Daddy's Surprise and Scavenger Hunt!

So we finished the bedroom by the time Daddy's made it home on Saturday night. It was about 10:30 when he walked in the door. Riley meet him at the door and was ready for the scavenger hunt, lil Hayden passed out in the floor waiting on Daddy to get home. So we tried to wake him to see if he wanted to play along and he didn't so, so it was just me, Dad and Riley, we reenacted it the next day with Hayden!

I do have to say it was a long week, I tried to take Wednesday off but had to go in that night and do a color on one of my special clients! The boys helped me paint, which made the process even longer, but they did a really good job. The project started on Sunday when I sorted thru clothes and took down all the decor that was hung. Then Monday night when I got off work I filled the holes and moved everything to the middle of the floor. So we got the first coat of paint on Wednesday, done the second coat on Thursday and moved all the furniture back and hung the decor on Friday!

So the whole time I was doing the trim work, the boys were painting the wall that I assigned them to paint. They done this all by themselves, even the wall on the left!


Hayden was tired from all painting so he decided to take a nap, see how much paint is on him..LOL!
Since we moved all the furniture to the middle of the bedroom floor, Riley wanted his bed to be moved to the living room, so I let him. Well Wednesday night I came thru the living room and the boys made a slide. They hung the mattress off the couch so they could slide off the couch onto the floor! What imaginations! Well, Riley must have been so worn out that this is how I found him when I came out of laundry room!

The boys made and framed their handprints!


So Saturday, we prepared for the scavenger hunt. We made Dad play the scavenger hunt to find his hidden treasure, we had eye patches, ear rings, treasure maps, compasses, clue cards and tokens. So here are all his clues:










So when Dad got home, we had to get prepared to hunt his treasure.



Finally, the last clue, sent him to the fireplace where he found a photo album of all the pics that we took during our project!

Finally the finished project!

The boys new swing set!

Last Friday night, Craig and I were discussing the fact that we needed to buy a swing set for Nana and Papaw's since the boys are over there so much. Well, Riley over heard us and joined in on the discussion and stated all the reason they needed one over there. So Saturday morning Craig got called out to work and took the boys to Mom's since I was at work. As soon as Dad dropped them off Riley told Nana that Dad wasn't going to work that he was going to buy the new swing set. So for the next couple of hours, that is all he talked about, he even called me at work to ask when Dad was going to be home with the new swing set, when I told him that Dad was gone to work and he wasn't going to buy the new swing set, he got so mad! Well needless to say, that afternoon when I came home from work, I had a new swing set in the back of the van! So Dad, Jason, Brandy, Amber, and the kids all worked on putting it together!





So after several hours of sweat and tears, the boys didn't like the fact that they couldn't hit each other with the tools or pieces, we finally had it together!

Now it's time to play! They enjoyed their lunch on the built-in picnic table under the rock wall! Riley is givin' Bubba a push!


Riley got a lil scared on this swing!

Hayden's Bad News :(

Yesterday I took Hayden to see Dr. Belmont, his Pediatric Otolaryngology, for some really depressing news. Beginning March 31, we have been fighting with 4 cases of double ear infections with him. Poor baby has been in some serious pain. Craig and I are the pros at ear infection because when Riley was a baby he had about 1 every month, but Hayden has reacted very differently with his ear infections than Riley did. Unfortunately the beginning of May, when I called to make Hayden a dr's appt with Dr. Little who was Riley's ENT, he was booked until next month, but luckily Dr. Belmont who practices with Dr. Little was able to see him sooner . But after all the test, exams and hearing applications they preformed the verdict was tubes. We were very lucky with Riley that he suffered zero hearing loss with all his infections. However, Hayden was low on his hearing test which means that he's not hearing things like he should be, not necessarily hearing loss, which may have been happening since birth, which explains why Hayden isn't talking as well as Riley did at his age. I have always been concerned with his speech but our Pediatrician and everybody else I have talked to has told me that the second child never speaks as well or as soon as the first because Big Brother/Sister always talks for them. But I have my motherly instinct and it was correct. So hopefully, fingers crossed, when we get the tubes his speech will pick up. Hayden speaks well now, but no where near what Riley was. So June 16th, keep us in your prayers!


On to a funnier note, the other day Hayden and I had been shopping in Turkey Creek and we got in the car and was headed to meet Daddy for lunch and I glanced back at him and this is what I found!!!!


Brandy had left her cigarettes in my diaper bag when we went to see Thomas the Train and Hayden found them. So you tell me that kids don't pick up on what goes on around them. I guess he watches Papaw and Brandy too much!

My Pretzel Makers!

Riley and Hayden love to make and eat pretzels. I really think that they enjoy making them more than they do eating them. So here are a few pics from the other night!

A Day Out With Thomas!

The last weekend of April we took the boys and Skyler to Chattanooga to see Thomas the Train.

As you can tell I am way behind on my post but I have been SO busy at work, I am talking like 12 hour days, I think I now qualify for full time instead of part time...lol! Needless to say, the kids loved it!

As you can tell, I had a bunch of goofballs on my hands! As soon as we arrived they had to jump on the old trains. Then we took off to play in the Island of Sodar before our scheduled ride with Thomas!


Then it was time for us to board! The kids were so excited by now. They were so amused they barely even said a word the whole train ride!

But by the end of the ride, it was pouring rain outside, but that didn't phase them at all. So we decided that we would do all the inside activities.




So once we finished at the activity center the boys talked Dad into buying another train track.

The kids had a wonderful time, and so did the big kids too...lol... I just wished the rain would have held out a little longer so I could have actually got a picture of Thomas and the kids!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Well, I have to say I had a wonderful Mother's Day today, alot of laziness and pampering, but what's wrong with that. The boys made me breakfast this morning, then we helped Craig pack his bags, he is off to Raleigh, NC for the next week for training for work. So once he left, me and the boys headed to Mom. There we had a enormous lunch with the whole family. That was proceed by lazy time on the couch! Riley decided that he was going to go home with Angie, Luther, Tyler and Becca for some playtime at their house. So me, Hayden and Skyler headed to the house. I have a huge to do list that I made for myself to get done this week while Craig is gone, which includes a HUGE surprise for him, so the kiddos played in the living room while I tackled the boys bedroom! The typical wardrobe changes for the new season clothes, packing up out grown and winter clothes and then sorting out stuff for our yard sale. So our big surprise for Dad when he gets back home is that I am going to totally remodel the boys bedroom. Last week, I ordered some wall art from Carrie at Ella Minnow Pea, (which is the best thing that happened to Kingston), so now, of course, I have to redo their bedroom! So this week I will be painting, hammering and redesigning....pics will of course follow! SHHHHH! remember this is Craig's surprise!

Are they not awesome! If you haven't been in Ella Minnow Pea, you need to do so asap. So finally, the room is all ready for me to start the pre-painting tomorrow, then painting on Tuesday and probably Wednesday considering I will have two lil helpers!

So Riley decided that tonight, that he wanted to make me his special brownies for Mom's Day. So I let him, he keeps on telling me that he is going to take care of me and Hayden while Daddy is gone. You can tell that Craig is hardly ever away from us.


This is one of a million reasons that I love being a Momma!

We want to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day!