Day 34

Some of the layouts I finished this weekend. We kept going with the mini-retreat this morning through this afternoon. It was a lot of fun, and I was more productive than I had expected. I did another 10 pages today plus a card - so that's a grand total of 22 pages in less than 24 hours. Oh - and the kids had fun with their grandparents. They weren't ready to come home when I picked them up.

Day 33

I spent the morning cleaning and straightening up so that I could play all weekend. A few friends and I are having a mini-scrap retreat. We started at 4:00 and finally called it a night around midnight (thus the reason I am posting a bit late). I finished up 12 pages in that time. The photo is of my little scrap area at the end of the evening. Not too messy so far :) More scrapping again today! I'm not sure how long we will make it - my guess is up until my mom calls and says she has had enough of the kids. They had a slumber party there, which I am sure they all loved. But those little monkeys do tend to wear a person out.

Day 32

Our most exciting event of the day - Kaitlyn discovered that her caterpillar, Squishy, had emerged from "her" cocoon and become a "butterfly" (I'm pretty sure that ugly looking brown and tan thing is a moth of some sort, but we won't destroy the fantasy of a 5 year old). She was SO excited and came running to tell me, yelling as she went. I have to admit I didn't think that thing would ever come out. Every time we caught caterpillars as kids they always seemed to get to the cocoon stage and die in there. So I was impressed. I am, however, worried that the "butterfly" (which Katy has now renamed Squat - lol I don't know why) died sometime last night after coming out of the cocoon and finding nothing to eat because I haven't seen the thing move AT ALL. My dad thinks it fried when the jar became too hot but if that were the case, wouldn't it have fried long ago? Anyway, for today we will just let Kaitlyn enjoy the experience.

Day 31

Another mostly unevetful day with the snow coming down slowly most of the day. So here is my hot chocolate - our favorite treat lately. Kaitlyn or I will usually find an excuse to make it many times each week. Today it was a reward for going out into the cold (all 3 of us) and helping Dad feed the cows - another thing that we have been doing a lot of this week.

Day 30

I did a lot of driving today. It was the first day in a while that I was able to get to the city, on my own (that means without kiddos, which is nice). I had a lot of errands on my list and was amazed at how quickly I could get in and out of the stores when I only had myself to worry about.

Day 29

Day 28

Big difference from yesterday huh? The rain turned back into snow last night and that has been coming down all day. So we've just been sitting inside watching it. The trip to the grocery store, and anywhere else will wait until tomorrow.

Day 27

Dripping. Can you believe we got RAIN in JANUARY? It's been like that all night. In fact the water rushing off the roof woke me up at 4AM. And yes those are the Christmas lights still up - I didn't want to go out in the piles of snow, a lot of which are melted - you can see some of the bare ground in the background. Crazy weather this year.

Today has been kinda blah, just like the drizzly weather. I spent pretty much the whole day cleaning at my grandma's house. Thank goodness the kids are good and able to keep themselves entertained there.

Day 26

Friday is Dance Day. My mom teaches one small class for Kaitlyn and a few other girls. She is nice enough to pick up Katy and drop her back home when they are done. But now that Tyler is old enough to realize that they are going without him then Mom takes him with her when she picks up Katy. Ty runs around while Mom sets up then I go pick him up. Usually I let him try out a dance or two with the girls. He seems to stand in line just fine during warm ups, but during the across the floor (technique) stuff he started running around. That's when I snapped this shot.

Day 25

I got to go out with my friend Jacalyn this afternoon/evening. It was just errands

and dinner, but was a very nice break from my regular life. We had really yummy sushi - but I forgot to take a pic until we were finished. So here is the last lonely lettuce cup on the plate.

Day 24

Yep, that's Katy in the dentist chair. That's how we spent our morning. She doesn't look happy in this pic but that is just because she was annoyed that I wanted a photo. Kaitlyn actually LOVES the dentist. She has been looking forward to this for quite a while and was happy the whole time, including the LONG time she spent watching them clean my teeth (yes, it's been more than a year. I'm horrible. And I'm also regretting it. My poor gums are sore now from all the scraping to get off all the gunk). She was very patient and very cooperative. And so excited to come home with a goodie bag - new toothbrush, little kid floss things, a pink timer, and a prize from the box for brushing so well. And the best news - no cavities for either of us!

Day 23

From one point of view my day was pretty low key and uneventful, but then when I start listing things it seems pretty full. Nothing spectacular just a normal day. Here is one of the Comic Relief moments that pepper my day, reminding me that being a Mom isn't all cleaning and changing diapers.

Day 22

This is what my children do while I'm busy scrapbooking, which is how I have spent the majority of my day (that wasn't otherwise occupied with Mommy Stuff). It's a "puppy house." Not an altogether bad way to spend their time actually. It's fun watching them use their imaginations.

Day 21

Today was low key. We spent the morning hanging out, working on things, and getting ready

for our party with Rhonda and Dave this afternoon. We usually have one with my family (meaning Mom, Dad, and Wyatt) and the two of them shortly before Christmas. But this year Rhonda left early for Oregon to see her brand new grandson - who just happens to share Tyler's birthday. So today was our belated Christmas party. And it was worth the wait. We had tons of great food. The grown ups played Scrabble and ping pong and pool. The kids were completely entertained messing around with everything in their game room, including the slot machine. This photo was taken when Ty won the jackpot - which is the first time that machine has hit a jackpot in the last 2 years Rhonda thought. The kids thought it was so cool to see the quarters come pouring out of the machine. Then a few minutes later our lucky little boy hit another big win. We're thinking we need to smuggle him into a casino in Vegas :)
But for now I'm tired and I'm going to bed!
Oh - can't forget (C and Jacalyn will appreciate this) - thanks to Rhonda for hosting and for giving me a FABULOUS new Coach purse! (for no reason too! we already exchanged gifts before Christmas)

Day 20

Today was my Saturday with The Girls (some old high school friends of mine. We get together once a month) We went to a paint your own pottery place, which was a lot of fun. I was concentrating so much on painting I forgot to take a pic until after we had turned in our creations. So the photo is of the mess I made while painting.

Day 19

Picky eater. I couldn't get Ty to agree to anything for lunch so I finally ended up spooning some peanut butter into a bowl and letting him eat it with a spoon. At least it's protein, right?

Day 18

I had a hard time deciding which photo to post today - one of Ty helping Gma at the sewing this morning? One of my cousin playing basketball? (the first game we've made it to) One of Katy and Gram (my grandma) reading a book? But I settled on this one because I think it best shows how the entire day went - a bit jumbled but a lot of fun. This is the mess we all (me, the kids, my parents, and my grandma) made at the library during the hour we spent there. You see, we had decided to go watch my cuz play basketball but the freshman game was cancelled so we had an hour and a half to kill before the JV started. And it's really hard to find a way to waste time in a small town, especially in the winter. We ended up going out for ice cream then going to the library and it turned out to be fun for all. The game was good too. Kaitlyn got to play with Kaylee, Ty had fun watching the game and snacking (though he got tired toward the end and kind of hard to handle), and we won! Final score was something like 52 to 25. And Em, one of only 2 freshmen on the team (so we were a bit worried they wouldn't play her and we would have "wasted" the trip), ended up playing at least half the game and did a terrific job.

Day17

Katy and Ty had their check ups today. It all went very smoothly. We have a great pediatrician. And I'm happy to report that both are doing very well. In fact they are in a higher percentage than they were last year - and that's a big thing for my kids, who are known for being very small for their age.

Day 16

This is my scrap mess from today. I didn't spend the whole day scrapping, but a decent chunk was spent at the table either scrapping or staring at my stuff wondering where my inspiration went. Grand total of productivity for the day is 2 pages and one card. I should clean it up now but I'm tired. If my photo tomorrow looks like this again, someone give me a good kick in the rear. When I cleaned up my scrap stuff yesterday (after having it out for more than a week) I promised myself I wouldn't leave it out anymore for days on end. But hey, at least it hasn't taken over the countertop on the island yet :)

Day 15

One of my goals for the year is to keep the house in better shape and really start teaching the kids how to do a few chores. And today I was in Get Things Done Mode and finally made the sticker chore chart that I had been hoping will help me achieve these things. Kaitlyn loves the concept and can't wait to do everything so she can put her stickers on each space. And I love that she is so enthusiastic. I didn't even have to remind her to pick up her toys I just asked her what was on the chart for tonight. Let's just hope it still works this well when the newness wears off.
Ty has one too, but his only has 5 spaces - brushing teeth night and morning, cleaning up toys (his room and the living room), and minding mommy. Of course he doesn't grasp the concept but Kaitlyn has just as much fun helping him get his stickers in the right spots as she does filling in her own chart.

Day 14

Tyler's obsession: backhoes and dump trucks - just like Grandpa!
Today the kids went to the grocery store with my parents and Tyler came home with this newspaper-type advertisement for Caterpillar stuff. He wouldn't take a nap until he had completely looked it over. And he took one of the pages into bed with him.

That is pretty much it for my day. It's been kinda boring. I wanted to take just one more day of staying home doing nothing in the hope that my cold will start to fade. I guess we'll see how it goes tomorrow - because it's Get Things Done Monday.

Oh - and I want to let all of you that were worried know that yes my dad did want me to help him feed again, and no I didn't mess up this time :) Ty and I helped him out while Katy and Gma went to the movie. Then we stayed for a bit longer and helped lay out a quilt - by that point I think I was trying to avoid coming back home for another night alone. But I do have a movie from Netflix, which I'd better start NOW if I want to finish it before I fall asleep...bye!

Day 13

Sick Day. We've had a lot of those this week and I thought things were looking up. I was sadly mistaken. Katy has some sort of stomach bug this morning and spent the entire day on the couch. I got some cute shots of the kids sleeping (the both fell asleep in front of the TV at like 10AM, which never happens) but I thought this one summed up the day better. I'm still sick too - no one come near us! I think I'm cursed.

Day 12

Hug! Tyler asks for one of these many times a day - before nap and bed, when I'm lifing him off the diaper table, when he gets hurt or feels sad, or just because he wants one. I am always happy to oblige.

Day 11

First off I want to say TYLER LET ME SLEEP LAST NIGHT! :) He went to bed at 7 and didn't make a peep until 5:15 AM. I was so happy! Now let's hope he can make it two in a row.

I took this photo this morning at Mom's house. She and I try to get together on Thursdays to work on projects. I was scrapping, she was sewing, and the kids were having a great time playing with Grandpa. I had a lot of fun watching them interact. My dad is really good with them and you can tell how much they all love each other.

Day 10

I changed my mind at the last minute about what photo I wanted to post today. For some reason I am stuck on the idea that I only want ONE photo on here each day. It's that silly perfectionist side of mine coming out again. Anyway, I chose this photo because it made me happy and that's one thing I am trying to focus on this year - the little things that are positive in my life.

You see, Tyler has been sick this week and hasn't had any appetite. But at dinner tonight he actually dug right in. In the end he didn't end up eating as much as he usually does but I am still taking it as a good sign that he is on his way to feeling better. Thank goodness! I don't know how much longer I can survive on no sleep.

*As a small attempt at trying to eat more healthy I used whole wheat noodles in the spaghetti - and the kids didn't even notice! :)

Day 9

We're sick. And very tired since Ty was up all night with a fever. But I told myself I was going to post a cute, happy photo today. This is Kaitlyn, playing nicely in her room with her ponies - that made me happy. She doesn't do that nearly often enough, but when she does I really appreciate it.

Day 8

It's Monday again - one full week! You wanted to see another photo of my laundry again right? :)
I debated about putting this one up or not but it really is what stands out in my mind from today. My stupid moment of the day - the year even. Tyler and I were in the backhoe helping Dad feed the cows - I was driving and Dad was kicking the hay off. But I didn't keep my eyes on the "road" and the kiddo very well. Ty ended up bumping the lever that controls the front bucket and it hit the ground when it shouldn't have. And bent the pin and the part that attaches the platform (that holds the hay and Dad). Dad was pretty upset and I felt pretty bad. Could have been a lot worse I guess. But that's what stands out in my day - a not very pleasant moment. Oh and to give you a little idea of the scale on that pin - it's about a foot long and at least 1" in diameter.
I'm posting something happy and super cute tomorrow - promise!

Day 7

It's cooooooold outside! I've been putting off shoveling the driveway all weekend but I finally bundled everyone up and headed outside. You should have heard Tyler scream and protest when I put on his snowpants. Then of course he put up just as much of a fuss when I told him we were going back inside 20 minutes later.

Ewwwww - the internet says it's -5 right now!

Day 6

This is the defining moment of the day, or maybe the next couple of months because it signals another period in our life. I snapped a photo of Sam driving away as he headed off on the 20 hour drive to Texas where he will spend the next 9 weeks in training.

Day 5

Look at those itty bitty bowling shoes! We took the kids bowling this afternoon and Ty's feet fit the smallest size they had. Bowling itself was...an experience. Tyler (who is 2) thought it should be his turn ALL the time so he was either standing in front of the ball return trying to grab all the balls (it was cute, though nerve racking. silly camera battery died while I was trying to take that pic or that is the one you would be seeing here) or trying to run down to the lanes during everyone else's turn. Or he was crying because we wouldn't let him do one of the above. I finally smartened up and ran out to the car to get a roll of Lifesavers that kept him occupied in between turns. Kaitlyn on the other hand did great - she got the first strike of the game, and on only her second frame (and won a free game in the process because she had the lucky red pin in that set)! And she had a blast, even though she didn't win. Ty was actually the one with the highest score up until the last frame when I got a strike and pulled ahead (woohoo!). Can you tell Sam and I haven't been bowling in a looooong time? lol

Day 4

I am titling this one: Exhausted. And it is my photo for today because that's how we all feel today. We had a party with friends last night and kept the kids up until after 10:00 (that's LATE in our world so obviously we were all having a lot of fun). Then Tyler had a bad dream or something and ended up in bed with us. And this morning we were out fairly early to go down to the city and spend the morning trying to get decent photos with Sam's family. (I don't care how well you think you have it arranged, that kind of thing is always hard on everyone) Add in more than a week of holiday festivities and excitement and there you have it - complete and total exhaustion.