A day in the life - cell phone photo dump

a.k.a. I have no good pictures to share because we have been super busy.

 

I have had several people comment that they check my blog regularly to see if I've posted anything. And I haven't. Time is flying by so fast, it is hard for me to believe we are nearly to April. And I've hardly kept up with my blog postings for March. Seriously, wasn't I just blogging about Christmas?? So anyways, it is April, and my camera really hasn't made much of an appearance this month. But fortunately, since it is 2014, I have a cell phone with camera capabilities. Unfortunately, my skills with the camera phone are seriously lacking so what I had hoped would be good pictures really aren't. Some of them are OK. But some are really really bad quality, but the subjects are great and I couldn't resist sharing.

 

A couple weeks ago both Finley and I ended up with strep throat, and while he started the antibiotics first and started feeling better quickly it took me an extra day or so. So I locked myself and the kids up in the playroom and rested on the futon while they played. They were being so good, it's like they knew I felt bad. I happened to doze off and when I opened my eyes this is what I saw. I was amazed on so many different levels. The blocks are pretty much perfectly spaced, the colors are turned the right way, he was fast and efficient at doing this, and his brother didn't knock his project down. Keagan, you are gonna do big things my friend!

 

Mom sent the boys some goody bags for St. Patrick's Day and they sat up on our bay window a couple days, taunting them. :) I used this as leverage for them to take a nap and eat good. (you do what you gotta do...)  And when it was time to open their presents from Grandma and Grandpa, they were pretty thrilled. The goody bags were filled with window clings, moustaches (or mush-mashes as Keagan calls them), chocolate, cookies, etc.

(What is it about toddlers that can't keep their chocolate saliva IN their mouths??) Finn has a funny face. And this is it. He does it often, when you get upset at him, when you are laughing, when a waitress tries to take your order at a restaurant, whenever. And it gets me tickled. He knows he's being funny, and will turn it on at any time.

St. Patty's Day morning. Keagan wanted to wear his mush-mash to school, so I let him. The first picture I took was okay, but I was hoping to get both kids smiling. Ha. Yea...this is pretty much how the morning went:

Paper towel rolls. Toys. Same thing.

 

After getting the boys ready for bed one evening I walked out of the room to do a few things in the kitchen. When I returned this is what I found. Folks, this is what life is about.

Today Keagan was supposed to have his first soccer game. And he was begging for Gama and Poppy to come down and watch, even asked them on FaceTime. Being awesome grandparents, they obliged...and set out early this morning to make the 10 o'clock game only to find out it was cancelled when they were half-way down. But they came anyways and played with the boys. The boys thoroughly enjoyed it until I made them take a nap, and then Keagan wanted to sleep on the couch. So I let him, and Finn woke up too early and snuggled with Gama in the chair. That child doesn't just sit still so I had to take a picture. Of course, I was in-and-out of being asleep on the couch too so my photography skills pretty much stunk.

And tonight after supper Keagan wanted a "whole apple." It's his new thing. Well, Finn wanted one too...but that's a joke, so I asked Keagan to share. What a good big brother. And the bandanna around Finn's neck, well that's his super hero/ninja turtle cape courtesy of his grandparents. He didn't even want to take it off for bed...it was a fight!

I am working on some "real" blog posts...but life is busy right now and UK Wildcats are currently doing great in the NCAA tourney which means my blogging is taking a backseat. GO CATS!!!!

Limited Edition - It's All Good (kinda)

Another awesome edition of my Ltd. Ed. foods. I have once again organized these into an order of Least Favorite to Favorite, but to be completely honest I liked all of this! This round, Stacey surprised me with three of the five items pictured! Best.Surprise.Ever. I had actually sent Josh on a wild goose chase to find the ltd edition oreos and she found them that same day! It took a lot of pressure off Josh. Especially since he never did find them! :)

 

First: Cookie Dough Oreos.

 

They made me salivate to just think of them. These are one of Stacey's finds! I was so excited to try these. Cookie dough anything is my favorite. So combining cookie dough with cookies... I mean, no-brainer. HAD to be delicious. Well, I have to say I was let down. But once I got over my disappointment I liked them. How could I be disappointed? Wellllll they tasted nothing like cookie dough and everything like a latte. Coffee-flavored oreos, maybe? And, once I got the picture of cookie dough out of my head and "allowed" these cookies to taste like a mocha latte, I really enjoyed them. After all, I do like coffee flavored things. 

Second: Raspberry Hugs

I don't really like Hershey's Hugs. But I loooove all-things raspberry (yea, that sounds silly, I said the same thing about the cookie dough above. but you should know by now I love a lot.) and I like raspberry and chocolate combined. So I figured these would be amazing. And they are very good. I like to make them melt in my mouth and eat them all slow-like. The raspberry flavor is faint, but it is there.

Third: Red Velvet M&Ms

Yes, please!! Another surprise from Stacey. The flavor isn't terribly overpowering of red velvet cake, but then I am learning that red velvet "flavor" in general isn't strong. These were fun and even Josh liked these! (That is saying a lot...he doesn't get into my limited edition following. maybe because I am not good at sharing?)

Fourth: Marshmallow Crispy Oreos

OMG. That's pretty much all I need to say. But, of course, I won't stop there. I generally turn my nose up at anything vanilla flavored. I feel like I need more in life than vanilla. And the golden wafer oreos fall into that category for me. BUT I have never actually tried the golden oreos (tsk. tsk. I should, but it is a mental block I have) and I honestly thought I would not like these because the marshmallow crispy cream is sandwiched by golden wafers. I LOVE THESE. The cream filling is thick, like double stuffs, and there is just a perfect hint of crisp. Oh they are delish. I hope these become a regular of oreos!! (Another Stacey find!)

 

 

Last, and most certainly not least: Lemon Oreos

 

Double OMG. I had been wanting to try these since I stumbled upon them on an internet search for watermelon oreos many moons ago. I love lemon flavored cookies, they are so cool and refreshing and remind me of summertime. These do not disappoint at all. I actually walked right past them in Wal-mart and then did a double take. I swear, when I saw them I had to look around to see if anyone else saw my find? I felt like I had just found the golden ticket (you get the reference? Willy Wonka?)...no one else was really paying attention! WHAT?!! Yea, the package did kinda blend in with the golden oreos package and anyone who's like me would normally walk right on past. But then there's that little lemon giveaway on it...these are something special. I had to seriously resist the urge to buy all the packages on the shelf. I won't tell you how many I ended up with, but I didn't buy out the store.



Believe it or not I already have some more Limited Edition finds that are waiting in the wings for another blog. But I can only consume so many calories on a daily basis. So those will wait... :)

Is it Spring Yet?????

On March 2, when we should have been preparing for the arrival of warmer weather and anticipating Spring, we got ice. Then sleet. Then 6 inches of snow by the next morning. To say it locked things up in this region is an understatement. This has been such a rough winter that everyone (even winter-lovers) are sick of it! We've had below-normal and below-freezing temps and sleet/ice/snow since November. I think the weather channel/local news was saying this is the worst winter since 1978! School was out an entire week and the boys' daycare was closed Monday and Tuesday. Even Murray State University closed! It was a mess. And, actually, it is still a mess. Despite temps above freezing for the last couple days and expected temps in the high 50s today, there is still a ton of snow left.

On Monday, the boys and I played a lot. Colored a lot. Watched movies, a lot. I was doing anything I could to keep them busy and content. (I am not stay-at-home-mommy material.) Keagan wanted to go outside and play, but it was about 10 degrees and windy, and it snowed off and on that morning. I just wasn't feeling it.

 

First we made a hammock from a king size sheet tied around the table. This was a hit and remained a fixture in our kitchen for several days.

My OCD is flaring because of this playroom. Thank God it is upstairs so I can try and "forget" about it. Drives me crazy when things are out of place like this!!! But they had fun (I have to keep reminding myself about this)...

Selfies with the boys during movie time post-nap. Keagan and Finn love to see themselves in the camera!

But then Tuesday, Keagan got his wish. We bundled up and headed out. We tried to build a snowman, but the snow wouldn't pack. So we sledded some, threw snowballs, and then headed up to the playhouse. I don't think those babies really feel cold at all! It was still well below freezing on Tuesday, but the sun was out so the mood was good.

Ice-covered trees. They looked beautiful when the sun hit them. But seeing the ice form on them a couple days prior was a little daunting. Luckily we didn't lose electricity this year (compared to the 2009 ice storm when we did!).

A new form of sledding?

Finn is so brave! I guess part of that is watching his big brother do things...

Watching the snow plow come down our street. This was kind of pointless....it didn't help at all! But the boys got a kick out of it.

While we were playing in the snow I told Keagan we could make snow cream. He was so excited to do this, though you'd never know from some of these pictures. (This was taking the place of the snowman we didn't/couldn't build)

Snow!

It was delicious!! But both my children turned their noses up at it. Even with the sprinkles! So strange. Check out Keagan's ultra-pout. Needless to say I ate both bowls of sprinkled snow cream. Stinkers.

By Wednesday I was beyond ready to get the heck out of the house. And so were the boys. They needed to be away from me!! Finn kept saying "Go bye-bye. Go bye-bye! Go bye-bye!!!" I get it, boy. I don't like to be stuck home either.

When I finally left the house Wednesday I drove by this snow sculpture. It is a mermaid perched on a rock!! It is amazing. I don't know how in the world they did this because I had a hard time getting a snowball to form. But it is super cool!