On our way!

Well here's to another great week of weather and fun outside. Our yard has now become full blown hillbilly with the old (but new to us) Fisher Price playset given to us by Papa and Nana. So we now have a mini pool, sandbox, the playset, and a slew of random toys in the yard. My goal is by the next month to have a actual play area set up instead of the clutter we now have.

We play hard all day which makes nap time still on the course of greatness and bed time seems to get easier every week. Grace has been a feisty little monkey this week in a good and bad way. She has been in a great mood but has been testing her boundaries with me and Silas. She seems to think if she looks at me while she is doing something it's OK or I'll just let it go. I can always tell when she is not suppose to be doing something because she gets this little smirk on her face and goes to do it anyway. Remember when you were a  kid and you always wondered how our parents knew we were up to no good? It's because even at this age there are tell tale signs of  a wrong doing about to take place or has just taken place.

We finally have a couch and love seat to sit on after about two months of sitting on a futon and now it has become a climbing circus all day. They have figured out that they can climb on the back of the couch and mess with the thermostat and they think it's funny that I don't like it. Somehow they managed to have the time and temp flash on the screen and I have no idea how it happened or how to change it. As long as it still works who cares!

Our big trip this week was to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek. It's not cheap but we had a good time and they could not have been any better. We didn't have any meltdowns and they got in and out of the stroller with no fuss. I was a litte disappointed with the lack of animals there, but it still was a nice time. We even got to feed a giraffe lettuce and he licked Gracie's hand. Silas made enemies with the hyena when he smacked the glass and Mr. Hyena growled at him. It was good to see that we are all getting better about going to places and not stressing each other out over little things. They ended up falling asleep before we left the parking lot of the zoo and had a good nap on the car ride home. Once again we had a successful week and if it would rain I sure would appreciate it. I keep wishing the grass would grow so I can mow with the riding mower. I love that thing!

Mr. Mom Moment of the Week: OK, so this is going to be a rant of sorts this week instead of a moment so bear with me. So we watch the Disney channel from time to time... you know Mickey the Mouse and what not. I've noticed during the time between shows it seems like we are pushing our kids to become Rock Stars! I hope I'm not the only one who doesn't want their kids to be Rock Stars; everything from commercials to the music... it's always involving becoming a Rock Star. Do we really want our kids to aspire to be that? I think we all know what it means to be a Rock Star; it's sex, drugs, and Rock 'n Roll right? I played in bands for many years so I know what that is. What ever happened to kids wanting to be a doctor, or police man, or firefighter? I think we put too much on our kids to look like Rock Stars or act like famous people when really they should be focusing on what's really important: God, Family and a good education. I believe that children are the future, teach them well and let them lead the way... LOL. I look at some of our youth that will control our future and think "Oh Hell No!" I'll end tonight with a clean version of some lyrics by one of my favorite bands, Rage Against the Machine, it speaks volumes of what our kids should be thinking. "Forget the G-ride, I want the machines that are making them."

Ouch Man!

Loving this weather still but where is the rain? The yard is starting to look a little rough and it's too big to water so I may have to do a rain dance.

So remember last week when I said we have no new injuries to report? Well that all changed Wednesday when Silas stepped on a thorny weed and got a couple of the nettles stuck in his toe. Needless to say he was not a happy little boy but managed to tough it out until I could pull them out with tweezers. He walked with a little limp and kept saying "ouch toe, ouch toe." Then Grace was sitting at her new table and chair set when the chair tipped back and her foot got caught under the chair as she fell on it. I really thought something was going to be broken with the way it happened but after some tears and comfort she was ok... but I was a little worried. So I'm hoping we can say "injury free" this time next week so OSHA doesn't come in here and give me a fine.

The new favorite thing to do is sit at the little table and chair set we got from IKEA and either color or read books. Coloring is probably the top of the list and I make sure I'm right there next to them so someone doesn't go running off and do some decorating... but overall they are really good about staying and drawing on the paper.

My latest project was building them a picnic table and it turned out great! All that's left to do is stain it and clear coat it so we can keep it outside to eat lunch and snacks on. They love sitting on it and I think it's going to come in handy this summer. I think next thing to build will be some chairs and finally put Si's work bench together so he can build things like his Dad does. Bob the Builder has nothing on me!

The other day we went around the whole yard and Grace picked little yellow flowers and put them in a cup she was carrying. We were out there for quite a while and she amassed a good collection of flowers, which she then took to the deck and dumped them out into a bigger bucket. I wish I knew what she was thinking sometimes when she gets that serious focus face on and puts things from one place to another and back again.

All in all, another good week at Camp Puterbaugh and we are even taking some Spanish lessons, thanks Dora the Explorer!

Mr. Mom Moment of the Week: I love hot weather, the hotter the better so I'm usually never wearing a shirt or shoes during the summer time. This past week I dressed the kids to go outside and put Grace in a wife beater tank top without shorts, Silas had just his diaper on, and I was my typical shorts-no shirt self. I can't help but think with all my tattoos and the way they looked we looked like a scene from an episode of Cops. All the toys in the yard, the dogs laying around and a couple of badasses playing in a pool with water soaked  diapers. It was a thing of beauty!

Worker Bees

What great weather we have been having, I hope you are enjoying it as much as we are! We have been taking advantage of this weather by playing outside all the time and enjoying the fresh breeze through the windows. We recently got the kids some little golf clubs and a sand box. The clubs have been carried all around and they try to hit the ball with the clubs most of the time. The other times they just take the clubs out and put them back in the holder over and over again, mainly Grace (the organizer). The sand box was given to us by a coworker of Sarah's. It's even filled with Pure Michigan sand from Lake Michigan beach, if you can believe it. I'm sure eventually we will have to fill it with sand from the bags at Lowe's but for now it's nice to have. A table will be next on our list of things to get so we can sit outside and color and eat lunch. I want to build one but we will see, I hate to buy things that I know I can do myself.

With the yard being so big and open I can wander around and do some landscaping and they stay right by the deck. Other times they follow me around and actually help with cleaning up. I did some bush trimming and they helped me carry it all the way to the fire pit across the yard. Then they would stack the trimmings into several piles as I cut it. Who knew I could put them to work so young? Si tried to eat a flower from the one bush and quickly spit it out with an awful face, so I hope he doesn't try that again at least with that plant. I made up a game of running from tree to tree and touching it to wear them out before nap and they love it. Silas has this fascination with holding a rock always and yes, he has even tasted them. So far we have had little to no injuries, even after Si took a tumble off the deck, he just got up, cried for a minute, and went back at it. If he doesn't know he's hurt he seems to not even bother with tears and just moves on. Grace on the other hand gets dirt on her and it's Scream Fest 2012 until it's washed off.

Our sounding of words has increased everyday and Grace has now caught up to Si with putting multiple words together like "Hello mama" "dog dog no". She loves to yell for the dogs when we want them to come inside and I'm slowly trying to teach them the names of the dog,s but when you have a dog named Monkey it's not the easiest thing to do. I have still had great success at nap time and Grace on occasion with fall asleep before I put Si down... sometimes I peek in on her and she sees me and starts to laugh so how can I get mad at that? I'm not sure if our old house had bad juju or what, but this house has made all of us feel more relaxed and at ease more then ever. So thanks again to our realtor Greg Courtney and Nana for helping with the move. So until next week... keep on keeping on.

Mr. Mom Moment of the Week: Ok, so nothing real crazy has happened lately but I will say that I pushed-mowed our yard this past weekend and holy crap was I tired. It took me two days and 2 1/2 hours each day to finish it. I thought my mower was going to burn up but I got it done. I just got a rider this week so good bye walking and hello sitting on my butt listening to headphones as I mow. Yes it does have a cup holder, if your wondering, which will have a beer in it.