February Date Night and Valentines Day

I don't know about everyone esles family but ours seemed to have 

three whole days of Valentines day!!

First off Thursday!!

We were surprised by Shane coming home early and taking us to get 

some lovely fattening fried chicken and french fires for dinner!!

 (I didn't care I didn't have to cook!!)

After supper which we ended up eating pick nick style 

on the floor in the front room, we played some 

fantastic valentine themed family games.

Sorry no pics but here's a link to a list

 of fantastic valentines themed group games!!

Pretzels and strawberries with chocolate pudding

 were on the menu for desert!

Friday!!

So loving my husband for suggesting we send the girls to grandma's on Friday 

so that I could have some time to myself.  

(happy valentines day to meeee!!)  

Mr. T was still home but he napped and man did I get my mommy on 

and cleaned like never before!! 

I still had some time to sit and relax and read a mommy blog or two 

and think about the upcoming festivities for just a bit!

After all I had some serious date night plans for February

 and thank goodness I was assisted by our Church.  

February was slotted to be a favorite things date!!

 I wrote 5 lovely notes that were fantastically gushy and 

told him 5 good reasons he was the 

best-est and awesom-est husband and dad.  

Well ahead of time I had them complete and

 filed . . . away . . . somewhere . . . I'm sure it was a smart place . . . 

but do you think I could find it that night?

 NOT ON YOUR LIFE.  

 So instead he was happy with a gift of some of his favorite things 

(a case of coke and a stash of snickers bars), 

and some favorite things for supper, 

we had bacon wrapped sugar crusted cocktail sausage 

(oh my heart - seriously my heart - its like a 

fantastic way to die due to clogged arteries).  

As well as a lovely assortment of fruit and veggies 

 to offset his favorite way to die!!!

I had found a game I thought would be a great way to 

blend two more things that he liked. 

 Lego and boardgames.  

 

Turns out he was way more excited to go dancing 

Aka little to no interest in building or playing this game

 (there I go over planning again)

Our Church throws a fantastic Presidents Ball every 

valentines weekend and WE LOVE IT!

Mostly because the local big band comes and plays!!

We jive and two step and waltz and polka and try not to 

look around at all the fantastic older couples who have

 so much more style and grace than we do!!

We took Mr. T with us and he was a hit!! 

There was no shortage of adults more than willing

 to take him while we danced a few dances!!

(loving that he dipped me backwards right as the picture snapped!)

Saturday

MMM sleeping in . . . if 8:30 counts as sleeping in!!

Again Happy Valentines day to me!!

Then Shane went off to the church to get some things ready

 for young men's camp and I tidied up around the house.

Really if you know me at all you know I was simply 

procrastinating going to get the girls!!  

I love them but I was reveling in my clean house!!

So eventually I bundled Mr. T up in his car seat and headed to Grandmas!

They had a wonderful time and we enjoyed a short visit and they made

 Grandma super happy by crying that they didn't want to go home!!

Then this carried in to Sunday and Monday due to 

family day but really I'll post about that next!!

Beating the January Blah's AKA BATHTIME!!

Disclaimer:  this post contains pictures of my children NAKED

 (so sue me they're in the tub?!?!)

That's right I had a genious idea to have a special bath for

 new years to entice them to get in the tub and 

things just escalated from there.  

I'll let the pics tell the stories. 

 They have their favorites of course

 (ms E is constantly asking for another pink bath).  

I was in no mood to send them outside when it was -18 degrees out! 

So they got to burn off some energy making

 my bathroom a complete mess!! 

 They were happy and not injuring each other 

and getting clean - win win for mom!!

TUB #1

Balls!

TUB #2
 Painting

Tub #3
Balls and Bubbles

TUB #4
Pink!!
  
Turns out I didn't have any pics of this fantastic pink bath!
co But here is the link to a fantastic blog with all kinds of bath time fun!!
Bath Activities for Kids

February Date Night and Valentines Day coming next!!

Valentines Day 12, 13, 14

Here they are your last three valentines!!

Hope you had as much fun as I did!

Day 12 and 13

 

They say "Valentine you make my heart Bubble over."

and "I need to ask you a CORNY question, will you be my valentine?"

Day 14

Tottaly cheese-tastic but lots of fun to do with the girls!

 

Coming up I promise is the post about beating our January blahs!

January Date Night

January Anatomy Date

Ok so this date was super simple and 

we needed simple in January!!

We played a fantastic shortened version of twister.

I found Here this site is actually where 

I get a lot of inspiration for our date nights!!

Super Simple and Fun, after that we watched an old 

black and white Bob Hope movie and ate 

Pretzels and Pudding on the floor 

(not off the floor I promise).

Come to think of it we both fell asleep on the couch 

and  ended up turning off the movie and went to bed early.

We did have a chance to really connect and the more 

we have these date nights the more I realize 

that the best ones are the ones when we are UNPLUGGED.

Just a chance to sit together and not be interrupted by technology!

Stay tuned for more pictures of the girls in the tub 

as I share how we beat the January Blahs!!

Valentines #7, 8, 9, 10, and 11!!

K Gonna keep this short cuz lets face it it's late 

and I just wanted to quickly update valentines 

before the computer potentially actually dies :( .  

(they always seem to blow up in my face 

or fall apart while I'm using them!!)

#7 

Late Night Snack!!

#8, #9

Totally confess that I missed a day so the next day he got two!!

 (lucky dude!)

#10

Bubbles -  (just incase you were confused!!) 

Strategically given to him on Sunday to stimulate 

some daddy time with him and the girls so 

I could sit down for about 10 minutes!!

#11

This  must be a major reflection on the weekend I was having

(Today was a MAJOR recovery day!!)

The Idea is the sucker is supposed to look like a super hero.

Um - is it just me or does he look like a 

villain/bank robber to anyone else??

oh and Yep that's a chocolate smear!! 

Charming I know . . . good thing he 

doesn't take things too seriously!

Anyway stay tuned for the last few days of valentines!!

I promise a post about bunk beds 

and January Date Night is on the way!!

Valentine #'s 5 &6

Yep Definitley not going to get on the computer to 

blog about this every single day. 

Forgive me I'm forcing back the urge 

to blog a mommy rant about how 

REDICULOUS 

life is with three kids, 

a business in the works, 

a husband finishing a masters degree, 

being a scout mom, 

my own freelance sewing work, 

managing family finances, 

and trying to cram this awesome family of mine 

into this tiny 4plex we are renting and have no idea 

how we will ever move away from.  

(Trust me Ecstatic about the thought of 

a someday baby #4 in this tiny place!).

Oh and trying to keep this fantastic place 

clean and organized!

Which seems to be a cyclical headache!

(Feel free to insert here all comments like "most of this seems to be the 

natural consequences of your own choices, so isn't this all your own fault, 

didn't you choose to have these children (and space them like you did), 

time to start counting blessings like those little babies who are amazing!")

MOVING ON!

Here's valentines # 5 &6!!

TA DA!!!

K disclaimer here,

I was in no way intending on calling my husband 

an elephants rear with this valentine!!

I'll keep posting them as the week progresses.

and I promise to try not to be so grumpy next post!!

14 Days of Valentines! Days 1-4

Ha ha so we'll be jumping back and forth while I catch up 

on all the things I missed in January 

but I wanted to get started with these!! 

I did this last year and it was so much fun!!

Shane need's it so much more this year as he is preparing 

to defend a masters thesis.

I admit some of them you have probably seen and 

most of the one's I have done already he just laughs and shakes his head 

but Everyone needs a laugh sometimes right??

#1

Orange you glad you're my valentine?

#2

 

 #3

 

#4

Sip-a-de-do-dah, sip-a-de-ay have a 

wonderful Valentines Day!

Hope you enjoyed things to start off my 14 day tradition.

Yes this year things are going to be a lot less food/candy based!!

I was super inspired by fellow bloggers who do 

candy-less valentines for their kids classes!

Next post is going to be about what we 

were up to in January to keep away the 

winter blahhhhhhhs!!

Bunk Bed's

Well for Ms. A's birthday we got her Bunk Bed's!! 

Wahoo . . . I mean Oh Crap More Change!!

As if a new brother isn't enough to get used to lets get you 

a brand new bed stick it in a new room and let you get used 

to sharing space with Ms. E.  

Feel free to comment about how all this change is 

hard for a 4 year old and a 2 year old!! 

Trust me I read the studies and the books about change.

Truth is in my mind I wanted to do it all at once and 

maybe struggle a bit with bedtime than struggle for 

FOREVER changing bit by bit!!  

So as promised here's the photo's of the girls transition to their room!

As some of you were updated, yes Shane built these beds in our kitchen, 

I didn't blame him it was FREEZING OUTSIDE!

Here's the before pics of Ms. E's room.

The monster bed she was sleeping on was a queen sized bed, 

it was huge but she never fell off once.

Installing steps for upper bunk

Small break for bed jumping before they haul it away!!

(Seriously for $10 extra they took care of 

the old mattress for us GENIUS!!)

 

New bed installed by prompt and happy delivery men!!

After a quick vacuum we were feeling excited.

 

Ms. A putting her new big girl pillow 

on her new big girl bunk!!

Installing Double Bed under the Bunk.

 

Stop quick for playtime on the new bed.

 

 "I can touch the ceiling!!"

Testing out the stairs

 

Ms. E's new big girl Pillow!

 (I promise eventually it did get a pillowcase)

Now the rest of these are pictures much later 

after I finished off some of the decorating to 

really try and mesh their room and personality into one.  

I admit that I had fun thinking of some things 

to help them enjoy their room together!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Webster

 for the dresser to share!!

(and the fun vintage dresser scarf to cover up 

the evidence of how many of us kids

 used this dresser growing up!!)

They are both pretty happy and after a few shaky nights (only about 3) 

they had this shared space thing figured out!!

I'm pretty satisfied with how this turned out 

and happy that they feel like it's something all their own.  

Its been great for me to see how happy they are together 

and how much just in the last 2 months they have become 

such good friends, more than just sisters!!

After all this the room we'll be using for Mr. T soon enough 

was in shambles but once It's all done up nice and tight!  

Next post will be all about the January blues 

and some awesome Valentines Ideas!!

14 days of Valentines started . . . 

Well it already started so I'm a little behind!!

Resolutions and Follow Ups!!

Resolutions . . . 

Of course we're gonna talk about them in February.  

I can't exactly recall how I decided on some of these goals and 

wow over the course of January they have changed.  

They also a lovely chat with a fantastic relative about 

the reality of motherhood. 

 I think that this has been an important learning experience.  

I started with my original goals and over the month 

I allowed them to morph into goals that were a little different 

(mostly just more attainable/reasonable 

with the basic concept still there).  

I realized early in the month that as we moved into a 

comfortable routine they may change a bit!!  

After all I've never had three kids before!!

I'm not going to go into details about how my goals 

looked originally, here's my list as they stand.

(I am going to continue to let them morph just a bit!)

Spiritual

Read a Chapter of the Old Testament Every night.

Choosing more spiritual Entertainment.

Educational

Learn a new quilt pattern

Learn how to Make Bread/Rolls/Tortilla's 

and Laundry Detergent

Financial

Cut back on Grocery Bills, 

Stick closer to the budget,

Pay Off the VAN!!

(we are so close already!)

Physical

Exercise 6 days a week with the girls

Brush and Floss my teeth every day twice a day

Family

More Meaningful and Planned Family Home Evening.

Find Creative ways to curb the screaming!

(from everyone but especially me)

Now we went over our goals for a Family Home Evening 

one night and the girls also made goals for me to help them with.

(thank goodness I have all year to work on some of this!!)

They include some things like 

Ms. A learning all the songs for the Primary Presentation 

and Passing her Swimming class next session!  

Ms. E getting Potty Trained. (Yikes!!)

Mr. T gets to learn how to crawl and walk 

(ha ha not helping one bit on this one!!) 

Shane also has some goals in which I have a role, 

like getting 100% Home teaching 

(meaning I need to be around to watch the kiddo's at night) 

and only spending $25/month on lunches at the school. 

(meaning I help him get his hiney out of 

bed on time to make a lunch!)

This is such a daunting task when I look at it all together,

and I'm always grateful for a little divine intervention 

that diffuses some of the chaos around our home these days!!

Now for a little bit of fun,

Reviewing Last Years Goals! 

FOLLOW UP TIME!!

So I am almost completely finished our BOB 

you can read my last update here.

All we are missing for the BOB's is 

a few larger more expensive Items like 

Crank radio's and carbon straws.

Our Document folder is almost complete as well Except for a 

WILL!!

(still trying to convince Shane it's 

not super depressing to take on)

The other fantastic update is 

FAMILY HISTORY!

Of my Three Goals here I feel I have at least made 

some progress on each one!

My favorite was going through the box of originals from my Dad!

He has some super exciting documents/copies of documents.

When we started getting into Family history a bit more we went 

to see a family history consultant which was really fun 

and a bit eye opening as to where we should start 

on each line in our family.

They had also invited me to come scan/copy all of 

Dad's documents on her fantastic photocopier!

However we had a hiccup as soon after she was hospitalized 

and is still not doing very well.

In a surprising turn of events our printer died and we ended up 

investing in  a printer/scanner/copier combo which will 

allow us to do all that work!!

I also just took Mr. T out to the farm to meet my grandparents 

and took the time to ask grandma about her early life 

and some of the stories she remembers.  

We took a Dictaphone and I'm in the process 

of transcribing them for everyone. 

( I will probably give everyone copies for 

Easter Presents, that's the goal anyway).

I'm still amazed by how much I learn when I just ask even my parents.

That same visit I asked my dad what his grandpa did for a living. 

(I knew Grandma Grew up in Calgary but I had no idea 

what her dad did or how she and Grandpa met!)

Turns out He was a delivery driver for CP rail and we 

even have a photograph of him standing beside the delivery truck. 

This also launched my dad into telling a story about his mother 

and her siblings stealing watermelon from the rail yard, 

and bringing out a book of photo's of all kinds 

that I had no recollection we had.  

Look at all the resources I found just by opening my mouth!

We even have a picture of Grandpa during the war 

with his para trooping unit!  

Where was this when I was trying to explain to Ms. A 

what a soldier was around Remembrance day!!

These goals obviously are still standing until I finish the BOB's 

and hit brick walls with the family history.

Now that I have all the progress written down 

I am a bit proud of the progress I made this year on these goals!!

This has been quite a post!! wow ITS a NOVEL!!

So to make it up to you . . . I promise my next post will be 

filled with pictures!!

(after all it's about the girls new bunk beds, 

and the adventure they are having getting 

used to sharing a room)