Gymnasts

During Addy's nap time this afternoon we worked a bit with the boys on their gymnastic ability.  To no one's surprise, Lleyton was a natural when it came to doing a handstand, but Parker shined just as brightly. 

Forgive us for Lleyton being in his underwear, the boy likes showing off his chicken legs.

Mr. Mom: Bakers in Training

Before Sara left on her trip she jokingly said that she would like to arrive home to the delicious sounding strawberry cake she had just been given the recipe for.

Her wish is our command. 

I was really looking forward to this evening's activity all day long because I knew how excited the kids were to bake a cake for their mommy.  I made a quick trip to the grocery store (Kroger, of course) over my lunch and picked up the ingredients and rushed home after work to make sure we had enough time to put quite a bit of TLC into our creation. 

The kids did not disappoint.  Each was more than eager to jump in wherever necessary. 

Here are the future Food Network stars...

Move over Bobby Flay, Lleyton is prepared to throw down with the best of 'em.

Parker stepped aside and let the little ones do the most of the work, but he was up to the task of helping mix the ingredients.

Heads up Paula Deen, this little looker has a face made for TV and she is a big fan of the chef's hat.

She also worked her imaginary runway in an apron that she wore just like it was a designer dress.

The finished product.

Mr. Mom: Part 3

My jet setting corporate bride has been summoned across the country again, so while she sits through a few days worth of meetings in Denver, the kids and I are here trying to hold down the fort. 

We dropped Sara off at the airport yesterday evening and it would be an understatement if I said Lleyton was sad to see her go.  Our little guy was in pieces from the moment Sara kissed him goodbye.  He really, really, really likes his mommy.  Once he was able to compose himself enough to put together a sentence, he said to me:

"Daddy, I miss Mommy sooooo much.  I am so sad she is gone.  If she stays gone all night, I don't know how I will ever feel better."

Twas one of the cutest things I have ever heard.

Here he is this evening giving Sara a very animated rundown of his day on the telephone as he and Addy and Parker kicked back and relaxed on our bed.

The Addster loves to mimic her older brother Lleyton, so she enjoyed having a silly conversation with herself on the phone.

C.L.A.S.S. C.L.O.W.N.

He's funny and he knows it.

D.I.V.A.

She's cute and she knows it. 

IU strikes first.

Prior to this week I would have said that Parker's school of choice might have still been UK.  But that all changed when I received a very cool looking piece of mail at my office.  It came in a large envelope featuring pictures of notable Hoosier basketball players and a picture of a  jam packed Assembly Hall.  Inside of said envelope was what I would consider the first recruitment letter for Parker and Lleyton (note to coaches, they are a package deal).

The envelope contained this picture...

A picture of our boys at half court of Assembly Hall signed to by IU head coach Tom Crean. 

It's safe to say IU is now at the top of both boys' lists of possible schools. 

Keep up the good work Coach Crean.  A few more notes like this one and both boys will be ready to sign a letter of intent to join the Hoosiers when that time comes.

A very big Thank You goes out to my boss' daughter Beth, who also happens to work for Tom Crean, for making our experience at the Hoosiers game happen and for sending this picture to our boys.

Valentine's Day Eve

We have been virtually locked in the house over the past few weeks due to such cold weather, so needless to say we try to find as many things to do as we can to keep the kids from going crazy (easier said than done).  One thing we took advantage of was the upcoming Valentine's Day.  We decided to make this holiday more than just one day, so Sara made each kid a mailbox and if they behaved each day they each got to retrieve the special treat inside the mailbox.

We weren't afraid to borrow a cool idea for the boys Valentines for their classmates  from one of Sara's favorite blogs.

I think they turned out great.

This morning rolled around with a little fanfare as the kids opened up a couple of Valentine's Day gifts.

After taking down some delicious muffins that Sara cooked up, I loaded the little ones into the car and headed over to deliver some Valentine's cheer to my Great Aunt Sheila.

We plan on rounding out our Valentine's Day eve with some chocolate fondue for dessert tonight.  I am a sucker for chocolate fondue, so luckily I just got my workout in for the day and won't feel too guilty indulging this later this evening.

Fun in the snow.

We had the pleasure of joining Grammy and Pop and cousins Claire, Nick, and Drew this afternoon for some fun at Perfect North Slopes.  The boys were both eager to head down the tubing hills, but Lleyton changed his mind shortly after getting there, so he and Addy hung with Sara and I at the bottom and watched as the others made their way down. 

Here are a few pictures from our outing.

These boys have so much fun together.

 As do these boys.

Addy's first go-round with the snow.  I am happy to report she seemed to really enjoy it.

Claire and Parker couldn't get enough of the tubes.  They were always on the move.

Wrapping up the afternoon with some snow wrestling.

Thanks a lot teleflora

"What is a rack?"...

"Daddy, what is a rack?"...

"Dad, what is a rack?"

I did my best to act like I didn't hear Parker's questions this evening during the Super Bowl when he asked me not once, not twice, but three times what a rack is. 

If you saw the teleflora commercial in the first half you will know what I speak of.

Thank goodness Sara quickly noticed the uncomfortable look on my face and saved me by telling our big man not to worry about it and that it is a term he shouldn't repeat. 

Thank you Sara.

Hoo...Hoo...Hoo...Hoosiers!

Sara and I had the pleasure of introducing Parker and Lleyton to IU basketball today.  My mom and dad watched the Addster while we braved the unexpected adverse weather and made our way to Bloomington.  Our first stop was a quick visit to my old stomping grounds, Yogis.  We met my friend Rob there and enjoyed a quick bite to each and a cold beverage before making our way over to the hallowed grounds of Assembly Hall. 

I'll have to be honest, walking into Assembly we weren't sure if we would make it much longer than a few minutes as Lleyton was pretty wound up and settings like the one we were about to enter don't typically work well for our little man.  That being said, I am thrilled to report that we made it all the way through the game and Lleyton did great.  He and Parker really enjoyed the game, the atmosphere, the students, and the whole experience. 

My goal for the day was to turn Parker into an IU fan and I think we may have done that.  I have had about enough of him saying UK is his favorite team. It's time that IU occupies that spot in his heart. 

A little time at midcourt after the game always helps solidify the the new feelings of love for the Hoosiers.  (I have been a fan of IU since birth, including the 4 years I spent their in college, and I am not sure I have ever been at half court)

The boys were enjoying themselves long before our trip to to midcourt...

Both boys were big fans of sitting so close to the student section, as they liked to emulate what the rowdy kids were doing. Thankfully they didn't imitate the rather colorful cheers the students had for the opposing players and referees. We aren't quite ready for our little guys to use such language.

Lleyton loved the basketball action, but I'm not sure he didn't like watching the cheerleaders during timeouts just as much.  Our hands are full with this little man.

Picking up some very cool IU gear at the game certainly doesn't hurt our chances of the Hoosiers occupying the top spot in our boys' hearts.

Any day now...

We have been battling the flu, colds, coughs, fevers, you name it, we've had it in this house over the past month.  

I am ready for it all to go away.  Yesterday afternoon Lleyton came down with a fever at daycare, and daycare doesn't take too many chances with that sort of thing spreading so Sara picked him up and did her best to work from home while the little man rested.  This morning the fever was almost gone so I suited him up with the other kids and took him into school.  Not five minutes after walking through the front door of the daycare on my way to work I got the call that I had to turn around.  His fever was ever so slowing creeping back up toward 101.

So he and I have been hanging at home today.  I was home last week for three days with the flu, and Sara was lucky enough to catch that too so she was home with me for two of those days.  Luckily Parker and Addy have been able to kick their immune systems into high gear and have yet to come down with anything.  My fingers are crossed that doesn't change.  I would much rather use my time off from work on a sunny beach or at Disney World than at home in the freezing cold. 

Here is how my little man has spent a good bit of his day...

Matt 2.0: Progress report

For those of you out there (AKA, my mother) that may be interested in whether I have stuck to my new and improved eating and exercising habits,  I have and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. 

This afternoon I finished Week 4 of C25K and I am happy to report I have lost 20 pounds during those 4 weeks (as a matter of full disclosure, the official weight loss is 19.6, but I feel like I have earned the right to call that 20).  I was asked the other day if I like running. I must say I still do not enjoy the act of running, but the same can't be said for the feeling of accomplishment that I get when I am finished.  I also don't mind seeing the scale move in the opposite direction it has over the past number of years.  And who knows, my preconceived hatred for running notwithstanding, maybe someday soon I will actually enjoy it.

I think that day is coming.

Glimpse into the future...

Our multi-talented little man put on quite a show for us yesterday afternoon. 

For those eager to know which classic ballad Lleyton belted out for us while playing his guitar, it was a very well done accoustic version of "Who Let the Dogs Out". 

Next time I will be sure to have the video camera handy.  It was priceless.

Who needs Mega Millions?

Sure, we were a couple of the millions of Americans who put a little money on the line a few weeks back in an attempt to win the $300,000,000 Mega Millions jackpot.  Although I did have a good feeling about our chances, we came away empty handed. 

But our not-so-good luck with the Mega Millions didn't deter Sara from trying her luck again as she entered a free drawing in the lobby of her building the other, and low and behold our luck hadn't run out, her name was draw from  hundreds of others and we are now the proud recipients of an entire year's worth of potato chips. 

For those of you out there that are concerned this could derail my efforts to get healthy, fear not, these are healthy potato chips (100 calories/bag). 

Not unlike the newly minted millionaires from the recent lottery, we will also have some difficult decisions to make after our big win.  Such as do we want to receive one case of Pop Chips each month or would we rather get the entire year's worth in one shipment?  Not quite the decisions were hoping to be making right now, but we'll take what we can get.

By the way, Pop Chips are delicious.

Future tennis star.

Look out world. 

Addy is really liking her new tennis shoes. 

That accompanied by her her mom being a standout tennis player back in the day could equal quite a little player in a few years.