1st Trip to the Library!

Yesterday, I decided to get the boys out of the house and go to the library!  I am ashamed to say that this was our first trip.  I have been putting it off because Parker can be a little loud sometimes, and I wasn't sure how he would behave.  He did great!

We got to the library at 9:30, but it didn't open till ten.  We walked down to the park and played for about 30 minutes.  It was SO hot.  Parker was ready to cool off in the air conditioned library.  I had to sign up for a library card  first and then we were off to the children's books.  Parker kept trying to pull books off the shelf!  Library rule #1: Do not re-shelve the books :)  We ended up with a Curious George book, Little White Duck, and Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that type.  Parker was SO excited about his Curious George book.  He wanted to "drive" it up to the check out counter.  Those of you who know Parker, know what I mean by "drive". :)  So far Parker has loved reading his library books.  We are going to go back tomorrow and check out some more!  I am loving the library as well!  It is going to be a great rainy day/cold weather outing!

My Boys

As I said yesterday, Parker and Harrison love each other so much.  Parker can always make Harrison smile and laugh, and Harrison can do the same to Parker.  Parker usually wakes up a little cranky, so sometimes I will bring Harrison with me to wake him up.  It almost always makes Park wake up with a smile!  I did this yesterday and couldn't help but snap a few pictures!

This one is my favorite :)

Moving on... I am afraid Parker inherited my sweet tooth, as well as, my love for butter.  Here is the evidence.

Yes, he took a bite out of the stick of butter!

 I was putting some clothes in the washing machine, when Parker came into the laundry room and said, "Yum, yum.  That butter is yummy for my tummy!"  I asked him if he had eaten some butter and he said yes.  I went and opened the refrigerator door and this is what I saw!

I left a stick of butter in the fridge and he found it! All by himself!  Now, I do not eat butter by the stick.  He must have gotten that from my sister Rebecca ;)  I guess I need to put the butter in a place where he can't reach!  Never a dull moment in the Thomas household.

Lastly, I wanted to record a small milestone my sweet Harrison has reached.  He has started to sit in the tripod postiton!  He is a little wobbly, and he eventually falls over, but it is so cute!  He is growing so fast!  Here are a few pictures of my growing baby boy!

Excuse the blur :)

3 or 13?

Sometimes I feel like I am raising a teenager instead of an almost 3 year old!  The other day we went to chick-fil-a.  On our way, I asked Parker what he wanted to drink.  He finally decided on sprite.   When we got to chick-fil-a I ordered his food and asked him what he wanted to drink.  I just wanted to make sure he hadn't changed his mind.  He said, "I TOLD YOU IN THE CAR I WANTED SPRITE!"  Well excuse the heck out of me!  I mean seriously Parker? You are 2!  You just never know what is going to come out of his mouth!  I asked him to say 'usually' the other day, and he said, "No.  That is ridiculous!"  Sometimes it is so hard to keep from laughing.

While I am on the subject of Parker, I want to record how much he loves his baby brother.  You know, so I can remind him when they are a little older and fighting like cats and dogs.  ;)  If I call Harrison 'my baby', Parker will say, "No he's MY baby!"  Sometimes he will share him with me ;)  It is the sweetest thing.  I try to soak it all in now, because I know the fighting will start soon!  Maybe sooner than later.  Harrison rolled over to one of Parker's truck the other day kept trying to "play" with it.  Thankfully Parker was asleep :)

Sweet Brothers

Love this boy

Harrison at 5 months!

My sweet little Harrison is 5 months old!  I am a little late doing this post, but our internet has been broken for almost a week!

Harrison,  You are growing SO fast!  You weigh about 16.5 lbs. and wear 6-9 month clothes!  I am not sure how long you are, but you are LONG!  You are also strong!  Your legs never stop moving.  Burping, bathing, changing, etc. is much like a wrestling match!  You kick and flip the whole time!  You are rolling around more and more, but you HATE being on your stomach.  You love to talk!  Especially to your brother.  You pretty much love everything your brother does.  You usually take 5 bottles a day.  We started baby food a few weeks ago!  So far you have had avocado, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  You weren't a huge fan of avocado at first, but you like it now!  You love to jump in the baby einstein, but you are not a huge fan of the johnny jump up.  You are such a happy and content baby.  You smile all the time.  Especially when you see yourself in the mirror.  Your smile continues to melt my heart :)  You are finally sleeping through the night.  You go to bed are 7 or 8 and wake up around 5:30 to eat and then usually sleep for another hour or two... I would love it if you would knock out that 5:30 feeding ;)  Well, I guess that is about it.  I love watching you grow.  I am so thankful that God has given you to us.  You are such a blessing and a wonderful addition to our little family.  I can't wait to see what milestones you have reached next month!

Fly Lady

I have read on several different blogs about flylady.net.  It's a website that helps you get organized and such.  I am not the most organized person, so I can use all the help I can get!  I am starting with the beginner babysteps and decided it would be fun to take pictures and blog about each step!  The first step is to clean your sink.  Not just rinse it out, but to give a good deep clean.  Here are the instructions in case anyone wants to try!

BE SURE AND RINSE WELL BETWEEN EACH STEP OF THE WAY!

1. Take all the dishes out of the sink.
   
2. Run some very hot water into the sink. Fill to the rim. Only do one side at a time. Then, pour a cup of household bleach into the hot water. Let it sit for 1 hour. Now, pull the plug with a pair of tongs. If you don't have tongs, then scoop some of the water out of the sink into the other sink and use your hand to pull the plug (wear gloves and don't get the bleach-water on your clothes).
   
3. Rinse your sink well.
   
4. Use some cleanser (Comet, Ajax, or Baking Soda) and scrub your sink. Ensure you rinse ALL of the cleanser from the sink.
   
5. Take a sharp edge and clean around the rim of the sink, just like you would clean dirt out from under your fingernails.
   
6. Clean around the faucets too. You may need an old toothbrush or dental floss.
   
7. Now, get out your window cleaner, I use Windex, and give it a good shine.
   
8. If you still don't like the way it looks, then you could try some car wax. Just know in your heart that you have cleaned it very well now and it doesn't have to be perfect. Our perfectionism is what got us in this situation in the first place.
   
9. Every time you run water in your sink, take your clean dishtowel and dry it out (I lay out a clean one, every night with my before bedtime routine). Before you know it, you will be doing this everytime you leave your kitchen. The rest of the family will too. No more water spots. You will have a clean and shiny sink.
   
10. Don't have a fit if someone doesn't take as much pride in your sink as you do. It is very easy to fix. You have already done the hard part. You will never have to go through this process again. Daily maintenance will keep it looking this way all the time. Nasty hurtful word are not as easy to repair. Just be sure and tell your family what you are trying to do. They will think you have gone crazy.
    
11. If you don't have a dishwasher, don't worry. A dishwasher is just a dirty dish disposal. Clean out a place under your sink and put a dishpan in there. Teach your family, that instead of putting their dirty dishes and glasses in the sink, place them into the dish pan. Get into the habit of putting your dishes away as soon as they have been washed and are dry. No more leaving the dish drying rack on the counter or in the sink. Put it away under the sink when you have finished. If your old one is nasty, you may want to soak it in the sink full of bleach water at the same time you soak the sink or go buy a new set.
    
12. To insure that your family remembers this, put a note in the sink. It will get their attention and remind them where to put the dishes. Be patient! They have never been taught either. It is going to take some practice.
    

Now if you have a stainless steel sink, I recommend all of the above directions with one extra instruction added: after you soak your sink, rinse well, and use SOS pads to scrub it. This will buff the finish. It will look like new.

If you still can't get it to shine after the Windex, put a light coat of lemon oil or olive oil on it. I mean just a tiny bit on a cloth and rub it. This will make you smile. Some people have had very good results from Bar Keepers Friend


Here are the pics from Step 1-

Fill sink as full as you can with water

Add one cup of bleach

I used soft scrub with bleach for step #4

Before

.

After

Before

After


That's all for step 1! I will try and write about step 2 tomorrow!  Happy cleaning!

He Doesn't Miss a Thing!

For those who know Parker, you know that he is a VERY observant child.  He doesn't miss a thing!  This morning we were driving down Lakeland Drive, and I ACCIDENTALLY ran a yellow/red light.  Parker said, "Mommy, does red mean go?"  I said, "No, red means stop. Did mommy go through a redlight?"  He said, "Yes.  You need to go back and go went it turns green."  Ha!  Earlier this week I threw a beach ball at him and he told me that we don't throw balls in the house.  I guess I don't have to wonder if he know the rules any more!  He is too smart!

Quote of the Day

Parker says the funniest things sometimes.  I am going to start putting them on the blog when I can remember!  This morning he came into my room and said, "Mommy, I smell like I need a poptart."  Haha!