Confession

I have a confession to make. Sometimes…while the boys are napping…I do absolutely…NOTHING! I just sit on the couch and watch TV, or surf the Internet, or read a book, or try to nap.

I should be doing laundry, cleaning the house, cooking meals, scrubbing the toilet, vacuuming, washing the dog, making the bed, mowing the lawn, dusting, cleaning the frig…but I don’t. Now don’t get me wrong, most of the time I am doing these things. I just need a break sometimes so I don’t go insane.

And of course then I feel really guilty about doing nothing. While Tommy is hard at work to bring home the bacon, I’m sitting on the couch eating King’s Hawaiian rolls. It’ just that while people who work can take lunch breaks and clock out at the end of the work day, moms work 24/7. So while B and H nap, I’m on break!

Just wanted to get that off my chest. I feel so much better! ;)

Belated Updates

I forgot that I’ve mentioned in many posts that I would follow-up on the posts’ topic. So here are my updates.

1.     The status on the “no sugar, no flour diet:” I’m waiting until after the holidays to start this again. Nuff said.

2.     House remodeling: Tommy has been working a lot and we haven’t been able to finish sanding/painting the family room. Hope to get it done this week.

3.     Update on the blackout curtains: The curtains got the boys back on schedule after the time change earlier this month. So they are waking up between 7:30-8:30 am. And their 2 naps a day have usually been a solid two hours each. Today they slept three hours during one of the naps!

4.     Pictures of the boys’ “toothy grins:” Still working on getting a good photo without their mouths filled with food. You’ll thank me later.

And I really need to update my blog header photo. It’s the most recent family photo I have and it was taken back in August. I’d like to take some new photos of all us this week. I’ve been debating whether or not to send Christmas cards this year. This was the picture we used last year (at least I think this was the one we used—the boys were 9 days old).

Hmmm…just can’t decide. The photo shoot was a little stressful. Ho Hummm….

And just because I can’t help myself from posting pictures of my boys, here are two pictures taken a long time ago (I enjoy looking back at all the photos taken over the past year of the boys).

 

Brayden 

 Hudson

For anyone expecting a baby—get a jumpy-thing (not sure what these are called). They are lifesavers and the boys LOVED jumping in them—although you wouldn’t be able to tell from these photos. ;)

What did I learn this Thanksgiving?

I learned Hudson likes black olives and they both like pickles and beets. 

Tommy, the boys, and I drove to Knoxville Wednesday night to spend Thanksgiving with my family. We left Thanksgiving evening. Yes, that’s right. We spent less than 24 hours in Knoxville.  We had a great time and it was worth it. 

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? In no particular order:

1.     Radar detectors

2.     Pacifiers

3.     Toys that makes music

4.     Wendy’s french fries

5.     Sleep

6.     Dark chocolate

7.     Funyuns

8.     Cameras

9.     High chairs

10. Pack ‘N Plays

11.  Cool Whip (yep, I prefer oil over cream)

12. Ham

13. Things that sparkle

14. Grandparents

15. Bibs

16. Christmas music

17. Pies

18. Loose-fitting tops

Of course I’m most thankful for Tommy, my boys, and my family and friends. The holidays wouldn’t be the same without them. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! 

Oh, one final photo. Both boys are known for making some odd faces in pictures. Here's a good one of Hudson. I didn't get a real funny one of Brayden yesterday.

 

They make my day...every day!

Wordless Wednesday

Getting ready for Turkey Day

Hudson and Brayden are getting ready for Thanksgiving by getting more teeth!! Bring on the turkey and ham! Brayden has two more through for a total of six teeth (3 on top and 3 on bottom). And Hudson has this first MOLAR!!! I just noticed it today for the first time. And it's not cutting through--it's already FULLY through! How did I miss that? He now has a total of seven teeth (4 on top and 3 on bottom). Apparently they are good teethers. They don't get real fussy when they are coming through--which explains Hudson's molar coming in without me ever knowing. My baby boys are growing up so fast!

I'll try to get a good toothy smile of both boys and post it. I've got a lot of Hudson showing his teeth but not Brayden. B doesn't show his top teeth when he smiles--just only when he laughs. I'll work on it! :)

Silly Sunday!

 

 

They do this themselves.

Popcorn

I LOVE popcorn! But not on a ceiling. Our new house was built in 1987. I think all homes built before the 90's have this "feature" (or what I like to call a "problem") on their ceilings. Yuck! We are slowly going room-by-room and scraping it off. So far we've completed the bonus room (aka playroom), the office, and now the family room. Here's a photo of the ceiling in the process of getting de-popcorned.

 

I spray the ceiling with water and Tommy scraps it with a special tool. It comes off fairly easily. Now we need to mud and sand the ceiling a few times before we can paint it. Tommy wired the room for surround sound with the wires hiding behind the crown molding. I'll be painting the room a blue-gray color once all that is finished. Last will be ripping up the carpet and putting down wood flooring.

We usually work on the house during the boys' nap times or bedtime but we did this last night while they we still playing in the playroom. I check up on them a lot. I usually sneak up the stairs and peek around the corner without them seeing me. Well, last night, this is what I saw when I peeked in on them...

They were just chillin' watching cartoons (I had to grab the camera and take a picture). We bought those chairs for them with money we got for their birthday. Great present for a 1-year-old! I have the BEST boys!

Publish Post

It's Freaky Friday!

Every now and then, right before bedtime, I like to let the boys run around the playroom naked. They really enjoy it. I think they'll grow up to be nudists.

Hudson has been sick they past few days (he got it from Brayden) and with sickness comes other things. I'll just leave it at that. So, it's good to let them "air dry." Moms understand...

Here's big B "air drying."

Hudson too.

(He LOVES the camera. Such a ham!)

It gets pretty freaky at our house... ;)

I think it's time to teach my boys how to share

Case in point:

Brayden was enjoying sitting on this car/step ladder/toy holder thing.

(Yes he's wearing only one sock. I'm a bad mom...)

He's really enjoying the thing.

 

 

"Yippee!!!!"

All of a sudden Hudson walks by...

Hudson stops and turns around...

"What do we have here? That looks like fun."

"Move over Brayden, it's mine!"

 

(Poor guy. He doesn't stand a chance.) Hudson pushes Brayden off.

Brayden is soooooo not happy.

Hudson seems pretty happy with himself.

 

So, what makes Brayden happy again?

 

His paci of course! And I pushed Hudson off so Brayden can have the toy again. ;) Just kidding Child Protective Services.

So, what is the right age to start teaching kids to share? These boys don't understand the concept yet. I need advice!

Who needs Disney World...

...when you have an empty bottle and a nose sucky-thing?

It's the little things that make these boys happy!

Two thugs drive-by Kroger

Brayden and Hudson love to go grocery shopping with me. I think it's because they get to drive a car. Ugh...men...    ;)

It’s a Miracle!!

First let me say that Hudson and Brayden are great sleepers. They have been sleeping through the night since they were 6 weeks old—thanks to a strict routine/schedule, the Miracle Blanket (AMAZING AMAZING! Everyone must have one), and being the son’s of Thomas Hitch—who is also an awesome sleeper. The only time they don’t sleep through the night is when they are sick and still that’s pretty rare. Brayden just got sick for the FIRST TIME!! He just turned one and just now got sick! I think he got my immune system because I also never get sick. Hudson has only had a fever twice in a year too. I’ve got two healthy boys!

OK, back to the point of this post. Since the time change the boys have been waking up around 6:30 am. They used to wake up around 7:30 am. Momma hasn’t liked that. I’ve wanted to buy some blackout curtains for their room since they were born but I kept forgetting about it since they always slept so well. So, since they’ve been waking so early I thought to give them a try. I purchased them at Target. They had a few different colors. I first picked out a taupe but when I put them up against the window, they didn’t block enough light. So I returned them and got black instead. I figured get the darkest color and they will block the most light. I was right!

I put them up last night—and I say that loosely. Tommy has been working a lot and hasn’t had time to install the curtain rod so I just slung them over the rod holding the valance. I hope this is just temporary. ;)

They are not the most attractive looking curtains—I wouldn’t put them in every room—but they are great in a nursery. I’d recommend them to anyone trying to get their child to sleep better.

And guess what? The boys sleep till 9 am!! And I had to go in their room and wake them up! Who knows how long they would have slept! I didn’t want to throw their schedule completely out of whack cause they are supposed to take a nap at 10:30 am. Now I’m going to have to adjust their nap schedule but that’s OK. It’s worth it! I think the person who invented the blackout curtain is a genius!

I pray they sleep in tomorrow too! I’ll let you know.

1-Year Check-Up

H and B had their 1-year check-up yesterday. I still can’t believe they are a year old! Time has flown by and they are getting too big. They’ll be in kindergarten before I know it. I’m thrilled they can start drinking whole milk now. Haven’t given it to them yet. I will today and pray they can’t tell the difference.

Here are their stats:

Hudson:
Height- 30.75 in. (80th percentile)
Weight- 20 lbs. 7 oz. (20th percentile)
HC- 18.25 in. (50th percentile)

Brayden:
Height- 28.75 in. (25th percentile)
Weight- 18 lbs. 10 oz. (5th percentile)
HC- 17.1 in (doc didn’t write it down- let’s just say it was low)

Editor’s note: Brayden has been sick for a week and lost some weight due to this loss of appetite. Doctor isn’t worried. He said he’ll gain it back and catch up to Hudson sometime. He’s my little munchkin!

They both got 5 shots each! Yuck! But thy both did really well- which is good since it was just me with them at the appointment. They don’t go back until they are 18 months so they’ll get some time off from more shots.

So, what’s new with the boys?
Huds: he can almost climb up onto the couch by himself—which scares me half to death. He runs pretty fast. He can figure out toys meant for 18 month old in 1 minute flat. He loves to climb into his toy chest and just sit there. Loves his picture taken—he’ll smile for you. Points to things now—especially balloons and Titus. Can give you a high-five. Claps and waves. LOVES hide and seek! Can play really well by himself and also with his brother. Sometimes gets really upset when you leave the room.

Brayden: he walks really, really well now. Just this morning I saw him stand without using anything to pull up with. Loves balls. He’s learning to throw a ball right now. Also loves to point at things—especially ceiling fans and lights. Loves his outdoor swing. Likes to rock himself in his rocking chair. Hordes all the pacifiers he can find. Can also give you a high-five, clap, and wave. Hide and seek is his favorite game. Enjoys pushing Hudson down on the floor—just payback.

That’s all I can think of right now. I know I’m forgetting a lot. I’m still working on a post about the remodeling of the house. Hope to get some photos up soon.

Happy Happy Birthday!!

We celebrated H and B’s 1st birthday last Sunday. It was so much fun! We had about 30 people at our house! Unfortunately, Brayden and I had a bad cold so the two of us were not feeling and looking well. Hudson and Tommy now have a cold with us. So we are all suffering! Agh…

Anyways, Brayden and I still enjoyed the party—thanks to Tylenol for B and Dayquil for me. Tommy and I got the house the best we could get with a limited budget. None of the downstairs rooms have been painted yet and we haven’t laid the wood floors, but it’s getting there. I’m not short on ideas, just money. I haven’t even really decorated either! We did get some cheap birthday décor and put it in a few rooms to liven it up a bit but it’s hard to hide the fact that we don’t have anything on the walls or things out for the house to look like a home. I’ll get there.

The boys got a lot of cool toys. Grandma and grandpa Widell got them both the Cozy Coupe cars. They are still a little too small to really drive and enjoy them but give it a few months. We got some clothes and lots of books. They both LOVE books! I pray to have two avid readers when they get older. Grandma Byerly got them a new toy chest. We need about four to hold all their toys. I think we’ll be giving away a lot of their old toys to Goodwill.

Here is a slideshow of some pictures from the party. I hope it works. I just learned how to do this. Enjoy!

A Puppy And A Cow Go Trick-r-Treating

Mooooo and ruff ruff!! Brayden and Hudson had a great time trick-r-treating on Halloween 2010. First, I have to mention that I really wanted to dress them as superheroes. Batman and Superman to the rescue! Well, I couldn’t find those costumes in their size—at least in the price range I was willing to spend. So we went “down on the farm.”

Here’s the cute puppy Hudson.

Here’s the fat cow Brayden.

Tommy had to hold B's hands for awhile. He kept trying to take the hood off. Eventually he forgot about it.

We first took a few pictures of them in the wagon in the backyard.

Don't they look excited? ;)

Then Tommy had to finish watching the Titans game so we went back inside. Once it was over, off we went! Our neighborhood is attached to a huge neighborhood that goes all out for Halloween. I’m not saying that lightly. People come from all over Nashville to trick-r-treat here. We had to have passed a hundred people while we were walking around. One house was giving out Jell-O shooters to the adults. If any cops are reading this, don’t worry, they were carding people. A bunch of homes even had projection screens in their front yards showing movies. It was pretty cool. Hudson and Brayden loved watching all the weirdos out there. They like to people watch lust like mom and dad.

They started to get pretty confident in the wagon so they decided to try to stand up. Yep, they were surfing. I had to keep sitting them back down. Here’s the only photo I got while this was happening.

I finally just let Hudson walk himself—but he found a solar sidewalk lamp and decided to stop and stare at it awhile. Tommy had to pick him up or we would have slept there all night.

Once we got back home I let them play awhile in their costumes until they got overheated.

Have you heard the joke about the cow riding a horse? It's a funny one.

I think it was a great first Halloween experience! Can’t wait to be superheroes next year!! ;)