Little Rodeo.

Saturday night we bundled up and went to our local rodeo. I'm calling it the "little" rodeo, because for the next three weeks is the "BIG" Houston Rodeo and this was our rodeo "warm up." A rodeo pint size for the boys, just down the street and a lot cheaper and more kid friendly. For a local rodeo the crowd was insane. Standing room only right as the rodeo started. Lucky for us Owen is cute and someone felt bad for us and let us squeeze in with their family on the bleacher. The boys loved everything about it. The sheep, bucking broncos and bulls, the rodeo clown and all of the cowboys. It was a great way to spend the night as a family. Makes me that much more excited for the big rodeo next week. I know the boys will explode with excitement when they see the livestock show in Houston.
Just a few moments from the night.
It was hard to get both boys to sit still for very long. There was too much happening everywhere they looked. Grandma and Owen.These were our seats, I told you we really did luck out. We were up close and could see everything.Carter walking by the barn and stopping to "moo" at the cows. This is us. Not sure what happened with the camera to make all of those funny spots. Too bad, because it's actually a pretty good shot. Can you fix it Sarah? :)

Cowboy Up.

It wasn't any ordinary Saturday night. The Dille's headed out to the local rodeo for a family date night. Carter and Owen loved it. Running sheep, bucking horses and bulls, rodeo clowns and lots of cowboys.

The highlight of the night was Carter in the under 5 stick horse race. There were SO many kiddos. This isn't even half. Here he is in the line up, in the gray sweatshirt, short blonde hair in the middle of the pack.


Cowboy up little man! He's a lot faster running around the kitchen with his horse. I think he was a bit overwhelmed with the entire thing. Here's the actual race. At the end of the video look for Mike in the far right corner in a black coat. They both kind of get lost in the crowd. Cracks me up every time I watch it just to see all of the craziness with so many little kids on stick horses.

A Couple Firsts.

1. Carter threw his first throw yourself on the floor, roll around and scream, totally embarrass your mom, tantrum today in an isle at the drugstore. I was a bit mortified with his "display." But in true mothers fashion, ignored it, spoke softly, and dragged him to the check out counter, where I was a bit relieved that no one really shops there so I wouldn't be recognized.
2. Speaking of our shopping trip, I had my first real successful shopping trip to a drugstore like other mommy blogging pros who get awesome deals with coupons and the right timing. I scored 6 Huggies refills (216 wipes each) for just $10.83! Seriously, I was high fiving myself I was so excited! If you are reading this and interested in how I did it check this out. It's a hidden wipes deal at CVS. I'm not into the rewards bucks system or it seems like I could have gotten them for cheaper. I'm still excited. Won't have to buy any wipes for almost a year! Woop! Woop!
   
3. Carter had his first real tummy ache and was able to actually communicate what was wrong. So he sat with me and then with grandma while we rubbed his tummy. It was a long day and he was exhausted. As he fought to keep his eyes open, he looked over at me and said he was "ready to go nite nite."
4. When Mike came home tonight and we started talking not thinking the kids would still be awake or able to hear us from downstairs. Then we heard a little person, "Da?" "Dada?" over and over again. So cute. I've never heard Owen call out like this before. It was deliberate, full of anticipation and joy. Mike went in to say hello and now he is still awake and occasionally calls out for him again. That's a daddy whose been missed. :)
   
5. It snowed TONIGHT... in Houston... in February. For the first time in 2010, and for the first time it snowed twice in one winter since we've lived here. Not so convinced on global warming anymore. :) It rained all afternoon and then as the night rolled in it slowly turned to snow. Little and big fat flakes. Beautiful. I only wish that it would have stuck on the ground.

Here's the little sickie himself. Feeling better and sneaking downstairs before bedtime to lay on the couch with grandma. He told me he needed a "fast car" so I told him to go get one downstairs, five minutes later he is was gone. I went down to find him all comfy and smiley on the couch. Funny boy.

Family Time.

As I type this Mike is walking out the door to head back to work. He is swamped and took a little time off this morning to see us. We made pancakes, read a few books and snuggled... and then the poor guy passed out. Can't blame him, he's running on maybe four hours of sleep each night. My mom came down this morning to find us all on the couch, like one big happy family. Owen climbing on the tower of legs, Carter watching cartoons, Mike sleeping and me taking it all in. I really love mornings like this. I wish we had some kind of million dollar idea that would allow Mike to stay home with us and still make money. The idea of working from home sounds heavenly, although with kids this age, maybe not so productive. Having Mike gone so much really makes me take a step back and appreciate the time he has with us more. I realize that children are much easier to raise with two parents. I give it up to the single moms of the world who do what they do, because it is dang hard.
Life is better as a family and I'm glad that my family is forever. Owen after bath the other night. He was so happy all wrapped up. I love this time of night with the boys. Shower, pj's, songs and prayers and then much needed bed time. Remember how I mentioned my boys love showers? Well, we took a look back at our water bill that has slowing been increasing. We had thought the price was going up, nope, turns out our consumption since having two little ones in the shower nightly has almost doubled. The extra five bucks is totally worth an extra twenty minutes of mommy sanity.

Here's Carter sleeping in his big boy bed. He's like a mini radiator and kicks all of his blankets off. Now he's also turning around, but still stays on the bed, not sure how he manages that. Can you spot the little man in the dinosaur pj's?

This photo is from last Sunday. Carter loves his daddy and is always so excited to talk with him on the phone and spend time with him. His expression says it all. *This weekend Owen has added, "yellow" and "juice" to his vocab.

Challenge.

This week has been a Challenge.
Mike is really busy at work, the boys and I are desperately missing him, it's been cold with the exception of a few days, I pulled a muscle keeping me from the gym and slowing me down, and the boys well... I'm pretty sure they never slow down.

I've had a few of those moment where you are beside yourself and you just cry. Yup, I admit it. It's been one of those weeks. Nothing tragic, life changing, or huge has happened, it's just been a challenge. I'd like to think I'm independent and to an extent I am, but missing my best friend and talking with him for a total of 5 minutes for the entire week wore me down.

So what have I been doing with my lonely nights. Crafting. Getting little projects done and started, and making little steps of progress on my to do lists. A to do list, that does not include some much needed de-clutter and cleaning, but has included tons of laundry, Seriously, WAY too much laundry for five people. Tangent, I know, so back to the crafting, I've completed three quiet activity folders for the boys, working on some baby wipe travel cases, if you have a white one can I have it, or trade you a green one for it? , I'm also working on some headbands and hair accessories. I need to tackle organizing my pantry, but can't seem to wrap my head around where things should go and how to best utilize the space, if you're good at these sorts of things this is my plea for help.

Hopefully by the end of next week things will have slowed down a bit and the boys will get to see their dad again. The bad thing about Mike working so much is that my form of therapy is retail. So I kinda blew the budget this week and have decided that during busy season I will need a bigger budget. I did practice some self control, but AE and AT Loft got the best of me with their additional 40% off clearance. New clothes make me happy. The color mustard makes me happy Flower hair accessories make me happy. Sharing a cinnabon with my good friend and our kids makes me happy. Girls nights make me happy. Watching my boys laugh makes me happy.

This post is a bit random, pieced together, and really more of a reflection of how I seem to be this week... all over the place.

Here are a few cute things from the kids this week.

Owen decided at playgroup this week to be an escape artist and make a run for it out the door to the soft play park. I finally had to park myself in the entrance to keep him contained. After several times of catching him and turning him back around and telling him "no you have to stay inside" he started to work the system. At one point he turned and started giving me kisses, like that was all he needed to do to get by me. Endearing yes, worked nope. One of the last times I grabbed him, faced him towards me, he looked at me and growled "NO." Hilarious. First time I had heard that word and I can still see his face, eyebrows crunched and lips pursed together.

Carter is his own man. He's starting to make little jokes and laughs at himself. He's continuing to give me the play by play of our days. Daddy working, grandma working, mommy home, carter and owe home. He usually does this when we pull into the driveway and laughs.

Before school one morning he told me he didn't want to go to school he wanted to go to the gym. I told him sorry dude, you're going to school, you like school. He looked at me, thought for a moment and said "hmm, no, I go gym." He also puts himself to "nite nite" on the couch with a blanket and pillow, only to be moved upstairs by mommy.

Carter has started saying prayers this past week as well and loves it. He folds his arms, kneels down, bows his head and places it on his folded arms and repeats after us. He's even started to say his own things. Last night we were thanking Heavenly Father for our family, and he named himself, and then he thanked him for his friend Conner. After prayers we sing a few songs and he's starting to really sing along to those as well. He's like a new little man this past month and we are so proud.

Sweet Surprises.

This past weekend was full of many sweet surprises.

My mom had a birthday and we surprised her with a gift certificate for a massage. She's been picking up my kids all of the time, so I know she needs one! No pictures to post, because she did NOT want me to make a big deal about it. Low key was the word. :) Happy Birthday also to Papa Dille who turned 60 on Sunday!

My good friend Sarah sent me a sweet surprise in the mail and I am in love with it and adore her for it. I'm not sure if I can say thank you enough, but I promise to rock my handcrafted S.Kohler original bag like the sassy mom that I am complete with a headband that together bring me joy!

I can FINALLY fit EVERYTHING I need for three hours of church with two little boys into ONE bag. Thank you again! Carter is looking for leftover snacks from earlier. On Sunday morning I put together the boys Valentines presents. ABC flashcards put together with rings so they stay together and can easily be flipped back and forth. I added some assorted ribbon I had in the scrap closet to make them a little cuter. Carter loves them and has since then carried one of them around. I had to bargain with him this morning for him to leave them in the car at the gym. I'm hoping this will be a fun way to expand his vocabulary and learn his letters.

Here he is with Mike reading his flash cards. This is our sixth year with Mike working at the firm, I know that this is his busiest time so I never expect him to do anything for me. I don't want him to, I'd rather he spent what few minutes he has at home with me instead of shopping. So this year I surprised him with 1lb of the most delicious dark chocolate fudge I have ever tasted. Ok, so maybe it was a little for me too. Mike in turn, ordered me a new MP3 player in pink to replace the one stolen last week. Best of all he was home. That alone was the best gift for all of us. We miss him when he works so much.

Saturday morning I hosted a baby shower for a friend in the ward who just had a little girl. Having two boys I get pretty excited by the idea of shopping for pink and dainty things, and the opportunity to get crafty and girlie. So along with the cutest little pink and brown flowered hoodie for baby Lydia, I also made this... a dress bow holder for her baby room, where she can hang all of her bows on the brown ribbons hanging from the bottom of the dress. Sometimes I even surprise myself, it turned out awesome and Shannon was totally surprised.

Just a few more sweet surprises.
Carter is now talking in sentences and holding conversations. The second set of tubes have done the trick and he is now exploding with words and lots of them together. The other day, I grabbed the hood of his jacket as he tried to sprint into the parking lot. He turned to me and said, "mommy don't grab my jacket." That was the first sentence and he's only continued since then.

Owen is talking more too. Add "tractor, moo, apple, and grandma" to the list of his blossoming vocab. He's also climbing onto and over everything!

The highlight of my week was Friday night when Mike walked in the door and the boys just happened to still be awake, Owen dropped everything when he heard the garage door open, looked up to see Mike walk around the corner and squealed "Dada," threw his arms in the air and ran to him. I live for moments like that.

I hope your weekend was full of sweet surprises as well.
Happy Valentines Day.

Temple Grounds

Last Friday was a good day. A long, but good day, totally dedicated to the boys. I even skipped the gym, now can you sense the total dedication to the "toddler day." We started the morning off traveling up north to an indoor play center for toddlers called Jumpin Jacks. There were swings, ball pits, slides, little houses, and mazes everywhere for the little guys to climb up, over and through. They were in heaven and spent almost four hours playing with their buddies. When we left playgroup I made a last minute decision. The sun came out, for the first time in what felt like weeks, so I made a detour and took the boys to see the Houston LDS temple. I've been wanting to take them there for awhile, but it's a bit of a drive and we never could seem to find the right time. Well, Friday was the day.

So hand in hand I walked both boys around the temple and we talked. "This is the house of the Lord, mommy and daddy were married in the temple for time and all eternity, when you are older and make good decisions to choose the right you can also go into the temple." We looked at the flowers, green grass, the fountains and people in dress clothes walking in and out of the temple. It was nice. Nice to just be on the temple grounds, to the feel the spirit and to share those feelings with our children.

This is the picture immediately after the one above. One hug and smile and they were out of there. Enjoying the fountain. We really did explore every inch of the temple grounds. On our last lap, they spotted the landscapers in action and the Gator.

It was a bit of a challenge keeping track of both boys and trying to keep everyone reverent. But I'm glad we went. Carter was so attentive about everything. He really wanted to go inside as he watched people come out. He's just too little to really understand why he can't go inside just yet. So as he cried and I tugged at him to walk back to the car, I kept telling him we can't go inside today, but when you are older you will be able to go inside. That is my prayer, that both of my children will grow to be righteous young men with a desire to serve the Lord and to live the gospel and attend the temple. I know that is is my job right now to teach them, to show them they are children of God and he loves them.

Learn more about the LDS church.

Cool Hair

Cool Hair = A combination of Pantene Pro V hair gel, and a little banana, fruit bar, pizza and pasta salad.

Owen was very involved in his own hair style today, being sure to wipe what ever was on his hands into his hair, again and again. Surprisingly, it actually looks pretty good.

Carter likes to give me the play by play during the day of what's happening, especially when I change Owens diaper. Today as I was changing a stinky one, Carter came over looked at Owen and then the dirty diaper and said to him "O-we poop on potty." He said this a few times, pointed to the bathroom and nodded his head. I do believe when it is time to train Owen, Carter will be an asset to the team.

Owen is talking up a storm and I love it. Recently he's added a few things.
Bah for sheep.
Boo for Book.
Carter, in a small mumbled baby voice, but he does say it.
Bir for Bird.
Baw for drink/milk/sippy cup. (He gets this from Carter who still says Balk for milk. A combination of bottle and milk.)
Ma for grandma.
This morning he also signed two words together for the first time, "more milk."

Greener.

The grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side.

Mike is in the thick of busy season. We see him Sundays during the day and for a little bit on Fri- Sat. nights. That's it. He's always working and every time he seems to call, one of the boys is yanking at me, whining or crying. Great timing right?

This past week Mike and I had a conversation that went something like this...

Me: What are you having for dinner tonight?
Mike: We ordered in Maggianos.
Me: I'm jealous. You get to eat good stuff all of the time. We're having nuggets. I want to eat what you're having, you're lucky.
Mike: I'd rather sleep in like you. (By "sleep in" he meant 7:30 -8)
Me: Done, but you have to take the boys too.
Mike: I'll stick with work.
Me: That's ok, I don't really want to take your work hours either.

It's all relative isn't it. Don't we want what we can't have? At times I wish I could be someone else for the day. It can appear as though other people have it easier or better.

I mean I'm the only one that has to chase my two year old at the gym who decides to sprint past the kids club and across the gym to the free weights only to be stopped by a large personal trainer until I can catch up. Did I mention the cardio equipment is upstairs and overlooks the fiasco that is my life.

But it's my life... and today I'll take my not so green, brown in some spots, grass. Because I know in just a few months it will be spring, busy season will be ending and at that point things should be greener over here too.

Here's a little snippet of my "green" side.

Owen is loving shoes these days. Here he is in Mikes shoes after church. Solid entertainment while making dinner, oh and a little bit of Carter in there too. I love these little men!

Just Us.

The Dille's.

These were taken a few Sundays ago. (Yes, I do have different sweaters for the boys, just seems like the only pictures I have they are wearing them.) Not all impromptu photo sessions are created equal. Lately they seem more challenging as each of our boys are starting to come into their own. Opinions and lots of them. No longer are they happy to sit and smile for me. Or if one of them smiles the other is inevitably looking somewhere else. But as silly as it is, I still insist on taking the photos on Sundays. Everyone in their Sunday best, right? I just want to take a picture of everything, too bad I don't do this more diligently. Each stage, each moment I keep telling myself to slow down and cherish because they continue to fly by and I want to remember it all. So not all pictures are posed and happy. Really what did we do before digital cameras, I really can't remember. The honest truth is, most of my day is spent like this. Chasing two little monkeys... Comes with the territory I suppose.