C and D

C and D

Thursday, March 28, 2013

A-mazing

Going thru the computer looking at old pictures because I am so ridiculously behind on this thing and came upon a gem. Paul will kill me for this but oh I love it so much. If anyone ever ever ever wonders why I love Paul...here you go:

YouTube Video



Back in early January I got to go out with some friends. WOOHOO!!!!!! Its crazy. I don't know that I've had a "girls night" since like......I don't know. Really. Craziness.... but I got this video about halfway thru our night out and it warmed my heart like I cannot even describe. Paul is THE best dad on earth to these little dudes and a pretty wonderful husband to me. We.Are.Lucky.

Monday, March 18, 2013

SNOW AT THE BEACH!

The week before the boy's birthday party (soooo a month ago!) we woke up to some snow! Kind of bananas and it didn't last long but Declan loved it! We have zero snow clothes here so we improvised. Friend's pants that are slick on the outside, Giants jacket from Nana, hat from CO that somehow still fits, fireman rain boots, 2 pairs of socks on the hands. Solid effort:
















Sunday, March 17, 2013

Happy St Patricks Day!!!

I mean I couldn't be more behind on this blog I have stuff from Jan to post still but I can't let this day go without pics from my Irish babies :)

The boys and I went to the parade downtown in north myrtle yesterday morning and it was awesome....



Sweet boy. Think this was post throw up from choking on an apple. Good times.



Post parade with lollipops and necklaces galore.



Declan's buddy, Blake, and his dad met us down there and we decided to try to hit up the festival going on after the parade. Bad idea. A bazillion lunatics in a very small space with three hungry antsy little kids. We spent way too much money on stupid games that won them massive blowup toys (suweeeet) and then had to trek home with all of it.


Josh was a total champ. Blake on his shoulders, pushing Declan in the stroller (Carrig was so over it), carrying said not awesome blowup toys and more. Over a mile in serious heat.

We'll not do that again but we did laugh a lot during :) josh is probably one of the funnier people I know so we had fun even if it was ridiculous.

Paul got back late last night so this am we went to the alligator farm. Cause that's how you always wanted to celebrate st paddys day right?






Carrig wins. Stroller you're out.



After naps we planted our first crop of fruits and veggies in the garden and my trusty sidekick was all ready to rock in his Mickey gardening gloves!



And my favorite pic yesterday of him. Such a badass. My little man........if nothing else the kid is a good looking son of a gun. Hurt me.


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The boys

I cannot get enough of them together they are totally starting to become BFF (in between fights over toys) and it is a-mazing.

YouTube Video

Incredible to me how the truck/car/crash thing is just so in their DNA....



This was tonight at dinner they were totally cracking each other up making weird noises.

YouTube Video

On the car ride home somewhere last weekend. Safe driving mom.....no but really I flipped the cam on the iPhone (sooo fancy) so I wasn't reaching back there I promise!!!!




Fast forward 13 years Lord help me





Carrig wants to do literally everything Declan does. Good or bad. And I love it.

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Friday, March 8, 2013

Best morning. Simple morning.

Having two kids is hard. Some days I feel like total superwoman and like its all under control and please Paul let's have another. Other days I feel like a big failure and neither kid got what they needed or wanted or deserved and I have humongous mom guilt. Blah.

Carrigs morning naps have been crucial for Declan/mommy time but the last two weeks or so he has been a bit of a pisser about it all. And that's been hard because a)he is incredibly fussy bc he wants to sleep but won't and b)Declan/mommy time is no more. But this morning, he napped and it was glorious....

Declan and I have been doing an alphabet craft all week so we did that and then he wanted me to draw a picture of us going to the beach (I will not post it is horrid) so we did that and then my favorite.........we snuggled up under the most comfy blanket ever, got like 10 books and just cuddled on the couch reading for forever. It was cold out, kinda dark, crazy little bro was asleep and it was just me and my big buddy cuddling and reading.




Tomorrow is sure to be a shit show so ill be thankful for this today...

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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Mommy's makeup artist

Pop came out here a few days before everyone else and as always was a huge help around the house. He also stayed with the little dudes one night so Paul and I could go on a hot date.

Declan helped mommy get ready for said hot date:




Paul is such a lucky, lucky man.

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Good friends....

"The women you have your babies with will be your friends for life" said a very wise woman I met over the weekend while visiting our good friends Emily, Ben, Carl and Stephen in Charleston for Carl's birthday party.


Carl and Declan were best buddies, Emily was the one I would talk to a million times a week about what the heez was happening with our 2 year old boys and their attitudes and then riiiight before they moved they had another little boy who was clearly going to be Carrig's BFF :) 

We miss them so much but I absolutely love this little wise tidbit that lady passed on to us.....and I think she is right. I have some really wonderful friends from every part of life that I love and will love forever but this particular point we are at currently I'm just soaking up and so thankful for the people we have met and grown close to. So blessed.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

The pirate's candy cane




My dad ran a few errands the day of Declan's birthday party for me and came back with this: the party pirate. Pretty sure no alcoholic beverages had been consumed yet...................right????

It totally made me laugh and we had it out for everyone to see but now it's in Declan's room and he LOVES his pirate. He protects him while he sleeps apparently. Good pirate.

A fun fact Declan told me earlier is that he also has a candy cane in his hand!!! "Yook mommy yook!!" A yellow candy cane! Lucky pirate...

I will not burst his bubble and tell him the story of how that "candy cane" came to be...........

Love how kids think. Makes me laugh. Hard.


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How does your garden grow?




Uh not very well. Clearly.

A few nights ago I was cooking dinner and the boys were outside "playing". I hear Declan's evil laugh and look out to find that he has completely covered Carrig in fertilizer.

Apparently that doesn't feel very good in your eyes. (But clearly mommy had to take a pic :) )

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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

A bully and a lover

















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Boys are loud

This is my house every night:

YouTube Video

Maturity levels are high.

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Dinosaur and mariachi band member


YouTube Video


YouTube Video

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Two front facers!!




This is pretty indicative of these two. Declan a little more reserved and standoffish, Carrig is happy go lucky, ready to party.
Cracks me up.

Ps can't believe Carrig is so big. Ugh.

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Mr. T










The Mohawk and the chain kills me. Kid cracks me up....

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Gooooooop

Cornstarch and water. And Declan is busy for hours.








It is in no way a clean activity but holy mackerel he loves it.

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Go Chants!




Coastal just added women's lacrosse to their athletic dept and a few weeks ago was the inaugural game for their program so we went to support them! Fun Friday afternoon with my fellas!

Love having my boys grow up around college athletes I will say it a million times but I think it's such a cool experience for little kids.......lots of good people to looks up to.

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The three year old...

Oh Decky Doo...you are such a little gem and I cannot believe....absolutely cannot believe, that you are 3 years old. You are turning into such a gentleman, such a cool dude, such a little athlete, such a funny guy, such a smarty pants, and you remain such a mama's boy...Ask me how much I love that ;)
At three here is a little glimpse into your life:
The past year was rough. Terrible two's doesn't really do it justice.....you are on the very high end of stubborn and strong willed so we had plenty of tantrums. Every single day. It makes me laugh/cry when I see some children/parents who complain about their children throwing A tantrum. Like they haven't in weeks. We had them every 30 minutes, every single day.....there was never a break. You.Are.A.BEAST.
You had a speech delay so we got you into therapy for about 10 months and you are now doing amaaaaaaazing. Seriously. You have the funniest sayings and some of the things that come out of your mouth make me laugh so hard. Not laugh like I'm being a sympathetic sweet mom trying to encourage her child...like you are legitimately funny and make me laugh so hard. So happy for you that you have finally found your voice :)
Your eyes started crossing, found out you're super farsighted, got you in glasses, the glasses didn't work, so you had eye muscle surgery and now you are looking H-O-T-T!
You got diagnosed with asthma and food allergies (wheat, corn, peanuts and eggs). We've all kind of changed our diets to accomodate your allergies and are eating healthier. We got rid of traditional house cleaners and are going super green over here. Your bed and pillows are encased in dust mite covers (another allergy) and mommy vacuums a million times a week :) Phew - you are not high maintenance at all.
Speaking of eating/food, I'm so proud of you for how you have taken the allergy thing. You're young and I get that but STILL, there are plenty of kids that would go super super picky when given this but you've been pretty amazing and eat everythingggggggg......tons of veggies and fruits and gluten free breads and everything. You have an awesome diet and that is honestly something I'm so proud of you for. Please keep it up little dude...
On that note tho, I would say most of your fits involve food. You wanting your 732th snack of the day and me saying no. Its awesome.
You still sleep like a champion at night and have a good nap during the day. Teddy and your blankey are a must though - You are my routine boy.
You are very sensitive and extremely sweet - I will try to get a video of you with Maddie and Chopper (my parents dogs) but you are this very rare breed of 2/3 yr old boy who comes in really gently and slowly and just lays his head on the dog and gives hugs. You don't try to chase or pull them or hit or anything. You just cuddle. Its like you understand them.
When not throwing tantrums, you are this exact same way with me, daddy and Carrig. Just today you sat in my lap eating your lunch all the while hugging me. You wouldn't get out of my lap and you wouldn't let go.
You LOVE reading and there are plenty of times I will find you just in your room laying on your bed reading to yourself. You've memorized plenty of your favorite books so you "read" them to me and it is hilarious.
You're starting to learn your letters and what sounds they make.
You can count to 20 but usually need help after around 14 or 15. Sometimes you make it to 17 and then go back to 14.  Special.
You love to sing your ABC's and you have figured out that it makes Carrig smile so whenever he cries you quietly go over and start singing to him and he 9 times out of 10....stops. I love you so.
When we are driving in the car your favorite is to ask me for different songs and then ask me what they are about. It makes me laugh you always say "mommy, i don't know this song about" so I have been having to get creative. You love a good story, even when its musical.
You love to color and do "special projects" - you are kind of artsy. Interesting, as I am NOT.
You are..............insanely physical. I think this was a large cause of your speech delay. You had no interest in sitting still and playing or learning. You just wanted to go and that's still a huge part of your personality. If its above freezing, we are outside jumping or riding bikes. If it is below or close to freezing, you are on the couches jumping :) (although you are wayyy better now at sitting nicely and playing or doing a project)
You are ALMOST totally potty trained. Nighttime is a bit of an issue but during the day you are doing awesome.
You are still fairly shy and reserved when first meeting people/seeing people again after awhile. I would not call you outgoing....
You are apparently a gem at school and I quote from your teacher "Declan is the most laidback kid I have ever been around" - HA!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my word. Anyone who has seen you at home would beg to differ. Glad you behave yourself tho and you have made some awesome awesome friends. I have gotten at least 6 emails from diff moms of your friends at school saying "oh ____ came home and told me they played with Declan today and that's the first time they have said another child's name!" Glad you are at least very pleasant there :)
Kidding kind of - you are beginning to show signs of leaving the terrible two's at home and I can't tell you how happy it makes me. You listen really really well and you, every once in awhile, are ok when I say "no" - you just move on to something else. Shocking, really....
You think daddy's job is the coolest thing ever. Or maybe its just the girls he coaches. Either way you get very excited when we go up to see daddy's games or practices.
You're definitely getting into watching sports on TV. Every time a football game is on you yell "GOOO IRISH". Every time a basketball game is on you yell "GOOOO DUKE". Daddy has trained you well.
You're a master con artist and pretty much every time I fall for your little (cute) tactics. as we are laying in bed reading books at night "mommy i not feel good...i need a snack" - that one doesn't work. we have to cut you off from drinking at night otherwise you pee over the whole entire bed (thru your pull up) so u just get ice chips at dinner...which you arent a fan of. "mommy i'm really spicy, i need a big water" - when you are eating broccoli. broccoli is not spicy. that didn't work either. there are a million but these are just from the last hour.
You weigh 39.5 lbs and are 38 inches tall. We went to the doctor yesterday for your 3yr appt and Carrig's 1 yr and its just funny to see the doctor look at your weight, get ready to lecture me because you weigh so much but then look at your body and realize you are just one large muscle. He was checking your hips and goes "ohhh mom look at these big legs!" - yes, I know. I have them myself.
Declan, I have lots of words for where you are right now in this life, but I honestly have no words to explain how much love my heart feels for you. When I look at you I see so much of myself which is kind of cool/scary, I see so much of your daddy which makes me love him more, but mainly I see this absolutely gorgeous, brilliant, fiery little fella who is unique and challenging. You keep everyone on their toes, and you make our lives 489032 times better than we ever could have imagined they would be. Happy 3 years my dearest. I'm so glad we made it :)



The was the pic your teacher sent me on your birthday at school - apparently u were very pleased with your Rice Krispie treats covered in pink icing.