I am changing my blog address to:
www.tangentialramblings.blogspot.com
New project = need for a New Name ( I will explain further on the new blog).
Sorry for being high-maintenance:) !!

Well, hello! Yes, I am 'officially' back to blogging after a very long hiatus. I am not sure if anyone reads this blog anymore (except you Chelle - Hi!), but I have decided that I will be committing myself to this project 100% from here on out. What used to be simply peer pressure (you know who you are), has become a hobby and an outlet for me. I have a need to blog. I want to write down all of those little and big things that happen so that I can have a record of our family's life. So, with that in mind, let's do a quick recap:
1. My laptop crashed and took many un-backed-up pictures with it. This sucked. I curled up in the fetal position for a couple of days, but realized I had to move on.
2. Chelle and I played Bible School shuffle with our kids. It was a definite win-win-win - the kids were exposed to some great lessons and social time, Chelle and I had some 'get stuff done' time and I learned how great it can be to have someone else worry about who has to go potty and why Dalton has his hands down his pants - again. This actually did happen by the way. Every mother wants to hear the kids' Bible School teacher say, "They were very good and very polite! Only one thing, I had to ask Dalton to take his hands out of his pants all morning!" OK. Great.
3. Braxton had a bad heart episode that landed him in the hospital. The doctors had thought he had outgrown this condition, but we now know he has not. Ironically, it was on Father's Day - again. His first major episode was on Mike's first Father's Day. In the 3 weeks since he was hospitalized, he has had two more episodes. So, he is now back on heart meds until he is old enough to have surgery (probably around the age of 5).
Thanks to everyone who knew about Brax for their support and prayers. A very special thank you to Chelle who came over to the house when we took Braxton to the hospital. She stayed with Dalton all night long. We are so thankful for everything she and Greg did to help us out. We knew Dalton was in excellent hands.
4. We are currently visiting Mike's family in North Carolina. We are having a lot of fun, getting some sun and really taking it easy. They live on 2 acres of land out in the country, so it is so peaceful here. Plus, they just got a pool! I will post pictures when we get back.
Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Dana

The Playroom is done! Yeah!
I only had a couple of things to finish, but I kind of put them on the back burner. So, last week I hung some more vines, put out all of the kids new stuffed jungle animals they received as birthday gifts (thanks Mom and Gayle!) and we made the treasure map. I outlined it and the kids filled it in.
The cave doubles as a chalkboard and there is a climbing rope attached to the playset, I just forgot to untie it. We were able to find another mattress, so the jump from the playset to the landing area isn't as high anymore.
The boys love the room and we love the fact that they have a place to get all of their energy out when the weather is bad outside!!
PS - Yes, that is Dalton peeking his head out from the side of the picture. And yes, he is naked again. I told him he had to put clothes on and that he couldn't be in the picture because he was naked - as you can tell I lost that battle. I just thought I had taken the picture fast enough to avoid him being in it!

"B" is for Butterflies!!
Chelle and I have been taking turns planning fun learning games and outings for our kids. Last week we learned about trains and talked about the letter 'A'. Many fun games and stories later, the boys were asking if they could 'play school' again. Well, this week was 'B' week!
After making paper butterflies that fit into cocoons (amazing what one can do with the cardboard cylinder from a roll of toilet paper!) and acting out a story about 5 butterfly friends, we went to visit the butterfly house! The kids had so much fun. Braxton was even able to get a butterfly to land on his hand! It was so sweet. He later told me "I stayed very still and held my arm out and a butterfly landed on it!" The look on his face when that monarch butterfly finally landed on his wrist was priceless!
Next week we are making cookies ("C" theme of course!)....yummm....

It's Summertime! Yeah! We dragged our ever faithful hard plastic pool out (we popped two of the soft blow-up kind last year) and set it up. The boys are thrilled! So is their mom :)! Since I was sick all of last summer and stayed inside most of the time, I have been waiting to be able to get out this year and actually enjoy our backyard and get some sun!

JUMPY, JUMPY shoes!
OK, so not MY typical style, but hey, I am not the one wearing them :)
I am not usually a big fan of the 'commercial' clothing, however the boys needed new shoes and they fell in love with these. Thomas the Train for Dalton and Spiderman for Braxton. The kicker? They light up when the kids' feet hit the floor! This is what made Dalton start dancing around and calling them his 'jumpy, jumpy shoes!"

We planted flowers today! Mike was out of town, so the boys and I decided to get busy and brighten up our backyard. This activity was right up Braxton's alley - he would very carefully remove the flower from the package, gently put it into the flower box (after first asking me if he was doing it right) and then he would cover it up with dirt. After telling it to grow well he would look up with a huge smile on his face. Dalton, loved pulling the wagon around. When I was finally able to get him to stop pulling it, he "helped" us plant. He was having a hard time with the concept of 'gently taking the plant out of the plastic.' Instead, he would grab it by the bloom and run and throw it into the flower box. Seconds later he would decapitate another... oh well, I guess we all have our own gardening style!

We just got back from Chicago where we spent a very fun but very rainy week. We had hoped to visit with friends while we were in town, but unfortunately we weren't able to do it this trip. We hope to see all of you next time!
We did so many fun things with my family while we were in town - the boys rode a 'big' train for the first time, we visited the 'choo-choo' restaurant (an electric train brings your basket of food to you) we took them downtown Chicago for the first time, we went to the Health World kids museum and we celebrated their birthday - again! In fact, when I was laying them down after our Mother's Day dinner, Dalton started to cry and he told me that we forgot to give him his presents! Sorry, sweetheart, not EVERY gift is for you!
The train ride was a big hit with the boys. However, Dalton wasn't so sure he wanted to ride it at first. He was pretty nervous as the train approached the station. He became very quiet and a worried look overcame his face. This is so ironic since he is OBSESSED with trains! He was quick to get over it and now he constantly talks about wanting to ride it again!

Some days are just plain crazy. I took this picture on Wednesday after we listened all afternoon to a house full of 3-year-olds playing and of course fighting. Chelle's kids were over and my boys were not in the sharing mood. Actually, I should clarify. It's not that they didn't want to share things in general, they just didn't want to share their trains. In fact, they were like a mama bear defending her cubs -vicious . And while Chelle's kids were behaving, ours were not. Needless to say, we are working on 'overcoming' this latest issue. It is always something, isn't it???

Hmmm...I am trying to figure out which word I should use - cheap or frugal?? How about creative! The boys wanted new Thomas the Train toys. However, Mike and I are trying very hard to stick to our budget. So, I decided that I would take the money budgeted for haircuts and buy them their new toys. The catch was, I had to cut their hair. This was a big catch seeing as I have never cut someone's hair, let alone the hair belonging to 2 squirmy 3 -year-old boys. So, scissors and clippers in hand I jumped right in. The end result? They have had better haircuts. But, they have had worse (and we had to pay for that bad haircut). The boys weren't thrilled about sitting still and I did knick Dalton's ear (just a little knick), but afterwards they got to go shopping to pick out their new train!!!
Here are some "after" pictures....
By the way, feel free to leave comments on any of the blog entries. Just click on the comments link and sign in under anonymous. Just be sure to leave your name at the end of the comment! Have a great week everyone!

Happy Birthday Braxton and Dalton!
We celebrated their 3rd birthday by having the Greenes over. Mamaw and Papaw Beckman were still visiting, so the boys were able to celebrate with them as well! The kids all played on the new playset and we painted wooden frames and took pictures of the kids so they had a photo of themselves to put in it. I gave them all a bottle of bubbles, but most of the solution ended up on the deck with Dalton rolling around in it! Either way, it was entertainment! A few days later we had a hard rain come down. I looked out the window and the deck was covered in bubbles!!
The boys loved their many gifts. Dalton found it a little difficult to wait so he took it upon himself to sneak inside and start tearing through the presents (he climbed onto the kitchen counter and pushed them down onto the floor). We briefly saw him opening them as he ran with gifts in hand through the door to the patio to show us!
It was a good thing they had fun that night because the next week and a half proved to be a real bummer. First, they came down with a cold. Then pink eye and tonsillitis. We finished off with a nasty virus called Foot, Hand and Mouth Disease. The poor things had fevers and blisters in their mouths and all over their bodies. So far it has been rough being 3!

The Beckman Boys when they were one week old...
and on their third birthday!

Our babies are three!!! I am struggling with this one a little bit. I LOVE the stage they are in - they are so talkative and funny. We have so much fun together. But I do find myself thinking back and getting worried that time is moving way too fast. These three years have been wonderful, trying, exhilarating and exhausting - and yet we are savoring and loving every moment of it (well, almost every moment!). Happy Birthday Braxton and Dalton!!

Here are a few more from Easter morning...

Can you believe Home Depot is open on Easter?? I know this because I am on my way to find anti-tick spray. Both Mike and his dad have pulled a tick off of each other this weekend. Looks like the woods are home to some less-than-desirable neighbors. Mike and Mr. Beckman are quite amused that I am all worked up about this. I don't care - I am off to Home Depot to find some pesticide! Ugh!

The Easter Bunny visited last night and hid eggs and baskets for the boys. Plus, Mamaw and Papaw brought them a ton of goodies. One huge sugar high later, the boys are running around playing with all of their new toys!
Hope you are having a Blessed Easter!

Mamaw and Papaw Beckman are here visiting for the weekend, and the boys are having a blast! Yesterday, Mike and his dad worked all day on their new playset. They are hoping to have the swingset finished by Sunday afternoon. Needless to say, the boys are just a little bit anxious!