The Cookes

Last Day of Preschool | 2013

2013-05-17T00:28:00.000-05:00

Another school year is in the books. Yesterday was the boys' last day of preschool. Ethan finished up his third and final year of preschool and Logan completed his first year. Of course I took a photo on our front porch just like I did the first day of school back in September last year. They have definitely grown (a lot)!

They both had end-of-the-year parties at school and an early release so after we said our good-byes and loaded up the car with all their goodies from their teachers, we stopped at Sonic on the way home for orange slush drinks. This is a first for both of them. Nothing ushers in summer like a Sonic drink.

I asked them whether they wanted orange or grape (keeping the choices down to two is always a good thing) and they both picked orange with no hesitation. I must have taught them nothing...it should always be grape!

Logan, who is not adventurous at all when it comes to food (that's an understatement), loved his slushie. He kept calling it "juice" and was so excited about it all.

Ethan, however, still does not like cold things, apparently (and yes, that includes ice cream). He liked the flavor but it was too cold for him. I ended up letting it thaw out during nap time and he had some more later in the afternoon when it wasn't as icy.

I am so excited about our summer. I used to be a summer girl...because school was out. So, obviously it was my favorite season. Then, after graduating from college, when the school year no longer mattered to me and I was in an office all day instead of at the swimming pool, I gave up on summer and switched to fall. Now, I have a feeling that summer is making a comeback in my book. We're on a school calendar again and there's just no denying that summers are magical times during childhood. And I love that!

Preschool Graduation and Program | 2013

2013-05-15T21:09:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday night, the boys' preschool had their end of the year program and graduation for the 4 year olds. This year they did a Dr. Seuss theme and Logan's class (2 year olds) were the red fish and blue fish. They did a couple of precious songs...in fact, their song about fish was the cutest in the whole program, in my opinion!

Logan (who can be shy) was really into the performance. He did (most of) the hand motions and singing.

Then there were other times that he looked bored...

But he did have fun and was so cute.

Even if he was a little tired...the yawn was not scripted but they were singing about taking a nap! (At this point, it was already 30 min past his normal bed time).

He really loved his "blue fish" shirt.

The last group to perform during the program was Ethan's class...the 4 year olds. They have a tradition of having the 4 year olds come in driving battery-powered cars and the kids think it is the coolest thing ever.

Ethan got to be the driver and he was very excited about it despite the face he's making here.

He spotted daddy and gave a wave before quickly gripping the wheel again so he didn't veer off course!

Ethan's class were Whos from Whoville. They could dress up like a regular Who or they could be a specific type of Who (like a policeman/woman, doctor, firefighter, etc.).

Ethan decided to be a fireman Who. We added the red bowtie just for some Who-whimsy. Ethan, as always, did the hand motions and sang along to all the words.

However, this was the first year that he looked nervous to be in front of that many people. In years past, he was not really aware of the audience, but this year he definitely was. He did great, but he was just not as expressive or exuberant in his performance.

He did smile a few times, though. I think he had fun.

Then after the program, the 4 year olds went to change into their graduation robes so they could get their preschool diplomas. Let me pause for a moment and recognize the relative ridiculousness that is celebrating preschool graduation. But, whatever...they're cute and it is a milestone in their lives. I can hardly believe Ethan is done with preschool...I still remember his very first day when he was two. And here he is walking very purposefully up to the stage...

...where he was handed his diploma by his two sweet and amazing teachers, Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Kim. Ethan really loved school this year and I know that is due in large part to these two ladies.

And just like that, he's done with preschool.

The Cat in the Hat was the MC of the program and graduation and Ethan was lucky enough to give him a high (actually, low) five. It was a highlight for him.

Then the 4 year old graduates did their last song.

Ethan was a proud little boy, that's for sure. He told us that next year, when he's in Kindergarten, he will go to school FIVE days a week just like daddy at work.

Mimi and Pop were there to see the boys' program and Ethan's graduation...in fact, they kept Logan busy while I was watching/photographing Ethan and Casey was video taping the whole thing.

Logan's Big Boy Room

2013-05-14T16:16:00.001-05:00

Logan's room has been transformed over the past few months from his nursery to a big boy room. I can't believe we no longer have a crib in the house. I have been collecting things here and there for almost a year now. I didn't want a theme, but I knew I wanted some vintage or antique items in here like in Ethan's room. In fact, there will be a few things that look similar to big brother's room. Here's what Logan's room looks like from his door...

When I moved in the bedding and drapes, I kind of wanted to paint the walls. But, I thought since they were neutral that I'd leave them for now and just paint next time...when Logan has more opinions about his room.

The striped bedding and the bed itself are both from Pottery Barn Kids (Ethan's bedding is navy striped). The "Logan" pillow is from Ballard Designs (Ethan has one in red). Navy quilt and sheets from Target. The green drapes are black-out panels from Target that actually matched the green of the bedding perfectly, which was awesome since they were only $15 a piece. The navy shade is from Bed Bath and Beyond and came with black-out lining too. We are big fans of making our boys' bedrooms dark.

Ethan has a grouping of three photos over his bed too. The thing is...I like it so much and the way it looks over the bed, that nothing else fit the bill for Logan's room. So I just did the same thing. And those are three of my very favorite photos I took of Logan.

Logan's bedside table was a Craigslist find (a steal, actually) that I spray painted in glossy navy. I didn't do anything to the hardware because I loved it. The lamp is from Home Goods and the trusty sound machine finds it's home here too.

This little barking puppy was a gift long ago to Ethan from Nonnie. So, it was in his nursery, then I used it in Logan's nursery (on a shelf), and now it's in his big boy room. I just think it is so cute.

To the right of the bed is a hanging rack that was in Logan's nursery (I had three sweet baby outfits hanging from it). I decided to just leave it and find some fun things to hang from it.

The first thing I found was the vintage Cricket bat. My mom and I ran across it while browsing antiques in downtown McKinney. I wasn't looking for it, but when I saw it, I knew I wanted it in Logan's room. It speaks to the British influences in my dad's family. Then, I hung a soccer (or football) jersey on the middle hook...that my dad and my brother brought back from London.

And rounding out the hanging trio is one of Casey's old baseball gloves.

I had originally thought that I'd sell the rocker with the crib and changing table, but Logan had other plans. He still likes to be rocked before nap time and bed time. It's a tough job cuddling with your son , but dutiful parents that we are...we do it. And we will savor every moment that he wants to be rocked until he decides he doesn't want that any more. At which point I will cry when we get rid of the rocker because I rocked both of my babies in that chair. That, and it may be the most comfortable chair we own (seriously, it's SO comfy).

My mom and I picked up these antique metal train cars in Asheville when we were antiquing. It sounds like we go antiquing all the time, but we really don't! We've just gotten pretty lucky the few times we've gone. We got these train cars for an absolute steal and I knew I wanted to use them in Logan's room because he loves choo choos. But I didn't know how I'd use them. Somehow, I came up with the idea to make them a wall display with shelves (from Home Decorator's Collection). I think it shows them off perfectly. Logan is thrilled about these in his room.

On the other side of the room is a book shelf (from Pottery Barn Kids) and a wall gallery.

I almost didn't fill up his shelves yet because I was afraid that he would play with all of the stuff instead of sleeping. There's nothing on that shelf that is precious or breakable, but I didn't want them to be distractions. But Logan really pretty much stays in bed when he's in his room at nap time or bed time. It helps that we don't store his regular toys in his room.

The wall gallery evolved over several months. I purchased the racket and the Norman Rockwell framed football print (bottom left) at the same time as the cricket bat in downtown McKinney. The number 2 was a find at an antique store in Frisco when I was browsing for photography props. The small bat is Casey's. Not sure where he got it, but he's had it for as long as I can remember. The other two frames are from Ikea.

One of the frames is a shadow box and it holds the little sail boat my parents bought for Logan in St. Thomas. He has played with it and broken it already (it was rather fragile), but Casey glued it back together and I decided to put it in the frame to keep it in his room but also keep it from getting broken again. Logan thinks it is so cool that there's a boat behind the glass.

And I searched through Casey's truck of stuff from his childhood and found this soccer patch from 1991. I didn't know if I would use it or not, but it worked perfectly in the Ikea frame I spray painted navy (same color as the bedside table).

The book shelf items were collected over several months also. I found the vintage books at Half Price Books and also on Etsy. The white trophy and green jack were both Target clearance items that I found at separate times. The "L" is from Hobby Lobby and I spray painted it green (like the "R" in my office...same color). The football and baseballs are new...from Target. As is the glass jar. I stole the blocks from the playroom. Logan has a red coin box just like Ethan does on his shelf. They are from my parents. The vintage locker basket was an antique store find.

And the little baseball was Casey's from one of his years in Little League. It is signed by his whole team. I love it! And it sits in one of his old baseball trophies.

My mom bought me the bowling pin because she thought it would be cool in here...and I love it. The teddy bear was a gift from her before Logan was born. She and Ethan made it for baby Logan at Build a Bear. I love that it is still part of his room.

And that's it...a big boy room for a big(er) boy. I had a lot of fun collecting things for this room. And even more fun is seeing how excited and proud Logan is of it all.

Mother's Day 2013

2013-05-12T22:14:00.001-05:00

Today was a sweet day of my boys (and daddy) making me feel special. Actually, it started yesterday because we do the bulk of our Mother's Day stuff on the Saturday before Mother's Day. Much more time and less stress than a Sunday.

I didn't pull out my "big" camera or even my iPhone today...but I got a few photos nonetheless. The point and shoot cameras really came through for me today. Thanks to my mom for this first one of me and my boys at lunch after church.

And then a couple more at home after naps (and in our lounge clothes). Ethan is king of the fake smile these days, but that's ok. Lately I've been getting glimpses of his thoughtfulness that make me so proud. He loves to make things for and celebrate others.

These two...though they make me crazy sometimes...are two of the greatest gifts in my life. I am so thankful for them and honored to be their mama.

And as for my own mom...she really is the best mom and Mimi there is. I know the boys would agree. She is my best friend and I still learn from her all the time. Although I wish she had passed down her thick hair to me, but I guess that was sort of out of her control.

I hope all of her mom-skills have rubbed off on me a little. The crazy thing about moms is that (like I said before), they continue to teach you even when you have children of your own. And I honestly think (actually, I know) that she takes care of me just as much now as she did when I was little.

And then somehow, I was blessed with a wonderful and truly amazing mother-in-law. She raised a son that I am so very thankful for. I am writing down notes on how she cares for us so that I can be just like her with my own sons and their families. She will probably kill me for posting this photo (and Casey will too), but isn't it just awesome!?

Donna is the best Nonnie to the boys there ever was. She makes them feel so special. And I'm pretty sure she would do just about anything for them. Really.

I love being a mom. And I'm so thankful I've had the opportunity. It has defined a large part of my life in profound and wonderful ways. This year, more than any year before, I am aware of those whose dreams of motherhood haven't come true or who grieve losses of moms or children on this day. One thing that I think is true about life...it is joy and sorrow mixed together, lived and felt at the same time.

Soccer Shots

2013-04-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

These photos aren't what they might look like...Logan is not playing soccer on a team yet. That uniform was a gift from my brother to Ethan several years ago and it's essentially a dress-up costume for them. But, since I am in the process of putting the finishing touches on Logan's big boy room, I decided to get a canvas of Logan for his wall. And I thought this costume would give the photo a fun touch.

So, Logan and I went out for about 15 minutes one evening and took a soccer ball with us. He was so excited to "take pictures." So, it went well, and I ended up with a very hard decision as to which one to choose for the actual canvas.

This is the one that I chose:

But I really love all the shots I got...here's a few more favorites:

"Tweet" Teachers

2013-04-27T14:08:00.000-05:00

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week at the boys' preschool. And we do appreciate our sweet teachers. And the fact that they really are sweet inspired this little bag topper. The boys made cards for each of their teachers and we included a Sonic gift card (because we did Target gift cards at Christmas). And there's also a sweet treat in another baggie behind the card...our favorite and super-speedy chocolate cookie recipe that the boys' teachers have grown to love.

Download this topper by clicking the image below if you'd like to use it for yourself:

Bluebonnets 2013

2013-04-22T14:52:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we stuck to tradition and I hauled the boys out to the bluebonnet fields for photos. Except this year the bluebonnets were not quite as thick as they have been in the previous couple of years (2012, 2011) at these fields. The flowers were still beautiful, though, despite being fewer in number.

This year, Logan was my cooperative one (believe it or not), so there are a few more photos of him. Sweet boy.

Ethan was pretty good...he just wanted to explore and catch lady bugs! They were both fascinated by the bees and lady bugs.

Here they are checking one out up-close. We caught a few, but they were pretty quick to fly away.

Mimi met us out at the fields and took the boys home with her after our photos.

I was not thinking about being in any photos, which is why my hair is pulled back and I'm wearing one of my "shooting shirts" (white). But, I have to practice what I preach about moms getting in photos with their kids...so here we are!

Dyeing and Hunting (Again)

2013-04-19T21:14:00.000-05:00

The day before Easter we went to Nonnie and Papaw's house to dye and hunt eggs with the cousins. We had an amazing lunch first. So amazing, apparently, that I didn't even pull out my camera, which would have distracted from my eating.

After lunch, we set the boys up to dye eggs in the garage. They even got "aprons" made from trash bags to keep their clothes from getting stained. We used Kool-Aid for our dye this year and it worked great. Very easy and cheap.

As per usual, Ethan was very methodical about his egg dyeing. He was pretty careful and deliberate about how he did each one. He was still totally fascinated by the wax crayon.

Logan dove right in...literally. He plopped his first egg into red dye and then stuck his whole hand in there to pull it out. So, he had a red hand for the rest of the day until I could get him home and Google how to get Kool-Aid stains out of skin (dish soap, just in case you're wondering...worked like a charm.)

But he got the hang of using the rabbit tongs from that point on.

Logan had so much fun dyeing eggs this year. He was messy and careless just like a 2.5 year old, but he had the best time.

Ethan showing off the egg on which I wrote a secret message for him that he read after he dyed it...I love you.

Logan's plate of eggs. You can see how many of them ended up cracked. He didn't quite get the concept that the shells were fragile. But he also didn't really care that his eggs were cracked, so it all worked out!

Ethan's plate of eggs, which ended up being completely full...he was a dyeing machine. Thank goodness Nonnie had boiled so many eggs for us!

After we dyed all the eggs there were to dye, the daddies/uncles and Papaw hid all the eggs for our eager hunters. Uncle Casey had to hold back the crowd on the patio so they could all start at once.

It was such a blast for the boys to all look for eggs together. And to the big boys' credit...they searched for all the high and hidden ones and left the more obvious ones for Ethan and Logan. It worked out perfectly.

Logan spied an egg that was out of reach so Uncle Jeff helped him out.

This was our attempt at a group photo. Of course the two littlest ones were not apt to cooperate, but it could be worse! Immediately after this photo was taken (or during, if you're Logan), the kids all opened their eggs and had some candy.

Hunting Eggs at Home

2013-04-19T17:11:00.001-05:00

This year, we separated our Easter celebration (on Sunday) with the whole egg-hunt thing. It worked great and we will be doing it this way from now on. For one thing, it allowed us to make the egg hunt more of a spring celebration and kept Easter day all about Jesus and the resurrection. Secondly, it made Easter Sunday far less rushed and packed with activity.

So this particular egg hunt at home happened a week before Easter. That morning, a huge rain storm passed through and the day stayed grey and chilly. But outdoor egg hunts are so much more fun than inside ones, so we toughed out the cold and damp for the 10 minutes it took the boys to find all the eggs.

First, daddy and Pop hid all the eggs (and there were many).

Then, the boys were let loose in the back yard. Not in their Easter finest. Just in play clothes...and jackets.

Ethan ran around and bounced from one corner of the yard to the next finding eggs. He did a great job, but in his rush, he went right past some very obvious ones!

Logan took his time and marveled at some of his finds along the way. He ended up with almost as many eggs as Ethan, but definitely did not rush about it.

Logan found one of the golden eggs...he looks impressed! In the two golden eggs, there was a (Cars character) car that we didn't already have...hard to believe there are any of those, so vast is their collection.

Ah, the window ledges...I remember my dad hiding eggs here when I was a kid.

Logan found one of the two large eggs. Growing up, we always had two large eggs like this that would be filled with special things. Maybe a large piece of chocolate or a small toy. So, I have carried on the tradition with my boys. This year, there was a Disney t-shirt in each one of them from Mimi and Pop.

At the end of the hunt, Ethan shows off his loot...

Then time to go inside and see what the eggs contained. We have successfully held the Easter presents in check. Other than the t-shirts and cars, my mom got each of the boys a Toy Story beach towel. And of course, there was some candy...

Zoo Day

2013-04-09T17:02:00.003-05:00

My mom and I took the boys to the Dallas Zoo toward the end of March. According to the forecast, it was supposed to be in the low 60's that day. But it turned out to be in the mid 50's instead. With the clouds and wind, it felt a few degrees lower than that. So, we were a little chilly, BUT there was no one there, which was awesome.

Logan brought his cat with him. In the photo below, he's looking at the pretty birds outside the restrooms by the entrance. I love those birds.

Playing "peek-a-boo" with the stroller shade.

Our first stop at the zoo is always the carousel. Ethan chose the Eagle to ride this time. I kept thinking about the Lord of the Rings eagles while watching him.

Logan enjoyed his ride on a regular horse. He enjoyed it in the end, but he did not want to get on at first. He was having a bit of an "off"day that day.

Ethan kept asking me to take his photo at various places, which I was happy to do.

Riding the elephants...since practically no one was there, we had them to ourselves for a while.

Having a snack and looking at the animals in the Giants of the Savannah exhibit. I love this newer part of the zoo. Not because it is new, but because it's designed really well and the animals are always visible. And it really does remind me of Africa.

Mimi bought each of the boys a stuffed animal at the gift shop...Logan got a macaw (above), and Ethan got a red eyed tree frog (below). You will notice in the rest of the photos that neither one of them was very far from their new friend that day...they are still keeping them close at home too.

The Land Rover is always a fun stop. Again, made even more fun this time by the fact that no one was there that we had to share it with.

Another great thing about this day at the zoo was that we saw a lot more animals than we have on warmer days. We did not get to feed the giraffes because they were (inexplicably) not hungry that morning (a big disappointment), but we still got to see them up close. And several other animals too.

This cheetah sat right in front of the window the whole time we were there (at least 10 minutes) and probably longer than that. I could not believe how still it was. It literally stared at us, but didn't move. It really gave us a good look at how big and beautiful it was.

Ethan loved "tracking" the animals and guessing what we'd see next based on what tracks we saw.

The boys checking out the crocodiles. This one came close and opened his mouth for us.

On our previous visits, the boys have not shown no interest in playing on the animal statues, but on this visit, they stopped at almost every single one.

No trip to the zoo would be complete without a ride on the monorail. Or "choo choo" as Logan calls it.

Right after the monorail ride, we stopped at the nearby tables to eat our picnic lunch. I love that the Dallas Zoo allows you to bring your own food.

The tiger was just another one of the many animals that we got a good, long look at that day.

Then, came the birds. This was the last thing we did at the zoo that day, but probably the most fun.

Logan was a good sport, but not too sure about the birds...but he was sure that he didn't want to hold one or have one land on him.

Ethan, on the other hand, was in heaven. Our animal-loving child had the best time holding the birds. He was thrilled. This is probably why this was my favorite part of our day...because he enjoyed it so much.

We didn't buy the food for the birds, but they were more than willing to come and sit on us anyway.

Despite the fact that it was colder than we would have liked, (I really enjoyed the car heater when we packed up to head home), this was a really fun trip to the zoo and I'm so glad we got to enjoy everything without crowds.

Through Their Lenses

2013-04-09T10:19:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are some of the photos the boys took at the Arboretum with their cameras (old, inexpensive point and shoots that we don't use anymore).

First up...Ethan's photos.

I find it interesting to see what Ethan finds interesting. Although it was close to everything because he snapped until his entire memory card was full.

A backlit caution cone...

I totally love how he inadvertently took a self-portrait here with his reflection. Maybe it wasn't inadvertent...who knows?

For this next photo, he asked us to stand together and smile. So we did. He still needs to master not moving until the shutter has opened and closed completely.

He also requested this group shot of us all. Such a sweet thought. (Also a little blurry, though!)

Someone was not interested in being the subject of any more photos...but I think it's cute that Ethan was trying to get one!

Stone roadrunners...

And lunch.

Now, here are Logan's photos. He didn't take as many because I accidentally gave him a 3/4 full memory card...oops. It's funny to see his even lower perspective. Especially when he was shooting from the stroller.

Almost all his photos included part of his hand/fingers. We'll have to work on that!

His own shoes (and finger) right before lunch.

Dallas Blooms | 2013

2013-04-08T14:51:00.001-05:00

In the middle of March, we made our annual visit to the Dallas Blooms event at the Arboretum to see all the beautiful spring flowers. This time, we brought some family with us...my grandparents and my parents. We could not have planned a better day to visit because the weather was absolutely gorgeous...right smack in the middle of a rather cool March.

This was one of those times that I was hoping to get some photos of the boys by the tulips and thought I went home with nothing. But, I was pleasantly surprised that I got a few sweet ones...even of them together. I adore the photo above. Yes, Ethan has a fake smile. And Logan has dirt all over his pants. But, I still love it. And this one too...

Ethan always takes a fair amount of goofy photos along with the regular ones....because he is a true goofball!

This next one cracks me up. One sweet, one pouty...both cute!

I had to work pretty hard to get him to crack a "maybe" smile...

Just a range of emotions for our sweet two-year old...

When we were looking at the tulips, huge swarms of gnats would gather. In the left photo below, Pop and Ethan are looking at them...they actually showed up in the photo...that's how thick they were. And then the right photo is after they had passed. I don't know if you can see it or not, but I have always thought that Ethan shares some features with my dad. Especially the chin.

A great photo with Mimi and Pop...minus Logan, who was just being very "two" at the moment and didn't want to take a photo.

So after I was done taking photos of the boys, I gave each of them a camera and let them to a photo scavenger hunt like we did last June. In fact, they did the same one we did then...it's been a while so it was fun all over again even with the same items to find.

This was Logan's first time to participate...and he did, but he didn't really follow the rules. He pretty much just snapped photos whenever and wherever he wanted. But that's cool too.

(I'll do a separate post to share some of the photos they took.)

Logan even wanted a tutorial on using Pop's camera...

The family that photographs together, stays together (or something like that, right?)

Here's Grandma and Grandpa...my grandparents. Ethan and Logan call them that too. They really enjoyed the Arboretum that day and we enjoyed having time with them too. Don't ask me why I don't have a photo of them with the boys. I wasn't thinking.

Logan still loves to ride in the stroller. He hopped in and out about a million times, but I'm still glad I brought it.

Ethan and I shot each other at the same time...

And then Logan wanted to do it too...

Logan's shot of me...

Toward the end of our loop around the Arboretum, we came to the "houses." Ethan spotted the slide right away.

Since it was big enough for two, they went down together. But every time they got tangled up on the way down.

As crazy as their tumbling to the bottom was, they both came up smiling each time.

I had brought a picnic lunch for the boys because it's usually best for us to eat there or in the car so we're ready to nap when we get home. So, we spread out the blanket on the very damp grass....and Ethan immediately laid down, saying he was tired.

And a special treat after lunch...a couple of our green cupcakes we'd just baked the day before! Yum.

Green Cupcakes

2013-04-05T14:40:00.000-05:00

In the past we have not really done anything special for St. Patrick's Day other than wear green. And this year was really no different. Except that I was craving something sweet and decided to make some green cupcakes with the boys. They kind of loved it.

When the cupcakes came out of the oven and I sat them out to cool for a bit, it was like a moth to a flame...Ethan immediately sensed they were done and came over to have a look.

"They stayed green, mama!" and "Logan, come look at our cupcakes!"

Equally enamored with our St. Patrick's themed treats...

We had one that day, of course. Then, in my next blog post you'll get to see where they took one along as a special picnic treat. This was my kind of holiday celebration. Low key and delicious!

Spring Storms

2013-04-04T19:28:00.002-05:00

This makes the third time (1 &2) I've taken this same shot at our front door of one or both of the boys watching a thunderstorm. But I just can't resist it. I love their silhouettes and the fact that they are so excited about rain. When it's really coming down, they still love to watch it. This time, they didn't stay there very long because it was pretty cold outside for the beginning of April. Maybe all this rain will make the bluebonnets really bloom in full force!

Shrine Circus

2013-04-03T21:36:00.002-05:00

Back at the beginning of March, the boys and I went to the Shrine Circus with some friends. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by the amazing clowns. They might have been my favorite part of the whole circus. They were so sweet and attentive to the boys and made them laugh so hard!

Logan loved when the clown made his head "squeak." Ethan and Logan had never been around real clowns before so they were totally amazed by their costumes and funny tricks.

Here's our whole crew...of all boys! Plus three clowns that suggested we take the photo! I love that we got the clown's walker in the photo too!

The boys really did warm up quickly to the clowns especially considering that they looked so strange and were paying so much attention to them...but still, there were moments when I could tell they were still trying to decide if they were ok with clowns or not! Logan's unsure face betrays those thoughts, I think...

And another fun clown offered to take a photo with us. Ethan was obviously (and inexplicably) not in the mood.

We made our way to our seats after spending a good bit of time with the clowns. We soon discovered that this performance was not going to be packed...and we ended up moving closer to the middle of the arena and down toward the floor just a little bit. But here's a photo of everyone in our original seats.

Ethan being silly...

Three boys and the best of friends. I am thankful for these little boys and their friendships.

As per usual, Logan displayed a variety of emotions. For no apparent reason, he took off to the very end of the row and sat down on the concrete steps, much to my horror (they were gross). And then gave me that look. It made me laugh, which I don't think was what he was going for...

All set in our new seats, and the show began...I was able to catch a rare moment when a spotlight was on us. The rest of the photos during the show are SO grainy because it was completely dark. Just go with it.

First up were the tigers. The boys were interested in them, but this was in the ring that was the furthest away from us so they couldn't really see very well. But Ethan pointed out that they had a white tiger and he was impressed by that.

There were some acrobatic performers...

Logan loves Ms. Lindsay...and she is so sweet to cuddle him as much as he wants.

Totally grainy, but I love the expressions...

The elephant act was fun and the boys thought it was so funny that he walked on a barrel.

They totally loved the dogs. It was a fast-paced act that they really enjoyed.

Logan being silly (putting his sticker in his mouth)...

Hands down the boys' favorite act...the motorcycles. First, they drove around in circles in the metal ball...up to 5 motorcycles in there at once. And then the jumping...the boys absolutely loved it.

The finale was the human cannon ball...and that was a big hit with the boys too! We all had such a great time that morning. Now, it wasn't quite a Ringling Brothers caliber show, but it was tons of fun for their first circus...made even better by getting to experience it with friends.

A Day in our Life: March 2013

2013-04-02T15:57:00.000-05:00

It's been just a little more than a year since my last "day in our life" post. I decided a while back that I'd like to try to do these once a year until the boys are older (and maybe even then.) I can't tell you how much I love looking back on my previous "day in our life" posts. The remembering of daily moments and then the actual documenting of them during that day helps me slow down and appreciate this time that I have with my boys while they are little.

Right at 7:02 am, Ethan comes into our room and tells us, "mommy, daddy, my green light came on." We're still using the "Ok to Wake" clock because it's still working for us. Ethan doesn't (usually) come out of his room until the clock says he can. By the time he sees his green light, goes to the bathroom, and picks up a few toys, it's two minutes past seven when he enters our room. (That wall color in our bedroom and the fabric on the chaise have already changed, by the way...thank goodness!)

After he wakes us up, Ethan will sometimes ask if he can get some grapes from the refrigerator and I say "yes." Then, I stay in bed another 15 minutes while he eats his grapes and plays with his toys. At some point around that time (7:15 - 7:30am), Logan wakes up. So, I head upstairs to change him and get him up. He's in a bed, but we keep his door locked (from the outside) during the night so he doesn't roam around. (But we've got a monitor in his room so I can see/hear him anytime.)

With smiles like these from both boys first thing in the morning, there's a pretty good chance it will be a good day!

7:30 am - By the time Logan and I head back downstairs, Ethan has pulled three of the four chairs from the breakfast table into the living room to make a fort. This is not normal for this time of the morning, but he got the idea into his head to do it, so he did. That's Ethan...one track mind and very determined.

But this keeps him occupied while I get breakfast ready. The boys are always more than ready for breakfast in the morning. I cannot make it fast enough for them.

7:40 am - Oatmeal is in the works. Logan bypasses the fort and comes straight to the kitchen to sit on the counter while I make breakfast. Every single morning he does this. Partly because I think he's really hungry, and partly because he just likes to be close and "watch" whatever I'm doing. He'll say, "I watch you, mama."

I realize that this photo exposes me as a mom who will sit her 2.5 year old son on a kitchen-height counter, right between the knife block and a kettle of boiling water. The chances of a catastrophe are pretty high here. Usually he does not sit there, but he wanted to watch the water bubbles...I stayed close.

While we're waiting for oatmeal and fruit, yogurt is a good first course for breakfast.

7:50 am - When the boys are all set and eating, I make my breakfast, which varies daily. On this day, I was having vanilla yogurt and Kashi GOLEAN Crisp! Cinnamon Crumble cereal. (This is not an official plug for the cereal, I just really love it.)

8:15 am - Breakfast is almost over and this particular day is a Wednesday, which means that it is laundry day. I spend a few minutes gathering laundry from all over the house and start a load. I usually do 4-5 loads and then I'm done for the week. Except for the occasional unplanned, but necessary, load.

8:30 am - Casey leaves for work. Sometimes earlier than this. The boys and I have a tradition of going to the garage to say goodbye when he leaves in the morning. We've always done it.

I feel like this next picture of Logan waving to Casey is one of the reasons I love documenting our whole day. Because otherwise, I would not have my camera at this moment and I would have missed capturing it. A moment that happens so often in our lives and is just so sweet. I'm thankful to have it in photo form now.

8:35 am - Breakfast is finally, offically over and the boys take their dirty dishes and such to the sink area. Logan has just mastered this "chore" in the past few months. Sometimes he does it with a smile on his face (like below). And sometimes he needs a little prodding to "remember" to do it.

8:45 am - After a quick clothing change and the addition of shoes, the boys are sent outside to play. It's a beautiful, sunny morning, but still a little chilly. They are both wearing their "pirate" pants...$5 sweat pants from Target that I cut to be jagged at the bottom for their pirate day at preschool. They are wearing those because they actually love them...and because it's laundry day and there are no alternatives!

Normally, after the boys go out to play, I take a few minutes and get the kitchen back to square one...all the dishes away and clutter cleared. But today, I go outside with them first to take some photos. They used to want me outside to play with them, and sometimes they still do, but at their ages now, they have such a great time playing together. It's awesome.

It seems that Logan felt that the pirate pants would not be complete without the pirate hook.

Neither one of the boys can swing on the swings by themselves yet. Sigh. Is anyone else frustrated with teaching their kids this skill? Maybe it's a complicated concept...back and forth with the legs, lean back and pull up with the arms. Well, I don't expect Logan to do it yet, but Ethan has taken forever to teach. He's still not there. So, when I'm not outside to push them, this is how they swing...

Except today Ethan is feeling very brotherly, so he pushes Logan, which totally thrills him. Both of them, actually.

It kills me that Logan (my baby) can climb this rock wall by himself now.

If you haven't noticed in the previous photos of the swing set/fort, the boys have taken to "decorating" it with sidewalk chalk. My first instinct (months ago when they began) was to tell them not to do that, but then I thought, "why not?" And I couldn't come up with a legitimate reason, so I let them do it.

9:20 am - After spending a little time with the boys outside, I go back inside to get a few things done. Tidy the kitchen, start another load of laundry, touch-up vacuum the kitchen and living room floors (with the stick vacuum). And paint some sample squares of paint on my bedroom walls. In the photo below there are 8 color samples. I would end up with 12 on the wall before I finally made my decision. Just for the record, that's the most (by far) I've ever had to try before picking the right one.

10:15 am - The boys come inside. Often, they will play outside even longer than this and I have to make them come inside to eat lunch. But today, they wanted to play with the (inside) fort, which apparently is not much of a fort with the sheet completely falling down. We've done better.

Just Logan being Logan...

10:30 am - After they're done with fort-play (which only lasted about 15 minutes), I strip them down and turn on a show. They have a snack of Kashi granola bars. We obviously don't normally have our kitchen chairs in the living room, but since they were already there for the fort, I pulled them over. Kids like doing new and different things like that and sure enough, they stayed put for the entire 25 minute show. I took a shower during that time.

11:00 am - After the show, snack, and my shower, the boys get their own bath. This time, it's in our master bath tub. The boys love occasionally taking baths down here because it's a bigger tub than theirs. And also that new and different thing again, I think.

11:20 am - The boys are out of the tub and I get Logan dressed (Ethan takes care of this himself.) Remember how I said that Logan likes to be around to watch whatever I'm doing? He likes to sit on our dressers in the closet when we're getting ready in there. And play with the lint roller too.

11:30 am - On a whim, I called Casey at work to see if we could have lunch with him. He said we could, so we changed from our house slippers into real shoes and got in the car.

11:45 am - We picked Casey up from his office and took off to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Petra.

12:00 pm - This face is common for our Logan. He's such an emotional kid. So happy one minute, and crying over who knows what the next. So, it was no surprise that he was crying about something here. Don't remember what it was.

A quick pic with daddy before our food arrived. We did have our chips and queso, however, which was partially responsible for the sunnier outlook for Logan. Ethan is no-nonsense (mostly) at meals. He likes to eat and like most other tasks in his life, he does it wholeheartedly.

12:40 pm - Finished with lunch, we load up the car again, drive daddy back to his office, and head home.

1:00 pm - Back home, the boys put away their shoes and head upstairs for nap and rest time. I put Logan down first. He still takes a nap (most days). He sleeps anywhere from 1.5 - 2 hours if he's at home in his bed. He still likes to be rocked too...and I am happy to oblige.

Ethan stopped napping several months ago, I think. I can't remember exactly. But he still has rest time for at least 1.5 hours every day. And he needs the down time. I let him play with his new leap pad (got it for Christmas) during this time as well as read books, color, or play with some toys quietly in his room. Ethan is really good at playing in his room by himself, so this switch to rest time instead of actually sleeping during nap time has been seamless.

1:15 pm - I sit down at my computer most days during nap time. Usually it's to edit photos or just take care of general things. Sometimes read blogs. It's my down time too. Occasionally I'll prep dinner or shuffle laundry (did a little bit of that this day to keep it going). There's always photos to edit, personal or professional, so any given day, that's probably what I'm doing.

2:45 pm - Ethan gets up from his rest time and brings his stuffed alphabet letters into my office to play. Sometimes he'll do that while I continue to work until Logan gets up. Usually we don't have to wait very long for that.

But, while we are waiting, I make my oldest take a photo with me.

3:15 pm - We hear Logan stirring on the monitor (squealing, actually), so Ethan and I head into his room to get him up. Then, both boys head off to the playroom at my suggestion. I have them both pick out a few books for me to read. We snapped this photo of both of them on my lap, and sometimes that's how it works. But often, they'll stick around for the books they picked and not their brother's books. And here's a confession...as much as I know we should do this reading ritual daily, it does not happen every single day.

3:30 pm - The boys play with their toys in the playroom. Today, it's cars. But any given day, they'll pull out different things. Although the cars are a regular player.

The kitchen too...Logan is getting me a drink of water.

And wouldn't you know, they both love to play with the Cinderella's castle that my mom bought several years ago for her future granddaugher(s), which she never got. But, if you think about it, castles are fun for boys too. While they're not worried about furnishing it, they do love to play with the characters (we have a bunch of Disney characters...even ones that didn't live in a castle).

5:15 pm - Just as we're done cleaning up the playroom and heading downstairs to think about dinner for the boys, daddy comes home! But don't be fooled, this is not his normal coming-home time. Usually it's around 6-6:30 pm (sometimes later, unfortunately). But tonight, he has a flag football game to play so he's home early to eat, change, and get to the game.

And normally, I would fix the boys some dinner from leftovers or something else while they watch a show. Casey and I eat later because he comes home so much later (usually). But tonight, I ordered the boys a pizza. Yep, I took the easy way out.

Ethan is completely happy with my dinner choice. They don't get pizza very often, so it really is a treat.

6:00 pm - Dinner is done, and because the boys didn't watch a show while I made dinner, I let them watch one after dinner. They also play with their toys in the living room while they watch.

6:30 pm - We head up to bed to read, pray, and do our bed time routines. We went up a little earlier than usual tonight so Casey could take some photos for us. But actually, our normal bedtime is 7 pm, and since Ethan has not been taking a nap, we've been making sure he's in bed completely by 7 instead of just going up there at that time. He's usually really ready for bed by then. And he's also a kid who loves routine...if we don't do every step of his bed time routine he is not a happy camper.

We usually read stories and pray together and then split up into the separate bedrooms for the boys. So, they gather on Ethan's bed first.

We've been working our way through the Jesus Storybook Bible one story at at time. (We love it, by the way.) Sometimes we'll let the boys pick another book too. Or they each take one and one parent reads it to them in their own bedroom. But after stories, they hug each other and say good night.

Then it's off to bed for them both. Logan likes to be rocked and sing songs. Ethan likes to do various special things with me and Casey. Songs, alphabet games, quizzes, etc.

7:00 pm - Tonight they are both tucked in by 7pm because we went upstairs so early. Casey had to leave for his game shortly after we went up, so I'm by myself. I turn on the TV in the living room and fold some laundry. It doesn't all get folded and put away today. It's rare that I finish it all in one day. When Casey gets home, he takes a shower and I get our dinner ready. I have no idea what we ate that night, but I know it wasn't pizza. Maybe leftovers? Or something that didn't take long to prepare.

8-8:30 pm - Cleaning up after dinner. Heading upstairs to edit for about an hour. Then, to bed to watch Gilmore Girls until I'm too tired to keep my eyes open. Great day.

Slump

2013-03-24T20:42:00.003-05:00

Soooo...here we are nearing the end of March and I haven't posted anything here since the beginning of March. Huh. It's not that things haven't been happening. I have a "stack" of photos to edit and share along with stories. But I'm lacking motivation in the evenings to work on them at all. Client photos end up getting done but not mine.

I think this all stems from a little burn-out I experienced at the end of last year. When the new year hit, I barely picked up my camera. I needed a break. So, I've been drinking green tea and watching a few episodes Gilmore Girls in the evenings the past few months instead of working on the computer. And it sort of became a habit (an awesome habit, if you ask me).

I am slowly getting back into getting things done, but I still feel the pull of not doing anything. I'm working on striking a balance between being productive and taking time to relax a little. Seems like a familiar struggle that I might have mentioned (or at least felt) before (or all the time).

Anyway, new posts are coming up as I find the will to do them. Meanwhile, I stand incredulous at the fact that we are about to enter the month of April. Seriously? Nuts.

Digging in Dirt

2013-03-04T12:58:00.002-06:00

The boys have found a bald patch of our lawn right behind their swing set rock wall. So, naturally, they started playing in the dirt back there. On this particular (nice) day, they were digging and scooping, pouring, and moving dirt for over an hour.

This just shows how much fun they'd have with a sand box, but that is not happening. I can't deal with sand on a semi-daily basis. I would literally go insane. We have thought about filling up the bottom level of their fort with pebbles though...still a possibility. But really, so far, the dirt is doing just fine...

They were resourceful and pulled out the pool toys, knowing that there were scoops and shovels in there.

I love this kid. His clothing combinations are sometimes wacky since he dresses himself, but I kind of like seeing what he throws on in the morning.

Logan can never keep whatever he's got in his hands off his face...food, paint, play-doh, dirt...

Pantry Facelift

2013-03-01T17:28:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of this year I launched into full-on organizing mode. I don't know that I do spring cleaning as much as January cleaning. I have an urge after Christmas to take stock of what shape our closets and storage spaces are in. One of the projects I've been itching to do for a while is our pantry. It was not in bad shape, really. But considering I am in there about 50 times a day, I just wanted a little more organization and functionality. Plus, I knew it was time to clean out some things too.

It is so hard to show a small space in photos, so there are about a million of them from every angle. However, one of the things this pantry has going for it is space. It's not tiny and it's one of the things that sold me on this house.

Again, not bad, but I'd get frustrated about a few things and knew it could be better. One of those things were the wire shelves. I really prefer not to have them, if possible. It was just the top row of shelving on either side of the pantry because they were add-ons to the original shelving, so I knew that replacing it with wood would be a fairly easy and inexpensive thing to do

This corner was just a huge waste of space.And more wire shelving.

I had three things I wanted done to the pantry: 1) paint the walls (because everything is coming out anyway and there were old nail and screw holes...why not?). 2) replace wire shelving with wood. 3) fix organizational issues on shelves with more containers, tools, etc.

The process started by turning my dining room and kitchen surfaces into dumping grounds for all pantry items. Seriously, when it was all spread out like that, I could not believe how much stuff fit in there.

We were without our pantry for about a week, so it was a bit comical when I'd try to cook...I had to clear counter space, find my ingredients (no small task), and then kick myself every time I walked into the empty pantry out of habit (which was a lot). It was an interesting week.

I'm skipping the "during" photos because there's already a million photos in this post. But, the walls were painted (a soft, bluish-grey), the wood shelves were added and painted, and everything was loaded back in. As I was deciding what would go back in and where, I took the opportunity to get rid of (throw away/donate) several things that had either expired or I just never used.

Putting the pantry back together took me a good 2 days (on and off, of course) and it was probably the most fun I've had this year so far. I had the best time planning the space and putting everything in it's place. Some things got new containers, some got moved around. But I had the advantage of 3.5 years using this space to know how I wanted things.

New wine storage was on my list and that was accomplished. The lazy Susans in the corners of the shelves really maximize the space and allow me to see things easily. ALL my spices got moved into here. I used to keep my "most used" spices in one of the kitchen cabinets, but I found it easier to have them all in one place so I'm not having to think about where a particular spice is. And I alphabetized them.

My cookbooks were trimmed down to the essentials and baking supplies got their own containers. Recycle bins and laundry bin were relocated to below the bottom shelf because the corner in which they use to reside got the biggest makeover, in my opinion.

This corner now has a kitchen card (from Ikea) and the new wooden storage shelf (for holiday stuff that can't go in the attic). I love having some of my most used appliances on the cart so I can grab them quickly and easily.

Oh, one of my favorite things I added are the fruit and veggie bins. I didn't have anywhere to put them before and I love having them so visible and accessible now. I think I should note that I take most things out of their packaging before putting them in the pantry (or fridge, for that matter). I hate packaging....it takes up so much room and then you have to unwrap things when you need them. I prefer to take a few more minutes after going to the grocery store and tackle it all at once.

(PS - I have to store my laundry baskets in my pantry because it got all the square footage and there's absolutely no room for them in my laundry room!)

Big Boy Bed

2013-02-28T21:15:00.001-06:00

At the beginning of this month, we moved Logan to a big boy bed and out of his crib. It's weird how your younger child always seems younger to you than your oldest did at the same age. Ethan moved from his crib to a big bed when he turned two, about 6 months earlier than Logan made the switch. But, at the time, Ethan had to give up his crib for his new baby brother. Neither one of our boys has ever climbed out of their crib. I think they both loved sleeping in it. But they both did great with the change to a big bed.

I don't care if you have 2 kids or 20, if you're a mom (or dad) you will more than likely be emotional about taking down the crib for the last time. I didn't take photos of Ethan's last night in his crib or his first night in his big boy bed, but I wish I had. So, first up is Logan's last night in his crib.

All smiles and showing off his flexibility...

With both of our boys, we put a pillow in the crib with them a while before transitioning them to a bed. I am not sure if it helped or not since we've done it with both and have nothing to compare it to, but the idea was to get them used to sleeping on a pillow. We also added covers (a blanket) for Logan since it gets cold in his room so he was used to sleeping with that as well.

Logan still loves to sleep on his tummy like this, although he also sleeps on his back sometimes. Of course his blanket is in there and you can just barely see puppy's face.

The very next night, Logan spent his first night in his new big boy bed. We got both of the boys full size beds thinking of the future and they've both done great with them. Casey and I love the fact that we can all lay on one of their beds at bedtime and read stories together. Logan got to sleep on his new Toy Story sheets that Nonnie and Papaw got him for Christmas (he was thrilled about them on his bed).

Still a thumb-sucker, especially at nap time and bed time...

Ethan was excited for Logan to have a big bed like his. He hopped into bed with him like Logan does in his bed. How sweet are they?

Then daddy jumped into the mix and stirred things up a little. This is very, very common at bed time in our house...tickling.

At some point Logan's head got bumped and he'd had enough of the shenanigans.

But returned to smiling after everyone vacated his bed.

All settled in and ready to sleep! The first night went amazingly well. He didn't get out of bed at all and fell right asleep. Subsequent nights have gone just as well. He has only tried his door once and then went back to bed after finding it locked. We keep it locked for safety (because I do not need my 2 year old roaming around...upstairs...at night - I do have a monitor so I can see/hear him), but it also has the handy effect of keeping him in his room too. And just like Ethan, there's no toys in there so he just sleeps. Such a sweet big boy.

Recipe Organization

2013-02-24T20:21:00.000-06:00

I've been looking for a good way to organize my recipes for a while. Yes, most of them are on Pinterest now, although there are still some favorites from other cookbooks and friends. But when I use a recipe online, I really like to have it in print when I'm making it. I know that I could pull it up on my iPad, but for some reason, I just don't like to have my iPad around in the kitchen when I'm cooking. And I'd also have to turn off the auto-lock feature that keeps shutting the thing off every 2 minutes. I may eat my words and get a stand in the future, but for now, I have a system that works...

So, about 6 months ago, I pulled out an old binder I'd been saving for such a project and made a very simple cover for it. My rule about this book (so it doesn't become cluttered) is that only our most favorite recipes are allowed inside. Only things I have personally made and only things that my family (and I) love. Very few recipes make the cut!

The inside looks like this:

On the left side of the binder, in the front pocket, I put recipes that I've printed off to try for the week (I plan out weekly menus). Sometimes I may not have anything in this part of the binder if I'm making all previous recipes that week. But I try to do something new at least once a week. And I always keep the recipe print-out to one page (you'll see exactly why later). Usually I try to include a photo, but it looks like one didn't make it on this particular print-out.

The actual binder rings hold recipes that are "keepers" and are stored in page protectors. That's why I keep it to one page. I put two recipes back to back so that there are two for each page protector. After I've made a recipe and decide that it is worthy of the binder, I put it where it belongs in the binder. There are 7 categories separated by dividers: Main Dishes, Crockpot Meals, Sides, Breakfast & Bread, Dessert, Appetizers and Dips, and Dessert.

The reason why I like this binder so much is that it stores other favorite recipes too. I used to have a basket that was designed to hold recipe cards like the ones below. I hated how long it took me to look through them and pull one out and I hated that my recipe cards were always getting dirty when I cooked. So, a quick search on Amazon brought up these page protectors that can hold two recipe cards up to a 5x7 size. Perfect. And they keep my cards clean.

I could just type up these recipes, but honestly, most of them were given to me at a recipe shower a friend held for me right before Casey and I got married (a really neat idea, by the way...I still use many of the recipes and they are favorites). Some of them (like the one below) are in the handwriting of very special people. That one for Chocolate Brownies is from Casey's Memaw Price. Apparently she never really made these brownies when he was a child, but they are his absolute favorite now. And since she is no longer here on earth with us, I treasure this recipe in her handwriting. I want to keep it just like this instead of typing it up.

I've been using this binder successfully for about 6 months now, so it's proven to be a system that works for me. And the best part is that now that's it's populated with our favorite recipes from the past 6 months, I have an easy way to pick out some stand-by meals when I'm planning our weekly menus. I flip through this and then pick one or two new recipes from Pinterest. Easy.

Too Cool

2013-02-19T19:35:00.000-06:00

No words needed for these photos...

iPhone Wallpapers

2013-02-18T15:27:00.002-06:00

I recently decided to do something different for my home screen wallpaper on my iPhone. Previously, I'd been using a solid purple color for my home screen. I don't like using a photo behind all the icons...it looks cluttered and ruins the photo, in my opinion! But, I wanted to do something a little different, so I made up some wallpapers in Photoshop to use for my new home screen background.

I guess I was in a "spring-y" mood because all those colors are just right for spring. I made one of each color in each pattern (quatrefoil and chevron). After trying many of them out, I ended up quite predictably settling on the purple chevron wallpaper. It is my favorite color and goes so well with my purple phone case:

But, I since I'd already made up all the different pattern/color combos, I figured I might as well share them for others to use. There are 5 colors (purple, lime, coral, teal and yellow) and two patterns (quatrefoil and chevron). Each color is available in either pattern.

To download the one you would like, just click on that photo below and then download. They are already sized to the correct ratio for the iPhone 5. If you have a previous iPhone (with a slightly different screen ratio), you can still use these. You will just have to zoom in on the photo a bit to make it fit your screen.

Lunch Outside

2013-02-16T13:54:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, when we were having some beautiful weather at the end of January, the boys played outside all morning. And just as I was asking them to come inside to clean up for lunch, Ethan asked me if they could have lunch outside. Such an idea has been unheard of for a few months, so we took advantage of the sunshine and warmth and dined al fresco.

My Valentines Day (2013) In iPhone Photos

2013-02-15T15:34:00.000-06:00

Some parts of Valentines Day were special...others were rather mundane. Here's a look at what I (we) did on this Valentines Day:

Started the day taking photos with all my valentines...

Then, after preschool drop-off...grocery store, unpacking groceries, and laundry. This would be the mundane part of the day.

A spontaneous (and very quick) lunch with Casey at Cane's.

Right after lunch...off to class parties at preschool. Ethan's class made "love bug" hats (you can just barely see the antenna attached to his "hat").

Logan was most proud of the pencil he got in his Valentines treat bag. He's still playing with it today. I love how both of the boys juice boxes are in their photos...the only time they get these is at class parties because I'm a mean mom and we don't drink those (or any juice) in our house.

After school, Mimi (who met us at the parties at school), took Ethan home to spend the night just for fun. So, Logan and I headed home to change into PJ's and cuddle on the couch. No nap and feeling a little under the weather makes Logan even more cuddly than normal. Yet still as silly as ever.

After the little one went to bed, I finished up a special dinner for us...Filet Oscar-style (topped with crab and Bearnaise sauce), lobster mac and cheese (this was yum), and roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic and parm. For dessert, hot fudge pie a la mode.

(PS - ever since I started preparing our steaks the right way several years ago, all has been right with the world. If you're still grilling your filets, you might want to take a stab at this preparation instead.)