The Heard

The boys are off of school this week... which means I have 15 hours more than usual with which I have to keep them entertained.  It is a daunting task to keep things new and entertaining and keeping the TV off, which I try to do during the day.  We watch some toons in the morning when mama is trying to wake up and get the day going... and we get to watch part of a movie after dinner when we are starting to wind down for the day.  But keeping them entertained, educated and exercised becomes difficult in between nap times and trying not to break the bank on our outings.  We frequently just pack up and head to a family members house when we get bored, it makes for a nice change of scenery... Thank goodness so much family lives within 25 min. of us.


Today we packed it up and headed over to the Heard Museum in McKinney.  It only has a small indoor area but a ton of outdoor trails, and a Dinosaur exhibit.  They have these massive dino's along the walking trails- some of them move and make noises which totally gets the little men all riled up.  We even dragged daddy along, and while he was on the phone working most of the time, at least he got some fresh air and exercise with us.

colds...

We have colds... me, Jer, and Wheeler.  We have been trying to get over them for like a week.  My throat is so sore that I really can't even yell at the boys... but they have been really good and completely occupied with their new toys (I'll do a big fat christmas post later).  

So needless to say we have been doing a lot of this lately...

My men...

 Oh and you see that paci in Wheeler's mouth..?  Well let's just say I NEVER have to worry about one of those in my photos again.  We left it for Santa who took it to a baby Elf that was in need of one.  He has only asked for it a couple of times, and I just remind him that Santa took it to the North Pole, he just moves on and forgets about it.  Mission Accomplished.

 

 Well I must get back to my cleaning... So far today I have cleaned the play room and both Boys rooms and the misc. toy baskets around the house.  We are liquidating any toys that are broken, have missing parts, don't get played with, or are too young for the boys.  So far we have one full trash bag, and 2 huge boxes of giveaway toys.  The boys are actually really good about helping pick toys to give away.  So far no breakdowns..

Randomness...

Lots of randomness today....  I was cleaning up some memory discs and found some random photos I had yet to upload and edit.  Enjoy...

Hutson and Sherman (we like to call him The Shermanator, or Shermy)

 

 He is such a little turkey...

 

 When the Clayton's were here, Donna and I took the boys to see the movie Puss in Boots.  It was a hit.  They grab their swords, put on their boots and run around fighting the bad guys.  We even have little pirate hats for them... it is really cute.  I love seeing them actually playing together and not fighting- although it usually only lasts a few minutes.

 The lovely Donna Rose...

 a little holiday Bokeh...

 Making sugar cookies... which are now all gone, I might be about 4 lbs on the heavy side now, and we need to make more so we have some to leave for the Big Guy.

 

 we get a little heavy handed with the sprinkles...

 Some random bird/duck homes...

 All aboard...

More Holiday tidbits...

 Our littlest man, Wheeler, was in his first school production last week.  He was awesome!  He got excited when he spotted us, ok when he spotted Papa, but he kept right on singing and doing what he was supposed to do.  Matter of fact, he was a little bit of ham.  Completely different than Hut's first stage experience.  We have video, I will try to get it uploaded this week.

Wheeler and his buddy, Avigal...

 clearly the two's class was dressed as cows.

 doing his thang...

I look at this last picture, and think... whose kid is that? I don't think he looks like either Jer or I here... not to mention he is so big, a toddler no more.

this is what is happening at our house...

for great grandma...

We have been on the go go go lately, and I have been neglecting the blog.  My grandmother sweetly reminded me that I hadn't posted any pictures lately.  So these photos are for her.  We love you Grandma!

 

friends...

I had a great opportunity to catch up with an old friend and meet her little man this week.  She was in town for Thanksgiving and emailed to ask if I would be willing to take some pictures of her family... to which I replied... ABSOLUTELY.  Any chance to play with my camera and not have to force my kids to sit still sounds like a good time to me.  Her family is super adorable and I think they turned out pretty good...

 

I also had the chance to snap away some photos of another little man... You remember our buddy Baby Will...? 

Well he has done a little growing, and we had to drop the 'baby'....  he wasn't too happy to have his picture taken, but with a little bribery in the way of smarties, he was all mine.

Taking/editing photo's has taken up a great deal of time for me lately, but we have managed to move on from Thanksgiving and work into the Christmas season...  We have decor out and Christmas cards ordered, we just need to get some cookies in the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving...

We are hosting Thanksgiving festivities tomorrow with my family and Jerry's parents... it is bound to be a good time.  I have been working on some photos for our Christmas card so I will leave you with what the shutter caught today...

 

 

 

Not too many happy faces this morning, I guess I will try again tomorrow.  Maybe Papa Tim can get some smiles out of them.

I am gonna try and log in about 6 miles tomorrow morning so that I can indulge in all my favorite carb-heavy and sugary foods guilt-free.  Enjoy your turkey!

Brynlee...

This oh-so-adorable little girl lives in our 'hood... she has the brightest blue eyes, and the best smile.

 

 

 

Me and Wheelie

The other day Hut took a nap and of course Wheeler had already taken his- so we played... and played... and played.  When it is just me and one of the boys things are so peaceful and easy.  There is no fighting, crying, whining...  We had fun.

 trying on our new hat... it is a hit.

 'picture of crackers mama'... So we took a picture of his crackers...

 I even braved it and let him hold the camera... with a little creative cropping, not bad.  Oh- and I about had a heart attack the whole time just praying he wouldn't throw it on the floor.

 ...and now he is done and yelling at me because I turned off the water and he wanted to give T.Rex a bath...