Three is Fun Bullets

It was raining out as we left a birthday party Saturday, and W says, "How can we make this rain stop?"

Daddy and W picked up donuts Sunday morning and apparently when "Breakeven" came on, The Sheriff tells him, "This is one of my favorite jams."


W thinks that the version of  "Cruise" featuring Nelly is called "Remix," and it's the cutest thing to hear from the backseat, "Is this Remix?"



Something about a new cup makes water drinking ridiculously fun.

Helicopters aren't going anywhere. He was so proud of his Sunday evening drawings that he became a blur jumping up and down cheering about his helicopter.

Proud artist sending pic to Daddy.

Twos weren't so terrible over here, but three is a mess! I am grateful for these moments of light to ground me once more in how much fun raising these little ones truly is.  

Meant To Be Momma

This week has been a doozy.  I think we have had it mostly together. I think.

I double-booked us for play dates on Wednesday then made a decision on which to attend, and then, well, we thought we arrived right on time at 10:30 to find the program mostly over as it began at 10:00.

I proceeded to leave the keys in front door all afternoon.

Today I put clothes in the dryer only to fail to turn it on leaving a stinky load to discover later that had to be rewashed.

On top of those minor, and most likely somewhat normal, mom mistakes, my patience has been lacking, and that's what getting to me the most. My family deserves better; I deserve better. Weeks like this make me doubt this calling to motherhood. Surely I can't be the one chosen to care for these two boys, to help mold their tiny hearts to be a part of  the Christian gentlemen of tomorrow.

But God has a funny way to reassuring us, I suppose, and His arm around my shoulder came this week in the guise of a pirate costume discovered during a much needed Pinterest search during naps. I wasn't searching for an activity, but when I came across this pin I rushed around grabbing materials for a post-nap pirate afternoon.

I'm not sharing our afternoon's pictures as an example of a preschooler activity or as any sort of "how to" guide for surviving a summer afternoon. Our pirate playtime was a whisper from God restoring my soul with the confidence needed to pick myself up and move forward.

W is generally hesitant to dress up, but at the mention of a Jake costume, he lit up, and I knew not only that we were quickly going to move froward with it, but also that I'd be dressing up along with him. 

I grabbed the bin containing my stash of "one day this could be part of a costume" and came up with this Izzy costume. Of course a picture was in store; I was quite proud of how the look came together, and I wanted to remember this moment of dropping everything else to throw myself fully into a playful afternoon.

We went through obstacles. We collected gold (ok, purple and green from Mardi Gras) doubloons and trapped the Tick Tock Croc inside a gate of paper towel rolls. We sang pirate songs and rowed on a boat made of pillows. 

His smile was wide. My heart was full.
God let me know this afternoon that I don't have to have it all together and I won't always have shining moments. I do, however, have gifts that I can share with these boys that will make them smile, help them grow, and most importantly feel God's love through me. I'm meant to be momma, their Momma, after all.

Third Birthday Fun

The Sheriff's birthday weekend continued with lots of family fun, and we all enjoyed a memorable weekend spending time together and playing with new birthday gifts.

After a fun splash pad party Friday morning, we hit one of our favorite family-friendly, weekend dinner hang-outs for fried pickles and burgers. All smiles (and all helicopters) all around.

We had to wash the #3 birthday shirt Friday night per W's request to wear again on Saturday. His new helicopter hat from Aunt Jen, Uncle John, and Sydney was also a must.

Nanny and family sent a remote control car (with water play capabilities), and The Sheriff was (and is) so proud to drive it around.

Saturday morning brought a family trip to ToysRUs where W picked out a set from the upcoming Planes movie. We watch the trailer at least once a day. It may or may not be a reward for pooping. This kid gets so excited for just the preview, and it will be our first in the theater. I cannot wait!

Saturday night we recycled the party hats and glasses from W's Big Brother party Harold's Birthday party and had a festive taco night birthday party (Harold in attendance if you'll notice.)

Party hats and silly glasses with the lenses popped out make for great selfie pics. 

He just doesn't get much cuter! Three is definitely full of personality.

Daddy gets the best in-the-moment shots.

And a little someone wouldn't be left out of the fun!

Happy Third Birthday Sheriff! We love you "this much!" and are more grateful that we can ever express for all with which you've blessed our lives.

It's All Fun and Games...Until Someone's Wearing A Banana Suit

And if it's a baby...

then it's still fun and games.

How about that for a Sunday afternoon photo shoot?!?! I am in the trenches of baby boy clothes trying to put away the littlest of littles  and organize the outfits into which the little guy will be growing. We are so fortunate to have had mounds of hand-me-downs, and I am so grateful for the friends and family that have passed these along. I haven't been the best at storage solutions but one Amazon Space Saver Bag purchase later, and I am a new woman on a mission.

It currently looks like a baby boy's closet vomited all over my bedroom as this is my war room while the boys nap (naps which sometimes happen simultaneously and all is right in the world for those glorious minutes!). I'm trying my best to be simplistic. I'm telling you; we have too much. I'll be consigning what we won't use again or duplicates that are just unnecessary. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out as the boys' ages and sizes won't correspond with the same seasons. I should know more this Fall if they will even out a bit to reuse especially the "winter" wear we need around here. I'm really hoping the cute rompers and shortalls will work out.

And those Space Saver Bags? Magic.
Why didn't I invest before? I'm a total kid with wide eyes watching in awe as the vacuum sucks the air out of the bag making it a much smaller item to store in closets.

And what started out as a Wordless Wednesday post with a kid in a banana suit is now a discussion of storage. Perfect. How's that for content!

I'm really so bad about parting with things. We just might need them, all of them. You never know.
Ok, I do know. And God willing we have another baby. It just might be a boy. I'd bank on it being a boy. Either way, we won't need as much as we currently have. Downsizing and vacuum-sealing it is!

Friday Catfish

When a few good friends organized a book shower before John was born, J's cousin sent us a grab bag of Louisiana-themed books, one of which was Monday in Louisiana. It's such a cute read as it teaches the days of the week through Louisiana cuisine. W really latched on, and we decided to try to add in some of the menu items here and there in weekly planning. After a Monday red beans here and a Thursday jambalaya there, a few weeks rolled by and a Friday catfish was in store.

It was such a great trip that we followed up with another the following week.

Bucket List Schmucket List -- Water Fun

I'm a fan of the bucket list. I also like plans. And schedules. And to-do lists.

Indeed it seems as if the bucket list fever has died down in blogland. and honestly, if I were to make one for this summer it would go something like:

*feed two boys daily
*feed myself daily
*keep two boys and myself clean daily
*keep two boys happy (and therefore myself happy) daily
*and somewhere along the way take care of my husband and house as best I can as well

If this were the case, we'd be cruising through summer mostly effectively thus far.  Venturing back to my liking of a good list, I appreciate having ideas and activities out on the table for memory making and hanging out together. While we didn't put anything on paper this year, we have had some summer fun together, and this space will hopefully serve us well to keep the memories alive.

Wait a second! There's no water in that picture! But there was at some point. This guy and I had a water gun fight before dinner with smiles all around.

While a backyard pool would be nice, it's been fun to get outside with The Sheriff in this little pool while little brother naps. It's now cracked in two places and you can't climb up onto the slide. This is it's second summer here, and I'd say we got our money's worth in use.

After a morning of squirrel watching from the window, some patio swimming was in store.

I have gotten a babysitter once a week here and there so W and I can enjoy some quality time together and hit the pools for water fun without worrying about the heat for the little guy.

 My best pool bud!

And on the weekends, we even let Daddy in on the fun! 

We have also enjoyed swimming and grilling with some good friends, and I can't believe we don't have any pictures from those fun weekend play dates. There's still time to work on that.

John hasn't met any water outside of his little bathtub yet. It won't be in the neighborhood pools but before the summer is over, he just might take a dip with us when we swim with friends.

And whatsoever would we do without Instagram?!?!

Pinterest-less Third Birthday

I must begin by saying this lack of Pinterest fun for The Sheriff's third birthday isn't something I'm happy and bragging about. I love the idea of themes complete with appropriately named snacks, hanging decorations galore, pictures all over, and a space perfectly designed it would seem to house toddlers ready to party. This year it just wasn't going to happen.

In fact, I'm not totally sure how much of that I will do in our future either...at least with having two boys.  I will most likely get inspired for John's first birthday, but after that, who knows. I think our two little guys will care more about experiences and perhaps extra presents than money spent on streamers, water bottle labels, or custom made invitations. 

That being said, we celebrated our three-year-old ALL weekend as his birthday fell on a Sunday and J was leaving Sunday evening for a work trip.  We planned a splash pad party with our play group for Friday morning.

My little sous chef helped with the cupcakes. If anything screams "Non-Pinteresting," it's cupcakes with haphazard sprinkles in colors chosen by the boy sprinkler himself. He called these "Daddy Sprinkles" throughout the whole process. And don't worry; not all matched. He requested yellow icing and all red sprinkles to accompany these. I'm sure it made perfect sense in his head.

My end of June birthday boy may forever have red, white, and blue parties.

We arrived at the splash pad early to claim a table and wait for our friends. 

It wasn't long before the waterworks began, and we aren't talking tears here.

When there is a sign warning about pooping problems near the "water feature," you try your best to keep your child from drinking the water. That's unless you are Daddy, of course, who grabs the camera for a classic picture. At least we will have photographic evidence if a stomach bug crops up.

The splash pad's neighbor is indeed a park, and we can't say goodbye to a park without some swinging.

We gathered the troops for a true birthday treat---cupcakes before noon! I wish we had captured our Sheriff's face while the group sang happy birthday, but it will be forever in my heart.  He looked at me with a face both shy and excited: could all of this singing be for me?

We left John with a sitter for some special birthday time with our big boy for the morning, and I'd say his low-key, non-decorated, non-themed, kind of a mess party at the park, was a success!

July 4 By Way of iPhone

When both boys woke early yesterday, we put on our July 4 big kid pants and embraced our time together to create a full day of fun. There are over 15 pictures coming your way, but I want this day in the memory books.

Being dairy free has been challenging when coming up with breakfast ideas that don't involve cereal and almond milk. Thankfully I stumbled upon this recipe a few weeks back, and I take any chance I can when J is home to spend some time in the kitchen preparing an actual hot morning meal. As a waffle lover himself, he even agrees that these are pretty good in all of their dairy-free glory.

I have been telling The Sheriff about a new water squirter game for a couple of days, and we finally had a moment to set it all up since Daddy was here to keep an eye on the tiniest tyke.  July 4th plastic cup games have certainly evolved!

You know it's a good activity when your husband has to ask if you made it up or found it on Pinterest.

After a quick cleaning up, baby feeding, and bag packing, we loaded up for the 5 minute drive to our neighborhood's July 4 celebration. We watched the bike parade and made mental notes to participate next year. We just weren't sure what this year would hold with J being so little.

With all of this, John remained unimpressed.

While John snoozed, W waited patiently with Daddy for a train ride. Apparently both boys were in a mood; The Sheriff was also unimpressed and asked, "What are we going to see, Daddy?" the whole ride. Well, Son, I suppose just a view of the lake that you see on a daily basis, this time just in a trackless train.

He soon found his groove, though, at the mention of water slides.

A bounce house plus water--what could go wrong? 

I was waiting for some type of sliding injury, but it was all smiles and sticky, wet grass! 

One trip back to the car for a change of clothes and a short wait later, we had a brown, to-go sack of burgers from one of Houston's best food trucks. 

Naps for the littles and a trip to a crowded (and out of a number of groceries!) HEB later, and the afternoon brought more 4th fun.

We put J in the exersaucer for the first time, but he was mostly intrigued by the Xbox game of football Daddy had going. Perhaps this can be our new pre-dinner, pre-Daddy arriving home, save my sanity activity.

Apparently it's like riding a bike!

He seriously had a blast in this thing!

John accompanied W on his afternoon bike ride and tuckered out from 4th of July fun before our friends Katie and Kennedy came over for a visit. He woke up just in time to see his best girl.

Nothing says "America" like shrimp tacos, homemade salsa and guacamole for dinner, right? After a Tex-Mex dinner, we spent a few more minutes outdoors before nightfall and fireworks eating ice cream cones. 

Coconut ice cream for me, thanks John! 

But W sure got down with his first cone experience, nomming down on some chocolate goodness.

The Sheriff watched most of The Incredibles to kill some time before fireworks, and we headed over with neighbors to watch the city's show from the outskirts of our neighborhood. Minus the delayed start and an unfortunate incident where toddler's head met a rushing sprinkler, all went smoothly, and with the grand finale we put July 4, 2013 to bed. 

Crafties for The 4th

I've been neglecting this little blog of ours, the space where I record our days and stash our memories for safe keeping. Surely life happens between the little guy's monthly posts, right? I might not be timely in our scrapbooking, but it's time to fill in some gaps!

I was in no place to get up in the attic to grab our red, white, and blue this year, so before an unplanned, fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants (and the limes in our margaritas) 4th, The Sheriff helped me to decorate.

Thank you Pinterest.

Firework stamps!

We made more fireworks just for playing, and J was quite the fan.

We found a use for those leftover birthday cupcake liners that didn't involve more cupcake making and eating. I didn't invent this one either. Thanks again Pinterest for the inspiration.

Hope your holiday was a memorable one!