Meyer Ranch Mini Makeover (Part 1)

This weekend we gave the Ranch a mini makeover.  I promised the boys a while ago I'd paint their room camouflage.  The original color was a mauve purplish color, not very fitting for a little boys room.  And Baby Sis' room was baby blue.  The two rooms were the opposite color schemes for the appropriate children, so this weekend Sherri and I rectified that...or at least took steps to rectify it.  We did manage to get the boys room completely painted and put back together.  There are a few finishing touches that I want to add, but I'm so excited with how it turned out I had to post pictures to.  I hope to finish up the 'finishing touches' later this month.  Baby Sis' room on the other hand is not put back together.  We painted the base colors, but didn't fully finish the details yet, so you'll have to wait for pictures of her room.  


Has anyone tried to paint an entire bedroom with a 2 year old and a 4 year old that are so eager to 'help' paint they've been talking about it for literally weeks?  Oh not to mention they didn't nap that day?  No...well let me tell you it's a real exercise in patience and understanding.  But I am proud to announce we've got NO paint on the carpet and only a few places where there's paint on the floor boards.  Go us!  And to be honest Logan actually did help.  I figured both the boys would lose interest after about 15 mins of painting, which of course Cody did, but Logan was there almost the whole time.  I had gotten him a little 3 inch roller and he LOVED it!  The only thing we told him he couldn't do was get his roller wet with paint again, and I think he only tried once to do it himself.  He was listening like a champ and was so proud of himself.  I was so proud of him and kept telling him how much of a big boy he was.  On Sunday he even helped Brian put together their new book shelf and toy bins.  He was using the hammer and the drill gun all by himself (with Brian watching closely of course).    It was both a heart warming and bittersweet weekend to be honest.  I'm so proud of him for listening so well and the pure joy and excitement on his face the whole weekend was contagious; yet at the same time it makes me incredibly sad.  My little man is growing up so fast.  It seems every day he needs his Mom less and less.  And while I know he'll always need his Mom, sometimes his independence is both incredibly rewarding and at the same time incredibly sad.  He told me on Sunday, when he was helping his Dad, that he was a 'Dad in training'.  I had to laugh and tell him not for a very long time yet. :-) 

Sherri and I Friday night at "the wall".  It took us 12 hours total to do just this one wall.  Our knees had carpet burn on them from kneeling so much and our necks, shoulders and backs were incredibly sore, but the look on my boys faces when they saw 'the wall' was priceless and so worth it!  They were so excited!

Sunday morning finishing up the second coat on 'the wall'.  We did unfortunately have to do 2 and even 3 coats on most of the sections.  I do realize I'm going to have to use an entire bucket of primer to paint over this wall some day...but again totally worth it for my two little hunters!

Logan up on the ladder painting in Baby Sis' room.  He was so excited to be on the ladder and like I said before did a fantastic job!  He had to wear this shirt too; you can't tell from this picture, but it says, "Mom's Handy Man" on it with pictures of paint buckets and brushes, etc.  It was his painting shirt.  


Here are some before and after pictures.  The 'before' pictures look even worse since the boys room was a total disaster (I didn't clean up just to take the before pictures since I was taking everything out of the room anyway).  Also I got a new camera so the 'after' pictures are better quality as well, which just help make the room look even better!  I also got a new bookshelf for their room.  We had an old TV stand that we were using as a bookshelf, but every time you'd take one book out about 10 books would fall out.  You couldn't read the titles or find anything if you were looking for it.  So hopefully this new bookshelf will help keep the books at least on the shelf.

My boys enjoying their new made-over room.

Special thanks to Sherri for all your help this weekend!  It was super fun and I can't wait to finish Baby Sis' room!!  

Little Miss Sis

Today we found out that Meyer Baby #3 will be a little girl!!  The Ultrasound tech wouldn't 'go down there' until the very end of the ultrasound so Brian and I were on pins and needles waiting.  She told us that should wouldn't say anything and would just go to 'the spot' and stop.  I took one look at the screen and went, "Does that mean it's a girl?  OMG are you telling me we're having a girl?" The tech said, "This is most definitely a girl.  I've never been wrong and I would quit my job if I'm wrong here."  I just started crying...


Most of you know I was a little apprehensive at the thought of having a little girl.  Girls scare me.  I've always been more comfortable with boys and after Logan and Cody I know how to raise boys; so the thought of having a little girl was overwhelming and nerve-racking to me.  But as soon as the tech said we were having a little girl I was so over-joyed!  I would have never guessed I'd have been this excited to be adding a little girl to our family.  Our little Meyer Ranch is now fully complete and I can't wait until the day I get to hold and kiss her!


A week ago, Logan was pretending he was playing a game and turned around to Jami our daycare lady and said, "IT'S A GIRL!  WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!"  Ever since then he's been very adamant that Mom was having a little girl (or gril as he pronounces it).  So when Brian and I got home from work, we showed the boys the pictures of the baby.  Logan was scared at first and said the baby 'looked scary'.  But once we got to the profile pictures and the picture below where she's waving at us he was totally excited.  When we got to the picture of 'down there', I asked him if he knew what that meant.  He said yes, but then had no idea when I asked him what it meant.  I whispered in his ear, "this means we're having a little girl".  The expression on his face was priceless!  He got the biggest open mouthed smile I've ever seen!  He's so excited to be having a little sister!  Cody's big contribution was that he said we could put her in the baby swing and push her.  :-) 


As most of you know we had fetus nicknames for the last two kids (Cletus the Fetus and Oscar Meyer).  So Brian and I have been trying to come up with a fetus nickname for this one.  We hadn't been trying too hard and were sort of waiting until we found out what we were having.  Tonight after we told the boys Logan came up to me and said, "Mom, we can call her 'Sis'."  It was so adorable and heart-melting, that ever since then we've been calling her 'Little Miss Sis' or 'Miss Sis' for short.  This is going to be one spoiled and protected little girl!!  


Here are the Ultrasound pictures.  She is definitely a Meyer, she didn't stop moving the entire ultrasound and completely switched positions twice.  Her heart rate was at 143 and she's measuring exactly on schedule.  All organs and measurements look fantastic.  She kept her hands in front of her face for the most part, but did manage to wave at us towards the end.  It was so cool!

Puddle Jumpers!

We've been trying to take full advantage of the awesome weather we'v been having lately.  I took the boys to the park on Saturday.  Didn't realize the park was officially closed until April 15th until we'd been there for an hour and were actually leaving.  Oh well.  We didn't hurt anything...other than water a tree.  I told you we've been trying to take advantage of the wonderful weather so of course that includes peeing outside.  Cody had to go potty really bad at the park and the bathrooms were closed; what's a Mom to do?  Good thing he's a boy!  Logan got in on the action too!

Then Sunday we played outside for a while.  We didn't make it too long before the boys wanted to jump in the mud.  I took these with my phone.  








I say 'uh oh' in this video like it's a big deal.  Of course it wasn't at all.  Cody just started laughing!  After the video is a picture of his face after...

We've only got one bike with training wheels on it.  So Brian rigged up this bar on the back of the other small bike so that he could walk behind Cody and keep him up-right.   

Organized Chaos

Organized Chaos: this can pretty much sum up things at the Ranch lately.  


January started off with our Daycare of 5 months closing.  For those of you that know us we're sort of daycare cursed.  Don't get me wrong we've had GREAT daycare providers, but we seem to be looking for a new Daycare provider every 8 - 9 months.  We only made it 5 months this time before our latest Daycare center closed.  As 'they' say though, everything happens for a reason and I think will end up being just fine.  The boys will start at Above All Beginnings in the fall (fore warning for all current families attending that Daycare center: once the Meyer's start there it might end up closing in 5 - 9 months).  Logan can do pre-K right at the Daycare center, so we won't have to find some one to drive him to and from pre-K each day.  They might even have room for the baby as well!  


That's right I said baby.  Almost everyone we know already knows, but we're expecting our third child in August of this year.  I'm currently 17 weeks along and finally feeling better.  This pregnancy has been a lot different from the first two.  Not sure if it's the fact that I'm over 30 with this pregnancy or what, but I was way more tired and sick than with the first two.  Some people like to tell me this one is different cause I'm finally having a girl; not sure the truth in that, but we'll find out in a few weeks.  March 27th is my ultrasound and we are going to be finding out the sex of the baby.  Logan and Cody are extremely excited about having a little brother or sister.  They've been super sweet about watching out for my belly and 'protecting' the baby.  They love to 'hunt monsters' and always end up saving my baby from the monster.  What does a Mom have to fear with these two strong Monster hunters around? 


Well I'll tell you one thing a Mom has to be afraid of, two boys that aren't afraid of anything.  These two are always ready for something new and exciting.  Just a few days ago, Brian was loading hay with Tyler down in the shed, the boys were down there with them playing outside in the nice weather while they worked.  They were down there for about 45 mins before Brian came up with both boys.  He opened the porch door and yells in, "a little help here".  I went out to see Logan's upper lip and chin covered in blood.  Apparently he went head first down the big dirty pile on his sled and couldn't dodge the 3 foot round ice ball at the bottom of the hill.  He ran right smack into it.  He was totally and completely fine; he wasn't even crying.  He was more concerned about what his face looked like, he went straight into the bathroom and jumped up on the counter to take a look.  After we got him cleaned up, he kept walking around the house all night going, "Mom I can't do this [as he opened his mouth really really wide]".  It was pretty funny. 


Brian also mention while they were down in the shed Cody was up on some hay bails about 6 feet in the air.  He looked right at Tyler and said, "I'm going to jump" and launched himself off the hay bails onto the floor of the shed before Tyler could even say anything.  He was totally fine as well, but man...these boys are not afraid of anything.  I'm waiting for the day that I'm in the house and Brian comes up from the shed with one kid having a broken arm or leg.  Boys will be boys I guess...and if you don't end up with a few scrapes and bruises can you say you really lived?  


Things are really starting to heat up at work for me.  March 31st is our target Launch date for the system we've been working on for over a year.  The next few weeks will be long days and late hours to get everything done.  Brian's been fantastic with the extra time needed at work especially since he's been just as busy.  But we make it work and enjoy our time together when we do get to see each other for 20 quiet mins in the morning maybe 3 days a week.  


We've got a very important date coming up too!  Logan's 4th birthday.  4 years already! Wow!  I'll post a birthday post to Logan as it gets closer to his birthday.  He requested a Hunting party this year with a gun cake.  No idea how I'm going to pull a gun cake off, but we're working on it. He's been very insistent that it be a rifle cake with a scope.  We shall see....


OK well hopefully it will be less than a month until my next post...but who am I kidding I suck at this so don't hold your breath.  


[Tee]

Christmas in January

Christmas in January is always fun right?  


Well this Christmas was a ton of fun.  The boys are at the age where they're really starting to get into Santa.  They had a ton of questions about him and his elves this year.  And the best part was they weren't afraid of him when we went to go see him.  Although Logan made it pretty hard on Santa, he kept changing his mind on what he wanted.  When we wrote our letters to Santa Logan wanted a BIG dump truck and a new Cowboy shirt; Cody wanted a John Deere tractor.  But then I think they did a lesson on ice skating at Busy Bee's because he soon changed his mind and wanted ice skates.  Unfortunately Santa had already locked in on the Big Dump truck and Cowboy shirt so that's what he ended up getting.  He still asks for the ice skates and any time there's ice on the driveway or parking lot he starts twirling around and tells me how he's practicing his ice skating skills.  


Another favorite this Christmas was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.   Logan and Cody would ask to watch Rudolph about 6 times a day.  While it's one of my favorite Christmas movies, after about the 839 time of watching it it's time for a change.  They were even asking to watch it well into the New Year.  I told them Rudolph was tired from helping Santa and needed to take a break, so now we're back to Bob the Builder and Go Diego Go.  


Here's a few pictures from the Holidays.


These first few pictures are from when we went to visit Santa at Macy's 8th floor.  They always do a big display.  When I was little we used to go with my Grandpa and Grandma every year and the thing I remember most about going to see Santa was how LONG the wait was.  I remember standing in line for what felt like HOURS on end.  It might have only been an hour, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually HOURS and HOURS.  So when Christie mentioned she wanted to go there, we decided to head out first thing in the morning and get there as soon as it opened.  The boys are always up by 7 every day and the place opened at 8:30 so it worked out perfect!  There was NO line at all, we walked right up to the displays and took our time going through it.  The boys were in total awe and didn't say much the whole time.  Then we waiting only a min before getting into see Santa.  He was so great and chatted with the boys for a long time.  We're totally going as soon as it opens next year too.  We'll keep doing it until one of two things happen; either the boys are old enough to sit still in a line for an hour or so, or they sleep in longer and complain about getting up so early. :-)




















Yes it looks like Santa pooped out a ball....
















Brian made the boys these bugs at school.  They have their names carved out of the wood.  They were so excited about them!  Hunting Monsters is way better with these guns!











Well that's all for now.  I'll fill you in on the other exciting things have have been happening around the Ranch soon...  :-)

Here's to 2012

Here's to 2012!  


2011 was not very kind to Meyer Ranch, but we survived and are ready for 2012!  There are already good things in the works for 2012 and I know it's going to be a great year!


I forgot my camera today so I won't have any pictures to share, but I've got a funny story and some good news!  


First the good news!  Cody's wearing underwear!  We've been half-heartily potty training Cody for a few months now, but haven't really been pushing it or trying.  But over the Holiday break he requested to wear underwear so I figured since we were home and had the time why not give it a shot again. A real shot, with timers and treats and everything.  He's been doing great!  He's had two accidents in the last week and even made it through a nap with his underwear on!  He's very excited to go back to Busy Bee's today and tell his friends he has on Big Boy underwear.  I'm so proud of him!  One of the struggles we have been having is every time Cody goes and gets a treat, Logan thinks he deserves a treat as well.  It's been hard for Logan to understand that it's Cody's accomplishment and not his.  He's totally supportive of his brother, but thinks 
his payment for cheerleading should be a treat as well.  

The other funny story I have is a Logan story.  He's such a lover and constantly telling me that he's going to make me a heart at Busy Bee's or that he's going to buy me a pretty dress or jewelry.  The other night when I was tucking him into bed this was our conversation:


Me: Goodnight Logie Bear.  I love you.


Logan: Mom don't call me Logie Bear or Logan any more.  I want you to call me Sweetheart Honey from now until forever.  


Me [Chuckling]: Sweetheart Honey huh?  Alright, Good night Sweetheart Honey.  I love you.


There's been a few times where I've called him 'Logie Bear' and he's reminded me to call him 'Sweetheart Honey' instead.  I cannot wait until the day he's 13 and walking into the school with all his friends and I can yell from the car, "Good bye Sweetheart Honey!  I Love you!"  He's going to be so embarrassed and I can pull up this post and remind him how he requested I call him that from now until forever! :-)