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!