Check out my friend's "handywork"

My friend Robin has a real talent (one I wish that I had) she can mongram ANYTHING - she has made several things for Richard: check out her blog Ballpoint Designs. She is REALLY reasonable with her pricing and SUPER fast turnaround.

A New Obsession...

To be honest, I was kind of doubtful when Ty let Richard pick out a "real" puzzle the other night at WalMart. Don't get me wrong - he LOVES his wooden ones but they are simple to figure out because there is only one correct place to put each piece.... Well, good grief at my shock: two days later and he is putting it together without any assistance. He has had so much fun learning to look for edges, and circles to put in holes (what he calls the rounded pieces), and the parts of pieces that line up and match to form the picture. Of course, his first real puzzle is a scene from Cars... What fun - I can envision hours of entertainment BUT lots of little pieces all over the house if I don't come up with some kind of system to keep them organized.

Valentine's Day 2009 - a day early....

Mrs. Beth had a party for the kiddos and I made sure to leave my camera as it dawned on me that this was their last Valentine's Day with Mrs. Beth - to which she promptly told me to hush! They had fun making picture frames and exchanging valentines and happies with each other. I couldn't resist adding the pics of the "shirtless" kiddos and them trying to manage the icing on the cupcakes Richard took - Emma's is hilarious!! That night, Richard and I met Ty at Chili's for supper. Valentine's Day itself was really quiet: how nice and refreshing. I hope everyone had a great one this year!!!

Bulldogs vs. Tigers...

Well our household of Sullivans wasn't happy last Wednesday night, but the Sullivans of Baton Rouge were. Ty called me Tuesday to ask if I'd be interested in going to the LSU vs. MSU basketball game because he could get tickets. With all the stress of Doty being out and our site visit at work Friday, I know it seemed like a foolish decision but there is just NOTHING like being on campus for a game - I LOVE MSU basketball!!! (My first date with Ty was to an MSU basketball game.)

Ty worked through lunch so that we could get a little bit of an early start since the game tip off was at seven. Ty gave tickets to some of his lifelong friends: Mr. Ed, Lisa, and Laurie and also to Dr. McCool's husband and son. Richard had a great time...he was a bit more "distracted" than I had anticipated, so I am glad that I had the "magic" book bag packed full of entertainment... overall though he did really well until we went into DOUBLE overtime - and then I was SUPER thankful that I had packed his portable DVD for him to watch Hermie. The first thing he said when we got back in the car was "I had fun watching Bully play basketball" and less than two and a half minutes later he was "sacked out" - what fun! Thank you Ty!!

Little Helpers and Sunshine from Cousins...

The other night, Ty had a few last boards to put up on the play set... Richard had a great time being daddy's little helper and had to use his little tools to lend that extra helping hand!

Richard received a surprise package in the mail the other day - a mailer envelope covered with airplanes - it was from his two cousins in Texas! He was so excited as he opened it and discovered that Maddie had painted him a canvas with a race car and also one with a big green dinosaur. Greyson had collected him some seashells. They both drew him Valentine's Day cards as well - we hate that Texas is so far away..

My Hunny's Birthday!!!

Ty and I have been out on more dates in the last week than the last six months: and boy has it been fun being able to spend time as a couple: I am now officially broke, but it was worth it!! LOL To start with, we didn't think that we would be able to see the MSU vs. Kentucky game because it was supposed to be on ESPN (we cut our cable off a couple of months ago) so I made arrangements with mom and dad to keep Richard that night - I didn't tell Ty till the day of where we were going - we went to the Alumni House (great atmosphere to watch ANY sports and not have to be in a loud "bar" setting). On Ty's actual birthday he and Richard got back in town about five so we had a low key evening and ordered a pizza and hung out as a family at home. I had Ty several gifts to open - the theme was 39 and he had 39 items as presents - Richard LOVED that each box was numbered and he was super helpful with opening the presents and blowing out the candle on daddy's favorite cake that I made: yellow cake with chocolate icing!! Next, I asked Jennifer (the BEST sitter in the ENTIRE world) to come over on Friday...so she and her fiance came over about 3:45 and kept Richard while Ty and I caught a matinee showing of Pink Panther, ate a delicious supper at Osaka, and then watched the seven o'clock showing of He's Just Not That Into You. What a fun night. I love you baby and am so glad that you are my husband. My your 39th year be your BEST, most SPECIAL, and FAVORITE ever!!!

P.S. NO - neither one of us like the couple picture of us, but that's kinda what you get when you use the self timer....

Can You Say MOOOOOOO....

Claire, another friend from Mrs. Beth's had a birthday recently (yes they all have birthdays REALLY close together) and the party was at Chic Fil A. Richard LOVED every bit of it... the Cow especially!!! Claire looked great in her shirt that Mrs. Robin made and pants that a friend of mine from work made. We always have fun getting together with everyone...I'm not sure what Richard will think once all of these parties end - with all of his friends and the three in our family we have been celebrating non-stop since December!!

BTW - my comment to Kozy: THANKS A LOT FOR CLAY DOUGH (yes NOT playdough - modeling CLAY) TO PLAY WITH..... sure give it to the kid has carpet all at his house!!!! He really did have fun playing with it with his MeMe on the wax paper on the table after he "got over" it feeling "icky" on his hands...

Who Knew McDonald's Could Be So Much Fun...

One afternoon after picking up the kiddos from Mrs. Beth's the moms decided to take the "long" way home - some days are just like that you know.... the result was the kiddos having a blast trying to outrun, outscream, and outyell, each other while racing around the playground. Thanks for the fun we always have - we better still get together next year when we are "Flames."

New Library Time...

and so much less crowded. Mrs. June read a book as always, they sang some new songs, played with the parachute, and matched some colored circles (which totally delighted Richard). What fun - maybe we have found a new library time....

Playset Almost Complete...

...and so much fun at night..... Ty has worked so hard on Richard's playset...and oh what a delight!!! We led him outside and then Ty turned the switch so that Richard could see that it is lit up at night (just like Pooh's Playground at Disney World). OH the look of pure delight on his face!!! He had so much fun checking it all out and having his daddy swing with him - he had to check out both of the swings, the slide, and the fort!!! It has come in quite handy as we grill outside: he always gets upside when you have to go outside to check the grill and he is left peering out the kitchen door - well, no more!!! Now he can play on the playset while we take care of cooking supper and it is well lit and far enough away from the grill that he is safe. Thank you to my sweet, patient, and hardworking honey who built it from scratch (his says "NEVER again - the next one will be built from a kit in a box). Anyway, thank you Ty - Richard is having a blast!!!!

One Man's Trash: Another Man's Funtime/Treasure...

One morning when I arrived at Beth's house she told me that Marc had to replace their water heater - OUCH - but out of that not-so-fun experience for them, came several days of fun for the kiddos. They had so much fun playing inside of the box and helping to add their own "artistic expressions" i.e. crayon scribbles to it. What fun! Wouldn't it be great to be three again, if just for a day!!!

More Baton Rouge Fun...

The next morning, Richard had one more present to open. A really special one. WallE!!!! Yes, the real thing: he dances, "sings", walks in ALL directions, and blinks his eyes...what a cool tool for a little three year old fella who is obsessed with WallE to have. After banging into walls and chair legs a bit, he really got a grasp on how to use the remote.

Before we left, we watched our Disney World DVD of pictures together (when PatPat and Richard are snuggling) and of course Richard gave out good lovin before he left.