Imaginations

This is what I woke up to this morning. The boys on the coffee table, in their race cars.

365 or so

I really like this idea, so I'm going to steal it from my friend, Nickie. However, mine will be modified. The idea is to post a picture every day to capture life as it passes us by. I will by no means have 365 pictures in a year, but I will try to do better at freezing time with pictures.

My work office is moving in March, so today I wanted to remember the "old" office. Bye-bye dark, dingy, dungeon-like, no windowed, mold-fested warehouse office. Hello Johnson County office building! For the record, that is the CLEANEST my desk has been in 3 years. Not saying too much, is it?

Co-workers, Sarah & Kim

Can Your 2-year Old Do The Sprinkler?

This is what I got when I picked up Bodey from school yesterday. His teacher, Ms. Kayla, taught him the sprinkler dance. She just adores Bodey and asks to take him home almost every night.

Winter Month Catchup

I can't believe it's already the middle of February. We have been pretty busy lately, and I just haven't been that motivated to blog. So, here is a little randomness from our household over the last couple of months:

Cool in his shades.

We moved Bodey to his 'ig boy bed a few weeks ago. I was going to keep him in his crib until he was 17 or so, but Dusty finally asked me if we were ever going to move him to a big boy bed. I was a little hesitant, possibly from the memories of having to build a cage around Booker. But, Bodey transitioned like a pro. He likes his sleep, just like mommy, and had no problems at all.

Bodey had a minor head injury earlier this month. He whacked it pretty hard on the coffee table. This is a regular occurrence at our house, so we are pretty used to goose-egged/bruised heads. However, this time it just looked wrong. It looked like someone had punched a big dent in playdough. I've heard that goose-eggs are good... indentations are not. Dusty took one look at it and told me to take him to the ER. I ended up taking him to Children's Mercy Urgent Care and all was well. This picture doesn't do the "dent" any justice. It was funny because the doctor was doing basic tests of reflexes, tracking, etc. and she had him run to the wall and back. And of course he takes off running while still staring back at her and came inches from whacking his head on the table. And that's how we got there in the first place...

Fresh haircuts and warm jammies on a cold winter night.

And, of course, this month was the month that Dusty's team went to the Superbowl. Unfortunately, they didn't win, but the boys felt pretty cool in their Colts hats.

Boxer briefs and a tattoo. How much more macho can a guy get?

Smile

Booker, I just wanted to write a little bit about how you make me smile, everyday. You can really tell lately that you are almost 4. You are starting to turn into a "real" kid. No more of that baby/toddler stuff, this is the real deal. Here are some of the highlights that have made me smile lately:

• Tonight at dinner I told you that at the rate you were going, you weren't going to get dessert. Your response? "Do I look like I'm smiling?"
• Lately you've been using the phrase, "I'll do this the hard way."
• After your dentist appointment you begged to go back so you could get another toy.
• You love to learn. At school you learned about Kansas. Your teacher said that you are "that kid." When she would quiz the class she would try to give the other kids a chance to answer, but couldn't because you always shouted the answer out first.
• At the sound of any type of music, quiet or loud, you start bustin' a move. You shake your butt and really get with it.
• You have started to try to scare your own hiccups.
• You are such an artist. You love to color and color better than most kids older than you. You also love to spell and write.
• You are Bodey's biggest source of moral support. Whenever he is sad or gets hurt, you run over and hug, kiss and console him.
• Every night at bedtime, you try to buy that one extra minute of being awake by asking the SAME question. "Um, Mommy, after it's summertime, can we go swimming?"

I just adore you Booker, never forget that!

I'm A Lifer - Hold Me To It!

Today I accomplished something that deep down I've been wanting to do for the last 10 years. Growing up, my mom took me to this horrible dentist in Basin, WY. Dr. Doerr. He was scary. Really scary. I remember being so scared to go to the dentist that my mom had to drag me in the doors. Then, I would be in his chair just bawling. He didn't care. He told me to sit down and shut up. And that scared me more. All my life I have had the biggest fear of the dentist and once I graduated high school there wasn't anyone forcing me to go anymore. So I didn't. And then out of nowhere 10 years had passed. It's been eating at me. I knew I had to go. About 8 years ago I finally got up the nerve to make an appointment. I called up a dentist, made an appointment, got off the phone and freaked out. My heart was pumping and my palms were sweating. So, I did what any logical person would do... called them right back and cancelled my appointment! About 5 years ago, Dusty and I decided it was time for us both to go. And we actually went. They told me I had 6 cavities and even showed them to me on a TV screen with a little wand camera. Well, getting cavities filled is the scary part, right? So I never went back.

Fastforward to last month. Dusty called me and told me that he out of the blue made a dentist appointment. His friend's dad is a dentist and he decided to place his trust with him. He came home walking on water. He was so proud of himself for taking that step and begged me to go too. He promised that I would love this place and they would take care of me. I made Dusty call and make me an appointment because I just couldn't handle the anxiety of calling myself. And the day finally came... today. I had to drive there myself, walk into the building myself, and go back to "the room" myself. And I did. They really did take care of me. And those "cavities" that I was shown on the TV screen at the other dentist are not cavities at all... they are deep pit stains on my teeth. I only had 2 cavities, not 6. And they booked me enough time to take care of them the same day so I wouldn't chicken out on coming back to get work done.

I can't even express how much it means to me that I trust this guy. He works with his heart, and people on his mind, not money. He said that dentists showing you stains on your teeth is the #1 occurrence of dental fraud. It would actually be something that you could sue for ASSAULT on your body if they were to have filled false cavities. And, it's not uncommon. That is the reason that children become scared of the dentist. If everytime they go, the dentist has a quota to meet, and everytime they have to get some kind of work done, it becomes haunting. That is why I will no longer trust any other dentist. That is also why my children will not see any other dentist. It is soooo important to me that my kids don't develop a fear of the dentist like I have. And I truly believe that with the help of Dr. Hugo, they will be just fine.

Booker also saw the dentist today and was "their best patient all day." He hopped up in the chair, opened up as wide as he could, and let them count and polish his teeth. They even used cookie dough flavored polish. He got to see a "movie" of his teeth and they sent him home with a picture of his teeth, a new toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and an airplane from the Prize Box. He said he wants to go back. You don't even know how much that means to me.

A Wonderful, White Christmas!

Christmas just isn't complete without snow, and this year we got it! And, man, did we get it! Between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning we were delivered about 11 inches of white bliss. The only bad part was that it was accompanied with very strong winds... making some drifts 4 feet deep! But, I couldn't be happier that we had a white Christmas.
We started out by WAKING THE BOYS UP... yes, I actually woke my children up on Christmas morning, but we had a little bit of a schedule and Dusty and I were hungry. Santa seriously spoiled them... and also got every little bit of credit there was to be had. I had kind of anticipated this Christmas to be like the other 8 Kansas City Christmas' we've experienced and thought for sure the boys would be able to try out their scooters in the driveway... but we haven't gotten to yet!

This year was really special for gift giving. Tots N Tales gave the boys the opportunity to buy mom, dad and each other gifts. They were very proud of what they had picked out!

Are there tornadoes in December? Because one hit our house.

Right after opening all of our gifts at home, we headed over to Nana and Papa's house to see what damage Santa had done there. He did good.

We finished off the day at my parents' house. It felt soooo good to have that much family together on Christmas. My sister, Devon, and her husband and kids flew in from Phoenix (and luckily got snowed in for a little extended vacation), and Dusty's family all came over. We ate DELICIOUS prime rib and everything else that makes you feel completely miserable.

Booker and Bodey had a blast with their cousins, Ethan and Audrey. They would cry when we had to leave them and beg to go back to play. I don't have one complaint about our Christmas vacation this year... oh, except the fact that it was over and I had to go back to work.