our exciting spring so far

Jared and lil' Jared - I don't think I'm gonna get to do much lawn mowing this year :(

So want some interesting, exciting, never heard before news? We're sick. Right after Levi's tubes all four of us have gotten some kind of bug. Lots of pink eyes, never ending coughing (more like gagging), heads that feel like balloons ready to burst, pressure in the ears. Ya, lots of fun. I hate to always sound like I'm complaining that we're sick, but really, it seems like we always are. But we are all now on antibiotics keeping our fingers crossed that sometime soon we can play again. This was Levi's rash after his 3 day fever. (double click on the pic for a better view) Poor little bug, some kids just have all the luck. I hate to even say this but I'm starting to wonder if Levi has asthma.

But on a happier note it seems that spring has finally arrived. The boys both love to be outside when ever they can. Levi's balance has improved with his tubes and he's starting to take steps. I bet he's walking in the next couple of weeks. Bronson is very good at being two. It's crazy how he doesn't have to learn words anymore he can just say them, everyday he's using new words and growing up too fast, as usual.

My SN, PB, KO

When people ask me what shows I watch . . . . well I'll just say it's no longer Survivor, The Office, or even Biggest Loser. Nope, the times I do get to turn on TV and watch for myself, I will most likely be watching, Supernanny, 19 kids and Counting, and once in a while, Oprah or Full House :). Anyway I really like watching the transformations of families, and although we may not be as extreme as most of her cases we definitely have our share of breakdowns. So in hopes to help our family stay on track, and to help the FIRSTS, get done first (you know like blowing bubbles) I decided to pull out my crafting box, the one with safety scissors and crayons that is, and attempt to make something for much less than found in your favorite catalog and mine, PB.

The first time I saw those cork boards I loved them,

simple, practical, functional, cute!

(too bad good cork so expensive)

Well here is a look at my not so expensive cork, styrofoam mod podge letters, and ruler ribbon. Painting and tracing these letters was a bit of a pain. Wood would have been much easier, but at least they are light weight, and even though they are very far from perfect, I think they are good enough for our purposes. The HR is for house rules, and now if Jo would just come over and make a schedule for us :)

Speaking of Supernanny, we were getting a bit frustrated with Bronson's "naughty spot." He has become a very good little manipulator and knows how to distract us and frankly it has just become a big joke. He doesn't take it seriously anymore. We've starting reading 123 Magic and so far have LOVED IT. It makes WAY TOO MUCH SENSE, and just about every page we have read feels like it was written for us. I would recommend this to anyone who is around kids, parent or not, it has a ton of really helpful info. Anyway hopefully we can keep are priorities on target and have lots of fun with our cute little boys.

a little more of our goings on

On April 4 Levi finished his antibiotic for his 6th set of ear infections. On Friday the 9th we had his pre-op appointment and both ears were still "miserably infected." Since he was scheduled for his tubes on Monday so we couldn't do another round of antibiotics, this made for a very long, miserable weekend - after a long miserable week. Monday morning could not come soon enough. Well with a few rough nights we made it through to Monday and with the instant relief that we knew would be coming, we were nothing but excited for Levi, even though there were a few tears. In our hurry to leave I forgot to grab the camera to get pics of our cute little patient, and boy has he been patient. Waking up from the anesthesia was the worst part, he just didn't know what to do with himself. Once we got in the car he did a lot better. After a good morning nap he was acting a lot more like himself. Over the next few days his ear(s) were draining like crazy, no wonder he was so miserable. I don't mean to be gross but we covered the bottom of our garbage cans with q-tips used for scooping out pus. Well I wish the story had a happy ending here but we have had another LONG week. Bronson came down with pink eye and a horrible cough, and Levi has had a fever since early Thursday morning. Jared and I aren't feeling too hot either. So the doc said to give Levi Tylenol (whoopee) and he goes in for his post-op on Tuesday. That seemed a little too long to wait so we bugged Uncle Wade (soon to be P.A.) and he had a look at his ears. It looks like his left ear tube could be plugged, ahhhhhhh. So hopefully sometime in the near future our lives will include a lot more sleep, a lot less motrin, and more smiles all around. And if that's not enough, I've gained 5 pounds this week, eating anything and everything I can possibly get my hands on. Someday I'll master turning to more positive outlets for stress, exhaustion, and the feeling of helplessness.

the birthday party easter weekend

Once upon a time in a land far far away Levi was going to have a fun first birthday . . . . . .with all of his family, good food, activities, and a super cute Mickey Mouse cake. "Then the horrible, wicked, mean old witch Weeza . . . . ." Well you know our sad story, after 3 party attempts and no party, Easter had to become our pinch hitter.

Bronson and Levi at the city Easter Egg Hunt

It was a bit nippy but Bronson had fun and was very proud of his 6 eggs. They started the hunt with a fire truck blowing it's siren. As you might expect Bronson was a bit startled so it took us a minute to get going, it was still fun though. . . . . . . all 35 seconds of it :)

We'll call these pics the Saturday birthday rehearsal.

I'm glad I took them too, cuz we didn't get a lot of good ones at the party. Is he a cute little cake eater or what?

A birthday just isn't a birthday without balloons.

My good friend Jenni D. made this cute sign for me.

It's much brighter in real life though, thanks Jenni, love it.

Birthday presents and the Easter Bunny,

ya we had a fun Easter morning.

Grandma and Grandpa Buckley's house

Bronson loved finding all of the eggs, and eating his chocolate too.

We were all spoiled.

So remember that super cute cake we were gonna have?

What a surprise. As usual my cakes don't ever go as planned. After a big fondant joke (except I wasn't laughing) I had to improvise at the last minute. I have since concluded that the cuteer the cake is, the less edible it is, and from here on out any birthday at the Buckley's (at least the one's when cake is involved) are going to have cupcakes. The good news however is that Levi still liked it, and that is all that matters.

Our first birthday tradition - the coloring contest. If anyone wants

a tough job try judging your nieces and nephews coloring. I only wish

I had a bigger fridge. Davis was the winner but everyone did a great job.

We even kept the big kids busy with their Mickey Mouse word search.

It was kind of funny how much they got into it.

Bronson finding an egg on the basketball hoop.

Well the one good thing about having a late birthday party is that

Levi had more of a birth-month than a birth-day. He got lots of fun stuff

to keep him busy and cute clothes to keep him stylin'.

Thanks everyone for celebrating with us - all month long.

Happy Birthday Bug.

and somewhere in there we listened to what we could of conference. WOW, I LOVE CONFERENCE and dvr. . . . . . you have never been so useful. I think next Easter however we may be going out of town, PHEW!

Here is a little video of Easter Morning. I've been waiting to add more pics of the basement until it was at least a little decorated, however decorating hasn't quite made the to-do list. So hopefully this will give you an idea of most of the basement.

Simple Truths, Pure Genius

the kiddie corner

"SPECIAL ALERT, SPECIAL ALERT"

"three special steps, that's all you need, 

three special steps, and you'll succeed.

Your special assignment is starting now,

three special steps will show you how. "

Step 1

locate the clutter

Step 2

haul it down stairs

Step 3

put it away

"Your special assignment was a success because you followed 

three special steps, by using the checklist along the way you

gave your boys a room to play!" 

With the exception of laying carpet Jared finished the ENTIRE basement by himself.

This is the entry from the walkout.

I'm SO EXCITED to have a place just for playing, 

and SO EXCITED that Bronson's room will be just for sleeping :)

We are loving our new space.