.

the playset!

marc has worked really hard! he had to cut all the lumber by hand....i treated all the wood....over 300 screws and 200 bolts and lots of hours. it's done!

two truths and a lie

the long abandoned "two truths". you know how the game is played, folks.

1. i once saw someone i know on jerry springer
2. my friend once got robbed at a bank, and put into the vault
3. i never was a fan of NKOTB when they were popular

which two are the truth and which one is a lie?

make it yours MONDAY! marshmallows on a stick!

new element to the blog! make it yours monday!

my friend erin inspired me for these. she makes them often and i 100% borrowed the idea from her (www.erintenneyjohnson.blogspot.com). they are super simple and soooo good. she serves her without the plastic covering, but i serve mine with the plastic. (does that count as how i make it my own? lol)

here's how we do it:

supplies: one bag of large marshmallows, one package of thin sticks, one package of small cellaphane treat bags, one package of Wilton Candy Melters, and colored sprinkles.

before i start i roll the marshys between my hands slightly to shape them up and insert the stick as far as it will go before it pokes out the end. do this with al of them.

in a double boiler melt the chocolate according to the directions. remove bowl from double boiler and dip in the marshys until halfway covered. stand upright in a container but don't allow them to touch. (i use a drinking glass - they lean over the side) and sprinkle with, well, sprinkles! they will get everywhere but it's okay. they will dry in about 5 minutes. (i would do batches of the marshys, they will cool too fast if you do them all at once).

once they are cooled, put them in the small cellaphane bags and tie with coordinating ribbons as tightly as you can.

erin did some her way with strawberry marshys and white chocolate. hers had easter-colored sprinkles and i made some for jack's elmo party with yellow sprinkles and red sprinkles. and mine for easter were classic chocolate with easter-colored sprinkles.

make it your own with white chocolate drizzled over your marshys, or even something else!

have fun!

long overdue, but we had a great easter. the bunny was good to jack, and we were intived to the johnsons' home for easter brunch. it was so wonderful and her family was so sweet. it was a fun day. thanks, e!

a work in progress

here is where it started. that fence is 8 feet, so you can get an idea.it's a big tree.

down in the yard!

and he is just under 6 feet tall, so it's surely a large tree.

an update soon! woo hoo!

rough week

we have had a rough week. we put jackson on his crib mattress on the floor.

the first day for nap, i sat with him in his room. i sat because he would come running out of the room and giggle and play games. he jumped, got on and off his bed, and was a wild man.

my bff, who has worked with more kids than i can count, was my personal coach throughout the whole thing. and i value what she say, because she has the three most well-behaved children i have ever seen. seriously. anywho.

after 4 hours on weds, i had to get up. so we got up and he cheered. literally. that night, he went down in about 15 seconds.

thursday, i bumped the timing back an hour, and there we sat. for 3 hours. no nap. last night he also went out like a light.

today, friday, he messed around on his bed. AND WENT TO SLEEP. i am in shock. shock and awe. and a little bit sad.

a few things that have worked on other kids, that did not work on mine:

laying with your child. he loved it, but it was a no-go.

sitting next to the bed. epic failure.

avoiding eye contact and staring straight ahead. nope.

avoiding eye contact and placing him into the sleeping position, not speaking or giving any attention. all aboard the fail boat!

spanking. nope.

shouting. colossal disappointment.

what worked for us? currency, as nea calls it. jack's favorite form of currency? his binky aka beebee.

when he would flail around like a fish out of water or stand, or jump or whatever bad-ass-kid move he was trying to pull, i told him "no more beebee" and would take it. i would ask if he wanted it and then tell him he had to lay down and go night night.

i would check in on him and when i found him disrupting from sleeping, we would re-discuss the beebee.

and he is sleeping. it took a while to get there, but we did.

next up, potty. yikes.

it's time...

Our little boys is growing up. he is done with his crib, and often begs to sleep in "mom bed!" i ordered this bed on saturday, but in the espresso color.





and this dresser, also in espresso. it can also be used as a changing table.

i also got this table, in espresso.

haven't gotten the chairs yet, but these are in the running. i think i like the light green, or red. not sure yet!

we got a HECK of a deal on them....all (except the chairs) for the price of the bed. hooray!

they should come soon. the table is already here. it's a huge hit. :)

it doesn't stop!

so our house was robbed recently. not only did they get away with tons of cash, gift cards, and ALL OUR CARDS AND ID's, as well as went grocery shopping on our bill...but clearly they enjoy the show "lost". BECAUSE THEY RENTED ALL OF THEM FROM BLOCKBUSTER AND NEVER RETURNED THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARRRGGGGHHHHH!

i feel violated all over again.

bad blogger!

i am a bad blogger. i admit it.

i will do better starting next week. promise.

we are really busy clearing/cleaning our back yard for our new playset! i have been sealing the treated lumber today (with lots of help from jack - ugh!!!) and while i am at work tonight, hope that marc will finish it. i can dream, right? my brother was in from sunny cali last weekend and we had a great visit.

nerd alert! i am geeked because i found a website where i can order monarch butterfly eggs and watch them hatch. i am WAY excited. monarchs are my favorite butterfly and i have a long history with them. sentimental stuff. we have to wait until july. poop.

we are getting ready to order a bed for jacks as well as a dresser. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...he is too big!!! i am so not ready!

a year!

so much has changed in a year.

.

i was just thinking about the shitty run of luck that marc and i have had lately. it all started when mattie (our niece) got sick. i was thinking about how her cancer was really the starting point of it all.....then i realized something.

.

one year ago today, marc left to visit st. jude's, where mattie et al. was living. i was left home with a miserable baby who was cutting 5 teeth at once. i didn't sleep more than 20 minute stretches and fed him ice cream ALL WEEKEND LONG, because it's all he could eat. i felt sorry for myself and wondered if it could get any worse. what was i THINKING?

.

tomorrow is mattie's birthday. she will be 4. there was a time where we didn't think it would happen. we didn't think we would be traveling to celebrate. we certainly didn't think we would be seeing her in remission, with HAIR, and being able to play with our son.

.

i will return with photos of a cancer-free little girl, and her happy cousin, playing together and celebrating such an important day.