Christmas

Posted: January 1, 2011 | Author: momruncraft | Filed under: Holidays, Jake, Tyson | Leave a comment

No need to tell me. I know. Our boys are very spoiled. I did some shopping. The husband did some shopping. Tyson had a very Thomas Christmas:

Jake had a puzzle, Little People Christmas:

The aftermath… toy manufacturers take security precautions to the next level. Those dang wire twisty things are no joke. My fingers were numb and my nerves frayed after unwrapping/untangling all the toys:

Tyson LOVED his Thomas set. He had been wanting (read: asking a million times every.single.day for the last month for Thumper, Rocky and the boulder):

Jake’s Christmas Morning favorite was a super cool hide and seek puzzle. You lift the doors of the puzzle and there are animal magnets under each one. He loved having me move them around and then asking him to find each one:

Tyson has always loved puzzles. This Thomas set was no exception:

Then we had to wrangle the kids out the door to make the drive to Nana’s and Papa’s House. Jake was excited to pack his new pak-pak. He picked his Buzz Lightyear (which had no off switch. The whole.entire.traffic.filled.drive was made extra special with his musings: “The universe needs our help. Let’s go. Zooooooooom.”):

The whole.entire.rain.and.traffic.filled.THREE.HOUR drive:

Despite the long drive, we all had an amazing time visiting with family. The boys were entirely too spoiled. It was a two day Christmas extravaganza. Lots of love, family, and laughter. The boys are at the perfect age to make the holiday truly magical. Their excitement, their smiles, their laughter…priceless. Pure magic.

Christmas Eve

Posted: January 1, 2011 | Author: momruncraft | Filed under: Holidays, Jake, Tyson | Leave a comment

We hosted Christmas Eve this year. The Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, Uncle and Auntie made the trek out for the afternoon. Tyson was beside himself with excitement: more so for Grandma’s arrival than the impending visit from Santa Claus. After waiting so very patiently for everyone to eat, the boys ripped into their gifts. Tyson was a present opening tornado of mass paper destruction:

Jake was much more laid back about it all…

And done after the first present: a set of Handy Manny tools. Tornado Ty happily opened the rest of Jake’s gifts for him. And everyone else.

When I was little my mom used to take my brother and I to the fabric store, let us pick out our own fabric and made us each a blanket. Mine was always double stuffed because I ran cold and I still have my very loved Strawberry Shortcake blanket. This year, Jakey got his very own double stuffed blanket. I am way jealous.

Uncle D had just as much fun with the toys as the boys did:

Tyson was so in love with his new construction site set that we literally didn’t hear a peep out of him all night:

He played and played and played and played…

And eventually suckered his Uncle into a game of Candy Land. I can’t play with him anymore. He wins. All.the.time. And cheats. I can’t take it.

Jake LOVES his tools. He carries them around. Sings. Dances. Does this little move:

Dancing with his Chuck Truck:

Grandma, Uncle D, and Tanya made Santa his cookies. The boys were very spoiled. Very much loved on. And had an amazing night. Tyson and Jake each picked out a cookie for Santa and celery for the reindeer. And quickly zonked out for the night…

Turkey Crafts

Posted: November 8, 2010 | Author: momruncraft | Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Holidays, Jake, Tyson | Leave a comment

A rainy Sunday + First women’s basketball game of the season = The boys and I were on our own all day = Perfect opportunity for some crafty fun. A few weeks ago, I picked up a craft kit at Michael’s and broke it out this afternoon. The boys LOVED it. It was a simple turkey making kit: paper plate, foam pieces, and you add glue. I made a quick sample for the boys:

Handed each kiddo a full set of supplies:

Washable glue from Lakeshore made this activity entirely possible. Jake was intrigued by the sparkle:

It didn’t take long for both of them to go to town:

Jake was ALLLLLLLL about the glue:

LOOOOOOOOOVED the glue:

Tyson was much more particular about putting his turkey together:

He quickly figured out that dipping some pieces was faster than using the popsicle stick. Smart boy:

Turkey making machine:

I will say that the glue washed off incredibly easy and as much as I feared the clean up and mess…it wasn’t bad at all. More glue. Never enough. Apparently:

Happy boy:

Jake’s finished turkey:

And as he began his second…he decided he was done in true toddler fashion:

Tyson happily took over. One of Ty’s three finished creations:

Ty’s turkey line up:

Our finished flock:

Pumpkin Carving

Posted: November 1, 2010 | Author: momruncraft | Filed under: Holidays, Tyson | Leave a comment

The Daddy-man has been super duper busy with work so he and Ty had some special Daddy-Ty time carving pumpkins while Jake napped. Tyson was really excited and ready to go:

Daddy and Ty time:

Super excited and ready to go…until you asked him to put his hand in there. You want me to do WHAT. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Yucky, he says:

The answer: a pair of gloves. And he’s back in the game:

LOVED his little gardening gloves. Good thing, cause this Mama doesn’t garden and he’s not likely to get much other use out of them:

And then the camera battery died. No finish photo. Will have to re-stage Halloween pictures another day. They’ll never know. Right?

Scrappy Project: Alphabet Canvas

Posted: October 12, 2010 | Author: momruncraft | Filed under: Scrapbooking | Leave a comment

I rescued this 12 x 24 canvas from Joann’s clearance aisle months ago for under $3. I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it and finally found the time to make it happen.

I have a *small* collection of chipboard (read: an entire drawer full) and wanted to make something for our family room using the colors of the throw rug we bought months ago. Many stores showcase pictures of alphabet walls or alphabet pictures…all way TOO expensive. Or way too time consuming. Here is my go at an alphabet canvas. It took two coats of acrylic paint to cover the existing painting. I then laid out the chipboard letters:

I ended up switching some of the chipboard letters out for some corrugated ones to add texture. I painted a few letters, mod podged a few…

And I kinda love the way it turned out:

Some letters are pop dotted to at height:

The “q” ended up being my favorite letter- whimsy and fun:

Made a little frame to match with the leftover paper:

My new and improved shelf in the family room:

I apologize for the white balance being off…

A Day in Our Life (Part One)

Posted: August 18, 2010 | Author: momruncraft | Filed under: Mommy Notes | Leave a comment

A fellow Mommy put out the challenge to photograph “A Day in Your Life”…here is our day today. I had every intention of waking up at 5:30 to run; however, Jake was up three times with a cold last night so the early morning run was out of the question. You will notice his never ending snot nozzle throughout the pictures. Our day was also defined by this lovely piece of paper hanging from my door. After 7 am, we would have NO STREET ACCESS. At all. Home bound. All day. My equivalent of a nightmare.

Having slept through my running alarm, I was startled awake by a three and a half year old poking my eye and asking to sleep in my bed at 6:05. Shortly followed by the cries of his brother…I walk into this sight almost daily. Jake + blankey + binky in mouth + one bink just in case:

Jakey takes a few minutes to warm up…

And then he was off to Lego at his table:

Tyson figured he would take his own set of pictures:

Good angle:

Breakfast. Scones and cantaloupe:

Jake’s signal he’s done with his meal = throws EVERY remaining piece ON THE FLOOR. Drives.me.crazy:

And is the reason I have a broom standing in my kitchen at all times:

After every meal, Jake will wait for Ty to walk away from the table. Climb into Ty’s chair. And eat whatever remnants of the meal suit him:

Having no street access for THE DAY. We were out, coffeed, and home by 7 am. However, I didn’t get more than a sip most of the morning. Into the microwave it goes…for the first time. I attempt to scarf down my now cold eggs and warm cantaloupe:

The boys start to hear the sound of the big trucks outside (our street is being repaved)…they are completely captivated:

More play time at the Lego table (the top flips over so it can be a simple table as well. The boys spend a LOT of time sitting at the table playing legos, cars, reading, drawing…). Jake is still carrying around two binks:

He’s recently discovered his Little People toys. I love watching him play with them and listening to the sounds he makes. He was “moo’ing” as he put the farmer into the tractor and placed a cow on the back:

Checking out his brother’s train set up in the window ledge:

Playing trains and keeping an eye on the work trucks outside:

Potty training. Nightmare. Thatisall.

While the boys play, I start the first load of laundry for the day:

And in my effort to multi-task, I put the camera down within reach of little hands. It drops. My nifty fifty breaks. I cry. Rookie mistake. An expensive one:

We get dressed in intervals here. I have to literally chase each boy around the house to get them dressed so I go in stages. Most important part accomplished:

We start our project for the day. I have one boy who LOVES to color with crayons and another who loves to eat/break/throw them. Tyson gets very upset when crayons are broke. Or unwrapped. Shocking, don’t know where he gets that from. So, today, I am going to turn all the broken pieces (added some) into bigger disks. Some by color. Some rainbow. Tyson helped me unwrap crayons. Jake broke them. Worked out perfectly:

Ty then helped me sort them and place the ones he wanted into the rainbow cups:

All ready to go in the oven:

Melted. Cooling. I then put them in the freezer for thirty minutes or so to help separate the paper cup from the new crayon:

Meanwhile, we headed outside where the boys had a front row seat for all the road work going on:

Pom pom. Rain boots. Brother. Check:

Watched trucks. Played trucks:

We have this area in our front yard, Ty calls it the “jungle”. I drew dinosaur footprints and he headed into the jungle on a dinosaur hunt:

No dinosaurs, but he found a LOT of mud:

Jakeyloves to push trucks around the driveway:

Tyson rode his tricycle:

The road workers were so nice to the boys. They honked and waved. Tyson couldn’t get over the REAL LIFE “Lightening McQueen” truck (from the scene were he has to repave the road and drag the big asphalttruck behind him):

Free, live entertainment:

Until the boys realized the fun, pavement trucks came with a smell. We headed to the backyard for some water table fun:

And I knew it wouldn’t be long before my little Nature Boy got his clothes wet and did away with them all together. I chalked it up to “helping the potty training” efforts:

While the boys played outside, I put away a load of laundry:

Jakey decided he had had enough. Came inside. I started to put lunch together. He found his puzzle:

Ty came inside and found his LeapFrogbook reader:

I took our crayon creations out of the freezer and took them out of the cupcake liners. They came out fabulously. SUPER easy project:

Peanut butter sandwich and cheez-its for Ty:

Turkey meatballs, cheez-its, and cantelope for Jake:

Salad for Moi:

Every.single.meal:

Ends up on the floor. Tantrum. I saw it coming as I kept him up in hopes of a double nap from the boys:

And it’s nap time:

More laundry:

Potty training. Nightmare. Sense a theme:

Less than two months til the October Half Marathon, means no skipping runs. Even though the LAST thing I want to do is run…I do. Nap time date with the dreadmill:

Run: check. 3.5 miles. 30 minutes:

A Day in Our Life Continued…

Posted: August 18, 2010 | Author: momruncraft | Filed under: Mommy Notes | Leave a comment

After my run, I shower. Check e-mail. Facebook. And then hear my Baby Jakey:

Who doesn’t wake up on the right side of the crib:

Takes a few minutes and then discovers his brother left out his bin of cars:

We play outside. Chalk. Wait for Ty to wake up:

Once Ty wakes up, Mama is in SERIOUS need of a second coffee. I rarely stay home all day. Can’t do it. The roads are done. We have the free and clear to drive. Off we go:

And Mama is a happy camper:

We stop by the little produce market, SO YUMMY, and pick up the makings for guacamole and more cantaloupe:

The boys are having taquitoes for dinner. I am going to make them some fresh guacamole:

Jacob is VERY excited. Ty is watching Wonder Pets:

We wait for dinner to cool down and color with our new crayon creations (have no idea what to call them):

While outside on our dinosaur-mud hunt, we picked up some leaves to do leaf prints:

Jakey had fun coloring too:

Tyson’s leaf. He is in a MAJOR green phase right now. Everything green…he loves:

Dinner time. Jake tears up the guacamole as I thought he would. He left a little for Daddy:

EVERY.single.flipping.time:

“Wha…me. I didn’t throw anything.”

I clean up the kitchen. Again. The boys run up to the playroom. Jake Lego’s again. Ty jumps:

Train fun:

And then we hit 6. Witching hour. The whining. Tantrums. Hold me NOW. Begins:

So, we look like this for the majority of the time remaining until bath:

We read. The boys LOVE I Spy books. Awesome time taker-upper-er:

“Jake, do you see the water can?”

One last slide session in the playroom…

Potty time. Jake has to do EVERYTHING his brother does. EVERYTHING:

Bath. I wish I could capture the VOLUME level. It’s LOUD. Very LOUD:

My LEAST favorite time of the day. Pajama time. Chase each boy down. Get them dressed. Not fun or easy:

And tonight, while chasing down Ty and getting him dressed Jake decided to PEE in the corner behind the chair. Awesome:

Get the boys dressed. Kung Fu Panda time. Jakey is super sleepy:

Jake down. One more to go:

Finally, Daddy walks through the door:

While Daddy changes and eats dinner, Ty and I play Candy Land. He cheats. I lose.

Books. Brush teeth. Ty goes down. It’s 9:13 and I am finally sitting down. Kicking my feet up. And picking up my book for the FIRST time all day:

NOT EVEN CLOSE to what I imagined the life of a stay-at-home mom would be. Not even close. And a potty training overall update: TODAY = no accidents from Ty. Just Jake’s little after bath situation. Go figure. So proud of Ty. We are getting there SLOWLY but surely.

Pine Cone Bird Feeders

Posted: July 20, 2010 | Author: momruncraft | Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Tyson | Leave a comment

The boys and I got out early today in an attempt to make it to the park before the heat. While we were there, we went on a mini treasure hunt and came across a stash of pine cones. I let Tyson pick out two special pine cones and told him we’d make something special when we got home: bird feeders. I wrapped each pine cone with ribbon. Smudged on peanut butter:

And let Ty dip and roll them in bird seed:

Our finished product:

We headed outside and I let him pick where he wanted to hang them. He picked one spot in front our big window in the play room:

And another hanging from the little tree in the very front of our yard:

And then he stood and watched. And watched. And watched:

With his “noculars”:

Super easy project. Tyson LOVED it. Of the many things he has learned at school, they have really fostered a love of nature and animals. He is allowed to “work” the garden and feed/care for the chickens. As a result, he has become such an empathetic little guy when it comes to animals. I couldn’t ask for more.

2010 Goals: Midyear Review

Posted: June 16, 2010 | Author: momruncraft | Filed under: Goals | Leave a comment

June. Midyear. Time to check in with those “New Year’s Goals” set forth eons ago last December.

* Post holiday photos. I have some really really good ones I swear; however, I have yet to download the new software for the new camera…and hence, have yet to upload any pictures.
Done

* Craft more. Eh, craft period. Revamp (aka bring back to life) the ol’ scrapblog.
The scrapblog has been scrapped. Literally. However, I have managed to scrap and craft a few things. And started a new running blog- that should count for something, right. I have to admit, other than really organizing the scrap goods, I have yet to really get down and crafty. I plan to. I really do. I have lots of ideas. **Now to finish Jake’s baby book before he’s in kindergarten.

* Train for, and complete, TWO half marathons.
One down. One to go. Already registered and PAID for the second. Paying is huge. After having forked over $$ for the honor of running 13.1 miles, you better believe there is no way to keep me from crossing that finish line. I will crawl, hop, skip, limp, roll…do whatever I have to do. Official training starts July 1. **Finish under two hours. 1:59:59 is totally acceptable.

* Cook more. I will take the three cookbooks and TWO aprons I received as gifts as hints. The gods are clearly sending me a message.
Eh. I have definitely cooked “more” which isn’t saying a whole lot. This is definitely one I need to work on. I am so used to tossing myself a salad and cooking a separate meal for the boys. I really need to focus on cooking something for ALL OF US.

* Be better about wearing facial lotion with SPF during the day…and cream at night.
Having recently been diagnosed with late-adult-onset-children-are-stressful-or-something eczema, I have been really really good about this one. Really. The doctor seems to think that pregnancy did a number on my body. And my skin. Joy. Done.

* Experiment with color…in clothing. Venture out of my black yoga pants, sneakers, and long sleeve t-shirt look.
I have definitely done better in stepping out of my comfort zone dressing. I wore a skirt yesterday. A cute one. One that I would have NEVER bought before, but did. And I kinda like it. Now to pair it with my snazzy green ballet flats…one day. Wear shorts? Different story. Glad it’s not a 2010 goal.

* Put the “ME” back in Mommy. Take advantage of our wonderful, amazing, lovely sitter and do things for me once in a while while she is with the kids: run, sit and enjoy a latte, hike the trails I have wanted to do sans kiddos…instead of running errands or grocery shopping.
Quite possibly the easiest and hardest goal on the list. It only took me three years to find a sitter. And one day to fall in love with her. The boys love her. We love her. She has been the greatest thing since sliced bread in this house. Every week, I am rescued by a young-active-college-student angel. She plays with the boys. Feeds the boys. I come home, they are happy, she’s happy. I am able to run. Or shop. Or park under a shady tree and read while drinking a latte. Heaven. Absolute heaven. I don’t think I can ever stamp a “done” on this goal as it is a constant work in progress…

* Read a book a month. Read a book every two months? Eh, read a book.
After not having read a book for an ENTIRE YEAR, I have read more books in the last few months than I have since Ty was born. I rediscovered my absolute LOVE of books. The smell. The crisp pages. The transportation to a different place. I just finished a really amazing book and highly recommend it. Super inspiring. Powder Necklace by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond. Done.

* Focus on the positive. Smile more. Appreciate more.
I try. Everyday. Lifelong work in progress.

Overall, not bad. Still a lot of work to be done. On the right track…