3.13 Our puppy ....

March 17, 2014
By Cyndi

The past few days have been tough.  We went up to PA to visit friends for the weekend and while enjoying time with the Carmeans, we received an urgent call that Meigs was injured at the kennel where he was staying and needed immediate surgery.

While I don't want to get into the details of what happened, almost 48 hrs later, he is still in the critical care area and has just started to eat some food.  The surgery and first 24 hrs after that were very iffy but today has seemed to slowly look more positive.

We will update more as we can, but hopefully if he keeps improving he can come home soon.

I'll leave you with a  few pictures of the all the kids from the weekend and T&Z's new favorite "toy" to add to their green guys!!

3.12 Three year olds are .....

By Cyndi
March 11, 2014

As many of my recent blog posts have described, three years old is a challenging age.
May I present you with reference article: Three year olds are a$$holes

We had a fun date night with Todd & Stacie at a Virginia winery is past weekend to regain some sanity.  Our awesome babysitter (a teacher from their previous room at BT) kept them happy and still agrees to come back to watch them for the weekend while we are in Chicago for the first wedding this Spring.

The new room has been sending home many more art projects.  I thought these showed the differences between Tyler and Zachary.

3.11 It's March, already?!

By Cyndi
March 4, 2014

I'm going to keep my words to a minimum because after an hour-long tantrum from Zach this evening, which ended with me holding him like a baby until he calmed down, I don't have much energy left.

T&Z had their first dentist appointment.  We found a kids dental office and I am SO HAPPY we did!!  I was amazed how they were so cooperative and willing to let the hygienist and dentist in their mouth.  They talked to them about how we are supposed to floss each night and T&Z have let us floss their molars each night.

Last week at work was crazy for me, ending with an executive management review of the building. It was my first go-through of this in my new job and while there was some criticism, I think it was pretty good - stressful, but good.  It helped that Matt sent flowers to work for our anniversary, so each time I stepped out of the meeting, I was able to smell them in my office!!

Saturday was our anniversary ... 6 years, yet it seems like a few months ago, minus the two threenagers!!  We celebrated with extended green guy time for the kids, Lou Malnatis pizza & homemade apple pie once the kids went to bed!!  T&Z had ice cream (a rarity in this house) to celebrate, but barely took three bites!

                         On Saturday, we practiced tracing letters,they are getting really good at it!

3.10 Saba's visit

February 20, 2014
By Cyndi

Saba left on Monday evening and I felt under the weather yesterday, so I am trying to catch up today.  The weather warmed up and we were actually able to get the fellas out on a wagon ride over the weekend which was so enjoyable!!

T&Z had a great time climbing on Saba and generally kept it together for having to be up early 3 days in a row since Matt had day shifts last week due to a training class.

We went to a birthday party where they had a great time and finally did a bouncy obstacle course! 

We have a relaxing weekend coming up and then the weekends start to get busy though the end of  June.  We have something almost every weekend after this one.  Let the craziness begin!!

3.09 Snow & Indoor Fun

By Cyndi
February 19, 2014

I'm a day after my normal posting date as yesterday evening was pure hell.  Tyler had a 1.5 hour tantrum - no joke!!  It was awful, but I am so lucky it was a night that Matt was home.  In the midst of the meltdown, as we were both trying to calm Tyler,  Zachary was still at the table finishing his dinner, and we hear, "Unstuck me! Unstuck me!" He wanted to get out of his chair and was trying to say, Unbuckle me! It was a short humorous moment in the middle of a tough evening.

Last week, we received 15 inches of snow in 12 hours.  My work was closed and Matt was home in the morning, so we were able to take the fellas out to play.  At first, they didn't want any snow touching any part of them, including their snow boots, but after 20 minutes they were have fun shoveling and climbing up the snow piles at the end of the driveway. They really did not enjoy being pushed down our steep driveway on the double sled pictured, even when we tried taking them down individually. Crying commenced before evening coming to a stop.

Since we had a lot of indoor time and school was canceled and delayed the following day, we pulled out the bouncy house to let them get some of their energy out!!

 The boys came home with a bag full of Valentine's and on the way home, I checked to see what was in there.  Some of the items were not exactly items I felt were appropriate for T&Z.  Fun Dip & Air Heads??  I stayed away from candy and gave stickers & little finger skate boards.

3.08 It's a hard life ...

By Cyndi
February 11, 2014

It has been another week where it seemed, yet again, something always breaks.  Late last week my car started making a noise that I have been hearing for a few months but would always go away and return a few days later.  We took it to our local shop and after 3 hrs of evaluation they suggested we go to the dealer since what they suspected would be covered under warranty.

Then the weekend hit and Saturday was very rough for me.  I woke up with a kink in my neck and when T&Z asked to be carried down the stairs and I wasn't able, it started a 30 minute screaming fest.  Not the best way to start the weekend. Tyler had three time outs during just that morning for hitting and other bad behaviors.  It was taking over 30 minutes to get them to come and use the potty.  It is a constant battle for everything and that is so completely draining and frustrating.

Sunday was a better day as compared to Saturday, but this is just a rough age.  Daniel & Jill came to visit Sunday night and I tried to sit back and enjoy so I didn't get any pictures.  

My car was repaired at the Mazda dealer and covered under warranty.  Now that my car is good to go, we are expecting 6+ inches of snow on Thursday.  Oh joy - can't wait!

3.07 Another week and no crafty title!

By Cyndi
February 4, 2014

With the first garage door motor being a lemon, it was repaired the next day and so far it is still working.  We had a birthday playdate over the weekend and T&Z were very shy again when we arrived.  After dragging them in and a potty break, they finally warmed up about 15 minutes in.  And with potty breaks in the middle of the party, it was not a low stress event for me.

We have also received some so-so reports about their behavior in their new room.  Those reports along with less-than-stellar naps at school was not a great way to start the week.  We've been talking to T&Z about listening to their teachers. We also let their teachers know that there is a direct correlation between their total number of sleeping hours per day and their behavior.  Huh, wonder who their dependency for sleep came from :)

So far this week's reports have been better, but nap today was an hour.  Let's just say the evening was full of whining, but they ate a decent dinner and we still got their bath in.  Hopefully things will keep improving!

Three "Men" in a Tub?!