Valentine's Day 2012

I tried to make Valentine's Day extra special this year! Trey is getting older, and he knew today was Valentine's Day- and he knew exactly who he wanted to give his Valentine's! He constantly makes me smile :).

When the kids went downstairs for breakfast, I had set out heart shaped banana bread bars, chocolate milk, and their Valentine's baskets. They were both so surprised (or maybe that was hunger... we had a rough night the previous evening when neither one of them would eat their dinner, so Doug and I took a stand and didn't give them anything else, so they basically went to bed hungry), but either way, they were SO HAPPY! What do you put inside a child's Valentine's basket, you ask? That's easy! If you are almost 3, and a boy, you get: Go Diego underwear (of course), mini M&M's (for being a good boy and going on the potty), a new sippy cup with "dinosaur sides" (he told me that it was a dinosaur cup), and some chocolates! If you are 16 months old and a girl, you get: Socks (because none of your baby socks fit), mini M&M's, because you want everything your big brother has, and a new sippy cup! See? That's so simple!

Doug made us a family reservation at Compania for dinner, and I have to admit, I was a little nervous! As soon as we walked in, the entire restaurant was dimly lit, with tables clustered in seatings of "2"- clearly meant for a romantic evening! I KNOW that when we were being seated, as a family, with our two small children, the guests around us were all rolling their eyes and wanting to leave... Well- we showed them! The kids were awesome! They happily ate bread, pasta, and drank water, all the while coloring and chatting, with the occasional break to play on our cell phones. It was amazing! At the end of dinner (which was 2 hours long!), Doug looked at me and said that if the kids were this good all the time, he would take us out to fancy dinners every weekend! :) I'm not going to lie, though, we had one smaller hiccup- Trey did crawl under the table to pick up Carrington's shoe, and instead of hopping back up into his seat, he made a quick getaway and headed straight for the kitchen. Luckily, Doug caught up to him, just before Trey crashed into a waiter's legs. The upside was that Trey was immediately apologetic, and he didn't cry when Doug scolded him, and we went on with our meal like nothing happened! Woohoo!!! Disaster averted!

Baby Stroller- A Fun Toy for Everyone!

Always glad to see the kids Christmas gifts being put to good use :).

The BEST Saturday in a long time!

Today has been glorious! I am not saying this in a sarcastic way at all... it has truthfully been one of the most relaxing days I have had in a long time. Have I showered? No. Have I put on clean clothes? No. Have I brushed my hair? No. Have I brushed my teeth? Yes- don't worry :). But that is IT. Once I used the toothbrush, I took one look in the mirror and decided that was GOOD ENOUGH!

So, what have we been doing all day??? I wouldn't say nothing, because I have been busy, but in the creative, fun way that I love. I've had the same feeling that I used to get when I would spend hours upon hours scrapbooking, or more recently, painting pottery... It's the relaxation that you get from creating a fun space in your house, or doing a new project, or baking with your kids! And we've done all of those things!

First, I finished up the kids Valentine's. They were supposed to be done on Friday, and sent to school, but I was unbelievably sick all week long, and incredibly busy with work, and just didn't have the time. So, I assume that since Valentine's Day is actually Tuesday, the kids can take their Valentine's on Monday, and nobody will be the wiser. They are adorable, and I'll post pictures next week! I also finished up the kids Valentine's baskets from Mommy and Daddy. Glad that's done!

Next, we finished up a little space to display Trey's (and eventually Carrington's) artwork. It was a very simple project, and the end result was perfect! A little Miratek board, some spray paint, wooden clothespins, more spraypaint, some stickers, and ta-da!!! I love it! Trey is in heaven! Every time he walks by and sees his artwork, he gets excited.



Then, I decided to try my hand at some cake pops. I've bought them at Starbucks, seen them in every catalog under the sun, and always thought to myself, "seriously, how hard can this be???" Turns out, not hard at all! And it's the perfect project to do with your kids! Trey could dump sprinkles and candies on top, as much as he liked, and they just got cuter and cuter! I think I should start charging $2.50 per pop and make a small fortune :).







I have also been working on a much larger project for weeks now with some old, wooden windows. They are almost finished, and I can't wait to share the "Final Product"!

In between all of that, the kids have played together NICELY all day long! I hate to jinx myself by even writing this, but they are actually playing sweetly with one another and sharing all their toys and food. Trey even asked when "baby sweetheart" could get up from her nap, so he could share his chips! If you know how much Trey loves chips, you would understand what a big deal this really is!




Here's to hoping the rest of the evening, and weekend for that matter, go as wonderfully as today!

Carrington is 15 Months Old!!!

On January 29th, Carrington turned 15 months old. I could have sworn there was a 15 month doctor's appt., but apparently I was wrong :(. This definitely made me sad, because I was curious to see how she was "stacking up to the competition", but I guess we'll be waiting until the 18 month appointment to find out!

We went back to Virginia last weekend, to celebrate Grammy, Big Daddy, AND Nanijay's birthdays! We also got to spend some time with Rylee- which Trey ADORED!!! It was a lot of fun, and I especially enjoyed an entire day of shopping, "just the girls" on Saturday. It had been a long time since I've spent a full day of shopping, and I quickly remembered how much I love it.

Whenever we are at my mom's house, Trey sleeps in Big Daddy and NaniJay's room, in a toddler bed. Apparently on Saturday night, he woke up with a terrible ear ache, and just couldn't relax. Sure enough, by the time NaniJay came and woke up Doug at 7:30am, Trey was miserable. He spent the entire day sleeping- the whole morning while we packed, the entire trip back home, and the rest of the evening. I'm not kidding- I don't remember the last time Trey had this much sleep! First thing Monday, I called the ENT specialist and made an appt. Trey has now had 3 ear infections since Christmas, and with all his ear problems, and the tubes, I knew that we needed to get this figured out. When we got to the doctor, both of Trey's ears were draining puss (yes, this is gross, but it's the facts), and the doctor thought we should pull one of the tubes out (the one that hadn't really been in place since the last surgery). Trey completely freaked out- basically, they take what looks like a crochet needle and stick it down into the ear and "hook" the tube. It was terrible, and as soon as the tube came out, all the drainage and fluid came pouring out. The doctor asked if I wanted to have them suction the drainage out of both ears, but I felt like we had enough trauma for one day- and suctioning the drainage was only an immediate solution, and the drainage would keep on coming until the infection went away, so I chose to NOT take this path.

Luckily, Trey seemed to be in good spirits, and since ear infections aren't contagious, we continued on with our usual routine throughout the week. On Tuesday, the kids went to Jean's house, but Carrington wasn't really herself that night. We did go to preschool on Wed, but by Wed. afternoon, Carrington was running a fever and definitely not feeling well. Sure enough- that night, as Doug was trying to cuddle with her and calm her down, she got a funny little look on her face and promptly barfed ALL OVER DOUG. Yep, it was awesome. Doug- being the super dad that he is- stayed home with the kids on Thursday, and Carrington slept most of the day. By Friday morning, we attempted preschool again, and both kiddos are doing significantly better.

Now, to share one of our better parenting moments. There have been all sorts of Tylenol recalls lately, and Carrington is right on the border of being able to have Children's instead of Infant's Tylenol (I share this, to justify my insane overreaction, which you are about to read). Saturday night, as the kids were taking a bath, Doug grabbed the children's Tylenol and gave Carrington a full teaspoon! Not realizing Doug had done this, I got the kids out of the tub, and proceeded to give Carrington another teaspoon of Children's Tylenol about 10 minutes later. As Doug watched me do this, he decides to tell me that he had already given her medicine (thanks for sharing a second too late, Doug). I then went online to see if there were any serious side effects of too much medicine in someone that really should probably only be taking Infant's Tylenol. Well... I managed to freak myself out, and I was convinced that Carrington would have some sort of liver failure- did I mention that I've also been super sick all weekend, and slightly drugged up on all sorts of medicine, which tends to make me woozy and emotional, hence the huge overreaction. I called the CVS pharmacist, the on call nurse, and eventually they connected me to poison control. Turns out, Carrington was going to be just fine. In the lovely light of day, I realize that this was a ridiculous response, and I should have been far more level headed and known Carrington was probably just going to sleep extra well, and pain free, for the night- which she did :).

A new favorite toy in our lives is currently the bubble maker for the bathtub. Allie gave this to Carrington for Christmas, and the kids L-O-V-E it!!! Allie came over early on Friday, before school, and saw the bubble maker in the bathroom, and she got so excited, which brought on an impromptu bubble party before we left for preschool. :) Wish I had my camera and taken some pictures, but I didn't. Definitely next time!

I'm sitting here in bed, again, fully Sudafed-ed up, watching the Super Bowl and blogging. Not the most glamorous of nights, and I'm sad we didn't make it to any Super Bowl parties (although I was relieved to see that my neighbor had to cancel hers, since their family got so sick, too). I'm looking forward to a healthy week- keep your fingers crossed!!!!