Workin' too hard to blog

Here's me on Mother's day. Yep...I got to cut a hole in my bedroom ceiling and help Kem hang a ceiling fan. There's just something about wrecking stuff that if soothing to the soul. (The boys took me to Red Lobster for lunch and got me a basket of flowers too but puting a hole in the ceiling was the highlight.

other projects I have been working on:

Painting --I did a coat of KILZ all over the place to cover all crayon marks and the marks from all of the things that get launched down the stair and hit the walls. I got the stairwell painted but still have to do the upstairs and downstairs hallways and all of the trim.

Digging -- I have been leveling out a big spot in our backyard so that our pool doesn't lean down the hill again this year. It has been so hot but it feels good to work so hard.

Putting up the Pool-- I put up the pool yesterday by myself. I only did it by myself because my dear husband made a comment last year that I probably couldn't do it alone. Well I had to prove to myself that I could. He of course has no recollection of that comment! It also is supposed to be 93 degrees this weekend. That was pretty good motivation.

Reorganizing -- I put shelves in the boys closets and moved most of their toys to their rooms. Got rid of the play room and rearranged the computer room so it is more like a guest room. If you know me at all you know that I LOVE to rearrange furniture and move things all over the place just for fun!

Cleaning-- I'm sorry, did I say cleaning? I have definitely NOT been cleaning. And the house looks like I have been busy elsewhere. For once, it doesn't even bother me too much because I have been having such a good time doing the other stuff.

GPS knows best?

SO, Kem and I broke down and got a GPS a while ago. We did it to save our marriage! Our marriage really was not in any danger but if we took many more trips where I had to look at a map and navigate it could have become an issue. It really has been a wonderful thing but to prove that it's not always a perfect solution look at the picture.

Looks like a great road right! TOMMY (That is what we have named our TOM TOM) told us to turn onto this road. It was a dirt road! Since we didn't know how to get home we followed TOMMY'S directions. We figured it was probably just a short stretch. Yeah Right! We were on this dirt road for like 3 miles. The only glimpse of civilization was two horseback riders.

We were laughing so hard as this road went on and on that we had to stop and take a picture. As you can see by the screen of the GPS there are no other roads around. I told you we were in the middle of nowhere! To TOMMY'S credit, he did get us home with no trouble. I'm just not so sure the 10 MPH dirt road was the fastest route. At least if I was using a map to navigate we would have been on an actual road!

I love it!

One thing I can say about my boys is that they play hard and they sleep well. On this particular day Levi missed his nap. He was very sleepy when I set him at the dinner table. I walked away to bring something else to the table and when I came back he was gone...well actually he just fell asleep on the chair. Yes, I got under the table to take his picture because it is just too funny! That absolutely cannot be comfortable.

Who could resist?

We got three loads of topsoil to put on our yard so that we can grow grass. The boys loved getting to see the dumptruck so close and they loved the really loud and unexpected BANG that the door makes when the truck pulls away from the pile and it slams back into the hopper.

Did you expect anything other than some really dirty fun to ensue? My poor washer and dryer have been working over time!
It's so much fun, as a mom, to see the sheer delight in these boys over some dirt
by the way...in case you thought I was color blind...Levi proudly dressed himself on this day!

Why ride?

Why would they ride their bikes when they can turn them upside down, crank the pedals to get the wheels really spinning, and then see what sound different objects make when put in the spokes. All without losing a a finger. There is just something so fun about it. Kem and I both remember doing this as kids.

preschool trip to the zoo

David and Levi took the bus to our local free zoo for a school trip. Here David is hangin' out by the sloths

Heavy Machinery

We finally got the dirt leveled in our back yard...it's only been there since July! We happened to be in the middle of a baby shower for a friend when they decided to come. Needless to say it got a little loud but the boys thought it was the greatest thing ever. The other moms were bummed that they didn't have their little boys here to see it.

8 for a while now

Well, my boy has been 8 years old since Sunday, April 13th and I am just finally getting to blog about it.

We had a pretty low key celebration. Grammie came down and we had pizza, cake, ice cream, and some gifts. All of us except dad and grammie were sick. I finally felt well enough Friday to take cupcakes in to school. Eric is still waiting on a fun day out with is best friend. Hopefully we'll be well enough for that soon.

I tried to put this post up a while ago with his answers to some questions about being 8 years old but he just didn't want to do it. So I finally decided this is all he gets!

Happy Birthday Eric!

Introducing...

Mr. Cody Man

Yep! We finally got a dog. We have been waiting for just the right dog to fall in our laps for quite a while now. I didn't want to do the puppy thing, didn't want a dog that was too big to clean up after or so small that the boys would kill it. I wanted a dog that would be great with the kids and I was really hoping for Free! It's a lot to ask I know but God knew what we needed and brought him to us.

This here is the shaggy mop of a creature we acquired. He is a 3 year old buff colored Cocker Spaniel. Pure bred, AKC certified with papers. He had been kept outside and his previous owner went to college and wasn't taking care of him anymore. His name is Cody (Karl and Steph, can you believe it?) We thought about changing his name but he's been called Cody for 3 years and responds to it. We tried other names that the boys suggested but he just didn't seem to take to any of them.
Here he is after a very long time at the groomer. The poor thing was dirty and stinky and over grown but now he is absolutely adorable.
Our Cody is so sweet. He adores the boys and all the attention they give him. He doesn't growl or snarl at them even though they are in his face even when he is eating. He doesn't jump on us and isn't a shameless beggar (although the boys are determined to turn him into one because they want to feed him everything). He did leave puddles in the house Wednesday night when I brought him home and Thursday during the day but he did not at all last night or at all today. He's catching on fast and aims to please because he has been deprived of attention for so long. We are all looking forward to the fun we will have with him!

Meet Big RED

Big Red is the very bestest tricycle in the universe! We got it for Eric when he was 3 years old. Once David got big enough Eric would take him for rides. Then it was David's trike. And now...

...It belongs to Mr. Levi and he is in LOVE. He has been waiting to be able to ride Big RED since he was born. Just recently we dug it out of the shed, pumped up the tires and to Levi's delight he is finally big enough to reach the pedals!! This is a big kid's trike and he is now a big kid. (Part of me thinks that's awesome and part of me wonders where my tiny little boys have gone)

He almost can't be stopped...well...unless of course he turns too fast.