Spring Break 2012 - Part 2

The boys and I were home for a short part of Spring Break. We had too much fun! Because there were about ninety things to do before our trip to Houston, we didn't go anywhere special for our short "staycation", but I don't think the boys minded.

Both boys were desperate for haircuts. I was too, but it isn't as noticeable on me as it is on them. Miss Jessica did a fabulous job taming their manes!

For lunch on Monday, some friends and I were able to surprise and spoil a dear friend. Sue is not only my boss, but a very close friend. She is expecting her first granddaughter in LESS than a week!! She is retiring and moving to Hawaii June 1 to be a full time Tutu. I could not be happier for her. We wanted to send her to the islands with a little piece of Tennessee. Jennifer Winstead took on the challenge of decorating the table and did a fabulous job. She thought of every detail! Sue was very surprised. The food was delicious and the company couldn't have been better!

Me and Sue

Over the next three days we played outside as much as we could. Both boys had firsts over those three days. Luke had his first wipe out on pavement. He was holding a ball and fell shoulder first into the concrete. Once his shoulder hit, his face followed. Poor guy had horrible road rash from the middle of his eyebrow around to his lower eyelid.

Doesn't it break your heart?!?

It didn't slow him down too long. He was outside pushing his lawn mower in no time!

Evan got to buy his first ever ice cream treat from the ice cream truck. He was very excited and didn't really care what he got. The excitement of giving the driver a dollar and picking something out from the side of the van was just so amazing! And the thought that ice cream can come to HIM, whoa...that might have blown his little mind. 

We were sad to see Spring Break come to an end, but I think everyone had fun while it lasted! We were thankful for the wonderful weather and great neighbors to play outside with.

Mommy Meet up!

This week I am going to have to write 3 blog post to cover all our Spring Break activities!
Part I of III: Mommy Meet Up

Luke and I were very very privileged to meet up with some mommies and other 18 month old this weekend. While Luke and I were there only 24 hours, we were able to solidify some friendships that have been growing over the past 2.5 years and form some bonds that I believe will never be broken.
I can't believe how much I learned in this short amount of time. It made me realize I should probably meet up with some local mommies because combined our wealth of knowledge is amazing.

This post will be bombared with pictures, most that were on Facebook.

We are on our way!! Luke did great in the car. I expected him to sleep more, but while he was awake he was pretty content. We picked up Bethany and Ella at the airport. He wasn't so happy when they joined us, but I think that was because he assumed we were done with the car ride. It took him about 20 minutes to calm back down.

This is Eli and Luke. They had (almost) the same jimjams! They loved sharing a seat for dinner on Friday night.

Friday night the babies had so much fun exploring our new digs and playing with each other. Isn't it amazing how toddlers don't care a thing about what their new friends look like, don't care if they smell like poop, don't care if they might be different from them. They are a just new friend to have fun with, and they are excited to have a new person in their life. Something us adults could think about. 

Saturday, we had beautiful weather so we headed out to a park. Several kiddos took a nap in the car. Once he woke he wanted to explore on his own which is why he isn't in any group pictures. Well, that and he refused to sit like all the other sweetpeas. 

Here are all our new friends!!

Ella and Luke were car buddies! She taught him a lot about singing!

Teresa - This little muffet is a talker! I have no idea where she gets it?!

You know this handsome fella

Haddy - Haddy can rock a hair accessory and has 2 older brothers that will walk to the end of the world for her!

Mr. Eli has a sweet personality and is such the charmer. That little grin is too much!

Max is such a sweetheart. One of the things that made him smile the most was feeding Teresa her yoyos! What an amazing helper. 

Juggling

This has been the busiest and fastest week of 2012.

John went out of town last weekend. When he came home Sunday afternoon the boys (especially Evan) were so excited to see him. I don't think Evan left his side the rest of the night.

We love our weekend walks.

If he got to choose, he'd be outside 99% of the day.

We have been trying to take advantage of these beautiful days! We have had highs in the mid 70's most of the week. Sunday morning before John came home, I took the boys to the park. It was a great day to be outside and the boys were loving running around. There was only one little patch of mud in the whole park. Luke found it and fell in it. I grabbed all of our belongs and ran to pick him up. My left hand/arm was completely full of jackets, a water bottle, snacks, cell phone and my car key. Since I am young and vibrant, I felt like I should be able to juggle all this plus a muddy toddler. Sadly, I realized I'm no spring chicken. As I picked Luke up he went limp sack of potatoes on me and my arm twisted too far. I heard and felt a pop, but was more concerned about not spreading the lovely nature that was adorning my son to anything else. It wasn't until later that day I realized it still hurt. The next morning, there was some significant swelling, so I went to see the doctor. Diagnosis - pop tendon. I learned even more about the human body (I thought I got my full anatomy lesson during pregnancy/childbirth), and I am still amazed at what our bodies can do. She wrapped me up in an ace bandage and told me to rest it for 10 days. I am still laughing at that one. 

Now who in the world do you know older than the age of 7 that wears an ace bandage for 10 days. Thank the lord a good friend of mine came to my rescue and brought me a more official looking wrist brace. 

This all happened the day before we put our house on the market. Whooo hooo! I seriously thought this day would never come. Something about that sign being in the yard makes it more official. All the work we have been doing for the past 3 months is about to pay off....hopefully.

We have had 3 showings in 5 days. We even had to turn down one showing. After realizing it is going to take a little more time to get the house in order for each showing (2 kids, 2 dogs....quadruple the headache) we made a plan. Each night we get the house as 'show ready' as we can. In the mornings before we leave, John and I are responsible for a different section of the house. So by the time both of us are out the door, anyone could walk in and view the house. John will still have to get the dogs and all their stuff, but that doesn't take as long. 

Our first showing was at night, during dinner time. It was actually less than 12 hours after the house went 'live'. In the excitement of it being the first showing, we packed all our stuff up (our dinner, our dogs and our kids) and headed over to my mom's. We made (or burned) dinner for them since we were imposing. Jed told me he hopes we impose 3 times a week. Next time I promised him pizza or BBQ.

Family Dinner

We are very lucky to have family and friends that live close by and welcome the tornado that is our family into their homes.  THANKS GUYS!

Thursday was Donuts with Dad at school. I have watched this event for 5 years in anticipation for Evan and John to get to experience it together. It is a special time for dad and child to come to school together, eat donuts, and play around the room. Evan is so used to me being in his room, so about 15 minutes after they arrived he was off doing his own thing. That was, of course, after seven or eight donut holes. 

Evan and John pre donut mania!

Interview with Evan about his daddy:

Me: What is your daddy's name?

Evan: John

Me: Where does he work?

Evan: I don't know.

Me: What does he do at work?

Evan: Builds websites

Me: What do those website do?

Evan: Helps Spider-Man protect him.

Me: What does daddy do for fun?

Evan: Plays with me. We play with my toys. When we go outside we play Green Lantern. Daddy bes the Green Lantern monster, and I try to beat him.

Me: What does daddy do at church?

Evan: He plays his guitar and I cheer for him. When I grow up to be 20 years old then I want to play my guitar at Nonna and Pop's house. It will be my own guitar.

Evan's journal entry about his dad.

"My dad with curly black hair." Evan

To wrap up the week, Friday, in a freak hair dryer accident, I singed my hair to my round brush. Like an entire section of my hair. More (much more) fell out yesterday, so this is still something I am trying to get over. Hopefully, there will be some humor to this situation soon. I am armed with a deep conditioner and a new hair dryer for today. Just pray I don't lose anymore hair. And if I do, pretend you don't notice.