Wreaths: Valentine's Day & St. Patrick's Day

Thanks to pinterest, I've been interested in making wreaths for holidays lately. I got the inspiration for my Valentine's Day wreath from the site and copied it exactly. I got the inspiration for my St. Patrick's Day wreath in a dream. Random, I know.

I love love love the way this turned out. 

This one I am not thrilled with. I feel like it needs something else but I'm not sure what. Maybe a shamrock up towards the top? I don't know. Thoughts/opinions? 

Here's a close up of the rainbow I made for it

{Top Ten Tuesday} My Favorite Things About Pregnancy

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There is no doubt about it, there are many things about pregnancy that just suck. Between all the yucky symptoms and all the random aches and pains, it can be a very difficult nine months. On the other hand, there is something magical about it as well. Since this is my last pregnancy, I am trying to enjoy every moment of it, as hard as that is at times. Here are some of my favorite things about being pregnant. 

1. If you're having a bad day, you don't have to worry about someone asking if your time of the month is coming. 

2. For some reason, I seem to be more outgoing when I'm pregnant. I like this about myself. 

3. Not sure why, but people seem to be nicer to you while you are pregnant. 

4. The anticipation and wonder: What will this baby be like? Look like? WHO will they be? It's nice to have something happy to think about and look forward to. 

5. Knowing that you're going to get some time "off" soon is enough to get you through some bad days at work. 

6. Big bellies, while uncomfortable, are totally cute!

7. Nine months of period freedom. Enough said. 

8. You don't need an excuse to have a mood swing, eat a lot, be fat/gain weight, or anything else. Pregnancy explains it all. 

9. Feeling the baby move around in your belly

10. It is an amazing feeling knowing there is this little life inside of you. This little person who some day you are going to love with all of your being, who you don't even know yet, who is counting on you for everything right now. It's an indescribable feeling and honor to be their sole caretaker and life-giver so far. 

Proud Mama Monday 2/4/13

After the day I had with the boys today, it's hard to write a "Proud Mama Monday" post. But it's days like these where it's most important to write them. Despite their naughtiness, I am still proud of who they are.


Jordan can now sing his ABCs all the way through. He can also sing along to "Jesus Loves Me"
Jordan has been practicing songs with the church choir and was able to get up front and sing with them for the first time on January 27th. He did great!

Jacob has practiced writing some letters and did a great job writing H, C, J, and G the other night. I'd like to work on writing his name this week.

Jake-isms

It's been a long time since I've posted any Jake-isms. Okay, okay, it's been a long time since I've posted ANYTHING! I wanted to share these so I'd remember them.

A week or so ago I read Alice in Wonderland to Jake out of his classic stories book (his choice... those who know me know how I feel about Alice in Wonderland... and if you don't know... it makes me want to slit my wrists. Seriously.) So we read it and when it was done we both decided that the story just didn't make any sense. A few nights ago now Matt and Jake were looking through that same storybook. Jake was picking out a story to read that night. He pointed to Alice in Wonderland and said "That one is in Spanish!"


For those who don't know, Matt is on a new diet. I am not following it, despite his best efforts to force me to. One of the things he is eliminating is high fructose corn syrup. Last night at the dinner table Jake said (and this was NOT prompted by me, I swear!!!) "You say I can't have high fructose corn syrup but I can!" That's my boy!

Smile for the Day

Our Elf Adventures

This is the first year we have had an Elf on the Shelf in our home. He arrived the day after Thanksgiving in a package from the North Pole. He brought Santa hooded towels for the boys with him as well. We decided not to have our elf do naughty things for two reasons -- #1 - I'd have to be the one to clean up the messes he made and #2 (most importantly) we didn't want our kids to think it was cute/funny/okay to do naughty things. So we just played the hide him in a different spot every day thing instead. We had fun with it. We did have a few days without him after a particularly naughty day but he did come back and spend the rest of the holiday season at our house. The boys named him Thomas. 

 sitting in our lamp

hanging from the ceiling fan

sitting on the bananas (the boys thought this was hysterical)

sitting on the shelf eating Jake's skittles

 on top of our Christmas tree

hanging upside down in the flowers on our shelf

 hiding in the boys' stuffed animals with a note for Jake for his bad behavior

in Jake's stocking

On the shelf dressed up as a pirate for Jake's birthday party

Riding on mom's giraffe

wishing Jacob a happy birthday

Thomas wants us to take Charlie for a walk - he is hanging from the leash holder

hanging upside down in the pantry

Thomas built a marshmallow snowman in the freezer. Matt thought he might be cold so I made him a scarf and some earmuffs

sitting in the boys kleenex holder in their bedroom

hanging from the light - this is the day he left us

Thomas returned! Hiding in a very obvious spot on our shelf so he'd be easy to find on his return

shaving in the boys bathtub

on top of our kitchen cabinet

hiding in the Christmas tree

Thomas spelled the boys' names with Cheerios and he hid in the blinds

Locked out! Peeking in the front door window

hiding in the plant in the boys' bathroom

On top of the kitchen cabinets with a countdown note

on top of the boys' new Christmas tree in Jake's room

hiding in the lemon plant

Thomas wrapped himself up and hid in the Christmas book box

Thomas' last day! Sitting on top of the TV with a goodbye note.

What a fun new tradition! See you again next season, Thomas!

Interview With Jacob, age 4

State your name:  Jake

How old are you:  4

What’s your favorite color?  blue

Who is your best friend? June

What’s your favorite animal?  hmmm... I like a giraffe

What do you want to be when you’re all grown up? I want to be a doctor, a farmer, and a cowboy

What’s your favorite movie? Tarzan. And Up

What’s your favorite book?  Tarzan

What makes you happy?  when I take a fun bath

What makes you sad? When people hit me… like Jordan

What’s your most favorite food to eat? Tacos and oranges and bananas and lemons. They’re my favorite foods.

What’s your favorite song to sing? Old MacDonald Had a Farm. That is my favorite song. And the Itsy Bitsy Spider

What games  do you like to play? I like CandyLand, Chutes and Ladders, and the matching game

 What are your favorite Christmas songs? Rudolph The Rednosed Reindeer, Frosty, Santa Comes to Town, The Grinch, and Hey Santa, and Santa Baby. Those are all my favorite ones. I like all those.