Catch-Up: Bday, H-town, Doc, Wii Party

So it's been a long time since I've updated my blog. Buck came home, we had Gavy's bday party, we went on an impromptu trip to Houston & visited the Children's Museum, took the boys to their yearly doctor appts that included shots, had a dinner party, bought a Wii U... yep, that's about it. Let me back up and start from the beginning...

Buck ended up coming home the night before Gavy's birthday party. I expected him during the day, but he ended up having a crappy day and didn't get home until almost midnight. Buck's mom and step-dad stayed up with me to wait on him to get home. We were all exhausted but did what we could to stay up until Buck made it home safely. Jodi and I ended up rearranging furniture, cleaning couches, and vacuuming so we could stay awake. He finally made it... we all visited for about an hour and then hit the sack to be ready for a busy day of Gavy's party.

The birthday was perfect... it was a Toy Story theme party (of course). I had way too much fun coming up with ideas and activities for the party. Not to mention his Toy Story cake came from a bakery that made a professional Woody cake for Gavy. I cut up foam-paper to make Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head parts for all the kids to create their own Potato Head. Pinterest gave me the idea to make Buzz Lightyear juice bottles out of Starbucks Frappuccino bottles... so of course I had to do that! Merly made a Toy Story back-drop with an Etch-A-Sketch frame for kids to hold in front of them for a picture opportunity. So cute! Of course Gavy was the only one that we couldn't get to sit in front of the back-drop and take a picture though... ugh! I also came up with the idea to do a few science experiments for simple activities -- colorful glitter volcanoes out of baking soda and vinegar:) and a tray of baking soda with droppers of colored vinegar to drop onto the baking soda... cool stuff! Amazes little kids and great to see their faces as the reactions take place. Overall, the party was perfect. Lots of family and friends... what more could you ask for!

Buzz Light-Year juice for Gavy's bday -- courtesy of Pinterest idea

Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head puzzles for kids to assemble -- party gift

Gavy's Toy Story Cake:)

Gavy all dressed up for his Toy Story Birthday! 

A day after Gavyn's party, I was pooped! However... Buck came up with the brilliant idea to drive to Houston... ugh! I was not ready to be in a car for 4 hours, but he quickly talked me into going. Jodi had mentioned a children's museum that she wanted to take the boys to the next time we came down... so I decided to see if I could find coupons. I actually found a Groupon that cut the price in half... so I was sold on going to Houston:) We had a great visit with Jodi & Steve and had a fantastic time at Houston's Children Museum. That museum has by far been the best children's place I've ever been. It was so clean and had something for each of my boys throughout the museum. We will definitely return.

Daddy & Lynk trying to put the world puzzle together before the time runs out! 

Buck & the boys trying to put together a log house -- they gave up after about 10 min. 

Lynk working with tools in the chemistry lab. 

Gavy showing off his dare-devil skills on the rock climbing wall. 

My little waiter:)

Boys working hard to save a life!

Lynk and Gavy had their yearly doctor appointment the day we returned from Houston. Both boys are doing great. Lynk had to do an eye and ear test... did great on both. The flu has been running rampant this year. There has even been a few 6 yr olds that have died in the Dallas area. My dad was adamant about the boys having their flu shots this year. So, we decided to get their flu shots during their appointments. I was sooo glad Buck was able to be with me for this appt. Lynk went CRAZY! As soon as they came in with the shots, he began freaking out. They told Buck to hold him and pull his pants down... well Lynk was NOT having this. He began screaming at the top of his lungs... the look on his face was sheer terror. Like we were KILLING him. Buck tries to reason with him -- I quickly grabbed them both and said to Buck "He's 5. You can't reason with a 5 yr old over a shot. We just gotta do this quick!" We both held him down and the nurse gave him the shot. I have never seen Lynk so scared. His face was all blotchy and he was glassy-eyed. It was horrible. When we were done with Lynk, I quickly realized that Gavy was still in the room and had seen and witnessed all of this from Lynk. I was nervous that Gavy was going to be terrified. To my disbelief, I turned to find Gavy standing right behind me with his hands on his hips. He said very matter-of-factly, "Mama, I'm ready for my shot. And I not gonna cry." Before he could change his mind, I picked him up and put him on the table. He cried a few seconds when the shot went in, but was fine shortly after. My how different my boys are!!! After this trauma that Lynk went through, we agreed that the boys needed a trip to the park. They ran and played for a while. Lynk hasn't spoken of his shot since.

We had a dinner party with a few of our friends the weekend before Buck had to go back to West Texas. It was so much fun. Jessica, Eddie, Amy, and Rich all came over to hang out. We ate spaghetti, played Jessica's Wii, and drank. Perfect night. Gavy and Lynk crashed our Mario Kart tournament shortly before midnight. We let them play a few rounds before making them go back to bed. Both boys love Jessica so much... Lynk sat in her lap while he played. At one point we played a basketball game on Wii Sports... it was pretty hard. But the funniest part was that Buck had such a hard time with it. Buck NOT being able to master a game, whether it's his first time or not, has NEVER happened. He got so frustrated... I was dying laughing. I'm pretty sure everyone else was laughing too... but I don't know for sure because I almost peed myself I was laughing so hard. Amy and I were pretty much the worst players of the night overall. We couldn't get the hang of anything... we couldn't keep our players on the Mario Kart tracks for anything.

Rich, Amy, Buck... and the little party interrupter, Gavy playing Wii

Jessica, Eddie and the second party interrupter, Lynk playing Wii

After the Wii party night, Buck and I got a bug for wanting another Wii for us. Seeing the boys get so excited about it, especially Lynk, pretty much sold us on getting a new one. Turns out there was a newer Wii called the Wii U. We ended up buying it. It took forever to load when Buck was setting it up. It was well passed midnight when it was all loaded and ready to play. We let Lynk stay up so that he could play a little bit. He was so pumped. We ended the night making Miis for Buck, Lynk and me. It was a fun night:)

Lynk... no so patiently waiting on Daddy to finish setting up the new Wii. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. 

Buck is back in West Texas for work. Boooooo! Merly came and stayed the night with us the first night Buck was gone. She had a late night of Basketball duty at her school, so she decided to come stay with us since it was so late. We live really close to her school so it only makes sense. The boys and I love it when she visits. The boys and her finger painted, played with Legos, and searched for hidden objects in their new Highlights magazines from Grandma Pat. It was a good night.

We miss Buck... and it's only been a couple days. Knowing that he'll be able to come home every 2 weeks makes it that much more bearable though. I'm hoping they'll finish a hole and we'll be able to go there to visit him. It'll be good for the boys and I to get away for a few days.

I've been working with Lynk on his letter sounds and Gavy on recognizing his letters and names of objects. We've been using their ABC flashcards as an activity. The other night, I showed them a picture of a King and the following conversation ensued:

Lynk: "Queen!" 

Me: "No, close. It's a boy."

Gavy: "Boy Queen!"

Me: "No, what do we call a boy that is married to a queen?"

Lynk: "Ugly Queen! Dirty Queen"!

Hahahahaha... I love how their minds work!

Well, that about sums up the last couple of weeks. The boys have watched Real Steel (or Robot Punch as they call it) twice already today... Lynk is dressed in his Iron Man costume (Noisy Boy costume for today) and Gavy is dressed in the Optimus Prime costume (Adam costume for today). Lynk will only answer to Noisy Boy and they are practicing their punches. Their imagination is top-notch:)  

Hernia Shmernia...

So... Gavy may have another hernia. I took him to the urologist yesterday to have it checked out. Good news is that he doesn't have the type of hernia he had last time (inguinal). However, bad news is that is may still be a hernia. Doc said to keep an eye on it for a couple of months, and if it's still visible, take him to a general surgeon to have it checked. Hope it's nothing... horrible feeling knowing your little baby may have to have surgery. The first surgery went great until he was in the recovery room. He refused to drink any liquid which they require before being able to be discharged. On top of that, the medicine in his IV began stinging and he started screaming and trying to rip out his needle. There wasn't anything I could do.... it was painful knowing that he was hurting and all I could do was hold him and attempt to keep his hands away from the IV needle. I remember just sitting there and crying with him. Helpless feeling... don't want to do that again. Fingers crossed it goes away.

On a different note, I'm finally making head-way in our home. I've been putting pictures up that the boys have created in their playroom. We also re-arranged their play room furniture and toys. Boys LOVE it. They have more room now and are excited about the changes. We've started a new rule in the play room that has worked so far. Each night before they go to bed, they have to clean up their play room. Any toys or items left on the floor after they are in bed are removed and "thrown away"... aka, placed in closet until they begin to learn how to keep the room clean. So far, they've enjoyed this and treat it like a game. Lynk has asked to even be timed in the task. They get so excited that when they finish, they drag me into the room so I can inspect their work. Hope this behavior continues!

Lynk has been on a kick with his little Kumon skill builder workbooks. He was intent on doing the math skill builders today. Below is a video I took of him completing one of the sheets. Love this kid! I also must mention his Avengers tattoos since they are apparent in this clip... a couple days ago the boys insisted on putting temporary tattoos all over their bodies. They each put on 4 tattoos and are VERY proud of them. Doesn't he look both tough and intelligent in this video?!?

Got a call from Buck today... and he gets to come home tomorrow! So, he'll be here for Gavy's bday party!!! He gets to stay a whole week:) I can't wait to see him. Boys are really excited to see him, especially Lynk. Gavy doesn't really understand that daddy isn't home but Lynk definitely does. Lynk asked me to record the message below to send to daddy... so cute.

The next entry will be after Gavy's bday party... let's hope it goes as planned. It's supposed to rain on Saturday, which means we gotta get really creative with the bounce house-type thingy we got him. Could be interesting... :-/

My Baby is 3!

Gavy's wake-up picture on his bday:)

We celebrated Gavy's 3rd Birthday yesterday... well, mostly. His birthday party will be next weekend with family and a few friends. Gavy being 3 years old is both exciting and sad all at the same time.  (I guess I could have just written bittersweet, huh?)

When I asked Gavy if he knew what day it was, he said no. When I told him it was his birthday, he replied: "Are you SERIOUS?!?"

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Mr. 3yr Old:)

To celebrate, I took him and Lynk to Sea Life in Grapevine. Merly, Adam, and Kinzi joined us, too. Buck is working out in West Texas still, so he wasn't able to join us this time. (boooo) Kids had a blast! Gavyn truly doesn't know a stranger. He began walking around with a little girl about his age and telling her all about the "square-ium" fish. She hung on every word he said. Simply adorable.

Gavy on the floor looking at fish in the tunnel... he started a trend with the other kids and they all began crawling on the floor:)

Notice little girls on the ground in the background of this pic... I told you Gavy had all the little kids following him!

On the way home from the aquarium, we were listening to XM radio. Sir Mix-A-Lot's "I Like Big Butts" came on the radio. Of course I'm jammin' because it takes me back to like middle school... then I hear Lynk in the back-seat say without a beat: "Healthy butts?!? Big butts?!? Is this appropriate, Mama?... I DON'T THINK SO!" His tone reminded me of Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. So, needless to say, I had to let go of the past and settle on a different song. This role-model thing sucks sometimes!

Both boys are becoming such sponges... they always have been, but it's truly showing as they get older. I hear myself and Buck in them all the time. Especially when they don't know we're listening. Sitting outside their playroom is an interesting form of entertainment. They're always playing school or house with each other... it's normal to hear any of the following from the boys: "come here before I have to count... 1, 2... thank you"... "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit"..."clean up, clean up, everybody do your share"..."you have to listen if you want (insert reward)" which goes hand in hand with "ok, you don't get (insert reward) since you aren't listening."

Oh, the joys of raising 2 boys:) 

Happy New Year

Well, hello. Happy New Year! It's a lot of pressure to decide how to start a blog. Especially on the first day of this new year, 2013. I've decided to start off with a little backstory and write why I've decided to write a blog. So here goes...

Lynk and Gavy are the two most important people in my life. I've recently quit my job as a teacher to stay home with my little monsters. I'm so incredibly lucky to be able to stay home... and I owe that special thanks to my wonderful husband, Buck. We decided that with the stress level of my job, the amount of time the boys were in day-care during the week, and the time that Buck is away from home was too much for our little family. Our solution was for me to stay home with the boys. This will give us more quality time as a family, which is something I will cherish. I want this blog to serve as a record of our time together... the good, the bad, the amazing, the horrible, the fantastic, the sad, the wonderful, the beautiful, and yes, the ugly. My boys are young, but I know that there are memories that have escaped my mind that I felt I would remember forever. That breaks my heart. I hope that this blog will serve as a witness to our time together.

So, how are we spending the first day of 2013? .....

Well, Buck had to leave around 5 a.m. this morning to head to West Texas (near Odessa, I think) for work. However, around 11 a.m., he called saying he's headed home:) Apparently he's not needed at work for another couple of days. So, we'll get to spend some time together as a family before he has to leave again. Hmmmm, wonder what I can cram in during his time at home.....

The boys have spent the morning and afternoon playing zombies. As I write, Gavy is coming down the stairs like a zombie saying "braaaaains" as he moves slowly towards Lynk. Lynk is a robot, of course and has been given the task of surviving this evil zombie... who will survive? I know all too well that this will end with someone getting a little too physical and someone else crying... which will be on which end of that scenario? One can only guess. I'd better wrap this entry up quick and stop this zombie apocalypse before it gets to that point.

The video above is a little glimpse into our Happy New Year party with the family (and yes, Lynk is wearing an Iron-Man costume) -- Grandma, Merly, Dad, Melanie, Mark, Kinzi, my monsters, and I were all gathered around the TV for the countdown to the New Year (Buck actually slept through this, surprisingly)

Here's to a New Year, to a new adventure every day, and to putting my family's fingerprint out there in written form!