Gettin stuff done on Saturday morning!!!

I have done some major organizin' this morning and I LOVE it!
Our closets aren't huge, but we each have one, and they are BARELY big enough...IF we keep things cleaned out and organized.

I got all my shoes organized this morning.



My handy hubby added this top shelf for me this morning- I was having a hard time keeping my bags, purses, sweaters and sweatshirts all lined up on the one shelf!


It's really awesome that I can just ask him to do something and he does it right then :) Or maybe what is awesome is how well I trained him?? heehee. Just kidding sweetheart!

This is the left side of the closet.


Then I really got crazy and cleaned out Jeff's closet too. I'm sad I didn't take a before picture because it was hideous. You couldn't even step into it for all the boxes and crap.
Now it's in order.

I told Jeff that I couldn't believe how many pairs of brown shoes he has. TEN!!!!
In response, he told me he had too many wedding dresses in there. ONE! I told him it's staying :)



I wonder how long this stuff will stay in order...
All organized by button down short sleeves, pull over short sleeves, athletic/pull over long sleeves, button down long sleeves, slacks, jeans...then the folded stuff is even in three stacks of sweatshirts, sweaters and fleece.


I'm guessing a week. :(

Recently I also organized the kids stuff in the kitchen. Snacks on top, and it's amazing what a little portable shelf will do!

I also use little bins like the top blue one for drinking stuff---one for cups, one for lids, and another smaller one for valves. It's a good system, mommies! :)

And my spice cabinet...


And we finally took pictures of the awesome Christmas present HANDMADE QUILTS that Gram made for us...

All you UNT grads, try not to be too jealous!!!!!


A closer look


And here is Jeff's.
Freaking awesome!


His and hers quilts to curl up with in our cozy living room...who could ask for more?!?! Gram you are amazingly talented and we will love the quilts forever!!!

The Cole factor

Today I taught Cole something on the way home from school.
M: "Cole how old are you?"
C: "Terrible two!!!"

One of the things he says all the time that cracks up is "Ohay" instead of ok. He's always "Oh-Hay Mommy! Oh-Hay!!!"

Tonight I was laying on the bed after the kids and I showered. Cole was laying on/near me and then started looking at me a little confused saying, "Mommy pendis?" I said, "No mommy doesn't have a penis, just Cole and Daddy." He looked again (yes I was wearing underpants) and he seemed satisfied saying, "Nope. Mommy no pendis."

Then we had one of our usual nighttime routines. It goes like this every time.
M: "You want me to sing you a song?"
C: "Yes, song."
M: "Which song?"
C: "Moon."
M: (singing) "I see the moon and the moon sees me..."
C: "No Mommy, Sunshine! Sunshine"
M: (singing) "You are my sunshine, my only"
C: "Moon Mommy!!!"
M: (singing) "Down through the leaves of the old oak tree..."
...this goes on as long as I'll let it, he definitely likes the cause and effect of his words, heehee!

Then I went to tuck him in after he was already laying in bed and I said, "Night night, I love you buddy." His response: "Terrible two Mommy! Terrible two!!"

...Yep :)

Pray for Tuesday

I just ran across this blog/story, and it has broken my heart today. I sat here with tears welling up in my eyes at work, unable to even fathom what this family is feeling. She has been fighting neuroblastoma (cancer) and was sent home from the hospital this week to wait...



Please click on the picture above and be in serious prayer for this sweet baby girl named Tuesday and her family.

Her mommy's words from their blog:

My deepest fears were confirmed. Tomorrow we take our precious daughter home. Her cancer doubled in size in less than a week proving once and for all that it is horribly aggressive and no longer chemo sensitive. We have no idea how to do this but we have no doubt we will be cared for every step of the way. This is all I have in me. Please pray for peace for our children, our parents and our siblings. Tuesday, full of grace, you are our so very loved.

Our wintry week

We spent a lot of time in the house this week. Tuesday and Wednesday the schools were closed for ice- we had about a half inch of ice covering the roads...not real safe to drive on. So we stayed inside. Hello cabin fever and OVEReating Mommy! The kids love staying in the house and hanging out. Me, I wish I was getting SOMETHING accomplished. I have a hard time just sitting around and playing after a certain number of HOURS.
Sissy enjoying some downtime with her doggies:


Sissy and Daddy, so happy


Tuesday night I made a 3-bean chili that Chris shared.
I guess mine ended up being 4 bean chili since I added green beans to the recipe! It has garbanzo, kidney and black beans along with onions, green peppers, and tomatoes. This stuff was GOOD.


The kids both scraped their bowls clean and had seconds. That is RARE!




I got to enjoy the fire with the sleet falling on the windows while cuddled up under my quilt (the first present Jeff ever got me!) and a book


A picture of the ice-covered road Wednesday morning:


Our backyard:


Bundling up to go outside (which didn't last long!)


I love it when I can compare old pictures to new ones. This is Shelby on Wednesday, and Shelby in December 2006.

What a morning!!!

Yesterday Shelby's arm started hurting after Nonnie helped pull her up by her arms- nothing out of the ordinary to do but something was definitely wrong. She would scream in pain if you tried to look at it or touch it, and refused to use the arm at all. When it wasn't better during the night (she was awake crying for over an hour) or this morning, I knew we needed to see a doctor or get an xray. I was starting to get a little worried because her hand and wrist were discolored and her wrist and arm were pretty swollen. After getting ready and into the cold car that I hadn't driven in 3 days as it sat out in the ice, it wouldn't start! I called my dad, he was working downtown today- mom was working- Jeff was working 40 minutes away and has been SO busy at work, but he left to come help us.
After a trip to one busy doctor's office not getting in, and a third call to our pediatrician, we decided to take her in to see a doctor before going to "Urgent Care" for an x-ray like they had first recommended. I'm so glad we did!
The doctor asked what happened and when we told her, she immediatly knew what it was. As Shelby yelped and cried, the doctor quickly turned her hand over so it was palm-up and then brought it up to her shoulder, bending her elbow. Jeff and I both heard a little click and all of a sudden Shelby was laughing and smiling. It fixed it instantly and took about 5 seconds! It was "Nursemaid's Elbow"
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000983.htm
Basically a tendon moves out of place to the wrong side of the elbow bone, and bending it like that clicks it right back into place.
Shelby was immediately fine and willing to use her hand and arm, which she had refused to do for the last day.
I'm so glad we got it fixed without much hassle or money! A $20 copay is much better than the $100 or more we would have been charged for an ER x-ray.
Oh and also, my car just didn't have enough gas in it to start. I knew it was low, but I still had about 15 miles in it. We're thinking the icy cold weather may have been another contributing factor. We added gas and after 2 tries it started.
Sometimes things do work out better than you hoped! I feel like we diverted 2 crisis situations today :)

Cole's 2 year doctor check-up

Cole went for his 2 year check-up today and everything is great.

He has hit all the milestones that the doctor asks about, we couldn't ask for more than that!

Weight: 31.4 lbs (92%)
Height: 34.75 inches (72%)

He's really close to being the 36" that 6 Flags requires for a lot of their bigger kid rides...wonder how much longer it will take him to get there!

The Monkey Truck

Remember this monkey?



The one that caused this face?



Well not anymore!
It sat in our living room in its package for a month. Every once in a while Cole would become interested in it, and ask someone to push the button on it (which turns it from a truck into this big ape roaring and shaking his fists). Then slowly he started pushing the button himself... He'd push it and then carefully and quickly back away before the monkey emerged. Then this weekend, the monkey truck came out of the box! ...and Cole is in LOVE with it. He will push the button, scoot back to watch him emerge, and then push him back down and repeat 30 times in a row. When we left the house, he screamed for his monkey so much that we had to go back in and get it for him just so he could hold it in the car.

This monkey/truck has several buttons on top but the only one that is ever pushed is the one that makes him "Go ape." Yesterday I pushed the button with an arrow and whaddayknow, the truck started moving and drove forward. Cole chased it and said, "NO SIR MONKEY! NO SIR!" This is the first of many times he used this phrase "no sir." He has been saying it to me, sissy, whoever. Cracks us up!

So Aunt Jan, no worries now...your Christmas present is now a hit! I knew it would be, but it sure took him a while to warm up to it! hahaha

Cole's 2nd birthday party

Saturday --- what an awesome day! It was Cole's birthday party, and although the high was 40 degrees lower than the day before, it set the perfect stage for our cozy morning pajama party in the house, with the fire going and everyone warm in robes and comfy jammies.

This birthday party was TRAIN themed, since Cole got a train table and some Thomas trains from us and Nonnie & Poppy. He LOVES them.

Train!!!
Since Wednesday night when he opened his first package of trains from Nonnie & Poppy, he has been carrying them around with him and even SLEEPING with them.

The boys are ready for the party to begin!


Cole opened his first present---trains from Joe (and Jessica) and was done, didn't need to open any more. He wanted them out of the box, NOW. Here is Trever helping and surrounded by eager kids!


Jeff brought out "the bag" (you know, the sheet the kids sit in as he swings them around) and it was the hit of the party. All the kids took turns, and I've already heard there's been some requests for it to their own daddies after getting home...sorry daddies! :) heehee.

For the "breakfast spread" we had pigs in blankets, sausage balls (made by Nonnie), banana nut bread (made by Nonnie), fruit salad, nuts, chocolate chip cookie dough dip with animal crackers, and Buckeyes. Jeff had to throw in some queso dip and chips...he always has to have some REAL food that'll stick to his bones!
Surprise surprise, the first thing completely consumed was the champagne and juices for mimosas!
For the CAKE, the kids had panCAKES, cooked perfectly golden by Poppy!

.

They got to decorate them with whipped cream and sprinkles.





Cole took a bite out of his candle, and then promptly spit it out of course! :)


Cole decorating his pancake




Luke and Shelby:


The favors were gourmet donuts from Yummy Donuts in Dallas. They were so cool...some of the themed toppings were fruity pepples, reeces pb cups, choc chip cookie dough, and oreos.


The messy present-opening:


What a face! I wonder what he's thinking. Maybe he was confused since he got 2 of this exact toy (an awesome putting golf set) :)


There was a call to Uncle TyTy, of course!!!


Silly Mommy, had one too many mimosas?!? Nah!


Kelly, just for hiding like this, you definitely made it onto the blog!!!


Susan, Ryan, me, Jess and Joe


Cole's big boy bunk beds, what fun!


Mr. Chris's puppet show??


Nonnie and Proud Poppy, after the party was over


We did it! Another party down :)


Mill Mill and me


Sweet Rusty: glad to be laying by the fire! (or probably more accurately, glad all those crazy kids are gone!!!)


What a fun pajama party it was! Thanks to everyone who came!

Peck blog wordle

I made a wordle, and I like it!



(Click to see bigger)

BRRrrrrrp (Shelbyism)

BRRRRRRP. RRRRRRRP. RRrrrrrPPPPP!
M: "Shelby, stop making yourself burp"
S: "I'm not, I'm just burping cause I'm drinking water and it makes me burp a lot."
^This is a conversation we have been having a lot lately.
M: "Shelby please don't argue about that. Mommy knows how it sounds when you burp, and how it sounds when you force yourself to burp. Mommy's smart like that."
S: "No you are NOT smart!!! God and Jesus made ME smart and Coleman and Daddy smart, and lots of people smart but they did NOT make you smart!!!!!"
M: "Go to your room."
S: (ashamed, looking down) "Sorry Mommy."


When I say "I love you" to the kids, they both usually say, "I love you MORE!" and then we have a little "argument" about who loves who more. Cole always screams, "I LOVE YOU MORE MOMMY!....NO I LOVE YOU MORE MOMMY!!!" The other day when Shelby and I were having this argument, she said, "I love you as BIG AS DADDY IS!"......now that's a lotta love from a little girl :)

Another thing she tells me is "Mommy, I'm smitten with you. That means I love you." Her daddy taught her this when reading one of her books and she loves to say that she's smitten with us all the time.

1/21

This was bedtime on 1/20...the last picture of my ONE-year-old.



When I dropped Cole off at school yesterday, I got back in the car and "Baby Mine" (From Kyle's birthday cd which we listen to all the time, Ellen!) was the song that was on. Tears welled. Love that song, and perfect timing!
When I picked Cole up, he had had a good day, and had his own birthday hat with his name on it.
These are the treats we took for his class:

I took him to Sonic to get a lemon slush (he loves lemonade!) and then we went to get Sissy together. When we got home, we played with the train table and Nonnie, Poppy, Millie and Anna came over for dinner.
Of course, the only picture I got while he was smiling and looking is way blurry! My camera :(



Snot-nosed 2 year old.


Cole getting lots of help blowing out his candle! (several times)


Showing us his fruity treat


Cole talking to uncle TyTy on his birthday (we miss you Ty!!)


And the end of the day, one of his favorite things...BATHTIME!!!