Free Tuesday

Tuesday is a good day around here. Moe's (only one of our most favorite restaurants) offers free kids meals and then the mall offers free carousel rides. Kids can start to get expensive, so free fun is always a nice bonus for the budget.

Contrary to what this picture looks like, Maddox didn't freak out. He did have the death grip on Andrew but his hand soon relaxed and when it was all over, he said, "I wanna do that again." He is getting a little more brave in life. Later at the "racecars" (the money pits that require four quarters to shake a little bit and say vroom vroom while the kids sit behind the wheel), he walked up to two girls and said, "Wanna ride in my car?"

The carousel ride was Jude's first and Ava's too, I think (remember, Ava is his betrothed). They were buddies in the womb. Just think - last summer they were still in our bellies, and here they are now...nearing their first birthdays. As I near 30, I realize it is true what they say: Life is short. And it can be very sweet, too, depending on what you make of it.

baby love♥

I had a great week planned. It all got canceled, though, because of a rotten cold. Today that rotten cold hit me full force. I still haven't brushed my teeth (it's 7:50 pm) and I've worn sweats all day. But no matter what I look like (or feel like), these two sweet faces adore me. And that is what makes my little world go 'round, sick or not.

Therrell Quarantine

Maddox is still talking about the "Ew Chicken" aka "Gummy" aka man that was dressed up as a chicken at Buffalo Wild Wings. Yesterday a storm came up and every time it thundered, he would say, "That ew chicken is at the door. Lock the door!" I decided to have a little fun with this (which was a little mean, but...I haven't had much fun lately, so I needed a laugh).

Maddox was on the potty when Andrew came home from work. Of course, he heard the door open and immediately announced, "It's the ew chicken!" I whispered a little something to Andrew. Seconds later, Andrew was shouting, "Bak! Bak! Bak!" (you know, the chicken sound?)

Maddox's face was priceless. But, yes, it was a mean thing to do. And a funny thing. That cancels out the meanness. (Kind of)

The last couple days no one has been laughing around my house. Instead, if you sneak up on my door, you will probably hear lots of crying and lots of whining. The crying is mostly from Jude. It turns to screaming once he sees me coming with the aspirator (which is like every ten minutes). Excuse the grossness, but I have never seen so much snot in all my life.

We spend a lot of time in the bathroom these days.

I have been running low on entertainment ideas, so I put the boys in their toy buckets and hoped for the best. 

 Maddox liked it, but Jude...not so much. Nothing seems to amuse him lately. Let's hope the doctor can give him a miracle drug today (for everyone's sake!).

Sick as a dog, but the mischief never ends. 

Billy Bowlegs

Every year, Billy Bowlegs comes to Fort Walton Beach. And with him comes many nights of pirate festivals, topped off with the big Torchlight Parade. We ventured out and returned home with lots and lots of pirate booty.

We had to kick off the parade right with dinner at Five Guys. We tried Buffalo Wild Wings first but it was packed and the man dressed up as a chicken there scared Maddox to death. The creepy chicken waved at Maddox and blew kisses. Maddox was not impressed. He called him a "Gummy" (an insult, apparently) and talked about him all the way until bedtime tonight. But...back to Bowlegs. 

We watched floats (decked out in everything pirate) go by, cheered, jammed to music, and caught candy and beads. Maddox got the most beads. And candy. But then again, he cheated and kept begging for candy from the lady next to us. 

We saw all kinds of pirates. I think these were having a mid-life crisis. 

She tried to dance with Maddox, but he just wanted her beads.

Jude was in awe of the experience. But...it wore him out pretty fast. 

Maddox, on the other hand, never got tired. He collected beads, candy and pirate coins. It was like Halloween part 2 for him. 

Notice the firetruck in the background. It was BLARING a siren. And notice Jude. He never moved. 

Shoreline Church was lookin' good out there!

And then...we looked at each other (and the super super super crowded street) and said, "You ready?" It was a miracle we found our way out among all the traffic and blocked roads. 

Farewell, Bowlegs! We didn't make it to your finale float, but maybe next year.

the very good day; the very bad day

Since my birthday, I've had a really good day and a really bad day.

The really good day included:
-church at Shoreline (Maddox stayed in the 2-yr-old class for the 3rd week in a row and this time he actually said he LIKED it! Breakthrough!)
-lunch at Five Guys
-digging in the dirt and making my yard pretty
-soccer in the front yard with a baby on my hip (great workout, by the way)
-and then...finding THIS by the side of the road:

I mean, sure, people on base move out all the time and leave stuff by the road (usually old tvs and rusty bikes) but a beautiful roll-top desk?! 

What a lucky find. I feel like I should be on one of those HGTV flea market episodes. But...mine was free. It doesn't get better than that.

Now...the really bad day.

It included:

-lots and lots of crying from a certain 2-year-old and 8-month-old

-an invasion of fruit flies in my house (Florida bugs are on steroids in the summertime)

-having a blue M&M get crushed into the carpet, dropping chili in the kitchen, spilling coffee AND taking out a whole shelf of kidney beans at the grocery store (while pushing Maddox in the very heavy racecar shopping cart and holding Jude because he hates shopping even more than he hates getting his diaper changed)

Of course, money is tight too. We have gone 3 weeks on one paycheck and thank God payday is tomorrow. Needless to say, when I found an extra toilet paper roll in the backseat of my car, I was pretty excited. Just kidding. Kind of....

Well, that sums it up. 

The boys are asleep and the coffee is getting cold, so it's time for me to go savor some silence.

He will not eat sweet peas but LOVES the meat in the baby food jars. *gag*

He has grown up overnight. A couple mornings ago he said, very seriously, "I need your debit card."

I think that was a glimpse of my life 14 years in the future....

Growing Old (er)

I turned 26 yesterday and there's proof that I'm aging: I have recently taken an interest in gardening.

We celebrated the big day at Harborwalk - dinner at Harry T's (where some drunk girl and her sugar daddy were looking to kidnap Maddox, I swear!), a train ride and then frozen vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries and cheesecake bites (better than cake).

Harry T's! Gorgeous view, ok food (tourist trap, it seems)

The birthday girl (who is fast approaching 30)

The view

I'm pretty sure we looked like tourists with all the picture-taking....

 Looks like Andrew needs to grow some hips!

Train ride

We hung out in the caboose

And the "conductor" let Maddox ring the bell when we stopped. Of course, he really didn't care about the bell and instead went for the steering wheel. *heart attack*

Bippy's By The Beach - best place for frozen yogurt. Andrew chose peach with gummy worms. Jude approved.

I went for the vanilla with strawberries and cheesecake bites (oh, but I said that already). 

Who needs cake? No thanks. I'll stick with this divine little creation. 

Homemade Fun

I love my new lanterns!! They were a pain in the butt to put together and hang, but now when it gets dark and the lanterns glow, my porch looks magical. All I need now is a big rug out there so Jude can crawl around and play. 

Andrew and I are still catching up on Dexter every night. The other night I put Maddox to bed and walked into the living room to find this:

Fondue pot, veggies and apples, and the ever manly extension cord. I think this is the best part about him working the dayshift: quality time together at night when the boys are asleep. (Too bad the fondue was horrible and tasted like super bitter beer. That's what I get for buying "ready-to-serve fondue from Switzerland." I'll stick to our old fondue recipe!)

And now onto the boys. Lately we have been making a lot of homemade fun, such as:

Cardboard racecar (which Jude is not allowed to touch, according to Maddox)

Cardboard house (which Jude is not allowed to get near, again according to Maddox)

Maddox informed me that it was his house and apparently it doubles as a seat and climber.

 I also pulled out that old trick in the hat - the clothes hamper turned sled. Unfortunately, Jude was more impressed with the sash than with the ride down the hall.

You see, I am always looking for new ways to keep them busy and entertained. This morning I hid a handful of pennies in Maddox's sand table and he used his shovel to dig them out. I'll use this one again! The treasure hunt was  a great success. 

And then it was time to relax under those lovely lanterns (can you tell I love them? A lot?)

Oh I almost forgot...the jumping off Andrew's guitar case into a bed of pillows.  Who needs toys?