It’s play time…

With the playroom work behind us we are loving “breaking in” our new space.  We are also loving our new found free time.  We took advantage of some free time this weekend to work on the office for a bit and we are finally unpacking some of our things and LOVING it!

Congratulations to the Gilmore family on the arrival of their precious baby boy #2, Tristan who joined their family this past Wednesday.  We can’t wait to snuggle him!

Also, happy belated birthday to Uncle Danny, Uncle Andrew and Kameron Locke who all celebrated birthdays this past week! We celebrated in person with Kameron this weekend but sent our very best wishes to the Uncles who celebrated long distance.   I guess February is the month to have boys!

Come play!

Yesterday was our “big day” in the playroom – the photo shoot! 

Let me begin with that admitting I was a self terror leading up to the shoot.  On Monday night, I walked straight into a door handle, creating a egg so large on my forehead that it split open.  Awesome timing.  The next day Chris threw his head back, hitting my eye brow bone helping me with a few more bumps and bruises before I wacked my head on a shelf dusting.  No alcohol involved either unfortunately, just a seriously klutzy Mommy with bad timing!

The morning started early as Mike had to leave before the sun for an early morning presentation.  I stepped out of the shower and into a huge pile of kitty puke on the front hall rug.  Awesome!  I then went to get cleaning supplies to find a leak under the kitchen sink, flooding the area.  Let’s just say I closed the door and pretended it didn’t happen, cleaned the rug and moved on to my other last minute chores.  The boys were up and full of excitement and energy of course and so the day began.  I headed downstairs to set up some drinks and goodies for the crew only to step in another pile of kitty puke.  Anyone want a pretty but nasty indoor kitty?  She is up for grabs again!  The crew arrived at 8 am and while they told us it would take the entire day, I was in disbelief until I looked at the clock when they left and realized it was already after 4 pm! 

To make it a “real deal,” they hired a hair and make up artist to get us ready and they picked out our outfits.  It’s strange having someone else decide what you will look like for the day.  Things were a bit chaotic as I welcomed the crew to our home while being prepped and in hair rollers and half done make up and boy was I thankful when Mike returned home mid-morning!  We were in and out of photos all day and found that we have a little rock star, Aiden who apparently takes his camera work seriously and follows directions better than Mommy and Daddy!  On our first shoot, they had our entire family playing on the couch.  The photographer asked “the boys” to all stand up on the couch.  At which time Aiden, Chris AND Mike all rose.  She then informed Mike that for their purposes yesterday, she would refer to Mike as “man.”  He was excited to hear that and it certainly lightened the mood for everyone.  Its amazing how hard it is to “act natural” when you know how many eyes and critics you have watching…. so not natural!

We had a ton of fun and got to know so many wonderful people but I am so thankful that the playroom is now just ours and we can actually play without having to be careful.  The room came out so bright, cheerful and fun.  I am beyond thrilled with how it came out and so anxious to see the article.  If you’re curious, keep your eyes open for the June issue of Woman’s Day! In the meantime, here is a preview from my much less professional camera!

The WAY before……

The after…..

Love it?  Come check it our for yourself… Join us to play anytime!

oxo Thank you for your support and patience as we got through some long laborious nights and a special thanks to those who helped with the hands on knitty gritty pieces and the boys while we created this little dreamy room!

 

PS – In case you are wondering, the far wall smaller looking objects are car and truck stickers.  The boys favorite part!

Celebrate good times.

It’s been quite the celebration for Aiden and Chris as they partied Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in honor of turning 3!  Chris woke up Friday, the day after their birthday and the first word out of his mouth was “Hey Mom, don’t forget I’m three still.”  I appreciate those gentle reminders. 

Wednesday night I snuck out for a bit to join some friends at Cold Stone Creamery.  There is nothing better than yummy treats and awesome friends.  Thank you Leeanne, Leora and Heather!  I needed a night off from basement projects!

Thursday we enjoyed a quiet day at home with Ashley.  Daddy came home from work and we had a mini “party” and Mamie and Grandpa stopped over to wish the boys well in person.

Friday Mamie, Grammie and Dziadzu all joined us at the Holyoke Children’s Museum for an afternoon of three year old fun! We headed home to meet Daddy after work while Mamie scooped Grandpa up from the airport for some pizza, birthday cake and presents.  It was a pretty special day!

Saturday was one of our final work days for wrap up in the playroom.  The crew arrives tomorrow to finish up their details and Mike and I had some painting, caulking and stair laying to do. California Closets also joined us Saturday morning to install the built in media area.  Stay tuned for some pictures.  I am going to keep them a surprise until the final reveal later this week!

I unfortunately can’t seem to stay healthy and started round 2 of the flu Saturday night into today.  I was so grateful to Grammie and Dziadzu who had plans to take the boys overnight tonight as I can move at my own pace and have been able to suck it up” to get through the work needed in the basement. Fingers crossed that whatever I have doesn’t work its way through the family just in time for the photo shoot on Wednesday!

Thank you everyone for all of the love that poured in on Thursday for Aiden and Chris’s birthday.  They have quite the fan club and are truly such special little well loved men.  Thank YOU!

Here is a little preview from the birthday celebration!

3!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my two amazing little mischievous men Aiden and Christopher! 

The boys awoke to a little surprise!

A room all decked out for two special birthday boys (Including 8 industrial sized garbage bags filled with balloons that were dumped” on their floor)!

They quickly opened their smaller presents and we enjoyed a fun afternoon with little Miss Ashley

After Daddy arrived home, they got their little Swiss Cake rolls and prized gift, Lightening McQueen mini quads which of course brought on an indoor ride-a-thon.  I am SO thankful spring is right around the corner!

We love you!

Love.

Love. I love my life.  My husband. My children. My family. IMy friends and okay, I guess I even love the cat (on most days, just not when I find her playing in my glass of water!).  With too many reasons to count, my life is filled with so many blessings and if you’re reading this post, you’re one of them!  Happy belated Valentines Day!

Somehow Valentines Day always seems to slip by with only a second glace (not a third) as the excitement for the impending birthday celebration always seem to take priority.  The boys woke up to a find a few treats at their breakfast table (some stickers and a ring pop) and were thrilled beyond belief.  It’s the simple things and as long as they know they are loved, then we are doing that part of our job as parents.  We have a few things in store for their birthday tomorrow and a special museum visit and of course some cake (round 1) Friday evening.  The “real” celebration has been postponed until March so we can get through the final days of the basement re-do and photo shoot (Yike… only one week to go!)

I love that I awoke this morning to a faint voice saying “excuse me Momma", excuse me Momma.” I ventured into their room and found both boys still in bed, Aiden asking ever so politely to be tucked in (and at 6:40 no less!). Oh how I love my boys and the little men they are quickly growing into.  Makes me proud.  If only I could keep them young and squeeze them, holding them tight forever.

Monday I had a follow up appointment for my dental implant.  I had been in a bit of pain so I was relieved to hear that the pain was normal and justified given that I have an “over active” healing process going on.  I have yet to be able to angle a mirror just so to see exactly what is going on back there but apparently they placed something called a healing cap over the post and my mouth has attempted to be an overachiever, with my gum now growing over the healing cap which is supposed to be open and easily removed for the next stage of the process. Hey, at least I’m healing, right?  Dziadzu came to watch A & C Monday afternoon so I could head to this appointment.  The boys had a blast and dug into their new birthday play dough set (thanks Auntie Sarah & Uncle Jerry!) and built a lego fun land. What a fun afternoon for the boys!

Tuesday Mamie came for the day and took Aiden and Chris on a little trip to the Holyoke Mall.  They were on a mission to go to Build a Bear and both came home with their own animal condo, Chris’s housing an orange tiger kitty and Aiden’s a german shepard puppy, both wearing Disney Car’s PJ’s and slippers.  They’re pretty cute if you ask me and I love hearing about the process of how they were made.  They each kissed the animals little hearts before they were stuffed and filled and went on to give their animals a warm welcome with a hug and kiss as they came to life.  These little friends even came with a birth certificate and of course the paws make their special animal sounds.  It was an event to remember!  As if the mall trip and new animal friends weren’t enough, they then headed out for a special lunch at the Summer House with Mamie and Grandpa. It won’t be long before they are wishing me away to work!  Back at Mamie and Grandpa’s house after lunch, they received their birthday presents early.  A new set of wheels….  tricycles that is!  Mamie said the bikes are a bit big but so are our growing boys so it is only a matter of time before they are racing around on them!

 

Above: Aiden and Chris loving on their new animals!

The boys were super stars receiving a mailbox full of birthday wishes!  Thank you for making them feel so super special! Today we had a fun play date with baby Ashley, Steph, Calvin and Megan.  Megan has one week to go until their new baby arrives and is such a trooper, coming to play.  Steph is also pregnant and due in June but not showing at all! They also had a little birthday celebration for A & C.  What lucky, lucky boys!

Above is my special Valentines gift from my special Valentine.  He said it was more of a joke given where we are at but I really do love it and love his creativity and thoughtfulness. oxo

Brrr…..

Above:  Cold men at work.  Aiden (Blue), Chris (Red)

I am big on routine and while this week was far from our normal routine, but we had a blast and enjoyed a nice mix of relaxation, fun and work.  Ashley came on Friday this week instead of Thursday and Grammie Pt also stopped over to check out the new playroom.  We had a fun day and the kids really seemed to enjoy one another’s company.  Their excitement about the playroom was contagious and they ran around, squealing with glee.  I was thrilled to head out that night to celebrate the arrival of my friend Megan’s baby, Tristan, who will be making his debut next week!  It was a wonderful night with yummy munchies and fun friends.  It’s always fun to celebrate new babies!

Saturday I ran out to do a few errands early and we headed out mid-morning for a trip to Worcester and Boston.  It was an “Auntie” day.  First we headed to Dorchester to visit and deliver some baby gear to Auntie Sarah.  We were lucky to also sneak in a visit with Auntie Stephie, Mamie and Grandpa all at the same time! Sarah is super creative and crafty and has been a busy beaver so it was fun to see all that she has been up to.  Those girls are going to have one rocking nursery! 

After our visit with the Hopkins/Fowlers, we packed up and stopped halfway home in Worcester to see Auntie Laura, Eric and Hoagie (their dog).  Laura filled the kids up with all kinds of treats and they were happy as can be.  We ventured out to check out the new construction happening in their neighborhood and Aiden and Chris loved it so much that I was fearful we might all turn into popsicles before we made it back to Eric and Laura’s house.  The winter weather has finally arrived and I think we could have done just fine without it this year…. That wind is bitter!  We had a nice visit then headed home for bedtime. 

Mike and I took advantage of a quiet night and watched a movie, knowing we should be working but enjoying the down time none the less.  We made up for our night off yesterday with lots of work today.  I headed to church with the boys this morning.  Aiden and Chris felt like super stars as several friends remembered that they are going to be celebrating their birthday in 5 short days… Yes, 5 days!  I can’t believe it myself.  After church I headed down the the basement and painted the day away, quite literally.  There was PLENTY of priming and painting to do, enough that somehow 7 hours snuck away.  We are beginning to cross things off of our to-do list and it’s only a matter of time until the list runs dry…. for the basement project at least!

So its been a weekend.  A busy weekend.  A fun weekend.  A weekend for family, fun and a sprinkle of work and I wouldn’t want it any other way!  Cheers to a cold, winter week ahead and to two special little boys who will be turning the long anticipated age of 3!

It’s beginning to look a lot like a playroom…. Color is everywhere! Today was work day #1 for the design team and is amazing how different the space looks already.  It is bright but cheerful and a perfect place for A & C to enjoy.  So without further ado – Here is the progress

It was confirmed for Mike and I last night that we are no longer “kids” and can’t function on sleepless nights the way we once did in our youth.  Last night was cram time before our visit today and thankfully our work is nearing the end so we are hopefully for no more nights work that leaks into the wee hours of the next day.  We have a small list of tasks to chip away at before their final visit but for now we are content to take one night to relax and take in the color in our new space before setting back to work.

This weeks routine has been a bit of a change for us.  Monday night I headed out for a trip to the mall with my friend Leeanne before heading home for some priming and painting.  Mamie took a much deserved mini trip to Florida so on Tuesday we went to Grammie and Dziadzu’s for a visit and I was able to wrap up the work for Mike that I wasn’t able to complete over the weekend.  Today we had visitors so we missed our regular play date and Ashley is coming on Friday.  What a crazy, shuffled up but fun week!

(Above: Aiden, L and Chris, R playing in their foam buckets.  Looking for a fun sensory project for your kids? Pull out an old plastic container and fill it with cars, trucks and foam (put approx 1/3 cup water with a few squirts of dish soap in a food processor or blender and let it mix for a few minutes! The longer it blends, the stiffer the foam)  What fun but expect some splashing and puddles here there and everywhere!

To the right, the ceiling as you enter the hallway that leads to the basement.  A LONG overdue painting project.  Embarrassing to say the least but one more thing we gladly crossed off the list this past weekend!)

 

What’s new with us?  We have two very excited soon to be birthday boys who are taking their 3 year old mark very seriously.  They realize the new responsibilities that come with being a “big boy” and have been really good about listening and taking them seriously.  You may be wondering what I am referring to.  Let’s just say its safe to assume that Mike and I now use the fact that they are soon to be 3 to our advantage telling them that if they want to be big boys they must listen, go right to bed, keep their pants on while they use their potties (they have a bad habit that somehow snuck into our house of needing to take their pants off when they use their potty… not sure why???). You get the picture and YES it’s working!  For now at least….

We thoroughly enjoyed the warm weather we got on Monday and Tuesday, playing outside in the boys driveway “construction site” and taking walks to the library and town green.  Seriously, who would have expected 54 degree weather in February?  Sure helps with seasonal blues and numb fingers and toes too of course!

Above: Aiden, L & Chris, R doing their potato prints.  I forgot how much fun they can be!

To the right: Chris, L & Aiden, R doing their own construction project on the kitchen table, creating a “playroom” just like our friends in the basement.