The Boone Family

At our playgroup the teacher had these cool rubber stamps that the boys enjoyed so much.  I found them on sale, you know it! from a discount website and ordered them for Christmas.  I wanted to break them out and try them but you know me...I forgot to order stamp pads.  Lucky me at party city they had some in the Christmas clearance and I cleaned house.  Yesterday Carter was not feeling so hot so we stayed indoors all day.  I was about to go crazy so I busted them out.  They were hysterical. They would stamp them so stinkin hard on the paper.  Landon had a hard time pressing it down hard enough to get the whole image to appear and he was getting so frustrated. Carter showed him how to use his muscles..."mushuels" is what Carter calls it. When Landon finally got it Carter patted Landon on the back and said, "Good job Landon, good job." It was too cute.  I started take pictures of this activity and realized when I walked around the table that w...

We have had a little snow here in Michigan.  Last weekend I took the boys sledding with Bob's sister, her boyfriend, and his kids to the local hill.  It seriously took me a good 20 minutes to get me and the boys dressed to be outside in the snow.  We drove to the hill and literally Carter went down 3 times, fell off the sled into the snow, his hands got cold, and instant uncontrollable meltdown.  So we got back in the car and came home.  I couldn't believe it.   Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.  The boys now take turns pulling each other on the sled in the house.  I hope this prepares them for our next venture to the hills.    They loved seeing the snow on the porch.  Carter said, "Look at my foof pints." This was a great moment! They loved riding on the sled together!

Since we have moved to Michigan we have met some great people.  They have great kids and we enjoy watching the kids play together.  There is one little boy that seems to be Carter's partner in crime, Brett.  Brett turned 3 on Christmas Eve and they were having his birthday party on January 14th.  However this was a bummer for us because that was the same day of Danielle's baby shower.  Since we had a conflict we had Brett over to our house for a birthday lunch.  Carter and Landon both helped Brett open his gifts and then all three boys sat in Brett's mom, Kristin's lap to read a book Carter picked out about trains.  The boys played and ran around the house until they were all ready to collapse from exhaustion.  We had ice cream sandwiches made with chocolate chip cookies that the boys help me to make to celebrate.  I hung up a "Happy Birthday" banner in the dining room and Carter just loved telling me that it was for Brett's birthday.  I...

The boys love to eat muffins.  It started out that blueberry was the muffin of choice but they have since insisted on chocolate chip.  Carter's favorite is chocolate chip chocolate muffins.  I know you are shaking you head at me saying, "Heidi, that doesn't sound very healthy to me." I agree so I have been looking for ways to satisfy them while still trying to keep them healthy.  I found that Duncan Hines just created a chocolate chip chocolate muffin mix using whole grains.  Oh my do they love them.  The boys could eat them until they puked.  They don't taste bad at all but I was still feeling guilty.  I decided to find a recipe that I could use bananas with.  My mom makes a great banana nut bread so I decided to use the recipe.  I wanted to make them into muffins and of course add some chocolate chips.  I had the boys help me dump the ingredients into the bowl and stir.  They loved being able to lick the beaters.  They d...

Well to start this post I have to tell you where we started to help you understand how much of a celebration is in order for where we are now.  About a month ago Bob and I were completely exhausted.  The boys were not sleeping.  They would not fall asleep on their own. Bob would take Landon to the pitch black basement and cuddle with him until he fell asleep and then we would put him in his bed.  He would then wake up within an hour and we would put him in bed with us because it was the only way we could get a nights sleep.  I would cuddle with Carter as he would twirl my hair until he would fall asleep.  I would carry him to his bed.  He would sleep there until anywhere between 2-3am when he would come to our bed.  So this leads to four people in one bed and only 2 of us getting a good nights sleep.  To make matters worse, afternoon naps were always hit or miss and I was dragging.  I was getting irritable and snippy with everyone. ...

It is very hard for me to believe that 2011 is officially in the books. That was a whirlwind of a year for our family.  We went from being apart (Bob in Michigan while I was in Ohio with boys) to being back together again in a different location.  I remember last January when I was making my new year's resolution I told Bob that it was just to "be present." I felt that I had so much going on that I wasn't even taking the time to enjoy any of it.  With my career from being a full time teacher to now a play at home mom it has helped me to "be present." I have enjoyed and treasured many of the memories that we have created together that would not have been if I was working full time.  Even though I know that I am not cut out to be a play at home mom forever it has been better than I had imagined.  I had myself convinced that I would hate it but thanks to so many new friends that I have met here I now look forward to it.  Which leads me to reflecting ...

The week between Christmas and New Year's Bob's company has shut down so we get to spend the whole week together.  When I was teaching it was great because we had some relaxing time together without the hustle and bustle.  Now that I am home with the boys it's even better because we get to spend lots of time just being a family.  I always look forward to having him home with us.  With that being said it gives us the chance to make the most out of the holidays.  We drove to Sandusky, Ohio on Thursday and met friends from college who were home from South Carolina for lunch.  We drove straight there and got in a traffic jam on the turnpike so when we met them at Bob Evans the last thing the boys wanted to do was sit still.  They were maniacs.  We took turns walking around with them while the other shoveled in our meal and chatted with our friends.  Bob and I both agree that walking the boys around a restaurant is not okay but who coul...