My new toy

For my birthday I was able to get a CRICUT with birthday $ and gift cards ! I have watched others use them at scrap nights and thought "oh maybe someday"..well my someday is here. I had so much fun learning how to use it yesterday. Ryan and I thought it would be fun to add a little color and fun to the calendar we have just put up in their room. The idea behind them having a calendar was to help them learn the days of the week, months and how long it might take for a special day to come along. So we spent a good hour while Matthew napped making their calendar FUN ! And this is just one of the MANY things I'll be able to do with my new tool..scrapbooks are going to be the best and so much more..perhaps even a phrase on the wall..the possibilities are endless :)

Star Wars and a Haircut

The boys were in desperate need of haircuts for the past week..both of them getting some seriously long strands going every which way. So tonight was the night..I turned on Star Wars ( a major favorite right now)..set up the bar stool in the kitchen so that the movie could be viewed while the hair was being cut..and got to cutting.

Here is Matthew ready for his new look.




He is so intent on watching he is even leaning over.




And here he is telling me to "be done".




I wasn't able to take an after shot..it was bath time and he wasn't in a photo mood. I'll just have to post that one another day.

Happy Birthday to Me !

Today I turned 36..and it was a great day ! I was able to go out last night and have a girls scrap night with some friends. We had such a fun time and the best part is I FINALLY got going on my sons book..he is 5 now and it hadn't been started yet..terrible I know! But I can now say it is on the move and the juices are flowing..look out for photos of pages soon.
So this am the boys let me sleep in till all of 6:45 am..they are so kind to me. I did receive hugs and kisses throughout the day, so I suppose that makes up for it. :) I was treated to breakfast, a 5 yr old bowling party, a baby shower, a small nap (but much needed), several calls and birthday wishes and then a nice family dinner with my parents.
All in all it was a fun filled day, one that I won't soon forget. Here's to a great year of many wonderful times with family and friends. And to celebrating next weekend with the rest of the family..woohoo..I love extended celebrations !

Friends

This week we were able to have a visit with some good friends from Arizona. They are here for a baby shower for their twin boys due in May. It was so fun to play, chat and do crafts. Last year when we were together I pulled out paper, scissors, crayons, glue sticks..you name it..anything to let their creative minds take flight. Well when the girls walked in (after hellos) they were asking to do crafts again ! It was so sweet that they remembered. So we pulled out all the stops again adding more things this year like ribbons, stapling, stickers, markers..oh the things they had to play with. Kites, pictures and coloring were among the crafts created Thursday. What a fun time we had..visits are always too short, but much enjoyed !

Happy Valentine's Day

This day was as good as it can get ! Starting last night, the boys stayed the night with the grandparents so that Mike and I could have our Valentine date night. I came home to a lovely bouquet of roses on our table along with a great card. We then went out to dinner, had a drink, great conversation and fabulous food. This morning we SLEPT in ! It was great..it's not that often we can sleep in past 7am so we enjoyed every minute of that. Our day with the boys was great. We gave them their goodie bags filled with treats they will enjoy..daddy played balloon toss with them..we flew kites in the front yard..we watched Star Wars the Clone Wars...it was a fun filled family day. It was one of those days that will stay with you for a while because it was so relaxing and exciting at the same time. These are the days I cherish, when we have our family time.

This is the heart man that Ryan made for Valentine's Day.

Valentine Goodies

This year we thought it would be fun to make some goodies for our neighbors. I want to teach my children to be loving children of Christ..to be giving..to be thoughtful..and what better way to teach them by giving to our neighbors. We have lived here for almost 8yrs now and only know a handful of our neighbors..I would like to change that. It would be great to say that we know all our neighbors and know them well.

As you can see the boys were into the cookie making process.


Mom shaped them into hearts. (it's valentine's after all)


All wrapped up and ready to deliver.



This was a fun project for us all. The boys and I spent time doing something fun together and they learned about giving to others when we took them around today. The boys had fun handing them out today and greeting some new faces. We may have just started a new tradition for our family..and a fun one at that !

On time this year...

... with sending out the Valentine cards ! I used to be a very organized person until I had children. :) I was "on time" if not early with birthday cards, celebrations and gifts. Well that all changed when we had our last little guy. For some reason I just couldn't get a handle on things, at least not right away... it has actually taken me almost 2 1/2 years to be back on track. With the exception of a New Year's gift that at least arrived in the month of Jan, Feb is a different story.
Out of state and out of country Valentines were mailed last week and Out of town cards & photos were mailed out today ! We also have class and friend Valentine cards ready to go for this weekend. I finally feel back on track and "on time" !
I guess being a mommy changes more than you realize..but it is so worth every minute of every hour of every day!