The Oscar Goes to...

Landry! Yup...he could have definitely won an Oscar tonight for best actor. Tonight was...well...let's just say a bit of a rough night. Yes, Chad and I looked at each other during dinner tonight and contemplated placing our child up for auction on Ebay...we are pretty confident we could make some good money. :o) One of tonight's "highlights" was when he decided to throw most of his dinner on the floor. Cue...more tears! I say more because he had already been crying about pretty much anything...for no apparent reason!

Warning...you are about to witness child labor at it's finest!

 Maybe he will think twice before he decides to throw his dinner all over the floor next time!

 Somebody doesn't look so happy about having clean up duty!

Oh Landry Tigh...you do challenge us sometimes! All things aside...we would never trade you for all the money in the world. We love you, Handsome!

Happy Valentine's Day!

**Thank you, Pinterest for another adorable idea!

***Thank you, Landry...if it wasn't for your love of sunglasses...a.k.a. "gasses"...this photo would not be possible! :o)

Happy Birthday to ME!

Yup, I said it, "Happy Birthday to ME!!!!" I will also add that I love my birthday...really I love birthdays in general...but honestly...I REALLY love my own birthday. This year I turned the big 3-1...not nearly as exciting as 30...but still monumental...I am now officially over 30. :o)

Since my birthday is sandwiched between Lincoln's birthday and Valentine's Day...every few years I am lucky enough to have my birthday fall on the Monday holiday...and this was one of those years.

I started my day at one of my favorite places...thanks Starbucks for the birthday gift!

 Then I went to work in my classroom...yes, you read that right...I went to work in my classroom...on my day off...on my birthday. Don't you know...I'm a teacher. We only work 9 months out of the year...and only from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. :o) After that, Handsome and I went to one of my other favorite places...TARGET! I know, super exciting...aren't you jealous? Well, now that I have you green with envy...here's what I made myself for my birthday lunch:

 Nothing beats a bowl of Kraft Mac-n-Cheese on a cold, rainy day. But wait... did you notice that there were two bowls? Yup...two bowls...one with a little, blue, plastic spoon. Yup. That would be for my super cute lunch date:

 Cutest. Lunch date. EVER!!!!

After lunch Handsome and I had a little "photo shoot"...more on that tomorrow...but here's a picture that he insisted we take.

"Mommy. Gasses (glasses...not gas...he can't say his l's). CHEESE!"

 Then my super sweet and amazing friend, Erin, surprised me with a big bouquet of balloons! She always knows how to make me feel loved! :o)

 After that we all went our for an "All You Can Eat" sushi dinner...I think Chad took the sign a little too literally. We ate SIX rolls of sushi between the two of us...yup...SIX! Handsome enjoyed some toddler sushi...a.k.a. goldfish crackers, cheese, rice, and some chicken nuggets.

Here is a picture of me with my two guys...love them to pieces...and I don't know what I would do without them!!!! Thanks for making me feel special and loved, everyone!!!!!!

Did you notice that Landry has some new shades? Oh how I love that kid!!!!!! Yes, it was his idea to wear the "gasses" all on his own.

Oh, and Babe...only 12 more months till my birthday. :o)

Storyland and Playland

Today we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather...and use up a soon to expire Groupon...so we headed out to Storyland and Playland. Landry enjoyed riding around in his stroller...but overall he didn't seem to be too impressed. I think we have a year or two before he will appreciate and enjoy all that Storyland has too offer. :o)

Here he is with the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

 and one of the playing cards

Showing some love for Miss Muffet

When we were done at Storyland we decided to head over to Playland and check out the excitement. I was sooooooo excited to ride the carousel with Landry...his first time. Well, let's just say that I was the ONLY one excited about this experience. :o)

Here he is, with the "death grip" already in place.

He was not a fan of the sound of the little roller coaster nearby.

Still not sure about where he was...did I mention that the carousel hasn't even started to move yet?

Its not looking so good!

 I wasn't able to get any shots of Landry actually riding the carousel because...well...how shall I put it...he was TERRIFIED!!!! Really terrified is a bit of an understatement. Honestly. If you were anywhere near Playland...you would agree. Yup, we win the "Parent of the Year" award for submitting our child to the torture of riding the carousel. He screamed. Screamed bloody murder. The. entire. time. He shook...uncontrollably. Death grip. On both of us. Let's just say...we won't be going back any time...at least not to ride the carousel...or anything else...unless it is the train.

Still gripping Daddy after the carousel experience.

Still holding on tight as we wait in lin for the train. Anytime we went anywhere near one of the other rides he would turn to us with panic in his eyes and cry. Positive side? We can save a lot of money for a long time...since we will not be going to Disneyland or any other major theme park any time soon. :o)

 Then...there was the "choo choo!" He LOVED the "choo choo!"

 Our attempt at a self family portrait on the train.

 Is that a smile?

Yup, he loved the train ride...and then SCREAMED when we got off. So, lesson learned today...trains are good...carousels? Well, they rank right up there with pumpkins, vacuum cleaners, and swimming pools! :o)

Table, toy storage...or FORT?

Last month I shared with you how my friend and I made a table to help hide some of Landry's toys. Well, Landry has once again shown us that he has his own idea of how things should be used! Come to find out...the table also makes a perfect...FORT!!!

He loves to play on his toys, under the table, behind the skirt!

"Hi Mom!"

"Were you looking for me?"

Super Bowl!

So, it is safe to say that I have not been the best blogger in 2012. I have a lot of ideas...and really had planned to do a lot more posts...but...well...it just hasn't happened! Ha!!!

What better way to get back on the "bloggin' saddle" than to do a Super Bowl post? Well, if I had actually taken pictures of more than just the food...it would have been a much better post. But, I didn't...so, you are left with just pictures of our food. :o)

Thank you, Pinterest for giving me some of the ideas...and recipes. Yes, there will be a lot more blogging about Pinterest! :o)

Oh, I did get a picture of the cutest football fan and his chocolate frosting mustache!!!!

Can you believe that this little one is almost 2? How in the world did that happen? Don't worry...I have been plannin' his party...since like June. :o) You do know that I'm crazy...right?

Well, that's all I have for tonight. I promise to get to bloggin'...be on the look out for some posts about Pinterest, my 2012 "to-do" list...and probably some posts featuring my super cute, super sweet, pretty much amazing in every way, little boy! :o)

My "Mystery Spot!"

Do you have a spot in your house that is a "mystery spot?" You know...a place that you don't really know what to do with. An alcove.A "cubby". Anywhere? Well, I do did.

In our family room we have this area that is kind of like an alcove. It is next to the fireplace on the main wall of the room. In the model of our house the builder had this fabulous built in cabinet...don't they always...and for some reason, it wasn't even an upgrade option. When we moved in I had every intention on contacting the cabinet company to see how much it would be for them to put one in our home. Fast forward to 6 months later, after 3 attempts to have the cabinet company fix damaged cabinets that were put in our brand new home...yes...2 times I had a guy come out with doors that were MORE damaged than the ones that were already in my home...needless to say...I was NOT going to give them any more of my business.

I had looked all over for a piece of furniture to put in the spot...kind of like a buffet or table...but the area is so long that anything that was large enough would have cost us our first born child. Then enter...our first born child and the 6,786,453 toys that came along with him. Needless to say the room went from family room to "Toys R Us threw up every musical, light up, dancing, singing, larger than life toy that ever was made" room. Now don't get me wrong. I am not one of those people who wants my house to look like there is no sign of a child anywhere around. I would just like to be able to have people over without having to look at the musical table, Disney electrical parade car, rocking frog, etc. ***As a disclaimer...I am in no way complaining about these toys. Landry loves them and so do we...so hopefully I am not offending anyone. :o)***

So the task of finding something to take up this "mystery spot" became even more complex. Now I needed something that would fill up the space, go with the flow and decor of the room, store/hide 5 billion toys...while allowing them to be easily accessible to Handsome...and something that would stand up to the beating my child and future children might give it.

Enter this desk!

My blog stalking ended up giving me the perfect solution for my problem. Traci at Beneath My Heart...her link is on my side bar...made this desk for her office. I loved it!

So, one night when my hubby was at a 49er game with his friends, I called my friend Sheri...who is a super talented furniture maker/refinisher...we loaded Landry in the car and headed off to Lowes. I don't have any pictures of us building the table because I thought Sheri would make fun of me for taking them so that I could blog about it. :o) We had Lowes cut the wood for us and then we came home and within 2 hours the table was built and in my family room!!!! AH-MAZ-ING!!!!

Here it is...

We used

3 - 2x6 inch boards for the top,

2 - 1x2 inch boards for the side edges, and

2 - 2x4 inch boards for the legs.

Here is a picture of the top:

I already had a painter's drop cloth on hand. I didn't really want the ruffled look of Traci's skirt so I made mine with a simple inverted pleat instead. I should also mention that I did not stable the skirt to a separate board like she did...nope...I just hot glued it to the bottom of the table! Yup...that's how I roll people. :o)

Since Landry's toys are underneath it, I attached a ribbon behind the skirt. This way, when he is playing, I can pull the skirt up and he has access to all of his toys.

**Sorry for the blurry picture...not too sure what happened there! :o)**

So there you have it! My table/storage area that is the perfect solution for my "mystery spot." Oh...and did I tell you how much it cost? This is the best part. Are you ready?

$40

Yes, you are reading that correctly...$40! For the same cost as a mani/pedi...my friend and I built a piece of furniture that hides most of Handsome's 10 billion toys, fills in my "mystery spot"...and another bonus...it provides me with the perfect spot to decorate for the holidays!

Here are a few more shots of my table:

I had to add this last one so that I could show off the adorable gift my sister got me for Christmas! Love it!

 For the tutorial on how Traci at Beneath My Heart made her desk, click here. Yes, it takes you to the Shanty 2 Chic blog...which is another great place to find tutorials on DIY projects.

***Did you notice that Landry's toys multiplied while I was typing this post? If you have a child...you know it is true!