D-Day!

**Disclaimer: By the way, in no way am I endorsing my decorating skills by these photos. One of them was prior to D-Day (aka Declutter Day). Plus let's be honest here, I have popcorn ceilings. Need I say more?

Some of you may know this and some may not, but I am totally into decorating. I know I am not the only one these days! But even more than that though, I am obsessed with wanting to build my "dream" house. The only problem is I have so many ideas, I don't know what the dream house would look like exactly. This works out really well because I know we won't be up for this project for at least 2 years...and probably longer than that! But since I am not living out that dream right now, I figured I needed to do a few things to spruce things up around here. Last winter, our front room was so dark and dreary that I just don't think I could endure another winter like that. So we repainted, got some new lamps and decluttered our room and our lives a bit!! I always feel like my life is decluttered when I clear out some crap from a room. Funny how the two can go hand in hand for me. This photo below is not decluttered yet in case you were thinking I had gone crazy with my ideas of decluttering! So anyway, I came up with a system to have 3 different totes of Hudson's toys. This way I can rotate the toys he plays with and bring in some variety every day. It also helps keeps things a little more organized. So I rotate his "tote-o-toys" every three days. He has been loving it. I noticed he goes to the tote everyday to see what will be in there. I like it too because there are just certain toys that make way too much noise and my nerves can only handle them every few days anyway!

So one of my best friends, Brittney, just started a vinyl business. She made this for me. She is awesome. And I must say I LovE, LoVe, LOVE how it turned out. So if you are interested, check out Letterz From Home

The end.

I forgot to mention I finished Breaking Dawn. I am not exactly sure which day I even finished it. I didn't pick it up for about 2-3 weeks after we got back. Then one day, I just decided I needed to get it all over with. I had mixed feelings about it during the book. But at the end, I liked it and it definitely was completely different than what I thought it was going to be.

Now it is too bad that Midnight Sun was strewn about the web illegally. But I guess we can just read it most of it on her website. At 200 something pages, that will have to be for another day!

I'll be the geek.

I don't know how many of you know that Walgreens has a rebate program every month. (So does Rite-Aid but I don't have one here so you are on your own!) But it is seriously awesome! I know, you are thinking I am a geek with a capital G for even mentioning this. But think away, I have a well stocked closet with FREE shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. So if anyone is interested, feel free to let me know and I can give a Walgreens rebate lesson! But it is seriously super easy and it has made it that much more affordable while Mike is in school. Sometimes I get things for free that I don't necessarily need, like my Glade stuff below...but they are still fun to have. Here is a photo of my recent purchases:
I got even more than that for free this month but this was just my recent stuff...they actually will pay me about $15 for all of this stuff. So not only did I get free stuff, I also made some moolah. Not too B-A-D! So go ahead, call me a geek. I have become one with my inner geek. (I think us geeks are making a comeback anyway!)

That's my friend

Do you remember when you were a little kid and pretty much any kid you came across was your friend? It is so funny to hear kids say someone is their friend when they have known them for like 10 seconds. It is like playing side by side someone automatically qualifies them as an instant friend. I kind of think it would be cool if adults were like that. Left all of the judgments and preconceived notions aside and just "played" with their instant new friends. Kind of funny how that would change things. I guess we get old and crazy things like our self-esteem and shyness get in the way. I think maybe one day, when I grow up, I will be one of those people that can just go up to anyone and strike up a conversation. I always admire my friends that can. I am too self-conscious or something. I instantly feel like I want to grab my mom's leg and hide behind it like I did when I was a little girl...okay, maybe I am not that bad but still, jumping out of your comfort zone is no easy task.
So anyway, I took the crazies to Gage Park on Friday. I promised them if they were good at the store we would go there on the way home. Seriously, they were angels. I barely even noticed they were with me that is how good they were. It's on days like that I think I finally sort of, kind of, just a little bit know what I am doing as a mom. But never fear, something always brings me back to reality and I realize I am just learning still. But we had fun at the park and it sure makes the day go by faster and wears them out. Thank goodness for warm weather still. I am not ready to be holed up inside for the winter.

The Elite 2L's

I was super excited when we were able to attend the 2L/3L BBQ this year. I felt like we were part of the elite group that were no longer newbies! It was super good food too. I pretty much am a fan of any pasta with bacon, sun dried tomatoes and artichokes though. The BBQ Chicken was good too and I hear the beef was yummy. But I was too stuffed to try it. I wasn't about to sacrifice the brownies with frosting for some meat. I mean, you have to have your priorities straight!

We were part of the crazy group in the back. You know, the one with all the screaming kids running from one side of the room to the other. I know there has to be more of the students with kids. Maybe they just didn't feel the need to drag them along with them. I thought it was pretty comical though. It was almost like they put up a sign that said, all kids please report to the back of the room. Hudson had fun though. He was being such a ham.He thinks he is one of the big kids now. Don't think he was sitting off on the sidelines when they were all running. He was right there with them...well he was at least chugging along at full speed and loving every minute of it!

The Purple Park

We were excited to see some new toys at a park by us. I took Hudson and Alivia there the other day to check them out. Guess the only downside is that they are a little too old for Huds. Oh well, he still had a great time sliding down with me and climbing up the stairs. And it is still a nice escape to go to that is within walking distance.

Off into the unknown

I felt like a mom sending her child off into the unknown today. Maybe it is the feeling you have when your first child starts school or when they start driving. You don't know if they will find the right way and you worry that they will need you. You also kind of hope that everyone around them will be nice and not bump into them.

I had those same feelings when Mike took the bus today. I worried he wouldn't find the right way and that he would need me. I was definitely hoping everyone would be nice and that no one would bump into the bus! Its not that he isn't capable of handling things on his own. He totally is that is why I was the one who was worried and he wasn't. I just wanted it to go well. I kept checking out the window to make sure he got on without any problems. Good thing Mike didn't notice or he would have teased me!

So today was the beginning of Mike's adventures taking the bus to school. I look forward to any crazy stories he will have about public transportation in Topeka. The great thing is we found out that he can pick it up right by our house and get to the school with just one bus change. It is so handy to have him take it practically right outside our front door! This will make life so much easier on me. Hudson and I can go do fun things and it will be so nice to have a car everyday! Plus in case of emergencies it always helps to have a car. Even if the "emergency" is just that you will go crazy if you don't leave since you haven't been outside the house in 4 days kind of emergency.

First Day of School

Yay! The first day of school is here again. Mike starts his 2nd year of law school. There is just always a sort of buzz with the start of a new school year. It has some sort of renewal quality that you can't help but be a little excited. But then again, I am not the one with all the homework!

It is definitely a thrill to know we are 1/3 of the way done. While we know this is a good experience, let's not kid ourselves that we wouldn't love life to go back to "normal"! You know...the house, the job, some free time together, typical busy family life. Mike has been in school since we met pretty much nonstop so it will be so fun when this chapter is closing...but since we still have 2 more years, we are going to enjoy it while it is here!

While I was giving Mike his send off to school, Hudson was busy with his own things.Thank you Huds for reminding me that I will be kept on my toes by you every second! You and I are going to have a blast this year!

Monkey Mail

Did the monkey mail come?
Did the monkey mail come?

Yes, the monkey mail came.
Then who's it from?

The monkeys.
The mail.

Lake Shawnee

The lake and surrounding areas are gorgeous! I was asking myself why we hadn't ever been out here before.
A quick start-up briquette bag and a few singed fingers later, we were having ourselves some yummy grub! There is nothing better than a briquette BBQ. I just hate to work with them so usually we go the propane route.Hudson was having a blast. The toys, the cookies, drinking sparkly water...he was in little man heaven! I love the smear of grease on his head too. It makes it look like he is really getting into the whole BBQ scene!
Hudson was having fun playing catch too. Here is his sample wind up. It used to not be such a full body heave but I guess he is just trying to get more power behind it all. And of course, the love of the game. Glad to see it is already running in his veins and won't have to be planted by his Dad.

Bucket of fun

I gave Hudson a bucket of water, a whisk, a strainer and a few other things to play with outside today. This seriously kept him busy for about 45 minutes. Who knew that something so simple would keep him so entertained?! I think I always overlook the obvious when I think of toys for him to play with. I have been reading books about Toddler Art and Games so I will have some more fun ideas to post soon. Plus I need to post more ideas from my Late Night post.

A Lifeguard's Nightmare

We went to the pool on Saturday with some friends. We had a great time!! It was perfect weather and actually not too busy at the pool which made it even more fun.
You can see Mike's feet in the left slide. That is the one I went off of too and almost choked on the pool water. I am not a huge fan of slides that dump you in the water like that. Maybe it is because I don't really know how to plug my nose right or something. I also am not a fan of it with contacts. I just end up being blinded and choking and I can't find the ladder to swim to. I think I am a lifeguard's worst nightmare! I prefer the winding slides that just go right into the water. A little less traumatic for me!I got the guts to go off of the low dive! haha I only say that because I went off of it and this young kid about 10 years old or so told me good job afterwards. I wondered if he thought I was scared. I would have been if I was on the platform or the medium one but the little one was actually not too scary for me. The funny thing is I really do love water parks. I just am pretty selective about the slides I will go on.Mike is the daredevil though. He went off of the medium and the high platform. I told him to impersonate the divers on the Olympics but just jumping off of it is more than I would do!Look at that form! Way to be Mike!! You are a total natural! No belly flop scores 10's in my book.Hudson got in on the sliding action too. He loves the water but he was a little scared by the water guns and dumping buckets of water. But the pool he was content to chill in and hold his beach ball. I would definitely go here again.

Bye Bye B!

I chopped off the tip of Hudson's Binky today. I gave it to him for his morning nap and he was like what the freak is wrong with this thing. He kept trying to get it to stay in his mouth and then would look at me like what is going on here? I told him it was broken and asked him if he should throw it away. So he threw it in the trash. That was the easy part.

We waited and waited and waited for him to fall asleep for his morning nap before church. But to be honest, it just never happened. He just sat in there and talked mostly. So off to church we went with a tired little guy. He and I spent most of sacrament in the hall. He was fine if I didn't try and lay him down in my arms. If I did, he freaked! So he stayed awake and was going strong until he dumped his water cup all over himself and Mike. After that, Mike was soaked and Hudson was too so we left a 1/2 hr early. As soon as we drove away from the church, Hudson was out like a light! He slept for a few hours and then we put him to bed a little later than usual. It only took him about 45 min to fall asleep tonight. There is hope! Mike was talking to a lady at church (who happens to be Hudson's Dr's wife) and she said give it 3 or 4 days. So we will be strong and hope that Hudson will make it through! (Or that we will!)

Old Town

We decided we needed to do some of the touristy things around Topeka to really try to enjoy the city. So we headed to Old Prairie Town on Friday. We had a good time and it was interesting to see everything.We had a good time reading up on the old town but mainly, I just enjoyed taking pictures!I took one of Mike and one of Huds by the old school building. I was loving the chipping paint. It was such a cool building. This was probably one of my favorite pictures we took. Hudson couldn't get enough of that train. He loved it. Mike took him on it and let him "drive" it. (Not really sure if you are supposed to do that or not but we didn't get in trouble!)
I love this one because Hudson's hair is hanging down. The fact that he has enough hair to hang down is partly why I love it!! Mike had to turn him upside down to distract him. He is such a mama's boy lately and was freaking out that I wasn't holding him!
They have this old windmill, an old water pump, and wagons. Hudson was intrigued by the wagon wheels. It took everything in me to keep him off of those!

There is a pretty cool mansion there that I think people can rent out to have weddings at in the back. These next shots were back there. Hudson was seriously all over. We couldn't keep him with us!
I love that picture of Hudson leaning against the bench. He leans against everything these days. That wasn't even as far back as he was leaning on it. What a funny kid!
Mike wanted me to get in on the picture taking so I took a pose and then Hudson wanted to be just like his Mama so he struck another pose too. So this isn't the best place in Topeka but it was a fun place to go at least once! I am going to keep featuring places in and around Topeka so stay tuned as we "Topeka-ize" ourselves!

Not an orange on a toothpick??

Yep. We are sad to say that Hudson is no longer in the 90th percentile for his head size. He is finally growing into that big thing he has been lugging around! He is only 70th now. But he still has a cute round head. I seriously love Hudson's head size and I think it only adds to his cuteness! But maybe I am a biased mom! hehe He is 31" tall and in the 40th percentile for height. His weight has dropped too. Just in the 25th percentile at about 23 lbs. I think he may have actually dropped a little weight so he is starting to thin out. People always think he is such a solid kid but he actually is pretty low on the weight scale. Dr Dan said Hudson is doing really well and that he is going to start throwing tantrums more and more. Hello, I think he started that right around when we pulled into town! But at least he showed his good side in Boise so we will be welcomed back next year!! His attitude and determination is so apparent now. It is good to know he knows what he wants and sticks to his guns but it is just frustrating when it isn't what we want for him. We have been implementing some things the Dr told us and it is definitely helping. But I think the next while will be trying on all of us!

PAT is back!

We had a PAT visit yesterday. It just reminded me of how much I LOVE that program! Sherrie brought with her a ton of stuff for Hudson to play with. We were focusing on language development. One of the biggest things Sherrie mentioned with language development is to work with animals and their sounds. She said to use books about animals, toy animals, real animals....anything you can get your hands on and just go over and over it. She said there is tons of research on how this can help with reading and language development later on. She brought us these animals on sticks to help sing the Old MacDonald song to Huds. She also brought stuff for me to make a peekaboo type book for him with animals and their sounds. She brought me tons of great literature on language development and other ways to help with that as well as with discipline. (Ahhh, the fun part of parenting is definitely beginning!!) She was also telling me about some of the new play groups they have there which sound awesome! She also brought a great quiet book with animals. I have been working on quite a few of those lately so it was cool that she brought me one. She said she will keep bringing me more of them so I am excited about that too! They will be great for Huds to have something to do in church. She couldn't believe how much he has grown and how well he is understanding what we are saying. He does such a good job of hearing what we say and actively engaging. He can't say tons of words yet maybe just 20 or so but she said that is almost half of what he should know by age 2 so I am not worried. But she was amazed at how well he hears what we say and then does it. I think that is one of the recent rewards of parenting. It is like it is really starting to click with him and you can see that he understands what we are trying to communicate to him. It makes it so fulfilling. So all in all, it was a great visit and so fun to hear from her the things she is noticing him do that he didn't do before.

8.8.8

What a momentous day to start the Olympics!! The opening ceremonies were amazing with so many moments where I was like, how did they do that??
I loved the story of this little guy that helped save 2 other students during the natural disaster. He is such a hero!
We got together with some friends and had an "All American Night" in honor of the Olympics! Mike, Huds and I were decked out in Red, White and Blue...we had a BBQ of hamburgers, hot dogs, wavy chips (just like the flag!), Root Beer (because its definitely an American classic), and strawberry shortcake to honor the red and white. (Oh and for blue, we had Pepsi. That is pretty American to us!)

I am so excited for swimming, gymnastics, and pretty much all the sports...but my favorite is the diving. I can't wait for that!