Friday, October 31, 2008

Hope Your Halloween is Rockin'!


We love you!

Alvin, Simon, and Theodore Chipmunk

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Happiness, Courtesy of Hudson


Art, in it's purest form. A drawing of Hudson and Harrison, drawn by my Hud-Man, age 4. How much do you love the spikey hair on these boys? If this doesn't make you smile, nothing will. :)

Major Progress!




Time to give an update on the Craft Room. I just might have the best husband ever~ for so many reasons, but most recently for getting my (our) room painted and the shelves up so super fast. It's very blue, I know, and I love it. Makes it cheerful and happy...I can't wait to get in there and work now. This is exactly what I needed.

While out with Tomi on Sunday I found these black polka dot sheer panels, and decided they were a must-have. I still need to make some kind of valance (I'm thinking maybe zebra-print with some funky red trim to go across the top, but we'll see. Still lots of decorating, finishing the boys' art corner (the desk has been repainted, but not moved back in yet), etc. etc. But it's coming along, and I'm loving it very much...feeling so very inspired...

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Gearing up for my CRAFT ROOM!



Yay! I can't believe I'm actually showing you what a disaster this room is right now...pretty embarrassing. But I wanted you to see the "before" shot, and hopefully by knowing that all of you have seen this, I will be motivated to hurry up and make the transformation.

I've been collecting all sorts of things to turn this into an art/craft room for us. Since I work from home, a space to do all of my stuff really has become a necessity. My hope is to make it a fun, artsy, inspiring room for all of us to use. I will post the progression as we get everything painted, reorganized, curtains made, etc., etc., etc. Hopefully it will be finished soon...

Monday, October 20, 2008

Spooky House, Part 2




Ok, so the boys couldn't wait another day to finish our house, so we squeezed it in today between after school and making dinner before I had to run off to teach a class. We had so much fun with this part! I wasn't sure how this would go, but it was fun and easy, and the boys did a great job. Even Hunter took part, helping with the gum drops and jelly beans, and he was very proud of his work. Let us know what you think!

Spooky House Part 1





The boys are working very hard on this haunted gingerbread house. Last night was the house building phase, and tomorrow will be the decorating phase. Take a look at our progress, and check back tomorrow for the finished project!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Circus Freaks






Last night we were invited to the Shrine Circus with our friends (who are more like an extension of our family). Amanda and I have been friends since around the 8th grade, and I love her mom and her brother like family too. Her new stepdad (who is a super great guy~ so wonderful to see for their family), Bob, is in the Shrine and wanted to take all of us. How very much fun we all had...the kids were spoiled completely rotten with cotton candy, super cool light sabers, and an elephant ride. Does it get much better than that? I don't think so.

We were very impressed with everything~ and especially loved the elephants, the crazy dirt bike guys in the giant hamster wheel, the trapeze artists, and tigers jumping through rings of fire. Wow. I think my jaw was hanging open even more than the boys' were. It was crazy.

On a funny note, notice the pic of me with the clown. Those of you that know me well know that I have an intense, unhealthy fear of clowns. Something that stems from a bad dream I had as a kid that I have never forgotten. Something that my family and friends have ridiculed for years, taunting me with scary pictures of clowns whenever they get the chance. Good friends, huh? :) Anyways~ last night was a step in the right direction of overcoming my fear, b/c these clowns weren't scary at all.

Fun, fun all the way around. :)

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Pumpkin Patch






I mean really, can you have too many pumpkins? We don't think so. =) Harrison was out of school on Monday, so Mom and I took the boys to a pumpkin patch. Had lots of fun. So much, in fact, that we're planning to go again with Brian. This is definitely my favorite time of year!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Big Boy Bed



I was not prepared for this to happen this week at all, and thought we had another six months before the time came to move Hunter to a big bed, but I was wrong. On Monday he climbed out of his crib and hit his head (he has a nice bump and carpet burn on his forehead now), which sent this mom into a panic, knowing full well that once he's tried anything once, NOTHING will stop him from doing it again.

So off we went to pickup a mattress and bedding (thankfully we already had the furniture), and prepared ourselves for this transition. I really think he's too little to be sleeping in this bed, but I'm more scared of him falling again and really hurting himself...so here we are.

Night #1 was a nightmare. Up and down all night, LOTS of crying (sometimes him, sometimes me, lol), and very little sleep for either one of us. Last night was better. I fully expect tonight to go much better (wishful thinking, I know). One thing is for sure~ he's super proud of this bed, and wants no part of his crib anymore...but doesn't he look tiny sitting in that bed?

Friday, October 3, 2008

ME DO IT!!!!!



Hunter has been saying this phrase (very loudly, hence the all CAPS title) so much lately that I'm hearing it in my sleep. I guess I half expected that because he's the baby he would be more dependent on me, but that is definitey not the case. He wants to do everything by himself. EVERYTHING. It's making this mommy a little crazy to say the least, but I am hanging in there...

Awesome Big Brother


I was watching Harrison and Hunter playing together out in the backyard yesterday, and had one of those proud mommy moments, watching as Harrison helped Hunter on and off swings, played baseball with him, helped him up into the fort and stayed up there with him until he was ready to come down, etc. He takes his role as the oldest very seriously, to an extreme at times (we affectionately refer to him as "the police officer") but I have to admit that I'm thankful he is the way he is with them. And I'm sure they get tired of being bossed sometimes, but they both adore him, so I know he's doing things right. :)

A Rare Moment of Brotherly Love



Hudson is quite possibly the sweetest, most compassionate, loving boy I have ever known, but for whatever reason, he loses all concept of these values when it comes to his baby brother. Most of the time, not always. I know he loves him, but am not sure how much he likes him these days. Granted, Hunter loves to annoy his big brother, and does so as if it's his job, so there are days that I say I can't blame Hudson for having some frustration. However, I am still holding out hope that these two will develop a real love and bond with each other. I've seen glimpses of it here and there, so I know it's there, and I know it will happen eventually. One of those glimpses happened this week when they wanted to spin around and around (again and again) in the computer chair, and Hud put his arm around Hunter and said he wanted to hold him tight so he wouldn't fall. There is hope for these two yet!