Another Snowy Day

This is what we woke up to today:

I hear it was around 3 inches with another 2-4 predicted throughout the day. So, for the very first time as a parent, I got to turn on the news to see if anything was going on with Easton's school being closed or delayed. The private Christian schools are always the first to close it seems and the handful of schools coming up as "closed" at the bottom of the newscast were indeed the Christian ones. But E's was not one of them so off to school we went. The traffic was awful. It was the first snow this season where the snow was actually on the roads. So people have forgetten how to drive during our months off from this weather. They'll remember again soon but until then it makes for a slooooooow commute.

Easton was 20 minutes late to school which means it took us about 25 minutes to go what normally takes about 5. There were 2 kids including Easton in the room and I was super confused but I guess the rest of the small class was already in the library. I hung out for a bit after dropping E off, chatting with Isaac's mom for quite some time and then heading down to check out that Holiday Gift Shop. By the time I left it was 9:00 and one of E's classmates was just pulling up. Apparently what normally takes them 10 minutes, took an hour. But it's not that the roads were that bad, it's just the drivers, honestly.

Jason wasn't making too much progress on his way to work either and when Dalton and I finally got back in the car we had a message that Jason turned around to work from home today instead. But Dalton and I could not be deterred. We spent our morning out shopping. First we stopped for our regular Thursday breakfast at ABC. But AussieROO wasn't meeting today for the Thanksgiving break (still??). Instead we did quite a lot of Christmas/birthday shopping...mostly for Easton and luckily I'm still able to buy stuff for D now without him really noticing or catching on yet. So he and J got presents too.

All the while Easton was back at school doing his holiday shopping. I have no idea how it went. I asked him if he got what he wanted and if they ever said, "You don't have enough money for that" or anything but he was happy with his purchases and they're all already in little gift bags but I did peek (and laugh!) at what he picked out for Auntie Jess. I'm going to have to ask him about it later. Gosh, I love that boy. He already told me again what he got for me and he really wanted to tell Jason what he got him and started crying when we reminded him to wait to let it be a surprise. He waited a few minutes and then between mouthfuls of lunch blurted out "Football!" but we kind of ignored it. What a goon. When we asked what he got for Gramoo or Lauren he said, "It's a surprise" but he has no problem telling us our gifts. He's a little backwards, it seems. I'm proud of him nonetheless.

Yesterday he learned how to spell his name out loud...we haven't worked on writing it yet, being able to spell it was the first step. It took no time at all. And then he surprised me by already knowing (almost) all the months and his birthday. He used to know to say "9" when I prompted with "January???" but he knows it on his own now:

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After all that above excitement we went out to Sam's as planned. Dalton found something he wants for Christmas:


The boys are able to sit side-by-side in the giant Sam's Club carts and they wouldn't stop loving on each other:



I realize I could have much worse problems than brothers who can't stop hugging. They're such good buds. They were playing nakey on the stairs after dinner and I asked E, "Is Dalton your best friend?" and he said, "Yeah...he's so cute" and then added, "He does everything to make me laugh when I'm crying." Sounds like a best friend to me!

We also made a stop at Lowe's to look for supplies we need for our Christmas cards and we found a life-size dancing Santa. Easton thought it was great but Dalton...not so much:

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Poor guy.

Anyway, not sure what the rest of this snowy day has in store for us but that's the scoop from my last blog entry. Tune in below for another short tag, if you want...

Tagged Again

AJ hit me up with another simple little tag...but I can't ever keep things too simple. Here's what the rules are:

If you are a blogger you now have a mission. As soon as you read this, drop everything, grab your camera and take pictures of where you blog from. NO CLEANING!!! THEN, tag some lucky ducks and spread the love.

I obliged, I hopped right up and took this:


Then I rearranged so you could see what happens when it's time for meals:


It's a laptop, but it's rarely on my lap. The battery doesn't last long at all and I can't be bothered to plug and unplug from the wall too often. So it lives on the kitchen table most of the time.

It's funny...when I was pregnant with Dalton we were planning to move Easton into our previous guest bedroom/office where our desktop lived. So we shopped around for computer armoires and such and thought about where we could make a small "office area" in our house. Then we went, "Duh! An armoire would cost as much as a laptop-- let's just get one of those". When we filled Jason's mom in our plans she had to reveal they were planning to get a laptop for us for Christmas already...hooray! She didn't want me to have any excuses to stop blogging, right G? ;) So that was the perfect solution.

Now our desktop lives in the basement and still gets used for Jason's music recording and for coupon printing and for backing up our pictures and such. Then Jason also has a laptop from work which comes home every day. So we've basically got 3 computers now. And no computer armoires.

The end.

If you want to do this tag feel free, of course, but I'm being a party pooper and not specifically tagging anyone, but consider yourself tagged if you want to play along.

Just a Wednesday

Yesterday we went to the mall as planned. We stopped at our mail box on our way which revealed something from Gramoo for each boy...blank faces with stickers. That certainly kept them entertained on our drive. Easton totally impressed me with how well he put his together:


Dalton, not so much:

He's got several of the stickers now stuck to his carseat. He's getting a new one very soon, though. It'll be just like Bubba's...very exciting!

I was able to exchange E's pants while at the mall and then we spent awhile playing. I didn't take any pictures but they were cute and had fun. Although at one point the security guard manning the play area told me, "Ma'am, please don't let him walk up there" when Easton was balancing on the edge of a fake bridge. I asked him to stop and when he didn't stop immediately I asked him to come over to talk to me. He was upset over having to stop playing for a moment and confused about what he did to deserve it. He 'bout broke my heart when he curled into me wailing, "What have I done???" and "I don't know the words I'm supposed to say" as far as apologizing and such. So I explained and he calmed down but it was really quite sad to hear him talking like that. I mean, "What have I done?" No one talks like that. "What did I do" is more likely. Anyway...

We also were able to look at Santa while we were at the mall. That was very exciting! Because it's a ghetto mall and no one goes there, there was no line and Santa was bored so he walked over to talk to my boys. Easton was very lovely but Dalton was terrified. Jason predicted he would be. Kinda sad, really. Santa is obviously used to it so he said, "I'm just going to hold your hand is that okay?" and started reaching out but Dalton would have none of it. So...in the future when we visit look for a picture of just Easton or perhaps one with Mommy or Daddy in it too! :)

We stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home and then Dalton busied himself with stickers again at dinner:


After dinner the boys wanted to play "be nakeys" and Dalton asked me to strip him but Jason and I were busy cleaning up so I told D to ask Bubba. Easton did such a great job, he was so patient and worked so hard and did every bit of it himself:




Thanks to his full nakieness earlier he really wanted his diaper off again but Easton kept saying, "No, no...you need to keep it on...see how I'm wearing my underpants?"

Nakey!!!


Easton and Jason had a shower before bedtime and Diddles took a bath before his olive oil massage. We started the steriod cream again for a few days. We're halfway done so we'll see. I'm thinking he'll need to go back in, unfortunately. But like I said, we've got 3 doses to go...

After the boys went to bed I ran out to KMart for double coupons again. I found a few Christmas presents for E while I was there. I have to go back for one, though. Maybe tonight. Anyway...

Today the boys slept till 7:30 and then we had breakfast and drove down to surprise Gramoo at her school. Easton had been talking about wanting to go there and I said maybe Wednesday we'd go surprise her so we did. But would you believe I forgot my camera??? Couldn't believe it. Somehow we lucked out and Moo didn't have any classes the whole time we were there so we got to run around and play just the 4 of us. Easton's favorite thing was for me to push him really high on the ropes. And he'd go high. I'm certain my mom would never allow her students to swing like that. But he had a blast.

After we left we headed over for some mac and cheese at Noodles. You should have seen Easton brothering Dalton. He would stab Dalton a few noodles and hand him the fork...over and over again. He would ask, "You thirsty Dalton?" and then share his water. I just sat there with tears rimming my eyes and enjoyed my macaroni while watching E do all the work I normally do. We have said that, heaven forbid, one of us passes out or something someday, Easton would be able to completely care for himself and his brother until someone else came home. It makes me so sad to think about but I'm sure they would both fare just fine for quite awhile.

So now we're home and the boys are in their rooms and I'm here in front of this screen. It's a chilly day here so I think I might need to make some hot chocolate and enjoy this bit of time to myself before we have to brave the cold to hit up Sam's Club later on.

Toodles!

Our Tuesday

Yesterday afternoon we actually stayed home instead of going out a second time. The boys spent a long time on my lap putting our faces in the "Jib Jab" movies and dances again.

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They have such fun with those. While they were on my lap I snapped a pic of us, Facebookers might recognize it as my new avatar:


After we finished "elfing" ourselves the boys tried on their new Christmas jammies to see how they fit and I had to snap a few pics:






Then they helped me make their mac and cheese dinner:


Today being Tuesday means school for Mr. E. He told me, "I don't really want to go to school today" while lying in my bed with his juice but he did fine. Great even. Today the kids got to browse the "Holiday Gift Shop". Have I mentioned this on the blog yet? I did this when I was little and remember Lauren doing it when she was small too. Basically some people come and set up a cheap little store with gifts for various prices and the kids come shop all by themselves with money their parents give them. Today was E's class's day to browse...on Thursday they'll make their purchases. When I picked him up he said, "Mom, I looked with my eyes!" which I am sure Mrs. M had to continue to repeat so the kids wouldn't touch everything. He picked out an Elmo something or other for Dalton and "a pretty flower for you, Mommy!" I think it's a flower pen for $1.25. I'm sending him with money but I have no clue how much the things he wants to get cost. And I want him to be able to get what he picked not necessarily something from the $4-$6 table because I checked that box next to my name. I want him to be able to buy me that awesome $1.25 flower pen and spend any leftovers on the Elmo thing for Dalton if that exceeds the amount we checked next to D's name. It's so complicated, I'm not sure if they'll let him do it like that. I want to go help him, yet I want him to do this by himself. He's getting so so big. What I really love is that he picks out things we'll like, not things he likes and wants us to share with him. You know how a kid might do that? Pick out some toy for his brother so that later they'll share it? Not my Eastie, apparently. He told me what he's picked for other family members too but I don't want to ruin it for them on the blog. I'll let him spoil the surprise himself. Hee hee.

I was impressed when I asked Easton to show me how to get downstairs so I could see the store, he knew right where to go. It wasn't a straighforward way at all, we had to cut through the empty nursery. But he showed me around his little school. I love how big he's getting!

While E was at school, Dalton and I came home for breakfast...and he got to have a bit of nakey time before getting dressed for the day:





That boy loves him some nakey time!

We also made a stop at Wal-Mart and a trip to a kid's second hand store. I lucked out again with finding the boys matching shirts. That happened at Easter which is just crazy that I found matching shirts in their sizes because it's a second hand store and all...but it happened again! Crazy! I also got E a cute little button down and some little dress shoes.

Before long it was time to pick up Bubba. I found this waiting for me in his folder:

"It's a shapetogon!" He drew an E on it (in the upper left corner of the paper). We might have to work on spelling his name now. I think he can write all the letters in his name at this point but we've never bothered with spelling it all out. We should though, he was able to sound out both "cat" and "map" over Thanksgiving weekend!

Because Easton did so well at school he wanted to get an ice cream from McD's for after lunch. He hardly ate any of it:

It's sitting in the freezer for later. If he remembers. Right now he's having quiet time. He's taken the top off his Elefun game and is wearing his Batman costume, letting his cape blow in the air from the Elefun fan. Pretty ingenious, if you ask me.

I think this afternoon we're going to run up to one of the malls for playing and exchanging some of the stuff we bought E this weekend for things that fit. I was pleasantly surprised to find the 3T khakis we bought him from JCPenney's are on the short side! I would not have believed my short-legged boy would need 4Ts yet. But it's probably just that brand. You know how it goes...

Anyhoo...that's all that's happening on our end. Till next time...

Happy December!

I can tell you...I know a certain little boy who is so excited this month is finally here. It is so much fun to go through the Christmas season with little people around.

So Saturday afternoon we did go out and do a little shopping. We made quite a few stops actually, but the highlights of our excursion included picking out our new tree to replace the pathetic one we used to have. It's 7.5 feet tall, pre-lit. A keeper. Then we also went and picked out our ornaments for this year. It should come as no surprise that this is Easton's:


And then Dalton decided on this one:


He's not really a huge "Little Einsteins" fan, but he could be. He was certainly a fan of that ornament...and it plays part of the theme song so he's a happy camper. When Easton and I browsed ornaments online that morning he had decided on a military keepsake ornament with Santa riding a tank. They didn't have that one at Hallmark though and so, luckily, he was able to decide between a few other choices: Buzz, Ironman, Spidey, and that Batman who actually "climbs" that rope he's on. Pretty cool.

Next we came home. We didn't have room in our car for the tree so Jason had to head out in his truck to get it and a pizza. He came home to me and the boys snuggling on the couch and wanted to get a pic:


This one of Dalton was cute:


Sunday morning found Jason going to try out yet another church. A good friend from the past and I have reconnected via Facebook and Jason went to try out her church. I think it's another strong possibility so we'll see what happens next. But in the meantime, the boys and I hung out at home for a bit playing two Batmans:




And then we went out shopping for this year's chocolate advent calendars and I found my 2008 nutcracker:

A monkey pirate. That thing was rather cheap, and looks cheap too. Oh well. Couldn't get more appropriate than a monkey with these two rascals I've got. So we brought it home.

After lunch and quiet time Easton was super duper excited to put up the tree.

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He was a great helper as always:


Although he spotted three "NO ____" signs on the power cord and immediately had to know what they all mean:

One basically said, "Don't use excessive force" and Easton said, "But we don't have any excessive force, right Dad?"

"No, we're fresh out" said J. :)

So gently they put together the tree:


And Dalton joined us...the boys had to find ways to entertain themselves while we "fluffed" the fake branches:








Finally it was time to decorate. The new ornaments for each year are always the first to go on:




Then whatever:


Dalton mostly takes stuff off but could be found laying various items on the branches. I found a small nutcracker and some stuffed pigs just nestled in among the pine needles. Goober. I can't wait until we can put glass balls and such on our tree. I would love to have a beautiful tree someday, but for now a special, kid-friendly one is just as good with these little dudes.


Then Easton decided it was time to set out my nutcracker collection. This year I went with a chronological order. Yes, I know this is my 31st Christmas, and I have a couple from my childhood but I didn't become an official nutcracker collector until I had my own home with Ben. Even then I think I skipped a year or two with him, either that or he got those 'crackers in the divorce. ;) Anyway, here they are:


After the Nuts were all lined up Easton was ready to do the star. He was nearly as excited about this as he was about the putting up the tree in general. However, our new tree is 7.5 feet tall, I think our ceilings must only be 8 feet because, uh, the star didn't fit at first. Jason had to saw some of it off. And then again. Finally E got it up there:

...only to find out, it didn't light up anymore. D'oh! I think we're going to think about getting another topper.

While Easton was hanging the non-shining star upon the highest bough, Dalton busied himself with Christmas books:


And a round or two of bucket head:


And here is our tree:


I'll have to take a better picture without that Little People farm in the background if/when we get a new topper. Hee hee.

In other news from the long holiday weekend, Dalton's eczema got worse...much worse. The spot on his neck came back with avengence...it's so much more widespread than before. He's got 3 spots on his face and the one on his leg became an angry red. First step was to stop that new cream they gave us last week. That by itself made his leg better. The next step last night was to give him an olive oil massage. I called the doctor again this morning (still waiting to hear back) but then I noticed it's already looking better with just the one smearing of olive oil. We used to put olive oil in E's bathwater for his eczema but until now I'd never done it with D. This problem skin has really seem to come out of nowhere and J and I are wondering about allergies for D. I gave him another rub down with the olive oil before getting him dressed and we'll see what the doc says if they ever call back. I think it's safe to try the steroids again as his skin has had a bit of a break so hopefully that and the olive oil will keep things in check and we won't have to go back up there again for awhile. Ugh.

Poor guy. He says it hurts. He'll point at the spot on his leg and tell you, "Hurt" or says "Ow" and rubs at the one on his neck. :( I wouldn't think ordinary eczema would do that, but I think it might have been the cream we were using.

Anyway...

Today was "no whats" and Wal-Mart. Dalton calls doughnuts "no-whats". Eastie and I think that's way funny. And he calls strawberries "robbies". If you work with him he'll pick up the right way to say it rather quickly, but sometimes I like how he says stuff. He started saying "Coke" over the weekend pointing at my soda and it was coming out as another bad word. So we just kept repeating it correctly till he got it right. I mean, heaven forbid we got out the forks along with the Cokes...he'd sound worse than a sailor. :)

That's our recap for today. Thanks for checking in!