Its already 2?

One of those mornings/days that seems non-stop, I can't believe it is already 2:00 PM. Matt was home most of last week, so today we spent getting back into our normal routine. There is always an adjustment day in there after he has been home for awhile. An adjustment for Ryder not having Daddy at his beck and call. An adjustment for me not having another set of hands/handyman/can you bring me this/you get the idea. We always get back in the swing of things though!

Both boys are asleep and I sit here wondering what I should do next. The list is endless but I'll spare you the monotonous details! I promised Ryder a trip outside after lunch, but told him he had to keep his hat on. Its cold out there in Texas Standards. This was a hand me down from his older cousin Matthew pronounced "fthew" in Ryder talk.

Look at him being all sweet and stuff! Ha! You should have heard him five minutes later...terrible twos, I am ready for you to leave!

Alright, I'm off to do something productive...

You Guessed It!

Well you all guessed right!! Ryder was up top and Rustin was down below!

Lets Play the Guessing Game!

You guys might not think this is fun, but I always enjoy it! Guess who is who and tomorrow I'll post the answers!

Hands down, the best part about having two children who are the same sex and born at exactly the same time of the year is that you can re-use absolutely everything! Someone gave us the cutest little reindeer outfit when Ryder was a baby. I slipped it on "Plus One" today and was once again shocked by their resemblance in the pictures. In everyday life, I can really start to see differences in the two....but photos sometimes tell a different story!

On another note..."Plus One" was up at 4 to eat this morning, so I slipped out the door to Target the second I finished feeding him. I wasn't planning on getting out early today with two little ones in the house now, but I couldn't resist. I was shocked by the parking lot when I pulled up. There was a line that was probably half a mile long just to get in the door. This really sounds crazy....but it is such an adrenaline rush! I love Black Friday shopping. I love watching people storm the doors of the store for a $10 gift card. Seriously? But what can I say...I'm right there with all the crazies every year. I snag anything and everything I think might be a good deal and then selectively put things back. There was a mad rush of people this morning, but I got some really good buys! Super Exciting and it definitely feels like Christmas now!

Oh Thankful Day!

Today is Thanksgiving. A day to be thankful for all of the Blessings in our lives. Beyond words, I am thankful for the three boys above, and the fact that they are all healthy and safe on this Thanksgiving Day. Life can change in the blink of an eye...so hug those around you today and let them know how thankful you are to have them in your life.

First Aid/CPR

We lasted 10 weeks and 2 days before I had my first huge freak out moment as a Mom of two boys. Not too bad, huh? A Box of Raisins was the cause. Ryder is on a total raisin kick. You can buy them at Costco in Bulk and we go through them like crazy. I think I've heard that too much of one thing is never a good thing, but I tell myself it is better than snacking on cookies or crackers.

Getting to the point of my freak out, we had been on a walk this morning and were just back inside the house. I had nestled Rustin into the safety of his swing and was wiping down the counters in the kitchen while I updated Matt on our morning via phone. Ryder walks into the Kitchen and whines for some raisins. Since I am on the phone, I just handed him a box. Quiets him and I continue my conversation.

A few seconds later, I hear incessant coughing (so I thought) from the other room. I ask Ryder "Whats going on in there?" and step out of the Kitchen to see him shoveling raisins into Rustin's mouth. He is sweetly saying, "Here Baby!". I think my heart about came out of my chest. In fact, I know it did...I still had my heart rate monitor on from our walk and after I had cleared all of the raisins out of Rustin's mouth and was sure he was breathing normally, my pulse was still at 185. I Freaked! I Double Freaked! There is nothing worse than feeling helpless. I had taken First Aid and CPR over the summer, but in the heat of the moment it is so, so hard to remember the right things to do. I can only imagine how I would have felt had I not taken the class and had no knowledge at all.

So here is my point...if you have little ones at home, you should really consider taking a First Aid/CPR course. Matt pounded away at me on this one and I always thought he was slightly ridiculous, but not after today. I was so thankful to have that little bit of training in the corner of my brain.

Tasty Tuesday

Hmmmm....so I don't have a recipe in mind for this week. It seems like cooking has been on the back burner and I am not real sure why. Life seems so crazy, but really it isn't. I feel like I am in a rut, but more likely I am just tired. When both boys finally tire out at the same time...I find myself perusing the computer instead of doing useful things like laundry, COOKING, paying bills, etc... Please tell me I am not alone.

The days and weeks have flown by since Plus One got here. Every week seems to be jam packed with little errands and impromptu things to do...I always say that next week will be calmer, but it never seems to be. I count my blessings for every minute I have with both of my children, but most days I feel like the end of the day arrives with minimal "quality" time spent with either. After fulfilling their basic needs and handling all of the little details around the house as well any work responsibilities (few as they may be..there are still some), where is the time for one-on-one fun?

Sometimes, I think that if I worked outside of the home, I'd actually spend more time with them than I do by being with them all day. Translation: I feel sure I take for granted that I have all day to spend with them and actually waste away some of our quality time. If I only saw them at night...would I be a better Mom? Would I treasure my time with them more knowing that I would be missing them the next day? Would Ryder spend less time being frustrated with me..would I spend less time being frustrated with his new-found 2-year old stubborn independence? I want him to know right from wrong and grow to be a respectful, loving creature of God. It breaks my heart on the days that he spends countless little bouts by himself for an attitude adjustment as seen in the above picture...I just hope that he is learning what good is and gains a "Happy Heart" as I heard my friend Lisa tell her daughter one day this past summer.

I don't fully know the answers to these questions. But I can positively say that I wouldn't trade leaving my 50 hour a week day job to stay home with my kids for the world. My husband makes this possible..he is an amazing man in case I haven't mentioned that before. A beautiful blessing was handed to me when we figured out that I could consult part-time, on my own, from our house and stay here with Ryder. I give God thanks for every minute he gives me with each of my boys. I pray that our time together is cherished by them as much as it is by me and that it will leave a positive footprint on their little lives.

No recipe today...but I'll think hard and get one up here soon! Thank you Blogger for always letting me get these things off of my chest...you are the best!

Wordless Wenesday

Tasty Tuesday

I am fully aware it is not Tuesday, but for the purpose of this post let's pretend it is. You all know how much I love Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte. What I don't love about it....the price. You can easily spend over $10 by simply Purchasing a Tall Latte (the smallest size, translation for those who do not spend ridiculous amounts of money on coffee, and therefore are not Starbucks lingo savvy) three times a week. The sweet fix...I found a recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte you can make in your very own Kitchen for next to nothing!

There is a Blog I follow and many of you may as well called "A Year of Slow Cooking". Stephanie's Blog merely consists of recipes for your slow cooker. I LOVE my Slow Cooker. Start it in the morning and by early evening you have a meal. It is like somebody cooks for you!

Anyway, while wrangling both kids through eating waffles and drinking a bottle the other morning, I had Good Morning America on in the background. They did a segment with Stephanie on using your Slow Cooker and she made a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I have since tried the recipe and it is actually really good! So here ya go, courtesy of "A Year of Slow Cooking":

Ingredients:

2 cups milk (I used skim)
--2 T canned pumpkin
--2 T white sugar (I used splenda)
--2 T vanilla (not a typo. it asks for tablespoons)
--1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
OR: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a teeny tiny pinch of ground ginger
--1/2 cup brewed espresso or 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
--garnish with whipped cream (optional)


This will make enough for 2 people to have a big mug with a bit leftover. If you are having friends over, adjust the recipe accordingly. I used a 4-quart slow cooker, but as small as a 1.5 quart will work with these amounts.

Add the coffee/espresso and milk to the slow cooker. Whisk in the pumpkin, spices, sugar, and vanilla.

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours if everything is cold. Whisk again.

Ladle into mugs, and garnish with whipped cream and additional cinnamon.

Rustin is 2-Months Old!

Rustin turned 2-Months old over the weekend and we saw the Doctor for his checkup today! This is more for my virtual scrapbook than anything else. Here are his stats:

Weight: 9lb. 14 oz.
Height: 23.75 inches

Rustin smiles when we talk to him, coos back at us, rolls from his tummy to his back, holds his head up, will hold your finger tightly and will follow us with his eyes....all of the developmental mile-stones he should have reached. Yaaaay, Rustin!

He has been sleeping his shots away today which has made my day very easy!

Introducing the Smith Clan

Let me introduce you to the Smith side of our family. We decided to take a family portrait for Matt's parents. We also decided to do it ourselves...here is what we got with 8 adults, 7 kids, our own camera, a tripod, a self-timer and Matt running back and forth about 50 times.

We laughed hard and had lots of fun doing this today! Here are some comical out-takes from our self performed photo shoot...

The Patriarch's of the family with all seven grandkids.

The Dickman Family. This is Matt's oldest sister Mindy, her husband Ryan and their three kids...Madison, Matthew and Sydney.

The Jones Family. This is Matt's older sister Kristie, her husband Philip and their kids...Colby and Keelie.

Us...in our first attempt at a Family Portrait...this would have been great except I'm not sure what I was going on about...

This is Matt, the Love of my Life and the Father of my Children...True to Form.

Just Plain Wrong

I thought of making this a "Wordless Wednesday" post. Then I thought otherwise. Probably not a good idea to post these pictures with no explanation, it could quite possibly lead to an investigation of my parenting skills. I also thought it might make a great "Not Me Monday" post, but I definitely could not wait until Monday to let you see these pictures. Let's take a look at each picture and I'll provide you explanations as we go:

Picture 1: So this is where the Just Plain Wrong begins. Yes, this is Rustin in a Pink Doll Stroller which definitely warrants a three-part question:
A. In a house of boys, why do we have a pink doll stroller?
Answer: I found this on clearance at Wal-Mart during the summer and decided pick it up as a Christmas gift for my Niece. Ryder found it tucked away in Rustin's closet and proceeded to pull it out and push it around every chance he got. Choosing to pick my battles, I decided to let him have the pink doll stroller.


B. Why is Rustin sitting in the pink doll stroller?
A: Ryder, Rustin and myself were in the backyard after lunch letting Ryder run some energy off before nap time. I spotted some big piles of Dog Poo and decided if Ryder would land anywhere it would be in the said piles of Dog Poo. The pink stroller was on the Patio and I thought to myself..."this stroller looks Rustin size...I'll just put him here (strapped in you'll note) while I pick up the poo.".

C. Why do you have a picture of Rustin in the pink doll stroller?
A: Seriously...how cute does he look? Are you telling me that you wouldn't have run to get the camera and capture the moment forever?

Picture 2: Well how sweet is this? Ryder decides to give his little brother a casual push through the grass. How dangerous can that be? I mean if he were to accidentally dump him over, the grass is nice and plush.

Picture 3: But wait...grass is no fun...this thing pushes much easier on concrete.

Picture 4: And with that...he was off and yelling "Weeeeeeee!!!" all the way. Our cute little photo session ended promptly, so that Mom of the Year here, could rescue our precious little 8-week old cargo from the danger of a 2-year old who is full of adventure and speed!

So in a "Wordless Wednesday" and "Not Me Monday" sort of fashion, let these pictures speak for themselves as I tell you that I definitely did not let my 2-year old push my 8-week old baby boy around in a pink doll stroller while I snapped away with the camera...that definitely was not me!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see?

Ryder, Rustin and I ventured out to the Fort Worth Zoo today. Believe it or not, I have never been to the Fort Worth Zoo before. It was really, really nice. The weather was perfect here today and the Zoo was not the least bit crowded. We were able to get up close at all of the exhibits. Ryder practiced all of his animal sounds. Rustin is always such a trooper and just goes along with whatever I plan. God totally Blessed us when he gave us that Angel.

Halloween 2009

Did you know that one of Matt's favorite times of the year is Halloween? Ummm....I'm not kidding when I say that he spends months preparing for this one night. He spends hours on websites looking for ideas on new gadgets he can build in an effort to scare the pants off of teenage boys. He spends endless weekends then building these props from scrap materials. He rigs electrical wiring and motors so that they jump out and scare the living pants off of all those who walk past them. He reads blogs of others who also love making these props....I make fun of him so hard...but it really is cute how much he digs this kind of stuff!

Halloween has been so much fun for me over the past ten years. My sisters and I never went Trick or Treating growing up. We lived in the country and in the 14 plus years I lived in that house, we never had a single Trick or Treater. We didn't even buy candy! Our town usually had a street carnival on the Main Street and that is what we did for Halloween.

When Matt and I got married in 2000 we bought a little house in a small new addition. This was the first time I can remember experiencing Trick or Treaters. We had a few decorations for our yard that first year and have continued to collect and grow our Halloween Extravaganza ever since. We have so much fun! He puts so much time into the props he has in our yard and this year he thankfully got a lot of help from his Dad so that it all got finished and up in time for last night.

I took Ryder out Trick or Treating with my Sister and her Little Girl. Rustin was a trooper and made the whole trip around the neighborhood with Ryder in my sling. When we got back to our house, there was probably a crowd of at least 30 people standing around our yard. I was literally scared that I was going to lose Ryder in the crowd of our front yard. You guys...it was CRAZY!!! It made Matt super happy though and I really think the kids and parents get a kick out of it!

We had so much help yesterday from Matt's parents, My Mom and Sisters, Matt's Sisters and their kids came over...it was a huge party last night...I can't remember a more fun Halloween! Ryder was so excited they were all there and went looking for everybody when he woke up this morning. Poor guy was disappointed when he realized it was just us! Here are a few pictures from our festivities.

Our Front Yard

Matt and I with the Electric Chair

Our Little Aggie Trick or Treating

Rustin was a Spider