Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for friends and family who are willing to share their opinions on furniture. As the basement inches closer to completion I still can't commit to a furniture configuration that I love.

I'm thankful Keith and Cindy hung out with the kids last Saturday so Kent and I could wander around Homemakers.

I'm thankful the snow yesterday wasn't as much as predicted. Aren't we all soo ready for spring?

I'm thankful that for almost no plans this weekend. Kael has his last basketball game and other than that we are free! 

I'm thankful that Kase is content to hang at home with me in the mornings. It's been too cold to run errands and we haven't even made it to library storytime for weeks. Kase and I have been playing Kinetic Sand, doing puzzles, reading...you name it, we've done it. 

I'm thankful Kylee is being such a trooper about the bloody noses she has been getting. This dry air is doing her no favors but she doesn't complain at all. 

I'm thankful for a cute Pinterest project I had time to do the other day. Once it's all the way finished I will share a picture- it's a photo table I did for the basement. So far I think it's coming along great!

Have a great day!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful Kent's parents are back in town- we enjoyed dinner with them at our favorite, El Azteca, on Monday night.  We had missed them while they were gone last week!

I'm thankful for time with my grandma.  We went out for dinner with her on Tuesday and seeing my kids spending time with her, and watching her give them little ceramic animals she had collected over the years was priceless. 

I'm thankful for each little baby step in the basement.  Kent and I are totally geeking out over it. "Ooooh our sink and faucet arrived today!" No matter that we can't install them until the cabinets arrive in two weeks, but still we have them. Hoping to spend some time dream shopping for furniture this weekend or next.

I'm thankful for good teachers. I had a phone call from Kylee's teacher the other day and it just made me realize how much the teachers are dealing with on a daily basis! (It was just a quick call about something inappropriate that had been said by another kid at school).

I'm thankful that Kase seems to be starting to give up his nap on his own.  I'm not totally sure he needs one.  It's taking me longer each day to get him to sleep and then, consequently, longer to get to sleep at night.  I'm anxious to see how the time change in a few weeks affects his sleep and I'm thinking after that he will become only an occasional napper.  This means total freedom for our summer schedule and I.can't.wait.

Have a good one, guys!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I love long weekends.

Friday was the kids' Valentines parties. Also the kids woke up to a few small Valentine gifts from us, and Valentines is the only day of the year that I buy strawberry milk, because it's pink, of course. This used to be special until I realized the kids can get strawberry milk every single time they eat hot lunch at school, but I still buy it on V-Day anyways. Kylee gifted us with Valentines she had been working on since Christmas time. :)  Kent had the day off which is always a great way to start a weekend.  After school the kids played outside for awhile- soaking up the last bit of warm-ish weather that we're going to have for awhile.  Then we made homemade pizza and had a nice little family night here.

Saturday, my sister and niece came over to bake some Valentine cupcakes.  The girls had fun together and per usual, it made me wish we could get together more often! Kael had a basketball game, then we spent the afternoon running errands before some friends came over and we had a family Valentine double date night, complete with heart pizza.  

Sunday after church we had lunch at Chili's with my other sister and her fam.  So fun.  Later Kent went to ISU to watch some wrestling with his bro, then we had another lazy movie night here.

Today is a no school day.  The kids have invited friends to come over this afternoon, which is something we rarely do because they are always playing with neighbor friends, but today they wanted to each invite a friend from school.  It's only 9:00 and they are already counting down the minutes until their friend are here, which isn't until 1:00. :) 

Hope you are all enjoying your long weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful Kase did so well at church yesterday. I was asked to help out with childcare for a few hours on Wednesday mornings so Kase came along. He was in a different room than me and there wasn't a single tear when I dropped him off. He even stayed dry the whole time! He will go to preschool in the fall at our church. Having it go so well yesterday is hopefully an indication of how next year will go for him!

I'm thankful for cheeseburgers at 9 AM. Yes, that really happened.

Kylee was thankful for Cuddle Up and Read Day. She loves her footie pajamas!

I'm thankful we are closer to the end of winter than we are to the beginning of winter. I have spring fever.

I'm thankful Kael has been hanging our with some new friends. Never hurts to widen your circle.

I wish I could say I'm thankful that Kase's short naps mean he's sleeping better at night.  Instead, he's falling asleep later, waking up earlier AND taking shorter naps. What gives?

Have a good weekend, guys!

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a fun weekend playing in the snow! Friday after school, the kids and I spent nearly two hours outside.  It was perfect snowman and fort-building weather.  

Saturday morning was no different. Kent made this GIANT snowball that the kids loved. 

Kylee had her last basketball game on Saturday. She's bummed the season is over- she really enjoyed playing this year.  In fact, a teammate's mom found me after the game and asked me if we'd consider putting Kylee and her daughter together on a team next year, maybe something besides Parks and Rec.  I know Kylee would love that! 

Kent shot a look in my direction that said, "Hope you're enjoying watching the game, while I'm standing here coaching and watching the boys..."

This is my favorite picture of the season.

Go Bluejays!

Kael also had a game, and I'm feeling bad that in this post I have so many pictures of Kase and Kylee and almost no pictures of Kael.  However, this weekend he discovered how to work his wireless headphones with his iPad and spent a lot of time listening to music. He was a happy camper. 

Saturday night we went bowling at Bass Pro with some neighbor friends.  We were a party of 17 so I truly wasn't sure how that would shake out but I should have known it would work out perfectly! What a great night with a great group of people.  After bowling we wandered around and let the kids see the fish, then climbed on a few boats, then ended up at Maid-Rite for dinner with the whole crew. I heart nights like these. 

Sunday I taught Kylee's church group and all the parents joined us this week while we made sandwiches for HOPE ministries.  It was a great morning of service.  Spent the afternoon painting, then headed over to my parents' house to celebrate my dad's birthday.  Even though a few weren't feeling the greatest, we were all there! Such a fun night. 

Kase spent some of the time there playing Hide and Seek.  Well, mostly he just hid.  In the second photo he was hiding because he stole Kylee's fruit snacks then hid behind the chair to eat them before she even realized they were gone! 

This morning 2/3 of the kids were up by 5:00.  I am so ready for the time change.  Anyhow, it's Kylee's half birthday (I hear this will even be announced over the loudspeaker) and it's Cuddle Up and Read Day for the first graders which means Kylee got to take books, a blanket, a pillow, a stuffed animal, a snack and drink to school and got to wear her pajamas.  She.was.SO.happy. 

I meant for this to be longer but Kase woke up from his nap at 12:10 after sleeping for a way too short 45 minutes.  It's going to be a busy afternoon around here so I guess I'm done writing.

Have a good week!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful when Kase requests from the backseat to hear "Sam Smif."  Kid knows more pop music than anyone else his age, thanks to Kael.

I'm thankful for help painting the basement.  Wish I could snap my fingers and it would be done, though!

I'm thankful that Kase's 4:45 wake up call has turned into a 6:00 wake up call.

I'm thankful that we are (for the most part) healthy.  Seems like everyone around us is pretty miserable! Half of my babysitting kids have been sick, and pretty much all of my family has been sick. Hoping for a speedy recovery for everyone!

I'm thankful that when Kase is feeling a little under the weather, he's a magnet to me.  I'll take those cuddles all.day.long.

I'm thankful for the beautiful snowfalls we've had lately.

I'm thankful that I'm a stay at home mom because often Kase hates to wear clothes.  Mostly pants. Often he's running around the house half dressed.

I'm thankful for Kase's continued confidence in potty training.  I took him to the Indoor Playground the other day, and put a diaper on him, lest he have an accident at the top of one of those inflatables and I'd have to go rescue him.  He said, "Really, Mom? I have to wear a diaper? I don't wanna wear a diaper!"

I'm thankful for Kylee's friend who joined us for dinner the other night.  There are always lots of kids in and out of this house and Kylee gets along with all of them.  But it's really nice when she has a friend one-on-one.  They had a great afternoon sledding then playing in a fort inside.

I'm thankful that a simple blanket fort can entertain Kase all day long! We read books with flashlights inside and raced monster trucks on the top of it.

I'm thankful for Kael's confidence.  A few days ago, Kael walked over to a house nearby to join some boys playing basketball.  One kid told him he couldn't play.  Kael walked home, told me about it and I asked if he still wanted to play and we talked about how one mean kid shouldn't make Kael miss out on the fun.  Kael turned around, walked right back to that group of boys and joined the game.

I'm thankful for all the work Kent is putting into the basement.  Phone calls about cabinets, trim and lots of other stuff is pretty time consuming, in addition to the actual job he has.  

Have a great weekend guys!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday night Kylee and Kent to the Daddy/Daughter Dance.  She was so very excited about her corsage and had a fun time.  The dance itself was a little crowded/loud for her liking.

I took my boys along with several friends and their boys, out to the Indoor Playground while the dads and daughters danced the night away. 

Yes it's this dark when we wake up with Kase, and yes I was as excited about the snow as he was!

We also spent the weekend painting. Kylee is always willing to help. Kent did most of the painting while I hung out with the kids.  Justin also came to help and I helped a teeny bit.  Slowly, but surely we're getting there!

I'd like to thank Justin and his sunny personality for manning the kids' table. ;) Words of affirmation there. 

Again, Kylee is always up for helping out! We got lots and lots of snow- it snowed for more than 24 hours straight! So we spent Sunday shoveling, sledding, drinking hot cocoa and eating snow ice cream. 

Good Samaritan Kent and some other neighbor guys helped clear several driveways.

Of course, Kael was particularly excited for the Super Bowl.  He loves to watch football so very much.  Tam, Rob and Huston came over to watch with us.  It was a great night.  Kael was rooting for the Patriots so he was happy with how the game turned out!

More painting ahead this week.  What are you up to this week?