Outback

Tonight we went on a family date to Outback steakhouse, it was Daddy's pick since it's his big day Sunday. Another bonus was we had some leftover gift card cash to use up before it expires next month. I love their bloomin' onion dipped in ranch! Mmm. The boys shared a kids chicken fingers. Mark & I tried them & were pretty impressed how yummy they were.  It's usually not my favorite thing to eat at a chain, I love to give my hard earned $$ to the little guy, but tonight it hit the spot.

Double Dahle Doctor Day!

Since we recently moved we have been very busy unpacking, entertaining & convalescing. It was mid move when Caleb turned FOUR and Ben turned 18mos. So better late than never, yesterday we finally took a moment from our busy schedule to go visit the Doctor for some long due well check-ups.

Ben who is now 20 months old weighs 27lbs (53%) and is 34in (73%) tall. He is still our little sweetheart. Balls, trucks, cars, trains, and helicopters grab his attention anywhere we go. His vocabulary has skyrocketed recently. It has been fun seeing him able to speak his mind!
His word list includes: Ball, bottle (baa-bull or bawl), car (caa), truck (tuck), Mama, Dada, please (peeas), yea!, yes (yeees), eat, Caleb (dai-leb), train (tain), helicopter (copker), ear (eeer), show (shh-ow), diaper (dia-pa), uh-oh!, boo-boo, poop (poops), want that (won dat), more (mo), Jesus, Mickey Mouse (ma-moww), Diego, TV, outside (side)...
This list could go on.
He has so many! I didn't realize until I started typing them out.
Ben is totally a little mess maker. Don't give this kid a bag or box of anything unless you want it ruthlessly dumped all over the carpet. Weekly grocery loss is at an all time high lately. Even with utter diligence, it's amazing how a little bag of something is left out everyday without our notice yet never stays undetected by him & soon find it's place on the carpet! Many a box of yummy cereal has died in vain before it's complete use. It's a good thing I'm beginning couponing again.
He loves his blanket -it's silky & white (but anything silky will do), bottle, snuggles from all the family and a show (if it were his choice) each time he goes to bed.

At 4yrs Caleb weighs 41lbs (84%) and is 44in (97%) tall. It's amazing how fast this kid grows. All the jammies in his drawer are new because the old ones from Christmas are now too small. Thank goodness for finding a great sale Memorial day weekend or we might be broke! ;-)
He loves his brother Benjamin & playing with friends. He still scales anything he can just to keep his two feet off the ground. He loves blocks, coloring, reading (he recognizes many of the small words easily now), being outside, swimming, trains and playing doctor. He also loves to help cook, making up "recipes" & likes being the boss of the kitchen. Picking out his own clothes & making his bed are a few new skills. I'm not sure I like having such an opinionated kid. I prefer having the say on what my family wears, but it is cute seeing what he picks out.
All over my boys have grown, are healthy, strong & smart. What more could I ask for? We had a Super Duper LONG Doctor's visit, to the point of ridiculous, but they checked out with flying colors and we don't have to go back until their next bdays! I'm glad Ben is through with all those regular check-ups every few months now.

A Bunch of Sickies Progress

In case you've been missing us this week, just wanted to say we're sick. The only bonus about our illness is I've gotten loads of snuggles from my sick boys who are usually too busy to sit still enough for a nice long snuggle session. I'm trying to store it all up in my heart for those days when they're ornry or just can't be slowed for a Mommy snuggle moment. But the truth is it really pulls at my heart strings seeing my babies so down. Caleb hardly gets off the couch, which made me think he had the worst of it, but Ben who may have the higher spirits of the two, can't seem to keep the food he eats seems from going right through him. It kills me.
I may have more time to accomplish stuff during their waking hours since they're sick, but I'm so wiped out emotionally I don't feel up to doing much. Plus, I haven't been sleeping well with two little boys needing attention multiple times during the night. I forget what a luxury I've been enjoying having my boys sleep through the night, until a few rough nights come and then I count my blessings for a good night's rest!  There are so many blessings we have that I take for granted until they're gone. Like the fact that I don't normally have to change poopy diapers 12xs a day! I'm soooo grateful Caleb is potty trained. He's only had one small accident this whole time -which is hard to do when you're so loose.
The only thing that's helped curb the boredom: TV shows. I think we've watched enough PBS & Disney during the past few days to last them for months. Hopefully they won't be couch potatoes once they do feel well again.  We're not sure we're through with this germ infestation either. Mark & I are both feeling tired and a bit queasy. We'll see what the weekend brings but its not looking bright dispite the weather report!
The bad news is we had to postpone our great weekend plans with Mark's cousin Jill & since the boys are sick, it means no date night either. :-( Unless, someone knows a sitter that likes germs as her pay. ;-) Aww, I guess our fandango groupon tickets might have to go unused. Oh, well. At least we won't be sharing these yucky germs with anyone and we are going to be together.
Maybe we'll catch up on our DVR list and take a few more items off our to do list.
I have to say, during this week it was the first day that I haven't unpacked boxes since we moved in. I did get a couple pictures on the walls & LOADS of laundry accomplished. I think I would love to take a nice chunk off the eternal honey do list this weekend! We'll see.
I should run, Ben needs yet another diaper (I think it's #4 for the day and it's only 10am). We might have to go to the doctor before the day is out if this keeps up! My poor kiddos!

Open the windows!

This morning we opened the blinds in the kitchen to let some morning light in for breakfast since we were all ready early. Normally, we eat soon after arising so one or more members of the family aren't all dressed appropriately enough to let the sun shine in. Well on marched the morning & I thought nothing of it. But luckily we did open that window's blinds early or we would have missed a wonderful treat... this fire truck was parked in front of our house! There were no sirens or sound to warn us. It was parked there to do a routine check on the fire hydrant that is next to our driveway! Pretty cool! I just happened to be walking past the kitchen & noticed it out side. So the boys & I grabbed shoes & my camera phone to see what we could find. The firefighters were so kind, they turned on their lights & even let us see inside the truck. I was very impressed that they took the time to do that all for a few nosey onlookers like ourselves. It was fun to see the water gushing out into the street too.
At first, I wasn't sure I liked living right next to the hydrant as it's a bit of an eyesore compared to having a gorgeous tree or blooming bush. But the light in Benjamin's eyes as he saw that truck was worth more than anything else in it's place. It is interesting how much your prospective can change when you look through the eyes of a child.
So I challenge you to open your windows or blinds because you never know what treat lerks beyond especially if you become as a little child" and explore the world beyond!
This experience has made us even more grateful for fearless men & women who work to keep us safe by fighting fires everyday! We might have to plan to stop by our local firestation & give them a "treat" like they gave to us this morning. Any ideas of something we could bring & might enjoy? Have any of you ever done something for your local fire fighters?

A Little Piece of Heaven

Some days I get snuggles, hugs and kisses galore! It's moments like these, that make me feel like it's all worth it. For one quiet second I get to enjoy and just breathe. Being a Mommy to two very busy boys sometimes is overwhelming, terrifying, enfuriating, frustrating and to say the least, difficult. But I sure love them and cherish those little moments! I'm so grateful I get to be their Mommy. It really is like a little piece of heaven being loved by these guys!

An Adventure With My Family & Friends

Each afternoon while Benjamin naps, we get to have special Caleb & Mommy time. I cherish it & so does Caleb. Sometimes when Ben wakes up Caleb will get upset and try to sing him a lullaby or even lock him back in his room, just so we can get a few more moments of big boy time. Sometimes it is tough to share toys & time with a little brother. But most of the time, Ben & Caleb are inseperable. They love playing together.
Today while Ben naps, we played a new game that Grandma & Ponka Cooper gave Caleb for his 4th Bday. It's a Toy Story Board Book of Games with a digital die. Each page has a different game and the one we're trying out is a matching game, when you find a match you get to do an activity and so we've drawn pictures and now we're writing a story about an adventure with family and friends. Here goes...

Japan, I love you!
A story told by Caleb, typed by Mommy
5/20/11

One day Caleb and Mommy would like to have an adventure with Daddy, Ponka, Grandma, Grammy and her friend named Japan. Her Japan friend really is a lot of japan food jelly. We all jumped on a BIG trampoline (Arms open wide). It was hugmongous, a big trampoline. We had a piece in our cars & trucks & a big train. We liked it.
And... THE END.

A New Start

There is nothing like a General Conference to help you "wake up and do something more..." .  It is so emotionally uplifting to hear the messages prepared for us. I always enjoy preparing myself to receive the answers I need to questions in my heart. So much counsel in so little time. It can be overwhelming. No wonder we have 6 months to study their words. I love the spiritual feast we are able to enjoy as a family 2xs a year during conference weekends even if it is a bit crazy with two very busy little boys running around.