Lotsa Valentines!

I admit, when Nathaniel brought home this utterly adorable bag of Valentines yesterday, I was more than a little excited to look at them with him.  I asked him half a dozen times yesterday if he wanted to show them to me and he kept saying "No, not now" or "Maybe later".  I was twitching to take a peek at these!

Unlike Charlie Brown, I fondly remember the days of exchanged valentines.  I would read into every little pre-fab greeting thinking that just because "Steve" or "Mike" gave me the card that said I was cute that surely they must truly mean it or they would have hand picked a different greeting from the selection.

Now, of course, Nathaniel is not at that stage yet.  But it was a fond remembrance anyway.

So, tonight, after Alex went to sleep, I asked Nate again if he wanted to look at his valentines and he finally agreed!

It was so fun to see the cute little valentines these kids made (with help from their parents, of course!).  But what was even better was Nate oohing and ahhing over them.

He would get super excited that Aidan gave him a Spiderman valentine because "he loves Spiderman!" or say "Oh, isn't that nice!" when I'd read him the cute saying on one from Ava or Cooper.

We talked about his friends at school, Matthew D. and Matthew B, Quinn, Brooke, May, Jack and Cooper.  He told me about their pets names, what they like to do, the fun they have together.  It was such fun!

He loved the valentines with trinkets (pencils, stamps, stickers, candy)!  Especially his "MMMs"!

Going through these hand crafted paper hearts with lace doilies and mounds of glitter was a great window into his world.  I'm glad to have shared it.  And I look forward to next year and the stories that will come home in a paper bag of trinkets from the friends my son has made along the way.

Another First

I have really enjoyed having Nathaniel in this new pre-k class for 3 and 4-year-olds.  Not only has he grown exponentially in the area of vocabulary and made huge leaps and strides in potty-training.  But now he brings home crafts.  Lots and lots of them!

It's been great getting these little snippets into his day from school every week.  And as a result, we (the parents) have tasks we're asked to help them with at home to enforce their learning (practicing with scissors, stringing beads, typical fare like that).

This week was no different!  After all, Valentine's Day is coming so we had to make Valentine's for Nate to bring in for his classmates!  Fun, fun!

I found this adorable idea over at The Long Thread and just knew this was something Nathaniel could help with!  So one night, after Alex was in bed, Nate and I got to work stripping the paper off his beat up and broken crayons.

Before too long we had a bowl of naked and broken up goodies.

I was amazed at how quickly Nathaniel took to this project.  I mean, we're talking about the kid with a 30-second attention span here!  But he knew just what to do and was actually doing it before I even had to tell him what the next step was!

Into the oven they went for quite some time (too long, I think...the thick crayons were cheapies and they just wouldn't melt no matter what, so the others melted too much, if that's possible...)

Either way I think the final product was pretty and that's what counted.  

Nathaniel lost interest in the project after making the actual crayons so the assembly turned into my project, but that's ok.  I was very proud of him!  I already have ideas brewing for our his valentines for next year!!

With his first Valentines made and distributed to his pre-school friends, Nathaniel came home yesterday with a whole bag of his own from them!  I just love this stuff!

Stay tuned...

Happiness is...

8 PM

As much as I love my children, I also love having them tucked into bed and off to sleep for the night.

For at 8 o'clock, it's my time.  Granted there are times that my time still consists of chores, responsibilities, and duties around the house.  But at least it's mine.

Eight o'clock is quiet.  It's relaxing.

To me, reaching 8 PM means success - proof of another rewarding day.

Wordless Wednesday - Brothers

**For more Wordless Wednesday photos, check out here.

I ♥ Faces...We Heart Kisses

I know I already posted today but when I read what the challenge was over at I ♥ Faces, I had to join in!

"We Heart Kisses"

I have a whole post coming about the love story between these two, but here's a taste:

My Nathaniel and his sweet Brie.  Little Lovebirds.  Best Friends Forever.

For more precious smoochy photos, go check out I ♥ Faces.

Our family is growing...

by FOUR little feet paws!

Welcome, Avery!

Our newest member of the family.

Call me crazy, but she's so stinkin' cute.

I'm afraid I'll have to change the name of my blog now though as I'm (finally!) NOT the only girl in this house!

I have a longer post coming about the decision behind growing our family.  (Which for people who know me know is a HUGE thing for me!)  

Stay tuned for more pictures and the story behind her arrival!

Simple Woman's Daybook...February 8, 2010

FOR TODAY...February 8, 2010

Outside my window...the snow is flying.  It's gray and miserable looking. 
I am thinking...of all the things left undone after the busy weekend.  Laundry, cleaning, my LONG to-do list, etc.
I am thankful for...Nathaniel waking up WITHOUT a black eye after yesterday's boy vs. tree sledding adventure.  His forehead looks MUCH better today.  The swelling has gone down and the bruise isn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be yesterday!
From the kitchen...Nathaniel and I will be in the kitchen later tonight to work on finishing up his Valentine's Day cards for his class.  On Friday we made heart shaped "chunky crayons" (post with photos to follow shortly!) to attach to a valentine that we will (hopefully) make tonight.  Dave is home tonight to keep Alex occupied so Nate and I should get some good one-on-one time to crank on this project.
I am wearing...my typical work day garb - dress pants, sweater, heels.  Looking VERY forward to being able to slip into my comfy pants at the end of this day.

I am remembering...a hundred blog post ideas I've had swimming around in my head lately.  I have more than 45 "ideas" in draft form that require a good brain day to eloquently form into a complete thought that's worth sharing.  And I have more things I want to say/share by the minute!
I am creating...a plan for Nathaniel's newly settled upon firefighter themed 4th birthday party.  I've even contemplated making (I KNOW!) his invitations and found a tutorial on YouTube to make an awesome fire truck cake. It looks easy enough but I'm a bit of a "mess in the kitchen" (as my husband would say).  We'll see. 
I am going...to look at a litter of puppies tonight with the boys.  Call me crazy but we're keeping an open mind at the possibility of expanding our family by four legs.  MAYBE.
I am reading...nothing.  I have a hard time keeping up with the magazines that come in the mail much less anything remotely stimulating for my brain.  I have several books on my "want to read" list though.  Including Dear John, and many others.
I am hoping...to get to bed early tonight.  Last night was a rough sleeping night.  I went to bed VERY late (restless brain syndrome) and the boys each had me up more than once so whatever sleep I did get was choppy and broken. 
I am hearing..idle chit chat and a plane somewhere in the distance.

Pondering these words...If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it. - Olin Miller
It's so true and I realize it on one hand but am utterly defenseless to change me and my evil procrastinating ways.  Call me a martyr, I guess.  I'm a glutton for punishment. 
Around the house...the boys are playing. 

On my mind...my ever growing to-do list.  Both at home and at work.  I wish I could just shop online for the motivation I so desperately need to simply tackle my responsibilities head on.

Noticing that...the more aware of myself I become, the worse it makes things.
One of my favorite things...my morning cup of coffee.  I never used to be a coffee drinker but it has slowly crept into my morning routine and now it's a must.  Not so much for the actual caffeine, but for the familiarity and the comfort.  It's just part of my day and without it, I can tell a difference in how my day goes.
A few plans for the rest of the week:  We have to finish up the valentines for Nathaniel's class, tomorrow is the next show (Spring Awakening) in my RBTL season ticket pass with Nancy,  Nathaniel has his yearly check-up with the eye doctor tomorrow, Walk and Talk with Heidi, parent/teacher conference for Nathaniel on Thursday, Valentine's Day Party at Nate's school, and a long weekend with (all of!) my boys!   Busy, busy!
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

One of the reasons we're contemplating a dog for the boys...This is Lincoln, my sister's dog.  Alex is terrified of him (all dogs, actually) but warms up quickly and spent all night recently following the dog around with a basket of dog food and feeding him one piece at a time.  Nathaniel is obsessed with all the dogs in our family (Aunt Sarah's, Aunt Wendy & Uncle Noah's, Grandma & Grandpa's) and would (hopefully) be a little less obsessive about them if he had one of his own.  We'll see how tonight goes.  We're still in the very early stages of our move towards the possibility of owning one.

Near Miss

I don't mean to sound dramatic but I feel as though we dodged a bullet today.

It started out a normal day.  We had plans (the boys and I) to meet up with my fellow Mamas for our Mama Reunion 2 and at the very last minute that was cancelled for sick kiddos and puking Mamas.  So Tiff and I decided to still meet up to get the kids together so they wouldn't be too disappointed.

Plan B was sledding.

I left Alex at home with Daddy since it was his nap time and Nate and I bundled up and headed out.  When we got there he put the rest of his gear on and was down the hill in a snap.  Literally, before I could say "Wait for Mommy!", he was zooming down the hill on his first run.  (This kid is going to give me a heart attack!)

The next few runs went smoothly, he would fly down the hill, dawdle at the bottom, I would walk down the hill and pull him back up.

Tiff and Brie joined us after the first couple trips down and then the fun really began!  (By fun, of course I mean the actual trip DOWN the hill.  The trip up was NOT so much fun for Mommy and Aunt Tiff.)

We decided to call it a day and head to McDonalds for lunch, after one final trip down.  Nate and Brie wanted to ride together so I planned to ride down separately to keep tabs on them.  We plopped Brie in the front of the sled and Nate behind her.  (So cute!)  Then off we went!

This is where my tale gets harrowing.  (At least to me!)

Halfway down the hill I wiped out and the kids stalled.  So I got back on my sled, got them going again and we headed down the second half of the sledding hill.  During this second leg of the trip, I got going SUPER fast, flipped around backwards, and totally lost sight of them as they crested the hill behind me.

When I finally came to a rest (after wiping out again at the bottom) I scanned for them and saw them off to the left...in the trees!  Nate was laying face down in the snow crying his little head off and Brie was standing behind him looking stunned.  Their sled was wedged between two trees.

As I ran up to them the first thing I saw was a huge scratch in Brie's helmet that she was (thankfully!) wearing!    Nate's nose was scratched and bleeding and he had a nice scratch and bump/bruise on his forehead.  He was screaming and crying and wouldn't let me look at it. (Which is typical for him so it was refreshing for me that THAT at least was normal!)

Some nice gentleman snowboarder came and helped us out, took a look at Nate, said something about him getting looked at due to a hematoma spreading across the bridge of his nose or something, and nicely helped us back up the hill with our sleds and children.  Tiff carried Nate up and was asking him if anything else hurt when he exclaimed "But I wanted to go to Old McDonalds!".

Oh yeah, he was fine.

Seconds after receiving reassurance that we were STILL going to McDonalds for his happy meal, he was fine.  He stopped crying, wanted to walk up on his own, and was even pulling his own sled.

Brie wanted to take one more trip down and Tiff wisely indulged her interest so as not to make her last sledding experience a scary one.  Even though Nate had no plans on going down again because it "was too scary", he quickly changed his tune when he saw his sweet Brie going.  So Tiff and Brie and Nate and I took one last trip down (together!) to "get back on the horse", as they say.  It was such fun!  And at the bottom we did a "We DID it!" dance to celebrate their bravery.

Nathaniel got some extra special treatment on the last trek up the hill.

Once we got home he laid pretty low for the rest of the day.  And while he looks a LOT better now than he did at first (and will probably look worse tomorrow since it looks like he might be getting a black eye), he managed to escape relatively unscathed - both physically and emotionally (judging by our successful final ride of the day!).

And for this I am eternally grateful.  

I feel blessed that we lucked out today.  

I am so thankful that Brie was wearing a helmet, and because she was wearing a helmet, I'm glad she was sitting in front.  I'm convinced that helmet saved her and her being up front saved him from a worse fate.  

I'm relieved that they went BETWEEN the trees instead of directly INTO one of them.

And I'm so happy that they had an angel with them out on that sledding hill today.  

It could have been SO much worse. 

Nate learned a very valuable lesson, though.  On our last hike up the hill, he pointed to the sign by the trees that warns sledders to stay out and said, "See that sign?  It says S-P-E-E, Stop!"

He also learned that life's adventures are ALWAYS more exciting (and special!) with your best friends by your side.

  

I have "a thing".

Actually...I have a LOT of "things".

I am what you might call a collector.  If I have one of something, I probably have several.  Especially of certain things that I tend to have a(n) (odd) preference for.

Namely, coffee mugs.

The cuter they are the better!  I like them fun and cool and different.  I have TONS of them and have to consciously resist the urge to buy more whenever I find one I love (especially at the dollar store where they always have fun ones!)

I also have a "thing" for blankets.

Here, the criteria is SOFT.  I tend to be a very tactile person.  I love soft things.  Fuzzy things.  Warm things.  Blankets are the best of all worlds!  So I tend to collect them.  Lots of them - I have a whole trunk full of them and several bins, closets, and corners stuffed with them.  And I'm not the only one...Where do think Nate gets this from?

I tend to have a bit of an obsession with cute kids dinner wear, too.  I always find adorable cups, divided dishes, or bowls with cute monsters or animals or characters on them at fantastic prices and can't resist the urge to buy more (even though realistically I could already NOT wash the dishes for a whole week and still have enough cute plates for the kids to eat off of!)  I'm afraid if I don't nip this "thing" in the bud, my husband will KILL me!

I've talked before about my "thing" with polka-dots which spills over into pretty much EVERYTHING.  Purses, wallets, shoes, scarves, socks, belts, coffee mugs, blankets, AND dinner wear.  I even got an adorable polka dotted camera strap for my camera (seen below with a new scarf, both of which I got off Etsy - Love it!!!!).

It's ridiculous.

These "things" are all relatively small, both in size and financial investment so do I continue to feed my obsession, or seek an intervention?  I could just rotate the old "tired" things out to make room for the new, but that feeds my issues of wastefulness I've talked about here.  Ugh!  Help me!!

Do any of you have "a thing"?

I love...(Alexander edition)

Yesterday I posted a list of ten things I love most about Nathaniel.  There are so many things I love about my boys but I am trying to write down some of the more memorable characteristics and traits before they move on to new and different things.  

So here are the top ten things I love about my baby, Alex:

  

Alexander

I love...the way you squint your eyes when you smile really big and how your face just lights up and brightens even my darkest days (or MORNINGS!)

I love...the way you fall face first into your mattress/blankets when you see us come in your room as if you're playing peek-a-boo or trying to pretend you're sleeping.  It's adorable!

I love...the way you head butt ever so gently as a sign of affection  - like a bunny who rubs their chin on things to mark their territory - You rub your forehead on us as if to say "I love you"!  It's priceless!

I love...the cute little, one-of-a-kind birthmark you have on your tongue, my little puppy-boy!  It's fading day by day and I wish it would stay forever.

I love...the way you happily bounce on your butt when music starts playing!  You'll march in place and swing your arms, or twirl in a circle and clap.  It makes me so happy to watch you jiggle it!

I love...your raspberries. And the cute way you twang your lip to make that Blub Blub sound.  You're so stinking cute!  It melts my heart!

I love...the way you put your head on my shoulder and play bashful when a stranger says hello to you.

I love...the way you scale the couch, bed, gate, chair, and changing table.  You're a climber and a wily little fellow.  When you were little you used to wrap your feet around my arm when I was feeding you your nighttime bottle, like a little monkey.

I love...that eskimo kisses make you laugh!  In fact, I just love your laugh, period.  The way you laugh at your brother when he's not even trying to be funny.  The way you laugh when we play peek-a-boo, or "Where's Alex?", or monster, or pretty much anything, really.  It's a full-on belly laugh and it makes me smile every time!

I love...how smart you are and how quickly you are learning things.  I certainly don't want you to grow up so fast, but you catch on to things so fast!  I love that you can say "yes" (or "da!") or no when asked questions.  It helps in communicating with you immensely!  You're picking up on words very quickly and always seem to understand everything I say which helps when I'm telling you not to do something!

You are my sunshine, Alex.   You brighten up even the darkest of days!  You might be a little instigator but you are so sweet!  I know, too, that as much as your brother says you drive him nuts, he loves you something awful and we can tell by the way he sneaks his arm around you when you sit down with him on your couch or looks out for you when we least expect it.  We love you, Digger Fuzz Bucket!!  

I love...(Nathaniel edition)

In an effort to remember all the cute quirks and nuances my children are currently exhibiting (and by currently, I only mean each little habit morphs and changes before I know it!), I challenged myself to name ten things I love most about each of my boys (who am I kidding, though...it wasn't a challenge at all to come up with things I love!  The real challenge was LIMITING it to ONLY ten!)  :)

I'll share the list for Nathaniel today...stay tuned for Alex's list.

Nathaniel

I love....your independence - the way you take charge of every situation, even at the ripe old age of three.  For example, if I'm too slow on the uptake when you ask for a glass of milk, you handle it yourself and before I know it you'll be in the kitchen with a chair pulled up to the counter, the (gallon!) milk jug on the counter and a glass of milk being poured (without spilling hardly a drop!)!   You're far too self sufficient for your age!  And perhaps a tad bit impatient?!?

I love...your spirit and spunk.  You are definitely your own person with your own ideas, your own agenda, and your own motivations and as much as that and your stubborn pig-headedness drive me batty, I wouldn't change it for the world!  It makes you who you are and you are fabulous!!

I love...the cute way you wink at me from across the room or whisper "I love you, Mom" with a sigh as we snuggle on the couch together watching Dora.

I love...your imagination.  You can pretend you're taking a shower in the middle of the kitchen, complete with hand motions, imaginary soap, shampoo bottles and towels, and the complete and accurate sound effects to go with it.  If I give you a coat you make a fireman's turn out suit with it.  If I hand you a cup and a spoon you'll be conducting a band, crab fishing off a boat in the Bering Sea, or whipping up dinner for us in no time.  You see monsters at the library and hide from ghosts in the living room on a sunny afternoon.  Running from dinosaurs and asking "Where'd the monster go?" never gets old!!  You are always "in character", dressing as a firefighting cowboy pirate one minute and wearing my high heels, bathing suit top and a blanket on your head (for hair) and calling yourself "Ariel" the next minute. You entertain your father and I daily.

I love...the stories you tell and the conversations we have.  We could talk for hours about endless amounts of things and I love every second of it!

I love...the way you pause between every word when you're constructing a long sentence and are diligently trying to master your syntax.

I love...the curiosity you attack life with.  No matter what it is you want to learn about it, figure it out, master it and then move on to the next thing.  You're such a smart little man!

I love...the little things you pick up from me.  Whether it be the way you sing a song, an expression, or a little habit of mine you are obviously mimicking.  I love it because it means you are listening to me, learning from me, and it's a fabulous reminder to me that you are listening to me and learning from me!!!  That keeps me in check and helps me to be a good person and a good role model so you will learn THAT instead of the bad stuff.

I love...your silliness.  You are such a little clown.  You're learning how to tell jokes and learning what makes people happy and laugh.  I love it when you say "Is that silly, Mommy?" - If I laugh at something once, you do it repeatedly just to see me laugh again and again.

I love...your sweet and tender side.  You can be fighting bad guys one second and the next you're crying over a sad part in Ice Age or lovingly rescuing me (as your princess) :)  Your preschool teachers have often told me you are the one to come to your classmate's sides and offer support when one of your friends is crying or sad.  I really hope you hang on to that sensitivity as you get older.

You are truly a special boy, Nathaniel!  Mommy and Daddy love you very much!  

Wordless Wednesday

Happiness is...

a night spent with ALL of my boys snuggling on the couch to watch Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009).

While the movie itself wasn't stupendous, I did rather enjoy it.  (In fact, if you can get over the need for some serious suspension of disbelief in this movie, then it's GREAT!)  However, the quality time spent with those I love most dearly was absolutely priceless.  For at least a whole hour I sat on the couch, cozied up next to Dave on one side, Alex planted on my lap, his head laying on my chest, and Nate snuggled up under my left arm.  It was pure heaven.  I sat there listening to Nathaniel narrate the move (as he does about most everything these days) and just soaked it all in.  There is nothing better!

Simple Woman's Daybook...February 1, 2010

FOR TODAY...Feburary 1, 2010

Outside my window...a bright round object that I am unfamiliar with is emitting some sort of LIGHT.  Could this be the oft talked about, but seldom seen SUN I've heard stories about?  HA!
I am thinking...it's time to focus my energies on simplifying.  For example, does any one person REALLY need 5 active email addresses?  It gets awfully confusing (just ask my sister who keeps wondering why I'm not responding to her emails when I haven't logged into the one she's been using in weeks!)
I am thankful for...friends who are flexible enough to keep up with me!
From the kitchen...nothing.  I'm meeting Tiffany out for dinner so I don't have to cook tonight (Thank God!)
I am wearing...a big fuzzy turtleneck sweater, perfect for a chilly day like today.

I am remembering...a long list of to dos I'm hoping to accomplish after the kids go to bed tonight.  I could write it down so I won't forget but what's the challenge in THAT? 
I am creating...a wish list for 2010.  Things I would like to acquire for myself or my family in the next year.  On the list so far:  A Keurig coffee maker, a Cricut (for ease in my Etsy creations), a new, larger house for my family.  We did well last year having crossed off everything on the list we aimed for including a new camera, a swing set for the boys (thank you Freecycle!), a Harley for Dave, a generator, and finishing the fence in the back yard.
I am going...crazy!  There is a loud truck outside my window that has been driving me bonkers for almost an hour!  I'm getting a little punchy in here trying to tune it out so I don't go totally insane!
I am reading...blogs.  I add new ones all the time and am purging some that are just too rich for my blood.  I simply don't have enough brain power to keep up with some people. 
I am hoping...for peace in the hearts of friends who are going through trials and rough patches.  Whether at work, personally, mentally, or physically, I just wish I could take away all their suffering and heartache.
I am hearing...nothing.  Ahhhh...that truck has moved on and I feel at peace.

Pondering these words..."Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task". - William James
How true.  How depressing.  I think I need to work on that.
Around the house...toys, toys, and more toys.  Have you seen this post?

On my mind...the words above.  Ugh, I have so many unfinished tasks.  So many projects I start and never complete.  I need to finish the unfinished and complete the uncompleted. 

Noticing that...I'm running a theme today.  Simplify and Focus. 
One of my favorite things...my blog.  It's one of those places I know I can always go and be "heard".  I don't feel judged by how I'm feeling or what I'm saying.  It's all MINE and it's always there when I need it.  Thanks, Blog.  And thank you, my bloggy friends and family, for listening!
A few plans for the rest of the week:  Looking forward to meeting Tiff and Brie at Melon Bean tonight, hooking up with my fellow NaBloPoMo-er, Heidi, for our weekly "Walk and Talk" (can't wait!!), more purging (of stuff), laundry, and lots of story and snuggle times.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...