Two Trent Boys

Back to school

2012-01-04T19:52:00.000-08:00

Logan is back to school...already. It seemed like he was the first one on the planet to start back to school. I am sad he is back - and he is too - I like having him home full time.

Brody started back yesterday too. He is studying Arctic animals in school and is loving that - Penguins are his absolute favorite! Even Colter has school now, he started in Moms Morning Out yesterday. For a couple of hours once weekly, he plays in our church nursery and I get to do some running around sans kids. It is a beautiful thing!

We had a great time in Memphis! The drive went really well with all 3 kids. We left at 4:30am, and all 3 kids went back to sleep until 7:30 or so. After we made it there, we had tons of fun!

Wednesday - we went swimming, then to dinner

Thursday - we spent 6 hours at the Memphis zoo, then the big boys went to see a movie

Friday - we hung out, then went to the Childrens museum

After the kids went to bed, we got to spend some quality time with my best girlfriend and her husband. It was a fantastic trip!

Easter

2011-04-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

We partied in true Gruninger style for Archie's conversion into the Catholic Church. Archie (and Auntie Al) have been working and studying all year for the big Easter Vigil mass. Prior to the mass we had a shin dig to celebrate. It was loads of fun and I was especially thankful all of the boys were at home in bed at a decent hour. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics from that evening...probably because I was too busy eating and drinking at the party :)

What is quiet, scurrying around at 4:45am on Easter, and moves quickly? No, this isn't the Easter bunny - it was my two oldest boys. They were so stinking excited that morning that they hopped (literally) out of bed to see the candy trail the Easter Bunny had left for them to their Easter Baskets. Bear was able to go back to sleep (thankfully!), Logan - not so much. Needless to say, we all had a big ole family nap that day after Mimi, Grandpa, and Auntie Em came over to see the Egg Hunt and have brunch. Mimi also got the boys Under Armour shirts of their own. In the pictures below, they are flexing their muscles in the shirts.

That afternoon we headed to Aunt Stacy's for more Easter fun. I think in total the boys participated in 4 whopping egg hunts and they have quite the stash to prove it. Click on the link below to see pictures from Easter season.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZtWbJy1bMki

Worst. Blogger. Ever

2011-04-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Alright, alright, alright, I admit it. I am the worst. blogger. ever. I own it and I am not afraid to admit it. It isn't that I mean to be the worst blogger, it just happened almost overnight it seemed. My days were turning into nights and I didn't have a good gauge on what day it was anyways. You other parents out there get it and there is no need to explain the haze that encompasses your first few weeks of having a newborn.

Baby C has been a great baby thus far. For the most part he fusses when he is hungry or sleepy - oh, and also around 8:30 at night, his fussy time. He has fit right into our little family and we have been so blessed to have him join us. The big boys have done very well adjusting. Logan is still being the best big brother...just with 2 younger brothers under him. Brody is also liking the role of big brother when it is convenient for him.

We had a wonderful Christmas season this year. It was much slower than normal because we have a newborn, which we all enjoyed to the fullest. Our family had the privilege of playing the part of the Holy Family on Christmas Eve mass. Corey was Joseph, Baby C was Jesus, I was Mary, and the big boys were shepherds. Everyone was able to come and be a part of the mass - it was lovely as Mimi would say.

I am also planning on including a slide show of other happenings around the Trent Casa. We have had quite a bit of soccer take over our lives. Logan has become quite the player since last year, and we aren't sure how it happened. He has been averaging 3 goals per game and eating lots of ice cream. (If the boys get a goal during a game we go out for ice cream, thanks to Grandpa.) Bear has also taken up soccer, he is more concerned about the Fan Fare in the stands. He runs behind the ball and makes sure to wave and give a "thumbs up" to his fans.

A couple of weeks ago my bestie Joy came in town for a visit. I hope she relaxed a bit during her stay since my normal Mama drama continued while she was here. Corey was a true rockstar and took Colter while Joy and I went to Ft. Worth. We almost visited the rodeo while we were there! (But didn't want to pay the $10 ticket price!)

Here is an album of pictures, I hope to be better about posting in the upcoming future. Continue to bear with me though...

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZtWbJy1bMkA

2010-11-28T11:08:00.000-08:00

Colter Jackson Trent finally arrived to complete our family. He has already taught me lots of lessons in patience. I fully expected him to arrive at least one week early, if not 2 weeks - he arrived 2 short days prior to his due date. I felt like I was 3 weeks overdue! Additionally, I thought my labor would last 6-8 hours (as this is how long my labor with Bear was), and clearly, Colter has a timeframe all his own. I went into labor on November 20th at around 6am and was in labor until I had him at 9:31pm that night.

Thus far this little sugar has been such a good baby. We were able to make it to both family's Thanksgiving dinners. The food was wonderfully prepared by Auntie Al, Uncle Archie, and Grammy and Pa. We all ate a little too much and hopefully Colter followed suit. After all, his main job right now is eating and growing. We go in for a follow up appointment on Tuesday to see how much he has grown.

Mimi and Grandpa were SO nice to take the boys out to the ranch both weekends. It was nice for the boys to get to go out and run for the weekend. It was also nice for Corey and I, to have both weekends "off" and be able to focus on our new addition. Both boys have responded well to their baby brother thus far, although I am sure there is quite a bit more adjusting to come. Thanks to everyone for the prayers and well wishes!

Halloween and Bear's Birthday

2010-11-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

We are all still recovering after a very successful Halloween Trick or Treating extravaganza. Both boys did very well in the candy department and both were still happy with their costumes weeks after making the decision of what they were going to be. Below are both boys showing off their stash:

LT initially wanted to be a glow in the dark skeleton (after an attempt at getting me to buy into a skeleton with blood all over his face - clearly which wouldn't fly...yet), but then ultimately decided on a ninja, with the most important sword accessory. I too love accessories, so I can relate :)

Bear was a bit more difficult. These days he is obsessed with fire hydrants. While driving we take note of all types of hydrants: red ones, tall ones, short ones, ones that have a different color "hat" - you name it, we are admiring it. Of course, a spewing hydrant is an especially fabulous find. Anyways, when asked what he wanted to be for Halloween, you guessed it, he wanted to be a fire hydrant. Thanks to Mimi, we were able to whip one up for my little guy. It was a homemade costume, and a little abstract on the theme, so we were often telling people what he was vs. people assuming he was a fire hydrant - he was quite okay with it.

In addition, we celebrated Bear's birthday a bit early with a trip to the fire station then back to our house for pizza and cupcakes. Bear was in high heaven since the day was all about him. I love that! I also love that the party took place before baby brother's arrival. I want to make sure that his big day isn't overlooked since he will be sharing his birthday month with Mimi, Daddy, and Baby Brother.

Bedtime -

2010-10-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

So bedtime at the Trent house should include the following: Bath, Book, Bed (+ Prayers too). Bedtime with 2 boys has continued to evolve into more and more of a process. Getting both boys into bed earlier with the school year has also added complications.

Typically, our evening ensures a number of ups and downs prior to the boys being asleep. Each night is a new adventure, although many times it is comical. For instance, tonight included the following:

Bath - both boys took a bath, and needed a bath badly! Bear had dried snot on his face with dirt mixed in - yick! There was also paint under fingernails, and more dirt there too...

Breathing Treatment - Bear is once again struggling with his breathing, so twice daily, the boys get a break in the action for Bear to inhale a smoky concoction through a nebulizer treatment.

Brush teeth - Hmmm, which brush to use? Can I use your toothpaste? I want to do it first! Whoops, don't mind the toothpaste all over the counter...not to mention the cap of the toothpaste tube.

Hydration - both boys get to have 4 drops of water prior to bed (approximately, I am joking kind of, but not really), not to much so that we don't have an accident, but this is also an integral part of the routine.

Kleenex - Bear feels it necessary to clean out his nostrils prior to hitting the hay...God forbid us forget!

Bathroom - Everyone needs to take a potty break, no matter how small the attempt. Bear has this down to a science and often goes to the bathroom 3 times within an hour time frame prior to being asleep. Yes, he really is going - he knows this is the only thing he can get out of bed for, and he works it!

Hostage negotiation - this was a new step this evening. LT asked if he could sleep with one of Bear's stuffed animals. Bear is a REALLY good sharer with his brother, so of course he said yes. LT then offered to let Bear borrow one of his "guys." Bear picked out one and that is when all heck broke loose. Poor hubs walked into this mess right in the middle and ended up doing the negotiation. We knew things weren't going to go well RIGHT at bedtime - not the best idea in general. LT ended up crying himself to sleep with the stuffed animal on the floor. Bear, of course, went to bed happy with a new "guy" in his bed.

Infirmary - Bear often takes his time going to sleep. It seems to just take him longer to settle down. LT is asleep in 3 minutes, literally. Bear came out 30 minutes after getting in bed with a bloody lip. When asked what he was doing, he gave me a visual of a somersault into his headboard. Not really settling down in my opinion...Seriously???

Can you believe that they get any sleep at all with this drama???

Had a rough week...

2010-10-18T19:17:00.001-07:00

So no baby yet, that isn't what made last week a doozie. We had quite an illness that was hanging over our house for the week. (God willing, I will not get infected!) All 3 of my boys almost died last week from some unknown virus. (Not really, but it seemed that way.) Corey brought it home from work and the rest was history. The week went something like this:

Tuesday night: I woke up around 3:45am and couldn't get back to sleep. I figured, this is good practice for when baby arrives, so I just rocked out my day accordingly - and did a pretty dang good job if I do say so myself :)

Wednesday night: I nestled myself snuggly into my bed for a long night sleep which was quickly interrupted by Bear around midnight. He took a number of trips to the bathroom throughout the night and needed my help. When he was in bed, he slept like a hot potato hopping all over the place. His belly did NOT feel good.

Thursday night: Again, nestling myself into my bed for a long night sleep, which was quickly interrupted by LT. He comes down to our room and I was nice enough to let him climb in with us. BAD CHOICE. His entry into our bed means absolutely NO sleep for this Mama. He too might as well have been doing the Macarena in bed because he was ALL over the place. I was still in good spirits feeling sorry for my guy, so again I rocked out the next day under 4ish hours of sleep.

Friday night: After keeping LT home from school, I felt for sure that the end was drawing near, the other two had finished up within 24 hours, so I was banking on a good night's sleep. Not so lucky. LT had another bad night on Friday and was still puny Saturday.

After being sequestered to the house all week and going on just a few hours of sleep for the week, I was starting to get into real bad place. Luckily the cloud lifted on Saturday and all beings under this roof were better.

Around this time during pregnancy I am prepared to do a sort of "boot camp" in the sleep department. This is somewhat like God's prep course for baby's arrival. I am up a number of times during the night going to the bathroom or just up being uncomfortable...but last week takes the cake! Like Mimi said, thank heavens this happened now instead of after baby's arrival...

Kinder is kicking our rear...

2010-09-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten has been far more of a challenge for the whole fam than I anticipated. (Now, I will look back on this when I have one in 5th, 2nd, and Kinder and laugh my hiney off, but for now, this has really been a challenge.) Let this serve as a warning to all of you girls who have kiddos in preschool and are enjoying that gig, that someday it will be over. I clearly just have a lot to learn on the big kid school circuit. First of all, homework...seriously, in Kinder? Apparently his teacher is pretty dang serious. LT has homework 4 nights a week, and although not difficult, it can be after he has been "schooled" all day long at his desk. Second, it seems like time has just been ripped from our hands. We have to have LT at school by 7:50, which doesn't sound early, but it is a heck of a lot earlier than 9am, which is when preschool started. We are also getting everyone in bed earlier too so that the group is well rested, which means bedtime is 7:30 pm around here lately. I don't feel like I have nearly enough time with my big man :( Third, there is all this other "stuff" that you have to figure out: buying lunch, snack time, which specials are which day, where to drop off/pick up, and the list goes on and on...below is a picture of LT on his first day, ready to get the "party" started...

Speaking of big man - he just turned 6 on Thursday. That's right folks, he is the big 6. Many of you are thinking, holy buckets, where has the time gone? My thoughts exactly! We had his birthday party recently and he was in heaven! He wanted to have a "water party" which included slip n' slide races, water gun fights/freeze tag, a pinata, and cake. After 1/2 a can of bug spray, 2 tylenol, a dose of benadryl, and a band aid, I think the group had a great time. He had a hard time going to sleep because of all the excitement! Below is a picture of LT taking a turn at hitting the pinata...

Bear also started school a few weeks ago. That transition has been much easier for all of us. He LOVES it! He has 3 friends which he knew previously and also is really enjoying his teachers, playing on the playground, and doing lunch/nap at school. There were no tears on his end when I dropped him off thus far. In fact, he barely has time to say 'goodbye' to me prior to leaving. Below is a picture of Bear with his teacher on the first day...

We are all getting very excited about the arrival of baby brother. I am measuring 2 weeks ahead, although my doctor was very quick to tell me not to get too excited about him coming early. He has been really busy in my belly and the boys are ready for him to get here. 9 months is a long time to a 2 and 5 year old! I feel HUGE - and look huge. Many people assume I am due in a week or so, when in reality my due date is 9 weeks away. Ugh.

Last weekend we headed out to the ranch and it was so nice to get away. We had a very relaxing time and I slept in BOTH mornings. Corey got in a couple of dove hunts while out at the ranch and the boys had plenty of fun in the mud. (It rained on Saturday morning...) I was thinking the rain would put a "damper" on our weekend, but it actually was a plus for my little men :) Grandpa gave LT a Daisy BB Gun for his birthday to use out at the ranch under MUCH supervision. The gun was an antique of sorts because it was actually given to me many years ago. Daddy had high hopes that I was going to be a big hunter - which, unfortunately for him, didn't work out very well. Fortunately for Grandpa, he didn't have to go out and buy a new BB Gun, right????

I've Got Stuff To Do...

2010-08-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well, actually, we didn't have a lot to do over the week before last, unless you include going to the beach, taking naps, eating, and playing. My parents were generous enough to have my entire family down to Galveston Beach, where they rented a beach house...as we have done a few times in years past. My Aunt Betty and Uncle Ken also rented a house and a number of other people came down to play. It was a huge party the whole week and everyone had a blast. The boys of course thoroughly enjoyed themselves and Bear continues to ask when we are going back. He seems to think of it like going to the park down the street.

Bear was so cute, because I would ask him if he wanted a snack or wanted to go in the water and he would answer with "I've got stuff to do." The busiest 2 year old on the planet, right?

Another tid bit that I know many of you are dying to know about is the butterflies. Well, we brought them all the way down to the beach and many of them happened to "hatch" out of their cocoons en route...right in the back of my car. What a treat to have them all fluttering about when we arrived in Galveston. All 5 of them made it, and the boys released them in Galveston...we saw many other butterflies and knew they would be partying with their friends out there :)

Bear with Uncle Tommy

Both boys "fishing"

LT started Kinder today! Woo hoo! Now he is a true "big kid" going to a "big kid school" like a lot of his friends. We knew plenty of neighbors and friends from pre-school, so he felt right at home. There were no tears from LT, and none from yours truly either, I am proud to say :) He was ready for us to take off right after he sat down in his seat. I can't wait to pick him up to hear all about his day.

Grammy and Pa were so sweet and took LT school shopping for his first day. They got him a Bakugan backpack, lunchbox, and thermos...along with some fun pool toys for he and Bear. Logan also picked out his first day of school shirt...please notice the "big boy" skateboards below...

Bear has been enjoying being the only man of the house since LT's departure. He will have that coveted role for approximately 2-3 months until baby brother comes along. We attended a playgroup with a number of HIS friends today. A lot of our previous activities were centered around big brother, so he had a blast playing with kiddos just his age.

Premeditated Gorilla Face

2010-07-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

As a kiddo, it was the family saying that whenever someone was pouting and sticking out their lower lip, they were making a "gorilla face." This was a term that was coined by my father - at least in our household - and we were often told to lose our "gorilla face" if we were behaving poorly. My middle sister Allyson was especially good at making gorilla faces back in the day.

Fast forward a few years and now the "gorilla face" has made an appearance at our house in Flower Mound. LT must have learned how to make this face from one of his friends. One day the face didn't exist, and now it is in full effect. Now LT has shown his "gorilla face" making skills to his younger brother. The other night I was cracking up because after about 5 gorilla faces prior to bed Brody was giving me a lesson on the "how to's" of gorilla face making:

First, you cross your arms

Then you make a grouchy face

Then you put it all together...and voila! Gorilla Face!

Additionally, we have 5 new members of our family...5 painted lady butterfly caterpillars arrived via US Mail the other day. We already had the butterfly habitat, which was a gift from Mimi and Grandpa for our birthday, so we decided to grow some more butterflies. All of this was a great idea, until I realized the butterflies will be going on vacation to Galveston with us. Nothing like a good road trip, with a few of your caterpillar friends, right?

I.heart.summer.

2010-07-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

I LOVE summer. I love everything about summer...vacations, the heat, swimming, watermelon, BBQs, lazy days, sun tanned little bodies - really, pretty much everything. Now, per my blog regulators (my sisters), this post is extremely delayed. I don't disagree one bit.

Once again, my family moved. Yes, for those keeping track, that is move number 2 for my group, and I am pretty stinking glad to be settled. During our last move into our rental house, we were in essence "camping out" and only got out bare essentials to survive. (Toys, minimal clothing, sheets, plastic plates, and our TVs.) After all, why box it up twice, you know? There were many luxuries that were missed and I have been relishing in getting to know them once again. (Ahhhh, to have more than 2 dishtowels in the kitchen!)

The boys have settled into our new "digs" nicely. They were initially obsessed with our stairs. For those of you who have always or never had them - you might not get this...but, going from a house without stairs to a house with stairs was monumental. The boys have been sliding down the stairs, jumping off the stairs, playing on the stairs, throwing things from the top of the stairs and just enjoying every last step. I would say I didn't get it, but once upon a time in my childhood, I did get it. We loved playing on my grandparents stairs....I remember, so I am trying to be patient about the whole thing.

I do feel as though 1/3 of our summer has been robbed from me. I am just now getting "back to normal" and it is stinking JULY for Pete's sake! So, now it is time to get my "summer" on. We will be having much fun and many adventures from this point forward...I have already told the boys to get their game faces on. As the stay at home COO of our household (or cruise director) this is really MY time to have the boys full time and enjoy every minute.

I did decide to finally take the plunge and put Bear in underwear full time. (Just ask him, he is happy to show just about anyone.) I was really hesitant to do so prior to the move, expecting him to regress fully and hop right back into diapers after we finally settled. I waited until after the move then realized I was being lazy and didn't want to deal...so here we are...wearing underwear full time and doing pretty well. He has conquered his fear of "big potties" and is standing up and handling up on his business. Which is really SCARY because now I have two boys 5 and under who are standing and peeing in my bathrooms. Yuck-o! Any of you moms who have this situation happening at your houses know EXACTLY what I am talking about. Any of you who will one day have this happening under your roof, may the force be with you. It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

I have included a slide show of all of the stuff we did to the house. We purchased a foreclosed house and decided to put some money into it to make it what we wanted. We painted the whole thing, replaced all of the floors, remodeled the kitchen, master bath, and media room...among many other things. Bless my hubs for being the General Contractor of our remodel project. He did a fantastic job and I must say we are thrilled with the outcome. Please remember we still have lots of things that we still need to do to the house - it is still a work in progress. I have included before and after pics for your enjoyment. Just copy and paste the below address into your browser...and play the slide show -

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZtWbJy1bMj-

I am also going to close by asking you to pray for my Nana. She passed away earlier this month and we are all sad, but also thankful to have her in a better place. I am sure she was very happy to see my Dad's side of the family together again at the funeral - it had been a while and was wonderful to see the group. Thank you Donna and Grandpa for hosting the weekend.

Memorial Day weekend

2010-06-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the Gruningers headed out to my parents ranch for our annual gathering over Memorial Day. It was very relaxing, although a smidge warmer than I would prefer. Texas is heating up in a hurry. The ranch was crawling, literally, with all kinds of critters. Auntie Al even tried to pick up a real snake! (Brave, and super sporty, I think so!)

LT is really into bugs right now. He tries to find a bug EVERY time he is outdoors...which is quite often in the life of LT. Last weekend he found and caught approximately 20-30 grasshoppers, and about 5-10 caterpillars. He attempted to catch a number of lizards as well, but was unsuccessful in his efforts.

The group was really lazy and ate way too much over the weekend like we always do when we are out there. Daddy smoked both of our dinners on the smoker and they were delicious! We also enjoyed sopapilla cheesecake for dessert...yummy!

Everyone took naps, read books, and rode the mule and 4 wheeler. The boys enjoyed "helping" Grandpa with a number of projects...there is always work to be done out there, and the boys love to be in the middle of it. Here are the boys with Grandpa after putting together a bench near the house:

On another ranch related note, last night LT seemed to break out in a mysterious rash. I was somewhat in a panic thinking chicken pox? Fifths Disease? Poison Ivy? So prior to our move this morning, we made a $25 trip to my pediatrician's office for him to tell me that LT had been attacked by chiggers out at the ranch...which the bites aren't currently itching. Yes, I am grouchy that I wasted $25, however, I am relieved it isn't one of the other possibilities.

Pregnant Part 3

2010-06-02T04:01:00.000-07:00

For all of those who aren't yet aware, I am pregnant with Baby T #3. I am not much for announcing our news to the world, so I haven't put it on Facebook thus far, nor been shouting it from the rooftops, but if you have seen me lately, there is no mistaking that we are expecting again. Once again, I am even bigger - earlier in my pregnancy. Thank goodness Corey was able to find my maternity wear amidst all of our boxes in the garage. I was definitely busting out of my "normal" clothes.

Thus far I am approximately 15 weeks along, so through the typical worst part. There were a couple of weeks which I was COMPLETELY exhausted, and another couple of weeks in which my belly was really bothering me, but otherwise I have felt great. I do feel as though I have been more tired in general than my other pregnancies, but I think it is because of my different "job position" as CEO of the Trent household. I am somewhat surprised by this because I am under far less work stress, but I am chasing 2 very busy boys all day.

We have told the boys about the baby coming. For a couple of weeks LT must have been processing the news because we didn't hear a peep from him about it. After that two week period he warmed up quite a bit and has started kissing my belly and asking a number of other questions. We have told Bear, although I don't know how much he really gets it yet.

Baby T is currently the size of an apple. The baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee and probably suck his/her thumb. LT Loves these details. He loves to see the pictures online of what the baby is looking like now and all of the things he/she is doing.

We are moving our final move into our "new" house this Friday. We have had a ton of work done over the past month and a half to our house. When all of the details are complete I will be posting before and after pics. We are still lacking a fireplace, a stair rail, and some of the tile backsplash. (Some other small details too!) I am so excited (crazy, I know!) to start unpacking. We haven't seen some of our stuff for 5-6 months. I am so ready to be settled and "normal" again...or as "normal" as our group gets! Please feel free to pray for our family this weekend, week, and month. Again, thanks to all of those who have helped us through this process over the past few months. We truly couldn't have done it without you!

Spring Has Sprung

2010-05-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung around this town and I am LOVING it - with the exception of my allergies. Seriously, this time of year, I might truly live outside to enjoy all things Spring if it wasn't for the sniffling and sneezing I do.

Our time has been filled with outdoor fun - non-stop. The boys and I have been relishing in the weather. We only get a short window of FAB weather, so when it is here, we are out. Last week we had the pleasure of seeing a better concert than Bon Jovi, Cher, and Celine Dion put together. That's right, we got the pleasure to see the St. Ann's preschool Spring Sing, in which LT was a star. The theme was red, white, and blue and the group sang some very patriotic songs. That's him in the front and center:

We have also been pre-occupied with some great soccer playing in our house. LT started soccer this season and has become quite the player. Thus far, he has scored one goal - in which Grandpa took him to get ice cream. His team won yesterday and we decided to do our own team pics instead of having a company do them. I think they turned out pretty well, what do you think?

Bear is finding himself smack dab in the terrible two's. Earlier this week I thought he truly might have broken my nose during a tantrum because he had to put his shorts back on. (The boy loves to sport just his diaper.) Let's just put it this way, there was a toy fishing reel that made such contact with my nose in which I was swollen, bleeding, and super grouchy. Additionally, he might have broken HIS foot after jumping off of a bed last night. He is currently limping and has been all day. Some call him Evil Kinevel, we call him Bear :)

Potty training part 2?

2010-04-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

You might think I am just off my rocker to even think of training my youngest little bub. I think I am crazy and we have barely started. My friend was nice enough to donate some little bub Elmo underwear, size 2T. Bear has been doing some potty attempts and has been really liking the sweet treat perks associated with going potty. Now, here are the reasons I think this endeavor is a BAD idea:

1) You shouldn't potty train (says doctors) prior to any significant upcoming life change...ie yet another move coming up in May...hmmm, just what we are planning on doing.

2) I swore I was going to have Bear BEGGING to sit his hiney on the potty vs. me BEGGING him to handle it.

3) Just this morning in our 2nd underwear attempt he pooped and peed in his bright shiney new Elmo undies. (2 different pairs!)

4) We are still having potty issues with his big brother. Now, big brother has issues of his own, but he still has problems determining when to go ahead and make his way to the bathroom...sometimes it is just too hard to tear away from playing with his matchbox cars, ya know? I have that problem all the time when reading the White House/Black Market catalog :)

Reasons why I think this is a good idea:

1) We are in the rental house - seriously, pee and poop all over this bad boy, it isn't my carpet and we will be leaving the stains behind. (This has been my motto in this beaut from day #1, and it is kind of nice to be able to shrug this stuff off.)

2) Have you ever seen a 2T hiney in 2T underwear? It is truly just about the cutest thing you have ever seen...even when the underwear gets all faded from all of the accident washings. Although I am a little biased of course!

3) I think we can get out of the initial "oh, I just peed/pooped and it doesn't just go away like it does in my diaper" the underwear is a goner, right to the wash - and later tweak the true accidents...maybe.

One other note - I am sure many of you know the true fabulousness of Pandora radio, but just in case you don't, you will love it. Just hop on there and it whips up a sassy little station right up your alley. This side note is brought to you by Pandora radio - Jess' fave and it should be yours too. (I am jamming to it right now and it just makes me happy, and I thought it might make you happy too!)

p.s. These pics are not cooperating and honestly, you get the picture (pardon the pun!)

Spring Break!

2010-03-18T06:37:00.001-07:00

Many people trek out to Orlando for Disney World, or the Bahamas, our group decided to stay right here in the heart of TX. Although staying right here, I am trying to make this week super fun and special. The fun thing is the kids are absolutely digging it. Now, who wouldn't dig the following:

1) Going to the ranch for 3 days with Mimi and Auntie Em - always a crowd pleaser?

2) Going on a hike after playing at the park

3) Having lunch at Costco and having special "breakfast for dinner" options including cereal and waffles?

3) Playing with tons of friends

4) Having movie morning and movie night - we normally don't get to watch movies, simply because you end up in front of the TV for 1.5-2 hours minimum, but this week is Spring Break...let's get crazy!

Who moved my cheese? Seriously.

2010-03-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

For those of you "cheese" readers, my cheese has definitely been moved. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we received an offer on our house in approximately 2 days after putting it on the market. 25 days later and we are moved out of Sumac. We leave behind many faithful neighbors and pool-goers who will be greatly missed. The main reason we didn't want to leave our 'hood' was because of our fab neighborhood. Our entire fam will miss all of our good friends and neighbors who we became so close to.

Our house on Sumac that will be greatly missed

Our last night at our Sumac house was fun too - Corey suggested to have a family camp out in our old house for the last hoorah. I think everyone loved it, even me considering how exhausted I was after moving that day. Corey set up our 12 man tent in the empty living room and all four of us camped out that night. We roasted marshmallows, told ghost stories, and everyone got to stay up past their bedtime. I am glad that we ended on a high note, because otherwise I would have been weepy about leaving that house. When we moved into that house, Corey and I were newlyweds with no kids. We had lots of responsibilities to work and friends at that time. Looking at how far we have come and how much we (and our family) has grown makes the house that much more special. BUT, a house is really just a house without your things and your love in it :)

The boys peeking out of the tent

So, where are we living, I am sure you are wondering. Our fam took a time machine back to 1985 and moved into Coppell to #425. We chose to move back to the 80's because the price was cheaper, and the place was bigger for all of our stuff. Although I don't love the wood grain counters or blue and pink floral wallpaper, I think overall it was a good temporary move. Shortly after moving in, I also realized that homes built before the 90's don't come with a built in microwave. I realized that AFTER moving in when I was cooking lunch. The boys like this little house because it has an open backyard to play in whenever they want and also a little tiny room that is ALL theirs for their toys.

Our beauty of a rental

While moving I feel like I fell into a black abyss during these last few weeks, so I wonder who knows where we are and if we are ever coming back to real life. I felt like the move was consuming my ENTIRE life and I am glad it is over - one more move into a real house to go!

Speaking of real houses, we have a contract on a house, not far from where we were living previously. It is a foreclosure home, so we will need to do some work prior to moving in, thank goodness we are renting this beauty for 3 long months :)

The house we are going to close on

I also need to thank all of the people who have helped us over the last month. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of love, prayer, and support our family has received through this process. People have watched the kids, packed a box, unpacked a box, made us dinner, organized shoes, and just loved us through this endeavor. We are truly thankful to each and every one of you!

First trip...

2010-02-21T08:02:00.000-08:00

Thursday night we had our first "official" trip to the ER. Now, I am sure you are thinking...wowza, you sure have a bunch going on - and now this??? My thoughts exactly! Logan somehow (neither Corey nor myself saw the actual incident) had a collision with the wood floor and his chin. I knew the injury was bad because he seemed to be beside himself regarding the pain immediately. When I took a look at it, I knew we were in for a trip.

I understand now why so many people get stitches on their chin - it is a bad spot. Your head does a lot of moving about, so when you get a hole there, it is a given you will get stitches...which was our case. Mom came over and was hoping to do some skin glue to repair the injury. (This is one of those times I so appreciate having a nurse for a Mom.) Upon seeing the site she knew we were headed into the ER.

We went in and LT did awesome! The shots to numb the site were the worst part...and otherwise, we walked out with 6 blue stitches. How did the doc know it was LT's favorite color? Well, I think they give blue to everyone, but he still felt pretty special. The incident went down at 8pm, we were home and had him in bed by 9:30...not bad!! I think I am blessed to have not been into the ER prior to now...and pretty excited about our first experience.

Brody also wanted to get a shot of his chin:

Sorry to have you look up LT's nose, I couldn't get a good shot of it otherwise!

What's the update...right?

2010-02-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

Well, after dropping the big news of putting our house on the market in my last blog, we received an offer on our house lickety split! The prospective buyer offered us our listing price, and additionally wants us out of our house on the 25th of this month...yes, that's right, the 25th. Since that information was brought to us, I have been busying myself with a number of moving duties...packing, fixing the issues that came back on the inspection report, finding a place to live, etc. The last one is the most daunting of them all. We have placed an offer on a foreclosed home and are really hoping for the best on that - but realistically we will be homeless on the 25th. (Even if we get the foreclosed house!) Additionally, Corey and I don't want to be rushed into getting a house that isn't "it." I have looked at a number of options for short term, but feel as though we will be moving to Coppell for the short term. The price, length of stay, and size is just right for our needs. It should be an adventure!

In other news, we had 11 whopping inches of snow here. Yes, that is a date that will go down in history as the most snow EVER received here. I will say that I feel as though Dallas has responded well to the conditions (even though every single school district was closed.) The problem we have, is that we don't really own snow plows here that do heavy duty work. So all 11 inches are just hanging out in the street...awesome! The boys have had a good time playing in it - although Brody quits early and gets cold. I have also figured out that I need to add some sassy boots to my wardrobe to slush around in this stuff. Tennies just don't cut it! Additionally, I just don't know how all you northerners do it with ALL of the wet clothes...ugh! I can't keep up with all the stuff that is wet, and cold. We often times break out in random prayer around our house (although, not as often as I would prefer!) and LT said "Thank you Jesus for ALL of this fabulous snow, please don't let the sun come out and melt it!"

Finally, LT has a mohawk. That's right, he has a mohawk. His friend Eli was sporting a mohawk by spiking his hair up, and LT's just won't do that. His is too thick and matted down to his head. So, I allowed Corey to cut it into a mohawk on Sunday afternoon. It's only hair right??? He looks pretty cute with it and I figure this is the time for him to do it - versus when he is 16...I hope he is getting some of his creativity out now. He also decided to put a tattoo across his forehead the same day...the following is a picture of him:

I am the Mom who...

2010-01-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

I am the Mom who:

- Has a tinkerbell wand in her purse which goes off and makes a magical sound every couple steps

- Had a tupperware bowl in my garage which had dead moths in it awaiting "M week" for show and tell

- Knows Track #12 on Disc 6 is "Tickle Time" and knows that Track #2 is "You Are My Sunshine" and Track #22 is "5 Little Speckled Frogs"

- Has to read the title of each one of "Curious George" to the boys...even though they don't really get the clever meanings of them

- Has a dance party right in the kitchen at least once a week...I too am a part of the party!

- Always has at least one sweet treat on hand for any boys who eat their dinner

- Had her house sparkling clean EXCEPT the boys bathroom where someone younger than 6 forgot to flush the potty after going #2 - THEN SHOWED IT TO PROSPECTIVE BUYERS!

- Has a very jealous boyfriend who is 2 years old, who does NOT like it when I hold other babies and bursts into tears if I do so

- Has 6 car seats total: 4 in my car to drive carpool, one in the garage in case I need to pick up any other kiddos, and one in my mom's car just in case

- Sees gross things every day

- Secretly puts on my lip gloss, so that the boys don't want to slobber it up

- Sits in pee on the toilet seat at least once daily in my house - you would think I would learn!

- Knows my pediatrician's phone number by heart

- Hates bananas, but has them in my house, diaper bag, and purse for all 3 of my boys

- Has cleaned up the throw up of 2 children who are not my own in the last month

- Thinks getting my teeth cleaned is a near-spa day

- Has begun hating meal time - the youngest boys don't like to be contained to their seats for 30 minutes, and I am convinced that they just might not enjoy eating all that much...I can't relate obviously!

- Isn't driven monetarily anymore, now I am driven by hugs and kisses

- Loves movie night, not for the movies, but for the snuggling

- Is almost as excited to go and get ice cream after a goal at the soccer field as my 5 year old

- Sneaks sugary cereal, I never thought I would miss it as much as I do

- Often runs a day care out of my house for my other friend's kids...everyone needs an afternoon off

- Tries to limit our TV watching to 1 hour day, like my pediatrician recommended. Some days this just isn't possible, especially during the witching hour. (5-6pm)

- Is humbled daily...just when I think I am getting to be a pro at this parenting thing, one of my boys throws me a curve ball.

- Enjoys girl time far more than I ever have previously, I also enjoy chatting on the phone, sometimes with 1-2 kids screaming/laughing/crying in the background.

I might be crazy...

2010-01-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

Many things have been making me think I am crazy lately.

First up, running a marathon. That is just plain old buck wild CRAZY. I haven't blogged about that yet, so I thought I should start off with that - about 1 month late. (You would think I would blog about it that day, considering I finished, right?)

The marathon went great. I was super pleased with my time and my experience this year. I had been praying for good weather for months, and the Lord answered my request. We had picture perfect running weather that day - not too windy, not rainy or snowy, and not too hot or cold. My time was 4:25 this year, last year it was in the 5 hour + range. I was psyched because I really felt as though I ran my best possible race that day. I felt great. I have a sweaty pic of Em and I post race that I will put on the blog eventually after scanning it in.

I am crazy in LOVE with all 3 of my boys. The two of my youngest boys say the most precious things...like:

LT: Mommy/Daddy I love you really bad.

LT: The wind is attacking my door! (the wind was blowing super hard, making it difficult for him to shut it.)

LT: I forgot to remember.

BT: The moon is on!

BT: I lub (love) you mommy.

BT: Tem and Tal - this is what he calls his Auntie Em and Auntie Al...LT has also started using this too...

Finally, this might make me sound the craziest, but Corey and I will be putting our house on the market soon. We are hoping to get into something new before school starts next year that is a bit bigger. I have already been a HOT MESS after starting to clean and prep to put this house on the market, so I am sure that will intensify when the showings start. Feel free to keep us in your prayers that we find the house for us and that our current house sells!

Assault with cowboy boots

2010-01-04T13:52:00.008-08:00

There is something about my little men in boots that just breaks my heart. Logan was wearing these new additions to his wardrobe all weekend out at the ranch. (Thank you Auntie Al and Uncle Archie!) They were perfect out there kicking up dirt and forging through the tall grass. He chose to wear his snazzy new boots to school today - with sweat pants. (Not my favorite choice in terms of a combo, but I try to allow independence and creativity in his daily attire.) He gets tons of compliments while wearing his new boots, I am sure you can see why...

Needless to say, I was NOT aware that boots could be used as a deadly weapon...much like they were today. It was a normal school day from what I understand until Logan chose to kick one of his friends (who is also in our carpool, which makes it even worse because the victim's Mom notified me of the incident) in the groin. Now, I can almost understand this from a girl, we just don't get the sheer pain associated with this body part, but from a boy....MY BOY???? What the freak??? So now I sit...waiting for his teacher to call to discuss "the incident." Corey and I are trying to come up with a creative punishment in which he will really "feel the pain" that he caused to his friend.

I must also admit that this parenting stuff is getting a little more difficult. I can't imagine what it is going to be like when my kids start making big mistakes, which aren't so simple to fix or create a punishment for. I feel terrible for the victim of the incident and also for my little man and the punishment he is about to embark upon. Any suggestions out there for a punishment? Send them my way!

Happy New Years Eve!

2009-12-31T13:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight is NYE and boy how things have changed! We don't have ANY big plans tonight other than to hang out with the fam. After the Christmas festivities, I think we are all excited to get a little R&R around here. Looking back on 09', I think I am pretty excited about the year. Things went really well for us. Our fam was happy and healthy for the most part and Corey and I have made it through another year of parenting. (I was surprised we made it through year 1, now we are 5 years in!)

Christmas was a blast for the boys this year. Logan really is getting the whole Santa gig. We were very blessed with all of our gifts. I just tried cleaning out a few of Logan's "old toys" (aka Happy Meal toys and other toys he hasn't played with in years) with no avail. Reminder to self for next time: no help needed from LT. I watch the show "Hoarders" and Logan has some of those similar behaviors. Also, if you haven't watched that show - please do, it is quality television at it's best :)

School is about to start up after the break and I am a little sad for LT to go back. As much as he and Brody have been at each others' throats, it is nice having him around full-time. (Now is when I get all boo-hoo-ish about him going to Kinder next year...)

We had a family filled break with lots of surprises. First, we helped throw a surprise party for Corey's mom's 60th birthday. Next, we flew Corey's Aunt Phyllis in on her birthday to really surprise her. Finally, we threw Auntie Em a graduation party to celebrate her getting her Masters Degree - THEN my Aunt Peggy flew in for the shin dig. Can you believe all of that has gone down in the last 3 weeks??? I can't! We haven't been around our house much with all of the celebrating, so again, we are looking forward to hanging at the house tonight! For all of you partying like rock stars - Happy New Years! Have fun and be careful tonight!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-08T06:09:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at the Trent house. In fact, it probably looks more like Christmas here than it does in the majority of places. We LOVE to have any and all lights on while we are home. ALL the time! Logan and Brody are just loving the Christmas lights . We have been out a number of times just checking out the lights in our neighborhood and this weekend Grammy and Pa took the boys out to Joe Pool Lake to look at the monster light scene. Corey and I headed to a super fun Christmas party during that journey.

Both boys have been to see Santa already. Logan got to see him at our Christmas party at church, and then Daddy (or Daddio as Brody likes to call him) took the boys to get their picture snapped at Bass Pro shops. The first visit was a smidge traumatic for Bear, but the second time, Brody was willing to get his pic taken. In fact, since Logan had already been to see Santa - during the Bass Pro visit, Logan didn't even ask for additional toys for himself. He decided to vocalize Brody's wishes to the big guy. How sweet is that???? (Sorry, please let me relish in the sweetness of this act, because things like this need to be recognized around here!) I will try to scan the picture of the two of them in and post it soon.

Additionally, last year our Aunt Peggy and Uncle Tom were nice enough to give us an Elf on the Shelf. That "elfie" has been quite busy. He goes to the North Pole every night and moves his location every morning. Phew, he has a tough job!

Will the fun ever stop?

2009-11-18T11:16:00.000-08:00

Seriously, just after having Corey's surprise shin dig...we truly celebrated with a family party last Wednesday. Then last weekend we headed for the desert - as Logan likes to call it - to visit my Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Donna, and Aunt Elaine. I have to give a serious shout out to my fam for helping with 2 hours of diversion tactics on the plane ride out to Arizona. After getting there, the boys enjoyed every inch of my Aunt Donna's house...she had tons of fun stuff to enjoy, which was super helpful to Corey and I. We also appreciate you allowing us to demolish your house just hours before having a chili cookoff with 30 of your closest neighbors. (Do I have a nice family or what???) I think the highlight of the weekend was going out to see my Grandpa's horse, Expo. Logan was brave enough to ride with Great Grandpa and then manhandled the horse all by himself. (With Great Grandpa as the guide.) Brody wasn't having any of the horse attraction. AT ALL. Seriously, my Great Grandpa is still riding his horse for 2-3 hours a week.

We got home just in time to celebrate Bear's birthday on Monday. He is a big ole whopping 2 years old now. I swear he turned two and since then has been terrible. No, not really...well, kind of, in the nicest way! He is hopefully just teething so I am sure this terrible-ness will soon pass. (Right?)

Surprise!

2009-11-08T17:27:00.000-08:00

We had yet another family nap this afternoon and it was GREAT! All parties in our household took a fat nap and woke up in a much better place. (including myself!) Last night was pretty eventful around here...I surprised Corey with a poker night for his birthday. He came home and a number of his work friends were here to take his money. Unfortunately, I was hoping he would be the big winner, but not so much. He was definitely surprised and super excited to have a night with the guys. I organized the shin dig, bought the beer and was happy to head over to my mom's after the guys started playing poker. I was exhausted after a long run and getting prepped for the par-tay. Corey's birthday wasn't last night, it is on Wednesday night...but I thought we could start celebrating a smidge early. Happy early birthday honey!

Shhhhh

2009-11-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Shhhhh! We are all taking a family nap. That's right, a family nap - the entire crew lays down and the house is as close to quiet as it gets during the day...all bodies are asleep. After last night's party, you too would be sleeping if you were a member of my crew. Whew! We had a great time!

First, we had a big ole' Halloween shin dig in our cul-de-sac and the entire neighborhood joined in. We had chili and Corey grilled out tons of hot dogs in addition to loads of other yummy food items. (I know, this is probably making your mouth water!) Our good friends Amanda, Cody, and Luke also came to join in the fun. After eating way too much we headed out to get our share of the candy in the hood. The group did pretty well. The younger boys were a little slower in the execution so there were two distinct trick or treating groups, but everyone was pleased with their earnings...especially Mom and Dad! For those people who think all of that candy goes to kids, you must be crazy! I have been on a sugar high for about a week now - thank you Costco and trick or treating efforts. Below is a picture of the boys before trick or treating - Luke is Curious George on the right:

Corey and Logan after carving our pumpkin:

You will note the precious costumes that were sported by my boys. Logan wanted to be a Transformer. He decided he wanted to be the "blue one" then later figured out that the blue one's name was "Optimus Prime." Brody was lucky enough to wear a costume that Corey also wore when he was two or three. That cutie little cowboy costume has been worn by two of my boys - about 29 years apart. Thank goodness Corey's mom kept that leather get-up for us to wear just a few years later :)

Butterfly Flutterby

2009-10-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Mimi and Grandpa got a very different gift for Logan's birthday which he has thoroughly enjoyed. They got him a butterfly pavilion. It was quite a cool process....

The caterpillars arrived in 2 cups - 5 caterpillars per cup and they were tiny! There was food in the cups for the caterpillars to survive on...which was super nice, because we didn't have to do a thing! (No clean up either!) Every day they grew quite a bit in size, enough for Logan to notice a difference when he checked on them in the morning. Eventually, each caterpillar hung itself on the lid of the cup and became a cocoon. After turning into the cocoon we transferred them into the butterfly pavilion so that they could become butterflies. Throughout this process we were truly blessed because each and every one of our butterflies survived the process and more importantly survived living in our house with two small boys. I can't imagine how those things felt when being man-handled by my boys in that springy and flimsy pavilion. Yesterday was D-day for our butterflies and we let them go into the wilderness. This was an excellent choice I thought since they would far prefer being outdoors than in the pavilion, right? Well, unfortunately for the butterflies, the skies opened up yet again and we received another few inches of rain today. Hopefully, hopefully, they survived??? If you want your own butterfly pavilion you can go to insectlore.com

Recovering...

2009-10-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Well, holy buckets, this month has been JAM PACKED! I would say that I might still be recovering from the fun we have had in September. I have been in denial about ALL of the fun things I need to blog about. This is going to be one FAT post so get ready...

Well, first and foremost the boys now officially have an Uncle Archie. Auntie Al (Or Tal as Brody likes to call her...I'm sure you see it - Auntie and Al mixed together makes Tal???) officially tied the knot on the 19th. We were all in mourning after the festivities came to an end. I must say that I have the most fun extended family. We partied for a full week to celebrate their marriage and I didn't want to stop. Now, I am sure you were wondering where the boys were during all of this partying...well, they were in attendance for some of the events.

LT was a ring bearer at the wedding itself. He was incredibly handsome and did a fantastic job walking down the aisle. After doing the walk is somewhat of a different story. He got to the front and LAID out in the front pew. Truly, legs in the air...the whole bit. Don't mind the fact that the flower girl was perfectly well behaved...but that is the difference between boys and girls, right? Seriously, doesn't he look precious?

During the rehearsal dinner and the reception, the boys were having some fun of their own. I must give a "shout out" to Miss Leah, one of Auntie Em's friends who watched the boys. She brought all kinds of fun with her: new books and movies. The boys had a blast and we enjoyed some grown up time without having to chase the boys around during dinner. It was such a blessing knowing they were in such good hands.

Finally, the other whopping event this month was LT's birthday. I know, I can't believe it either. This little man is growing like a weed, right before my eyes. We of course celebrated all month long. Seriously, I think we sand the birthday song 5 times....at 5 different shin digs. Of course he doesn't mind, he is just like me enjoying a whole month of partying for his big day :) Below is a picture of him blowing out his candles with his Pa.

Seriously?

2009-09-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

School days, school days, good ole' golden rule days! School is back in session for my big guy. He started Wednesday morning in the 4 year old class. Next year he will start kinder - - - WHAT? I know, I am getting ahead of myself...but seriously, when did this happen???

We gave him chores to start off the new school year. He is responsible to get himself dressed, brush his teeth, (I know minimal hygiene - this is even difficult stuff around here!), eat breakfast, clear his dishes off the table, and finally - make his bed. Wednesday morning he ROCKED the new chores right on out. I have this strange feeling that the "rocking" won't continue forever, so I should probably be uber-thankful.

LT was all set for his first day with a new backpack and lunchbox. (Transformers was the theme this year...) He didn't quite wear the exact outfit I had picked out. (Substitute sporty shorts and soccer socks instead of the normal/preppy stuff I had picked out...) Anyways, Corey and I dropped him off for his first day and he was READY to get the party started. Seriously, he might as well have said "Buh, bye" on our way out. Although, I will take that any day over drama! Here is a picture of our little man signing his name on the way into class. This is one of his "responsibilities" after he arrives in his classroom.

Whirlwind weekends...

2009-09-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of weekends, Corey and I have been very fortunate to have a really good time. The weekend before last, his parents graciously gave us a night out as an anniversary present. They watched the boys while we went to Ft. Worth with our dear friends, Amanda and Cody for dinner at the Lonesome Dove Steakhouse. (The food was delicious!) Anyways, from there we headed to the Renaissance Hotel in Sundance Square and enjoyed a very quiet evening at the hotel. Here is a picture of downtown Fort Worth from our room. We slept in the following morning and then headed back to Corey's parents house to get back to reality!

Last weekend we had a big ole' night for Allyson's Bachelorette party. Many doubted my bachelorette partying abilities, but I am proud to say that I was one of the few left standing at the end of the night. The evening went something like this: hotel pre-partying, Pete's Piano Bar, then City Streets to dance the night away...and boy did we do some dancing! We were all out and about until approximately 2am then had a late night snack prior to bed. Saturday during the day we went to have lunch at Joe T. Garcias, had manis/pedis, then topped the day off with a trip to Target. Mom made us a delicious Miller dinner at her house of chicken marsala with fetuccini alfredo. Yum-o! Corey and I were fortunate enough to get a night out with one of our favorite bands...DEPECHE MODE. Oh my heavens, it was fabulous! That band totally dates me and I don't even care!

Make sure to check back on my blog soon, I hope to have a summer recap...a suggestion to one of my blog consultants (Auntie Em and Auntie Al). Here is a pic I like of the boys recently...both of my spidermen :)

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil...

2009-08-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

So, I should definitely be going to bed instead of blogging. Tomorrow night is Allyson's bachelorette party! Woo hoo! I already have my party pants on and I am wicked old and out of practice on the bachelorette scene. I plan on rocking it out :)

Anyways, I thought I would quickly blog about a scenario that played out the other day here at the Trent house. Brody and Logan had finished breakfast and I was still enjoying my quiet meal in the kitchen. They were both in Brody's room "playing." Logan yelled out to the kitchen the following VERY frightening statement...

"Mom, don't listen to us and don't come in Brody's room."

Well, I feel as though I know my boys pretty well, and the above statement is reason enough to move in a dead sprint back to Brody's bedroom. Yes, they were doing something they weren't supposed to. Logan had hoisted himself into Brody's crib. This behavior is completely not acceptable. Brody's bed is just for him - for little people only. Logan clearly knows this - although I was somewhat relieved that no limbs were broken or there wasn't any permanent damage. I had to try hard not to start laughing, especially since there wasn't a real serious scandal playing out...

Come one, come all, to the greatest show on earth...

2009-08-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Last week was a busy one at our house. See, it was Auntie Em's last week of summer. You all know the feeling - the feeling of the walls closing in, the classroom all day, and being cooped up in your desk all day long? Well, that is how she felt I can imagine. Last week we kicked off the "Auntie Em Goodbye Summer Campaign" in style.

Sunday we celebrated with birthday dinner for the Gruninger girls approximately 1 month late. Mom had quite the spread for dinner and she made LOBSTERS! I know, we couldn't believe it either. Yum-o!

Monday we left bright and early for a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. Although we were there for a couple of hours, we didn't cover very much ground...maybe we were moving slower than normal? Either way, we had a great time. Below is a picture of the boys with a GIANT snake. Additionally, we took pics on the train JUST before it broke down. Bummer! At least we got to ride on it through the tunnel - which is Logan's favorite part :)

Thursday we went to Going Bonkers for a friend's birthday party and partied it up all right!

Finally Friday, we went to the Greatest Show on Earth - Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus! It truly is the greatest show on earth...motorcycles, elephants, horses, tigers, trapeze, clowns - what more could you want in a show???

The bathroom remodel is officially complete. That's right, we have our bathroom back. I honestly have thought about sleeping in the bathtub because I have been enjoying the bathroom that much, but I thought that might be a bit out of control.

Wedding planning is almost done, we are getting geared up for Allyson's bachelorette party in a couple of weeks, then just a couple weeks until the big day! We bought Logan a little outfit to wear and we are hemming the bridesmaids dresses.

Corey gets a gold star

2009-08-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well, Corey often times gets a gold star around our household. He is truly a #1 dad in many respects. Tonight, he is really being a trooper. Logan was wondering if he could go camping - truly camping - in our backyard. Much to my surprise, Corey agreed...to do so TONIGHT??? We have a tiny little junior pop up tent which we won in an auction through Logan's school that they assembled then took off to sleep in for the evening. This is shocking for many reasons. Reason 1 - it is 100 degrees here during the day. Now, it has cooled off quite a bit tonight, but it probably isn't really cool in that tiny space. (Even with the 2 fans Corey purchased prior to heading out to the tent.) Reason 2 - it is a "school night" for Corey, he has to work tomorrow. Reason 3 - I thought for sure that Logan would be scared of the dark and not last 5 minutes out there. (So sad for Corey - Logan was LOVING this experience!) I suggested bringing Logan inside to sleep, Corey declined. He and I are texting each other just feet away, but he is outside enjoying nature and I am in the AC :) Below is a picture of Corey putting up the tent with Logan's "help." It did turn out to be bigger than this - but I didn't get any good pictures of the finished product.

***Update: both boys came inside at 2am for a bit of "normal" sleep. Thank goodness! I was worried about them out there!****

Quick update...

2009-07-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would quickly update you on the "picnic" plan yesterday morning. I am sure someone out there is wondering if this might just work at their house. Well, it worked at mine! Woo hoo! Corey and I slept in until AFTER 7 whopping o'clock yesterday morning, and woke up all by ourselves. I know, it is hard to believe! (Probably more hard for me to believe than anyone else.) Logan was psyched about the big boy activity and wants to do it daily. Seriously, God is smiling on me - this is my payback after the stomach bug incident.

Additionally, my hubs is quite the contractor. You might need to watch out, myself, Emily, and Corey might all be hired out in your neighborhood. Corey took on the baseboards today. I was a little nervous based on a previous chair rail project about 4 years ago, but things went really well. We have "saved" all kinds of money on the bathroom project - just ask Corey :) Anyways, I am super excited because my bathroom is no longer covered in plastic, it is starting to look like a fun, new, and swanky bathroom. I think I might have a 'sip and see' after things are completed to show it off. Thanks again for your contribution hon! To be continued...

Birthday bliss...

2009-07-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

I am officially the big 3-2. Things have been going really well thus far entering into this new year. Corey got me some flowers and a SUH-WEET pedi on my birthday. On Auntie Em's birthday, we went on a birthday adventure to a petting farm. Things went really well - it has been abnormally nice outside and all have been trying to take advantage of it. Tomorrow is Auntie Al's big day, and we are going to start things off with a birthday breakfast at Mom's house. She is making all of the old breakfast favorites from my childhood, including crepes! Yummy! Here are some pics of the petting farm, please note Logan's sporty socks that he insists on wearing up to his knees:

We are still in the midst of the bathroom remodel - mainly because I have been taking my time painting and texturizing the walls. I have to send out a serious shout out to my sis Em. She is on her summer break and has been in the bathroom that we have so kindly given the name "sweat shop" for a few days now. Seriously, we were texturizing and painting morning/noon/night. I must say that things really look TOTALLY different in there. I am psyched about the end result of our efforts. We have just a few details to take care of prior to the big reveal. If we were dedicating our bathroom like you dedicate libraries - we would have to dedicate the Trent master bath to Auntie Em for all of her hard work. Thanks again Em!

There has been a dark cloud of sickness that has seemed to loom over 1808 Sumac Dr. Initially, it started with Logan having a cold - which randomly took a turn into a stomach bug. Next it was Brody - who also had the same symptoms, except his seemed to last quite a bit longer...1 week of a cold, then another week of stomach issues. Seriously, it seems as though poo was everywhere. At one point during church it was on Bear's shorts, the floor, the changing pad - oh, heavens! Now Corey is finally trying to shake the end of the funk. I am praying for my crew to get well and stay well. I am so thankful for our typically healthy residence!

Tomorrow I am really hoping to sleep in. Now, some of you might think, no way! Logan consistently wakes up between 6:30-7ish and Bear sleeps in until 8 or so. I set up a "picnic" of cereal and milk for Logan to get out all by himself. We are also going to set up the TV so he can watch his show when he wakes up...fingers crossed...no whammies...come on 8am!!!

Are we having fun yet?

2009-07-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

Last week Mom and I had the pleasure of trying to educate nine 4 year-old boys all about God. We had Vacation Bible School last week and it was a treat! By the last day my mom made the comment that Friday was the worst day times 10! She also mentioned that even her grandson was a challenge. (Which was warranted on her behalf!) I think all of the boys learned a little something and Mom and I had a number of laughs!

So we have a few things happening at the Trent house right now. First, there is a significant bathroom project that is in the works in my bathroom. This is going to be FAB once it is done - the during is the part that stinks. We had someone do the tile and it took about a week and a half. We have torn out our shower, tub, and sinks. The tile guy replaced the shower and tub. We are going to put in a vanity instead of our previous counter/sink set up. Auntie Em and I are going to texture and paint the walls prior to the vanity being put in. Phew, there is a lot going on in there. Needless to say, I miss having 2 bathrooms! Here is a picture of my "apprentice" helping to rip down the wallpaper border.

Second, we are in diet boot camp during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. The boys are trying new things at each "feeding time." (I know, you thought I was talking about my diet!) Brody really doesn't like any meat or very few fruits and veggies...which just really doesn't work. My pediatrician is convinced that this kid will eat new things when the smack down is put on him. Too bad she isn't administering the feeding times! Below is a picture of Brody being sad at dinner. (Keep in mind dinner was chicken breast with raspberries and edamame...) Seriously, could you resist this face? Both boys were screaming at afternoon snack this afternoon. But hey, surely someone will find something different they like, right???

Today I was "Sporty Spice" all day long. My day went something like this...1) a 3 mile jog 2) a swim in the pool to rinse off 3) a hike with Logan and his friend Evie 4) another dip in the pool ----and this all happened before 1pm! Woo hoo - we are having a fun summer! I think I am off to finally take a shower, I think I stink!

Jammin' June

2009-07-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

We have been CRAZY busy over the last couple of weeks. Last weekend my mom, sisters and I took off down to San Marcos for a girls weekend. Mom & Al needed some new outfits for wedding events and all of us could use some new things at the MOTHER of all outlet malls. The girls and I also made time for a nice dinner, the riverwalk, shopping, a dip in the river, and a wine bar. FUN! We had a great time - even more fun than I expected to have! (And we got outfits for the wedding events too!) Pictures hopefully to come - check back soon!

Last week was also tons of fun. We went to two waterparks as well as the cowgirl museum. We have also been by the pool every night. The boys and I were all tuckered out. We have all been taking the occasional nap in the afternoons. Logan has been going to daycamp at the YMCA this week, so again he is one tired Indian :)

I just got back from Chicago. I was blessed to meet my bestie Joy in Chi-town. I was blessed for two reasons...one, I am blessed to have the sweetest sista and hubs to allow me to go boy-less. Two, I am blessed to have such a great best friend - 10 years later! This summer marks our 10 year anniversary of meeting as consultants for AXO. Things have changed a lot since then...husbands, kiddos, being grown up little mommas!

We had a great time. The first couple of days we did a lot of running around town, then we tried to squeeze some relaxing in. We spent time at the beach, the museum, shopping, the movies, at restaurants, Frank Lloyd Wright-seeing, and also hot tubbing and sleeping too! It was wonderful - I must again thank Emily and Corey for making the trip possible. Sorry, no pics from this trip, neither one of us brought a camera :(

The sky is falling...

2009-06-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

Last week there was literally a tornado right here in the Mound. Now, the tornado wasn't on our street, although if you saw my street you might think so. There are trees, limbs, roof shingles, fences - everywhere. We were extremely blessed to not have any significant damage following the storm. We all did take cover in our "safe place" after hearing the tornado sirens and seeing my backyard furniture FLY across my backyard. I truly can't imagine how Dorothy felt!

Corey and I were blessed to celebrate our 7th year of marriage together. I know, we can't believe it has been 7 years either! Auntie Em was sweet enough to offer to babysit for the occasion and we went out on a date night. We went to dinner and a movie, which doesn't often happen with kiddos. (For all of you who are preggers out there, get your movie going on!) We had a lovely evening and were so lucky to be able to have a night out sans kids! Thanks again Em!

This week has been full of adventures. Our pool was broken, which is a pretty big deal mid-June with 100 degree days. It just wasn't clean, which meant Corey and I were cleaning it with the brush and net - - - ugh! Additionally, even worse, our AC has been out for the past 3 days. The AC people have come out 2 different times to have the same result...HOT HOUSE. Mom let us stay at her house last night so we were far more comfortable than we would have been on Sumac. I think we are going to take the plunge and invest in a new unit...ours is 13 years old and has been through the ringer!

The boys have been taking swim lessons this week and have done great! I just love our swim teacher and she has truly done wonders again this year. Logan is working on his form and is now swimming on his back. Brody is also doing awesome. He knows how to hold his breath and pseudo-swim. I can't tell you how thrilled I am with the progress he has made. I was initially going to wait to do lessons until next summer, but I am so glad I changed my mind. He is truly a little fish!

Twinkies

2009-06-10T05:19:00.000-07:00

Brody LOVES his big brother. Sometimes Logan LOVES Brody, but others not so much. Brody likes to do a lot of the same things that Logan does if he can. If Logan yells, Brody yells. If Logan goes outside, Brody has to go outside. If Logan spits in the sink after brushing his teeth, Brody spits...ALL OVER THE PLACE. WHAT? There have been a number of indicators that I have 3 boys in this house, but Brody randomly spitting just to be like his brother tops the cake.

We are trying to get Brody to "use his words" more often. He has been able to get away with pointing or growling to get what he wants and has been pretty successful. Our doc is trying to get him to "use his words" to try to increase his vocabulary. Although he is talking more, there will be a day when I want him to STOP talking. I can't imagine TWO boys in the backseat talking 100 miles an hour.

We put the smackdown on a new bike and bike trailer for me. I was in such love with the bike trailer, I bought that first prior to buying a bike. Now, most ladies would truly appreciate the fact that I was trying to save a buck by buying one that was used, Corey was highly annoyed. I have packed the boys up in the trailer and headed out into the wide open. The boys seem to like the trailer and look SO CUTE in it! They are snug as a bug in a rug in there.

For me the ride is either super easy or super difficult with them in the back. We are actually headed for a ride this morning prior to shopping with Auntie Em. (Em is finally out of school and summer has started for her...woo hoo!)

Summertime, summertime, sum-sum-summertime

2009-06-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

I just can't believe how quickly summer sets in. Every night getting the boys in bed at a decent hour is more and more difficult. We are outside all the time. For instance, this morning we went to the park for 2 hours, then after Brody's nap we were pool side for an additional 3 hours. Both boys are sleeping good at night, and aren't sleeping in additionally...now, why? Good question, that is one of my life's mysteries!

We are currently trying to update our room. Mom and I have been in the "sweat shop" this week and have been sewing up a storm to make a duvet cover, bed skirt, pillows and shams. Phew! We have completed the above projects we simply need to do curtains next. We are also trying to get the wedding quilt done for Allyson & Archie too. (And there are even more projects in action!)

I am also getting myself geared up for a demolition in my bathroom. We are ripping out our tile and re-doing our shower, tub, and floor in our bathroom. I am super excited to have the project complete. (And we haven't even started yet!)

Okay, I need to get to bed for another big summer day at the Trent house. Tomorrow we have a birthday party, Aunt Betty is coming in town, then we are having another pool shin dig with our neighbors and Auntie Em. I am sleepy just thinking about it :)

Fear of flying?

2009-05-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

So I was about to start sewing up a storm on Allyson and Archie's wedding quilt when I thought to myself, "I should go ahead and blog it up instead!" It has been a little while since my last post, heck, I always say that, huh? We have been world travelers since my last post and have been gone a little while.

Have you ever been on a flight with a kiddo and been put out by the fact that they were sitting right next to you? Well, I would like to put you in my shoes...I flew with BOTH boys on the way to visit my BFF Nichole last week. Some might call me brave and others might call me just plain nuts. I will tell you that it completely beats me down with the glares and sighs, not to mention the eye rolling when my boys and I walk on to a plane. Now, I know that many might say that they might cause a ruckuss - and they most often will, but we are passengers too for Pete's sake, and I bought my ticket, just like everyone else did! There isn't any special 747 dedicated just to children, and there isn't a kid's section devoted to a plane - although there probably should be. Sorry, just had to vent so that the next time you fly maybe you won't roll your eyes or even think to yourself about how you wish that kiddo wasn't on your flight. We sure would appreciate that!

Both boys and I flew to North Carolina on Tuesday and we came back Monday. Corey joined us on Friday to play as well. The Grahams were awesome hosts and we did quite a bit of sightseeing while we were there. The boys and mommies went to South Carolina for a few days prior to returning to NC when Corey arrived. I am going through some serious withdrawal from my "live in Mommy" Miss Nichole. I think I am a much better Mommy when there is another Mom around to help out.

While we were in the Carolinas we went to the beach, the aquarium, a drive through zoo of sorts, and an outdoor center with rockclimbing and water rafting. Logan went rock climbing all by himself and did awesome until I said "Logan, look how high you are" - right about then he decided he was done. Everyone was TIRED! It was a jam packed week with all sorts of things to do. We were sad to leave right before Jack's birthday, although he probably needed some "down time" prior to his big day. Happy Birthday Jack!

Summer has officially started here at the Trent house, Logan's last day of school was yesterday and we have already started partying. He had 3 friends over this morning to play and this afternoon we have had some quiet time to recover before the weekend. Happy Memorial Day!

Mothers Day and More!

2009-05-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Over the last week or so we have really been doing some Mother's Day celebrating around the Trent house...and of course, I like it! Logan had a Mother's Tea in his class last week which was PRECIOUS! Seriously, I was almost teary it was so cute and sweet. They sang songs, we ate some yummy snick snacks, they gave us gifts and we read a couple of stories. Here are some action shots from the songs that Logan sang:

After already feeling super lucky, we had our garage sale this last weekend. We had lots of help from the Aunties and had great luck getting rid of tons of STUFF. I feel much more cleansed in general. The house is at least 50 lbs. lighter :)

Mom and I have been quilting up a storm over the last month or so. We have made a couple of practice "signature" quilts prior to putting one together for Allyson and Archie's wedding. I have included a picture of the second one we completed which has the couple's last name at the top and the year of marriage at the bottom.

On Saturday night we had the first of festivities for Allyson and Archie's wedding in September. The party was a huge success and my Aunt Betty and Uncle Ken even made the trek our way to help christen their new home.

Finally, Sunday was Mother's Day. I wasn't super well rested because we had been out late the night before at the Stock the Bar Party, but I had a fab day even so...we went to church then breakfast at the Local Diner. Then we took my mom shopping for new clothes. If you haven't seen Mimi lately, she is quite the diva. She has lost 30 lbs. and has a lot more confidence about herself...as she should! We went shopping for 2 hours before dinner and did some serious damage. Emily was in the dressing room with mom, Allyson was hanging up clothes, and I was the runner between the dressing room and store floor finding new sizes and new things to try on. It was quite the production. Mom even got a new "little black dress" for her anniversary trip to Las Vegas with Daddy. She purchased a lot of trendy choices and they all look great on her! Such a successful trip! Congrats Mom!

To swine or not to swine...that is the question

2009-05-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

So LISD is closed. What does that mean for the Trents? Well, not much thus far. Logan is still going to school, Brody is going to the nursery at church, and we are still living our regular life. Auntie Em is hoping the swine hits her school for a paid vacation. I have been using the hand sanitizer a smidge more than normal, but for the most part - life goes on. (That is, until we are hit with the swine!)

We have been extremely busy over the last couple of weeks. Things have been a blur really. Corey and I were blessed with a weekend away from the boys...thanks Mom and aunties! I think all had a fab time during their weekend away. Corey and I were able to have tons of fun in Seattle with our friends. We saw the market, Pioneer Square, the aquarium, Puget Sound, and lots of other things! I was thrilled with how much we were able to see and do. Thanks to Pat and Claud for hosting! Am and Cody - we'll travel with you again anytime!

Logan and Brody had just as much fun as we did. They had slumber parties over at Mimi's, went to the children's museum, and got to go to Andy Brown park. Brody was especially glad to see me when we got home - which I love!

Logan had his Spring Sing at school on Friday. He did especially good and his school sang for about 20-30 minutes...far longer than I would have thought possible by a group of 3-4 year olds. This age is so cute. During the "show" one of Logan's friends was literally petting his head for about half of the program. Logan was very focused on singing and didn't seem to notice. They even sang a couple of Spanish "numbers!"

We are getting geared up for Auntie Al and Archie's Stock the Bar Party this weekend. It is going to be a blast with good company & food! Sorry Logan and Brody, this shin dig is for adults only :(

2009-04-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

Brody is quite the bruiser these days. That little sugar takes a good tumble about 3-4 times a day at least. Shoot, today at the park Brody had 3 pretty significant spills. (2 of which were face plants!) Last week we were at our friends' house and Brody fell, much like he always does, since he started walking, and about 1 hour later Brody looked like this:

What the freak happened? Well, that is what I am still wondering today. People have asked me all week long - and I have no clue, other than the fact that he fell. Call me a bad mom, call Brody clumsy - just call me clueless!

Logan has had a couple of rough days getting back to normal after Easter. I have called it an Easter behavior hangover. Logan's teacher said that the whole class was in time out today at recess. He has had a tough time listening since Sunday...some of that is fatigue since the big day, the rest I don't know...maybe too much sugar? :)

Logan has been so funny lately about bedtime stories. He likes a good story right out of our head before he goes to sleep. Thus far, Corey and I have been pretty good at pulling a stories out of our heads - but recently Logan has started making "suggestions" on what should be included in the nighttime story. For instance, tonight it was kind of like a Mad Lib - he gave me 3 things to incorporate in the story: blanket, crab, falling into my throat. So the story went something like this:

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was playing on a blanket at the beach. He was having such a good time he lost track of how long he had been there - then he had to leave really quickly to go home to his Mommy & Daddy. He shook out the blanket and out popped a crab that went flying into the air. The crab was swirling, the crab was twirling, RIGHT into the boy's throat! The boy started coughing and spitting and the crab flew out and learned never to play in a blanket again. The End

Take that Dr. Seuss! HA!

Easter madness

2009-04-05T13:52:00.001-07:00

Well, it is about the time of year for the Easter bunny to make his appearance. We have already been blessed to attend 2 hunts this year! Brody is enjoying the fun, and although I should have pictures of these events, I don't. The first hunt, I was helping to put it on, and things were a little crazy prior to the actual hunt. Let's just say that I have serious respect for the big bunny and I can only imagine what it would be like to put out about 300+ eggs for 30ish kiddos. Logan was so excited that initially he said "I'm excited" and then shortly after asked if he should be scared. I just think he was trying to find another word to express his excitement. It was a beautiful afternoon enjoyed by all.

The second hunt, wasn't nearly as much of a success. We got there right in the nick of time for it to start and at that VERY moment, Logan decided to turn into a cling-on. He wrapped himself around my legs and started being shy...which doesn't work well for the egg hunt atmosphere. They said "on your mark, get set, go!" and Logan just looked up at me. I encouraged him to go get the eggs and even went with him and we were able to pick up 5. To some this might be a victory, but we were supposed to get 15 so Logan burst into tears. The wind was blowing like a hurricane and since Logan chose not to wear a jacket, he was also freezing to add to the drama of the hunt. At that very moment we decided to "take it to the house" and call it a day! Even if Logan hadn't had enough - I had!

I headed out to the ranch this weekend to play with the girls. I went out with the sisters and a couple of their friends. I giggled quite a bit this weekend and had a blast. We played board games and went fishing. I caught 3 fish with 2 casts - seriously. Just call me Jimmy Dance - or whatever that famous fisherman's name is. We ate all weekend and also enjoyed some adult beverages as well. We even made time for a quick stop at the Ghosttown museum in Thurber, TX. Did you know that Thurber had over 10,000 people in it's population at one time and now the population is 5? Strange, but true :)

Have a great Holy Week!

Have you ever?

2009-03-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt like you "stuck out like a sore thumb" in a situation? Well, that very thing happened to me this weekend. I woke up bright and early to head to the YMCA for "Instructor's choice" class at 8:15 on Saturday. I thought I was doing myself a good thing, when in fact, I had no idea I was stepping into a whole other world all together. Have you ever heard of "around the world, the charleston, a kick out, over the top?" Well, I hadn't either - and apparently it is like a secret language among this select group of individuals who attend Step class on a regular basis. I really felt like I was in a drill team, and everyone else knew the routine but me. I guess that either I am highly uncoordinated - or I need a tutorial class to get me up to speed on this stuff. Just when I would finally understand how to do the charleston while using the bench, she would move on to the next method of torture.

During the class the instructor had us run a few laps around the track which I completed pretty quickly. I was briefly proud of myself then realized I should have more energy than the rest of the class because I wasn't doing any of the step aspects of the class. After my hour of humiliation the instructor asked if I would be staying for the next class - SERIOUSLY? There are people that subject themselves to not only one but TWO hours of that? Needless to say, I will not be attending "Instructors Choice" again any time soon!

Spring Break

2009-03-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

Is Spring Break ever really a break? I guess it is a break from school for some. (Like my sister Em who is partying like a rock star in Rome right now!) Our fam went in a number of directions for Spring Break this year. Logan went with Grammy, Pa, Stacy, and his cousins to Fossil Rim park on Monday and got back on Wednesday. Corey went to join them to enjoy fun in the sun with the dinosaurs. All had a great time and everyone is going to bed early tonight...including Corey and I.

Mimi, Brody, and I trekked it down to Austin/San Marcos from Monday thru Wednesday. We did swing by the LBJ Library on our way down to get our "tourist card" punched. Then the shopping began at the San Marcos outlets. If you haven't been before, these things

are SERIOUS. It is like 3 malls in one...and our favorite White House/Black Market always pleases our crowds. Mom and I kept the place in business.

Then tragedy struck on the way home from Austin...I got yet another TICKET. I was going 81 in a 70 and he gave me a ticket. Can you believe that??? I clearly cannot! This is my 2nd ticket in a 6 month time period. Boy it sure makes me grouchy! Corey was so glad we were home that he wasn't even mad about it. What a sweet hubs I have! I will also add that we saw 10 cops on the way home though, so I was in good company :) I am in a better place about the whole thing, really.

The drive from San Marcos to Dallas is about 4 hours long. After about 2 hours, Brody was just about done with the whole "passenger" thing. Additionally, the portable DVD player has been on it's last legs over the past couple trips we have taken. The DVD player "bit the dust" as Daddy would say on the way down to San Marcos. Mom and I took drastic measures

to get home and swung by Best Buy to get a new one. (Hey, we would need a new one anyways, right?)

Who needs clean clothes?

2009-03-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Who needs clean clothes?

Well, unfortunately, my entire household of boys need clean clothes. This need creates a TON of laundry around here. Many of you might not understand the sheer volume of laundry done on a weekly basis at the Trent house. I do approximately 8 loads per week. Usually, Monday is laundry day. I do laundry from sun up to sun down (and it might even overlap until Tuesday if I am lucky!) Some of you might think - "wow, 8 loads of laundry per week, that is crazy talk!" It is crazy - I remember the day when I used to do 2 loads for little old me every week or two. I want to send a big THANK YOU out to my dad who helps us keep these clothes clean with Ecolab soap. It works great and saves us a TON of money for our fam.

Additionally, the news around our house is that bear is walking...truly. It has been a long awaited step for him, and he is doing it! A lot! It is so cute, because Logan is so excited for Brody. He keeps giving me updates on what he is doing throughout the day..."Mom, he just turned around, Mom, Brody just walked from your room to the kitchen, Mom, Brody is going fast..." Brody is precious, because although he looks like Frankenstein when he walks, he is SO proud of himself. We are so excited for him!

In other news, Logan FINALLY went 7 full days without having a potty accident during the day. Now, 7 days to some people might seem like not very much, but we have been working on a full week "clean and dry" for about a month now. Truly. We would go 5 days, then start over again, go 6 days and start over, etc. The prize for this feat was a brand new shiny light saber. Logan was SO excited and proud of himself. Now he can also have a light saber war with the other kids in the neighborhood. Light Sabers are a big deal on Sumac right now. We have approximately 6 boys on our street who bring them out along with their inner Luke Skywalker :) Hopefully this one won't end up in our freezer. (see previous post) Right now, it is in Logan's hamper for "safe keeping while he sleeps."

We want to wish Grandpa Gruninger a belated Happy Birthday!! It was on Wednesday - we hope you had a great day. The boys and I celebrated by basking in the great weather at the zoo in Ft. Worth. Thank heavens for such great weather this week. We have been really enjoying it sun up to sun down...

Exterminators

2009-02-23T19:29:00.000-08:00

Logan and I went on the hunt this week for the monsters that have inhibited his room. Now, many of you are thinking "there are no such thing as monsters, silly." Well, that is what Corey and I have been saying for approximately one month. Additionally, during that month the monsters were waking him up 2-5 times per night. It is kind of a vicious cycle. He wakes up, gets scared, wakes me up, I tuck him back in, get back in bed, almost fall asleep, and he comes back in again for the cycle to start all over again. It is very frustrating for me - especially since the monsters seem to leave Corey and I alone.

Logan and I took action this week to hopefully stop this madness. One of my sorority sisters sent me monster extermination tactics to enforce in my own household and we thought it would be good to give it a try. First, we sprayed "monster potion" in every room of the house. The monster potion smelled really good and of course monsters would hate that! (The monster potion was Pottery Barn room spray with a nifty label made by yours truly.) And then we made a "Monsters Keep Out!" sign to post on Logan's door. He went to bed feeling more comfortable with the tactics - - - we'll see!

Day One: Logan slept through the night :) Woo hoo!

Day Two: God is so good to me - still sleeping through the night! Wait, should I be talking about this? Shoot, I shouldn't have talked about it...I hope this doesn't jinx me! So silly, I feel like I slept 18 hours straight without the interruptions.

Day Three: I spoke too soon - we had an additional "guest" in the floor of our room...the saga continues!

Additionally, I thought I would add this picture of busy little Brody Bear. He found the Q-tips under Corey's bathroom counter and helped himself. How could you be mad at this???

We also want to wish our Nana a quick recovery from her surgery this week. We have you in our prayers and hope you feel 100% soon!

Healthy Trents...

2009-02-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

I try to keep this fam as healthy as possible. Although I do appreciate the exposure to germs, it is a necessary evil. We try diligently to kill those germs before infection sets in. Although, I was thinking to myself today, really, why bother? Logan went potty in Wal-Mart today. (Yes, we have now gone 4 straight days without an accident...again, celebrate the little successes!) So he goes to the bathroom and of course touches the bathroom lock, flusher, then sink prior to "cleaning" his hands. So, I am thinking - fab, we have clean hands, let's get out of here...and then, and then, and then, UGH - HANDS ON THE TRASH CAN - YICK! Just when I thought we were in the clear, it was a "goner" as we say in our house. So that is when we try the sanitizer route. Oh well, just hope for the best I guess!

We are also implementing the fruit/veggie snack a day rule. We do 2 snacks daily around here. (Which means 5 rounds of eating per day - it is a lot of eating in general) My boys would be happy to eat carbs and fun snacks for each snack...goldfish, teddy grahams, granola bars...the list goes on and on. The boys will now be partaking in a fruit or veggie for one of our snack rounds - and they are gonna like it! There might be some whining, but I think we can rock this out.

Now after reading this say a prayer that my boys stay healthy - I hope I didn't just jinx us :)

What is in your freezer?

2009-02-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

So, you know the show Cribs on MTV where the famous people show what is in their fridge/freezer...what they eat/drink and snack on? Well, I have been thinking of that show lately since my freezer has had a bandit.

The bandit is Logan. He likes putting random things in our freezer. When I say random I mean kitchen utensils and the best thing (?) to date is a light saber from Star Wars. Yep, a light saber was in my freezer - just hanging out.

Corey and I think it is funny - kind of. Other blog followers probably think it is super funny. I would if I was a blog follower - I am the Mom though, so I try to keep a straight face :)

Will you be my Valentine?

2009-02-07T16:27:00.000-08:00

So I just had to post Logan on the blog. The other morning at breakfast he said, "momma, did you know you can make a heart with your hands?" He apparently learned this oh-so-precious thing at school recently. Here is a picture of the heart hands, and then a pic of Logan smiling. We just couldn't smile and do the heart hands at the same time.

Brody is Chatty Kathy lately. He is using his words more often. Although, Corey and I are probably the only ones who can understand him. He is saying mama, dada, up, out, down, all done. So advanced, and probably genius - I know :)

Brody is still not really walking. I know previously I said he was walking, and he can walk, he just prefers crawling. He can still take about 8 steps between 2 people...heck, he can even balance and stand up then walk to you. He is just kind of chicken about the whole thing. I am trying to be patient - but we are knocking on the 15 month mark.

Both boys are so different from one another. I am amazed at how different they are each day. They have such different personalities...not that I thought they would have the same personalities...I guess I just thought they would be much more similar. For instance, we took the boys in the spa last night and Brody was completely overwhelmed and scared by the whole experience. Now, I will give him the fact that Logan in the spa with a funnoodle is quite overwhelming and scary :) Seriously, the spa is only so big. Anyways, bless Brody's heart, he took the first 10 minutes or so to warm up to the swim thing, but before too long he was quite a fish. Logan has always JUMPED into just about anything new with both feet - then figured it out. I love how different they are - that means they are going to give us different joys and challenges along the way....

Weird week -

2009-01-30T19:30:00.001-08:00

Yeah, so it has been a weird week here at the Trent household. Shortly after my last post - well, actually RIGHT after my last post, Brody was sleeping soundly in his crib, when suddenly he was screaming like crazy. So, I was thinking teeth/ear infection/normal stuff, but then realized this was no normal situation. Things were so bad and went on for so long that Corey and I almost took him to the ER. 45 LONG minutes later he was back to sleep and slept for the remainder of the night. Weird.

We had a big ole ice storm here in Texas. Many would think it was the Antarctic around town. This place just shuts down. We hunker down in our houses, light up the fireplaces, and start eating homey foods. We ended up doing that for 2 days because we were blessed with 2 days of freezing cold weather. I picked Logan up from school early on Tuesday and we stayed home till Thursday. Weird.

We didn't get out of our pj's all day yesterday. Many of you who work might think I kick it like that all the time. Believe it or not, we really don't usually :) On Wednesday night Logan woke up in the middle of the night and ended up in my bed. I am not a big fan of the family bed, so you know the situation was serious for him to be snuggling up with me. Yes, he only snuggles with me (Not Corey) and it is like we are glued together. This doesn't make for the best night sleep on my end...at all! Logan woke up yesterday morning and the first thing he said to me was "momma hold me." Weird.

Then he puked shortly later, right in my bed. Well, actually it was on his blankie, but blankie was on my bed and that was just too close to my sheets - so the whole room got a bath. Puke seemed to be everywhere - on my arm, my foot, Logan's pj's, my floor...heck, we might have even gotten some of it in the toilet??? I think I passed the puke test. I haven't been tested recently, but I didn't end up losing my breakfast over it - score, right??? Anyways, Weird.

Weird, wild stuff here at the Trent's!

Feeling adventurous?

2009-01-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

So my friend Claudia is literally traveling the globe right now...Hong Kong, the Sahara desert, Rome, you name it - she's hanging out there. So my loving hubs was asking why I was so baffled by this. I think it is just crazy that one of my friends is riding a camel???? Really though??? Well, then I was thinking - I guess it isn't that crazy right? I live by the seat of my pants all the time, right here in Texas!

So here are some of the ways that I am wild and crazy just in one afternoon:

1) I go to Williams Sonoma with a 4 year old and a 1 year old...by myself...to have a lovely afternoon shopping extravaganza. Logan only gave me one heart attack while in the store when I heard a loud CLANK when he closed a glass coffee pot very loudly. Thank heavens it wasn't broken!

2) We almost left "horsey guy" at Pottery Barn in the bathroom after going potty. We got all the way in our car seats and remembered him. Thank goodness that we didn't forget him - having to send him to "guy heaven" with "kangaroo guy" would be a very sad day. (For both Logan and I - the whining would be more than I could handle!) Additionally, I have really regulated myself on the germ front - Horsey guy was hanging out in the Pottery Barn bathroom and he came home with us???? Seriously, there would have been a day once upon a time that this would not have happened at my house. Nowadays, Logan was snuggling up with him right after their reunion. What has happened to me?

3) Just imagine us in the middle of Gap Body. I had a gift card that I was super excited to use on some new undergarments. Logan was helping me shop and picking up all kinds of things in there - he was my own personal shopper :)

4) All of this and I was truly wild and crazy by not bringing an extra pair of pants for Logan in case of a potty training accident...I am a crazy person!

Next year? Already?

2009-01-23T05:05:00.001-08:00

So, I guess I might have issues thinking too far into the future. Or something like that. Suddenly, it seems as though everyone is talking about next year - Fall of 09'. Didn't we just get into 2009? I can barely wrap my brain around that - I mean it seems like only yesterday we were partying to Prince's 1999 and fretting about the new millennium. What happened here? How in the world did we get to 2009, much less Fall of 09'? In talking about the Fall, we are talking about school for Logan, summer programs, Sunday School - and the list goes on. In making these decisions, I am going to have to live with them 8 full months from now...ugh!

I have been debating on if I should put Brody into "school" one day a week. It would give me a full day from 9am-2pm all to myself. What would I do without both boys being home? I don't know if I can bear it - but would it be good for my sanity. (I do feel like I lose my sanity at times around here!) Logan will go into the 4 year old class next year and then head to KINDERGARTEN the year after.

We are full into wedding madness within the Gruninger family. We went wedding dress shopping last weekend and found "the one" for Allyson. I also had the chance to model the bridesmaid dress for the entourage who went with us. My aunt Betty and Allyson's future mom-in-law, Jennifer, came in town for the occasion. I think all had a great time - who wouldn't...shopping, wedding, happiest day of your life???? We also got to go and see my good friend King Tut. I really loved the adventure - having an adult night of culture and all. He was glad to see us too :)

Okay, so I need to get going on pictures of the boys this year. I finally got all of the pictures downloaded online and sent to my uncle Ken from the holidays. Really, it shouldn't be too hard to take pics of my precious boys, right? There are plenty of photo opps every day - I just need to handle up!

They do it to spite me...

2009-01-16T19:00:00.000-08:00

So, this week has been full of interesting developments. Brody has started walking - well, at least that is what they tell me. He won't really walk for Corey and I, but he apparently showed his skills in the church nursery. The ladies in the nursery were so confused when he wasn't walking to me - apparently he had been walking all morning long. WHAT??? So, I am trying to be supre patient and I am waiting for the day to come along when he decides to really walk - all over my house.

Logan had a really great few weeks of vacation - no potty training accidents! Awesome! Well, over the past couple of days, we have had 5 accidents. Hmm, what happened? Well, Corey and I are letting Logan take control of his potty training destiny. Or something like that. Who wants dry, comfy, pants when you can have accidents all day long??? He will have to get tired of this sometime, right? Someday he won't have accidents, right? God willing that will be the case!

I tell you - they do it to spite me!

Logan and I have had a ton of fun recently - we have been to three of Logan's most favorite places: Chuck E Cheese, Main Event, and Going Bonkers. What more could a boy ask for? I am quite afraid that we will get some sort of illness from those places. But, we had a blast for the couple of hours we were at those locations :)

Recovery :)

2009-01-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

We are back in the swing of things on Sumac Drive. Our vaca is over and we are back to reality. No more late nights, sweet treats, or other madness that goes along with vacations. Logan picked up the word "stinky" on our vacation and uses it in every sentence. (Thank you Grant Elzinga!) Brody has suddenly decided he loves to be rocked with his blankie every night. We need to handle up on both of those things soon...

Logan is back at school being the big man on campus.

Anyways, the exciting news is that Brody has started WALKING! Just a few steps currently - maximum is 8 steps I think all by himself, but he will be running before too long. I think he is ready to start keeping up with his brother around the house.

Our computer is on it's last "legs" so my postings haven't been as thorough as I would prefer...and the pics haven't been updated. I hope to change that very soon!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

Well, so it is a little belated...actually, quite a few of my posts are according to my fans. (I heard ALL about my delay on posting from my future brother-in-law, and my sister, Emily over my vacation.) Anyways, on to my post:

Christmas was especially enjoyable this year. We had a great time with both sides of our family and got lots of neat things. Logan and Brody are still thoroughly enjoying their new things. Logan wants to sleep with his new toys every night. I have to tell him "no" to tractors and things he could get injured with during the night.

So, what did I want for Christmas? Well, I told Corey I didn't want one single thing. We have so much STUFF anyways! Stop the madness, right? Well, my crafty hubs, found the perfect gift for me - one of my bff's, halfway across the country. So, on Christmas day, Corey gave me a picture frame to open with this oh so sweet poem inside. The poem told me that he and my bff's hubs had planned a trip for us to meet halfway between Texas and Indiana...in Memphis! Wow! What more could a girl want - a great Christmas and a trip to go and see Joy and her boys? So exciting! I will post pictures soon about the trip and lay it out in detail.

After returning to Dallas for a day the fam arrived in time for New Years Eve, prior to going out to the ranch for my Granny and Papa's "burial" of sorts. We had a fab time out at the ranch with everyone. Lots of food, fun, and sun this trip - it was close to 80 degrees outside! Beautiful! Mom even set up a scavenger hunt for the group and it was a hit! (I was on the winning team of course - in your face teams 2 & 3!!!)

We are currently in Houston for the dedication of a garden out at my grandparents nursing home. The boys have been partying like rock stars over the past week or so. Logan is expecting chocolate milk or Sprite with every meal, and sweet treats are expected as well. (Stop the madness!) I am ready to sleep in my own bed again and get back in a routine :) Thanks to all who have made our travels a success. Thanks also, to all of those who helped Corey and I with the boys over the past week or two. We truly couldn't have done it without you!

Busy Holiday Bees

2008-12-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

We have been a busy bunch of bees this holiday season! We went for our visit with Santa and Brody decided he does NOT like the jolly fat man - at all! So then the photographer suggested I hold Brody and sit on his lap, then it was suggested that the whole family pose for the picture. It has been quite a while since I have been lucky enough to see Santa :)

Brody is trying to get some "big" teeth in. He is also developing his personality and seems to be quite the sensitive type. He gets his feelings hurt easily when Corey or I tell him no. It is hard to do so with him looking so precious.

Logan had his Christmas program Thursday. He was excited because he was able to wear pjs and slippers to school. It was quite the show! I know I am a little biased, but he was the most precious kid in the program. We have been having all kinds of Christmas fun...the trains at Northpark Mall, the Gaylord Hotel decor, the Flower Mound Christmas parade, and our church group Christmas party. Corey has our house decorated with white lights and the Trent trademark star on our roof. Logan LOVES them! My aunt Betty and cousin Nicole sent us the Miller family Christmas cookies, which we have been enjoying too much :)

Logan at his program, waving to his adoring fans

Emily and I FINISHED the marathon! Hallelujah! Good God! That race was a really tough one. The wind was whipping around White Rock Lake and whipping us down to say the least. We had tons of support all over the place - from Corey's parents watching Brody overnight, to Mom, Dad, Allyson, Archie, Corey and Logan cheering us on in 5 spots around the race. All of your support was truly a blessing, we couldn't have done it without you. I am really thankful for my hubs who has had Daddy duty for the last 4 months on Saturdays during my long runs. He has been so patient and helpful during my training. I will say it was much harder than I remembered during my last one. Emily at one point said "you didn't tell me how much this was going to suck!"

Em and I running with her roommate, Carrie from college

Allyson is "handling up" on the wedding madness. She has the reception and church booked, she has also ordered "save the date" cards to send out. We were able to go out and do some bridesmaid dress shopping the other night with the boys. I wish I had gotten a picture of Logan trying on a short sassy number. (He really did too!) Brody was crawling all over the shop - even on the stage and under the dresses. Quite a different experience than my previous shopping endeavors! Here is the link to see the dress she picked out. You will have to wait to see the colors of the dress! http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/D416/

Corey and I were lucky enough to go to the Cowboys last game in Texas Stadium. For those of you who don't know, we are moving into a new fabulous stadium next year. Corey's friend even let us go down on the field to see the players warming up. Corey was so excited, although we were a smidge cold. I am so glad we don't live in Green Bay or New England - because you would NEVER catch me at a football game!

Merry Early Christmas! We hope you remember the reason for the season at your house and enjoy your holidays!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2008-12-03T20:59:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving out at the ranch. We brought Corey's parents' RV down to the ranch as well for a "trial run" for New Years when the entire Miller family will be in town. It makes me laugh when Corey drives the big rig. Logan and Brody liked it too. We slept in there every night for a full adventure experience. Logan was in heaven because it was the best of both worlds...the ranch and the RV in one place...

Well, we are getting all geared up for Jesus' birthday. Logan, Brody, and I decorated the tree, hung the stockings, and set up our nativity scenes (with the exception of Jesus - he will arrive on Christmas day!) on Monday afternoon. Brody has done exceptionally well with the tree and ornaments thus far...Logan has actually been the challenge with turning the lights on and off, on and off, on and off, on and off....ugh! We also adopted a family from our church to buy gifts for. Logan helped me pick out the gifts and we are going to bring them to church with us this weekend.

The Christmas tree and stockings were created by Mom, Em, and I. I am so glad they are done, although I am thrilled with the outcome :) There were days that my house was like a sweat shop! Thanks to Mom and Em for your help.

Brody has been sick over the past couple of days. (Please say a prayer I don't get what he has before the marathon!) He has been having a couple of rough days and is obviously not feeling well. He has been super clingy and fussy. (Although I won't complain about him being clingy, because that just means he is snuggly with his mom!) He makes the funniest face which Corey and I have been trying to get a picture of for weeks. Below is the best one we were able to get:

Logan got all "outstanding" marks from his teacher in his class. He is doing great and can even count to 50 all by himself. He and Corey are reading "The Dangerous Book for Boys" and Logan is especially liking studying the planets. It really is precious watching them both on the couch together. I am "not allowed" to read the book since it is just for boys :)

The marathon is in about one week. I am so excited to get started! There should be about 17,000 of my closest friends running it with us too. (ugh!) This race should be interesting because I will be in "Mom-mode" the day after the race. The last time I ran a marathon, I had no kids and was able to recover for 2 days following in bed and at my desk at work. This year I think I am going to be at a place called Boomerangs the next day for a birthday party - definitely a different recovery! Corey is going to be at the race with Logan, along with Mom, Dad, Allyson, and Archie. Thanks in advance for your support!

Yep, it has been a while!

2008-11-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a very eventful couple of weeks since my last post. We had 2 birthdays in our house - Corey and Brody! Corey turned the big 3-1, and Brody was the big 1. No, I can't believe either of my boys are that big :) Both of them had a great day and Brody really likes cake already - he gets that from his mom I'm sure. Logan and I decorated a cake for their birthdays and Logan thought he should have a piece that was literally 1/4 of the cake. Totally out of control!

Brody is truly crawling these days - actually on all 4's. He uses the army crawl (see below) to get somewhere in a hurry, and does the true crawl when he feels as though he can take his time to get somewhere. He and Logan are getting a crash course on sharing. Brody has been "visiting" Logan more often all over the house. He had his 1 year check and all went well, until the shots, of course! Brody is now sitting forwards in the car next to Logan. It is so weird to have both of them looking at me when I turn around.

Logan is really trying to rock out potty training. Corey and I are still living in potty training heck, but hoping to get out of here soon. Logan is all geared up for Thanksgiving. His class had a Thanksgiving feast and dressed up like pilgrims and Native Americans. He had a great time opening up Brody and Corey's birthday gifts.

I need to give a "thank you" to Corey and my mom for helping with the boys during my marathon madness. There are 20 short days until our race. (Thank heavens!) We have truly been planning our entire weekends around "the long run" and I truly couldn't have even thought about doing this feat without the support of my fam. December 14th is D-Day...feel free to come out, pray, or just send us positive thoughts. WE (My sister Emily, my neighbor, and Emily's roommate from college) CAN DO THIS!

Weekend blues...

2008-11-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

Well, my title shouldn't be weekend blues, it should be weekday blues. I am bummed that my sweet hubs is headed back to work tomorrow. We have had a fun weekend - although pretty low key. Here are a few highlights from this weekend:

1) Allyson and Archie survived the Breast Cancer 3 day walk! Woo hoo! Congrats to them as well as their friends Jennifer and Chris who also walked with them. That's right folks, they "handled up" on 60 short miles over the course of 3 days throughout the Dallas area. We were able to go and cheer them on at a couple of spots. The boys love any opportunity to see their Aunties!

2) Brody is not only pulling himself up, but is has also started scooting with his feet just a bit. He has already proved to be much more of a "brute" than his brother. (Maybe it is because his brother is bullying up on him???) Anyways, Brody is truly head butting and biting already. I really don't remember Logan doing that at all. That is one step I kind of wish we would just skip! I swear he almost gave me a bloody nose the other day. Brody also went down the slide for the first time today

3) Today we were at the park and Corey decided to HARD kick the soccer ball into a gutter. So he strides down there to get it and truly might have broken his big toe. He said he would have dropped down to the ground, but since there was another dad at the park Corey played it cool until we were behind the portable buildings. FUN-NY! My hubs was officially feeling 31 at that moment!

On Tuesday is Corey's birthday and we will be celebrating in style! He will be the big 3-1! Auntie Em has offered to babysit for the boys so that we can have a date night. Thank you Em!

October is over!

2008-11-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

Well, Emily and I completed the half marathon in Dallas. Don't worry, there was no need for an ambulance for us. It was a beautiful day with lots of spectators! A big thank you to Allyson, Archie, Jennifer, Chris, Kelly, Logan, and Brody for coming out and cheering like crazy! It was so helpful to have cheerleaders there! We really appreciate it. Emily and I finished around 2 hours, 10 minutes - which is right around where we wanted to be. There are 6 short weeks until we do the full marathon. Feel free to pray for us now :)

Brody is pulling himself up more often lately - and he thinks he is hot stuff! I took a pic of him pulling himself up on the dishwasher. He can't really look around and pose while standing, just too much going on!

Allyson and Archie have set a date for next year. The official date is the 19th of September. Woo hoo! Let the planning madness begin!

Halloween was tons of fun on Friday. We had a pizza party on our cul-de-sac prior to trick or treating. Our friends, Amanda, Cody, and Luke came over to party with us that night as well. Logan took a nap earlier in the day, so he was able to stay up until 9pm that night. I think everyone had a blast - including Corey and I!

The Biggest Boy Brody

2008-10-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

Brody has been so big over the past 24 hours! He has had a really big day...

First, yesterday afternoon he got up on all 4's in a true crawl position. As I mentioned previously, he has been doing an army crawl quite well over the past few weeks. So maybe he will really crawl before he walks???

Second, last night he pulled himself up on our armoire all by himself. Now, this I am NOT excited about. We have gotten into the habit of putting all things not "Brody friendly" up on the table or couch. Now I really need to get serious about babyproofing :) I will try to get a picture of him standing next time. I was too worried about him doing a faceplant into the edge of our loveseat!

Finally, tonight I found Brody in Logan's room sitting up. He had gone from his belly into a sitting position all by himself. I have been waiting for him to do these things for quite a while and he did them all!

We had Open House tonight at Logan's school. We met his teachers, looked at projects, and made a craft. Following the classroom visit, we were fortunate enough to have sweet treats at a reception :) I will be sure to take lots of pics at our Halloween activities this week!

Let the festivities begin!

2008-10-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

We have good news from our house! Auntie Al and Archie are FINALLY engaged! Woo Hoo! They actually got engaged a week and a half ago, but Al wanted to surprise Aunt Betty and Uncle Ken with her ring. They are faithful readers of the "Two Trent Boys" blog, and I didn't want to ruin the surprise! They are meeting with Father Michael this week in hopes of setting a late September date! As Logan said, "congratulations on your married!"

We have lots of Halloween activities going on this month. Tons of parties and costume wearing opportunities. The first shin dig was Friday with our MYC group. Logan and Brody are both dressing as dinos. Below is a picture from the party:

We had a great day over at Grammy and Pa's on Sunday. All of the boys were there and we got some good pics. (Much better than most! Trying to get all of the boys in one spot smiling at one time, often seems to be a challenge for us!) Our boys had a blast and enjoyed a delicious dinner with the fam!

We enjoyed a middle school football game this evening. It was some good Fall fun! We walked down to the middle school and stayed for a couple of quarters. Logan felt like such a big boy and Corey even enjoyed some of the game.

Fall is here!

2008-10-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

We had an exciting weekend with lots of adventures. On Friday we went out to the pumpkin patch with our playgroup and had a fab time. Mimi was nice enough to join us since my car was in the shop and we had no transportation. We took some really precious pics of the boys and it was a beautiful day filled with bounce houses, hayrides, hay mazes, and of course pumpkins of all shapes and sizes.

Saturday we went to our Flower Mound Fire Station Open House. Logan got to go in and check out the fire trucks, and ambulances. They even had free hot dogs and sprites. What more could you ask for in an adventure??? The entire fam went and enjoyed a lovely day out.

Little bear is still having breathing issues. He is on a new med before each meal and we have stopped the breathing treatments. (Thank heavens!) He woke up with his first cold earlier this week, so he has been a bit fussy. He is mopping my house with his army crawl and is really starting to get sassy with his older brother. (And me!)

Howdy Folks!

2008-10-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

We had an eventful weekend at the Trent household. On Friday Corey took off work to go to Brody's eye appointment with me. (Corey has really been so awesome, he has attended all of these appointments with me - gold star for the hubs!) We went to Brody's opthamology appointment at 7:45, it was somewhat traumatic for Brody, but we are hoping that his goopy eyes are gone! Logan was lucky enough to miss the appointment and get to stay at Grammy and Pa's house overnight. After the appointment, we took a family trip to the State Fair. (For those of you who haven't been that is where the subject of this post is from...Big Tex, picture above, always says, "Howdy Folks" to incoming visitors.) After eating our way through the state fair, including a fried s'more, we were all SPENT! We spent 4 and 1/2 hours there, with no melt downs to speak of from either boy...awesome!

On Sautrday, the boys and I went to the Nasher Sculpture Center with Auntie Em and had a wonderful time! The weather was fabulous and we only spent $1.50 for the entire day at the museum. (The $1.50 was for parking too!) Auntie Em was super sweet and watched the boys that night so that Corey and I could go and have a date night.

Today we are off to Logan's 4 year old appointment!

We survived!

2008-09-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we survived the birthday madness! Logan is officially 4 - just ask him, he is super excited to tell you all about it. In fact, he is already getting excited about 5, 6, and 7. We had our last party yesterday with our playgroup and had a great time at the duck pond park. We also celebrated on his birthday at his school and here at home too. He had a great birthday and got tons of big boy toys to play with. I am getting really good at putting the transformers together...over and over again! I downloaded the pics from the party last weekend to shutterfly, you can check them out at the link below.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZtWbJy1bMi6

Logan also had a playdate with his BFF (best friend forever) in his class Nicholas. Now, Logan really loves this kiddo. On the first day, his teacher thought they knew each other before because they were such an instant connection! Truly, we are always talking about Nicholas - where he is, what he is doing, what he is going to wear to school so we can match and be twinks, the list goes on and on. Funny boys!

If I thought Brody was serious about crawling before, he is really serious now. He is doing an army crawl currently and is actually getting from room to room by doing so. I am really excited about him hurdling over this next "developmental stage" in life, however I am dreading both boys being in 2 different rooms making 2 different messes - yikes.

We are having a great weekend at the house. We went to the park as a family and brought a picnic lunch with us. We played a HOT game of tag on the playground and made the trek home before quiet time. We have lunch at Joe T's tomorrow and Pa's birthday as well. I am currently on my way to a stealthy game of hide and seek with Logan :) I think I will hide in the hall closet - don't tell! What a great weekend!

Diagnosis?

2008-09-22T11:16:00.001-07:00

Well, we might have found our "problem" with Brody. Today we went in for an Upper GI with a very hungry boy. Brody was super good through the entire ordeal. They had him drink this chalky drink and watched as his digestive tract worked it's magic. Or really, unmagic I guess you could say. Brody's pulmonologist thinks that based on the test this morning, he thinks he has silent aspiration. Or in our terms, he is spitting up and inhaling it. Yick. So we are going to try Prevacid in hopes that his reflux will simmer down. Thanks again to Stacy, Corey, and Mom for your help this morning. Funny, I thought reflux should get worse the older you get - poor Bear, his has already started giving him heck at 10 months!

We went down for a trip to the ranch this weekend and had a great time. The weather was beautiful and we spent the majority of the weekend outside. Corey is fully getting into hunting. He even has his own gun now and is enjoying going out to shoot whatever he can. (Hopefully dinner!) He had an encounter with a wild boar and that thing even ran after him. You will have to ask him about it in person, because I can't do the story justice on the blog.

We had the fam birthday party last night. Of course, it was a raging success. All of our family was in attendance. Thank you to all of you who took time out of your weekend to join us. The party went on until the wee hours of the night - well actually until 7:30 or so, but close to wee hours. Logan is so blessed to have such awesome people in his life that care so much about him. Thank you again!

Gearing up

2008-09-18T13:09:00.001-07:00

Yep, that's right, we are gearing up for the big 4 next week. Logan will be 4 years old on Tuesday. We of course started celebrating in August, much like I do. We are having a party for him on Sunday with a fish cake. Logan was asked a number of times what he wanted on his cake and he wanted fish. Not Spiderman, Diego, or Speed Racer - just fishies. Okay, sounds great, we can make that happen. Corey's mom is bringing a delicious cake from one of her friends...you should see what she can do! Anyways, we are also bringing cupcakes to school on Tuesday and celebrating with his playgroup the following week.

Brody turned the big 1-0 months old on Tuesday. He is still immobile, but continues to threaten with rolling and scooting about. His tests came back earlier this week and our doc put us on a nebulizer treatment. (Beat down, but hopefully it is helping??) On Monday we are going in for an Upper GI and another blood draw. Say a prayer for both of these procedures and cooperation from Brody. He will be hungry and grumpy! I also must give serious "props" to our family. They have been so helpful with all of the appointments, treatments, referrals, and help with Logan. Thank you all! Corey and I don't know what we would do without you!

The weather has been fabulous this week, thanks to Ike. The weather and bringing my aunt Betty and Uncle Ken into town was about the only good things that came out of that storm. Logan wore pants for the first time this Fall and asked if it was going to snow that day. Wishful thinking I guess :) We are headed out to the ranch this weekend to enjoy the weather and hopefully enjoy some dove for dinner...no pressure Ken, Corey, and Daddy!

Doctor's morning

2008-09-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

So today we went to visit a pediatric pulmonologist with Brody. His breathing has just been "funky" for a couple of months now and it just isn't seeming to get better. He breathes heavy and hard quite often. We tried a breathing treatment at one point and that didn't seem to impact things much, so now we are diving into trying to find out what is really going on. So after our first meeting with the doc, he wanted us to have a chest x-ray and a sweat test done today. I just had to put a picture on here of what Brody looked like when he did the x-ray. (This is not Brody!) I also must mention that he had just woke up from a little cat nap on my shoulder. So being put into this thing was not on the top of his list of things he wanted to do. I mean this thing looks like some sort of a torture chamber or something. It truly is laughable - you have to laugh or otherwise you would probably cry for the little guy. (Brody wasn't crying, just thinking who in the freak thought up this thing???)

This is another day that I thank my lucky stars that we have healthy boys who aren't in the hospital having tests and surgeries done on a regular basis. Good God!

Big week

2008-09-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

So it has been a pretty big week overall. Week 2 of school, Daddy took Wednesday off, and Brody had his 9 month appointment today. Shoot, it isn't even Friday yet!

So Corey and I took the boys on an adventure to our local skating rink. I think all parties involved had a great time. The skating rink is in a VERY sketchy part of town. Seriously, this place has been there for probably 30 years, and I think the floors are original - yick. Anyways, they had "stroller skate" which I had heard about from another of my mom friends. Corey was quite apprehensive, especially after walking in being the only ones there to skate. Yep, we had the place all to ourselves. We skated in which ever direction we wanted, had the stroller on the rink with Brody's hair flapping in the wind. Logan did great too and didn't fall too much along the way. I must also give skating props to my hubs, he was even skating backwards. Quite a roll back to his "formative years" as my dad would say :)

Today was Brody's 9 month appointment at our pediatrician. I LOVE my pediatrician. She is a family friend, came to our wedding and is just a great doc as well. Brody has had this ongoing breathing issue since he was 4-5 months old. We at one point did breathing treatments thinking it was a respiratory infection, but it really hasn't gotten a ton better. Anyways, we are now going to see a pulmonologist next week. The really crummy part was that he had blood taken to get lab tests done. For all of you who have had shots done on your little one, you have NOTHING on me. Little bear just SCREAMED. The nurse was trying so hard to get a vein and she is really good at doing so, but his arms just wouldn't cooperate. I mean, imagine your arm getting pricked, then having someone digging around in there trying to find a vein - then switching arms and doing it all over again. Poor thing! Then he had to get a finger prick, then he had a shot as well. Needless to say, in all of his 9 months he has definitely had better days.

When already???

2008-09-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have issues at the YMCA. Actually my boys have issues. Brody hates the Y - he literally screams while he is there...to the point when they come and get me upstairs to rescue him. So typically Brody is the one who I am rescuing. Today I took Logan up there with me while I ran upstairs. The sitter came upstairs and said that Logan had "an accident." Silly me, I was actually concerned he had split his lip open or something. Not quite! Seriously, we have been potty training for 1 year and 3 months. Ugh! I know kids don't go to college still needing pullups, but we are well on our way!

I also must brag on my "mr. fix it" hubs. I swore that our vaccuum wasn't working right. Corey took the whole thing apart and found a 12 inch "clog" of scary stuff in there. Now it is really working great - I vaccuumed the whole house today.

Corey is also in for a super surprise tomorrow. He is taking the day off tomorrow to hang out with the boys and I - just because. (Gold star for him!) Anyways, we are going on an adventure to the skating rink. They have "stroller skating" from 9-11am. I will happily update after our eventful morning tomorrow...

Additionally, my friends Nichole and Joy told me about the blog I added to my blog list...Bring the Rain. This blog is the sweetest and saddest thing, truly. I wouldn't suggest reading it unless you have a little while to dedicate to it - with some kleenex. Anyways, this truly again reminds me how truly blessed we are with our boys, our family, and our friends. Good God! (As Logan would say after his prayer before dinner.)

Mom -1 to Logan -1

2008-09-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well, the score is kind of tied up. Logan wore his St. Ann's shirt reluctantly on Thursday, but at least he didn't wear the jersey twice in one week. (He would have preferred to do so!) Logan had a good week at school although he is definitely "adjusting" to the new schedule and happenings. Bless his heart, he has a new class, new structure, new friends, new sleep schedule, etc. BMOC (Big Man on Campus) has had a big week!

We have had a super fun weekend thus far. We went to the St. Ann carnival last night and Logan got to ride on his first roller coaster. He was so brave he even put his hands up. Yes, I think now would be a great time to include a picture of the event, but I will get to that shortly. He and Corey also rode on the teacups and went down the "fun slide." Today, the boys and I went to the museum and the Nasher sculpture garden with Mimi. For all of you who live in the Big D, the first Saturdays are free and so fun! I would highly suggest it. We had a ball!

I have also started marathon training. Emily, a couple of our neighborhood friends and myself started training 3 weeks ago. Today we did 5 miles and I can definitely tell it has been 5-6 years and 2 kids since my last one. Please keep us in your prayers - we will need them!

Okay, so I had a bit of a mishap with the camera. Although some of you might think this is very funny I am trying dilligently to laugh at myself. In hurrying out the door and trying to get both of the boys in the car and into their car seats I dropped the camera which fell underneath the car. Logan was having a hard time listening so I got distracted and I literally RAN OVER THE CAMERA. Now, I have really been camera challenged anyways. We lost one in the RV we rented a couple of years ago and this one was a replacement. SO, until we get a new one the blog will be a bit picture deficient :(

Logan-1 to Mom-0

2008-09-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so today was the first day of school. Super exciting around the Trent household. I had the cutest polo picked out that I had recently purchased at Gymboree with some denim shorts. Of course Logan didn't like that this morning because he had to dress to impress all of the other "big kids" in his class. Yes, Logan wore the Cowboys jersey handed down from his cousin Dylan. This thing is a MAJOR staple in our wardrobe. He is consistently asking when it will get out of the wash, why is it dirty, etc. So when all of these other precious kiddos were wearing their matching dresses and outfits, we wore the Cowboys jersey. Thank goodness we had the jersey...I don't know what we would have worn if we didn't :)

Now, don't get me wrong, of course Logan looked precious anyways - and it truly wasn't worth the fight this morning, I promise you. He is "expressing his style" in his wardrobe daily. I guess I should be thankful that his socks with dinosaurs on them were dirty and couldn't be worn WITH the jersey, right?

Anyways, the day went great. Corey, Brody, and I dropped off Logan and of course he took off without hesitation. He received 4 stickers throughout the day and his teacher said he had a great day...of course. Brody had a quiet day without his brother and didn't like driving around town without him in tow.

We got to go and visit Auntie Em's new house which is located all the way in the Big D. Logan had a great time playing in her sand box and hanging around her new house. (Really he was doing laps around the new house, but who is keeping track, right?) We had a lovely dinner outside on her patio in the gusts of hurricane gustav. Thanks for having us Em!

Blogging...me?

2008-09-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Yeah, well, I figure it is time to hop into 2008 and start blogging. Everyone else is doing it, so I should too, right?

Tomorrow is Logan's first day of preschool. So in reality, he will be going to school for the next 15 years and there is no turning back. Weird, I have a kiddo who is "in school" now. No more flittering down to the ranch on whim for a week at a time or zipping off to "adventures" with Logan 7 days a week. I will update the blog with pics of Logan with his new backpack and lunchbox tomorrow. He even has a cool pencil case as well from his Grammy :) Talk about studious already!

We had a great weekend. Corey was super sporty and took the boys to Going Bonkers today. Both boys took a nap afterwards and Corey wanted to as well! We also had Logan's birthday party with his friends this weekend. It was the place to be on Saturday afternoon. All of his neighborhood friends came and they all had a blast.

All right, well, I am getting my "game face" on to keep this thing updated. I have included a couple of pics of the boys to get things started. Hope you enjoy all of our adventures!!!