More From Monday

All these pictures are blurry. I couldn't get Dez and Dax to sit still long enough. Way too excited for that!

Chuck E. Cheese!

Dax isn't too thrilled about this ride.

Serious business.

At GiGi's Cupcakes, about to dig in!

(Dax is excited, I promise. That's his I'm Happy face. Well, it has been lately)

OhMyGoshYum!!! Dez picked out chocolate on chocolate. I picked out Orange Dreamsicle. It's like heaven in your mouth. Mine even had a cream filling.

Again, Dez is too excited to sit still.

Dax favored the dreamsicle.

A Typical Monday

7:00am: Gabe gets outta bed to head to school. I get to stretch out across the entire bed. Hands down, my favorite part of the day. I fall back asleep.

8:40am: Dez sneaks upstairs, grabs my phone, and heads back downstairs to play games. This is normal and routine.

8:45am: Dax wakes up. Dez hears him and climbs into his crib with him and shows him pictures, videos, and shows him how to play his favorite games. I can hear them giggling and laughing through the monitor upstairs.

9:15am: OK, I'll get outta bed and take care of my children :) (They've been perfectly happy playing with each other in the crib, by the way. Don't judge me!)

9:30am: Breakfast is served! Toasted raisin bread with Lil Cutie orange slices. They eat every bite! This day is just going great! I make myself an egg to add along to my breakfast.

10:00am: Time to clean, and clean I do! Boys play very peacefully and happily together!

11:00am: Snack time! Boys both share HALF a personal watermelon.

12:00pm: Just cleaned the entire house. Yes, I DID just clean for two hours straight  Yes, this is normal for me. Although I did have a little extra work to do so it took a little longer. Me and Gabe had a party this weekend that I didn't bother cleaning up til now. The whole time I cleaned, the boys played. And played, and played. Only had to check on them once when Dax ran into the door and hit his head.

**Side note: I have noticed that the boys will play more nicely, and for longer together if I have music playing on our iPod dock. Also helps me to keep cleaning!

12:15pm: Dax is ready for his nap. Dez offers to put him to sleep for me. He gets everything ready; he turns out the lights, turns on the rainmaker and fan, gets Dax his special blankie, and picks out and reads a book. All I have to do is wait until he's done and put Dax in his crib. Awesome!

12:20pm: Gabe calls. He's on his way home early from school today! Woohoo!

12:50pm: Feed the Buster a lunch-snack. He turns on Netflix himself and picks Scooby Doo to watch.

1:00pm: I catch up on paying the bills and doing laundry.

1:15pm: Gabe's home! He sits down, grabs a snack and watches Scooby Doo with the Buster.

2:00pm: I start to get ready for the day. (OK, I'm a little embarrassed to admit this...) I was at least semi-dressed up until this point. I DID change out of the clothes I wore to bed after I made breakfast! I am just now putting on my make up, fixing my hair, and changing into clothes I can actually wear into public.. And really, what's the point before now? My boys don't care what I look like. Although, now that Gabe's home I should probably get on it so he doesn't think I'm a slacker.

2:10pm: I just realized I haven't brushed Desmond's teeth today. Awesome. Oh well, better late than never.

2:25pm: Ugh. Laundry. Just go fold yourself. This is laundry load #3 for the day. I think I'll only have one left after this one.

2:30pm: Oh. I forgot. I haven't eaten lunch yet. I do that sometimes. I opt for a snack since we'll be going somewhere shortly that will have delicious and rather unhealthy food.

2:45pm: I decided to just sit on the couch for the first time today until the Nugget wakes up. I catch up on Facebook while Dez and Daddy play Lego Harry Potter.

3:10pm: The Nugget has awoken. Gabe and I start preparing things to get the boys into the car. This doesn't take long (It usually does) since Gabe is here to help.

3:30pm: In the car in record time! Immediately a request is placed for the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. We listen to it the whole way to Beaumont.

4:00pm: Chuck E. Cheese!!!! Buster has been waiting MONTHS for this day!! Play, play, eat, play.

5:00pm: GiGi's Cupcakes for dessert! This was a surprise for both boys. They had no idea a cupcake could be so awesome.

**Side note: Gabe thinks this is the stupidest place and has the stupidest cupcakes. "Why do I want to get a cupcake that I have to sit down and eat with a fork? That defeats the whole purpose of deciding to eat a cupcake!" No, no dear boy. The whole point of this cupcake is that you HAVE to eat it sitting down and with a fork.

5:10pm: Sugar kicks in. Boys=Hyper, Me=Sleepy.

5:30pm: Gabe decides to stop at Academy since we're already here in the Big B-Town. The boys are not too thrilled with this. Luckily, they both know how to work our phones!

5:45pm: Phones are not doing the trick.

6:10pm: We leave with nothing but a kiddie chair for Dez's soccer games. Which is NOT what we came for at all.

6:45pm: We finally arrive back home! Husband and I flop on the couch and let boys play. Seriously, where does their energy come from!? Can we switch metabolisms for a few minutes? They are running around in circles. Literally.

7:00pm: Dez does not want to be here. He wants to be at Nana's house. No problem. Grandparents live literally next door. It'll be nice to *kinda* sit and relax a bit and let them run around over there.

7:15pm: At the In-Laws. Dez has revealed his true intentions for being here. Papa's iPad. Snacks. The bad for you kind that are conveniently well stocked here. We settle for a game of Hide-and-Seek instead. Which is actually a nice game. Once I find a good spot that's comfy, I can close my eyes for a few precious seconds and revel in the silence.

7:25pm: Grrrrr. The laundry. Never did get around to that last load.....

7:45pm: The in-laws invite us to stay for dinner. There's plenty for us! Well that's perfect because I was planning on making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the boys and a bowl of cereal for me and Gabe would have been on his own.

8:00pm: Boys are done eating. Me and Gabe's turn!

8:05pm: Dax wants all the food on my plate.

8:10pm: Dax wants the snacks in the snack cabinet.

8:11pm: Dax wants the food on Nana's plate.

8:12pm: Dax has a meltdown.

8:15pm: OK. Home. I start picking up the things from the day, boys play. Start getting the boys ready for bed. (Woohoooooo!!!)

8:30pm: I realize Dez is filthy. That must mean Dax is too. Quickest shower in the history of the earth takes place.

8:50pm: Teeth brushed, hair combed, pajamas on.

9:00pm: Quiet and in bed!!

9:01pm: Ha! Not!! Ever since we got rid of Dax's pacifier, he thinks its part of the routine to talk very very loudly for about 10-15 minutes.

9:15pm: While Gabe's in the shower I catch up on blogging. And Facebook. And a little bit of Pinterest.

9:20pm: "Nugget!! Stop talking! I'm trying to go to sleep!!" --Dez

9:30pm: Put up all the stupid laundry. Well, I at least put all the laundry in their respective rooms.

9:40pm: Ahhhhh. Finally. A shower.

9:50pm: Just remembered I was planning on doing 20 minutes of yoga today. And I was going to paint my toenails. Those were the only two things I had planned on accomplishing today. Maybe tomorrow...

10:00pm: Painfully trying to decide if I want to eat the rest of my cupcake or indulge in Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream instead.

10:02pm: I devour the cupcake.

10:05pm: Gabe and I get our nightly snack ready (a bowl of cheez-its to share) and start an episode of Game of Thrones, as is our nightly routine.

11:05pm: Game of Thrones left us hanging. We watch another hour long episode.

12:00am: Check on the boys in their room. Change Dax's diaper (while he's still sleeping) and bring Dez to the potty.

12:05am: Brush teeth. Dry hair.

12:15am: Head hits the pillow. Too tired to do anything else...if you know what I mean. That's ok because Gabe is too tired too. ;)

12:25am: Finally asleep. I hope I get a good night's rest to start it all over again tomorrow!

Pony

Dez went to a birthday party this weekend.

And, let me tell ya, "party" is an understatement.

It was the coolest party I've ever seen! It was cowboy themed so they had cow balloons decorated everywhere with bales of hay. They had a "train" ride where you had to line up at the train stop and wait your turn. (The "train" was a golf cart pulling along 3 cut-out barrels for the carts and caboose.) There was a big bouncy house with attached slide and of course a Woody piñata.

But, best of all, at this amazing party were a pony and a horse!! Everyone took turns getting to ride!

Buster was very excited!

Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen??!

Events

This post will be filled with pictures! Yay!!

And since I haven't blogged in, oh, about 6-9,10 months, there will be A LOT of pictures to scroll through!

Enjoy!!


Halloween

I never posted anything about Halloween, which is a shame seeing how it's my favorite holiday.

  The Avengers. :D It's alright, you can say it. We are the coolest family you've ever seen.

And this is totally random, but isn't this the cutest costume/baby you've ever seen?

(The Very Hungry Caterpillar)

Christmas

We did a lot of things for Christmas! Hay rides, family photos, parties, gingerbread houses, light looking, presents. We were all also sick for the holiday, and lost our electricity for 7+ hours. 

Mini-Vacation

Gabe and I went to Utah for a few days in January (without the boys!!). It was cooooooold!

Seeing as how I've never actually been in the snow, this trip was AWESOME!! I loved it!

The Other Holidays

Desmond has suddenly had a huge interest for the little holidays, like Valentine's Day, and St. Patricks Day. So, awesome mom that I am, I tried to make them special.

Ok, well that's all the proof I have that I actually spent time of these silly holidays, but I assure you I did!

Zoo/Children's Museum

We went to the zoo a couple of times. Once, by myself without Gabe. (Never again will I do that....that trip was a nightmare!)

This was 5 minutes after we started driving home!

The drums are always a hit!

This was neat. You step inside and when you lift the hoop you're inside a bubble!

Mushu

Of course I would never leave out our beloved beagle.

This is Mush and her lesbian best friend, Rigby.

Well That pretty much sums it up! 

Hopefully I can keep up with our life and post a blog more often than 6 months!

Things About the Husband and Me

Well there's not much to say about myself. I just take care of the boys all day long. Which is a lot, lemme tell ya, but it gets repetitive, ya know? So it gets a little boring to talk about....

So, I'll talk about the Husband instead!

1. Gabe is about to graduate! Finally! I've never been more excited/proud/relieved that it's finally here! My husband will be an official geologist. A scientist! And it's only a few weeks away!

2. After graduation he's hoping to go right back into school and get his Masters. Then, he'll be a petro-geologist.

3. Me and Gabe just celebrated our 7 year anniversary. We've been together for 10 years total! (We dated for three years) A decade! To celebrate, we went out on a date. Nothing fancy. In fact, we spent less than $25. Ha! You know you're getting old(er) and super comfortable around each other when you go out on the town and just walk around. Oh, that and the lack of funds!

4. Well, I guess I could talk about me. I've decided to go to school! I always knew I would when Gabe was finished but I think I'll start earlier than expected. I'm extremely nervous. And scared. And did I mention nervous? I'm going to be an X-ray technician, I've decided.

Well, this was probably about the shortest post I've ever written, but that's all I've got for now!

Things About Dax

I'll try to remember all the highlights of the past 6 months....

1. Dax still will NOT say Mama. He does this on purpose. We'll ask him to say it and he'll get this little mischievous smile and says Dada! instead. I know he knows how to say it. He's a stinker!

2. Dax loves loves loves his brother. Anything Dez does, he does. Anything Dez eats, he eats. Every time he wakes up he immediately says "Des? Des?" and points across the room to Dez's bed. He really thinks the world of his brother.

3. After Easter was over, Dax got into the habit of shaking ANY egg that he found hoping that there was candy inside. We had a few close encounters.

4. The Nugget has been scowling. He scowls all day. He'll look at you and scowl. He'll scowl when he's happy. I hope this is a phase and not a foreshadowing.

5. Dax's favorite person (doggy) right now is Mushu. Mushu's least favorite person right now is Dax. Put those together and you have Nugget's favorite game: chasing and laughing at MushDog and pulling on her tail and trying to give sugars and sitting on top of her back. And when Mush gives a warning growl or whimper this only fuels Dax to pester even more. He thinks it's sooooooo funny! 

6. Dax is finally starting to say words. He knows how to communicate and he understands everything we say to him but just does. not. talk. back. Good grief, he is stubborn. 

7. No more pacifiers! It only took about 2 days and then he completely forgot about them. Success!!

8. Dax is an excellent sleeper. It takes next to nothing to put him to sleep. He even sleeps through the pouring rain and thunderstorms. (Dez does not....) 

9. It's so crazy how opposite Dax is from Dez. He completely throws me through a loop trying to figure him out sometimes! You know, when you have the second kid usually you think, "Well, I've done this once before. I totally know what I'm doing now!" No. This is not true for the Nugget. (This is both good and bad.)

10. Dax is so independent. When Dez is at school I try to devote all that free time to just Nugget. Except that he's playing by himself. In his room. All alone. 

11. He's also learning how to navigate through my iPhone. 

12. Say Cheese!!

(This was back before the scowling days.)

13. If we don't hurry and put a diaper on him after he gets out of the shower, he'll run off and go pee on the floor.

14. Did I mention Dax is a stinker?

15. Speaking of that sort of thing, Dax has pooped in the toilet about 4 times! Now, he won't tell you when he needs to go. I usually have to catch him before he goes in his diaper. But, at least he knows what he should be doing while he's on the potty! I'm fairly certain he'll be super easy to potty-train.

Ah, I love this crazy boy!

Things About Dez

Soooooo much has happened in the past 6 months. Here's some of the highlights that I can remember about the Buster:

1. Dez is LOVING school. He thinks the world of his teacher. He learns so much. And he has made so many new friends. He can write his name! And he's starting to sound out words! We still need to work on his coloring skills though...

2. Included in his group of friends is a little girl that he talks about... A LOT! She wears pretty shirts, and she the prettiest in the class and she's his best friend. I think Buster may have his first girlfriend. Oh my gosh, it's so cute. And it doesn't help that Gabe knows this information because after every school day Gabe quizzes him relentlessly. What was Peyton wearing today? A bow? What color? And you liked her shoes? Did you play with her? Do you want to kiss her sometimes when Miss Rachel isn't looking? Oh, poor Dez, he has it coming when he truly starts to date!

3. Dez has started up soccer again and, boy, what a change of enthusiasm he has had!

For Example:

This is his first game of the season last year.

And this is his first game THIS year.

                                      

I mean, what a world of difference only 6 months makes!

4. And while we're on the subject of soccer.... Well, let's just say Desmond isn't the greatest at the sport. He usually just runs after the crowd of boys trying to get the ball and follows them wherever they decide to go. And that's it. Then, in the slight chance that the ball breaks away from the crowd and happens to roll right in front of him he stares at it like, Oh! Wait! I'm supposed to do something here.... And it usually takes a few seconds to register that he has the power and ability to kick the ball. And then by the time he prepares to kick with all his might, a boy runs in front and gets to it before he has time to react. It's all actually pretty funny. Husband and I have quite a few good laughs at the games, for sure.

5. But! He's getting the hang of it. He was SO CLOSE to making his very first goal last game! I mean it was less than a foot away! I have never been more proud! (As you can tell, Husband and I are not really the competitive type.) That almost-goal definitely counts as an actual goal for me.

6. Back to preschool... Dez had a half-birthday party, as his actual birthday takes place in the summer. Man, was he confused by it all. We wanted him to be excited about it but at the same time we wanted him to understand that it wasn't actually his real birthday. "So, Dez, how old are you today?" "Five!! I'm five!" "No! You're just 4 and a half today, ok?" "No, I'm five because today's my birthday." He eventually got it. So now if you ask him, he is definitely 4 and a half.

7. Speaking of ages, Desmond usually insists that, when he gets a treat or a snack, that he has to have 4 because he's 4. And that Dax can only have one because he's one and just littler than him. What a turd. But, very clever if you ask me.

8. Desmond is getting into fascinations. As in, we HAVE to listen to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack ANY time we are in the car. I think we have seen Wreck-It Ralph about 50 times. And when he comes home from school, it is an absolute must that he play Lego Harry Potter. He's a very particular little boy. It's all very funny, especially knowing exactly where he gets it from! :D

9. Buster's new favorite word right now? Why. (Mama's least favorite word right now? Why.)

Me: Stop being mean to your brother.
D: Why.
Me: Um, because it's not nice?

Me: Dez come on inside, it's getting cold.
D: Why.
Me: IT'S GETTING COLD.

Me: Aw! Dez, come look at this blue bird! He's eating our seeds!
D: Why.
Me: Um... (Because we never see blue birds and I want you to see it? Because he's hungry? What are you asking me?!!?) Never mind.
D: Why.

Dez tries to roll down his window in the car. It's locked.
Me: Wah hah!!
D: Why.

10. Buster's 2nd fav word? Mama. I literally hear it 50+ times a day. This is not an exaggeration.

11. Dez has become quite the little helper. He insists that he must help me wash the dishes. In fact, he'll come up randomly throughout the day to ask if there are dishes that need washing.

 (Dax insists that he must "help" also.)

12. He's very good at catching lizards.

13. Dez has been frequently waking up in the middle of the night so we made him a sort of permanent pallet to sleep on so that he doesn't have to wake us up.

Well, I think that just about sums up the Buster! I love this crazy boy who is the goofiest little person I've ever met!

 (We were being pirates, in case you were wondering.)