All Work And No Play

I've been hard at work over the past week, which is why I haven't done much blogging!

My mom and I finished the living room cornice board to finish off the roman shades finally.

We started this project almost a year ago in the kitchen.

Along the way, my awesome renaissance husband made us a bench to store toys in, but also to function as extra seating in our living room. My mom made a cushion for the top so it is nice and comfy to sit on now.

I've also been working on a couple of birthday invitations! Here is JD's (who has a pirate theme) for his 2nd birthday.

And here is my niece Kenna's (who has a flowers and stitches 1st birthday theme).

They were both a labor of love from my heart, and I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out!

This is a pretty big week for us since JD is turning two on Friday, and we are doing his birthday party for the family on Saturday!

Although I had a lot of projects, JD got plenty of playtime in as well. As you can see, he has pretty much outgrown his swingset! Maybe JD's birthday wish will be for a bigger playground set for his birthday!

He also earns his keep by keeping the patio tidy, "mopping" up (as he calls it). We start 'em young here at the Boyd House.

Post #200 - And It's a Whopper!

This is my 200th post as a blogger! And we have quite the occasion to celebrate! We just returned from a Spring Break trip to Colorado and have lots of stories to tell.

Here's how it all began:

Early Saturday morning, we got up around 3:30 am to start our road trip. We had everything loaded and ready to go and we went upstairs to get JD (hoping that we could keep him sleepy enough to go back to sleep in the car. Jon and I went upstairs to get him and opened the door and were surprised by a very unpleasant odor.

JD had thrown up all over his bed and himself and had gone back to sleep in it! YUCK!! So we quickly stripped him down (as he is screaming) and stripped the bed (more screaming) and threw him into the bathtub (LOTS of screaming). My mother's instinct is telling me to stay home with JD and watch him for 12-24 hours before leaving for Colorado, just to make sure he doesn't have a stomach bug. But Jon's instinct was to go ahead and go and see what happens.

So after a quick load of laundry and clean up, we pile into the car about an hour later to head off to Colorado. JD was acting pretty well and so after a few hours, I gave him a banana and some pretzels and some water. He seemed like he was starving and gobbled it all down. He was fine for a couple of hours, but then threw up again in the car. Blech. Don't mess with a mother's instinct.

So we roughed it in a stinky car for the next 8 hours and made it into Colorado. For once, no snow issues getting into the cabin! We all arrived and unpacked. Dara, Josh and the girls came and our friends Joe and Becky and their girls came and my mom and Ken came.

We had a pretty good week, considering the rough start! We took the kids to play in the snow one day and go sledding (JD hated the sledding part). The girls went skiing one day, while the daddies babysat. And my mom watched the little kids one day so we could all go skiing. JD loved playing in the "white tow" (white snow) this time!





Dara and I both got a stomach bug while we there. And on Wednesday, when we took the kids into town, Emma threw up in the car and JD had a blow out at a restaurant (both worthy of a clothing change). Pretty rough day for physical ailments.

On our final night at the cabin, we toasted s'mores on the campfire and enjoyed ourselves.



To give ourselves a little reward, we went to the Broadmoor (it's becoming a tradition now) and took JD to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. He loved the giraffes and the elephants. Afterward, we went to the Golden Bee for dinner (also a tradition).







We had a very uneventful ride home (thank goodness) and are starting to settle back in to our routine. Whew. I'm thinking no road trips for a little bit please. :)

Sick Days

It has been a long time since we last posted any news! JD came down with a terrible cold last week and then I caught it. Plus, our computer stopped working in the middle of all of that too!


So now the computer is semi-functional again and so are JD and I!


JD came down with a cold on Tuesday and he seemed to be handling it pretty well - a little fussy, but overall, okay. But Thursday evening, he started having trouble breathing and we took him into the hospital. Thank goodness our doctor was still in! They gave him a breathing treatment and gave him some antibiotics, steroids (not the "we want to pump you up" kind) and some albuterol (breathing liquid treatment). Poor guy also had a double ear infection!


I felt like a terrible mother because I had JD out playing in the backyard on Thursday and he was happy as a clam! It is so hard to tell that JD is really sick because he is so happy-go-lucky all the time.


Here is a pictorial synopsis of our life last week. Keep in mind that as JD started to feel better, I started to feel a lot worse!

Day #1 (Friday) of JD feeling really terrible. Lots of cuddle time on the couch watching Super Why and The Wiggles.


Day #2 - Starting to feel a little better, but kept pooping out on the floor with blanket and bear.

Day#2 also: Spent lots of indoor time coloring and playing with Play Doh because mommy was feeling lousy.

Day #3 - JD is feeling like a champ, but mommy is having a rough day.

We survived another illness, but it seems like we just can't get ahead this winter! Too much hot and cold temperatures to get completely better.

The Chocolate Bunny

The grocery stores have officially dumped all of their Valentine's merchandise and switched over to Easter stuff. (St. Patty's day always gets a pretty raw deal at the stores)

I have to say that I look forward to Easter basket goodies more than any other holiday. I have such fond memories of yummy goody baskets that my mom and dad gave to us as kids on Easter Sunday. Jelly beans (black licorice was always my fav), Peeps, Cadbury eggs (I always gave these to my sister because I thought they were gross), M&Ms, those animal crackers that they only sell around Easter (does anyone else remember these? I saw them at Hobby Lobby once, but I digress)...but my all-time favorite Easter candy was the chocolate marshmallow bunny!

It is/was the perfect amount of chocolate and bunny rolled into one. I could eat the whole thing without getting a tummy ache afterwards!

Over the years, Russell Stover has changed his appearance. He used to hold a carrot and have eyes and raised features. Now he is a little plain-jane looking with just the outline of a rabbit.

But no matter. He still tastes the same! I can't wait to get my Russell Stover chocolate marshmallow bunny this year. I might even share the teensiest bit with my son!