Thursday, February 27, 2014

Life Lately.

My life has become a series of car rides and doctors appointments and playdates and school drop offs it seems like a never ending list of things that need to be done. And with all that comes the lack of time necessary to process things like how I feel about everything and how I'm processing what God's telling me. So my blog stays blank. Which is kind of sad, but I've gotten over kicking myself for it because it's just life and I can't do much about this phase right now than to trudge through it. So that's what I'm doing.

In the meantime, this is what we're up to.

I have playdates on my calendar literally every open day for us for the next 3 weeks. This is a good thing, and my boys obviously get excited about it.
Fun at CFA with sweet friends (and Tyler is obviously exuberant of the fact that he was included in the playground fun).
I got kind of sad after our playdate the other with my friend Jenna, when I realized that next year these things won't include Brayden. As hard as this phase with littles is, it does have it's advantages. Also, please note Tyler's amazing grin. He was completely head over heels of the fact that he could play with the big boys.

Right before we left CFA, my boys were standing around while I got all of my stuff together. Someone in the play area by the door mentioned the numbers 1 & 2, and completely unrelated, Brayden chimed in loud enough for all to hear: "#3 is the number diarrhea." I was both humored and mortified at the same time.

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For those of you who are like me and might live under a rock every now and again, Frozen is coming out on DVD March 18th. We're having first world problems about this, like trying to figure out of we want to purchase a big boy watch or the Frozen movie. Life is filled with tough choices. 

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I register Brayden for Kindergarten next week. I can hardly believe it. I have a lot of thoughts on this subject, but am still hashing everything out in draft. It'll get posted... before he starts in the fall ;) As for Brayden, he is SUPER excited, and thinks that he will get to go to Kindergarten the minute he turns five. 

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This weekend is the big consignment sale that I work at/purchase my boys clothes. They didn't place a limit on the number of items allowed into the sale this year, and I am already hyperventilating thinking about having to sift through even more racks of clothes for the boys than normal. This year I need very specific things, so I'm having to gear up.

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We are in the phase of not liking that little brother can get into all the things, and little brother loving that he can get in and destroy all the things. Many a tear have been shed over the fact that Tyler has come in and destroyed masterful lego/puzzle/animal figurine creations.
Oh the plight of little brothers. Always messing up the symmetry of animals.

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Drew and I went to the eye doctor together today. I feel like this makes us a legit old couple. Like, going to the doctor together is what old couples do. And in unfortunate news, my far sight is now waning too, so I'll need to wear glasses at night. Fantastic. Growing old and loving every second of it (smell the sarcasm.)

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We have another winter weather storm headed our way. This time ice is involved, which means that I cried when I saw the weather forecast. Praying it doesn't affect our power. And also praying for spring. Little boys and winter just don't mix all that well, as we've come to find out this year with all the snow. Babies gotta run and be free outside :) To help with my defiance of the weather, I stocked up on sunblock today. It may be snowing, but we will not get sunburnt. Here's to spring coming soon!

Hope yall have a great weekend!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

A Taste of Spring.

Well, I am happy to report to you that we are finally over the horrid stomach virus of 2014. Thankfully it was a quick virus, and only hit one person at a time. After the 3rd person came down with it, I thanked Jesus that I wasn't having to clean up simultaneous messes.

Friday and Saturday were samples of Spring and it was GLORIOUS. My home is a lot happier and more cheery when everyone can go outside and play ;) Saturday we had an early morning birthday party to go to for Brayden and Connors little friends Jack and Will. These boys have been friends since birth, and it is so precious to me to watch them grow up together. The party was a PJ and Donuts party. I'm fairly certain my boys ate nearly 10 donuts a piece. SO. MUCH. SUGAR. :)
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Other than the party, we basically were outside the entire day. Drew and the boys enjoyed a picnic lunch in the tree house, and Tyler even got in on the action swinging (by the way, this baby will sit at the door and cry now because he loves the outdoors so much). 
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Saturday afternoon we headed to the park to play. 
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(notice the theme of the right hand holding on higher? No idea why he does this but I think it's hilarious)
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this boy is a monkey with a capital M.

We happened to run into some friends of ours from BSF & AWANA at the park, so the boys thoroughly enjoyed time with their friends (I wish I had gotten a picture of them altogether) on top of being outside. As we were driving away Brayden said "well that was a fun treat!"

Unfortunately, our taste of spring only lasted two days, and we're back in the 40s. My boys were a bit disappointed today realizing that shorts outside was just not going to be a reality. We're ready for warmer weather and more time outside!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

IF: Gathering. The Nitty Gritty (part 1).

After typing my fluffy post about the IF:Gathering, I've been munching on notes and re-listening to some of the talks. And I've sat down to write a post about some of the deep details, the nuggets that I walked away with, and here's the deal. I feel as though there may never been words that adequately describe what I feel. Like, words fail to fully draw out what God moved in me. I feel like I walked away with so many "ah-hah" moments, but that none of them really connect for me yet in regards to a plan of action (well, one does and I am working on that post as well) or a specific topic for a blog post. And so I've sat and not written anything. Which is a CRYING SHAME because this cannot be kept inside. So, I've decided to put aside my type-A personality that wants everything to be structured and orderly, and just let words flow. There is no rhyme or reason in what I am about to pen, just the things that I walked out of the local IF:Gathering I participated saying "YES! THIS!"

I feel like I should take a few steps back before I dive right into this and tell you about something that had been on my heart several weeks prior to IF. So here's the deal. Y'all know that I am an avid social media lover. I have met some of the most awesome people, I think it can be a great encouragement for this stage of life, and it's also an invaluable resource when you have questions about potty training, how many bottles your kid needs or any other important questions that you need answered in about 2 seconds from people around the globe. That being said, I'm also sick of social media. And here's why: I feel like instead of using what should be an amazing tool to build people up, to encourage others and to help other people out, it is used to cut people down, to degrade individuals and to create divisiveness. This is a problem. And it breaks my heart to see what could be used as a great tool, instead be used to destroy and tear down.

I want to be clear: I'm not pointing fingers. This isn't me talking on a 10 foot pedestal saying that I have it all together. Which is exactly why I hadn't written about it on my blog, even though my heart was aching with the reality of the online world that we live in and the disunity I have felt recently. So, there's that tidbit. Here's where IF came in for making things more real to me.

"There are no better or worse people-- there are only God-made souls."
When Ann Voskamp spoke those words, my heart lit up. I connected the dots between what I had been churning over. Every person, every avatar I see online, every blog I read... is someone precious to God. Set aside our differences... their soul is just as valuable as someone who seems very much put together. "Girls can impale each other [with the ruler of comparison], [but] the sisterhood of women champion each other." (Ann Voskamp). Why am I comparing myself, both negatively and/or positively to the ones that are around me? Isn't that what Satan wants? To make me either feel (a) better than someone else, and disregard someone because "apparently I have my stuff together a lot better than someone else" or (b) feel so crappy about myself because "I DON'T have my stuff altogether and blog/twitter/facebook friend xyz really does have it altogether and they take awesome selfies with their husbands, and surely they never yell at their kids"... see that... see where that all goes?

I sometimes wonder, what if we all chose to find the good in those around us... not just in our real lives, but our online ones as well? What if we chose to not pick apart how someone looked, how someone parented, how someone ate, how someone did or didn't make a bento box lunch or craft the latest and greatest Pinterest inspired DIY project.... What if we decided to see people through the eyes of Jesus, who sees each person as a soul, a soul who is either already saved by His grace or, perhaps, a soul who is not yet saved and is desperately seeking to see and hear and smell that fresh breath of air that can only come from someone who is willing to lay aside all other things and to be a Jesus representative (thank you Jen Hatmaker for that little title-- LOVE it)? What if we took Ephesians 4:32 (Be kind to one another, tenderhearted....), 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (Be kind to one another and build each other up...), or how about John 13:34-35 (A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”)... what if we took all of these for face value, and actually put into practice, what Jesus commanded us to do? You guys. Jesus loves us in light of all of the crappy things about us. What if we decided to overlook someones apparent (or perhaps not so apparent) flaws and just love them BECAUSE. This. This is my pondering lately. I'm not sure I have a solution for the issues that our generation faces with the doubled edged sword of social media. Avoiding it altogether doesn't seem like a solution, yet deciding to overlook the glaring issue isn't really helping anything either. I just know that I no longer want to be a part of the problem. And I desperately hope and wish for a day when we can all lay our differences aside and run more strongly united for the greater cause of Jesus. Because wasting our time on tearing each other down is helping no one, and hurting everyone.

Hopefully that all made sense and wasn't just a great big mess. I tend to be a blubbering fool when I have something heavy on my heart that I want to write about (I'm blaming Satan for the lack of clarity with words in those times-- Lord knows that devil would like nothing more than for me to be mute.). I think when it all boils down to it, as a whole during the conference, I sat back and looked at the bigger picture. All walks of faith and denominations. Coming together for one cause. Setting aside differences to be stronger. Unity. For the cause of Christ. (More posts from IF to come. I thought this post would encompass more but it turns out apparently unity was a bigger theme that hit more more than I initially thought....)

Lastly, I'm going to leave you with my verse for the year with my social media. Before I post anything, I try to remember this verse:
Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. ~Proverbs 29:20

PS-- if you missed IF (or even if you didn't!), they are going to be selling the digital download of the conference online. You can find out more by clicking HERE.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Tyler Paul {9 months}.

Well, I know I am on record saying that the newborn phase is my favorite, but this past month with Tyler is pushing hard to take the top spot. It's just been so much fun watching Tyler hit several really fun milestones.
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trying to get him to take his monthly picture on the blanket proved quite the challenge. This was the best I could do ;)

::9 month highlights::
  • Wearing size 5 diapers at night, size 4 during the day
  • He wears mostly 12-18month clothes. If the clothes is a single size (like 12 or 18) then he usually wears 18 months; 12 month clothes is just a little snug on the big ol' belly ;)
  • Takes 2 naps each day, a 1.5 hr nap in the morning and a 2-3 hr nap in the afternoon.
  • FINALLY sleeping through the night! (of course, that will probably jinx us now that I've written it down). He goes down to bed around 7, and wakes up between 6:30/7am.
  • He is in between on crawling. He can crawl on all fours, but finds it quicker to just army crawl, so we find him still scooting his way around a lot more.
  • He's started making a squinty-eyed cheese face when I take his picture. Proving that I have, yet again, another little ham on my hands. I love that my kids think they are funny! 
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  • He LOVES to read books. His favorite is Little Blue Truck (if you are a boy mom, this is a MUST get for your little boy! All 3 of my boys love it!).
  • He started pulling up this month! He is SO proud of himself, so it's hard not to just smile, even though usually I'm finding him getting into things.
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  • He pulled up to his feet yesterday for the first time. I should have taken video instead of pictures. His squeals were hilarious. Such glee for his little feat!
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  • His two top teeth are ALMOST through the gums. I think I can speak for all of us and say that teething is for the birds!
  • Not sure his exact measurements (his check up is not until next week), but I'm guessing he's about 23ish pounds. No clue on his length.
  • He LOVES the outside. He cries if the door is open and he can't get out. Yesterday, I was in my room for 2 minutes and came out and couldn't find him anywhere. I finally went outside and there was Tyler, army crawling as fast as he could to the grass. His brothers had let him out while I was in my room. Can't turn my back for a second in this house!
  • Went to put a new shirt on and couldn't find Ty. The boys had let him outside. #littlebrotherproblems
  • Tyler thinks his brothers hung the moon, particularly Brayden. Brayden can get Ty to laugh so hard. It's the sweetest thing watching them bond. 
  • Still taking 4 bottles a day. He's hit or miss as to how many ounces he eats. Anywhere between 4-8oz, depending on the time of day and his mood. He much prefers moving and playing than wasting time on eating ;)
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  • His appetite for solid foods has really upped this week. Not sure if it's a growth spurt or what, but the boy can pack away the food. 
  • Tyler learned to clap this month! He does it with both hands clinched in fists, and will clap on command too. He especially claps to any kind of music. If I turn on music in the living room, Tyler will crawl from anywhere in the house to come and clap and dance. 
  • Speaking of music, I have to document here that Tyler's favorite movie is Mary Poppins, which makes my heart so happy. He literally will sit and watch almost the entire movie. He especially lights up to "Spoon Full of Sugar". :)
Tyler Paul--
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You are such a joy and bring so much light and life to our home. We love you so much and are so grateful to all that you bring to our family! 
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Gardening and Bugs (Stomach Bugs, that is...).

Well, I am happy to report that the great region of Northwest Arkansas is finally thawing out. Thursday afternoon when I was finally able to spot the dead grass in our yard, I'm fairly certain my heart fluttered. Suddenly, what was once considered a cold 38 degrees, seemed like a balmy day at the beach (not really. That's a lie. 38 degrees is still rather cold. But we were all so excited to go above freezing and thaw out a little, that I don't think anyone in my family, for once, minded weather in the 30s.).
This is what Valentines looks like after 10 yrs of marriage. And I wouldn't trade it for the world. (see also: I didn't have to do dishes or cook=night made).
Friday was, of course, the holiday of love. I'm not Valentines biggest fan. To me, it's so unromantic and thought up by everyone else BUT your love. I'd much rather Drew do something in the middle of the week when I'm having a crappy day (like bringing me a Sonic drink or a single red rose-- nothing super fancy. I'm easy to please here), than bringing me home red roses that someone else paid money to market him to purchase. Because love is all about chocolate and roses. Anyways. This is all entirely besides the point. My point is, even though I am not a huge fan of Valentines day, it doesn't mean that I didn't want to take the opportunity to not have to cook or clean. So I asked Drew if we could just go out to eat. Done and done. Everyone was happy, the evening was actually pleasant, and we all ate for $30. Also, please note Tyler's smile. It's safe to say that my pregnancies spent craving Mexican food have not gone wasted. All 3 of my boys think that the word restaurant is synonymous with chips and salsa. 

With the welcome weather change came some spring time yard prep, as Drew prepares to bring the farm to our backyard. Or at least the produce. That's right, folks. We're buildin' us a garden. It's been 2 years since we last had our very own little crop producing plot. I'm going to be honest: the task is a little daunting to me. In case you haven't noticed, we have 3 boys under the age of 5 living in our home. And if they even smell the presence of dirt, hands go digging. Sometimes this is all in the name of being "helpful," however, I just have terrorizing visions of the fruits of Drews hard labor (ie: tomatoes, zuchinni, squash, etc), being picked by willing laborers, but not in the season in which they need to be picked. So here we go on this little adventure and experiment to see if our world can once again collide with the pioneer days. We'll see....

In the meantime, the boys had fun at least helping dad with some of the manual labor. Drew rigged up a nifty contraption out of a dolly and Brayden's bicycle.
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We also did our fair share of swinging this weekend ... Tyler squeals whenever he's swinging and it's just about the cutest thing ever...
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Then in the afternoon Brayden and I tried our hand at making homemade Gak. Momma messed up and put too much Borax in the mix, which meant that it wasn't quite as slimy as it should be. But the boys had fun, and that's all that mattered.
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I realize this is fuzzy, but I love his facial expression, which was unprompted.

The rest of our weekend went downhill pretty quickly, as Tyler woke up Saturday night with a horrid stomach bug. I was hoping he'd be the only casualty, but Monday proved otherwise, and Connor and I are both down for the count. We're praying Drew and Brayden don't get it, but everyone I've talked to says that their whole family ended up with it, so I'm not holding my breath. Here's to health for this week, and warmer weather that will hopefully ward off all of these awful viruses that are spreading this winter. (PS-- I am still working through my thoughts on the IF:Gathering. I have two posts in draft that I am hoping to finish up soon).

Monday, February 10, 2014

IF:Gathering, the Fluffy Post.

This weekend I had the extraordinary privilege of participating in IF:local with some of my dear, dear friends from my childhood. At first, I wasn't even sure it was going to work out. And I'll admit, my faith was rather weak in the midst of snow and ice and cold blustery winds. But I have the blessing of being surrounded with friends who, when my faith fails, theirs stands strong and they stand in the gap for me. So they prayed, and prayed and encouraged and encouraged. And before I knew it, the imminent snow storm that was going to hinder me from being able to travel, miraculously lifted. It didn't just lift, but it literally quit snowing 12 hours before I left, and resumed in Little Rock an hour after I arrived. My God is big (and my friends are awesome prayer warriors.)

Chopped.(I should probably rewind a bit to Thursday night, just to interrupt this story to tell you that I've chopped off a good portion of my long locks of hair. I do love my haircut, but I would be lying if I didn't tell you that when I see other people with long locks I get a little sad. BUT... I am reminding myself that I did it for a purpose (I'm donating it), and that there are other women going through chemo who don't have the option to cut or grow out hair. Sometimes it's just about perspective, right?)

So, back to IF. I'm not sure I'm done chewing through even a toe of the elephant that I felt like I was fed. It was refreshing to be with my kidney friends (my friends who I would give an organ, even a kidney, to). It was refreshing to drink from some of the most amazing Christian women and hear truth that I felt like I needed to hear.

Truth be told, I have felt a stirring over the past several months. There are things that are on the tip of my tongue and burning in my heart that I don't even know what they mean. I don't know what will become of it, only that I know I should continue to seek. I'm praying that perhaps it's written words, as I tend to process best through "pen and paper." So I'll continue to chomp and chew, and hopefully that when the devouring and processing is complete that the words will come to me.
#ifgathering with old and new friends.
I mean, really. Between the amazingly gifted leaders speaking at IF and these girls, I'm ready for Heaven. So much awesome.

Because I'm not sure I'm ready to articulate the deep stuff, a bit of the fluffy stuff from the weekend...
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I found it only slightly hilarious that I made it to Little Rock, only to be followed by a "snow storm". Mind you, it was only about 2-3 inches, but it was enough to make the roads a little iffy. Thank goodness for friends with four wheel drive. We passed many who were not as lucky. Lots of stranded cars and wrecks.
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I got to eat at a restaurant that I've only read about on blogs. Local Lime in Little Rock is a good little gem ;)
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And then friends. Christy and I have been friends since high school (by the way, I much prefer saying "friends since high school" rather than saying the amount of years we have been friends. because in saying the amount of years, I am suddenly faced with the fact that some of these friends have been my friends for almost 20 years. and that just makes me feel older than dirt.). So grateful Christy asked me to join them on the IF:Gathering adventure, and that she was willing to open up her home so that we could all gather.
20140208_222841One of my very dear, dear friends. Or as I like to say, my "kidney friend"- the kind of friend you'd give a kidney to.
Steph and Court have been my friends since my family moved to Little Rock when I was in 9th grade (also, I should note that the picture of me and Steph was taken at 10:30, right before we went to bed. It needed to be documented that we were together... just had forgotten until then to do it). These girls have been through literally every life event with me since that time, they know my ugly side, and they still love me fiercely. So grateful for both of them.
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And this is Carol, whom I have met in passing in real life several years ago, and then have developed a "blog friendship" over the past few years, and then finally got to hang out with this weekend. Now we're real life friends, and have each others cell phone numbers, which basically means that we're legit.

So, that's the fluff. I feel like I'll have another post with some of the things that rocked my world a bit later on when I can process through written word (which really means that I'm trying to get away to Starbucks so I can sit alone in quiet and figure out what it is I need to say regarding all of the thoughts swirling around in my head). Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't say that this weekend wouldn't have been possible without Drew and his mom tag teaming in taking care of the resident hooligans. They had a good time with Daddy and Mamaw, but I think I may have scarred Tyler, who threw a screaming fit for my cousin last night when he realized I was leaving the house again. I've never had a baby have separation anxiety, so let's hope that I haven't created that monster by leaving him for a few days.

Hope everyone has a blessed week!

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Breaking Point.

Fresh up from nap, missing a sick and sporting the finest bed head hair of northwest arkansas."mom, I wanna get all 'bungled' up and go play in the snow!"Enjoying homemade salsa with my biggest buddy. I have him his love for salsa while he was still in utero.
Using the latest snow storm as a rule of thumb, I’d say that snow day #3 is everyone’s breaking point.
Day 1 is all- yay! Snow! Let’s play, do you want to build a snowman?! Snow ice cream. YAY!
Day 2: snow. It’s still there. In all it’s white glory. Guess it’s time to clean the house. And eat. And bake (which then means I trapse through the snow to deliver homemade goodies to our neighbors, as there's no way that all of the goodies can be good for us in large quantities. Despite the snow's immense ability to make me want to eat ALL THE THINGS.)
Day 3: we’re re-watching movies for the third time in a 24 hour period. Someone hand me a beer at 11am (and simultaneously gouge my eyes out by 5pm). Also, I’m sick of scrubbing walls, cleaning dishes and working the house. I think I’ll set down and let the laundry and dishes pro-create a bit.

Today was day 3 for us, and I’d say that the description above is basically me. And my children (aside from the beer part, since they're obviously underage. They just want kool-aid, which would be like feeding myself poison, as cabin-fevered kids and kool-aid sounds like a good idea to NO ONE in their right mind.)

To make day 3 worse, Connor decided to wake up with some leg pain. He’s struggled with intermittent leg/knee pain for a couple of weeks, but I had kind of shrugged it off as growing pains. Today though, he refused to walk. So, during the blowing snow and icy streets, we decided to make the decision to bring him into the doctor. Drew graciously offered to bring him in so I didn’t have to brave the roads. And I, against my better judgment, decided to google leg pain in 3 year old little boys. For the record, don’t do that. Bad, bad things come in the search results. I had a few friends talk me out of the Dr Google hole I was hiding in, and rested on a few words from Jesus to make it through the afternoon. And, to make the story short, Connor is fine.

To break up the monotony of the day, we decided to go and hang out with my neighbor and her daughter and grandchildren. It was a stellar idea, and gave me a little oomph for what would be a firehose afternoon. Leaving the neighbors house with two preschoolers who had not had naps proved quite the event. C had a meltdown, which is not uncommon, so I was slightly prepared for. Ty decided to start crying for no apparent reason the minute we walked in the door. I caught B playing with a knife during my mad dash to get dinner prepared, C decided to create yet another battle with mealtime (this after yesterday’s nearly 10 hour standoff-- I only WISH I was kidding about that little fact), and right before bath time we caught all 3 boys in the basket of diapering goodies in Tyler’s room; Tyler was gnawing on a nasal aspirator, B had Vaseline all over his hands, and Connor had been squirted with an (thankfully all-natural) orange oil air freshner spray, and was screaming like he had been shot in the face (which, as a matter of speaking, he had. With orange oil. Imagine how you feel when an orange squirts you just right with it’s little juices when you’re eating a fresh orange. Then imagine that coming out of a spray bottle. Onto your entire face. Mercy.) And now you can see why I have a few extra gray hairs after this snow storm.

There is a silver lining to this story, in that I was able to escape the house for a few minutes before the great diaper goodie basket debacle. Seeing the world outside of the walls of your home will do wonders to your soul. I treated myself to a little personal size cup of chocolate ice cream with salted caramel (it’s a Blue Bunny flavor in their new- or new to me- personal cups of ice cream. It was the perfect size, and fabulously delicious.) I also found out we have school tomorrow, which almost made me break out in some good living room dance moves. Schedule is good, and we’re all welcoming it back with open arms.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Monday, February 3, 2014

The MidWest. AKA the Frozen Tundra.

Greetings from the new Frozen Tundra. Who knew that Northwest Arkansas would become an area that had highs in the teens, snow every other day, and moms everywhere going nuts from cabin fever and canceled school.

Seriously.

Last week the chatter about snow grew louder as we approached the weekend. Seeing how I try to avoid grocery shopping on the weekends, and with the impending snow and Super Bowl excitement, I decided that the torture of shopping with three children outweighed the torture of shopping with a bunch of people freaked out by snow and insistent on stocking up on velveeta and rotel. So off the store(s) we went. All four of us.
All 3 of my buddies along for the ride today, stocking up before winter apocalypse hits again.
Sam's Club with the kids really isn't that bad. There's food involved, which means that tantrums are a minimum, and when my small friends are contained, all is well in the shopping world.

But Walmart (or any other retail establishment for that matter), is a whole different ballgame. After Tyler screamed the entire trip, the bucket of puffs was dumped in the produce section and numerous "we need these" preschooler deemed necessities were thrown in the cart, my blood pressure was at an all time high. Thankfully we all survived, and I was confident my decision to brave the stores alone with my little buddies was a good decision indeed when we got almost 4 inches of snow on Sunday morning.

Fun in the snow with 2 of my favorite boys.
Since Tyler man doesn't brave the cold all that well, I left him with Drew and the boys and I trudged through the snow to go sledding on a small hill near our home. The snow was still blowing hard, but we made it, although I won't disclose to you how many times I busted. Also, now that I have snow boots my little feet stay nice and warm. But my legs are another matter, as all I have are jeans. Need snow pants ASAP.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1
Sunday evening God gave us the most glorious sunset. Makes me think of Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

I made homemade chicken noodle soup. And then decided to make homemade bread. Who am I?!As long as it's "warm" enough for them to play outside, I actually don't mind the snow.
With our high today in the mid-30s, it was a perfect day to layer the boys and send them outside. They are absolutely in love with all things snow, and I think they'd take this weather any day of the week if they had the chance. I don't really mind being snowed in if I know I can send them outside. And to celebrate the cold weather, I made my very first batch of homemade chicken noodle soup in the crockpot. As if that wasn't enough of a feather in my hat, I also tried my hand at a homemade bread recipe. Aside from my sweatpants and no makeup, I felt like I channeled June Cleaver rather well. ;)

And now we're gearing up for the 2nd of what should be 3 or 4 snow storms in one week here. Right now I feel alright, but after day 6, you might want to check in on my sanity. ;)
 

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