Gearing Up For Easter

Last night, we dyed eggs with the boys. It was overall a good experience with only slight spills here and there. Getting help from dad. (in fact, dad got quite into it with his multicolored creations!)

Hope everyone has a good Easter!

Friday's Favorites

1. Coup"ON" the Go organizer- this coupon organizer is a great size and will easily fit in your purse. Years ago when I did the Grocery Game full force, I had a huge binder for all my coupons. Since our diet and eating habits have changed so much, I no longer clip that many coupons so this organizer is just right for what I need. Leslie is super sweet and she'll make one with any colors you want.

2. Berenstain Bears DVD's and Books- I can't say enough about these books and DVD's. My kids not only love watching them, they learn a ton of valuable life lessons from it. In today's world where it's hard to find decent things for our kids, I'm glad we still have a few options like this around.

3. Cashew Crunch by Mrs. May's- On a recent trip to visit a college friend, I was introduced to Mrs. Mays snacks. My life hasn't been the same since! Okay, that may be a bit dramatic but all I can say is that these are SOOO yummy. They don't taste "natural" and you don't even miss all the bad stuff. They are super addicting.....I could honestly eat half a bag in one setting but I don't. We use this as a little snack here and there and the cashews and nuts provide good protein to get us to the next meal. We found these at Costco.

4. Texas Pete Sauce- This next favorite isn't mine but belongs to my hubby. Talk about addiction- this boy loves him some Texas Pete. A while back he discovered this sauce at Chick-fil-A. Anytime we went to CFA he'd get some to take home and use it on things here around the house. I recently discovered it at Walmart (thanks Laurie!) so now he can have his very own bottle here at home.

5. Finally, my new favorite is the spring pictures of Hudson that came home in his backpack today. What a handsome little man!

Happy Friday!

It only takes a few minutes....

It's funny how a calm moment like this........

.......can quickly turn into something like this:

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In Cooper news......he started his speech class with the school district this week and he seems to enjoy it so far. They have a sound of the week and this week was the letter "f." They made rabbit sock puppets today and sang the song "Little Bunny Foo-Foo." He's doing so, so much better with his speech. He says more and more every day and we can understand so much of what he's saying now!!

Cooper, we are so proud of how far you have come!

This Boy Cracks Me Up!

Oh, Hudson.....what am I going to do with you? You keep me in stitches most of the time these days.

For his birthday, Hudson got some gift cards to Lowes. That may sound weird that a 6 year old actually wanted Lowes gift cards but if you know my son at all then you know this is just as normal as it gets around here. Yesterday, he and I had some time together before we picked Cooper up from school so we ran over to Lowes to spend his money. He was quite conscience of what he was spending and even put a few things back when I told him that a single item would use up all his money. He picked a few favorite pieces and we were out the door. He's been in hog heaven ever since......

(some switches, a metal circuit box used for outside air conditioners I think, a black circuit, and 2 pumpkin seed kits. I also found a couple snap switch plate covers in our bag after I took this pic- I forgot to include those!)

He bought a pumpkin seed kit for himself and Cooper. He wants to see if we can grow our own pumpkins for carving this fall. We will see.........I've got the blackest thumb around.

Looking inside his metal kit for the first time.

So excited about the circuit that comes out.

Next day, still going strong with his new "toys." I forgot to mention that last week, Hudson lost another tooth. We may be bound by a liquid diet if he doesn't slow down! His top front tooth is coming in (as you can see) and it's a big one. I may start my search now for a job at an orthodontist office. We are sure going to need some help!

I haven't really blogged about this but notice the watch that H is wearing in all of his pictures. A few months ago, I bought Hudson this watch and he rarely takes it off. He loves that "it looks almost just like daddy's watch" and thinks he's so big with it on. He also loves to tell people about how it's water resistant and not water proof and what the difference is between the two. He typically sleeps with it on...once we figured out how to disengage the 3am alarm that was waking him up. It's pretty cool on the days I forget to wear mine. I can just ask him what time it is.

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A few minutes ago, Hudson came into the study counting.

"1, 2, 3, 4...... Mom, I'm counting my blessings. Want to hear what they are?"

Me: "Sure."

Hudson: "#1....I have a home to protect me. #2....I have a good lunch every day. #3...I have friends to play with me. #4......Our dinner is good."

Me: I have some little conversation about how awesome that is to acknowledge his blessings and then I share a little of mine with him. My heart melts over this sweet and amazing young man!

Transition Time

A few weeks ago, I listed our nursery furniture on Craigslist. I had a whole host of offers for individual pieces but no one wanted the full set. I was determined to not break the set apart- I didn't want to get stuck with a changing table- so I stood firm and waited until someone wanted the entire thing. Last Monday, I got an email from a girl around 3pm and by 7:00 that night, they were here to pick it up. It happened really fast ......I was emptying contents of drawers into garbage bags....it was crazy. The timing was perfect because Cooper's big boy bed came two days later. Here is Cooper right before we sold the crib.Last few moments in the crib
One of the first times to sleep in his bed. He looks so small to me now. He obviously still moves around while sleeping.

Cooper was really confused when we started loading his furniture out the door. He looked at his crib and kind of cried out....especially when he went into his bare room later that night. He slept on his twin mattress those two nights and did really well. We talked to him about how his crib was going to a good home and that a new baby would get to sleep there. We talked about how big he was and about how proud we were of him. He has really surprised us both and done really good- at night and during the day for naps. (with the exception of the one night he screamed out at 1 am.....Jason went in his room and could not find him. He had crawled over the headboard and was pinned between the bed and the wall. It really scared him so hopefully he won't be doing that again!) We don't call him Monkey Boy for nothing.

The "chair" sold last week while I was out of town. God is really good with His timing. I think he knew that it would be easier for me if I wasn't here to see it go. I miss having it in his room but know that it's what we needed to do. Heck, I can't be rocking him until he starts kindergarten, now can I?

So, my baby has officially transitioned into a big boy!

Happy Birthday Cooper!

On Monday, Cooper turns 3. We had his party today and it was a blast! I chose a carnival/circus theme and I had a lot of fun planning the details of the party. I had it at a really cool place.....a place that had so many neat things inside that I didn't really have to do a ton.

Fresh popcorn!

A photo op......I have a ton of good pics of our guests but I don't have time to post them all.Free tattoos for everyone!

I was so excited that my college friends could all come! It's pretty rare that we all 4 make it to a birthday party at the same time since we are a bit spread out and there are now 9 kids between us.

Riding the roller coaster..............and playing games in the arcade.

Hudson and ColtonCooper with mommy and daddy

With Aunt Pearl. She did such a good job working the popcorn machine!

I could NOT have done it without these two....or any of my family for that matter. Everyone helped with cooking, taking pictures, applying tattoos, and anything else that needed to be done. Thanks so much!

If you live in the metroplex and ever need a cake lady, let me know. She lives in central Arlington and she is amazing!! She's been making cakes for us for a long time. In fact, she made our wedding cakes and we've used her for pretty much every shower I've hosted and every party I've had. Her cakes are delicious and are truly pieces of art!Brothers!

He was so giddy when everyone was singing Happy Birthday to him!Make a wish!

He got lots of fun toys.

Thank you friends for coming to our party!

Potty Training

Potty training is probably one of my least favorite duties as a mom. I had such a hard time with Hudson. Granted, I was miserably pregnant with Cooper and didn't feel like messing with it...but it still proved to be a daunting task for me. I really have not been in a hurry to potty train Cooper. I knew for sure I'd wait until his 3rd birthday and possibly even this summer to start. Like my pediatrician once told me, "they are all trained before they start kindergarten so who cares anyways?" So, so true! The last few days, monkey has been showing some signs on his own that he's ready. The other day, the boys were in the bathroom and Cooper kept saying "me go potty" so I put him on and guess what? He went. Before this, he had only gone one time and I think it was a fluke. I put him on right before bath and he went but after that he showed no signs of being interested. Yesterday, he went 4-5 times. He woke up dry today and when I took him, he went. So, looks like we are starting the official potty training phase. His first time in pull-ups.

He was pumped about the Lightning McQueen pull-ups. This morning after he went potty, he asked for "cars." What a big boy!!

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One huge advantage of having boys born in the same season is that you get to hand down clothes. Don't feel bad for monkey, he gets his fair share of new things but it's also so nice to open a big bucket and find loads of pajamas and basics like khaki shorts. This orange shirt brought back some memories for me. Hudson wore this shirt not long after Cooper was born. I took some pics of them together and wanted to take some of C to compare at this age and see if they looked similar. He wouldn't cooperate with me yesterday - guess a photo session wasn't on his agenda before school. Oh well, another time maybe.

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Today, Hudson is under the weather. It actually started yesterday. I could tell that he wasn't feeling great but he went on to school and Mad Science but by late in the afternoon he was really dragging. He kept complaining that his leg hurt and he just wanted to lay around. By evening, he had 101 fever and this morning it was 99. I decided to keep him home - there goes the perfect attendance award (just kidding!)- so I'm hoping he gets better soon. It's such a rare thing for Hudson to be sick. He's always such a healthy guy!