February faves

My favorite goings-on from February.

Best night in (considering all our nights are spent in!): watching the newest Twilight movie with Frank and laughing at the drama and cheesy-ness.

Funniest thing I learned this month: Zach can change the toilet paper roll and he's very pround of it :)

Favorite spot in the house: my rearranged (yes, already!) craft room. It was all set up and definitely neat, and I was starting to get organized. But I realized that the places where furniture and things landed when I unpacked was more about convenience at the time and less about what I actually needed. My computer needed to be in a spot where I have more space to spread out, so that bills, etc. weren't filling up my craft table.

So this new arrangement puts my craft table closer to my supplies and my computer closer to the file cabinet and more space for paperwork. And somehow it feels bigger, too! Next on my wishlist are some kind of desk to replace the computer cart and folding table and a comfy chair...


Favorite grocery items: microwave lentils from Costco (like a chili/soup), topped with a little packet of Wholly Guacamole. And this time I chopped up a couple slices of deli turkey and mixed them in.


Sweetest memories: bedtime stories with Jen, Ben, Maggie, Gabe, and Zach, and shooting the breeze with Abby and Loic on a swing in downtown Greenville. Both weekends were a complete blast :)

When they're cute and hilarious

On days where everyone is crabby, and no one is listening to me or behaving (to the point of having tv taken away for the day), these funny videos come in handy. This was a couple weeks ago.

I'm back from Abby's and have lots to share about that great (if short) visit. I'm hoping to post some stuff soon.

Huh, it's February already?

The last month seems like sort of a blur, and I really just want to go back under the covers and hibernate until spring. It doesn't help that the boys and I are a little sick this weekend, but I've just been tired in general. Here's what we've been up to:

The boys love to fingerpaint and watercolor paint. Gabe is always quite a bit neater than Zach, and that's the way he likes it. He would rather use the brush than his fingers, whereas Zach is a crazy man with the paint...it's gone in about a minute.


We went to Ikea. The boys were thrilled :) We came home with exactly what we went for: a small bookcase, toy bin, and light fixture for the living room, a table top for my sewing area, and a bench/shoe etc. bin for the entryway.


The wall tracks went back up--yay! I finally fit all three sets together. And we have no shortage of cars, thanks to Kevin's and Barb's Christmas gifts.


Zach loves jam sandwiches. He's not ready to add peanut butter yet; I've asked. He's also getting excited to start pre-k in the fall. He had his physical last week and was having a great time with Monkey and the doctor until she started talking about shots!


We got another couple of inches of snow yesterday, but it was so cold and windy that we did not stay out for more than about three minutes.


And last, but very certainly not least, we had friends over last weekend. It was great fun, and Jen wrote about it on her blog HERE :)

January faves

Here are some of my favorite things from the past month :)

Best new TV show: Once Upon A Time. I decided in the fall that I could let this one go. We just don't have time to get addicted to any more shows, blah, blah, blah. But I kept reading about it and seeing commercials, and I gave in. They replayed all the episodes on New Year's Day, and I have to say I love the characters (and the hair/makeup/costumes)...I've been hooked ever since.


Funniest thing we should have seen coming, but didn't: Gabe fits through the cat door in the baby gate. Though, if you read the instructions (like we did for the first time just recently), the gate is not intended for children. Oops. Lesson learned. We just lock the cat door when he starts to mess with it.


Favorite new grocery item: ciabatta rolls. Perfect for fondue and bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches.


Favorite new family outing: the public library.


Favorite spot in the house: by the fireplace. For me, Frank, and apparently Marmalade.

Yay today

Their furniture arrived.

Videos of goofy Gabe

Routines

With almost everything unpacked and the celebrating of holidays behind us, lately we've been working on establishing routines. Cleaning routines, shopping routines, haircut routines, and doctor appointment routines. Kinda boring stuff, but kinda necessary.
Here are some highlights of the last two weeks:

This is the furniture that will be coming for the boys in another 4-6 weeks. Two beds and that dresser and mirror.


This picture pretty much sums up our visit with Barb and Ron. We ate good food, the boys made us crack up from time to time, we enjoyed having Frank home, and we talked about smart phones (Ron just recently got his). As it is said, "A good time was had by all."


Before and after haircuts:


Happy to have the guest room(s) ready for anyone who wants to visit...


Fondue on New Year's Eve.


Continuing the tradition of a family photo on New Year's Day. I wonder how many years until everyone sits on their own?


The boys, so excited about the little bit of snow we got last week.


All of us were excited that it got back up into the 60's last weekend.