I would LOVE to get this postcard in the mail!

This boy is dang hard to take a picture of these days!

He tells me no, he runs away or the picture is blurry due to is inability to sit still.

I still love him though.

He will play with what? For how long?

Jack has never been the type of child who will play by himself for very long. He has always preferred someone play with him, be near him or watch him play. As he has gotten older, I have seen this starting to change. 

He is learning to be more imaginative with his toys. Hearing him act out a pirate battle with his ships and a castle made of blocks, is music to my ears. However, this does not happen too often without some sort of direction. And with his naps almost disappearing forever, I have needed to find things that Jack will enjoy doing by himself for longer periods of time so I can have some me time for a few minutes or take care of that one constant in my life...laundry. 

He seems to really enjoy activities and projects that are simple, creative and challenging.

Digging for dinosaur bones.

This was a birthday present from his cousins. He thought it was neat searching for the dino bones and then putting them together to discover what specific dinosaur it was. This one he needed lots of help in the digging process, but it was still fun doing it together.

Oldie, but goodie...Rice.

He played with this rice and his cars & trucks f.o.r.e.v.e.r. He loved it so much that I did not mind one bit as I watched half of the rice fall on my rug.

Painting

Painting has always been a favorite for Jack. He has been doing this since he was 2 years-old. Crazy, I know. We tried this with Owen and he was eating the paint brush and whipping paint everywhere. Jack never did that, ever! I remember he would stand at this same counter and paint pictures while I held, rocked and/or nursed Owen as a newborn. It was a sanity saver...and still is.

Moon Sand

Jack also received Moon Sand for his birthday from his cousin Ty. Now, I had heard about Moon Sand and had seen it a million times at Target, but I have to admit I was always scared to buy it. I was scared because of the mess it would make all over my kitchen I didn't actually know what it did. Well, Jack loves this stuff and can play with it f.o.r.e.v.e.r. as well! 

And yes, my kitchen does look like the following picture. But, I manage!

Blocks...the old fashioned ones

I know I have talked about other types of blocks on here, but these truly are the best! These were a hand-me-down from his cousins and they are fabulous! Both boys play with them a lot! The list of things they make with these blocks is endless...roads, castles, garages, zoos, houses, etc. These blocks are a perfect example of "it's the simple things". Remember this?

How long until we have warm weather?

Works Every Time.

He frequently asks to have his picture taken.

This I love.

He poses for me and smiles so nice.

I love this too.

But, sometimes I want to capture him with his natural Jack Smile and adorable laugh.

But, that is hard to accomplish while I am taking the pictures, too.

So, I need to call in reinforcements aka Daddy.

And what does Daddy do to make Jack smile and laugh?

He makes a variety of farting noises.
Oh yay, that's how we roll around this house. All boys, remember.

Well, this makes Jack erupt into giggles and belly-laughter.
And I capture his natural Jack Smiles and adorable laugh.

Works every time!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I am not going to let The Bachelor suck me in this season. I'm not. A repeat bachelor, really? I didn't watch his first go at it and I don't even know his name. Okay, I admit I watched it tonight. It was a long, busy day, I sunk into my couch to watch How I Met Your Mother (one of the BEST shows on TV...so funny) and then there was that darn Bachelor with all its drama. So, I watched and then before I knew it I was an hour in. The older I get, the more ridiculous those rose ceremonies become and the crying is even more ridiculous (and this is coming from a big, emotional crier). Ugh, who I am kidding? I've got a long winter ahead of me so I'll probably be watching it. Darn you Bachelor with your "most dramatic rose ceremony ever".

2. Do you have any thoughts on the shift in the Zodiac Calendar? Is this for real? Apparently, I am no longer a Sagittarius as I am now the new Ophiuchus. Really, I can't switch just like that after being a Sagittarius for 32 years.

3. I would love a photography wall similar to this somewhere in my home. And I would love it to be filled with photos of the everyday moments with Pat and the boys.

Apartment Therapy

4. Our current pantry is a make-shit one. We have a coat closet right off our kitchen, we added some shelving and it became our pantry. I'm not sure if I will ever have an actual walk-in pantry and if I don't, I think something like this will do!

Beautiful.

Houzz

5. Both of these pics I have on my new Pinterest. My lengthy, unorganized, ever-growing list of bookmarks is thanking me right now for setting up this new Pinterest account. And I am giddy! I've got a lot of work to do to start filling up my boards, but it's going to be so great. Picture bookmarks...genius.

6. When do you start having your kiddos do chores? Right now, Jack helps pick up toys and he takes his breakfast/lunch/dinner plate and cup to the sink. Just the other day, on his own, he cleaned the couch for me so we gave him one dollar to put in his piggy bank. We were proud of him, he was proud of himself and he was so happy that we were proud of him. Make sense? Now, he has been asking what else he can do to get money for his piggy bank. Side note: I love the innocence in his excitement to simply put the dollar bill in his piggy bank and no concept of actually spending the dollar on buying something

So anyway, I was thinking that this might be a great time to implement a very basic chore chart (maybe 3-5 simple tasks, for example, make bed). I was also thinking that he would get a sticker for every chore that he completes and then for every so many stickers he would get money or a special activity or alone time with Mom and/or Dad. Just something I have been thinking about. If you have a good example of this that you use, please let me know! 

7. I grew up in a very male dominant family, I was born smack-dab in the middle of two brothers, I married my husband and I have two sons. You would think that I completely understand the male gender and all of their weirdness...right?! Well, it's not that easy. Now that it is my job to do the parenting, which is a learning process in itself, sometimes I catch myself thinking, "Boys, hmmm?" It is so important for me to teach, nurture and guide my sons to one day become loving, nurturing and honorable young men themselves. As my head hits my pillow at night, I ponder questions like, "Was I a good mom today?", "Was I present for my boys?", "Am I nurturing my boys the way boys need to be nurtured?", "Am I letting then have the freedom to be boys with the right amount of guidance to learn and grow?" I think I am doing a good job, but I just never know. I have added these books to my reading pile for a fresh perspective. We will see.

8. This morning, I got the boys dressed in some cute Spring clothes, I styled their hair and I may have bribed them with cookies. All of this, in an attempt to take some photos for a new blog header. Out with Christmas/winter photos and in with Spring photos (too early? yeah, kinda). Halt, Screech, not happening!!!! Owen was not having it, was not into it and actually had a small tantrum in refusal to have his picture taken. Let's just say the whole thing was a disaster, except for Jack, who willingly participated and did a great job posing for me. As a mother of two small children, you never know how things will go. Just when I think something will be a disaster, it works out perfect and just when I think something will work without a hitch, it becomes a mess. Double Argh! But, I had my mind set on changing my blog header today, so I worked with what I had and it will work for now, I guess.

9. I found this great idea that I so needed to replicate.

Red Plastic Hearts + Cute (spray painted) Cheap, White Frame + Glue Gun =

A quick, easy and cheap Valentine's Day decoration.

Cute!

 9. And speaking of Valentine's Day, this free printable is super cute!

10. We're trying something new this year and it's called The Myers 2011 Time Capsule. I saw this idea here and they found it here. I love it. It's going to be neat keeping all of our little mementos and favorites that we the boys gather throughout the year. I promise this is the last time you will have to see this Christmas card photo. I had one extra card, so I put it to use.

First Entry....a rock.

It's been snowing,

so we've been...

Putting out bird food.

Because Jack learned about winter birds this week at school.
I think these heart shaped bird-feeders would be fun to make and very fitting for the upcoming  
(pseudo) holiday.

Spraying the snow with blue and green water.

Because this Momma thought it would be neat, however, the boys disagreed. 

They grew bored of it in 5 minutes.

This picture led to a few squirts of blue water right in my eye and in my camera lens. Figures, *sigh*.

Swinging.

Because it's fun.

Eating icicles.

Because it's yummy!

Staying warm and cozy inside, playing with these new pals.

Because they are soft and lovable and Owen's favorites!

Getting this little chap a big boy haircut!

Because it was about time. I think he looks so handsome.
(And I think I can hear my mom saying, "Finally!" through the computer.)

And working on my patience with this lovey.  Breath Nicole, Breath.

  I was informed by our Pediatrician at Jack's 4 year-old well-check that the 4's are known as the Ferocious Fours. What? What happened to Fabulous or Fantastic? Eh, I think it's a little bit of all of those, actually. Some days are Fabulous and some days I need one of these at the end of the day.

Two.

Happy Birthday O!

Two.

How did my baby become a two year-old so quickly?! These past two years have been so fun and wonderful and amazing and fun watching you grow.You are truly coming into your own and showing all of us (including your big brother) your personality. You understand so much and know more then we even realize you do. 

You have more and more new words everyday. For example, you are in love with the Toy Story characters and were always calling both Buzz and Woody...Buzz. In the last few days, you suddenly started calling Buzz, "Buzz Lightyeea" and the others by their appropriate names. Another cute example, is that at Grandma GiGi's local pool you pointed (with a questioning look on your face) to the water sprouting mushroom thingy that was not on and said, "No Battewees (batteries)?" So cute...I want to bottle this up and keep it forever!

You are yearning to be independent, constantly telling me, "Self", "No, I do it" and "Mine". However, at the end of the day, you still are mommy's boy and you always want mommy to rock you before bed. You try to emulate Jack as you are already requesting to wear "Spidamaaan", you know about all the superheros and you prefer Toy Story and Tarzan over Elmo and Sesame Street. If you are not holding your three lovies, you fill your arms with toys as you always need one in each hand, just like this.

You are my easy-going, sweet, funny and lovable boy.

Owen, we love you so much! Happy Birthday!

*The wand Owen is holding is for The Crayola Glow Station. This is an awesome toy! It is one of our favorite Christmas presents...the boys love it! Thanks Grandma Stevie, you pick out the BEST presents!

We're home!!

We left in the wee early morning hours the day after Christmas.

We drove many (many-many) hours and miles to see family and friends and celebrate the holidays.

We have been away from our house, our beds, our toys and our comfort zone for two weeks.

Ahhh.....feels so good to be home!

I think they feel the same way!

Hello 2011, we can't for the exciting things that you are bringing to us!

Can't wait to share (and no, I'm not pregnant)!