Croc it Out!!!

I totally caved...I thought these shoes were so weird and really for little girls.










Now both boys have some and love them!!! Green and Blue and pretty cute.

I might have to get some black Mary Jane crocs...but only for gardening.

~ Croc-in Mama

Cars and Trucks and Airplanes

Well, I have my Gant chart set up and I am project managing the boys room!

It took me 7 months but I finally decided on a quilt for the boys. I just hate to make a snap decision. :) We have one wall that is a deep red and the other three walls are a light blue. They love all kinds of cars and trucks so I bought this from Land of Nod:



They have different motor vehicles and under them, the color is spelled out!!! Too cute - bought the shams too AND the sheets to match.

This little display is so cute! I will place them in the same arrangement on their blue wall. Jamie thought they would look good on the ceiling.

This little rug is an actual map! The sham looks almost exactly the same way and the boys are already driving their little Sheriff, Lightening McQueen and Hudson Hornet the famous race car with red wheels around the roads.

These are actually 2 beds they butt together to form a carpenters square. We can use the drawers in the bottom for storage and they both will fit in the boys room. The beds are from Pottery Barn Kids and are the last big purchase after the mattresses and before the rest of the decorations and possible dresser and/or side table. Depends on the leftover space.

We thought about bunk beds but my boys already jump off of furniture and yell "Skydivin'!!!". The bunk beds just screamed broken arm to me. So we'll stick with these for now.

I am so slow on making decisions. I am glad I started on this last August. I am hoping to have everything in place by the time the boys are 3. Whew! This has been fun. Will post pictures when I am done.

~ Decorator Mama

So I asked Nathan what he wanted for dinner...

He says, "Easter Bunny Sandwich."


Who knows where little kids get these things from? If you think he has seen it on tv or during an Easter Egg Hunt, they have not. I sang them "Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail" a few times, but that's it. Oh, and they did get a few Easter things from their Aunt/Uncle and Grandparents. But a sandwich?

Now, how do I a make an Easter Bunny Sandwich...?


~ Mom of Bunny Eater

What brings me to my knees

So, today I planned this big day. The boys are getting ready to move into big boy beds, Easter is tomorrow and we wanted to have an egg hunt and I needed to hit the grocery store. These used to be my favorite kind of days, before Mike and before the boys. A day all to myself, to find the things I need and to eat a little lunch while reading a good magazine. Luxurious now, to have some time to myself so I was really looking forward to it.

The boys have been sick. Of what, we don’t know but they have had fevers that we are fighting with Tylenol or Motrin. The have gotten as high as 104.2 and remained in the 102 – 103.8 range. Feels like you are fighting a blind enemy. So, in order to have a little more information about the cause and if it was serious, Mike headed to the Pediatrician’s office while I headed to an urgent care to take care of my own failing health.

We’ve been hit hard with viruses the last 4 weeks to it’s just about time to get us all on antibiotics and fumigate the household…

Karen came over to stay with the boys while I went on my day. I had checked their temps and both were 100.0 or below, which is pretty normal. I took off for the mall! It has been at least 2 years since I have been shopping at the mall and I had some twin mattresses to buy! I was so excited to be getting the boys ready to exit their baby beds.

And then…happy single girl day turned into terrified Mom day…it goes something like this (paraphrased as my memory is a bit foggy)

Cell Rings…

Karen: Nathan’s lips are blue and he’s shaking.

Stephanie: Shaking like shivering or shaking violently?

Karen: Shaking. And all he wants to do is lie down. He says “Lie down feel better”

Stephanie: Um, I don’t know whether to call 911 or the Nurse’s line. Call me back in 10 minutes to let me know how he is.

Karen: Okay.

I call Mike.

Mike: Are you calling 911?

Stephanie: I am just waiting to see if it passes. I told her to call me back after about 10 minutes to see how he was doing otherwise we would call the nurses’ line.

Mike: You need to call 911.

Stephanie: I think it will be okay. She’ll call me back and if there is still a problem she can call the nurses line. It’ll be fine. (Did you just hear the suction of my Mommy points being sucked into a whirlpool?)

I am now panicing and call Karen’s number. It keeps going to voicemail. I finally get her.

Karen: I am on the phone giving the nurse the information. His lips are even darker and he is still shaking. He keeps wanting to go to sleep but I won’t let him.

Stephanie: That’s probably the answering service. Call 911. I’m scared and coming home.

Every red light was on. Traffic was terrible.

I call Mike…it sucked.

Stephanie: She’s calling 911. Mike, I’m scared. (and crying)

Mike: I’m on my way home.

A week ago, Mike told me he had a dream. The dream was essentially him calling me to find out how I am doing. My response was something like…”Nathan died but other than that, I’m fine.”

This conversation is now playing in my head over and over and I am crying. Terrified. Why did I leave? Why didn’t I have her call 911 right away? What if he dies?

The traffic is terrible. What laws am I allowed to break? How can I get home faster?

I call Karen back and she says that “they” would send someone over. The fire station is actually 2 – 3 miles away so I find some comfort in that.

Knowing that an ambulance was on it’s way made me feel better but a weird calm came over me. Where was that calm when I needed it?

By the time I got home, the firemen were leaving and telling me he was okay. The Paramedics were giving me advice and telling me this was the most common run for a 2-year old. They believe it was a Febrile seizure.

And it was over. A little Tylenol and some love and this terrified mom just wanted to cry.

What if it had been worse? What would I have done? No one could have every warned me of how vulnerable you are when you have children. The complete terror that you go through when you think something terrible is happening to your child…and you’re not there.

I’m glad it’s over. I’m a little wiser. My sweet boy is fine and none the wiser…as he pesters me this morning to name each and every Thomas character in the catalog.

~ A grateful mama

When I'm feeling blue...

All I have to do, is take a look at you...
Then I'm not so blue.



You have to admit that they bring smile to your face. I love Guido's Italian afro!

~ Call me Sally

The Versatility of Ramen Noodles

Here are the top 10 reasons I love ramen noodles:

1. You can fix them in less than 5 minutes.
2. They are about $.25 per package
3. My boys love them!
4. My husband loves them!
5. When you are sick, they are a nice comfort food.
6. The boys will put one end of the noodle in their mouth and put the opposite end in my mouth so that we can SLURP! Cute!
7. You can make them nutritious by adding steamed vegetables
8. You can make them gourmet by sautéing flavorful vegetables and unusual seasonings (like chili pepper and garlic)
9. After sitting for a few minutes, they can be a long term binding agent to be used throughout your household.
10. They can be swept up or wiped off easily once they harden (which is the next stage in their bonding cycle).

~ Foodie

Reenacting a Spectacular Fall

My boys attack life with every ounce in their 30 lb bodies. Every new experience is an absolute joy. So much so, in some cases, they like to reenact the very moment, over and over again. I love that. How many times in our lives do we have the time to just stop and do something 10, 20, 30 times, because it was just so much fun the first time. Amazingly, the experience is just as spectacular the first time as it is the last time.

The boys are especially proficient at reenacting a spectacular fall, so much so, it becomes a carefully orchestrated stunt. I have seen Nathan slide across our hard word floor in socks, slip on his butt and conk his head on a dining chair…only to try it again. Each time he laughs. “Look at me!” he exclaims.

This evening, the fall became a newly invented trick. The boys were playing with these foam Tow Mater chairs. They are small, fit for a little kid, and programmed to say really funny things…my favorite is “I’m ticklish on my bumper”…tee hee hee. I giggle a little each time I hear it, but I digress.

Jamie sat in the chair and proceeded to push so hard backwards that the chair tipped backward with a little, smooshy, thud. “Whoa!” Nathan witnessed the whole thing. Next thing you know, they both sit in the chair and fall slowly backward with another smooshy thud. They decide to move their chairs to a new location and do it again. This whole …move the chair, fall backwards and move again…went on for about 10 minutes. I couldn’t stop it, I was enjoying it too much. I couldn’t remember the last time I did something so amazing, I just had to do it over and over again. How wonderful to still be amazed at an experience and have the time to practice until your accident is nothing short of a perfect event. If I could only be so lucky.

~ Envious Mama