Last week of soccer

We're so glad that we did soccer again this year with our old neighborhood.  It was so fun to have Keith coach Grant's team.  And it was great to see friends that we don't get to see that often anymore.

Brett really wanted to be out there playing with his big brother.  Just look at those big blue eyes!

Grant did really well at playing aggressively.  He's a quick runner too.  

It was fun to have Keith's parents come to the last game.

Oceanside canvas wrap

Recently I ordered a 20"x30" canvas wrap print of a picture I took of my boys from our trip to Oceanside back in October.  I got the call from Costco today that it was ready for pick up.  I was so excited to pick it up tonight, but then plans changed and I wasn't able to go.  Keith surprised me and took a break from a meeting to go pick it up.  I was so thrilled!  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  It's so fulfilling to me to know that I took the picture myself and that it turned out so well.  I just love it!  We put it up in the boys bathroom.  I'll post a picture of that after we paint the bathroom this weekend.

Regulating TV Time

Last night during our family night we introduced a new TV time system.  I got this idea from the book, The Power of Positive Parenting.  After Brett was born our pediatrician recommended this book to me because Grant started acting up and I didn't know what to do and I didn't want to be a screaming mom forever.  He said the book saved his life years ago, so I figured it must be good.  And to be honest I haven't read it all yet.  But I did get this TV idea from it and I think it's going to be great for us.
Sometimes when life gets crazy it's so easy to get into the habit of watching too many shows just to make it through the day.  Well, that was us recently and it was time to stop.  So I got these awesome plastic coins from a party store.  I wasn't sure how many to start with, but I figured six coins per week would be good.  So I put them in a plastic bag with Grant's name on it.  He keeps them in a safe spot away from his little brother's hands.  Any time he wants to watch a show or a movie, he gives me a coin.  Once his coins are gone for the week, they're gone.  He has to wait until the next week to get any more.  After this week we'll see if we need to do less coins or if six will be good for now.  I like that now he has ownership over his TV time and I don't have to be the nagging mom trying to pull him away from the TV.  The idea in the book is that the kids will eventually (it took the author's family 3 years) find other things to do with their time and a TV system won't even be needed because it's not a problem any more.  I'll post an update in a couple weeks to let you know how it's going.

Weekend work

We worked really hard this weekend.  Our Friday night date included a lengthy trip to Ikea.  We made a big purchase and I can't wait to post pictures of that soon!  We did lots of yard work, painting, putting something together (from Ikea), cleaning, and running errands.  We let the boys roam free in the backyard while I was painting inside the house.  We gave them some cupcakes after lunch and Brett's frosting ended up all over his face.  We were in the middle of our project so he just kept on playing in the yard with frosting on his face.  I'm sure he just thought it was a special face treatment.  :)

Dinner Tonight

Dinner tonight was homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls, followed by playing in the closet.

I had a rotisserie chicken from yesterday.  I pulled all the meat off and then boiled the bones for a couple hours last night.  This afternoon I pulled the broth out of the fridge, skimmed the fat off, made the soup, and then kept it warm in the crock pot while we went to Grant's soccer game.  I loved knowing that dinner was all ready and waiting for us at home.  And it was so nice to have yummy soup on a cold day!

This little spot in Grant's closet is becoming a favorite place to play.

By the way, did you see that parts of the Phoenix area got snow yesterday?!  I thought the hail we had was pretty cool, but other areas got much more than us!

The Party

Our 4 year old

Little brother

Let's talk about the cake now.  Grant has been loving monster trucks lately, so I searched the internet for inspiration.  I found this cake here and decided it was the one to make.  It took a lot longer and was much more involved than I thought it would be.  Let's just say I was up way too late last night!  I knew it was worth the effort though when Grant came home from school and saw it.  His eyes lit up and he loved it!  Success!

We got Grant this fun picnic table for his birthday and a watch.  He can't tell time yet, but he loves watches and it's digital so maybe he'll figure it out.  Back to the table.  I searched for just the right table. I think we found it!  Look at how many kids can fit around this thing!  My small amount of hope for a warm and sunny day didn't work out.  It was cold and rainy.  But we still had so much fun inside.  The great thing was that soccer practice got canceled and I was able to take a really long nap after the party! Thank you Keith for staying home from work this afternoon!!!!!

Keith entertaining the littles.

Love this picture.  It's so classic.  It will be so fun to show to these kids when they are all grown up.

It hailed during dinner!

Brett was such a good sport today.  He got in on all the fun.  He loved his balloon and wouldn't let go of it until he went to bed...bath and all.  And in an effort to get myself in the picture more, here's me with Brett brushing his little teeth.  He's so squish-able!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANT!  I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH YOU'VE GROWN!

A very tired daddy with his new son

WE LOVE YOU!

Birthday plans

Preparations are underway for Grant's birthday tomorrow.  I have a cake creation to make and I'm hoping it turns out.  We're having his little cousins that are his age come over for lunch.  It's supposed to be cold and rainy tomorrow.  I'm bummed.  I was really hoping all the kids could run around outside in the sunshine.  I still have a tiny smidgen of hope that somehow it'll be warm and sunny.  

A bunch of hot air

Keith came running into the house this morning and told us to come outside quickly.  There was a hot air balloon right over our house!  Like we could talk to the people inside of it, it was that low.  I was sooooooooo excited!  The boys thought it was really awesome too.  Brett kept saying, "Ba-ba" (for balloon).  You see, I grew up in New Mexico and we had hot air balloons all the time.  There was a hot air balloon festival that would fill the morning sky with dozens of hot air balloons for two weeks straight.  I would wake up to them, I would see them everywhere as I walked to school, and often they would land down the street from our house or on the field at school.  So when I saw this balloon this morning and heard the sound of the flames when they pulled the handle for the heat, I felt like I was 10 years old again.  I just love how certain smells and sounds can take you back and bring up great memories.

Be Mine

While we were dating 8 years ago

Almost 8 years ago this fine fellow asked me out on our first date.  I already had a date for that Friday night so I said, "I have plans already, but how about Saturday night?"  He took that as a good sign and we never had plans with anyone else after that.  

When we talk together about all of the different things we've experienced and challenges we've been faced with since we got married, we always say how great it is to have had them together.  We've always felt that we make sense together.  We are a team.    We are completely different a lot of the time, but together we are complete.  I'm so happy to have a Valentine that seems to have been custom made for me!

Happy Feet

Brett found one of these shoes the other day and practically begged me to put them on him.  He was so proud to wear them and strutted his stuff around the house in his fancy shoes.  He knows he's cute and he loves showing off.  It makes me laugh every day.

Weekend recap

Things were nice and slow here this past weekend.  Kids are still sick.  We had lots of movies and snuggles.  We have great new neighbors.  One neighbor (Grant's Sunbeam teacher) came over last night with her oils and we gave both of our boys chest rubs.  They didn't cough all night long.  Amazing!  We've never really done oils before, but I have to say they seemed to work wonders for them.  Grant is missing another day of school today.  It's a good thing he's not older or he'd have a bunch of makeup work to do!

Grant turns 4 next week.  We're having some of his little cousins come over for lunch and cake.  I just love planning a party!

Busy boys

While we've been getting settled here in our new house, our boys have just kept on going...and growing.

We have a new sunbeam.

 Brett's growing and toddling around.

 Cute smiles all day.

Lots of time spent pushing dump trucks around the back yard.

Grant's playing soccer again with friends in our old neighborhood.

Keith is his coach.

After all the rain, we finally washed our cars.  The boys had fun splashing around in the water.

It rained again the next day.  :)

We've been riding bikes on warm days.  We taught Grant how to use his brakes so we can all ride through the neighborhood.  Then he insisted that he pull the bike trailer with his bike.  It actually worked!  He pulled Brett all the way to Grandma & Grandpa's house and back (with Keith running behind to spot).

Such a ham!

Dinosaurs have been joining us for dinner.

A shipment from Children's Place arrived and Grant quickly put on his new shirt and his new tie.  It was time for him to get out of toddler ties.

With the rain came a big fort in the family room.  It stayed up for a few days.

Lately I spend my days taking care of kids and home.  We keep getting sick around here.  This week the boys have croup.  I feel like a nurse.  I also scour the internet looking for inspiration for decorating our new home.  Everything feels so permanent in this house that I'm having a hard time nailing down the look I'm going for.  But then I remind myself that although I'd like it all done now, there really is no rush and it'll all come together along the way.  And we are really happy here.