New Floors. . . Here We Come!

I just noticed that I have over 900 pageviews (none of which are my own) in the three weeks that I have started doing this. While I am mainly doing this for Matt, myself, and Jack to look back on in the future, I am flattered that people are actually interested in our simple, day to day life. Thank you! I wanted to give you guys a heads up that we have very busy week ahead of us, with my in-laws coming out and installing our new floors, so I won't be posting anything for a few days.

Stay tuned to see the floor reveal and pictures of our week with grandma and grandpa! 

Bunnies and Bears

I let him have his "gaga" during this activity, so he'd be less likely to put a smaller item into his mouth.

"Buster, You look like you could really use a chick."

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Jack and I shared a sweet moment today while we were watching Matt work outside from the window. Out of nowhere he began gently stroking my hair. While he was doing this he was making sweet eyes at me, as if he was saying, "Mom, I just want you to know that I love you. When he was done, he leaned in and put his head on my shoulder and nuzzled his head into mine. My heart instantly melted and in that moment I felt as if my life was complete. I am so in love with the kind hearted person he is becoming.

Put together an Easter themed sensory bin tonight, can't wait for him to dig in.

Cool Moose Ninja Turtle!

Happy Friday Everyone and in our case Happy "Monday." Overall, we had a fairly productive weekend, though I still feel as though my to-do list will never end. We purchased our flooring and it will remain piled up in the garage until Tuesday, when Matt's parents come into town to help us install it. I cannot wait to finally be rid of this ugly, dirty and worn carpet once and for all. If you read the previous post, then you already know that we spent our nights painting. Despite the fact that it took buying 9 samples and hours of contemplation, I'm really happy with the color we chose. We ended up having to take one of our sample shades and customize it to be slightly darker, because we had a very hard time finding the perfect neural beige that was light enough to keep the house from looking like a dungeon, but dark enough to contrast nicely with our white trim. I think we nailed it and it will look even better once we put patterned curtains up. At first we thought about doing something other than beige, but ultimately we decided it was the best choice for resale, as well as, very versatile when it comes to decorating. We still have a little work left to do, but we definitely want to have it done before the in-laws get here on Tuesday, so we can get started on the floors right away. One positive thing about painting prior to putting in the new floors is that we don't have to worry about cleaning paint splatters off the carpet, because we are tearing it out anyway. Bonus! Our goal is to have everything done and newly decorated by Jack's 2nd Birthday, so we can invite the few people that we know out here, over to our house for a party without feeling embarrassed or ashamed. That means we have just a little over 3 months. Yikes! The pressure is on, but in a good way; having an end date in mind will help keep us motivated and prevent us from getting sidetracked.

Here are some highlights from our weekend. Enjoy! 

It's pretty pathetic and cute at the same time when a grown man trades hot wheels through a car forum for his son.

I indulged in this 2 ingredient guilt-free ice cream tonight and it was actually really good. The only thing I would change, would be to add less peanut butter next time. Since it was just me eating it, I quartered the recipe and guessed on the amount of peanut butter. This is definitely one of those recipes where less really is better, because it ended up being too rich and overpowering. Here's the recipes if you're interested in trying it for yourself. http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/two-ingredient-banana-peanut-butter-ice-cream/

Haha! Jack takes T.V. watching very seriously...

Despite the fact that spring still hasn't sprung here, I broke down and opened half of the sandbox. Jack "dug" it.

Buster and I decided to take a quick "selfie," while Jack played.

Putting sand in his "Kuck."

"Look mom, I found a car!"

Q-Tip Painting.

He is so such a goof. I adore his silly personality.

Micheal Jackson would be so proud.

Here is the color that we went with. This picture doesn't do it justice because it's still wet and the lighting is dark.

PIN WIN! This was so good and so easy to put together. http://lilasapron.com/2011/10/07/oven-roasted-sausages-potatoes-and-peppers/

Jack got a new dance floor

"Here's where the pee goes, dad!"

His latest and greatest has been reading books independently. It's been pretty cute to observe.

A boy in dirt...shocking.

mmmm. . . DIRT. . .

FOOTBALL!

 and of course, you can't paint without having an ice cold beer...

I Hate Painting!

Sorry my posts have been kind of lame lately. We are in full-on project mode right now and are working on painting the entire main floor of the house. Our only time to paint is when Jack is asleep at night, which is usually when I work on this. I have been taking pictures of Jack and making notes on things that I want to share and I will probably lump everything together into one post on Friday night when Matt is at work.

Ketchup Face

Green Day

5 Things that Make Me Feel Lucky this St. Patty's Day

1. I am so lucky to be a mom. I know several people who are struggling to conceive and/or maintain pregnancy and for 2.5 years I was one of those people. I thank god everyday for our little miracle and I can't imagine my life without him. I hope the other people in my life will soon be blessed with their miracle.

2. I am so lucky to have an AMAZING husband. He is so good to me and I would be absolutely lost without him. He has such a kind heart and truly cares about my happiness. A perfect example of this is yesterday on my birthday, when he took the day off from work, woke up with Jack and together they made my favorite flavor of cupcakes, which are chocolate with cream cheese frosting, took the time to write a write me a really nice card to express his love and help Jack with his, which by the way was absolutely adorable, went and got me my favorite kind of coffee and doughnut from Dunkin while I was still asleep, took Jack and I to the aquirium for a wonderful day of family fun, and on top of that ended the night with a relaxing footrub. He sure knows how to make a girl feel special on her birthday and most days for that matter. I'd say I have a keeper!

3. I am so lucky to be able to stay at home with Jack, when other moms don't have the option. Though some days can seem never ending and can be the most difficult and exhausting job on the planet, I wouldn't trade it for a thing. It's a good feeling to never have missed an important milestone and to know Jack is being nurtured and loved every second of the day.

4. I am so lucky to finally have the opportunity to make improvements on the house. I can't wait until everything comes together! Stay tuned...

5. I am so lucky to be alive! and healthy for the most part. I hope to continue to better myself by making more "natural" choices in what I eat, clean with, and what put in/on my body. This goes for Jack as well. I also hope to continue to go to the gym and get active outside, if it ever warms up.

Our St. Patty's Day Wall of Art. Excited to to start on Spring and Easter Crafts.

My Birthday Card from Jack. His little scribbles melt my heart.

We don't mess around...

Happy Birthday to ME!

Started the day by being served donuts and coffee in bed from my two favorite guys. We decided the donuts were too messy to eat in bed, so we headed upstairs.

Then I lounged in my Jammies for a bit and watched Curious George with my boy.

After that we headed to Olive Garden for lunch because I was craving Mushroom De Portobello. Matt was amused by my pick, since Providence is known for their Italian Cuisine, and I still chose a chain restaurant.

Next stop, Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. 

Someone was a little tuckered out from our exciting day.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Just another day... AT THE EMERGENCY ROOM!

Today was an absolute shit show. If you were to come to my house on this day, there is a strong possibility you would have mistaken it for a zoo. Literally. For starters, if you read last nights post, then you already know that Jack is sick with a cold, and because of that he was up a lot last night. So much so, that I lost track after the 5th time. With that in the back of my mind, I woke up this morning knowing that the day would present many challenges. Jack wasn't really interested in doing anything today. Which was completely understandable, considering his lack of sleep, being sick, and his two-year molars coming in. When I checked his mouth this morning, I saw a tiny but of white poking out the side of the bottom, right molar. Although, I didn't have to look in his mouth to know that he was getting a tooth. He has been drooling like crazy lately and biting EVERYTHING.

I'm just going to cut to the chase of my story, because to be quite honest, all I want to do is go to sleep. I'm so tired that what I'm typing probably won't make the least bit of sense. It was about 5:00 and Jack and I had just finished skyping with Matt's parents. I went to use the bathroom and about a minute and half later Jack wandered in with an OPENED container of Vick's and just as I realized what he had, he put a huge glob of it in his mouth. I frantically grabbed the container from his hand and tried to get as much as I could out of his mouth with a wet towel and cup of water. When I looked inside of the container and noticed that almost half of it was missing. Knowing that Matt was on his break at work, I called him and made him aware of what happened and asked him if he could call poison control, since I was busy dealing with Jack and making darn sure he wouldn't get into anything else. Matt quickly called me back and advised me to bring him to the hospital right away because there was a possibility he could break into seizures. I. Felt. Horrible. Not only did this happen on my watch, but there was also a possibility that he could become seriously ill because of it. I should interrupt this story by telling you that the cap was screwed on the Vick's and it was on his dresser. He was able to reach it by climbing on the rocking chair ottoman. Trying to get out the door as fast as I could, I quickly threw some pants and socks on him, (he wasn't wearing any because they got all wet when he was outside.) stuffed some snacks and milk in the diaper bag and then we ran out the door. We drove to the nearest hospital, which isn't the normal one we usually go to because it's pretty scummy and I'd much rather take him to Hasbro in Providence, where they specialize in children. Matt left work and was going to meet us there. When we walked in, I informed the hospital what had happened. Meanwhile, Jack was squirming in my arms, because wanted so badly to get down and explore his new surroundings. It took all my might, to keep him close to me. Finally Matt walked in and I was relieved to have help with Mr. busy bee. For being an ER, they actually got us in fairly quick. When we told the doctors and nurses what had happened, it was obvious they weren't quite sure what to do. They took his vitals and got some information from me. I told the doctor how much Vick's was missing from the tub and because some of it was smeared on his clothes and bedroom floor, we estimated that he probably only consumed 3/4 of an ounce, which was relieving for Matt to hear because when he originally called poison control, he guessed that Jack consumed about two ounces, thinking that it was the larger tub size, and with the amount Matt gave them, Poison Control said to get him to a hospital right away. After giving Jack a once over, the doctor decided to re-phone poison control with the new numbers, and see if it was still a dangerous amount to consume. Lucky for us, the doctor came back in the room and told us he was going to be just fine and the toxicologist from PC was almost positive that nothing would come of it. Hoofta!What a relief. I'm so truly thankful that it was a lot less worse than what we had anticipated. After we received the good news, we were on our way. To top off the night, when we got home from the ER, there were dirty diapers, shredded all over the living room floor. The dogs couldn't have picked a worse day to be naughty.

So let this be a lesson to all new or future moms to never underestimate your toddlers. Even when things are closed and out of arms reach, if your child is ambitious enough, they CAN AND WILL FIND A WAY TO GET TO THEM!