How about a bench for that deck?

My husband is SO smart!

Yesterday he built three six foot benches for our new deck, and today he built a kid-sized bench for the boys. Right now, Kyle is hanging the chair-hammock that we bought in Cozumel. It will be in that covered space right outside our bedroom door.

Linsey was here last night and she said, "you realize that you are turning your place into a party house, right?"

Yep, we do!

Kids are expensive!

Aren't they? Sheesh!

I took Braden to my dentist about a month ago because I was concerned about some spots on his front teeth. Those turned out to be just plaque, and the hygienist scraped them away, but the dentist discovered two cavities on his molars. My dentist didn't want to try to fill them because of Braden's age, and referred us to a pediatric dentist.

On Friday, I took Braden to Dr. Badger. He took x-rays, examined his teeth, and discovered three cavities. He also suggested Braden's molars be filled with sealant to help alleviate future problems. Before I knew it, they were asking me to sign an estimate of $511 (but I got a 5% discount for paying in full...whoopee) for that day's treatment (half of his mouth). We'll have to go back in a few weeks to do the other half (the estimate is over $300).

Braden was awesome throughout the entire visit, other than the fact that he refused to answer any questions from the dentist or the hygienist. He pretty much just ignored them, but he did open his mouth when they asked. He had nitrous oxide during the cavity filling, and watched one of his favorite Nickelodeon shows on a TV mounted in the ceiling.

Afterwards, we went to Burger King and he had a chocolate shake. He kept rubbing his gums on the side of his mouth that was numb, as if he couldn't quite figure out what was wrong.

Dr. Badger gave him a stuffed badger and a balloon and he was very proud to take them to daycare to show off to his friends. They were a little over-excited about the balloon, though, so Braden asked me to take it with me back to the car.

In sum, I'm a bad mom because I let Braden have milk in a bottle at night until he was two, and now I'm paying almost a thousand dollars in dental bills to fix his teeth! Good thing I took Garrett off the bottle before he was one! And, we are going to be vigilant about brushing teeth from now on!

And NOW we're done!

Well, we're done with major projects for THIS year, anyway.

Or maybe just this month.

Tom and Kyle built our back deck this weekend! We're not quite done--the deck needs staining, some benches, landscaping, and maybe some furniture, but the structure is all there. Between it and the patio, we have quite the backyard for entertaining!

Happy Easter Day!

"Easter Day!" That is what Braden called it when he was looking at the pictures just now. As in, "Hey! That's Easter Day!" Makes sense...Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, so why not Easter Day?



Here are some pics!

Weekend of food!

Wow, did I ever have a great (and filling!) weekend. Since Mom was here, she kept an eye on the boys and I was able to do lots of cooking and baking. Here's some of what I made (pictures are quite obviously from the publication. My food, while yummy, is not so photogenic):

This is a "Layered Mocha Cheesecake" and is the cover recipe of the current Taste of Home magazine. YUM!! http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Layered-Mocha-Cheesecake

This is a mushroom asparagus quiche from the same issue of Taste of Home. I've never made a quiche before and was surprised at how easy it was! http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/mushroom-asparagus-quiche.aspx

Braden helped me make this Peeps sunflower cake. So cute! And so easy that a three-year-old can make it!http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Peeps-Sunflower-Cake

This corn recipe is my new all-time favorite. It is called "Peppered Corn on the Cob" and is from the Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook. Yes, that is BACON wrapped around garlic-butter rubbed fresh corn with chopped jalapenos sprinkled over the top. I was short on time, so I baked it in the oven and it was AMAZING! I can't find the recipe on the Internet, so if you're interested, email me (or you can buy the cookbook from Tiffany!)

Braden can write his name!

Braden's been working very hard to learn to write his name. He was practicing outside on the driveway a few days ago, and he'd get a few letters into it, get frustrated, and scratch it all out. Then finally....success!

I didn't have the heart to tell him he wrote the entire thing backwards, mirror image fashion. Here's the image flipped around. Weird, huh?

He's written his name several times since then (including in Grandma Scheele's birthday card), and it's been correct, so I guess he's getting the left to right thing figured out.

Garrett's first Aggie game!

Over spring break, we went to Garrett's first Aggie game, and it was a GREAT baseball game between A&M and Texas Tech (the final score was 12-1!!) on a beautiful spring afternoon.

Three Stutts boys watching the game: