Target Dollar Section = AWESOME!

Raleigh and I hit the Target dollar section today, you know you love it, right?  Well, I found these great plates with tight fitting lids for a dollar each.  Our besties have the Sassy brand ones in the picture below and they are great for toting a sandwich or food out and about and still having a plate to serve the food on.  For a dollar, I thought this was a great deal!

We also found these!

Fun, and seriously, a dollar????  Our Super-T only had one koala, but I am hoping to stumble across one more at another one.  Although, Rals was keen on the lion and being able to yell “rawr!!!”

Below is the start of a work in progress.  The chairs and side table are from Ikea.  We got two red chairs and two black chairs, and two black side tables.  One red chair is still a work in-progress because my thumb was about to fall off after assembling the other ones.  The second table is not together because the screws were not in the box, bummer!  Now, we’ll just have to go back…

Any who.  The side tables are the perfect size for the boys now, and I think eventually we’ll move them to their bedrooms.  We are using our once kitchen table as their activity table/coffee table in the playroom right now, and we love it.  The four chairs will be perfect at the bigger table once they grow a bit more.  For now, it will be their “dining room” table when they have friends over.  The picnic table is just getting too tight for four littlies now!  Back to the work in-progress, we have been waiting until the weather cools to paint some magnetic paint with chalkboard paint on one of the playroom walls.  Well, even better idea (I hope) is to paint the top of the tables so they can play with magnets or chalk on the top.  Fun, right? Hopefully, I’ll post the finished product soon. I am very excited!!!

 

Crafty idea, quick and easy!

The besties were over last Friday for our new usual day of babysitting fun.  No steamroller action this time, but we did have some craft time.  We made butterflies in a matter of minutes from coffee filters, and a pipe cleaner (got a pack of them from the Target Dollar section, too).  Of course, they were embellished with style by the kiddies.  Here are where we put ours.  Of course, I gave Miss Natalie Gus’, so Connor’s is hanging in our room;) And don’t worry, these are hanging very high, although the picture does not show it, so no one is going to get hurt on the cords!!!

The Beach Boys

Yup, these boys are definitely Florida boys, with a splash of Aussie charm.  We spent the morning at the beach and they had a ball, and of course, so did I! Sunshine, cool breeze and super warm waters to dip my toes in, equals one happy mama!  Well, actually two mamas since my mom was there to help out and play with the boys!

 

Just being back at this tiny beach we have taken the boys to numerous times makes me nostalgic!  Here are a few of my old time favorite shots of them on this beach.  Not the shots at other beaches, just this one.  Wow, have the boys changed!!!

Here is their first trip at six months.  Augustus is in blue and has the pumpkin bib on (oh my goodness, those cheeks!)!

 

 

The boys at the beach with Uncle Tommy one month later

 

Boys at their first Valentine’s Day, super, super cute!!! Gus at the “hearthrob” Rals as the “heart breaker” – again, they had chubs, sooooooo adorable!

   

Rals, not as impressed with the sand!

Gus, with long hair!

 

Today, the weather was ridiculously perfect.  My favorite thing that happened was when Gus smelled a dead fish that Nonnie held up for them to inspect.  Just like he does when he smells the flowers.  Um, ya, not the best idea Gus, but okay, thanks for giving us a laugh! 

 

  

Favorite Things

Hilarious, that is what these boys are!  My favorite sayings are:

“Two minutes” or “Five minutes.” That is the boys response when they are not ready to go, or want to watch some more tv, or stay and play with a particular toy and not ready to switch or share.  They understand that five minutes is more than two, and more than one.  They started with just the “two minutes” – which of course I find myself telling them ALL the time, so I have no wonder where they got it from! 

They think they are ghosts.  They will cover themselves with anything and yell “boo!”  One of my favorite stories is from dinner one night with Nonnie & Papa Pickles, and he took his napkin – from his lap mind you – and put it over his face and said boo repeatedly, and when he did not get the response he was looking for, he tore it down and said “me a ghost.”  Well, we all about peed our pants at that comment.  Last night, Daddy got home and we were all in our bed getting our pj’s on, and the boys did not hear Matthew arrive, so he took a spare sheet out of our closet, put it over him and came out like a big ol’ ghost.  Well, the boys gave the biggest, loudest belly laugh I have ever heard from them.  It was priceless! 

Augustus trying to sing “The Itsy-bitsy Spider.”  He comes out with some strange, very low voice and pretty much gets the words, but throws in so many other noises, and words that are really not in the song.  He gets to the part where the sun comes out and dries up the rain and then starts singing “sun, sun, Mr. golden sun” and all sorts of other little ditties. 

I love to hear them fall asleep.  It can be a bit aggravating when you know they are so tired and they are still up talking, but the talking they do at bedtime is priceless. It is the same when they wake up.  I am so happy that I have twins, who are built in buddies, and overall, just happy chappies. 

 

I love that they continue to be masters of direction.  They know where we are, which direction we need to head when we are going to familiar haunts, and they can look at a map and tell you all about it.  They love to inspect the maps of Busch Gardens and really understand maps.  It is particularly amazing to me since I am directionally challenged. 

 

Augustus is getting ridiculously tall; Raleigh seems to be keeping his own as well.  Raleigh seriously has some “spider legs” as my mom calls them.  They are both hovering abut 29/28 pounds and are just under 38 inches. I think Raleigh is losing his curls. It is getting harder to manage, just like Augustus’ started to before he really started to look like Einstein. hopefully he can hang on to them a bit longer…it is nice to have such differences in looks between the boys. I think they are treated more like individuals this way. 

 

I know there is so much I am missing out on posting, I must get better at writing my ideas down between postings!  Basically it comes down to how awesome these boys are and how much fun we are having at this point in their lives.  I know soon they will be off to school and I will miss all the little things I am getting to enjoy right now…in the middle of the not listening spells, running amok and basic craziness of our days.

We’ve been super busy with our friends.  We hosted a  play date in the park making handprint crafts for Grandparents Day. 

We’ve headed to Busch Gardens – shocker, I know!

Time for a bubble bath and relaxation.

We’ve been driving steam rollers – yes that is the boys actually on a real-live steam roller in our ‘hood, dancing, eating cookies, and walking with friends.

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We’ve headed back to Busch with more friends in order to give Daddy more time to study. We are ALL ready for some cooler weather…we are so done with the sweaty clothes, face, and overall nastiness.

 

This MoMa even got to enjoy almost a whole day to herself.  Wow!  Well, not really by myself, but with my good friend Miss Jennifer.  We caught up at a local beach and enjoyed some drinks and laughs.  Then, I got home in time to enjoy a dinner out with the boys and my parents; which of course, included ice cream!

Great view of the sky!

The boys pretending to be ET!