Rustin's New Digs

Out with the crib and in with the Big Boy Bed.  A Bunk Bed to be exact!  R&R are super excited to have a bunk bed in the house.  It makes me a little nervous, so we're not putting the ladder on for now.  It was an easy solution for not having a "guest bedroom".  Ryder can just bunk with Rustin on the rare occasion we have a guest now.

It was bitter-sweet for this Momma.  My Baby is officially not a Baby anymore.  Its the first time in 4-years there has not been a baby crib in our house.  I wish I could bottle them up and keep them little forever, but I also love watching their personalities explode as they grow.  They are the Biggest Blessing. 

Dirt

 If there is dirt, this kid will find it. (Oh and yes...this is our dead yard.  108 Degrees for 30 days straight without rain will do that for ya!)

I got him to come back to the porch by telling him I had food.  Similar to what you would do for a dog.  Only he's much cuter than a dog...don't ya think?

 He realized he'd been tricked and that I wouldn't hold him because he was so dirty.  (His new catch phrase is "My Lap, My Lap" which translates to "Pick Me Up".)

At least she loves him...apparently she didn't care that his backside looked like....

THIS!

I gave up...when you're already this dirty, who cares if you drink from the dog's water bowl.  This is where Matt and everyone in my family throws up a little bit in their mouths.  I mean, even I admit this is disgusting and if I saw anyone else letting their child do this I'd have harsh things to say about the matter.  Rest assured...it was fresh water.  ;)  He is now fed, bathed, teeth brushed and sweetly sleeping in bed.   

Finding Time

Do you ever have those weeks that seem crazy busy, but nothing is really accomplished.  Its been one of those weeks for the past 3 weeks for me.  We are going 100 different directions with nothing really to show in the end, except for being really tired.

I haven't even had my camera out to snap any pictures of the things we've been doing.  By the time both boys are in bed at night, I'm exhausted and all I can do is lay on the couch and stare blankly at the TV.  Obviously, my Blog has been lacking content.  I think the heat has added extra exhaustion and my brain turns to mush by day's end.

So here are a few updates:  It's hot.  So we've either stayed inside or gone to the water park.

Ryder has been in a gym class this summer at my new Brother-in-laws gym in East Texas.  We drive down on Wednesdays and spend the day with my parents once he's done.  That is all about to end as school starts back up.  My Mom will go back to work and Ryder will be in Pre-school on Wednesdays.  He's really enjoyed running around like a crazy monkey though!

We've squeezed in a few McDonald's / Chick-fil-A lunches when we can.  We'll take all of the air-conditioning we can get!

We Build trains every day and have probably watched Toy Story 3 no less than 700 times.  Rustin LOVES it.  Trains and Toy Story that is.  He can name every single Thomas Train which is something Ryder never really cared about.  Funny how different they can be.

They both still love the Car Wash.  I have been guilty of using it as a form of bribery.  We'll go wash the car as a reward for being good.

Uggg...and I'm trying to watch my diet.  I hate paying attention to what I eat.  I wish I could just eat whatever and whenever, because I do love me some food....especially in the evening.  All of the sudden an alert goes off in my brain that tells me I need candy, ice cream, whatever...just so long as it is sweet.  So that's it I guess. 

Here is a picture from not this week but sometime this summer of each stinker.  What is a post without a picture?

 Rustin (Summer 2011)

Ryder (Summer 2011)

Great Grandma's Building

Oh the things you can do in Great Grandma's Building....

....like drinking lemonade from a Fancy Glass....

 ....and carrying on "Grown Up" Conversations while devouring 4 Rolls.

Not hungry?  No worries...they even let you watch Toy Story Three at the Table!

You can go on an outdoor fountain exploration...

.... and Nature Walks Complete with Lizard sightings.

Back inside, it's always fun to race to be the first one in the Elevator!

This Elevator even has a special bench to ride on!  Needless to say, Ryder thinks Great Grandma's Building is a pretty cool place to visit :)

Strange Resemblance

Rustin...is that you?  Nope, it's his Grandpa Smith.  Going through some old pictures and I did a double-take at this one.  Happy Monday to ya!

Tasty Tuesday- Sprinkles Edition

Our morning was....ahem...rough.  Let's just say that when I caught this one chugging sprinkles at ten o'clock a.m....I didn't say anything.

I took a picture instead.  He was happy and that made me happy.  I did eventually have to take them away, but promised we'd use them to bake with in the afternoon.  We made Cookie Pops!  I totally cheated (don't I always) and really wouldn't feel right calling this a recipe...because...well it's not.  It was a Pillsbury Funfetti Cookie Pop Kit courtesy of Good Ole' Wal-Mart!  We sampled them after dinner and they are "tasty"!  

You'll need the Funfetti Kit (if you're going to cheat like me), a stick of butter and an egg.

Ryder is convinced that if you eat an egg, a baby bird will grow in your tummy. Ha!  

Pre-heat to 350 Degrees and follow the directions on the box.  Note:  Melt the butter all the way.  It says that it should be really soft so I didn't melt it completely.  It made mixing a little more difficult...especially for little hands.

Stir, stir stir and then roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls and place them on a baking sheet.  I had to insert the sticks.  The cookie would fall apart when R tried which was very frustrating to him.

Bake them for about 12 minutes and let cool completely.  You can use the provided "Sprinkles" to decorate, but we of course needed more!  We like lots of sprinkles.  Here is the end result...

Not the best picture...but it gets the idea across :) 

He was super excited...I am pretty sure this was the sprinkles talking!  Love him!

Too Dang Hot

Because it's just too dang hot to wear clothes...especially when cooking.  OK...I'm only speaking for him and not myself!   Tasty Tuesday coming up later tonight!