Effort Theory

I already knew at 9:00 this morning that today was going to be one of "those" days. I had initially planned to take the boys to the park early before it got hot and before lunch and Drew's school....but that all changed when they were little monsters right from the get go! Honestly, by 9:00 I was SO done being mom for the day. No park for them. I did not want to deal with dirty children and loading and unloading.

Punishment for them for being naughty (even though they never knew that was the initial plan) but also punishment for mommy! What was I going to do with the unfavorable little attitudes until lunch, school, and nap!

Effort Theory.

The more effort you put in the happier the child. Starts as a newborn. Notice they are happy when you are standing, bouncing, swaying and putting forth maximum effort. You sit down and still bounce, rock, etc....but oooh no they know you are sitting and you must stand up and put for maxiumum effort.

Such was my morning. I did not have it in me to do the park so we just went out back. We played and then came in and had drinks and read books. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. The boys were happy. Both ate well. Drew went to school. Carter took a nap. I know feel like I can face the rest of the day. And heck - maybe we will make Easter cookies like I had planned initially!


_________As of tonight____________

The night did not go as well as I had hoped. I failed on my end of the effort theory. No cookies were made. We muddled through the evening and made it until daddy got home and bed time. Tomorrow is a new day and I am going to be ready with a whole lot of EFFORT!

March March March

Where in the world did the month of March go? It seems like time is going by at an insane rate of speed these days. We are kept oh so busy with oh so much to do!

We celebrated my *cough* 26th birthday....goodness gracious I am getting old! Shell did great on the cake and it tasted oh so good!

Carter can put down about two pieces of pizza in one sitting alone with applesauce.

Drew is a fast potty trainer IF he gets to go on his own accord and is not being asked or told to do so. We has some super hero work mingled with the potty training.

We now have 6 Walmart balls - one yellow, one orange, two red, and two blue.

I found them here and Drew informed me they were dirty and needed to be washed. They are definite a favorite activity in our house when they are all bouncing all over the front room.

Andrew is back to napping. We were saved by the blanket pinned up over his window to block out the light until we get blackout curtains. Hooray!

The boys had their first swim in our baby pool and LOVED it. They had a blast putting rocks in and out of the pool.

Carter stepped on a twig from the lemon tree and DID NOT love it.

I can successfully take both boys to the grocery store without a meltdown if Carter is in the cart with snacks and Drew gets to walk and not ride in the back.

I am keeping up on my laundry and do not have a mound of clean laundry to be folded on my bedroom floor. I now fold as I go - thanks Mom!

We made a quick weekend trip to California for an Emergency Preparedness Fair. Bry and I are loving being involved with the food storage company called Shelf Reliance and love love love their food line Thrive. Bry was so sweet to take care of Drew and my friend Heather was a saint and took Carter for the morning.

  

My mom and I really had a great time teaching people about the great product and had a fun learning experience!

Our little baby Baker girl is growing well. She is a stinker about getting her picture taken. This time she had the umbilical cord up in front of her face, as well as her arms. She already has a beautiful profile! (For some reason I can't get the picture to upload - I will see if Bry can fix it for me)

We had a short morning visit with Poppie while he was in town for work.

And of course soaking in all the babyness we can from sweet little baby Hailee!

Remembering yesterday just makes me tired. I had a breakfast with the Relief Society Presidency at 8 - rushed home and got my boys together to over to my sister in law's boutique where she was selling her amazing jewelry - came home and had lunch and got Bry and headed down to my other in laws for a super fun outside fair/carnival where my boys LOVED the bounce house and inflatable slide.

   

They had a tractor with a train and Drew desperately wanted to ride, as well as Carter (or so we thought). They were good for a minute, but then Carter lost it! We took him out and once the train had gone off he wanted it again. Apparently it was one of those things that he loves from afar, but not up close and personal. Silly kid. On the other hand, Drew LOVED it!

    

We came home and got the boys down for naps - I cleaned the house (somehow sweeping, mopping and vacuuming has become the most exhausting thing in the world) while Bry and a great friend chopped down the messy big tree in front of our house - after naps we headed to Red Robin for dinner with the in laws and FINALLY back home and put the boys to bed and then got a bit of work done.....my pillow never seemed so soft. 

So now it is Sunday and still busy, but I am beginning to think such is life. I am glad we have things to do and so many people in our lives we love and get to spend time with.

The Mistake

Yesterday was a good day. I was set out to make today a good day too. 

The morning went well. 

Lunch was filled with not much each, but tons of laughing. I set aside my no throwing food rule since my boys were have such a blast launching PB&J and chips at one another and laughing hysterically. 

Both boys even took naps! (miracle in and of itself)

Then they woke up.....

And THIS became the cause of much screaming, fighting, hitting, tears, and chasing. 

It caused the downfall of the day. The boy's moods....and mine....quickly spiraled down hill. The evening ended with pizza for dinner (of which my boys would not eat and ended up eating cereal - strange children). I was SO glad when bed time came. 

This is pretty much my fault. We bought two of these nice shiny bouncy balls at Walmart yesterday as treats for being so good. Drew picked the red one and I figured I should get an orange one so they could each have their "own". Boy was I WRONG!!!! Why oh why do they both want the red ball so desperately while the orange ball of each shine and bounce sits on the floor. Today this ball will either: 1) stay hidden in a closet 2) have a fatal meeting with a pair of scissors or 3) be joined by another equally red and shiny red ball. 

We shall see.....

Good Taste

We were leaving the Walmart parking lot and were stopped at the light to turn out onto the main road.

I hear a whimper from the carseat behind me. Not a whiny whimper, but more of a longing whimper.

I remind Drew to use his words.

I look back to see him pointing straight ahead and then he said "fry store".

Just across the street was In-n-Out.

Smart kid. Good taste. Maybe this weekend!

Budding Buddies

My boys have been so wonderful lately. They seem to have pulled through their most recent "rough" patch and are playing better together more often than not. It makes me SO happy to hear them giggling together, running after each other (not in a mean way of course), or just playing quietly in the same room together.

I love being a Mom. 

They love to bonk their heads on the wall. Of course I initially was not happy about this, but they had so much fun doing it I had to take pictures!

Carter was laughing and laughing playing with Andrew. 

***Please do not mind the lovely decor of Carter's room. This was initially going to be the nursery, hence the pink paint, but we have since decided to move both boys over here when the time comes. So...we have a green dresser, pink walls, and a guest bed all in Carter's room. I am SO excited to do their rooms and will post pictures as soon as they are done, but until then Carter will have to live with a pink room!***

I mean really - how could I not ADORE these two little faces, but they really are so much cuter when they play well together!

They make pretty cute sad faces too *smile*