Let's Get Physical!

Yes, Ryan put this together, all by himself.

Ryan the Lion

We went to the opening of one of our new Waterfront Parks last week. It was a hot day, but full of free activities such as face painting, jump castles and balloon animals. Ryan got his face painted like a lion and was walking around growling. James wasn't interested. Ryan jumped in one of the jump castles, James wasn't interested. In fact, all James wanted was a snow cone. Well, I didn't have sufficient cash and buying the funnel cake, did not make him happy either. So, for about 45 minutes, he was crying and desperately hoping for the snow cone. Due to the temper tantrum, I told him, he definately was NOT gonna get the snow cone. I did have the $3, but that was all my cash. And after the tantrum....But finally, when we're getting ready to go, he decided that jumping in the jump castle would be fun. So, they jumped for another 20 minutes and then we left. Thank goodness he finally decided to enjoy himself!!

But, my dad might feel the need to tell a particular story about me and snow skiing that slightly resembles this story. I guess it runs in the family.

Couponing...

Yes, I'm going to be couponing. It's become the latest craze down here. There's a site, www.southernsavers.com. We're not talking about a few bucks saved, we're talking saving 40 - 60% on the total purchase. Check it out. I'll keep you posted on my success.

The beginning of the Turtles

I guess I forgot to write about the first turtle.

I was driving home one day and picked up a box turtle off the road. Yes, it was alive. So, I brought it home to my very excited boys. After they poked at it, pushed it around in a diaper box and put their face real close to it, I put them to bed. Then Mr. Turtle went on the screen porch. The porch is screened in except for the door. The door has slats in it about 4" above the floor. They are space a few inches apart.

After naptime, we went looking for Mr. Turtle and he was nowhere to be found. Had he really climbed up the door, squeezed through the slats, gone down a flight of 3 stairs and continued walking right off the porch, and survived?!

It appears so. He has never been found. The rolled up insulation was a possible suspect for the death of the turtle, but he wasn't in there either.

So, when we first found mr. Snapper, we thought he might be our long lost box turtle. But he wasn't.

Mr. Snapper

So, where did that box turtle go??? Well, last night we were outside 'helping' Alex and James saw something in the concrete grate leading into the garage. He was trying to get our attention, but daddy was on the phone and mommy was feeding Olivia. Now, if he was screaming, we would've ran to his side, but he was just being the typical James, sort of whiny and trying to get our attention.

Well, we finally looked and there it was. A turtle, stuck upside down in the grate.

While yelling at Ryan to not touch, Alex pulled it out with a towel. Not sure what kind of turtle it was, we didn't want to touch it. The snapping turtles around here are mean. However, we were missing a box turtle, so we just didn't know.

So, we put it in a bucket with some water to see if it was alive. It was. And Yes, the turtle was a snapper.

So, once he or she ate, we released it into the little pond.

This morning, Ryan put his shoes on, grabbed the bucket and headed toward the pond to find the turtle.

By the Way..

While I was writing the previous blog, I peeked outside to make sure the boys were okay. They were fine. However, there was poop in the baby pool. Both boys were playing with it. Does poop ever become uninteresting to boys?

The Twin Beds

So, we're in the process of moving Ryan into the 2nd twin bed in James' room. We are doing this so the baby can get set up in the 'nursery' room, which is currently Ryan's room. I found some bed rails at our local consignment shop that we set up immediately.

This has been very exciting for the boys, both boys. The first night, Ryan kept leaning over the rails and yelling "James, James". So, he eventually ended back up in his crib. The next night was better, but little sleeping boys didn't happen till 9 pm. But when they woke up at 6:30 together, it was great. They both walked down together with their blankets, big smiles on their faces.

Naptime together has not been successful. Ryan just can't seem to understand that at naptime, you have to stay in your bed. He refuses to stay in bed. So, he is taking naps in his own room, for the time being.

Here's the schedule for bedtime: Alex takes the boys up with their supplies (binkies - we haven't started the no binky stage yet, blankets and juice - this one will end soon). They each get into their beds with book and/or toys. They're allowed to play and talk for a bit till Alex comes back. They have to stay in bed though. Then, the toys go away and they go to sleep. The sleeping part for Ryan is the hardest. But by 9, he usually conks out.

Well, last night was a bit harder than usual. But Ryan finally settled down. When we went in to check on them before we went to bed, Ryan wasn't in his bed. So, after my initial panic, of where did he go? I saw him. Lying on the floor. Wedged between the closet door and a pull out cushion. He was holding the magnetic pen of the magna-doodle in his hand.