Rudy, the Recession, and the Rocket Ship

This Monkey Boy of mine is one strong willed child. He is not cautious like his brother. He is not afraid to take risks and his curiosity can often get the best of him. He is the child that will go through life having to learn the hard way. You can't change his mind or convince him once his mind is made up. I see lots of "lessons" for this monkey boy. But oh, how I love him to pieces.

The other day, he was playing hard with Rudy and came out of his room crying. I took one look at his face and knew that he took it too far and Rudy had to set some boundaries. Hopefully he'll think twice next time.

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This recession has been hard for so many people. I'm so thankful that we have a home, that Jason has a job, and that we can support our little family. I know that there are many less fortunate and it breaks my heart. On the other hand, this little recession has some perks too. Every week it seems that I get some "free" money in the mail from stores. Just yesterday, I got $10 free at both Kohl's and JCPenney. (added bonus is that there are no strings attached, I don't have to use their credit card, and there are no minimums to use it. As long as I spend $10.01 then I can redeem the coupon.) That's pure sweetness people!

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This week the boys have been playing "Rocket Ship" by getting into Hudson's toy box, which is located in his closet. They sit inside and pretend play for quite some time.

Hudson has lots of wires and cords inside to make it look spaceshipy (I know that isn't a word!) I love seeing them use their imaginations.

Guess I Better Post Before Mother's Day

Here are the pics of our Easter. It was rainy so we had to have our hunt inside at Mimi's house.

Cooper and Grammy

Cooper was real excited about the Play Dough from his Easter basket. He would not even put it down for a picture.

With Grandma Ruby.......who happened to turn 95 a couple of weeks ago.My handsome boys!

There ya go Aunt Pearl. We are no longer "Gearing up for Easter!!"

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!