of going to Panda and getting good orange chicken and rice, I went to the Kwik Wok at Raley's. Bad Idea! It was awful and tasted funny! Next time I will call DH to stop and get what I'm actually craving, not the imitation.

So, Happy Valentine's Day!

Quick, new phone!

So I have to type quick before this deletes itself like the last 2 times I've tried to post this!

I got a really cool phone the other day, this one. It has a bunch of cool features my old one didn't, has a flip open full keyboard, and a navigation system. I'm way excited and need everyone to send me text, pictures and calls so I can use it!

You've been informed, now get on it!

Choo-Choo!

Monday was another fun outing to Old Sac with my brother and the boys. Hopefully my driving didn't freak him out too much! After finally finding a parking spot, we headed over to the Railroad Museum. Cody knows this place like the back of his hand, but he was good and slowed down so that Tim and I could read some of the signs. Of course every 5 min he was asking when we were going upstairs, to see the toy trains and play at the train tables. It's a fun place for everyone, I love the enormous trains and the boys do too.
From there we headed back to the car to feed the meter a little more change, then off to find some lunch. There are a handful of hotdog places, so we decided to dive in and try one. Luckily we chose well and had a nice lunch. From there we ventured over pier and looked at the boats in the river and the other trains that stay outside.
Fun times, and long naps were had because of it!

Monkeys, Tigers, and Trains!

The big boys went to do some car stuff Sun, so it left Ty and I to find something to do with ourselves. After contemplating things and realizing everything cost so much, I settled on the "little zoo" in Folsom. So off we went, just the two of us. He's getting very good about holding hands, so I decided to brave it with out his monkey backpack because I only had one to watch.
We went in and we walked all around the zoo. He had a great time, spotting the animals, making noises at them, and Oohing and aahing at everything. Then every few minutes we would hear the little train go by, so we would stop and listen, then we could move on.
After the zoo we went over to the little train and waited in line for our tickets, he was excited. We watched the train go back and forth and he was pointing more and still very excited. So it was our turn to get on and we took our spot and he wasn't so excited any more. But he sat next to me and we waited for the train to go. Once we were going he sat fairly quite with one hand on the rail and one hand on my knee. Finally after we had gone around the 1st loop, he started saying "choo-choo," very quietly and a small smile appeared on his face. He was ready to get off when we stopped, but I think he had a good time.
After the train we walked back to the car and we talked.
"Did you like the zoo?" I asked
Nodding his head yes
"Did we ride the train?"
Vigorously nodding yes
"Did you have fun?"
Blank stair
Hmm conversations with a 17 month old.

An evening at La Feista

My brother came to town for the week and we decided to go out to dinner, Mexican as usual. Now it's a brave endeavor to go out with a toddler and preschooler, but we were out numbering them tonight at 3 adults to 2 kids, so the odds were on our side. They were busy, of course it's Sat. night, but the wait wasn't too bad. This also marked potty stop #1 for Cody, so DH trekked him up and back down the stairs to the bathroom. We were seated and discovered Ty needed to be changed, so once we were able to order, I trekked him up and down the stairs to the bathroom. Our service was very slow and shoddy tonight, wonderful when you have two little ones to entertain. Lucky for them, Ty showed his appreciation of the long waits by moving all his crushed chips to the floor, and later, a bunch of his rice. So after a bit of coloring, and throwing said crayons on the floor, Cody had to go again. Up and down the stairs again we go. Our food finally came, short Cody's of course, but we trudged along with dinner anyway. Before his food arrived he needed one more potty break, so lucky me, up and down we go again. His food had magically appeared when we returned, gotta love that! We finished dinner, Ty played with his food, making a huge mess, and Cody picked at his, eating mainly the fries. I realized in all the trekking to the bathroom, I had yet to go, so one last trip I made.
By this point I was exhuasted, my foot hurt from all the up and down and I'm stuffed.
Luckily we all made it home in one piece, the little ones are in bed and us big kids are playing on our computers!

A hairdo, redo

After complaining for a couple of weeks, I finally took Cody in for a new haircut. The last one was super choppy and not blended, and looked a little like ass! So we went back to the same place and asked for the guy that cut Ty's. He was there and after looking at Cody's card realized who cut his hair before and was surprised that we waited so long to come back.

Side note: I need to learn that if I don't like a service I paid for I need to go back and have them fix it. If I would have done this with said crappy hairdo, it would have saved me $13. But since I waited 2 weeks, it was too late to redeem crappy service redo!

Dude was cool and let Cody "play" the video game system, I picked out the Finding Nemo game, and he actually made Nemo swim around a bit. It was a treat for him! So after some squirming and reshaping, he has a great new do!

A big smashed package with a sweet surprise....

Okay, get your head out of the gutter!

Upon coming home from preschool today there was a big smashed box by the front door. I was excited and a little scared for the contents! But to my surprise the contents survived the ride!

What arrived?

Crocs! Glorious Crocs! Even the little one was admiring our newest arrivals:

Ty's Crocs are the cuttest things I've ever seen, itty bitty compaired to the rest. Here are the boys showing off their new crocs:

Yay, new shoes! Can't wait until it's warm enough to actually wear them.