SO WHAT Wednesday.

I’m linking up for the VERY first time with the always FABULOUS Shannon over at Life After I Dew for SO WHAT Wednesday…

SO WHAT…if I went to the BMV today to renew my license plate tags-brace yourselves-SEVEN MONTHS LATE.  That’s right Loyal PERKS followers-they expired this past June…and it took me this long to unwillingly drag myself to one of my least favorite places in the world. So sue me. I’m envious of all you responsible law-abiding citizens who are organized enough to just order those through the mail. What’s it like to just open an envelope and see that shiny up-to-date sticker that you get to slap on your license plate once a year? Or in my case every year and seven months. Worst part is-if I decide to play by the rules…I’ll be back there again in just FIVE short months to renew it again. And the double whammy…it’s also my year to renew my license too. LOVE spending over a hundred dollars just so I can keep driving. Not.

SO WHAT…if my two year-old is almost as good as me at putting together his Melissa and Doug United States puzzle together. Ok-I admit it. Geography has never been my strong suit. YES-I was that little girl who grew up thinking that the states of Hawaii and Alaska were next to each other, due to their close proximity to one another in the left corner of every.single. social studies textbook I ever had. How was I supposed to know any different.? So yah-when Henry takes the state of Wyoming out of my hands and places it way closer to its accurate spot than I was aiming, I don’t feel embarrassed-just proud.

SO WHAT…if tasks like unloading the dishwasher or sending an email take me WAY longer than the average (NOT Mother of two toddler boys) person. These are the moments when I dream of life before children. When you could literally pop open the dishwasher door and start with the silverware-without having to pull a big brother off a little brother, grab a stale pasta noodle out of a child’s mouth, keep an 11 month old from climbing up the stairs that his big brother insists do not need a gate, stop a child from completely dumping out the contents of one’s purse which was haphazardly thrown on the chair upon returning home from a play date. You get the idea. Everything just takes longer with children. Efficiency is no mother’s strong suit.

SO WHAT…if it will be damn near impossible to make it to next week without either of my boys having bumps or bruises on their face. Is it too much to ask that both my children be blemish free when I have professional pictures taken of them to commemorate Marshall’s 1st Birthday? By the grace of god, they always seem to develop mysterious cuts, scrapes, and red marks on their foreheads and cheeks RIGHT before important events, so I’m sure Henry will body slam Marshy next wednesday just in time to have a shiner for picture day.

SO WHAT…if I left the lady at the Kroger Deli counter hanging after I ordered a pound of turkey to dart over to the bakery? Henry was about to lose his mind if I didn’t head straight over to get him his obligatory sugar cookie fix. Yes. I am that mother. The one who bribes her child with a sugar cookie every time we go to the grocery store to buy myself 10 minutes of uninterrupted shopping in the produce section while he noshes away on the cookies which are no longer deemed “fresh enough” to sell. I think those nice ladies set them out for free, to provide shopping-with-two-todders mothers like me with a brief reprieve to tackle their grocery lists.

SO WHAT…if my morning preparation checklist has been shaved down to the following bare minimum MUSTS before I leave the house. Braid, brush teeth, mascara. Showering and clean clothes are a thing of the past. We’ve got places to go, and I can’t be worried about who I might run into at the grocery store. Speaking of…

SO WHAT…if I always seem to end up at the grocery store at the same time as the retirement bus full of adorable white-haired senior citizens. Yes-I might spend have half of my grocery run politely giggling at them as they gush over my boys, but how can you blame them for reminiscing about their younger years? They’ve clearly forgotten how wretched it can be to drag two young children to the store in sub zero temperatures just to grab some milk. But thank you oldies-for reminding me to cherish these times. Lord knows I wouldn’t want to forget how much fun it is to pin Marshall’s arms down while I simultaneously try to avoid picking out rotten apples, all so he doesn’t touch or bother his impatient big brother sitting next to him in the grocery cart.

Phew.  I feel better already. Always nice to get a few “so what’s” off my chest.

Hope y’all are having a fabulously perky Humpday!!

 

Back in the Blogging Saddle.

Ok Loyal PERKS Followers, deep breaths.

I’m back.

This past summer was a crazy one. Two of my best friends got married. On the same weekend. I was a maid of honor, and a bridesmaid all in one 24 hour period. And I was beyond thrilled to stand up for two such fabulous ladies.

I attended several other weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, and bachelorette parties.

I was raising a rambunctious toddler. And nursing a very cute baby. And we had swim lessons. And park playdates.

And somehow a CAH-RAZY summer rolled into a fabulously busy fall.

We blinked and our chicken-filled halloween rolled right into a turkey-filled thanksgiving, followed by a fantastically festive Christmas and New Year.

And suddenly, its the end of January and this poor ol’ blog has been neglected. Neglected-but most CERTAINLY NOT forgotten.

I needed a mental break. Some downtime to get my writing mojo back.

A chance to enjoy my boys and not worry about taking pictures constantly, or documenting every.single.thing. that happens in our perk-filled lives.

But after a much needed break, I am so excited to be back in the blogging saddle.

Mama Perks is ready to return your regularly scheduled programming-complete with pictures, anecdotes, and the downright ridiculous happenings of a mother busy raising two toddler boys.

Did I mention said toddler boys are growing.like.weeds?

Here’s the proof….

Six months ago they looked like this…

And now…they’re all grown up…

Hope y’all are having a fantastic Tuesday.

Stay tuned. I’ll be recapping lots of exciting perks from the past six months in the coming weeks…

Merry Merry

It’s the time of the year again folks.

You know the blessed time of year where families come together to take stunning family portraits like this…

And I don’t know about the rest of you. But I’m particularly upset that I didn’t snatch up that red little pleather ensemble for my family christmas card this year.  There’s always next year I guess.

Meanwhile, I imagine I’m not the only one scrambling to get our Christmas cards printed and sent out this year-hoping they’ll be adorned on refrigerators across the country.  Have y’all sent out your cards yet? If not, make sure you go and visit Shutterfly’s website to see all the awesome deals they have going on right now for their holiday cards.

It’s hard isn’t it? Choosing one card that helps to not only represent your family, but that also sends out happy well wishes to your nearest and dearest-those of whom could be celebrating everything from Christmas and Hanukkah to Kwanzaa or even Festivus (for all you Seinfeld lovers out there.)

But let’s be honest, once you’ve secured your dynamite family portrait (see above photo) the hard part is done. Shutterfly has an amazing selection of cards which makes it super easy to snag the perfect greeting for your parents, friends and estranged Aunt Sally who your mom insisted be invited to your wedding to help keep the family peace.

I had such a blast surfing their website to find our family’s card for this year-and once you’ve made your selection, the website is SO user-friendly in helping you to design your card.  You simply upload your photos, and drop them into the spots on your card, and voila, before you know it, your Christmas card recipients will be drooling over your lacy garter they weren’t brave enough to sport in their picture.

And perhaps you’re thinking…I won’t be sending out a holiday greeting card this year. Maybe you aren’t married. Perhaps you don’t have precious children to show off. Or you’re just not down with spending a small fortune on postage just to let your inner circle know you’re thinking about them during this special time of year. Well I can guarantee Shutterfly’s website still has something for you.  Maybe you need thank you cards, or you’ve got an event coming up that you need to design an invitation for. Whatever it is, I promise that Shutterfly is the way to go.

And just in case you weren’t sold on the red pleather…here are a few other family photos to help you get your creative juices flowing as you plan your family’s attire for this year’s holiday photo…

December is here people.

It’s the most wonderful time of year

Here’s hoping that we all sit back, take deep breaths, and remember the reason for the season.

What Came First…

…the Chicken…

OR

…the Egg…

26 Things for 26 Months.

1. You are OBSESSED with tunnels. You have a toy tunnel that you love to crawl through at home, but now anything that covers you-in your mind, is a tunnel. Blankets, books that you hold over your head…anything really. When we drive on the freeway you call highway overpasses tunnels, and you point them out every.single.time. we drive under one.

2. You love your brother.  But you also love to push him down. And take toys from him.  We are working on the whole sharing thing. And you should know it’s only a matter of time before he catches up to you in size.

3. Your favorite food in the entire world is cereal. You would have it for every meal if we let you. Granted you eat it dry.  You don’t even realize how much better it will taste one day when we let you have it with milk.

4. You love to watch movies.  The first movie you really fell in love with was Toy Story 3. We then of course let you watch Toy Story 1 and 2 because we felt it was only fair that you learn the evolution of how an 18 year-old boy named Andy was dealing with the internal struggle of whether or not to take his toys to college. And of course, for months AND months you spoke of nothing but Buzz and Woody all.the.time.  Daddy and I found ourselves quoting the movies while laying in bed at night. It got to the point where we all needed a little Toy Story detox, so we introduced you to some other Pixar goodies.  You now also love Finding Nemo, Cars, Monster’s Inc. and Ratatouille.

5. You used to call cars “vroom vrooms.” Now you just call them cars. I guess you’re growing up.

6. You are starting to talk about your friends all the time. You often ask if you can go play with them.  Your favorites are Emma, PJ, Ben and Nolan.

7. Every morning when I go in your room I ask you if you had good dreams. You say yes. And when I ask you, “Henry-what did you dream about?” You say “Night night and bunnies.”

8. You are obsessed with dipping all of your foods. Your 2nd birthday party food theme revolved around dips. You need syrup with waffles. Ketchup with fries. And those are the normal combinations. Daddy can’t stand when you dip grapes in your taco sauce.  I, on the other hand celebrate your taste for diversity in foods.

9. You still take 3-4 hour naps in the afternoon, and sleep for 12+ hours at night. Praise.the.lord.

10. You still have your baby hair.  It’s thin, fine, and STICK straight.  You look like you need a haircut every other week. I still keep waiting for you to grow into your thick, wavy mop that I believe you’re destined to have because of your parents’ crazy locks!

11. You say no. A lot.

12. You are a negotiator just like your Mama. You know what you want, and you aren’t afraid to stomp your feet, growl, and yell until you get it.

13. You LOVE going for sleepovers at Mimi and Nana’s.  You have your own room at both of their houses.  They spoil you rotten while you are there. You are so lucky to have them.

14. You are still LONG and LEAN. All the pants that fit you length-wise are too big in the waist.

15. At the park, your favorite thing to do is go down the slide. You still say “weeeeee” every time you go down.

16. You are a mastermind on my iPhone. Not only do you know how to unlock it, but you can maneuver through different apps, find your favorite pictures and videos, and get into Netflix to watch movies.  I imagine it will only be a matter of time before you are instructing me on how to use the latest in technology gadgets.

17. You love to dance. You are really good at mimicking dance moves that you see other people do.

18. Your vocabulary is blowing up. It’s incredible to see you learning new words every day. You are such a sponge. I am shocked by things you pick up on and remember, weeks and even months after they happen.

19. You love animals.  Dogs and cats are your favorite.

20. You are so curious about everything now. You are constantly saying, “Mommy, what is that?” in the sweetest little high pitched voice. And when I tell you the answer, you always say, “Ohhhhh.”

21. You are all boy. Whenever you walk past the TV and sports are on, you immediately start yelling and fist pumping. Clearly you’ve learned this habit from your father. You and Daddy love to play baseball, football, and soccer in the family room. This drives Mommy bonkers.

22. One of your favorite treats is to have a popsicle after dinner. Shhhhh, I won’t even tell you that your popsicles are just unflavored ice. We just freeze water and  you think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. This way we don’t have to worry when you drip it all over the carpet.

23. You still love bath time AND bubbles. You protest when I try to get you out of the bath tub by laying flat on your stomach with your face down in the tub. And as soon as I am able to finally lift you out, you try to make a run for it, butt naked into your bedroom and hide behind your chair. It’s cute now, but hopefully something you grow out of before the teenage years.

24. Whenever we are getting ready to leave the house, you always bring me my shoes.  I did not teach you this.

25. Whenever I say anything regarding the potty you always yell “No Mommy!” It’s gonna be a while before we go down that road…

26. You are loveable, stubborn, headstrong, and hilarious. You make us laugh every day. The past 26 months have been the best months of our lives.

Two Years.

What a difference two years makes…

So tiny in my arms.

NOT so tiny in my arms.

Trying to wrap my brain around the fact that on this very day two years ago Mr. Henry came into our lives.

Happy Birthday sweet boy.

Much more coming to celebrate your big day…

Wordless Wednesday.

Let’s All Go to the Movies!

Do you all remember your very first movie theater experience?

Daddy Perks and I both love to see movies, and although we don’t get out to see them nearly as much as we used to-we were very excited to take Henry to see Cars 2 earlier this summer.

It was extra special to spend some one-on-one time with Henry as we are used to being a family of four these days.

Henry was absolutely enamored with the theater and it was so fun to experience something so simple through his eyes.

That’s right. We saw the movie at 9:50 AM.

We figured it’d be mostly families there this early in the morning.

And yes. We still got a large popcorn.

And a large coke. But that was just for Daddy Perks and I.

When we first entered the theater, Henry was totally enthralled.

He sat perfectly in his seat for about 50 mintues, eating popcorn, saying ‘Vroom Vroom” and smiling at both of us.

 Then he got a bit antsy and alternated between sitting in our laps.

And then he was done.

We ended up missing the last 30 minutes of the movie (which was entirely too long to begin with.)

But Henry had a total blast running throughout the hallways…

The boy is FAST.

He was very curious about all the posters.

And then he happened upon something…

A giant cat wearing a cape.

Also known as Puss ‘N Boots, who apparently is leaving Shrek behind to star in his own feature length film.

Anyways, I’m pretty sure Henry enjoyed this cardboard cut-out almost as much as the movie.

It’s the little things, right?

Anyways, as we walked out of the theater Daddy Perks and I looked at each other and both said…

“For his first time…all in all-a success.”

Later that day we hung out with friends, and one of them snapped a shot of the entire Perkins clan:

Happy Tuesday from our family to yours 🙂

Need a lift?

Watch out Loyal PERKS followers…

Marshy’s behind the wheel.

He was a little uncertain at first…

But we’re pretty sure he got used to the idea…

Need a lift?

 

Happy Monday Loyal PERKS followers!

Marshall is 6 Months Old!

Guess who is super pumped about being half a year old?

This guy…

Isn’t he the cutest?

I can’t hardly believe that half a year has gone by since Marshall came into our world.

He’s fit in with our family so seamlessly that it’s hard to picture life before him.

Anyhow, here’s the low down on the littlest Perk…

Quick Stats:

Height: 27 1/2 inches…90th %

Weight…16 lbs. 12 oz…45th %

Head…17 1/4 inches…50th %

In layman’s terms…you’re super tall, kinda skinny, and have a normal sized head.

Who knew babies hands could be so cute?

He’s Mr. Personality already.

He hasn’t really taken to the pacifier the way his big brother did.

His way of soothing himself…

Baby boy loves him some fingers.

But not just any fingers. It’s always his middle and ring finger. Every time. In fact, someone asked me the other day if those two fingers are constantly wrinkled and prune-like since they are ALWAYS in his mouth…and I’m surprised they aren’t. It’s funny because at first I was kinda bummed that Marsh wan’t taking to the pacifier-but the way I see it…in a stressful moment, it will be WAY easier to find Marshall’s hand, then to frantically search all over our house for a stinkin’ pacifier.

Here are some other exciting Marshall-isms going on in your world:

*Food: Since you were four months old we’ve been doing cereal, vegetables and fruits and much like your brother-you’ve loved it all. I don’t care too much for the spoon-feeding stage, so I’m already looking forward to you being able to feed yourself.  I’m hoping we aren’t too far off-seeing as when I feed you, you tend to grab my wrist to help me hurry up and shove the spoon in your mouth.  Apparently I’m not quick enough for your liking.

*Sleep: You rock. You go to bed at 7:30 pm and we don’t hear a peep from you until at least 7:30 am, sometimes later.

As far as milestones go…

*You started sitting on your own about a month ago.  You still topple over occasionally and Henry thinks it’s really funny when you do.

Oh, and you drool A LOT.

*Speaking of drool.  You got your first two chompers…your bottom two teeth, boy are they cute.

Sometimes you smile and I swear all I see is those two teeth, and your sweet little chubby cheeks.  Which actually aren’t all the chubby.  Nothing about you is all that chubby. You are long and lean despite my greatest efforts to “beef ya up.”

*You are officially up on all fours, and currently utilizing the “inchworm” method of crawling.  You haven’t quite figured out how to alternate legs yet, but you are super close.  Of course we are in no hurry for you to take off with crawling yet-because we know once you do, we are back in baby-gate mode.  It’s been quite a few months since we’ve had to have the gates up, and I’m not so sure how big brother will react to no longer having easy access up and down the stairs.

*Speaking of that sweet big brother of yours.  You two ADORE each other.  When Henry comes in the room, your face immediate lights up.  And the feeling is mutual.  When Henry sees you, he almost always says: “Oh hiiiiiiiiiiii Marshy” in this really high-pitched voice.  His version of baby talk I guess.

Big brother has always got your back.

Don’t be fooled by the sweet smiles…these boys are ALL kinds of rotten.

And not only do you have Henry wrapped around your finger…

Mommy and Daddy are pretty darn smitten as well.

Marsh ‘n Mommy.

Handsome Perks Men.

Marsh, with all the joy you’ve brought us in the first six months of your life-we can only imagine how much fun the next six months will be.

Thanks for making every day brighter with your sweet smile baby boy.

We love you Marshy-Moo!

Happy Thursday Loyal PERKS followers!