Tool Time Take 2

Brian left on Sunday to run a few errands and came back with a gigantic set of kids tools. Will was so excited to finally have his own set just like his dad. They played and played with the tools....fixing various things around the house. I could hear Will from upstairs telling Brian, "Let's get to work." Pretty cute. I couldn't help but snap a few pictures as they were in the living room fixing a chair. It was serious business around here.

I can't resist...

Tonight, I decided to record Will singing "Jesus Loves Me" to Brian....part of their bed time routine. However, I got a few unexpected surprises. The first one was when Will stopped in the middle of the song to explain how at church he pats the bible and the second surprise comes at the end.....courtesy of Brian. It occurs after the 3rd "Yes, Jesus Loves Me" at the end of the clip.

Productivity...

It is rare in a day that I feel like I get something accomplished other than keeping diapers clean, belly's full, and hearts full of love. So, when I have a day like this one, I feel like I am batting a thousand. This morning I was able to exercise, shower, iron all of Brian's clothes (a pervasive theme in my blog just because I dislike doing it so much and am so happy when it is done), sort our closet (winter stuff out and summer stuff in...thanks for the help hubby), and then finally....prepare Brian's favorite meal...stuffed shells. I love feeling like super mom every now and then because there are so many days (most days) that I do not. However, after church last night, I realized that I need to be more content in whatever phase of life I'm in. I need to look past all the toys in the floor, the never ending laundry, all the "I do it" and "It's my's", my tiresome wardrobe, and the unforgiving stains on the carpet....and just realize that I am so fortunate to live the life I live and God has blessed me with so much.
Much love to all of you...my family and friends.

PS...Here are a couple pictures I took of the kids this weekend and one of dinner tonight. The last step is to cover the shells with sauce and another layer of cheese. So yummy.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Here are the highlights and low lights of the week.

1. My mother-in-law did all of my ironing :)
2. I had a great visit with my parents.
3. I made a daily chore list and pretty much stuck to it. It really helped keep me organized with the laundry, cleaning, etc.
4. I filled out the dinner menu for the upcoming week (and this weekend) and already did my grocery shopping. Trying to stay ahead of the rain.
5. Starting Monday, Brian will be working downtown (same company....just new office) and is getting everything boxed up today. I think he will really like the change of scenery.
6. I took Abby to the dr. yesterday thinking she had an ear infection and it was just an ear full of wax. The dr. couldn't even see her ear drum until she cleaned Abby's ears out. I don't know who I felt more sorry for....Abby or the dr.
7. Nothing much planned for the weekend.....church and a lot of rain. Hope yours is a good one.

Family Time

I have had lots of family time this week and have loved it. My mother-in-law stayed the night Sunday night and then my parents came yesterday and left today. Will has loved the constant flow of attention and I have enjoyed the company.

Will got his first bike this past Sunday and is quite fascinated with it though hasn't really gotten' (is that a word?) the hang of it yet.

The rest of the week should be pretty uneventful. Tracy is coming tomorrow with Sadie (whom I will meet for the first time) and looks like rain is setting in for a while :(

Here a couple pics from my parents visit.

Running out of time....

I had big hopes for my blog this weekend....bargain shopping websites, lots of videos, pics, stories,...but I just can't seem to find the time to do it. Once I finally have a few minutes in the evening I find myself choosing...time with my hubby or time on the computer....and then you throw House Hunters in the mix at 9:00. Need I say more :)

As for the weekend....Brian's mom came up early on Sunday and left this afternoon. We had a great visit and I can't resist telling you that she did all of my ironing last night. It was such a wonderful gift because ironing is not my favorite thing to do and yet it always needs to be done. We finished off her visit with a trip to Cracker Barrel for lunch and let me just tell you...their pancakes are heavenly. I couldn't keep my fork off Will's plate. Thanks for lunch Ney and for all your help.

My mom and dad will be up tomorrow and I can't wait. I love company...especially when it's my family. They will just stay one night but one is better than nothing. Will is getting lots of attention and loving it. I love it for him.

Here is a video of Sissy that I took on Sunday that was too cute not to share (although it ends kind of funny). She has been doing something funny with her lips lately and I couldn't resist filming it.
Blessings. Melissa

Dancing King..

Here is a quick clip of my litte boy dancing. So sweet. Heading outside to enjoy the rest of the day.

More to come....

I will write more tomorrow but wanted to share a few things from the past 24 hours...

1. Brian and I watched "Fireproof" and I can't say enough good things about it. It was an eye opener for both of us. A life long love test (not just 40 days) has begun in this house and day one was awesome.

2. Sissy finally pooed today! Yea...and she more than made up for lost time. I don't doubt she is feeling a 100% better and even feels a couple pounds lighter.

3. I got a present in the mail today......another camera! This one is much smaller than my Canon (though my Canon is still my favorite) and also takes video. I can't wait to try it out! You will have to see what you think.

4. More news, video clips, and money saving ideas tomorrow. Off to bed. Here's a couple pictures from today to hold you over.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Here are the highlights and low lights of our week.

1. Abby is finally getting over her cold. Poor thing...I've had to suction her nose at least 5 times a day. As soon as she sees the infamous "bugger sucker" she starts whining.

2. We have set a new Taylor Tot record this week. Sissy hasn't pooed in 6 days. I keep waiting, anticipating, wondering...but no poo. At this point, I am getting scared to even leave the house in fear of what is ahead of me. Fun, fun, fun.

3. Since I couldn't find any help with child care, I had to take both kids to the dermatologist today for my annual mole check. I kept wondering how it was going to work with a verbal 2 1/2 year old in the room, another man (the dr.) and me in my bra and underwear. Needless to say, Will could have come up with all kinds of interesting stories to tell daddy. Luckily, he took it all in stride and kept commenting on how the dr. was going to check all of "mommy's dots". Both kids were so good. It went smoother than I could have imagined. Not to many people can take their 2 1/2 year old to a 2 hour dr.'s appointment. What a blessing for someone with no family in town.

4. Brian and I are going to watch "Fireproof" at some point this weekend and do a little babysitting on Sunday for our friends across the street.

Hope you have a good one.

Bargain shopping opportunities

Ok...here they are in no particular order. There is even something out there for those of you with out kids. I am not sure which one (if any) that I will go to (who am I kidding) but if I get a hankering to shop.....I've got some options.

1. Middletown United Methodist Consignment Sale
Friday March 20th 9AM-7PM, Saturday March 21th 9AM-2PM, Many items half-price on Saturday.

2. Oldham County YMCA Kids Stuff sale. Starts tomorrow and ends the 22nd.

3. Mommy and Child sale, Saturday, March 21; 9-11:30 a.m. 750 Cypress Station Drive Milestone Baptist East Wellness Center Conference Rooms

4. Overstock.com will be at Fern Creek Fire Department. Check out this link. http://louisville.craigslist.org/bab/1081793101.html

Not to mention several yard sales around the area. Fun. Fun. Fun. More later.

Summer Fun Pics...

Yes, I broke out the shorts and short sleeved shirts today. It was so beautiful outside...I couldn't resist. We had such a great day....long walks, playing with friends, the park. After a long winter, I relish days like these. Both kids zonked out by 8:00 and I may not be far behind them. I am beat.

My Daddy

Lately, Brian and Will have been doing lots of daddy-son types of things and two of Will's favorites are (1) learning about all of Brian's tools and how they work and (2) helping daddy in the yard (which is good because all of you know that my thumb is anything but green :)).
I love watching them work/play together. It is really something to see. Brian is such a great teacher and so gentle and patient in his approach which is why Will loves to be around him. I am blessed to not only have a wonderful husband but a fabulous father to our children as well. Kudos to you honey!

Weekend Pictures.

Not much news to report. After a rough Friday night, Abby seems to be feeling a little better. I still can't make up my mind if her ears are bothering her or not so I am keeping a close watch on her behavior. So far, I think she is just reacting to a very stopped up nose. Fortunately, she still manages to squeeze in a little smile every now and then. Gotta love the crusty nose pictures. Will had such a great time with "Maw-Mo". He absolutely wore her ragged, but she loved every minute of it. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Hope you had a good one.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Here are the highlights and low lights of my week.

1. My poor little girl isn't feel so well. It is hard seeing her sick.

2. I received two boxes of goodies from a friend in Texas today. I am blessed to have such kind, thoughtful people in my life. Thank you Lord.

3. My mom is coming up to spend the weekend with us (yea!!!). She is bringing Will a black marker and Hershey Kisses. He is sooo excited. :)

4. Tracy (Mrs. Reynolds) had her baby last night...a little girl, Sadie, 7lb 7 oz, 22 inches. Congratulations Tracy! You will be the best mommy.

5. I now personally know 5 people who have lost their jobs due to the state of our economy. It is so scary. Times like these remind us of who is ultimately in control of our lives.

Clueless

I thought I would let the picture speak for itself. It sums up the trouble I have been having trying to get Abby to drink from a bottle. 5 bottles and $50 later, I am no better off than when I started. She simply refuses to drink from a bottle. My last idea, which I will be trying out tomorrow, is to let my neighbor across the street feed her. A few people have told me that part of the problem is that I am the one trying to feed her and that is not how she wants to eat. I am hoping Jen has the magic touch. To be continued.
Funny story--when I was at Babies-R-Us today, I found the Adiri bottle. It is like the Cadillac of bottles to a breast fed baby. As I was taking it out of the box to get a closer look, Will in his usual very loud voice says, "I want to see it." Several of the women in the same aisle turn their heads to see what Will was talking about so I quietly and quickly handed the bottle to him so he wouldn't draw anymore attention to himself since I am not in the practice of letting my 2 1/2 year old son hold boob-like objects in his hands. As soon as he gets the bottle, he pauses for a moment, and then says quite loudly, "It's so cute Mom". I couldn't stop laughing. It brought a smile to my face all day.
On an unrelated note, I had a wonderful one hour reprieve with a lovely group of girls tonight. Thank you Jen for thinking of me. Unfortunately, my time was cut short because little Abby isn't feeling well. Lets hope she perks back up tomorrow.

Ahhh....

Oh how I do love a good bargain and we found one tonight. I met Brian at the mall when he got off work and we went to Crazy 8's....a children's clothing store that is a spin off of Gymboree. It is like what Old Navy is to the Gap (make sense?). Anyway, they had 2 large racks of winter clothes for Will on clearance for $2.99 a peice. Several items were even $1.99 a peice. We were able to buy Will 17 things for the bargain price of $49.00. I love finding great deals and it is even more exciting when you can find bargains on brand new clothes. For anyone with young kids, the sale just started today so go check it out for yourself.

After we shopped, we had dinner at Chick-Fil-A (my favorite) and walked around the mall for a while. It was such an enjoyable evening. Nothing like being in the company of the people I love the most and a little retail therapy to top it off. Ahhh...

A couple cute ones...

Just snapping some pictures today and thought I would share. Not much news to pass along...so far just a quiet week.

Recycle

Parenting to me is a lot like teaching...a constant recycling of ideas from others (parents, friends, magazines,..etc) and you just pick the ones you think will work best for your kids. I thought today I would share a few of them that have been a hit in this house.

1. Put coloring sheets and pages from various preschool activity books in page protectors, buy a set of low-odor dry erase markers, and let your kids go to town. Will loves to learn this way and it is a great way to cut down on the expense of buying new workbooks and printer ink. (I print out the fun pages from the Disney website and buy the workbooks at Half-Price Books on the dollar rack.)



A Learning Tower....greatest invention ever though not the prettiest! It is like a big step stool with walls so your kids can't fall out (thus better than a stool). Will stands inside and colors, paints, and even helps me cook. It makes that 5-6:30 time slot (you mom's know what I am talking about) pass by so much faster and smoother when he can be in the kitchen helping me.



And something for the cleaners of the house....I stumbled upon this, Bar Keepers Friend, at Kroger and it is wonderful. It cleaned my flat surface cook top better than anything I have ever used.

Hope you found these ideas helpful!

And so they sleep......

What a great weekend....terrific weather, lots of walks, playing outside, car washing, family and friend time.....it was fantastic! The most precious memory of the weekend was watching Brian and Will trying to fly a kite. The kite only flew a handful of times but Will could have cared less. He had so much fun running and watching his daddy give it all he had (I'm sure the neighbors did too:)). Will would chant from the sidewalk "Go Daddy Go". Priceless.
I was also extremely impressed with my hubby and his home improvement skills this weekend. He had the glorious task of fixing the broken handle on the toilet downstairs and ended up having to completely replace the inner workings of the toilet. And after about two hours....we had a toilet that was as good as new. Will loved helping Brian and playing with all his tools. It was a real father/son bonding weekend...over kites and toilets. :) Here is a picture of Brian once he was finished...we were all so proud.
I also snapped some pictures of the kids. I couldn't leave them out.
Hope you had a good one. More blogging to come.

Weekly Wrap Up

Here are highlights (and some low lights) of our week...

1. The kids and I went to Lexington to visit two of our best friends...A.J. and Vicky. We had such a great time.

2. I let my car run out of gas for the first time in my life. Need I mention that I was on Interstate 64 with two young kids in the car and it was 36 degrees outside. It won't happen again :(

3. We learned from Abby's doctor that she will not have to wear helmet. YEA!

4. I am going to E-bay a bunch of Will's clothes this weekend. I suppose this means no more kids. (We couldn't be more content with our two.)

5. Went to a yard sale this morning and didn't buy a thing....such restraint. :)

6. Looking forward to a nice, restful weekend and a bible study get together on Sunday. Hope yours is a good one too.

Today's news...

I took the kids today and we looked at a couple preschools. It is so hard to imagine my little boy at either place but I know he will have so much fun. Undoubtedly, this will be harder on me than it will be for him. At both places, he jumped right in and started playing with the toys and even tried to take one home. Those music toys get him every time.


Try to hold back your excitement on this one! For those of you who have had the pleasure of using the restroom in the dark cave, the impossible handle (which nearly breaks your hand every time you go to flush) has finally bit the dust. YEA! So glad to see it gone.

My first blog...

Thanks to Ashley and Nicole...I have now entered the wonderful world of blogging. I thought it would be a more personable way for all of you (my family and friends) to keep up with the kids and what is going on in our lives. I hope with time I grow more confident with this site and will eventually be able to do some neat things on here. For now, I will stick with typing and posting pictures...what I do best! Hope you enjoy "The Taylor Tots" as much as I do!