Hump Day

I was up bright and early to get the kids off to school. More snow overnight! It never ceases.

Sadie was super excited to go back. Ben..not so much, but I know he missed his friends and was getting bored at home.

This is Sadie when I picked her up. Worn. Out.

Ben came home with a great report card and was super stoked that I would be shelling out some $$ in his direction. He wouldn't cooperate for a picture. He also received his Breakout hoodie at church this evening for completing all of his lessons. Breakout is the youth group for his age.

Today was filled with a workout, errands, laundry, and cooking. And now its 8:20. Where did the hours go?

Sadie had an incident with the dining room chair. The chair won.

On the menu: Chicken and Biscuits - One of Ben's all time favorites! I loaded it with chicken because the boys like to eat meat with a side of meat ;)

Happy Wednesday!

Better Weather

I actually felt a hint of warmth today! It was still super cold, but the sun was out and outside life was bearable again.

Ben broke out his Christmas stocking Fun Dip. Can't believe it took this long! Look at that holiday bed head :) He has lost his two upper incisors over the last month and has a molar coming in. The orthodontist sees him quarterly to monitor his spacing. Didn't you need to know that?

Not the best picture, as Sadie refuses to act on command, but she opened 3 kitchen drawers today and stood up to peer inside! Our drawers are a little hard to open and she realized she needed to use two hands. Exciting!

Swim practice resumed tonight and Ben was happy to take his new swim bag.  I hesitated on the purchase until I knew he was really invested. The unveiling...

That's all for today. School starts back tomorrow and I get some "mommy time" back. WOOHOO!

Just a Monday

We are slowly getting back into the swing of things as winter break comes to end. The bitter cold remains and most schools/extracurricular activities were closed.  I ventured out only once today to take Sadie to speech therapy and that was enough outside time for me!

Just a few random pictures..

She wanted an extreme close-up!

The boys relieved their "cabin fever" with some racquetball.

There has been this 5 ingredient icebox pie recipe floating around Facebook, so I had the boys pick up the ingredients while they were out. It's just like I remembered it! YUM

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

And by cold, I mean you cannot stand still. You must keep moving very fast to your destination. I've even heard predictions of wind chills of -30. What!? I must have heard you wrong, Mr. Weatherman. Please tell me I heard you wrong. We made it to church and out to lunch, but it was brutal.

I smartened up and wore my North Face base layer under my jeans to go grocery shopping and I was very, very glad I did. Our meals this week will include chili, roast, and chicken soup - warm and comforting was the theme I had in mind.

In other news, Ben and I ventured to Norfolk yesterday for a swim meet and were able to swing by Target to spend some gift cards that were burning holes in our pockets.

Ben bought some "only at Target" Halo items. Poor boy is such a victim of marketing.
And I picked up some super cute clothes for Sadie as we (hopefully) transition into Spring.

School starts back in 3 days and I think they are more than ready. I took some pics of preschool pics the school had given me prior to break. I just love to get these! Sorry for the quality.

Outside in the playhouse

Snack time

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

That's all for today.

I'm off to put on my footed, onsie pajamas and have a bowl of chili!

I Could Get Used To This

I am loving these vacation days with both kids at home, sleeping in, watching movies, playing games, cooking and baking...

Yesterday, I ran a few errands and scored these cute cardinal salt and pepper shakers 75% off!

And then, my new 2014 planner came in the mail!

An upcycled book from Etsy (of course!)

I've already started filling it up...

And then a heated game of Scrabble with the boys

which led to this...

I won, of course ;)

And today has been tons 'o paperwork: bill paying, scout organizing, doctor scheduling, swim meet preparing, etc.. and now its time to get baby girl up from her rest (with a little help from brother).

Happy Friday!

Happy New Year 2014!

We awoke to a blanket of snow!

Did some building!

Ate some great food!

And ended with a warm bath!

I hope to blog much more this year and have 365 days of pictures to look back on.

Here's to a great 2014...!

Deep Breath

Today, I received these tags in the mail. No tears. Just took a really deep breath.  A really, really deep breath.  This is our life. Oh, how I do not want this for our daughter or any other child, but this is our reality.

John 9:2-3

New International Version (NIV)

² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”   ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.