Melarky

Like most two years olds, mine is obsessed with one thing or another. Lately his focus is on trains and planes. I love that he’s older now and has his own likes and dislikes. It’s also fun that he’s old enough now to really enjoy activities like… to Hill Air Force Base to see the planes. The base has a FREE aerospace museum with tons of planes and helicopters to look at. I’ve actually always wanted to go check it out and I’m glad we did, it was way fun and the best part it was FREE. I love FREE.

Cool bike. We took this picture for his Dad

They have a large museum which includes displays inside, a gift shop and grounded planes outside. We had fun walking around inside, although you couldn’t really touch anything, which wasn’t so fun for Welly. They had cool displays and if we had more time I would have loved to learn more about the different planes and war-time memorabilia they had.

My little sister…always willing to do exactly as I say, even if its to be silly for a picture.

Outside is where we had the most fun. You could walk right up to the planes and touch them. We even climbed up on a few. Wellington loved running back and forth between the planes, he loved walking up and touching the massive wheels, and of course playing in the dirt. Funny how he stopped looking at the planes after a while and just started playing in the dirt.

While we were outside, many planes flew right over our heads which was kind of fun. There were a few picnic benches scattered around the planes outside, which we stopped at to try some of the astronaut ice cream we got at the gift shop. I would definitely recommend the HAFB Aerospace Museum as a great, and don’t forget FREE, activity to do with your kids.

I like my husbands snoring. When we were first married, I had a hard time falling asleep to snoring, now I can’t sleep without that sweet nasally sound. It’s kinda comforting.

I don’t know how to command control of the tv. The few times I have control of the remote, I don’t know what to do with myself, I also don’t know what to pick, and so I hand the control back over, and I like it that way. And now I don’t even attempt to pick something on my own. Sad I know.

I love getting ba’s for the boys. If my hubby is thirsty I’ve always cheerfully(Mark you know it’s true) gotten him a drink. Well he’s taught our two year old how to ask for one too. One night, Welly was asking for a bottle, when Mark taught him to very cutely ask for “Ba’s for the boys?” trying to sneakily get himself one in the process. And when Welly says it, it’s so cute and I give in every time.

I could never be a single parent or have my husband in the military. I really don’t know how single parents or those with husbands in the military do it. Enough said.

And something I’ve always known FOR SURE, that I love my husband!

This is a cool picture of Welly jumping onto his new trampoline. My mother-in-law got this great gift for him the other week. I kinda feel like its for me too, cause it keeps him entertained and helps get out some of that 2 year old energy.

I’ve had it for a while, but I finally made space for it in his room the other night. My brother-in-law Gary was nice enough to come set it up for me, thanks!

Welly loves it and puts blankets and pillows in it while he’s not jumping. Last night when I was trying to get him to go to sleep he went right in and starting jumping (the tramp is right next to his bed).

My mother-in-law says she visit teaches a lady that has one of these and it about saved her life when she broke her leg right after having a baby. This tramp kept her other kids occupied while she was recovering.

I got a video of him in it and tried to get him to jump, but he wouldn’t really do it for the video. I’ll try someother time. Thanks Mammy and Pappy, that was an awesome gift (how’d we get to be so lucky?).

So far this tramp has been great, safe and it was fairly easy to set up.

I was pretty excited we had cold weather for a couple days so I could put Hilly baby in a bear outfit I got for him a long time ago. I actually had a brown colored one for my first boy and when they went on super sale at Old Navy I picked up another. He looked super cute in it and so cuddly. It was perfect for the cold, it’s like he was already wearing a blanket.

He’ll be three weeks old this Friday. He is getting bigger and more alert. He’s a great sleeper and eater. He wakes up maybe two times a night, and sleeps most of the day. He pretty much only cries when he’s hungry. We’re really blessed to have such a sweet easy baby.

I like this picture a lot. I just took it yesterday. Wellington decided that he’d pick up the baby himself. He picked him up and fell back on the bed and ended up holding him in this position. I figured it was the best possible scenario for Welly to pick him up, they were on a soft bed and they just carefully fell back. Wellington really loves his brother….”Can I pat it? “Can I hold it?” “I want to kiss it!”….We still need to work on teaching him his name.

We were visiting cousins in Brigham City for Easter and Wellington found a perfect place to play in his Easter clothes….the dirt. He was having so much fun and he was so cute, we just let him have at it.

As many know, we named our son Hilyard Robert Troy. We had a few names in the running, but it wasn’t until after he was born and we saw him, did we know. It also seemed to go perfect with his older brothers’ name, Wellington. His first name, while a bit unusual seemed perfect for our little guy. Wellington and Hilyard are very old fashion sounding, unusual, and sure to get them beat up in middle school (sorry boys).

Wondering where the name Hilyard came from? Here’s a little history. Baby Hilly is named after his Great-Great Grandfather, James Hilyard Hamilton.

James Hilyard Hamilton was born in Ontario, Canada and moved to Saskatchewan in 1905. He served in France in the trenches during the First World War. He was wounded in action which resulted in back problems that he had for the remainder of his life. After returning home he married Mildred (Millie) Coburn in 1918 and operated the telephone exchange and later became a farmer. They had four children, Delbert, Rhoda, Graydon (who died in infancy) and Eldon. Millie died in 1931, when not quite 34. Hilly later remarried and had another daughter, Marlene.

Hilyard died in 1973. Delbert, Rhoda and Marlene are still alive. Later in life he seemed to have a nervous tick, that made him bounce his leg up and down. The family loving referred to this as the “Hilly Hamilton Syndrome”. I’ve been told he was a hardworking, mild mannered man.

Baby Hilly was also named after his Grandpa Robert Stevenson a.k.a Pappy, and his Uncle Troy (my older brother).

I really don’t think he’ll get beat daily and I know my boys will be heart breakers, plus don’t you know old man names are coming back?!

This is what happens when I leave Wellington alone for two seconds.

	Flight of the Conchords Probably my favorite show on TV right now. The show is about two guys from New Zealand trying to “make it” in New York. This show is clever, definitely silly sometimes, has funny original characters and songs. Some language and “adult” themes, I’d give it a PG-13 movie rating. This show is so funny and so worth the time to check it out. Click HERE to watch a clip. Here’s a little insight…when I was in labor in the hospital not too long ago, I was watching music videos from the show and they were the only thing that could take my mind off of the pain AND make me laugh!
	Dexter This show has been around a while, they’ve had three seasons and I’m anxiously awaiting the fourth. This show is a crime/drama/thriller with a fair amount of violence with a rating comparable to PG-13 unless your watching the the HBO version then its more of an “R” rating (I know, your all thinking…”SINNER”). Dexter Morgan is the main character who by day is a blood spatter analyst at the Miami Metro Police department and at night a serial killer who lives by a “code” and only kills other serial killers. Yes, its a dark show, but addictive, clever and unpredictable with a great story line to keep you interested. As soon as I finished watching an episode I couldn’t wait for the next one. Best way to watch it….Marathon style! Click HERE to watch a clip.
	America’s Test Kitchen One of my favorite cooking shows. They always have incredible looking recipes. The main thing that I like about this show is that they test which ingredients, cooking methods, and equipment will work the best. They tell you why a certain cooking method or ingredient wouldn’t work. I learn something new every episode. It does have this super nerdy guy with a bow tie, I really didn’t like him at first, but now that red little bow tie is growing on me. This is a cooking show to definitely check out. Click HERE to watch a clip.
	Spaced If your a fan of Monty Python or Simon Pegg (you know the main guy from Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead) then you’ll love this UK comedy. Its silly and sometimes stupid, but always makes me laugh. The show is about two strangers that pretend they’re a couple so that they can rent an apartment. Tim is a struggling comic book cartoonist and Daisy is a writer who can’t seem to write anything. It’s the kind of show you can watch over and over again and still find it funny. I highly recommend this one! Rating wise, I’d probably say PG-13, for some language and adult themes. Click HERE to watch a clip.

Other TV shows I like; IT Crowd, Breaking Bad, CSI, House, Extras, The British Office, Futurama, Harvey Birdman, Robot Chicken, All Creatures Great and Small, Arrested Development, MAKE.

This is possibly the lamest post ever but for some reason I’m going to go ahead with it. With my first baby I had a real struggle with keeping his clothes stain free. If he had a blowout, spilled some strained peas on an outfit or general baby messiness happened, it usually got washed and dried without being treated with a stain remover. I don’t know if it was lack of time or just plain laziness, but I ruined more clothes that way. Even if it was an accident and I dried something and set the stain in I figured it was a loss because nothing can get a stain out once it’s been dried in. Right?

Well I was wrong. I have a new favorite product that is helping me get stains out, even ones I thought were set in for good (Yeah see, I told you this was the lamest post ever).

SPRAY’N WASH Max Laundry Stain Remover with RESOLVE Power seems to get everything out even dried in stains (which happens a lot at our house). I’ve used it on everything even delicate clothes, car seat fabric, and on my JJ Cole diaper bag.

Things I DONT like about it; if you get it on your hands, and then wash your hands, you can still kinda smell it. Not that’s its a bad smell, just strong. If there is a really tough stain, you can kinda rub in the remover for a minute, although its not suggested you leave it on for long, especially on khakis. It also has a bunch of warnings on it for getting it in your eyes, which makes sense, but it has warnings about getting it on your skin too, which always worries me that my two year old will get a hold of it. It also is thicker than normal SprayN’ washes. Its a bit like a gel, so its kinda hard to spray.

It runs about four dollars and in my opinion totally worth it.

Looking for something fun and FREE to do with your kids? Lowe’s has a great program for kids, called Lowe’s Build and Grow. My husband has taken our son to it four or five times now, and both father and son really enjoy it.

The Build and Grow kid’s clinics are a great way to help build confidence, spend time with parents, grandparents…etc. At the clinics you receive a FREE wooden project and instructions how to assemble it. They provide table space, small kid hammers(if the particular project requires it). Each participant also receives to take home with them-a FREE apron, FREE goggles, a FREE project themed patch and a FREE merit certification upon completion of their project.

When you first arrive you sign in (making sure they spell your kids name right on the certificate) and pick up your build kit.

I think children from ages 2 to I’d say 9 or 10 would enjoy these clinics. We took Wellington when he was even younger than 2. He of course didn’t get anything out of it, except to learn how fun it was to hit things with a hammer. We mostly took him that early cause it was fun for his Dad to take his son. I think older kids would enjoy it because they’d be able to follow the instructions themselves and say “Hey I built this myself”. Instructions are very easy and most projects involve; minimal sanding, hammering, applying stickers…etc.

Even though its easy, you should probably still read the instructions.

The clinics are on Saturday mornings (check with your local store for the dates), and is usually from 10:00-11:00 a.m. You don’t have to be right on time either. It’s a just show up between those times sort of thing. Each time we’ve gone the projects take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.

Past projects that our son has built (with Daddy’s help) and brought home are; a memory box (it was a Mother’s day gift), a fire truck, a race car, a land sail boat and a tape measure.

He was so proud of his race car.

Keep in mind it’s not just for Dad’s to take their kids, although for me, its a great way to get a little sleeping-in time on Saturday while Dad takes him. But it of course would be a great activity for whole families, Mom’s, aunt’s, etc.

To find out when and what the next project will be contact your local Lowe’s store. But it looks like the projects coming up are; Hang Glider and a Planter.