Children's Museum By Myself.

I have been thinking for months about taking the younger boys to the Children's Museum, but have been putting it off because I wasn't sure if I could keep track of both of them in such a busy setting.  Well, since there isn't a whole lot of things to do with little kids in the middle of winter I decided to give it a go on Thursday.

I can happily say that it went very smoothly.  I put Logan in the stroller, but took him out at each exhibit so he could run around.  We had fun in the kids play area (it is for 5 and under, so we don't spend much time there when Colin is with us).  Soon after we got there a "finger play" show was starting.  Logan had a ton of fun listening to some songs he recognized (like itsy bitsy spider).  He had a huge smile on his face the whole time.  Evan also seemed to enjoy it though he was a little shy and didn't participate as much.

We then went to the Mr. Potato head exhibit.  Every couple months a new exhibit comes, which keeps it interesting.  After that was lunch.  I packed a lunch again which made things easy and then I treated Evan to an ice cream cone, since he did such a good job staying near me and listening.  He happily shared it with Logan, which also made me very happy.  Both boys fell asleep on the way home and then went down for their naps at home.  It was a great day and I can't wait to take them again.

Thursday night was Bunco for me.  I think Dennis secretly loves Ladies Night because he gets the house to himself (after the kids are all in bed).  I don't blame him, he never gets much alone time since he works long hours and then comes home to a full house.  Tonight is dodge ball night for him, and I have to admit that I'm looking forward to sitting in front of a chick flick with a cup of tea or glass of wine or maybe a sweet treat.  For as different as Dennis and I are, we have some similarities and one is that we both love our alone quiet time, so I think it is healthy for both of us to have some time to ourselves.

Before the boys went to bed they had a movie night...

Free Weekends.

When we were living 2 hours from family, it seemed that every weekend we were gone.  We were close enough to go "home"for birthday parties, showers, and what seemed like a ton of other events, but far enough away that it would take up the whole weekend.  We were left feeling exhausted a lot of the time and like we never had time to get stuff done around our home, or spend time just us a family or even just spend a whole weekend relaxing at home.

Now that we are 10+ hours away from family, I often miss those busy weekends of getting to see all the nieces and nephews and hate to miss out on all the events.  But, I have to admit that we are loving all the free weekends.  It is so nice to have a weekend with NO plans, as those were few and far between not so long ago.

This weekend, was extra special because it was a 3 day weekend.  All the kids and Dennis were off for President's Day.  I was planning on working, but work is so slow right now and I just discharged my only patient, so I ended up with no work either.

Saturday we finally checked out a nearby place called Snapperz.  It was a fun place for kids with climbing equipment, inflated slides, video games, bumper cars, climbing walls, laser tag and much more.  Even Logan had fun, just pushing the buttons on the games and sitting on the motorcycles.  We ate both lunch and dinner out while we were running errands.  It was a great family day and we got a lot accomplished.

Sunday, we got nothing accomplished.  I honestly don't even remember what we did...Dennis took Evan to a birthday party, but other than that we didn't do much at all.  And, that was fine by me.

Monday, Dennis worked on taxes most of the day, while the boys and I hung out in front of the TV, played games, rode bikes, and went for a walk.  Even though it was cool, the sun was shining.  It felt good to get out for a walk, but it will be nicer when we don't have to return with pink cheeks and frozen hands...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, I caught a cold from Logan and have been a little under the weather the last couple days, so I will try and make this short.  Valentine's Day here started with the boys waking up and seeing cards and a tin can with a Christmas cookie from their Daddy and I.

All the boys had Valentine's Day Parties at school.  I was not able to make it to Colin's since I had the little ones home with me, but I did take Logan and Evan to theirs since it wasn't their normal school day. They had a lot of fun and passed out the homemade Valentines we have been working on.

I enjoyed getting some beautiful flowers delivered from my awesome husband, who also brought home take out sushi.  The boys were hyper from the sugar they had today and were running around the house naked before baths with heart underwear on their heads.  The underwear was in a Valentine's package they got from their Grandma Bridgers and Robert and they were very excited about it and enjoyed wearing them at school today.  Even Logan joined in the fun by running around with it on him, I don't want to even think about how dirty they probably were!  If only I could get him to participate when it is picture time...

pushing Evan out of the way...

It Takes A Village...Or Not...

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband, Dennis!  We celebrated his 36th birthday in our favorite way, going to a nice restaurant.  We went to St. Elmo's steakhouse downtown, which was wonderful.  This time we each got our own shrimp cocktail, because it is just so good!  It was nice to get a sitter and enjoy the night out, we haven't called the sitter since November, so we were very excited.

The boys did fine with the sitter, though Logan did cry when we were leaving.  We couldn't calm him down so we just left hoping that he would stop as soon as we left. Sure enough she said he stopped right away.  She commented that our boys are so good.  She watches a couple other families of boys and can't get over how good ours are, because 3 boys is not easy.  That is always nice to hear because, anyone with more than 1 boy close in age knows how hard boys can be at times.  Multiple boys feed off each other and can make for a very noisy and active home.  It is always reassuring to know that our discipline, consistency and hard work are paying off.  Like every parent, we definitely have days where we feel we have no control of our kids and are in need of encouraging words.  Luckily, the good days outweigh the bad.

Speaking of kids.  I went to the doctor recently and she said, "Wow, you have 3 boys and are open to having a 4th!"  She said her and her husband have 2 boys and they are wondering if they were meant to have kids at all.  And, she even has a Nanny!  I can honestly say I haven't once regretted having 3 kids.  I have always wanted 3 or 4 and to be honest it is hard for me to even relate to others who don't want a big family.  The thought of being done having kids is so sad to me.  I love being pregnant and having a newborn.  I would probably have had 6 kids if I lived in a different time.

However, I will admit that at times it is hard to live here in Indianapolis, because it is just Dennis and I without any kind of support system.  Most people that have multiple kids have family around to help or Nannies or regular babysitters.  Dennis and I are both very independent and we both have trouble asking for help.  I think that even if we lived near family, we wouldn't ask for help very much.  I don't like to trouble others and feel it is my responsibility to take care of what is mine (whether it is cleaning my house, cooking dinner or caring for my kids).  While this can be a great trait to have, it can add more stress to our lives.  After all, there is a reason they say "It takes a village" to raise a child.  Dennis and I have lived our whole married life away from family and with zero support system.  When a kid is sick or school is closed it is up to one of us to stay home with them, there is no back up person to call in the case of an emergency to pick up our kids or to take them somewhere for us.  It is up to us to do everything.  So, I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish and of the job we are doing with our kids.  And, it sure feels good when others recognize that.

Well, enough about that...The rest of the weekend was spent running errands and doing some stuff around the house.  Colin and Evan had a birthday party to go to on Saturday.  Oh and we finally got around to taking Colin to the bookstore to buy some books with the gift card Grandma Bridgers and Robert gave him.  He had so much fun picking out what books he wanted.

Dancing Logan...

At dinner tonight we were sitting around the table talking about our day and Evan very excitedly said the best part of his day was playing basketball with his friend Grant.  He said.... "And I won!  We played this new game where if you make a basket the other person gets a point.  So, Grant made a lot of baskets, so I had lots of points and Grant had zero....so I won!!!!"  He was completely serious.

Yesterday was the Super bowl here in Indianapolis.  Ironically, despite the Super bowl being here it was a very quiet evening for us.  Usually, we have friends over to watch with, but this year it was just our family.  I still made a ton of appetizers though.  The highlight was the half time show.  We were all just sitting on the couches watching Madonna sing and Logan hopped up and started dancing.  He danced the whole time.  He ran around the table many times, grabbed on to it and posed many times and even dropped to his knees when she sang, "I'm down on my knees".  We were all laughing hysterically.  Logan loves to dance and hear music, which makes me so happy!

The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful, we ran a couple errands, got the boys haircuts and Dennis spent a long time clearing out the basement.  We have to have it all cleared out over the next week before the basement gets finished, so we are trying to figure out where to put everything.

Our New "Mudroom"...

One thing I admire most about my husband is that he is not lazy.  If he wants to do something, but doesn't know how, he will look it up and learn.  When I first married him he didn't know much at all about fixing stuff around the house, but over the years he has taken the time to learn some things and is slowly getting better and better.  When we moved in to our first home it needed a lot of updating.  Dennis was able to learn how to change hardware, install ceiling fans and other light fixtures among a few other things.  Over the last couple weeks, he has been working on his latest project...

When we were looking at homes in Indiana, I had really wanted a mudroom.  With three little boys and snowy weather, I knew we would drive ourselves crazy trying to keep the house clean.  I also knew that we needed somewhere to hang all the snow gear.  Anyway, the house we chose did not happen to have a mudroom, so we have been trying to figure out how we can organize their stuff and where to put their dirty shoes.  The way the house is set up the only option is the garage.  So, I started looking up cubbies online and all the systems were pretty pricey for something that was going to be in a garage.

Well, my awesome husband decided he could try and build one for a lot less.  He did a little research online to get some inspiration and this is what he came up with...

I am so excited about how it turned out and very proud of Dennis for tackling his first wood work project!

Just A Recap...

A recap of the week....

Tuesday, I was home with Evan and Logan and we made banana chocolate chip bread.  Logan had a great time helping out this time.  I gave him the job of mashing the bananas.  When he wasn't trying to sneak a lick, he did a great job!

Thursday and Friday Dennis worked from home because of all the stuff going on downtown for the Super Bowl.  It was nice having Dennis home, even if he was in his office the whole time.  Evan and I have been working on some homemade valentine's for his class.  I usually am one to buy valentine's, but this year we decided to try and make them instead.  I don't think it saves time or money, but it is a lot of fun!

Great news on Friday.... My brother, David, and his wife, Fanchon, found out they will be having a baby boy!  They are due end of June.  My sister, Julie, is due early August, but looks like they may wait to be surprised.

Friday evening Dennis had dodge ball, and for a second week in a row his team won!  I guess they are starting to figure out the game.  He is having a blast playing and then going out and socializing afterwards.

Lastly, we have settled on who is going to do our basement, so right now they are getting the permits and then they should be ready to start working on the basement February 13th.  We are SO excited to get moving with that project!

Oh, and something completely random that I must right down so I can remember when I am old and looking back at this...sometimes, like this morning, when Dennis has his shirt off Evan laughs and says, "I see your armpit beard!".  It is so funny what comes out of little kids mouths!