A craft project

Each day Parker will ask "where are we going today?" I asked him if he liked going places or just like doing things like crafts. He replied that he liked crafts. So I decided I would try to include more crafts in our daily activities. I had picked up a bunch of pine cones in the yard and had some bird seed lying around. I thought it would be fun to make the birds a treat.

So we coated the pine cones in peanut butter mixed with oatmeal, and then rolled in bird seed. I asked Parker to help and all of a sudden my boy who loves to play in the dirt was concerned about getting dirty. He told me to do it. Preston thought it was a snack for him and tried to eat it a few times.


We hung them outside where we could keep an eye on them. Stanley thought he would wait real close for the bait. Incidentally he caught a bird. I got mad at him and wouldn't let him outside for 2 days. He has since been outside and no more birds. We haven't seen much activity and I have decided word got back to the birds "Watch out for those pine cones, they have a cat that watches."

Can't the birds and cats just get along? Stanley has an endless bowl of yummy cat food.

A shiner

We had a little accident in with the stroller. Parker likes to run and push Preston in the stroller. He went to turn and go up on the grass and the stroller tipped over. Preston was strapped in, but hanging upside down and his head hit the ground.

(This happened 2 weeks ago, I am a little slow at posting)

Playing together

There are few moments when I hear laughter or just the sound of cars playing on the floor and I peek my head in to see both boys playing together. This always brings a smile to my face. I feel like maybe things will get easier and they can entertain each other, but often these moments are short lived. I enjoy then while they are happening.


Yes Preston is actually pulling Parker in the laundry basket!This is a car ramp that Jim made for the boys. They were rolling the cars down and I was rolling them back. They love to play this.

Lilly's Purple plastic purse

So I decided to give Parker another chance at a play. My Mom met us in Altoona and she brought my neice along, Lilly. We saw "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse."

I didn't buy my tickets until the day of and only starting talking to Parker about a few hours before the show. This time we were early. We got our tickets, used the restroom and returned outside to wait for Grandma and Lilly to arrive.
It is blurry because Parker was jumping up and down.

Grandma arrived just in time. Parker was so excited. Well we get to our seats and the lady mentions we are in for a treat. There was a misprint in the time. Some places had 7, some had 7:30. So we get to listen to a comedian for 30 minutes so that those coming at 7:30 wouldn't miss the show. Well that was just great! (The kids were too young to get his jokes, he was ok, but I wasn't rolling on the floor or anything) This also added to the time the kids had to sit still. In hindsight we should of took them outside to run a few laps and then they would have enjoyed the play.

Before the show began Lilly went through Grandma's Green purse for chapstick.


Parker did his usual asking questions about what was happening. About halfway through he is telling me he is tired and wants to go home. Lilly had wandered out into the aisle and was hovering over the balcony. This was making Grandma nervous.

We survived till the end and then went to Sheetz for ice cream sandwiches.

Did I mention Lilly had to bring her purple purse, shamrock hat, jacket and book into the show. Sounds like something I would do. You never know when you might get cold or bored. She is so cute.

Hide

For some reason my boys think that when someone comes you are supposed to hide and the person coming in the door is to find you.

Parker will do this most of the time when Jim comes home from work and when I return from something.

So last night I walk in the door and Jim says "where's Parker"? Preston greets me at the door and says "hide" I thought he was saying "hi", but Jim pointed out he was saying hide. So he grins and starts trotting off down the hallway leading me to where Parker was hiding. It was so cute.

Check one off the list

A project that is finished! I find myself sewing out of necessity sometimes. The pajamas in the stores have cuffs around the legs and fit so snugly (so they are not a fire hazard) they aren't real comfortable for Parker. Plus he sleeps in the fetal position and the shirts often ride up and expose his back making him cold at night. I decided that I would make him some pajamas. I think I bought the fabric in early October. Well I finished the 1 st pair in Nov and the 2nd pair in the beginning of March.


Here he is modeling his new jammies. Of course the fleece ones are itchy and he refuses to wear them. So he only has 1 pair now. We have some other ones, but I think it might be time to get some more fabric and make some more. I made them big so they will last for a while.

A recap on the Dukes

We went to Tractor Supply and found matchbox size cars of the General Lee and a police car. The boys have had them for less than 24 hours and they have played non stop with the "movers" and "roscoe's car". Parker calls it the movers because Bo and Luke wore coveralls in one episode like the movers wear on their show on Disney.

Parker wanted to take them the Church and to bed. I think we allowed him to have them in the car, but not inside the church.

We gave Parker the General Lee and Preston the police car. Preston has taken ownership of his car and will say "mine" anytime Parker tries to take it. We are trying to teach them to share and take turns. It was a great $6 spent!

The Princess and the Pea

Jim and I have always enjoyed going to plays and wanted to share that experience with our boys. Last year we had season tickets to the family theatre series at the Mishler Theatre in Altoona. It was a lot of fun and we figured if we started while they were young perhaps they would share this same interest with us.

Preston doesn't do well at live performances, the applause bothers him or the sitting still part. So we decided that Mom and Parker would go and Dad could watch Preston. So Parker and I went to the The Princess and the Pea.

Parker was unfamiliar with the story. The day of the event I told him we were going to see The Princess and the Pea and summed up the story so that he would have an idea of what was happening.

We were traveling from my folk's house so we had an hour drive. Parker managed to fall asleep on the way. He doesn't wake up real happy. The cold weather helped to jolt him awake. We arrived at starting time, luckily they were still selling tickets so the show was running a little behind. Parker used the restroom and then we found our seats. We were in the middle of aisle so we had to climb over several people.

Well part way into the show Parker tells me he needs to use the bathroom again. So we crawl over the people at the other end this time. When we return I decide we will sit in the empty row in front of us. 5 minutes later he tells me wants to go home, he has to go to the bathroom and he is tired. I make him wait it out until the end, not to mention our coats were still in the row behind us with people that would have to crawl over to get our coats to even leave early.

Afterwards we went for ice cream at the Meadows. They had it decorated in 50's memoriablia. Parker especially liked sitting in the little car.

After this experience I decided maybe he was too young to enjoy the arts, but when I asked him if he liked it and wanted to go again he said yes. I am giving him a second chance this coming week when "Lilly's purple plastic purse" will be showing.

The Dukes of Hazzard

I have memories of this show going to back to the time that I was a little girl, when I was sleeping upstairs the first time around (so before 1984 I think.) We would watch it as a family on Friday nights. I remember my dad laughing at the car chases and the sound the car made before it would do a jump. I also remember the theme to "Dallas" that would follow after the Dukes were over. Mom and Dad would say it was time for bed. Later I found out that they would put us to bed and then go downstairs to watch Dallas.

About 4 or 5 years ago one of my brothers got one of the season's on DVD. It also was airring on tv in the evenings. Jim and I got into the habit of watching it together it in the evening. Sometimes when he drives kind of wild I will remark that he is driving like Bo Duke. Or he will suddenly push on the accelator and our truck will make that lunging noise and I will say it sounds like the dukes before they did a jump.

In fact I was watching the Dukes at the hospital while I was in labor with Parker. I remember my laughing was throwing the monitors off because my belly would jiggle and the device would slide.

We have introduced the Dukes to our boys. Parker enjoys watching it. Parker is a tv junkie, so he doesn't say a whole lot while he watches tv. But it keeps his attention. Preston says "lights" everytime he sees the sherifs car. Now I don't care to watch the same episode over and over like Parker does. I think it might be timet o switch the DVD.

The Money Conversation

So my day is often filled with a running commentary as I like to call it. Parker talks to me all day long. The few times that I get tired of talking he will say "Mommy talk to me."

The other day he was asking where Daddy was. I replied that he was at work. He then asks me why daddy is at work. I proceed to tell him that Daddy goes to work to make money so that we can pay our bills. I tried explaining that is cost money to turn on the lights, heat and water. This did not seem to be getting through so I tried a different approach.

I asked him where money came from and he said "Your purse." You gotta love it. I thought it was real cute. I then tried to describe how daddy's money goes in the bank account and mommy goes to the bank to get money.