Flowers and hats, but not flower hats...

Apparently Gabe wants to go skiing/snowboarding.

First tulips to bloom in the yard

Another really nice day today!  The boys are loving all the outside time after school.  We even ate dinner outside again today.  As usual, we played on the trampoline numerous times, went up and down the slide, ran around the yard, dug holes, looked for worms, played with water beads, make silly putty, and eventually made it back inside to wind down.

Why?

Why must boys do this?

Weekend Rodeo

Another great weather weekend!  The boys are loving all the outside time.  We spend all day outside, even eating lunch and dinner out there.  Now that it is getting warmer, the trampoline has become a very popular place again.  It is fun to see how much the boys have grown and gotten stronger since last summer.

We have been playing chase a lot.  They have also decided it is great fun to have you try and bounce them off balance.  This weekend we added the 8 second rodeo to the mix.

Needless to say, I see Doug having to do this a lot this summer!

Early Spring

We are enjoying unusually warm weather this week - upper 70s to low 80s.  We have been playing outside with the boys most of the afternoons.  Last night it was so warm we even had dinner outside.  I've got some pictures from the trampoline I'll add later when I find my camera cord.

On the closet rehab front, I am making slow progress.  I have set my self the task of purging TWO items of clothes each day.  So far I am on target - three days = 6 items in the 'to-go' box. 

Meal Planning Monday: March 12

I think we have finally returned to the land of the healthy in our house.  Woo Hoo!  After a bit of a disaster of a week last week where we went without a plan, which meant I shopped without a plan, which means I spent a ridiculous amount of money ($120!) on random food and we still had crappy meals - I hope we are back on track.  I made a plan and a list and made it out of the store for under $55.  Shocking the difference!

Here is our plan for the week:

Monday: Mac and Cheese w/ grilled chicken
Tuesday: Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Wednesday: Big Salad with lots of yummy stuff
Thursday: Loaded Baked Potatoes
Friday: Fritatta with salad

And on a random food related note... the boys helped make pancakes this morning.

Linking to OrgJunkie, where MPM lives.

Boxes are Fun!

I wish I had gotten my hands on the camera faster so I could have gotten more shots of this in action.  We got a box in the mail that had this little clear window in it and Reece decided to put it on his head.  At first he was walking around looking like a little robot - then he climbed up in the chair with it still on his head. 

This little boy is an absolute riot - and I think he knows it!

Closet Rehab Plan

After having some success with the 29 day organization challenge and getting most of my living room / dining room back, I decided to tackle another trouble spot in the house.  The one closet upstairs that Doug and I share and have to rotate our clothes through every season.  Since having the limited time for the February challenge really helped 'make it happen,' I decided to give myself a new deadline - two months, so May 9th.  I think a little more time is needed because I am going to have to purge clothes that are currently in the closet AND clothes that will be brought down as we make the change of the season.

Here is what I am hoping to accomplish:

• a major purge of clothes I haven't worn in years (and get Doug to do the same)
• removal of any clothes that are in need of repair, because let's be honest - while I know how to do it, it isn't going to happen given our current life
• I want to get some closet organizing stuff - because right now we have one hanging bar and three shelves, and that's it

I know this is going to cost some money to pull off, but I have been hating this closet for the 9+ years we have been living in this house.  It makes no sense that we have not tackled this problem area.  

It's not all good...

The truth of the matter is - that having 3.5 year old twins is hard.  You think 'terrible 3's' are hard with one kid - try having two of them going through it at the same time, in the same space, with the same issues.  There are lots of good moments - they really do play nice a lot of the time.  BUT...sometimes it just isn't going to happen.

I was out of the house less than 15 minutes when I get this video from Doug:

You can even hear Reece in the background cheering them on...

Is that a Cheerio up your nose?

I decided a picture really wasn't in order for tonight's post.  The boys decided they needed a little snack before heading upstairs for a bath and bed so we were in the kitchen and they asked for cereal.  Gabe was eating Life (he calls it tasty squares) and Grayson was eating Cheerios.  I turned my back to them and was cleaning the counters when I heard Grayson ask Gabe why he couldn't get the Cheerio out his nose.  This got my attention!

So I turned around and went over to Grayson, who had is finger wayyy up his nose, and asked him if he had put a Cheerio up his nose.  He silently nodded yes.  Geez.  OK - but then I thought he may not be telling the truth, it could just be his finger.  So I ever so gently reach over and put my fingers on either side of his nose to see if I can FEEL something crammed up there - and it crunches.  Crap.  There is a Cheerio up there.

As I am trying to get the now crunched Cheerio out his nose (we are not going to the ER to have this thing extracted - I am going to get it out myself even if it means we knock him out with Benadryl and I use long tweezers), I hear Gabe behind me ask why he can't get the tasty square in his nose. 

OMG.  Why would a child cram cereal up his nose??  

I finally get the Cheerio out with much squirming and grossness only to see Grayson try to cram ANOTHER one up the other side of his nose not 5 minutes later.  I cannot fathom how this is funny,  fun, or in any way a good idea - and yet, they both thought it was riot.