Boys will be Boys ...and February news!

Last weekend was pretty crazy. I wanted to get all of our tax stuff finalized and to our Accountant and some of the house chores done, since it was my 3 day weekend. Our downstairs is decently baby-proofed. Most of the outlets are up high on the walls, and empty outlets are plugged, stairs are all gated off, heavy furniture is secured to the wall, etc. Not to mention, our house is pretty small, and it’s arranged so that you have a pretty decent view of most attached rooms from the living room. Well, I had decided to go ahead with some of my tax prep while the boys played/watched cartoons. While they were in the living room, I could see them, and when they were in subsequent rooms, I could hear them.

We all know that silence amongst kiddos (especially little boys) is never a good thing. Well, at one point while I was working vigorously on my tax filing, I realized that I no longer heard Luke. I peeked my head up, and there he was in the living room with Levi…both playing well together. One interesting thing, Luke had taken his pull-up off. This isn’t uncommon, he really dislikes having clothing on. I approached the boys to see what they were doing, and about that time Lukey exclaimed “I pee, I pee”. I snatched him up and we went high-tailing to the potty. Well, that’s when I realized, he didn’t pee, nor did he have to pee…he actually had pooped…on my new carpet…and you guessed it, I STEPPED IN IT…and tracked it through my house. In the process of cleaning Luke, myself, and the carpet, I went into the kitchen to see this:

Yes, this is Levi. He had maneuvered a chair up to the counter so that he could more easily reach the cupcakes that Mommy had just made earlier. I think he thought they were yum!

{This is his "cheese" face...STINKER!}

This month, Levi has been working on cutting new teeth. On the 7th, Levi’s 7th tooth came in…his bottom left incisor. Under close examination, I also noticed that his bottom left and top right molars were working their way through. His bottom right incisor still hasn’t broken the surface to date, but his gums are awfully swollen so I’m sure that’s in the works for March. I also discovered that Levi has curly hair. I should probably already know this, right?! Well, we typically blow dry his hair (yes, on cool setting!) after his bath in the evenings because I don’t want him getting chilled from having a wet head. When he was smaller, his hair in the back would curl up when he was sweaty, but I thought after his first cut that did all of the curls in. The other day, I let him walk around with a wet head for a bit while I tended to Luke after their baths, and this is what his hair looked like:

Yep, a bunch of waves!! He gets that from Brad. My hair was stick straight as a kiddo, and it didn’t start curling until I hit puberty. I love it!! :-)

Luke’s February has been a little rough, although we're calling ourselves lucky since he's been relatively healthy this Winter. Last week I took him to the Doctor because he started sounding croupy. Ever since his first bout with Croup, whenever he gets an upper respiratory infection he sounds like a barking seal. He’s also still vomiting. We’re lucky to go an evening with him keeping his supper down. I discussed my concerns with the Doc, and after some tests, we have a new plan. Luke is back on his reflux medicine, Prevacid. I think the Docs keep thinking that he’ll outgrow this, so they keep taking him off and putting him back on the reflux meds. They have also put him on Reglan, which encourages stomach emptying in a more timely manner. Apparently, his stomach empties too slowly, which forces everything back up…and he has reflux on top of that anyway, which just makes the issue worse for him. I’m also going to start mixing Benefiber in his juice. Reglan can cause stomach cramping, so I’m keeping an eye out for that, too.
We did have a couple of days of decent weather this month. Brad got the swing out and put it on the set. We still need to add the slide. Maybe that's something for the month of March! :-)

The next couple of weeks I'll be getting things ready for Luke's Birthday! Yes, he will be 3 and I'm in serious denial! I can't believe that the last three years have flown by so quickly!!! I also have a bridal shower thrown into the mix, and a TON of March Birthdays. I'm sure I'll have a post...or two...or three to capture some of those events. :-)

I hope everyone has a great week!

Love, and hearts, and all things chocolate!

Today is Valentine’s Day. A little history:

No one knows for sure how Valentine’s Day came about, but it is reportedly named after St Valentine.

“The story of St. Valentine has two different versions - the Protestant and the Catholic one. Both versions agree upon Saint Valentine being a bishop who held secret marriage ceremonies of soldiers in opposition to Claudius II who had prohibited marriage for young men and was executed by the latter.” {Excerpt taken from this link}

February 14th is thought to be the day that St Valentine was executed. And now we celebrate it with hearts, and chocolate, and candy, and sweet nothings for the ones we love! =) I know some may think that it's silly to celebrate loving someone on just "one" day of the year, but I prefer to think of it as sort of stopping to smell the roses. I know Brad and I lead very busy lives, and it's nice to have an excuse to stop and appreciate our love for one another! =)

Valentine’s Day is actually a pretty special holiday for Brad and I. I got my first ring from him…waaaay back in 2004 on Valentine’s Day. It was a really pretty purple amethyst. Purple (as most of you already know) is my favorite color! We also celebrated Levi’s pregnancy on Valentine’s Day in 2009. I had gotten a positive pregnancy test a week earlier, but that’s the day we chose to celebrate on!

Now, Valentine’s Day has turned into a pretty casual holiday for us. We’ll have dinner, and exchange some cards, and call it a day! B and the boys got me my very first pair of diamond earrings this year...they're beautiful (and were very unexpected, but appreciated)!


We always try to do something special for the boys. After all, it is the love Holiday, and we do loooove our boys! =)


And the boys always try to do something a little special for us, too! =) I helped them make these heart trees. The trunk and branches are the boys’ forearms and hands, and the leaves are pieces of tissue paper I cut into heart shapes. They glued the hearts on. Actually, Levi more or less dropped the hearts, and they landed where they may. I helped him a bit! And yes, I totally stole this idea from another Momma! I'm not that creative... =)

{The people pictures are magnet picture frames}

I made these heart-shaped cupcakes for the boys...



And I made Brad's favorite meal for dinner...homemade Mac 'n Cheese! =)

Here are our Valentine cuties:


I hope everyone had an amazingly HUGE sense of love and all things lovely today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello, February!

...and hello snow, and bitter cold! I suppose that's what we can expect, though, during an Indiana Winter! We have been taking full advantage of all of this snow we've been getting (7" just last Saturday!). Brad has a snowmobile, and he's been enjoying that...as have myself, and Luke, and Levi (okay, maybe not Levi)! =)



This year was the first year that Luke and Levi got to take a little ride...Luke LOVED it, but Levi, notsomuch! He started crying as soon as we started moving. I think it scared him a bit. =( Levi DID, however, enjoy playing IN the snow!


Last weekend was the Superbowl. Of course, we were rooting for the Steelers. They didn't win =( I made some cupcakes to take to my brother's Superbowl party, and Luke enjoyed a taste-test. I think they were acceptable eating material in his opinion! =)

Brad keeps begging me to make some more cupcakes...more than likely I will...more than likely I'll also eat more than anyone else in the entire household! =)

We've also been enjoying some lazy evenings together. Okay, maybe not completely lazy, but lazier than normal! I got a pretty cute shot of Luke and Levi riding their choo choo train. Brad was initially pushing Levi around the kitchen, and then Luke wanted to join in on the fun! Really, who wouldn't want a train ride around the kitchen table?! (Excuse Luke's wild hair. This is the reason why I don't let Brad blow dry Luke's hair. It ends up sticking up in every possible direction!)
Did I mention, I'm ready for Spring?!