Snow Day!!

Growing up in Southern Indiana/Kentucky I can barely remember a winter without being out of school for at least one snow day a year. It was always one of the most anticipated parts of going back to school for spring semester. So, when we moved to Nashville last year and everyone kept saying how snow days RARELY happened here I couldn't help but feel a little sad for my little ones.  Thinking that they may not know the joy of waking up and thinking you've accidentally overslept only to walk downstairs to a happy mommy baking cinnamon rolls and looking out the windows to see a world of white awaiting your brand new Christmas snow boots made my heart hurt a little.

So, last night when they were calling for winter weather I felt like a little kid again anticipating morning. And when we woke up ... it was just as I imagined. Bewilderment and excitement overtook my little man.

SNOOWWWW MOMMY!!!!

Now granted, it was only a light dusting and really nothing to be super excited about. But down here in the south a light dusting mixed with the ice that had fallen prior is more than enough to shut down the city. And you guessed it ... SNOW DAY!!!  Lucky for us, we got a good snow day last year when we first moved to Nashville AND we've already had one this year too! Wahoo for snow days!

Moreover, this year's snow was also a big one because it was Little Lainey's first snow at 2.5 months old! Bennett had his first snow day in 2014 back in Louisville when he was only 5 months old.

Here's a look at this years. We started out with blanket forts and snacks while baby sister took her morning nap. Little man was in heaven and told me "no gulls awowed mommy! (no girls allowed)" I was just in charge of supplying him with more apple juice and popcorn!

Maggie joined him too because blanket forts are awesome, and he had snacks. Maggie basically hit the toddler jackpot because she now eats every time Bennett does.

And once little miss woke up from her nap we dressed up and headed outside! Preparedness and snow clothes shout out to our big cousin, Brody, and Aunt Jessica for giving us awesome hand-me-downs! Score!

 Everybody's bundled and Lainey's here too! (she's the fuzzy little blue ball!)

 Snow Angels are a must!

 And "Popsicles" aka icicles are on tap for snacking.

 Lainey was having so much fun she fell asleep :)

But her awesome Fancy Pants toboggan made sure to keep her extra cozy. And thanks to my large nose for photobombing this photo. Sheesh.

 SNOWBALL FIGHT!

 Uh-oh mommy the door is frozen shut! (Parent fail ... dear Shane, we desperately need a shed for our children's outdoor toys. Note that for your honey-do list. Thanks.)

 It's "swip-er-wee"

 This is so fun!

 But I'm a little cold.

 Naturally, hot chocolate time!

 Oh wow!

 I want all the marshmallows mommy.

The weathermen are calling for more snow come Friday and the Seigel kiddos are staying with us this weekend while they're parents have an anniversary getaway. So we could be in for some serious snow play! Can't wait!

Signing off to bundle up under the blanket fort and watch a movie with that handsome guy and his baby sister! Stay warm folks!

Babies, Bottoms, and Big Boy Underpants

It's been an interesting couple of days around here. Over the holiday break Hubs and I had big plans to get Lainey on a sleep schedule and get our little man potty trained. But, well, life happened. 

Instead we made plans to hang out with family and friends, stay up too late which meant the tiniest in our room was easier than walking upstairs if she woke up, eat good food instead of dealing with underpants (this is what Bennett calls underwear by the way), you know stuff like that. So, now we're back to real life and still have to complete all of those things. Rats. 

The good news is, just like with all babies, the older our littlest gets she sleeps better on her own. And we are making some headway in this category. Just not as quickly as we did with Sir Bennett. But that's okay, because she's real cuddly and cute. So I don't mind all that much. And maybe I'm just not prepared for her to be in room all alone just yet. 

Furthermore, the daunting task of getting her big brother potty trained still looms and that my friends needs some serious work, attention, devotion, etc. A couple of hours of it the other day and I threw in the towel. I'm just not ready to deal with it.

I thought perhaps we were making some great headway the other day when he asked to wear his big boy undies, but quickly learned I was wrong. Honestly speaking, Bennett has zero interest in going potty ON the potty. He's really into big boy underpants, really into talking to us about going potty and hell if I'm being honest - he's into watching us go potty. But, when it comes to him actually partaking in the matter - FORGEDDABOUTIT.

So, after we'd gone to the store and picked out his "Big Boy Underpants" (TMNT + Thomas) he was STOKED to wear them. He wanted to put them on right away and then stand in front of the mirror and flex his muscles (ahem, Hello Shane's son. This is totally his father coming out in him).

 If only cuteness was equivalent to readiness. After attempting SEVERAL times to sit and go on the potty this incident occurred.

My dear son standing over our air vent giggling as he peed inside of it. It was this moment I realized I am SOOO not prepared for this potty training thing. 

So, to clarify - I'm not ready for Lainey to be in her room. I am not ready to train Bennett. And once again all of my greatest plans for parenting fly right out the window. Words of encouragement welcomed. 

Babies are cute. Bottoms are cute. Big boy underpants are cute. Big boys peeing in air vents are not. Signing off for now. #SendHelp

Happy Birthday Maggie!

A couple Friday's ago Hubs was headed back to Louisville for a sales meeting and we were chatting while he was driving back. The dog had been a bit of a pill the night before and woken us up and we were discussing how much things have changed since she was just a small pup and it was only the three of us. As we were talking I realized, it was Maggie's birthday (1.8.2016)! Wow, things really have changed. 

There once was a time when we, like the rest of half my Instagram feed celebrated our dog and thought every single thing she did was hysterical. But, now that we have kids they have taken the forefront and poor Maggie seems to be left behind. Don't get me wrong, we still love our fat little wiener dog. But sometimes she gets the short end of the stick because our tiny little humans tend to be a bit more demanding. 

That being said, she still turned five and dang-it we needed to celebrate that!  So two weeks later we remedied the situation and took our little pup to a local pet boutique, Wags and Whiskers, and picked her out a perfect birthday treat and new jewelry!

 Then we brought her home ... made some party hats (per Bennett's request - Thanks Mickey Mouse)

 And gifted her the goods!

 Even on her birthday Bennett still finds a way to steal the show :) he wanted to hold her birthday treat while she ate it. And was very finicky about how everything went down. SO demanding!

Hard to believe our little Maggie Moo has been with us five whole years. We love our fat little puppy! Happy birthday Mag-pie.

Humpty Dumpty

Guys, my toddler's love for Humpty Dumpty is borderline creepy. Like he's for real obsessed. I talked a little bit about it here and I really mean it.

"My child has a real life obsession with Humpty Dumpty. We recite the nursery rhyme no less than 100 times a day. We search YouTube videos of Humpty and watch them whenever we are allowed to have the iPad. We have a new love for a TV show, Goldie + Bear, that features the Humpty Dumpty character. And simply acting out Humpty Dumpty on any "safe" surface (read that as every wall, chair, ottoman in existence) with dramatic arm flares and the whole to-do. Bennett says Humpty Dumpty. A. Lot."

So, we were experiencing some of those day after day in our PJ's crazies over the holiday break and decided we'd use some of our old paper and craft supplies and make us a real Humpty! I realize the irony of this ... Santa had just come ... Bennett got all kinds of new fun gifts and yet we were making a paper mache Humpty Dumpty that quickly moved to the top of his favorite toy list * ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ * shrug ... Oh well!

Here's what we did ... gathered a deflating balloon that he received for free from the nice lady at Kroger earlier that week, got some paper, a bowl and flour and set it all up.

Cut our paper into strips.

Snapped a pic to share :)

And got to mixing our paste for the paper mache! (Two parts water to one part flour)

Ta-Da! It should be the consistency of an Elmer's glue. Thick but not too thick :)

Then we simply dipped our paper in the mixture, wiped the majority of it off and laid it on our balloon (so determined!).

Keep going until the entire balloon is coated and you've got a couple of layers.

Then find things to do while it dries. Like play with the baby. Go to sleep and wake up in the morning. You know, just small things that last several hours :)

And then it's time to create!

Say cheese!

Pop that balloon and pull it on out of there and cover up the hole with some tape.

Then throw on some warm clothes + cowboy boots if you live in Nashville and head outside to spray paint him!

Once it dries simply bring him to life by drawing a face, some paints and fancy bow tie. I even went as far as giving him a crack and lovingly giving him a band-aid. His arms and legs are simply accordion folded scrapbook paper taped on. Easy Peasy and hours of fun knocking him off walls.

This post couldn't have come at a more perfect time because after I picked up Bennett from school today ... this note accompanied him home:

Yes, you read that right, "in almost any activity can incorporate Humpty Dumpty". I was dying laughing and of course immediately texted all of my family and friends that know of Bennett's obsession with the odd little egg. Hilarious. Love you and you're imagination sweet boy!