You Find Out Who Your Friends Are

That was the song played at Kathy's wedding when I walked into the reception as her matron of honor just 4 years ago.  Made me cry of course.  But it has rang so true, and even more lately. 

Only a best friend could read your mind and know exactly what would make your day over the top special and then leave it on your door step.  She tried to be sneaky, but I happened to see her car drive away, at least I thought it was her.  I saw the driver texting (don't go calling the cops) as they drove away and thought, hmm wouldn't that be just like Kathy to leave something on my doorstep and then send me a text with a picture of something sitting at my front door.  So I opened the front door and found this.

Then I sent her a text, racing to try to get one to her before hers got to me.  So she would know she had been caught.
Thanks Kathy!

It's My Birthday

My 32nd birthday is today.  I am officially in my 30s.  Can't deny it now.

One week prior to my birthday my body thought it would be fun to remind me that I am getting older.  So a severe case of, what turned out to be arthritis, attacked my right hand.  I could not use it at all.  Thought it was broken.  My doctor feels like it is just a one time thing at this point that will hopefully go away.  It still aches but I can use it again.

That was a pretty tough thing to wrap my mind around.  For one it was so painful, I can't imagine living with that and am impressed by the many people that do every day.  It also struck me how quickly life can change.  My hand was only completely out of commission for 3 or 4 days.  When I woke up that morning with it in so much pain and not knowing what it was, I quickly went to the thought, what if my hand is like this the rest of my life?  Would I have the strength to carry on as I do now, could I figure out to how get through life? 

I don't have the answers to those questions of course, but I do know that strength comes in waves.  Some moments yes and some moments no.  I hope all of you who may be reading this have some one to go to when the answer is no, you don't have the strength to push past adversity in that moment.  I am fortunate to not only have my amazing husband and family but my God.  How blessed is it to always have someone there.

Many thoughts and feelings in those three days with a broken hand.

Does anyone else wake up on their birthday thinking this is going to a different and special day?  When Peter started my day at 3:48 am I suddenly realized, no, no it's not going to be that different.  Kind of got grumpy about it.  But as a drank my coffee, folded laundry and changed the first few diapers of the day I realized, this actually ain't that bad.  Actually the best part of the day so far was sitting on the couch with Lucy on one side and Peter on the other, my arms wrapped around them.  I leaned over and smooched Peter on the head and then Lucy.  Making as much noise and fun out of each kiss as I could.  Then Peter looks up at me with a grin "again, again" and then Lucy "again, again."  So I smooch them each again and again.  I was happy to oblige. 

So maybe my Birthday is not different, but it is special.

I am supposed to post a picture every day this February, so let me see if I can dig through my files and find one with me in it . . .

Found 2 and couldn't decide. Hard to find a picture with out a child in it.  But when you sit them in your lap they hide your rolls and other sins.  Besides, they are my proudest accomplishment.

Swim Lessons - Lachlan

Waiting with his favorite baby for their brothers to get done swimming.

Swim suit on and excited to swim.

Walking briskly to the pool after waiting at his sign on deck.

Life jacket on and ready to go.

Life jackets off, practicing kicks.

Probably his favorite part of swim lessons.  At the end they hold onto each others shoulders and make a train to walk around the pool and back towards the locker rooms where their parents meet them.  He always jumps in front to be the engineer and moves his arm like he is pulling the whistle while he makes a really loud choo choo. 

The pictures aren't superb through the glass but enough to capture the moment.  They have both progressed so much in there swimming, especially Lachlan.  He did really well with a teacher and not Mom.  We might have to do this again. 

Swimming Lessons - Peter

This is the last week of 6 weeks of lessons for the boys.  So I thought I should probably try to get some photos.  I made Jeff take Peter swimming (of course they played with life jackets for the first time) and took pictures.  I went out on deck for Peter but the lifeguard told me they normally don't allow it because if I go out then every other parent will want to.  Well fine then.  I will just have to buy a bigger lens.  Nice solution to the problem right?

 Ready to swim.

 Talking about trying on the life jackets.

 Hmm not to sure about this.

 Hi Mom!

"I hold you Mom?" Even though I am soaking wet, I am really cute.

 Did you know I get really hungry after I swim?  Yumm

Grandpa Allan This Heart's for You

It was Grandpa Allan's birthday last week so on Sunday we went over for a dual birthday lunch.  My birthday is also coming up soon, so we celebrated mine as well.  Lachlan wanted to write Grandpa a note.  I downloaded this trace font from the internet and can now print out anything Lachlan would like to say for him to trace. 
One of my favorite kids shows is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and one of the episodes talks about how you show someone that you love them.  In the first part of the show Daniel writes a letter and sends it to his Dad.  The letter says "Dear Dad, This heart is for you.  Love, Daniel."  So that is where we got the wording for this letter here. 
In the second part of the show Daniel makes a cake for his Mom to show his love. 
Jeff has now asked two times where I save the file to make these letters.  I have a sneaking suspicion I might be getting one of my very own for my birthday.  Don't worry, I will act totally surprised.
I am so proud of Lachlan because he was so determined to write this letter.  In the past I had to encourage him to do any more than just his name.  He would do one word and give up.  But he kept going until he had it all done.  He even missed a few letters and upon reviewing the note he found those he had missed and traced them.  When the letter was done we talked about folding the letter in half and then half again to put in an envelope.  Since he was so determine with his writing I thought I would try to take it to the next step.  So I wrote to Grandpa from Lachlan on the front and then wrote a line under his name for him to try to copy his name below freehand.  He was starting to get frustrated at this point but still determined.  A few minutes later I said "Okay everyone, it's time to go!"  He burst into tears, "no I am not done yet, I can't do it."  Oh poor guy, it seems I may have pushed too far.  I am still so proud of his perseverance though.  I sat next to him and helped him through it. 
When it was finished he was so proud and on the drive north to Grandma and Grandpa's told us all about his plan to surprise Grandpa with his note.  He was going to hold it behind his back and tell him not to look and then pull it out, surprise Grandpa, here you go.  Which is of course just what he did.  I am not sure if anyone could have appreciated the note more than Grandpa who has been a life long teacher.  He studied every mark made on that page and was impressed with Lachlan's skills. 

Fruit Snacks

Why does the high ISO make it grainy sometimes and not others?  This is what I must figure out.  But still cute to see him there munching away.

I’m blogging with minimal words this February. I’d love to see snippets of your life in photos too, please leave me a link in the comments.

Stone Soup

We read the book Stone Soup by Heather Forest with the boys.  It is a great story about sharing what you have.  After reading the book the next assignment from FunShine Express was to make our own soup.  Jeff is the cook in the family so he helped Lachlan prepare a bunch of veggies and spices for making soup the night before.  In the morning we got out the little crockpot and started adding ingredients just like in the story.  At the end we added just a little bit more water to make sure all the veggies were covered, turned it on and let it cook.  We came back through out the day to stir it and smell it as it cooked.

This is at the very end adding just a but more water.  I was just having fun in the moment didn't want to stop to get the camera.

 If you find my blog posts helpful and you decide to make a purchase at FunShine Express please select my blog name in the referral section when you check out. We are so thankful for any help we get towards the expense of our boys education.

The Must Have Kids Toy/Photo Prop

Who knew a magnify glass could be so much fun and make for such great pictures.  FunShine Express had us get out a magnify glass to examine feathers.  The boys had so much fun with this they went on to investigate everything they could find.

Look at that concentration.  Tongue twisted to the side and sticking out.

A closer look at Lightning McQueen.

Investigating the feather.  Seeing if it came from Mona. :)

I mean seriously, so cute.

We might have to wash it before giving it back to Grandma & Grandpa.

Peter

 I’m blogging with minimal words this February. I’d love to see snippets of your life in photos too, please leave me a link in the comments.

Parking Garage by Alex Toys

Jeff and I have been drooling over these sort of toys since Lachlan was born but they are always over $100, which is way out of our price range.  However, a few months ago, Groupon had the Alex Toys Parking Garage for sale for $32!  We couldn't believe it and couldn't pass it up.  This was Peter's Birthday present this year.

So far they have really enjoyed it.  It goes really well with out Melissa & Dough Whittle World collection we have accumulated over Christmas and 2 Birthdays.  The fire truck in the above photo is a Whittle World.

This parking garage has a helicopter pad on the very top floor.  It comes with one helicopter and 4 cars.  It has three floors and they are all numbered and colored differently so you can talk about the numbers and colors as you are playing along with your kids.

It also comes with one man that fits inside the ticket booth and a gas pump which is not seen in either photo.  The elevator was a bit sticky, it didn't move up and down very easily but wood does flex a bit.  Grandpa Neil put a little pin in it to hold the outside edge of the elevator out because it had flexed in which was causing the issue.  It slides up and down with ease now.

Over all I think this is a great toy and am very happy with our purchase.  

The Carrot Seed

This is another fun activity by FunShine Express.  We first read the book The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. It is a very simple story about a boy who plants a seed and waits and waits and waits until it finally grows and it turns out to be a giant carrot.  Although he believed it would grow no one in his family did.

Next FunShine told us to buy a carrot or two, cut the tops off and place them on top of rocks sitting in a water so that just the bottom little bit of the carrot is in water.  Then wait for them to grow.  We happened to have this container that we saved after someone gave us tulip bulbs growing in it one spring.  I had Lachlan help me pour in the water to a certain line I pointed out on the container.  He likes to play this "is that enough?" game when he is pouring water.  So he pours a little, "is that enough?" "Noooo" I say in a funny tone to make him chuckle, until finally it is enough and then he gets a big YES, that's enough.

Next we put the carrots inside and we had to wait, wait, wait.  I have to say I had my doubts that anything would grow but considering a carrot is a root it only seemed logical. 

Day 1

After we put the carrot tops in water I peeled the rest of the carrot and gave one to each boy.  They thought it was pretty fun having this huge carrot to chew on.

Day 6!  Not bad huh?  Not that long of a wait really.  I will keep you posted on it's growth. 

I think we are going to try green onions and maybe an avocado seed next.  This fun and simple idea has got us inspired to try more. 

If you find my blog posts helpful and you decide to make a purchase at FunShine Express please select my blog name in the referral section when you check out. We are so thankful for any help we get towards the expense of our boys education.

My Valentine's Date with Lachlan

What a Cute Chap

I’m blogging with minimal words this February. I’d love to see snippets of your life in photos too, please leave me a link in the comments.

Nose to Nose with Flamingos

I’m blogging with minimal words this February. I’d love to see snippets of your life in photos too, please leave me a link in the comments.

Mowin' the Lawn

Telling Dad about the airplane.  He has started to say many more words but says them very quietly.  Which is hard to hear with earphones on and the lawn mower running.  So Dad took a moment to listen.

I’m blogging with minimal words this February. I’d love to see snippets of your life in photos too, please leave me a link in the comments.