May 3, 2011...Up to Our Eyeballs

We are up to our eyeballs in mud and dirt.  These boys are giving a whole new meaning to the term "mud room" and I am forever grateful that this new house came with one.  Man, they get filthy just walking out the garage to the CAR!  Good thing they're washable!

May 2, 2011...Blowing Kisses

Alex blowing me "tisses".  

*sigh*

May 1, 2011...All boy

Rainy weather and acres of land has my boys wallowing in more than their fair share of dirt around here.    This is a classic representation of what Alex (and Nate) look like lately.  I do a LOT of laundry to keep up and each of the boys has a minimum of three pairs of shoes at their disposal to ensure they have a clean/dry pair at any given time.   

April 30, 2011...SUN!

Following a baby shower for a dear friend of mine, the boys and I headed to Leroy for some fun in the sun.  (Yes, I said SUN!)  Nate found a little girl who totally played along with him and entertained his every story line.  It was great to get outside and blow some of the winter funk off.  Especially with such great company!

April 29, 2011...It's Raining, it's Pouring...

It seems like it's been raining non-stop for weeks now.  This is a common sight.  Water logged playgrounds, overflowing creek banks, puddled yards and soggy basements are the signs of the time.  It's kinda getting old.  Oh well, eventually (?) the sun will come out and dry everything up.  We hope.

April 28, 2011...Power Outage

High winds took out our chicken coop, some trees in the area, our internet, cable, and electricity.  So we spent the following 40 or so hours in the dark and cold with only the bare necessities being run via generator.  Bare necessities for my husband, of course, means the sump pump and the TV, but we managed!  

April 27, 2011...Hurricane Alex

Nate spends hours working on his Lego creations.  He builds dump trucks, fire vehicles, and police copters.  He meticulously places the Lego guys (with their appropriate accessories and equipment) into his work of art and will play intensely with his new fleet.  Then, in a matter of seconds, the skies darken and his brother, Hurricane Alex, blows in.  In no time, there are Legos everywhere and crippled creations lie in the wake of his fury.  He's vicious.  And merciless.  

April 26, 2011...Flower for Mommy

Nate had a present for me today.  He brought me this beautiful flower.  He walked right up, hiding this special prize behind his back and proudly handed it to me...Love my Bug!

April 25, 2011...Catching Zzzzzzzzzs

April 24, 2011...Hoppy Easter!

We're up to our earlobes in Legos, Playdoh, and jellybeans around here.  But having celebrated Easter with the family and completed all the chores required to get ready for guests yesterday...TODAY is rather relaxing and stress-free.  

April 23, 2011...Early Easter

We did our Easter dinner early and had nearly the whole family there for the occasion.  It was great to all be together and let the kids run and play.  

Family

 Everyone was too busy with their social networks to take a photo...

 Lots of love and plenty of hugs

cousins...even the one who was ridiculously unhappy to take a photo (Nate)

April 22, 2011...Finally, Sunshine!

A perfectly peaceful view for a long awaited day of sunshine.

April 21, 2011...Easter Egg Thursday

Tiff and Brie came over tonight for dinner and Easter egg dyeing.  The kids flew through almost 2 dozen eggs in no time!  We wound up with a whole lot of pink eggs for some reason, but they had a great time doing it and it's always fun to let them go at it.  Alex may be pink until his 3rd birthday, but that's ok.  If you ask Nate, he'd tell you "Boy's can like pink, too!"  

April 20, 2011...Piggies

I love these little piggies.  Alex loves for me to do "This little piggy" (usually on his fingers, but whatever...).  There are only so many times you can have the piggy go to market, the piggy eat roast beef, and so on and so forth.  So I like to mix it up a little.  Our "piggy" usually goes more like this:  "This little piggy went to Wal-Mart, this little piggy did laundry, this little piggy ate cupcakes, this little piggy chewed sugar-free gum..."  You get the point.  Basically, whatever comes to mind as I'm doing it. It's always different and ALWAYS gets a giggle.  Highlight of my day!

April 19, 2011...Mother Nature is Confused

The weather around here has been wacky.  It's the middle of April yet all week has been cold and we've had more than our fair share of "unseasonal" snow showers.  I long for a day when the temperatures rise above freezing and the boys are able to blow off some steam outside.  

April 18, 2011...Mini-Me

Nate trying on Daddy's fire dress hat.  He loves pretending to be just like Daddy.

April 17, 2011...More Easter Fun

Today was our Easter breakfast at the fire house.  It was a lot of fun to hang out with the other members. We had breakfast, held an easter egg hunt for the kids in the truck bay, and did some Easter crafts with the wee ones.  It's a great bunch of people and I had a great time!

April 16, 2011...Easter Egg Bunny

Today we paid a visit to (as Nate calls him), the "Easter Egg Bunny".  I was glad both boys were cooperative and we didn't have any scare issues like previous years.  Luckily the photo I paid for was much cuter than these.  But it was still a good time with great friends.  

April 15, 2011...Sister Fun

I got to join my sister and niece for dinner tonight and it was a fantastic treat.  We also got the rare luxury of shopping with only one of our three tykes running about.  Kenny is a fabulous shopping buddy though...and she has killer taste in shoes!

April 14, 2011...Mary Mary Quite Contrary

The seeds that the boys planted are growing steadily.  It will be nice to have a bountiful garden of fresh vegetables to help with my weight loss goals this summer!

April 13, 2011...Blue Skies

Today was such a gray and miserable day.  But I had to drive to Corning for work so it was nice just to be out of the office.  

We need some more sunshine around here so until it becomes more regular, I will look back on this photo and breathe deeply.  Glorious blue skies are good for the soul.

April 12, 2011...Warhead

This is what you get when you let your 5-year-old have a (sour) Warhead.  Priceless expressions! 

April 11, 2011...Poor Monkey

I came home from work today to learn the news.  Sock Monkey had sustained a terrible fall and Nate responded to the call.  When I found him on the couch, propped on a pillow, bandaged and splinted, I couldn't help but laugh.  I sure do love that boy!

April 10, 2011...Random

I got bored and started snapping photos of random things...looking at detail, seeing things from a different perspective.  It was actually kinda fun.  Here are a few of the random shots I got simply by noticing the things around me.

April 9, 2011..."Hunting" for Easter Eggs

Sarah, Kenny, the boys and I attended an Easter Egg Hunt at the Morton FD today.  I was amazed at how natural it was for the little ones who have never done it before.  I staged one for Nate and Brie once in our backyard on Avery Street, but otherwise this was fresh territory for us all.  Alex ran and scooped up those eggs like a (little) man on a mission!  I think he wound up with more than 20...Nate came back from the "big kid" hunt with 5 eggs..."because [he's] 5 years old!"  The fun was in opening them all to see what they got.  Alex scored $2.75 in nickels and quarters, a boatload of candy and half a pound of jelly beans.  Nate got significantly less candy and gum, but was still happy with his loot.  Afterwards we went to the FD to see their trucks and Nate got to shoot the hose.  Then we headed to Mom & Dad's to hang with Sarah and Kenny for a bit before rushing home to grab gear for Nate's swim lesson.  Busy, busy!

April 8, 2011...Mmmmm, Brownies!

There's something so comforting and cozy about letting the boys whip up a batch of brownies or cookies on a whim.  Not only is it fun to make and eat, but it's something we can do together that makes us all SO happy.  Of course it's not Weight Watchers friendly, but it sure is good for the soul!