Keeping It Real!

Keeping it real! My friend Amanda did a post last week about keeping it real!! There are so many blogs out there and people always post the pretty things about their lives! They rarely show pictures of their house looking messy or tell stories about the chaos in their lives! Amanda posted a picture of their basement. There were toys all over, clean clothes on the chairs...it looked like a basement that has 2 little ones running through it all day! She challenged us to do the same...so here you go!

This isn't our basement, but it is our upstairs! We use it as a playroom and office. There are toys all over the place! This is what it looks like most of the time. My excuse, Dylan is 2, he isn't the best at picking up after himself and he is SPOILED so he has way too many things!
These are the stairs leading up to the room! Yes, I walked over all that stuff to just go up there!!

That is life! It isn't always pretty! But I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I like my little family and all the chaos that sometimes surrounds it!

But this is also life...we have to clean! So, yes I know the above is keeping it real, but taking an evening to clean is also real!!

This is the clean stairway up to the playroom. We have pictures going up the stairs-it is ribbon and the pictures are attached with mini clothes pins!

I love the "giggle" at the top of the stairs! There is a lot of giggling in this room!


This is most of the room! I know, it still looks messy! I think we need to get rid of some toys-he doesn't play with a lot of them.

This is the side I was standing on in the picture above! We have a very large Thomas tent and our computer desk.


Dylan is such a lucky little boy! Mommy and Daddy are pretty lucky too though!

My parents will watch Dylan anytime we ask! Usually, we don't have to ask though. It is them calling and asking if Dylan can come stay for a night! This past Saturday Seth and I had plans to go to Dave a Busters with some friends. We took Dylan to grandma and grandpa's to stay while we went!! This time it was a little different though! Dylan got to stay with just grandpa! What fun! My dad is in heaven when Dylan is around! They baked cookies, played with tools, took a bath, and who knows what else!

The reason it was just Dylan and grandpa is because Grandma had to go to The Crystal Merit Awards!!! It is an award ceremony put on every year for all of the apartment communities in the Kansas City area (my mom is the manager of an apartment community in Overland Park). The have to get all dressed up, it is like The Oscars for them!! My mom was up for Manager of the Year!!! Pretty impressive I think!!! She didn't win (big mistake on their part!!) but her community did win 3 awards, the most for her company! Way to Go Mom!!! Isn't she a pretty grandma!! I love my momma!!Seth and I at Dave and Busters! Not the best picture, but it will do!!

I LOVE TO SHOP!!!

I love to shop, yep that is right, I am a shopaholic! I blame it on my mom (but I still love you!!) and Seth HATES it! He gets a little worried when I have a day off and I am bored or when I say I am going to meet my mom in Lawrence! I think it makes him go a little crazy! I think it is a lot better than other addictions I could have!

This time I am shopping for this little girl's playground...

This is Cora, you may remember a post I did about her a couple of weeks ago. Cora was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago. Last Sunday her battle with cancer ended and she is now with Jesus. I never had the chance to meet Cora and I don't know her parents. I read about Cora through a friend's blog and from there I followed their story and prayed for this little girl and her mommy and daddy. I want to do something to help. Her story has touched my life and her parent's faith through this tough journey is incredible. There are many others out there that never had the chance to meet Cora, don't know her parents, and probably have no clue where Newton, KS is (that is where they live) but they were also touched by their story. Cora's parents decided to start a fund to build Cora's Playground at their church. What happened next is amazing...

If you would like to read about this truly amazing family here is their blog http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/

A blogger (that is very talented!) decided to sell these pins and headbands with all the proceeds going to Cora's Playground. From that many other very talented women decided to do the same. How amazing is that! I wish I was this talented and could make something to sell, but I will stick with the buying part as my way of helping!

This is the blog that started it all http://www.joyshope.com/

Here are the headbands that she sold, and they went fast! There is so much more that you can buy and all the proceeds go to Cora's Playground! Just click on the pink button at the top of my blog to see all the items for sale! If you have a little girl you are in luck, there are so many adorable things for little girls! She has more pins like this with different fabric. I am thinking one on my favorite jacket would be just perfect! I don't know if I will be getting something like this now, I am not sure where I would put it but when I redo Dylan's room I may have to get one! Or as a baby gift for Jaxson, do you like it Tabatha?? Of course it would be personalized!!


I LOVE this idea! They have one with a purple fabric that would look wonderful with my new purple camera! It would be perfect at the zoo, park...
I think this t-shirt is so cute, I don't think Seth would like it on Dylan though! I will have to think of a special little girl to buy this for!
Love this wallet too, I just wish it came with the money and Target gift card! They come in many patterns too!
Again, if you have a little girl how could you pass these up!

Seth is so lucky we don't have a girl! I would be buying one of these bows in every color then I would be going to Michales and buying tons of ribbon to try and make some of my own!! I wonder what Dylan would look like in one of these, maybe he could start a new trend???!!!

I don't drink coffee, but I would if I could use one of these! Again, I see a new trend, using the coozie on soda's from McDonald's-my hands get cold when holding them, I think it would be very helpful!! OK, not really, but my mom gets coffees every once in a while, so I will be buying her one of these!!How fun, I get to shop and help a cause at the same time! Hopefully some day Dylan and I can visit Newton and see Cora's Playground (I will be calling you Amanda!!).

Bob the Builder Live, Build a Dino, and Mickey Mouse Bowling!

On Valentine's Day we went to Bob the Builder Live in Kansas City! It was a lot of fun. Dylan was singing along and doing the hand moves! He really did enjoy the show! When it was over he sat there and said he will be right back! We told him it was over and he said, no he will come back one more time! Bob and Wendy dancing!

Before we went to Bob the Builder we stopped at The Legends and went to the T-Rex cafe and built a dinosaur! It is just like Build a Bear, but only dinosaurs!

Dylan names his dino Rexy!

Dylan LOVES this Mickey Mouse Bowling game! It is at least 10 years old. It used to be Courtney, Whitney, and Brady's game and they have passed it down to Dylan! He will play it for hours. He talks about it all day long and when I pick him up from Grandma's after work he tells me we have to go home to play Mickey Mouse Bowling! It is the funniest thing!
I don't know why I sat him on the table to play...he liked it, so why not!Then we moved it to the floor and on the way he found this hat! He calls it his cowboy hat!

I wanna be like daddy!

Hi, it's me, Dylan! My daddy is gone all week working, I guess he has to make money (I think it is because mommy spends too much!!) I miss my daddy, he is my best buddy. I really hope I am just like him when I am big (but with more hair!!). See how much we are alike! We both like to wash the car and we both LIKE the jayhawks. I don't know what mommy sees in those wildcats! Anyway, anything daddy does, I have to do to. I need practice so I can be just like him. At the museum daddy took me to (mommy just came along to take pictures I think) we both measured our hands with the monkey's hands. When I am big my hand will fit like daddy's does!

Daddy also likes to go on walks with me while I am riding my bike. He always gives me an extra push when I am going up big hills. He is such a great guy! I am sooooooo lucky he is mine!

Daddy and I like the Jayhawks soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much that we found big Jay and baby Jay to have our picture taken with them. Only daddy would do that with me, that's why he is number 1 in my mind!

I love you daddy! Hurry home, I miss you!

Love,

Dylan

Fun times with Dylan!

What a beautiful weekend we had! My parents headed off for a cruise and had to wear a jacket and were freezing while on the ship, I loved sharing with them that we were in t-shirts and had awesome weather!! We enjoyed the park, we actually went Sunday, still an OK day and we had the park to ourselves! Saturday we went to Lawrence to go to a museum and then played outside at home! I just love this picture of Dylan...he is such a handsome little boy! On our way to the park he found his sunglasses, this is what happens when he puts them on by himself!

We make HOMEMADE pancakes every Sunday morning, well for the last 2 Sundays at least, we are going to try and make it a Sunday morning tradition! Can you see the Mickey Mouse one?? My aunt used to always make mickey mouse pancakes for her kids! I wasn't sure if Dylan would know what it was but when he saw it he said mickey mouse playhouse!!

When I asked Dylan to get out the syrup this is what he got out...worsthchire (I have no clue how to spell that one, or say it for that matter!!) sauce!

On Friday when Seth got off work we went to the park and on a bike ride! He is so strong, he was hanging there all alone! I know for sure I couldn't do that! Good thing he has his dad's muscles!

Such a big boy riding his bike all by himself.

A random one.

Dylan was taking a bath the other night.

I got called in there to find this...

I had to say wait...let me get my camera!

Another thing we are going to start doing weekly...pizza and desert night! We did this for the Superbowl and it was a lot of fun! I will start with desert first! We made a giant cookie with ice cream on top! It was very yummy!

Here are our pizzas! We all got to have a couple to put our choice of toppings on. Dylan and daddy like Hawaiian pizza. I go for plain old pepperoni! We used flattened biscuits for our crust! Oh so good! This week we made a bog pizza and had desert nachos! It was just tortillas fried with cinnamon and sugar with ice cream and toppings, no picture though...they didn't last too long!

Inspiring

As you have read in some previous posts, a friend of mine as a friend whose 11 month old daughter was just diagnosed with cancer. I check their blog daily to check up on baby Cora and every time I am inspired by her mommy and daddy's courage. They are staying so strong and are relying on God during this tough journey. It has made me think a lot about the things I may take for granted and to just be so happy that I have a healthy little guy!
I encourage you to visit their blog, http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/ and read their story. They need our prayers and that is what they are relying on to get through this hurdle in their life.