St. Patrick's Day Fun!

Our St. Patrick's Day, and the few weeks leading up to, were filled with crafts, treats, and a few leprechaun shenanigans. We were hoping to play hooky from school yesterday to go to the parade in Indy, but the 20 degree temps kept us away. :(

No holiday is too small for celebrating around here! ;) 

...My Lucky Charms...

Any excuse to make cupcakes!

And, last but not least...shenanigans. :)

Nursery Rhyme Olympics

Dawson's teacher is seriously amazing. She retired last year from teaching Kindergarten, and started teaching Pre-K last Fall. She has the reputation of being the best teacher around. In these two short months we have been at this school, she is certainly exceeding all my expectations as a teacher. In fact, I'm so sad about him not having her for Kindergarten I can barely think about it without crying. Of course, let's get real...I can't think about or mention Kindergarten in general without crying. 

But, that's a whole different issue. ;)

During Olympic time, Dawson's teacher put on a "Nursery Rhyme Olympics." My Mom watched Hudson so we could devote all our attention to Daws. Thank the lord, because there would have been no way, other than a straight jacket, that we would have been able to wrangle that little monkey all night. ;)

On top of an adorable night, they also provided dinner for everyone! 

They started off with the "opening ceremony" where all the kids lined up around the entire room in a circle and handed the torch off to each to other. The actual music of the Olympics was also playing, which upped the cute factor ten fold. ;) Dawson just happened to be standing in the last spot which meant he got to carry the torch up to the front of the stage and put in in the holder. You can only imagine how happy this made his super-obsessed with the Olympics father. ;)

After the "Opening Ceremony" we moved to our first event. There were 5 different nursery rhyme stations set up. We all said the rhyme together, then did the activity. 

Yes, even the parents had to participate. Go ahead and laugh at the thought of me jumping over that damn candlestick...it was pure comedy, I tell ya. ;)

Jack Be Nimble...

Successfully jumped over the candle stick! ;)

Humpty Dumpty...

Mother Goose....which for some reason both turned out blurry

Hickory Dickory Dock...

"The clock struck one" (ringing the bell)

 Hey Diddle Diddle...

And, then of course the medal presentation :)

My little gold medalist. ;)

We are so blessed to have found such a great new school for Daws. 

After much worry, I am so thankful that the transition has been a smooth one. :)

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We thought about celebrating by going bowling, then realized that trying to bowl while chasing a 14 mo. old didn't sound very fun. ;) 

So, we opted to stay home and go for homemade tacos and cake route instead. :)

The cake was Hudson-approved! 

Overnight getaway? Yes, please!

A few weekends ago I got a text from a friend (shout out to my awesome friend, Mary) asking if we would be able to use a voucher for a free hotel room in downtown Indy. Um, yes please! After we got the green light from my mom that she could watch the kids, I began counting down the minutes days until Saturday. 

Note: Always marry a man who never lets you forget your shampoo and conditioner in the hotel bathroom.
 That is true love, folks!

We knew we didn't want to do anything except stuff our face with our favorite snacks and relax. FYI-I can lay in bed, eat, and watch TV like it's my job. :) The night away was perfect and just what we needed. And, I even "slept in" until almost 8...which let's be honest, in mom world that is equivalent to noon. ;)

Heaven in a box.

Such a pretty view we woke up to. And for once, I didn't even mind it was snowing. :)

"Poop Scoop"

That's what I am, according to my 4-year-old. And, let's be honest...I spend most days trying to decipher which of my children is more bi-polar. The same kid who likes to call me a "poop scoop" when he's mad at me, also follows me around the house 85% of the day calling me "my cutie little mama" and "cutie wootie", and telling me he's going to marry me. ;) Bi-polar, I tell ya! 

But mostly just a typical day with a mouthy, yet sweet as pie almost 5-year-old. 

This boy is my personality twin. Which totally comes back to bite me in the ass. I get it...so sorry, Mom! ;) He likes things a particular way and when one little thing goes wrong...look out, because it ain't pretty. I know when he's gonna blow and most of the time I'm the only one who can step in and know exactly what to say before he goes into full blown exorcism fit mode. The only explanation I have for knowing exactly what to do is because I can see so much of myself in this little boy. 

I get so bent out of shape when something doesn't go exactly the way I want. I'm so (self-diagnosed) OCD that I can barely think straight when one little thing is off or messed up. I love and hate that about myself. When I'm overwhelmed or stressed, things just spew out of my mouth like word vomit. 

Much like Dawson calling me a poop scoop, or telling me he doesn't like me. ;) 

Although I could sometimes kick myself for passing that trait to him, I sure love his fiery personality. :) He does everything to the fullest, and his love for whatever he is doing is so apparent. 

Daws gets so excited over the little things, much like his mama. :) 

And, I love that about him. 

Some days when he just wants to jump in slushy puddles, and I'm so worried about the stupid loads of laundry and dishes that need to be done...I really wish I had less of a perfectionist/ocd personality in me. Add my wild little Mr. Hudson in the mix, and my stress really gets the best of me at times. But, I know I'm doing the best that I can. And, I know my boys know how much I love them...even when I look like my head is going to spin around and green pea soup is going to fly out. ;)

Such a great reminder...

We all have these mommy moments, and guess what? It's okay. It's okay if you feel like you want to walk out the door. It's okay to lock yourself in the bathroom for 2 minutes and just cry. It's okay to look forward to nap and bedtime. It's okay to feel like you're gonna go crazy if you step on one more toy or if your one-year-old dumps a bowl of Fruit Loops on the floor for the third time in a row. It's okay. 

The real kicker of it all, is that I love all of those moments because that's what makes me a better mom. I learn from not only the good days, but the bad days as well. There is nothing I'd rather be doing that staying at home with my kids. I thought from the time I had Dawson until the time he would be going to Kindergarten would last forever. Guess what? He'll be 5 in June and I can't even begin to fathom him being gone from me for the majority of the day. Those 5 years did not last forever. In fact, the older he got the faster they went. The same little boy who drives me absolutely batty on certain days, who calls me a poop scoop, who tests my patience, who I can see myself in...is the one who I couldn't imagine my entire day without. He is THE funniest, sweetest, creative, not shy, self-confident, stubborn boy. I am so proud of him and how much he has grown over years!

And, although there are days I certainly feel like a poop scoop myself, I know that when I go to bed at night there is nothing I'd rather be doing the next day than being a mom to my two boys. 

No one ever said it would be easy, but it sure is my favorite job by far. :)

My Funny Valentines.

Happy Friday from my most favorite valentines!

{Let's not forget about Dr. Love!}

Too bad I realized I took this pictured BEFORE I took the tag off his shirt. Whoops! 

And, since we all know how hard it is to capture a picture of a 14 month old who's always on the go...I'm not retaking it. ;)

{14 months} 

Moon Dough Fun!

What do you do when 8 days have passed with no preschool due to snow and freezing cold temps and your cabin fever is out-of-control? You just keep adding to the mess by making moon dough! ;) Dawson loved it! Hudson loved eating attempting to play with it. :) 

Best part: it's super easy to make, which I love. Just two ingredients: flour & baby oil! 

<SOURCE>

As you can see, Daws was loving it. Hudson was planning his escape with a spoonful of dough!

Roller Skating

I have no clue why I ever doubted Dawson would love skating. His Dad can still shoot the duck and skate backwards like no one else's business. ;) In fact, Garry pretty much lived at the skating rink his entire childhood. He thought he was super hot shit since he worked there....just ask him about it. 

Are these not the cutest little skates you've ever seen?!

Last month I took Daws to the Honeywell Center for their "Winter Bash".  Best part: It was all free! I love our little city. They provide so many fun events for families. :) We roller skated [in the exact same skating rink that I skated in when I was a kid-talk about nostalgia!], crafted an adorable Birch Tree, then later in the day Garry took Daws to go see Despicable Me 2 which was also part of the bash! 

I was nervous {what? me? nervous?} to take him for the entire hour and a half just because he hadn't ever been. Boy, was I wrong! We went for about a half an hour and it went so fast that I was wishing I would've taken him for the entire time. He absolutely LOVED it and within 10 minutes he was skating without me. We can't wait to take him back and obviously now my husband has a reason to act like he's a 15 badass again. ;)

After skating art time!

That's legit art right there. 

Valentine Decisions...

Last week my Mom asked me what happened to the good ole Valentine cards in a box that we used to give out at school. Well Mom, that used to be acceptable in the 80's. Now that Pinterest has taken over, you can find me the night before Valentine's Day knee deep into my scrapbooking stuff with a glass of wine. ;) But really, I love to craft so stuff like this really isn't a chore. 

The real chore is trying to bribe Dawson to sign his name at least 12 different times!

Here are are my top five that I'm trying to choose between this year. Because I'm a child of the 90's, the  bag of chips (oh yeah, you know you're singing along) is probably my favorite followed closely by the glow stick. ;)

<ONE>

<TWO>

<THREE>

<FOUR>

<FIVE>