March Madness Family Night

Life has for one reason or another been a little madness, so fittingly we had a family night that was sort of last minute thrown togetherness, but none the less it was our night and it was fun and....

Ry + G + Beanie + me =US

and I LOVE us:)

plus, if I am honest, I am a "thrown together" kind of girl.

Our night started out like this...

credit for the meal goes to:

Kate Spade for the adorable china that I just decided to bust out, I mean if you aren't going to use it on the people you love most, who is it for, right??

Giada De Laurentiis for the delicious Italian recipes that I can (usually...haha) make successfully! They are yummy, even if she does make some more than questionable noises while cooking.

Ryan for whipping together a salad with Crazins as an ingredient. Seriously you guys, when we met this was not even in the realm of possibilities.

....and the people who thought of these noodles:

It's hard to tell but they were long and curly and every thing that a noodle should be. Griffin and I, being the extreme noodle lovers that we are, were especially thrilled.

Dinner came to an abrupt end due to Beanie's diaper, draw conclusions as you will by Ryan's face...haha!

Next we moved on to Griffin's new favorite game which is sort of like a basketball/bozo buckets type mash up that we made up one afternoon. It is called brick-dodge-ball-basketball. We taught it to daddy for family night and had blast playing.

To play you need some buckets and anything you have around to throw into them (we used soft balls and these cardboard bricks...not so soft but works none the less).

High five....he got one in. It's also nice if you have your very own 3 year old to play this made up game with because the rules can change at any moment and anything you do could be a "win". Also, he thinks I am awesome because I can shoot so many in, and so I will let him go on filling me up with these compliments..."wow mommy, you rock at baskets"...I mean, there's no reason to enlighten him on the true stats of my basketball career, "you rock" works just great for me.

Family self portrait...sigh...because I love them, and because it was the a second where no one was moving, which is so rare in our house.

I'm a pretty lucky girl! These two belong to me...

and hubby made us some delicious chocolate dip to swirl some fruit into!!

and that was family night. We ran out of daylight for our movie so we featured it Sunday night. Nothing fancy (except our plates...haha) - just some good ole fashion us time!

***If you look closely you get a sneak peek at our new and improved toy room! Still needs a few odds and ends, so I'll do the big reveal when (hopefully sometime in the next year:)!) I get all those touches (that only I really care about) finished!

The Count Down to 3-0

About a month ago I turned 29. I had such a great birthday. Nothing really extravagant, just low key with my boys....

and great friends and I ended it with chocolate cake from Portillos....it doesn't get better than that, right??:) At least Griffin doesn't think so...

Ry went to a TON of effort to make me a beautiful dinner and it was SO delicious. It was some sort of stuffed shells on our new family birthday plate. We had one of these when I was a kid that said, "you are special today" and you got to eat dinner on it when it was your day. My mom gave each family (mine, Andy and Julie's and Ali's) a "birthday" plate so now we all have the same one, and Ry and I got to put ours into use right away! Isn't it cute?? And don't you love the decorative sauce drizzle my sweet chef put on the plate...what a guy:)!

I've been thinking about 29 though the last month. Time is flying by entirely too fast. I have never been a BIG birthday numbers sort of person...sure I mean 16 and 21 were fun but I've never been too worried about what birthday it is. Maybe it's because I've always been younger...haha, and now I am staring at 30 and wondering where the time has went.

I could close my eyes and it could be exactly last year at this time. To think that an entire year has flown by already is outrageous to me. I know I have a 8.5 month old baby but it is truly hard to believe. It's a little scary to me how quickly life is passing by with my kiddos....is that what is making it go so quickly? Or is that just the nature of life? How do I appreciate each little step...or bottle up the adorableness of my kids right now? I find it hard not to look back sometimes and focus on what was...Sawyer not really being a new born any more or Griffin being so ready to just be a BIG kid, not my little toddler. And looking forward seems even more interesting...I want at least one more baby (God willing of coarse) but then what? I haven't thought a lot about life after I am done having babies. I have always pictured myself with babies and pregnant, but I know that just like every stage that part of my life will come to a close too (how can it already be so close to over??)...I am heading into uncharted waters and I haven't done a lot of preparation, and there's nothing I can do to stop it...I know I just need to embrace it. I guess it feels a little foreign to me though.

I was talking with a good friend today (i love you Jenni) and she just had her 3rd, and most likely final baby. We were discussing how sentimental it is with these babes and she was reminding me about how boring life would be if God hadn't designed things in seasons and it's true. Seasons of life were meant to come and go and it's part of our journey here on earth. I am most definitely not a teenager anymore and not a college student. I have already worked my first career as a teacher, been married for almost 6 years, embarked on my most important job and ministry, motherhood, twice and am now looking down the road of my last year in the 20s. 30 sounds so old, yet so right where I am at. Each moment and season has brought me to this currant one, where I sit in bed holding a sleeping sweetheart in my lap and I am thrilled to be experiencing this part of God's plan for my life. I can't believe that I have the husband and two sweet peanuts that I do. I know I need to most importantly just be thankful for THIS day and not worry about what was...or is to come. And renew my trust everyday as I walk into new seasons, but I do wish he could slow it down just a little...can you BIG guy??:)

Here's to the last year my age starts with a 2!

sidewalk chalk

AHHHHHH...to me there is NOTHING better than this. A brand new box of colors (this happens to be side walk chalk)...just think of the possibilities.... I absolutely LOVE a new box, always have, since I was a kid. And since I was a kid I had had weird OCD rules for my new box of colors...which actually has always seemed funny to me since I am totally not like that at all in my real life (wish I was a little more)! When I get a new box I like to keep them in straight lines, in color order:

red

orange

yellow

green

blue

purple

brown

grey

black

and I like only one out at a time...

and I like things to be sort of organized in MY way so I can create something.

But this box wasn't mine. It's Griff's (thanks Aunt Connie)! And when you have a 3 year old who isn't really into art projects you can't be super picky. It was a beautiful day and most importantly this was the first real "art" project G has participated in for more than 5 minutes. We had such a great time, just he and I while Bean was asleep decorating the driveway. He loved it.

When I drew the M on this pic below he asked me if I was going to write Mc Donalds...hey, at least he is associating letters???? When I said, no I am writing mommy and then drew the heart, he said "you are writing Mommy loves Griffy and Beanie!" He was right.

and on Ryan's side of the drive we made some message's to encourage him whether he's pulling in...

or pulling out:(...

I threw out my rules and we left Griffy's new favorite medium like this...

beautifully messy and perfect, just like him...cause who needs color order when you're having fun with your 3 year old! He always helps me remember how fun life is.

I loved doing side walk chalk with you today dude!

Dearest peaceful, restful, elusive, dreamy, 8 hours of uninterrupted, head on pillow SLEEP...

We haven't had a date in quite some time (over 8 months, but who's counting....). I have missed you. I love you. You know that I don't function at a high level without you and have to drink insane amounts of coffee to make up for the loss of you. My family and friends may have noticed a slightly crabbier, snappier, dark eye circle-ier version of me. I know why we've been apart, and I can honestly tell you that it has been worth it, but when you came by on Saturday night THRILLED doesn't cover the feeling. And even though last night my sweet interruption was up not once or twice but three times, my fresh memory of you is encouraging to me that you will one day be back in my life. Plus is he not the sweetest when he is on a date with you too....

He, however, isn't the only only thing that gets in the way of our time together. We have another little distraction. This one is older and more crafty. On Friday night he used all of the 3 year old cuteness he could muster to ask if he could fall asleep in our bed and we didn't have the heart to move him when we came up so in the middle of the night when I was up to feed you know who I captured this....

can you say ADORABLE?

and this precious pose...

But let's be honest, no one sleeps much with these acrobactics in bed with you.

I realize though, that I have a lot of years to snooze and very few to see these tender little faces in the middle of the night reaching out for snuggles. So when you are a back it'll be a grand reunion, and until then, I am making the most out of the wee hours bonding time with the little men I love. See you!

With love and longing:)

me

8 have been GREAT!

Happy 8 months to our

semi serious

yet curious & mischievous

bright eyed & bushy tailed

constantly wondering what in the world is going on

pudgy little peanut!

Beanie man:

You decided to commemorate this milestone with your very own set of 8 pearly whites...that's right, you now have one tooth for each month...and that's a mouthful (trust me!)! Crawling??? That's old news! You are onto pulling up and figuring out how to move yourself around upright. You need to be moving and exploring and grabbing and chewing constantly. It is just about impossible to dress you (I read a little thing equating dressing babies to trying to get an octopus into a sack...and that is what I picture every time I try to stuff one of your arms or legs into a sleeper before you slip away)! You squeal with delight and also when you get angry and it cracks us up both ways. You can pull out quite the 'tude! Your laugh is still this hearty chuckle that you reserve until just the right thing strikes you and when I hear it, I just couldn't love you more! You still aren't a great sleeper but we are working on it...letting you do a little crying and seeing if you can self sooth in some way, although it is excruciating for me to let you cry. Good thing daddy is strong! You have been eating a few bites of table food, and doing great with that, so I am sure before we know it baby food will be old hat! You follow me around the house, crawling in a dead sprint to get to me and I love feeling your chubby little arms wrap around my leg as I try to cook dinner or change the laundry. It's nice to have a buddy as I do house work, although I will admit I don't get much done with you around! As every month passes I am trying not to linger on the way you are less and less my baby and love all that a new month of getting to know you brings! There is LOTS with each new one!

I had to take these pics in your little hat, I ordered this for you right about this time last year while you were in my belly! You wore it for your first pictures and now it is almost too small and time for Spring! It hardly seems possible that we already have to pack it up! But you are growing and seeing your infectious toothy grin get bigger and bigger is so fun!

You are loved little man! Happy 8 months & many many many more!

Brothers Gotta Hug

Whew! It's been a long Friday!

And some Fridays and Mondays and pretty much the other 5 days of the week have potential to be like that. The boys "woke up feeling bitey" to use a phrase from one of our favorite books "Doodle Bites" (thanks Auntie Andrea!!) and so between accidents and spills and well, you know the usuals, Ry and I are basking in the sitting, resting & quiet...our very own "adult swim" if you will, of Friday night! But I started looking through my phone and caught these little shots from the day and couldn't resist posting them. After a really hectic day it is such a good reminder to see these sweet flashes of the boys and recharge for more shenanigans tomorrow! Enjoy!

Our wake up snuggle time in M & D's bed:)

The opening Jeep ride of the season! When we got this for Griff a few summers ago, I totally imagined a sibling sitting in the other seat...ahhhh, vision realized today and it was glorious! Brother's hugging and cruising...

not too much better...

Ok, Mommy & Daddy time may be right up there too!!

Oh the Places We'll Go.....

I do not like Green Eggs and Ham, I do not like them GRIFF I am!

Lucky for us and every elementary school teacher in the US, it was Doctor Seuss's Birthday this week and G man's school did some celebrating! When I was teaching I loved doing this and LOVED even more seeing Griff get to participate in the Doctor Seuss silliness! I am totally a sucker for reading my kids books that I read as a kid and Doctor Seuss books fit that ticket of coarse! Although Griff usually is not super interested in my detailed history of who, what, where, why & when I still think it's fun to share!

On Monday they had silly sock day and of coarse Sunday night at 5pm we were out at Target trying to find some socks that qualified as silly to a 3 year old. Apparently argyle doesn't fall under that category and neither do plain tube socks....soooooo we went to the lady's section where I offered a few striped and polka dotted selections....to which Ryan put the ole kibosh on. So I wasn't left with much choice. We scoured Target for something cheep we could glue or sew onto some white tube socks, and here is what we came up with my friends....

a 2 dollar pack of plastic frogs later we have....FROG silly socks.

Who wouldn't want gummy frogs sewn to their socks??!! He had a blast sporting these slimy friends to school with him! When he woke up he yelled, "YES! It's silly sock day!" So precious!

On Wednesday it was Jammie day!

So we put on some super hero jams and headed back to school! They had popcorn and watched "The Cat in the Hat" which was right up this little mans alley and he made a classic construction paper striped cat hat, which was broken the first stop we made after preschool! So we retired it to our art gallery in the garage.

In other silly news, Griffin has requested that I chauffeur him around like this....

He says, "mom, you drive around with my fire hat! That will be the best, don't you think??"

Now, how can I say no to that?

So we've been quite colorful this week! Haha! And even though Griffy wasn't so sure about the eating of green eggs, I may just have to get my food coloring out at breakfast time before the week is over!

Comments

Hi Friends!!

So, I have had a few family members tell me that they want to comment but the blog won't let them....and being the computer wiz that I am (hahaha) I think that I fixed it! So please COMMENT away! We LOVE to hear from you!!! If you try to comment and it won't let you, please let me know and I will look into it again!

Thanks for checking in with us!

Abbi & boys:)

Things that change.....

What is my small children.....

or anybody's children for that matter!:)

Kids aren't ever going to let you sit down and cozy up by the fire in one stage too long. When Griff got out of the tub last night I was really just taking him all in as he was running around with just his whitey tighties on and thinking...how in the world is that his big body already???

This was just him....

Awwwwwww tiny Griffin, you went away so fast! He used to yell from his crib..."Hey Ab" in the morning for me to come get him, so funny!

Now he is this...

such a "BIG boy"...a self title!

What hasn't changed is that he is still FULL of one liners and little ticks and Griffin "ness" that crack me up and draw me to him a little more with every day that passes. Since he was a babe we have always said "I LOVE YOU" pointing to our eye, than heart and than pointing to him on you! Today, unprompted he came running over to me and said, "Mommy, I LOVE YOU", pointing to heart first, than nose and eye and then to me. It was adorably not the right sequence at all and he added in the nose, but it was better than if he had nailed it. Priceless and sweet and so him.

I LOVE YOU too G man!