This Is What Boredom Looks Like

My whole life I considered Saturdays to be the fun day out of the week- no school, no work, and no church. I love church- don't get me wrong, but I don't consider it fun. When Adam started working shift work, my view of Saturdays and weekends totally changed. He works every Saturday from 7am to 5pm, plus driving time- pretty much all stinking day. I don't look forward to Saturdays anymore. Even though he has Monday off, it's just not the same. My brain still tells me that I should be having a break on Saturdays instead of it being just like any other day. This last Saturday was so long for some reason. I ran out of fun things to do with the kids early on and I wasn't sure how I was going to get through it. We recently moved both boys into Brody's room and now I have a piano/craft/stamping room (I know- how lucky am I?) so I was going through their clothes in that closet and boxing and labeling them so they could be put in the attic. I came across the Halloween costumes Brody has worn and he really liked the dalmation costume from when he was 18 months old. I told him it was too small but he really wanted to wear it so whatever- we put it on him. He looked completely ridiculous and my neighbor Leslie even came over and got a good laugh at him. It was pretty funny. Now that is pretty much all he wants to wear. Today I had to convince him that it would be silly for him to wear it to church and that he should wear his church clothes instead.To fill the rest of the the day yesterday, we played Mr. Potato Head, Little Einsteins Memory Game, went and got Brody some badly-needed sandals for the summer (it's already gotten pretty hot here) and went on a "magic carpet ride"- pulling them on a blanket across the living room. If any of you have any activities for little people who are bored (or big people for that matter), please pass them on. We are always looking for new fun things to do.

Easter Egg Hunt

As I mentioned in my last post, we had a little Easter Egg Hunt at our house with a few of our close friends. It is amazing how long it takes to fill each egg with candy and hide all the eggs just for them all to be found, opened, and inhaled in a matter of seconds. I might be considered a mean mom because I don't let me kids have a whole lot of candy. I'm not a "you have to eat veggies for every meal" kind of mom but I don't throw my kids bags of Skittles whenever they want them either. Brody and I were filling the eggs with the candy the morning of the hunt and being that all the kids were under the age of 4 and I know my friends aren't Skittles-throwers either, I decided to get a lot of eggs and fill each one with only 1-2 small pieces of candy (jelly beans, Robin eggs, etc.). That way, they would be able to get a lot of eggs and not get sugar crazy. My dad said I was cheap so I started to get a little worried that I was a cheap, mean, not-fun hostess. I was reassured when the moms all thought it was great that there wasn't too much candy going home with them. See, Dad? I'm not cheap. I'm thoughtful.I was pretty surprised that Bridger knew what he was doing- he just ran out and started picking up eggs and putting them in the basket. He didn't even know there was candy in them until it was over so I'm not sure what his motivation was.

Lilli is such a sweet girl. Her smile is so cute- I kind of want her.

As you can tell, Abby got the most eggs- she didn't waste any time. She took it very seriously.

Checking out the loot.

"I wonder if I can eat this entire cupcake in one bite!"
Seriously? I swear this isn't the first time he's ever had cake.
This is Benjamin- I'm not sure if he's taking or putting back. Notice the cupcake with the frosting licked off and put back.
Brody saying goodbye to his friends.

Grandma and Grandpa

This week was Spring Break for my mom and brother so they (along with my Dad) came down to play! They got in early early (1:30 am) Wednesday morning and sadly, have to leave this Saturday morning. Not very much time, but it's better than none at all.

Wednesday night we went out to eat at Famous Dave's BBQ, which was a first for all of us but Dad. It was really good- most of us got ribs but Adam got gross catfish- who does that? Brody got pretty chummy with Grandma and Grandpa, which I love to see since he only gets to be with them about once or twice a year. He also LOVES "Unto Miko" and has gotten to play with him a lot.

Thursday was our big day at the zoo. The almost 2 hour ride there was really fun with Bridger screaming 90% of the time. Then when we got there I realized I had forgotten to grab his jacket off the counter and it was cold. No big deal- we'll just fork out the $20 or whatever and buy him one at a gift shop, right? WRONG! The dumb gift shop only had one jacket his size and guess how much it cost? $34.99 plus tax! For a cheaply make fleece baby jacket. So we're on "vacation"- I'll just suck it up and buy it for him, even though as I am paying for it I am feeling sick to my stomach about the cost. 30 minutes into him wearing it, I am really regretting my decision to pay so much for less than a yard of fleece and a zipper so I decided I would just be cold and wrap my jacket around him. I went to take the jacket back and they said, "It's used- we can't take it back." I told them he had worn it for 30 minutes and it was still just as nice as when I paid 40 bucks for it. Too bad. They wouldn't take it back. So I put that jacket on Bridger and was determined that he wear that bad boy until it won't even zip up it's so small. I wanted to get my money's worth! So another 30 minutes passes and the dang zipper breaks! I zipped it up after taking it off for a second and the bottom of the zipper started separating. OH NO IT DIDN'T! My blood was boiling by then but I knew if I took it back after making a big stink out of them not letting me return it they would accuse me of breaking it on purpose or something. I was pretty bitter about it the whole day.

So other than the whole jacket incidence, the zoo was a lot of fun. Brody loved seeing all the animals (for no more than like 3 minutes each and then he was ready to move on). He got to feed a cow and a giraffe, which was so cool- Brody's whole hand was in the giraffe's mouth trying to feed him his lettuce. We saw all kinds of cool animals- and some gross creepy ones too. We saw the sea lions fed, the grizzly bears wrestle, and the monkeys have a very loud argument. Bridger loved watching the fish swim all over and would try to move his hand on the glass wherever the fish went. After about 4 hours we were ready to eat and go home. The boys both fell asleep within like 10 minutes of being in the car.

Tonight we are having a little easter egg hunt with Brody and a few of his little buddies. It should be a lot of fun. I'll make sure to take pictures and tell you all about it!

Dance Baby!

I'm not sure if it's just our computer but when we downloaded this onto Blogger it became choppy. Can you let us know if the video works on your end? Thanks.

"Your Mama Hits You, Don't She!"

One of my favorite things about shopping at the commissary (the grocery store for military folk) in the mornings is the plethora of old retired military people that are there with nothing better to do than to approach strangers who don't want to be approached. That would be me- or mostly my kids. Why do old people think they can touch whoever they want? Well, this week was especially fun. My friend babysat Brody for me because she lives right by the commissary and it's way easier to get my shopping done without him (thanks, Ashley!) so I only had Bridger with me. The night before we had had a little incident that involved Bridger, his little slide, and a lethal board book. He combined all of them and ended up with an open wound half an inch under his eye. The next day it looked more like a black eye. Anyway, while at the commissary I had an old man come up and start talking to Bridger (I obviously was standing right next to Bridger). This is how it went:

Old Man: "Hey little buddy! Oh! Look at your eye! Your mama hits you, don't she!"
Bridger: (stare)
Old Man: "Yeah, I know she hits you. I'll take care of her for you. Poor little guy. I know your mama hits you. That aint right!"
Bridger: (stare)

Who does that? Seriously. And in case any of you are wondering, I don't hit him.

3 minutes after the board book incident.The day after (commissary day).

Finally...An Actual Update

I realize it's been a while since I actually filled you all in on the goings on in our family. Sometimes life just seems to go super fast and then I look back and see how little I have accomplished. What's up with that? What am I so busy doing? Oh yeah- caring for 2 completely dependent people- the little kind. I love love love them but when are they going to get jobs and start contributing to this family? Someday perfect dimpled smiles aren't going to land them whatever they want.

So here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. This last Saturday night was our church's Easter Egg Hunt and Brody loved it. For a few days before the activity we practiced with him at home with empty eggs. We would hide them around the house and tell him to find as many as he could in as little time as possible so he could totally squash all those other little people. Turns out we practiced for nothing- there was a 6 egg limit for everyone. Oh well. At least the slow kids got some candy too. I wish I had some pictures but I, being the moron that I have been more and more lately, I forgot our camera (and our picnic blanket to eat our picnic on and Brody's easter basket and drinks- DER!) so until I get some pictures emailed to me from some of our friends, you will have to imagine Brody with his 6 eggs.

On the Bridger-front, we are watching him grow and learn and develop a very strong personality. He knows what he wants at all times and is really good at letting us know that he will not settle for less. It is really loud. If we take something away from him (like a battery he is sucking on for instance) he will arch his back, throw his head into the floor, and scream and cry and point until we find something REALLY cool to distract him with. He is seriously crazy. I have said it before and I'll say it again- it is a good thing kids are as adorable as they are, otherwise half of them wouldn't have parents. Mkay?

Brody and his friend Hayden have been getting to be good little buddies lately. For a while they would beg to play together and then when they were in the same room they would fight over EVERYTHING. The nursery leaders even talked about putting them in different nursery classes at church since they would get so out of control. Today, however, we went over to the Livsey's house to play and Brody and Hayden played perfectly together. In fact, when it was time to go, we went into Hayden's room to get them and Brody had a little stethoscope on. Hayden was fake whining saying he was sick and Brody said he was helping Hayden because he was a doctor. He knew where to put the thermometer (in the mouth, okay?), the stethoscope, and even where to give him shots with the little play syringe. It was pretty funny.

Okay this is getting long and I haven't even gotten to the big stuff yet. Let's move it along.

We have had some big developments in our family in the last week or so. Adam is going to be deployed this year for 4 months (I know it's not a lot compared to most deployments but it's a lot for me, okay? Don't call me a whiner). So I am going to be going and staying with my parents for two months out of the four. All you people in Vegas- Wanna play? All you people in Georgia- I will miss you! I have a really great support system out here where I don't have family. It will be sad to not have them but I am really excited to spend time with my family and to give my kids a chance to get to know their grandparents for heaven's sake.

So there it is. I hope you all have a great week.

Family Photos

We are finally getting around to posting the pictures that the Johnsons were kind enough to take for us. Check out their website- and if you live in the Augusta, GA area, they are VERY inexpensive and talented and GREAT with kids. Enjoy!