Here comes Peter Cottontail....

Happy Easter!

Today was another good day in our book. We started the morning with a visit from the Easter bunny. The boys were excited to see new baskets sitting on the table, filled with treats. The big hit for Cody was a new magna doodle, "Just what I wanted!" Tyler received more Thomas trains and proclaimed "Choo-Choo!" with a big, goofy grin.

From there we headed over to our friends house for the annual Easter potluck and egg hunt. We brought the sticky bun/pull aparts that were wonderful and gooey thanks to my Mom's help. We had a nice spread of food, none of it good for you, but delicious all the same. The dads went out and hid all the eggs in the front yard, then we let them go! The littlest ones were first out the gate, so off Ty and I went to hunt some eggs. I finally convinced him to pick some up and put them into his basket, he realized it was kind of fun.

After the hunt we sat on the lawn and opened the eggs to see what prizes were inside. Cody of course dove head first into all the candy he could until we finally had to take his basket away. Luckily it was a beautiful day and we were able to let them run around and play for almost an hour. It was a great time, so much fun that the boys didn't want to leave.

Our next stop of the day was to my In-laws for some much needed rest/nap time, more playing outside and Easter dinner. Cody didn't nap, but laid on the bed for almost 2 hours, so that was enough to recharge his batteries a bit. Ty went out like a light within about 10 minutes. Once they were awake they played outside until dinner, Grandma made them both an Easter basket full of outside sand type toys, so they were in heaven.

Grandma put out the full spread of ham, rolls, potatoes, deviled eggs, pie and ice cream. I ate way too much, but it was all too wonderful to pass up.

It was a gorgeous day today so we spent the rest of the afternoon on the back porch with the boys. We gave them buckets and a hose, turned on just enough for a trickle and they were occupied for about an hour. Then we broke out the bubble wand and some dish soap, there went another 45 min. With much sorrow, we headed for home, pouty Cody in tow.

We had a wonderful Easter, despite the handful of overtired meltdowns. So wonderful they were in bed by 7.

An excursion to the country...

I love that all I have to do to make my boys truly happy is put them around trains. It's just that simple. We took a drive on Sat, about 2 hours away, to the country to see another old rail yard, roundhouse w/turntable, an egg hunt and an excursion train ride. It was a great time. We started the day with an egg hunt, the boys had a great time. Tyler wasn't really sure of what to do, but he was out with the other little kids, so he figured he was having a good time. Cody has a couple egg hunts under his belt so he knew exactly what to do, so he scored a nice bucket full of eggs.

After the hunt we just barely caught the noon train and off we went. It was a beautiful ride through some beautiful country side with a lot of history involved. There was a train car host in our car that told us about all the different sites along the way, gold mining sites, places they had filmed scenes from movies and the pro bull riding circuit bull Nitro. There was also a fiddle/mandolin player going through the cars playing all kinds of songs and telling stories to go along with those. It was great.




We also walked around the roundhouse and Cody told us how the turntable worked. There were a few old trains and lots of other parts and cars to see. Lots of history.



We will defiantly be taking another trip there again.

A day of adventure...

We took an adventure today. We rode the light rail, then the bus, down to the zoo. It was fun, the boys were excited to finally ride the train, and Cody talked the whole time, both ways. I was glad to save the gas money, a day pass was cheaper than driving there, although nervous about missing our stops. I get a little paranoid about things like that. But we made it, both ways, safe and sound.

The zoo was fun, we met Jen and her bunch, always nice to have company. For some reason the zoo seemed smaller this time, but it wasn't terribly busy and we just wondered around. All the kids had a great time, oohed and aahed in the appropriate places. We packed a lunch and found a nice table, the park has upgraded from older wood style picnic tables to plastic ones, very nice! Jen and her crew were hitting the done phase and headed for home.

After we finished eating we walked around some more and headed over to the amusement area. Upon arriving we decided it looked like tons of fun and rode everything within our height limit. so we rode the carousel, the boys road around in swimming fish, a ssssloooowww train ride around the park, drove model t style cars and they boys flew an airplane! They had a blast. It was Tyler's first time on rides and he laughed the whole time, not at all timid to board.

After that we went to the bus stop and waited about 10 min for it to arrive. We got to the train station about 1 min before the train arrived and we were on our way home. Before getting on the bus, I put Ty into the new Mei Tai, and it worked out great! He happily looked around while we were on the bus and walked to the train. After we boarded the train he started to cuddle, laying his head on my back, and before I knew it he was asleep. He slept until I had to take him out to put him in the car.

It was a good adventure that produced very long naps! A winner day in our book!

A Day at the Movies

Cody went on a movie date with Aunt V, Gma & Pa S to see "Horton Hears a Who." They said he had a good time, the store became a little much, but good overall. He said he liked the movie and that we should go back there again. It was nice for him to get some alone time with them, and Ty had some mom time.

We didn't do anything exciting but play a little on the floor. We went and picked up some lunch, Panda for me and a pumpkin spice muffin for him from Peet's Coffee (Yum, by the way!)

Then over the last couple of days I've been working on a new project, a carrier for Ty. It's called a Mei Tai, can be used in a number of positions, most importantly in a backpack carry. He's getting to the point that he likes to walk, but tires easier than the rest of us, so it would be nice to be able to carry him without wearing out your arms! The panel on the back is interchangeable, so I personalize it for the season, style, or event we are at! Easy and cool!

He was having a bit of a grumpy mood, so binky and a pout it was!

Please ignore my chub, I've slipped off the workout wagon and it's catching up to me! Water aerobics, here I come!

Ah crap, the sun will burn you in March!

We had a play date at the park today. Great time for the kids, despite some odd people and an annoying stray dog. But not thinking, we sat in the sun for 2 1/2 hours. Surprisingly the boys are fine. Ty has a couple of red spots on his face, but nothing else. I, on the other hand, look a little awful. One arm is redder than the other, burnt on my chest (v-neck shirt), and spots on my face. Nice!!!!

So between that and my canker sores still not completely healed, I'm a little ruff. But my mouth is getting better, not looking wonderful, but better. One of the medicines I tried actually made them bigger (yeah, fantastic!), which I discovered was a problem with that medicine after doing some googling. But I found a better remedy, seems to be working, so hopefully they are almost gone.

Longing for Davis.....

Ahh, beautiful, crunchy, hometowny, and lovely Davis, CA.


We had a family field trip today to a children's museum/science center today. The boys had a ton of fun with lots of things to touch, feel, and manipulate. There was a section upstairs totally dedicated to water and marine life, so Ty was in heaven! Cody's favorite was the race car track that you could change around.

While in Davis we were able to visit a lovely baby & kids store that sells a lot of specialty things and has a nice supply of cloth diaper things. They have some of the coolest things; bags, clothes, shoes, toys, random baby things! So I was able to pick up some more diaper liners and swim underwear/diapers for the boys. I was super excited to see that they carried the iPlay swim line, reusable swim diapers and gear. So no poo in the pool from my boys!

We walked around the downtown area for quite a while. Found the Togo's and the three of us shared a sandwich. Then walked around some more and found an awesome yogurt place. It was frozen yogurt, but more natural that TBCY, fresh fruit toppings, and Cody got his M&M's. It was delicious and I would make another trip just to go there!

I love going to Davis. I truly wish I could live there, transplant a bunch of family and friends and run with it! There were more bikes that cars on the road, lots of friendly faces and cool places to just sit and relax. I'm sure the cost of living is ridiculous, but there is as bus that runs between there and Sac, so Keith wouldn't have to drive the commute every day! Perfect!

Ya, Ya, then monkeys will fly out of my arse! But hey, a girl can dream!

A productive day...

Today was very productive at our house, at least for my sewing corner! I was able to convert 4 onesies into t-shirt and applique 6 shirts. The boys played pretty well and let me work through out the morning and during nap time. Here's some of what I did today:

Tyler's Robot shirt

Cody's Robot shirt

Tyler's Bus shirt

Cody's Bus shirt, front

back

The art of raising boys...

A couple of weeks ago at preschool they made necklaces. They are colorful, he made it so he loves it, and he's actually received compliments on it. But as mentioned below, as soon as water hits it, it bleeds. They are simply made from food coloring dyed noodles, you can't expect much. So when we were out the other day we stopped into Michael's and found some "boyish" beads so we could make him another necklace that hopefully won't bleed. We found a huge box of mixed colors and shaped wooden beads, along with some animal shaped ones for highlights (they are a little Asian inspired). So tonight we were able to put them together. He had fun and loves his new necklace, I'll have to get a picture of him wearing it. He seamed proud to have made it and was excited to try it on. I also made one for Ty because he's been so interested in Cody's bleeding necklace. It's similar, but because Cody's is a little longer so spacing beads are different. Here's Ty's necklace:

I'm hoping that with allowing them to do things that are stereotyped as "girl" things that they will be well rounded individuals as they grow up. It's funny because it's drilled into your head that boys should play with certain things and girls should play with other things. Cody loves to play dress up at school, occasionally putting on a dress because that's pretty much all that's there. We go to houses with girls and he plays along side them with their beads and doll houses. He also has a baby doll, Tyler is amazed with babies right now, so he also plays with Cody's doll, at least when he's not looking! Cody loves to cook and hopefully as he gets older we can get him into some kids classes so that he can explore it. But as boys, they love their trains/cars/planes, dirt and bikes. Well rounded I hope.

My little pretties...

So I was able to sell some diapering things and build up a bit of paypal money. I've been hunting and drooling over some different fabrics for a while, so I was excited to find them on Ebay. Then I was even more excited to see them waiting for me when I came home today. I hope to make more shirts for the boys, then who knows what, but none the less, I have them and they are cute, and I love them! See:

So watch out for new projects, I'm excited to have these.

Oh and we did the JBF drop off this morning. They started accepting items at 11, so instead of waiting for my time spot at 4 we went early. I'm glad we did, we found a parking spot across the street, grabbed our stuff, put Ty in the stroller and we were on our way. It went smooth as we were one of the first ones there. Cody was a big helper so the drop and organizing went quick. I did walk out without my passes to get into the sale, but that's probably a good thing. The boys don't need anything for summer, so it's for the best.

Random Daylight savings post.....

Ahh the twice a year time change. In general it's annoying overall, trying to change your internal clock, then trying to change the clock of two little ones, good times! But it hasn't been that bad this time around has had some positives in the last couple of days.

It was good this morning because I was able to shower in piece, no one banging on the door and screaming. Usually by the end someone is awake and I feel the need to rush.

It was also nice because after dinner it was still light out. So we went on a bike ride. Keith had to run some errands, kid-free, so it was nice to be able to get out of the house with my grumpy boys. We had a good ride. Even with Cody taking a big spill, no scrapes were found, but he went completely over the front of his handle bars, tipping the bike over, knocking off his airplane and breaking his ring dinger. I couldn't get there fast enough because I was pushing Ty on his trike, but he sprung right up to his feet and wasn't crying. I thought the old guy across the street was going to have a heart attack as he watched happen like I did. But all was okay and we finished our ride home.

See, he's fine and still smiling! He's also showing off the necklace he made at school last week. It's bright and colorful, and has a neat trick of turning him blue when he sucks on it. He still randomly puts things in his mouth, quite annoying, but we're working on it

And my little bow-legged boy. Poor kid, I hope he grows out of this. It's not worse or better than ever before so we'll see. He's grumpy because we are not out on bikes anymore, it was time to come inside. And his revolving face owey has moved to his chin, not sure what happened, it appeared at G-ma's this am. He didn't complain when it happened, so who knows. Typical boy!

Here's what my project of the month is:

Making the boys t-shirts. I've found some super cute and cheap scrap fabrics, so I'm running with it. They are unique and it's fun to know that I made it. So we'll see what else becomes of if, I have lots of plans, now I just need to finish them!

This past weekend Cody and I went to a Birthday party for a preschool friend. It was fun for him, getting to see his friends on the weekend, and there was cake involved. I had a decent time, but was uncomfortable the whole time there. They live in a different world, much higher tax bracket, and way different luxuries. The house was beautiful and large and like a mansion to me. See:

Gated drive, a buzzillian steps to the front door, and huge!

But as uncomfortable as I was, I had to chill for Cody. So like I said, he had a good time.

So wish me luck, the drop off for the JBF sale is tomorrow. I'm going with both boys in tow, I'm hoping it will go quickly and that they be in good moods. I'm not supposed to go until about 4, but will probably throw that down the tubes and go earlier, the nice thing with kids is that you can always have a "babysitter issue" come up.

Another frustrating field trip....

So it was field trip day at preschool, we go somewhere once a month. This months field trip was to go bowling. It sounded like it would be fun, I voted for it, but I should have known better. It was a cluster, like most that we've been on, it was beyond frustrating.

The bowling alley that was chosen for the trip is old, in a so-so part of town, and quite a distance from the school. We arrived and they didn't know we were coming, fantastic! So they scramble and find us 4 lanes at the end. After seeing 16 preschoolers they realized they didn't have enough shoes, so they say to go anyway in street shoes. Cool, one less thing to have to worry about. So they dig out the smallest balls they have, not enough, but it's not like they are all going to bowl at the same time, so there were are enough for about 3-4 per lane. They bring out 2 ball shooters to share, those thing as super cool for the little kids, put the ball on the top, tip it up and down the lane it goes.

Some how the group kind of gets separated. So 3 groups get to the lanes and start going, putting 3 kids on two of the lanes, 4 on the 3rd lane, leaving 6 kids on the last lane. This frustrates me because instead of waiting for 2-3 kids to have a turn, Cody has to wait for 5 kids to bowl. But whatever, I sit down to enter the 6 kids into the lane so we can take organized turns, but nobody is paying attention and just start sending kids up to bowl. This frustrates the crap out of me because I'm invisible, not that it's not a usual occurrence for me to be invisible in a group, but it sucks. So I walked away, told Cody to stay with the group and went to the bathroom to breath. It didn't really help, but I walked away instead of saying something that could be hurtful or rude. I come back and they were actually going in turns, one of the other moms noticed I walked away in a bit of a huff and made point to tell me it's all straight now. So we bowl 2 frames as 6 and a couple of the moms realize it's taking too long and ask to open one more lane. Great, but then we're stuck with the 6 names on our lane. So we wait for the tweaky alley dude to come and fix our lane and we are off and running again. Looking around, realizing we are about 3-4 frames behind the rest of the group, but whatever, they are finally bowling.

We are going along, kids are having pretty good time and the tweaky alley dude comes and takes both of the ball shooters. DUDE! WTF! He claims that there is another group that has come in, they were expecting them, that are handicapped and need the shooters. Okay, so I look down to the end of the alley there group is about 8 people, only using 2 lanes. Um, no, they can share! So I walk to the desk and kindly but sternly let them know that I understand that they need the shooters, but there are 16 3-4 year olds that need one too. Either that or they need to station someone down there to chase all the balls that didn't have enough power to make it to the end. So reluctantly they bring on of them back. Yeah, go smoke another bowl dude.

Can you tell I've had enough bowling excitement at this point? Are you still reading this? Bless you!

We are finally winding down and people are leaving, thank god it's almost over! About half the class was going to go over the nearby park, but I couldn't do it. I was done! So we left and went to lunch instead. It was nice, we were able to eat outside so that was a nice change. We met my MIL at the gym and I stayed to do a water aerobics class while both boys played in child care. It kinda calmed me down, but not enough.

I'm still frustrated about our day and it's been almost 10 hours since I've seen anyone from school. I just wish that someone would gather the group, get everyone to the point of interest together so we could do it together. We supposedly have a paid teacher that is there, but she's just along for the ride on field trip days, kinda feels like it's her day off. Yeah, don't get me started on her tonight!

UGH! Only one more preschool day this week and we have a week away. They are doing an Easter egg hunt on Thurs, but as much as I would love the pictures, I'm not going to stay. I'm going to drop off my eggs, extra ones too because someone will forget, and be on my way. Luckly I have a DMV appt to go to, so there's my excuse to leave.

A new jewel....

So as I was eating my breakfast this am, while watching a rerun of Biggest Loser, they had commercials on for a channel/website called Exercise TV. If you have certain cable providers you can simply turn to the station on your TV and do a workout. Hmm, sounds cool, but we don't have that kind of cable. But they have a website. So low and behold, they have full length workouts on their website, for free! YAY!!!!!

I've been a huge slacker for the last couple of months. I can't even tell you the last time I stepped into the gym. I've started to hate the hassle of loading both kids, getting there on time for whatever class, standing next to the ubber skinny mom of 5, and trying to feel good about being there. So I excused my way out of going; my foot was hurt, then we were sick for a few weeks, then there are canker sores, my car is clear out in the garage, the sky is falling, etc.

But this past week I put out some effort and hopped on the bike. It felt good, less confined and the boys enjoyed themselves. So this is the plan for the week. I just finished a toning workout and now I'm going to get dressed and take the boys for a long walk, while Ty gets pushed and Cody rides his bike. They get some sunshine and a little Vit. D, and I get some much needed exercise.

I probably won't give up on the gym completely. I've been planning on going back to water aerobics. It's more fun, the old ladies are a hoot and I can get a tan. Everyone knows that tanned fat looks better than pasty, white fat. So we'll see how that all goes together!

I'm not going to lay out a schedule or anything, but I'm trying to make an easy and doable commitment to myself. Lose some weight so you feel better. Drop a few sizes so you don't get depressed that they don't make the fat jeans in a short. I won't ever be a size 2 or super toned, that would cost way too much money! But I can be healthier and a little lighter on my feet.

Is it so bad????

I've been contemplating something all week, especially after visiting Jen on Tues. Is it really that bad that I've become "that mom?" You know the mom that is ubber crafty, always doing the projects at school, over the top party planing, and whatever else falls into this title.

I'm not really sure what drives it in me but it's there. I get ideas and think it would fun/cute/different/rad to make invitations/art/snacks/gifts/etc. It's truly a sickness, think back to Christmas, a great example. Cody's upcoming Birthday party is also a perfect example. The invites took about 8 hours, cutting out the pieces, putting them together, embellishing, addressing and mailing. Then there was the time spent putting together the goody bags, about another 1 1/2 hours. Then I started working on the t-shirts for the monkeys they are going to stuff during the party (think Build-a-Bear). That was another hour or so. Closer to party day there will be the cookies and snacks to bake and get together. At least I had the sense to move the party time to mid morning and cut out my idea to do lunch.

The funny thing is that I know that no one is going to remember the cool invites or party bags. Cody would be just as happy with the store bought invites and everything that goes with it. Simply inviting his friends to the park, having a treat and throwing in some balloons would be great. But, no, I can't do it. It's a mental thing for me. I have the ability, therefore I must use it.

I worry that it's too much. That people think I'm trying too hard. I often feel like I'm trying way too hard to fit in. Feeling like it's Jr High all over again. So I guess we all fall into our places eventually, or we die trying to find that place.

I gotta moan.....

So I've gotta get out my gripes for the week.

Canker sores, about 5 of them. Lucky me they appeared last Fri, and got worse over the week. Most everything I've tried to eat or drink this week has been like taking in fire. It sucks. Trying to ease the pain has been the main goal, found a couple of decent things, but mainly they make my mouth numb for about an hour, then it's worse as it wears off. I think they are healing, just not seeing the end in site.

Camera memory card is full. Yep in the middle of a Birthday party, it flashes and taunts me, "Sorry Dude, I'm full, better luck next time!" I did get through about half the party, catching some good shots of Cody and his friends, so at least it's there. I took a few with my camera phone, now I just have to see if I can get them off my phone. Hmmm, this should be fun!


Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled program...

Spring bike rides.....

The weather has turned, at least for this week, and we have been able to break out the bikes. Monday Cody rode his bike while I pushed Ty on his trike over to the park. They had a blast and took a long nap!
Today we pulled out my bike and the trailer, strapped Ty in and Cody rode his bike over the bridge to the Pirate ship park. Cody did really well, kept up with me and had a great time. Hopefully as we work our way into summer he'll learn to ride a little better and we will really be able to get some miles down! Ty really liked the trailer as well, hopped right in and read his books along the way.

So if we're not at home, we're probably out on our bikes!