A Visit to the Children's Museum

We told Tommy after a solid month of #2's in the potty, we would visit the Children's Museum.  We have only been one other time and it was two years ago. (Check out the post! It was sooooo long ago. I can't believe how little Tommy looks.) 

The day finally came where we could go so we went! It was super fun! We bought an annual membership because they are going to have exhibits for Transformers and Ninja Turtles this fall so we'll be back! 

 We visited the dinosaurs exhibit.  Tommy LOVES dinosaurs.  In fact, I think Charlotte likes them too.  There were lots of caves to climb in so that explains the bum shot picture. :)

 They had little play tables with dines on them which the kids just love too! They can totally do this at home but for some reason, they love doing it here more!

 The train section has lots of areas to climb underneath also.

 Plus more play tables! Something else they can do at home but LOVE Doing here.  I heard at least 5 parents say, "Come on, let's go! We have this at home! Let's go see something else." Haha!

 I didn't get a picture but we ran into the Staffords when we sat down to eat lunch so we ate lunch with them.  That was super fun! Andrew looks ticked but don't worry, he was not. :)

 With an annual pass, we were able to ride the carousel for free.  Yay! Kids loved that!

Tommy reallllllly wanted to ride a tiger even though it didn't go up and down.  He didn't care.  He loves his tigers (because they start with T).

 Charlotte loved her black horse.  She wasn't complaining.  Thank goodness you can tie them on those things.  Seems dangerous!

 After the carousel, we played in the Science Works Center.  There are lots of boats and canals and running water for the kids to play in.  You can tell from this picture that we had to carry Charlotte out of there in the football hold kicking and screaming after she had wayyyyy too much fun dousing herself with water.  Yay for a good time! She got over it. :)

 We got a picture in the Indy 500 car of course.  Tommy was disappointed the steering wheel didn't work.

Charlotte LOVED the polar bear.  She kept growling at him and then waving.  It was ridiculously cute.

We had a really great time at the Children's Museum.  We didn't cover hardly half of what we could have.  I guess we'll just have to go back!

Going Out for Brandon's 41st Birthday

I don't know what it is about Brandon's birthday but it usually turns into a wild night.  This time was no different! 

We went out to eat at the super fancy Bistro 501. After dinner, we went to Laf Brew Co to see the swing band that was playing. This happens to be Desi's forte.  She taught us all how to swing dance, waltz, and rumba.  It was so fun! 

 Even my dad joined in!

HEY! Don't take my picture!

By the way, this is not a picture.  It's a video.

 Brandon already knows of course, so he and Desi enjoyed dancing on the dance floor.  The rest of us were too scared to get out there and do it for real. :)

The only dance Andrew is comfortable doing is this one. ;)

But he caved and learned them too!

 The band was HUGE and awesome. I think there were 20 members!

 After the swing band was done playing, we went to another bar. It was called Lenehan's Pub.  It was a bad bar.  I mean, really bad.  It has a sewage problem so it always smell like poo.  But that late in the night, it's much less noticeable.

 Adam took the liberty of taking some selfies with my camera.

 My dad yawn-photobombed the girls picture.

 The bros took some shots.

 We took some pictures with the random homeless guys that were frequenting the establishment.

We also played Hoops and Ping Pong.  It was awesome.  So glad we could hang out there one last time before they closed it down.  Ha!

They're going to miss us I think...

Tommy is Four Years Old and the Annual Q&A

Tommy is four!! Hooray!! So glad to be done with the Tortuous 3's! You still have your moments but it's so nice to have you back after a rough 6 months.  You are extremely funny.  You love to make up words like Chinkah Binkah and call us names like Stinky Butt. Yikes. You are ALL BOY and it's really pretty fun!  

 You adore your sister although it doesn't keep you from fighting with her.

 You still love your bike!

 You finally got over the potty training hump.  You are happy to do it instead of fighting us for a year and a half.  It took some figuring out but you conquered the task one day out of the blue and never looked back.  Oh, potty training stubborn boys.  It's the best. (Sarcasm intended :-)

You've really gotten into Superheroes these days and are enjoying all the dress up clothes I got you for your third birthday.  Yay! One day, he was BatSuperThorHulk.  Impressive.

You are so incredibly smart, Tommy T.  I love seeing you enjoy your friendships at school.  You love to pretend to be shy with new people at first and then completely chew their ear off after two minutes.  You are developing an incredible sense of humor and can make us laugh every day.  You are really good at negotiating and often end up not having to meet your bedtime or nap time because you can talk your way out of it somehow.  You surprise me every day.  I can't wait to see how you grow and change in the coming years.

Now on to the annual Q&A...

I completely forgot to do this.  I was going to ask questions of Tommy every year on his birthday. I'm only two months late.  Better than not at all, I say! So here we go again! Here's the 3 year post for reference to see how much things have changed. 

1. What is your favorite color? Red and Yellow and Pink and Green 

2. What is your favorite toy? Wolverine

3. What is your favorite fruit? Grapes

4. What is your favorite tv show? Avengers

5. What is your fave movie? Sleeping Beauty

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? Ninja Turtle Jammies

7. What is your favorite animal? Tiger cuz it starts with T

8. What is your favorite song? Avengers song (song from the cartoon)

9. What is your favorite book? The Avengers book 

10. Who is your best friend? Kylie

11. What is your favorite snack? Wolverine's gonna pick. Rainbow cupcakes!!!

12. What is your favorite drink? Wolverine? Water!!!

13. What is your favorite breakfast? LUCKY CHARMS

14. What is your favorite lunch? Carrots, Grapes, Almond Butter and Jelly Sandwiches and Dino Nuggets

15. What is your favorite dinner? I just like chicken faces. NO! Don't press the buttons! My favorite dinner is my favorite dessert, chocolate chip cookies. 

16. What is your favorite game? The games at Chuck E Cheese. 

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Shovel snow. 

18. What is your favorite holiday?  Pajama Day!!! 

19. What do you sleep with at night? My Thor's Hammer 

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Wolverine.

Happy Four Years, Tommy T! 

House Renovations

 We decided to do some renovating in our house.  Are we fixing the drywall from the flood in November? Ah, no.  But we are working on the floors in the kitchen.  Ugh, we have wanted to do this for SO LONG. Three years I think? Pretty much since we moved in.  It was never first priority but we decided to make it so. Finally so here we go. 

 Our fridge and stove were in the living room, along with our kitchen table and our trash can for over a week.  It was lovely.  So eating at home was difficult. 

 The first day we decided to just go out to eat.  We went to Applebees so the kids could burn off some energy at the mall. 

 Charlotte loved her chicken quesadilla.  It was a big kids meal and she ate the whole thing! Her appetite is incredible.

 Tommy's appetite is the opposite.  He has always been such a good eater until he turned 4.  Now it's a battle every night. But he enjoyed his chicken a little. Mostly just the fries.  That kid could live on fries, fries and more fries.  He practically does. 

 Then we went to Red Mango for ice cream.  Yum!


On Tuesday, Tommy said he wanted Wendy's (his new fave place, too bad there's not one on 26). So we decided to head over to Toys R Us so the kids could burn off some energy (sensing a theme here?) and then headed to Wendy's.

 Charlotte picked out what she wanted... two of what she already has.  Two Charlotte-sized Minnie Mouses.  She. Adores. Minnie. 

Charlotte also liked the ride-on cars! Tommy was the only one that went home with a toy though (Second-child Problems).  He got a super cool stegosaurus.  

 The rest of the week we brought home food and ate it in the living room.  Blech.  But it worked!

 There was not a lot of room for "burning off energy" so it was a difficult week. 

 It wasn't done by the weekend so we still had to eat out on Saturday and Sunday.  Where did we go? Applebees again.  Ha! We were eating good in the neighborhood. Charlotte was excited!

Off the table, silly girl! 

So anyway, it was finished today.  HOORAY!!! It's awesome.  Ready for Renovation Pics? Here... We... Go....

 We love our tile guy.  He's so organized. 

 We chose a 12x24 inch tile.  Very cool looking. 

So went we bought the house in 2011, this is what the kitchen looked like.

 Then we painted and replaced appliance and cabinet handles...

OMG, look at that hanging lamp! I totally forgot about that! 

 

Then we re-did the backsplash and countertops...

 

And now... drumroll please... the finished project!

Hey Charlee Bean! 

 Hey Thornburg! Lookin' cool in your new kitch, dude!
So there's a couple more things we might do like replace the fluorescent light and the scalloped bar over the sink.  Annndddd..... maybe take out half that wall to the dining room.  We shall see.  But we are so very pleased with our reno.  Wowzers.  It makes such a difference!!

 Here's a different view.

Hi again, Andrew! 

Charlotte loves her new kitchen!

We loooooovvvveee our new floor.  What a beautiful update.  

So I wonder what we should work on next.... Hmmm.... ;-)

Day Date With Tommy T

A couple Saturdays ago, Andrew offered me the Purdue b-ball tickets since he had been gone that week.  I decided to take Tommy with me.  I always feel like I don't get quality time with the kids when he is gone because it's constantly- get home, make dinner, bath time, bed.  No QT with the kiddos.  So Tommy and I spent the whole day together! 

 We went to the mall. I got a new phone and he got new shades!

Then we shared some ice cream in the food court.  They have dairy free ice cream at Red Mango.  I don't know what's in it exactly.  It's kind of suspect but hopefully fine in small doses. ;-) 

 At the Purdue game, I sent Tommy's picture in for Game Faces and he got on the BIG SCREEN! I snapped a pic just in time to capture the moment.  Awesome!

The whole weekend ended up being pretty awesome for Tommy Hawk.  We made some chocolate chip cookies (without eggs or milk) just for Tommy on Sunday.  They were pretty darn except for the recipe calls for coconut oil so if you don't like coconut, you probably wouldn't like them. Might try a different oil next time.

Anyhoo, the weekend focusing on Tommy was super fun.  I'm one lucky mama.

Flashback... Monday??

Why not? It's my blog. I think all of 5 people still read it.  I can do whatever I want. :)

Anyhoo, I found this video on my youtube channel.  Tommy was a couple months over two years old.  Wowie wow wow.  He's grown up so much.  Just crazy.  Oh and I had forgotten about the eczema almost completely. Thank goodness! 

So let Tommy serenade you.  Enjoy! 

Bath Time Break