Saturday, December 19, 2009
Christmas came early
We wanted to let the boys experience Christmas morning in their own house (and we had a number of gifts that will be too big to bring to Virginia), so we had our own mini-Christmas morning today. You will notice that only the top half of the Christmas tree has ornaments. The tree started out fully decorated...that lasted about an hour...
The boys waiting on the stairs
Opening their stockings before breakfast
Charlie kept holding the wrapped gifts and saying "PRESENTS!!", but didn't want to open them. He quickly got the hang of it.
Win in the foreground, Wesley in the back, checking to see if there was anything more in his stocking.
Their big gift was a new kitchen. We got to experience the joys of parenthood on Christmas Eve - we were up past midnight assembling the kitchen and searching for batteries!
The morning ended with haircuts at our local barbershop (you can see from the photos how much the boys needed it) and a very special treat of McDonalds Happy Meals for lunch.
Finished Basement!
The basement is done! Well, sort of. We failed the final inspection, not to the fault of the contractor, but a grumpy building inspector, so we have a few outstanding issues (if make-up air is needed and the need to extend the hearth). But we have started to move the boys into their "new playroom" (as they call it) - and they LOVE it! It is a huge space for them to run, jump, flop, tackle, crash, etc.
From this:
To this:
The best part of the new playroom is the opening under the stairs. Rob kept the boys laughing by chasing them around the stairs for a good 20 minutes!
New storage in the laundry room
Mud room area (boiler room to the left, laundry room to the right). We opted to not finish the floor here because this will be how the boys go to and from the backyard to play. We're also hoping to use this space for messy arts and crafts.
From this:
To this:
The best part of the new playroom is the opening under the stairs. Rob kept the boys laughing by chasing them around the stairs for a good 20 minutes!
New storage in the laundry room
Mud room area (boiler room to the left, laundry room to the right). We opted to not finish the floor here because this will be how the boys go to and from the backyard to play. We're also hoping to use this space for messy arts and crafts.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Our first (real) snowfall
A night out!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
The Basement: A work in progress
We hired contractors to finish our basement into a playroom for the boys. Previously, it was basically unorganized storage. After we moved everything out, the contractor started working at the end of October. The space was divided in half, though the old wall was just some flimsy plywood. The walls were just the cement foundation, painted this lovely shade of dark gray (always a good choice for a basement).
The fake wall was torn down and a new one was built, and all walls were framed and insulated. The windows and windows were replaced.
This was the backside of the room. We have divided this space into a laundry room (on the left side of the photo), a large mudroom (in the middle), and a boiler room (the right side of the photo).
This photo is the mudroom. So the boiler room is to the left and new laundry storage room is to the right.
The blueboard, plaster and paint are now complete (though I don't have any new photos). The recessed lights are in (the boys would destroy any lamps), a new heating zone is nearly complete, the shelves will be built on Monday and the carpet will be the last step. So it should be complete next week - after 6 weeks! We can't wait to show the boys their new space!
The fake wall was torn down and a new one was built, and all walls were framed and insulated. The windows and windows were replaced.
This was the backside of the room. We have divided this space into a laundry room (on the left side of the photo), a large mudroom (in the middle), and a boiler room (the right side of the photo).
This photo is the mudroom. So the boiler room is to the left and new laundry storage room is to the right.
The blueboard, plaster and paint are now complete (though I don't have any new photos). The recessed lights are in (the boys would destroy any lamps), a new heating zone is nearly complete, the shelves will be built on Monday and the carpet will be the last step. So it should be complete next week - after 6 weeks! We can't wait to show the boys their new space!
A great Thanksgiving
We spent two days at my parent's house. It was so much fun for the boys and truly felt like a vacation for us! (Grammy & Poppy let us sleep in on Friday and even served us breakfast in bed! What a treat!) Thanksgiving morning was spent playing outside...
Charlie
Wesley
Charlie and the coupe cars - all lined up and ready to go!
The boys helped Poppy load the kindling
All lined up in their holiday sweaters. (The only way I could take a photo of all of them in one place was to put on Dora...)
Wesley showing off his truck
Charlie playing with his trucks. (This photo speaks volumes about Charlie! Notice how every car is perfectly lined up the exact same way.)
Win and Poppy. Somehow Grammy escaped all photos. It's probably because she doesn't sit still, just like the boys! :)
The happy couple
Charlie
Wesley
Charlie and the coupe cars - all lined up and ready to go!
The boys helped Poppy load the kindling
All lined up in their holiday sweaters. (The only way I could take a photo of all of them in one place was to put on Dora...)
Wesley showing off his truck
Charlie playing with his trucks. (This photo speaks volumes about Charlie! Notice how every car is perfectly lined up the exact same way.)
Win and Poppy. Somehow Grammy escaped all photos. It's probably because she doesn't sit still, just like the boys! :)
The happy couple
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sick day
The week I was sick, I searched for low-energy (for me) activities to do with the boys. One morning, I pulled out the paint and paint brushes. Then, to help wash off the paint, I pulled out toy cups which they like to use to practice pouring and drinking water. The kitchen and boys were a mess so I ended up having to bathe all 3 boys (at the same time) by myself all before nap time.
Winston (painted a lovely shade of orange) smacking his puddles
Charlie carefully pouring water (You can't see it but there is yellow paint all over his face and green paint up and down his arms.)
Win and Wes, enjoying themselves
Wesley offering me water. Such a lovely shade of orange and green...
Winston (painted a lovely shade of orange) smacking his puddles
Charlie carefully pouring water (You can't see it but there is yellow paint all over his face and green paint up and down his arms.)
Win and Wes, enjoying themselves
Wesley offering me water. Such a lovely shade of orange and green...
3 minutes
It took the boys 3 whole minutes to turn their playroom into a scene out of Hoarders. A step could not be taken without stepping on a toy. They now refer to the couch as their trampoline and they have learned to strategically throw all of the pillows on the floor as jumping targets. This is the same couch we used to sit on to feed them their 30ml bottles. Oh how things have changed!
Monday, November 9, 2009
What a week!
Monday morning is here and I couldn't be happier to start a new week. Last week was one that shall not be repeated. The boys and I have been fighting a cold for what seems to be weeks now. After Halloween, it turned into hacking coughs for all of us. Then by mid-week, the boys and I had come down with pink eye (apparently common when you're fighting a sickness). So calls to the doctors were made, and we started on eye drops. But when I spoke with my doctor, she heard my cough and lack of voice and asked about my other symptoms, and told me to call back Friday morning if they weren't any better. And after another sleepless night due to coughing, I called back the next day to get an appointment to come in. It turned out that I had bronchitis (after ruling out pneumonia and being tested for H1N1), so off to bed I went with antibiotics and robitussin with codeine (each which had horrible side effects). For three days. Rob was so wonderful to take Friday off to care for the boys and be a single parent for the weekend. Thankfully, the boys' coughs got much better on their own.
So I finally emerged from bed on Sunday, feeling slightly better. I walked downstairs to the living room and immediately stepped on something that cause such severe, lasting pain. I looked down and saw a bee attached to my toe!! This would be no big deal, but I'm allergic to bees. So in went the Benadryl. My foot swelled up to the point I could only limp and it was as painful as when I broke my toe. For the entire day.
Talk about a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (and week)!
So I finally emerged from bed on Sunday, feeling slightly better. I walked downstairs to the living room and immediately stepped on something that cause such severe, lasting pain. I looked down and saw a bee attached to my toe!! This would be no big deal, but I'm allergic to bees. So in went the Benadryl. My foot swelled up to the point I could only limp and it was as painful as when I broke my toe. For the entire day.
Talk about a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (and week)!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Nanna stickers
October 31st
Halloween day was unseasonably warm (especially considering we've already had snow). It was 70 degrees and sunny, so we spent the day playing in the leaves in the backyard. The boys loved it!
Charlie loved it when Poppy threw leaves on him
They also loved it when we raked leaves over them
Winston
Charlie and Wes
Wesley loved raking the yard with the big rake
Winston laying on the picnic table
The 3 train conductors head off for their first trick or treating adventure
The boys also loved playing with all of the pumpkins.
Charlie loved it when Poppy threw leaves on him
They also loved it when we raked leaves over them
Winston
Charlie and Wes
Wesley loved raking the yard with the big rake
Winston laying on the picnic table
The 3 train conductors head off for their first trick or treating adventure
The boys also loved playing with all of the pumpkins.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Halloween
As you can tell, Thomas the train is HUGE in our house right now. So when I found these train conductor outfits, I thought they'd be perfect for Halloween. And then it occurred to me that they had no idea who train conductors are or what they do. We had a halloween party for playgroup yesterday, so I got the boys dressed up in their costumes before we left. (The wooden slide was brought up from the basement, which we had to clear out because we are finishing it off for the boys. More on that.)
Win
Charlie
Wesley
Winston, Charlie, and Wes
Then as we walked out the door, Charlie decided to strip his costume off and threw a fit when I tried to put it back on. Yay toddlers!
One of these kids is doing his own thing...
Uh...there's a bear in here
The kids (with two in the tent)
The feeding frenzy
Win
Charlie
Wesley
Winston, Charlie, and Wes
Then as we walked out the door, Charlie decided to strip his costume off and threw a fit when I tried to put it back on. Yay toddlers!
One of these kids is doing his own thing...
Uh...there's a bear in here
The kids (with two in the tent)
The feeding frenzy
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