It's a song we sing with our kids and it goes a little something like this...

"I love you (insert your name here),
Oh yes I do,
I love you (insert your name here),
this much is true,
when you're not with me, I'm blue
Oh, (insert your name here) I love you
Oh, (insert your name here) I love you!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

{tooth fairy}

aiden lost a tooth this week...her fifth.  she left this note under her pillow along with the tooth. do you think she wanted money considering she underlined it!


she got $1 from the tooth fairy and left this note on the bookshelf the next night before bed. 

she was a little irritated the next morning when the fairy hadn't taken the note.  she decided it was because the fairy maybe looked on her desk (where she found the money) instead of the bookshelf where she told the tooth fairy to leave the money in the first place!

i'm thrilled that tooth is out.  making school lunches should be much easier this week now that she can chew again!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

{crazy town}

the kids are on february break this week from school.  i planned ahead and reserved discount passes to the boston children's museum and the new england aquarium.  we have been to both many times before, but the kids love it there and we are lucky to live within a 15 minute drive of both.


i should have known.  i should have known that it would be totally nuts...nuts like fire hazard way too many people nuts.  we went to the children's museum on wednesday with a girlfriend and her daughter and then we met another friend and her baby there.  the parking garage was completely full, but we were feeling lucky when we found (2) four hour meters side by side.  we trudged through the snow and made it to the entrance to see that the line was out the doors long.  but...since we had the passes, already fed the meters, the kids were excited and we were already there, we waited and made it into crazy town.  we lasted about three hours and then i think we had all had enough. eating lunch on the floor in a hallway reserved for stroller parking was a first.  it was a fun time though...and i would probably do it again...cause those passes make it so darn affordable.

(i messed around in picnik to try and make a collage.  still learning...)

then today the whole family headed out to the aquarium.  i should have known not to tell the kids and then just surprise them when we got there.  i know better...from experience.  but...instead they knew and again, were pumped to be heading out on a family date day.  the line at the aquarium put the children's museum to shame.  we didn't even get out of the car. 

so we compromised and went to friendly's for cheeseburgers and ice cream sundaes.  my diet coke made me very happy...free refills!



i think it's safe to say that tomorrow we'll be staying home.

Friday, February 18, 2011

{peppermint patties & other yummy things}

so...my valentine's day sweet treat for the family was homemade peppermint patties.  i used this recipe via darby's blog and they were divine!  i wanted them to be heart shaped so i used a silicon heart shaped ice cube mold from ikea.  the mold worked great and they turned out so cute, but took for-ev-er!  paint mold with chocolate...freeze...add filling...freeze...add chocolate to the top...freeze...pop out of mold and repeat.  i ran in the kitchen every ten minutes or so all through the grammy's to do the next step. 


i didn't know owen could open the freezer by himself until i caught him snitching the hearts out of the freezer the next day.  i guess the peppermint patty love runs in the family!

and in other yummy news, i finally committed to some hooks for the bathroom.  i think the kids might like the numbers on them just as much as i do...even though they thought they just got to pick whatever hook they wanted. (hello...birth order people.)  now if i could just get them to actually hang the towels up.  ha!

Monday, February 14, 2011

{happy valentine's day!}

the loves of my life~



the kids were excited to take their valentine's to school today for their friends.  we printed them at home from this awesome site and this creative mama and then got friendly's kids cone certificates to give out too.  if you are looking for something to give friends at school, mental note...the friendly's certificates are awesome!  for $1 you get 5 free kids cone certificates.  pretty sweet deal and besides everyone looks forward to friendly's!
we made these for miles, but with red hearts

aiden chose these free printables from onecharmingparty.com

i anticipated miles giving me alot of grief about having to write his name so many times...and to have to add a little pirate greeting to the front.  truth be told, he needs the letter formation practive so i thought these valentines were perfect for him.  he really didn't complain at all!

i used this recipe via this blog (a daily read for me) and made homemade sea salt caramels for their teachers.  i was originally making them as a gift for someone's birthday, but will just have to make more today.  they were super yummy and easy to make!  (i made something yummy for mike and the kids too while watching the grammy's last night.  i can't tell you about it till tomorrow thought since i haven't given it to them yet.  it will be perfect for family movie night with a side of popcorn.)

i know valentine's day may be a made up holiday, but i'll take any opportunity to tell and show my family that i love them!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

{birthday girl}

aiden turned 7 this week.  seriously...where has time gone.  they say the days are long and the years are short. (is it bedtime yet???)  if you are a mom of young ones, you know many days this feels so very true. doesn't 7 sound so much older than 6?!

her actual birthday fell on a school day so she got to take treats.  she was very specific about what she wanted...brownies cut in heart shapes with sprinkles on top and chocolate milk.  hope her friends liked chocolate because that was serious chocolate overload.  (she's her mother's daughter!)  i should have taken a pic...they were really cute and tasted great.  I only know this because when you cut brownies into heart shapes, someone has to eat the "scraps", right?  i'm just saying, we wouldn't want to waste those.  and if you ever decide to cut brownies into heart shapes and you need a certain number, don't wait till the morning of to see how many you can actually cut out of a pan.  at 6am, i was throwing together another batch when i was three short.  nothing like the sound of the kitchenaid going to wake sleepy children.

the day after, we had a small party here at the house.  she is so funny sometimes.  she wanted a pizza and pj party.  when she realized both of those started with the letter P, she got really fired up about adding more P words to the party theme.  pink, purple, ponies, pinana! (i nixed the pinata since it's like 15 degrees out and the yard is covered in a good 4' of snow.  and they yard is where we have to do the pinata so we can tie it off the old satellite dish from the previous owners.  that's how you do a pinata in the city...classy huh?!) 




the girls each got their initials to decorate for their room

paint, beads, sequins, pom poms, jewels...oh my!

sundae bar

i'm glad that bowl is just for her since she looks like she is gonna spit all over it


totally adorable handmade cards!

the little girl on the right made this card.  look how happy she is to give it to her!
she loved her little party and was so tired after, she put herself to bed without even saying a word.  i'm not even totally sure the last guest was out of the driveway.


happy birthday my sweet girl.  we love you and are so very proud of you!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

{for hire}


one of the days aiden was home sick, mike had brought home REUNION's year end giving statements to seal and stamp.  he wasn't real excited about working on them (a gross understatment) and so aiden and i volunteered.  aiden was so sweet!  she sat there and together we licked and stamped the remaining 300 envelopes.  miles and owen helped briefly, but she stayed on mission until they were all done.  total dedication!


i hope she always has a heart for helping others, including her daddy. i hope that she always want to serve God and the church and that we can cultivate this in her through example. 

...and if you need some admin help, she's your girl! 

Sunday, February 6, 2011

{inspiration for aiden's room}

aiden's room is in the process of getting a bit of a makeover.  i would love to make a little headway before her birthday thursday.  here are some images that i am using for inspiration...

rie elise larsen via decor8
  such a sweet pleated lampshade... and that ribbon trim is too much!

rie elise larsen
  gorgeous color

desire to inspire
  looking for white shelves to go over the bookcase

amanda nisbet see this all over the web
  adding pin boards for all her pictures

  hoping to add a little gallery wall over her desk

vogue living via habitually chic
 LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this color story!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

{feelin' hot, hot, hot}

we got to make a trip to the ER with miles last night.  the kid had a low grade fever all day, but woke up right as i was starting the social network (which is already 3 days overdue) absolutely cooking.  his fever was 104.6 and he was complaining of neck pain.  i went into my-kid-has-menangitis-mode and paged the on call nurse.  she suggested we come in.

man that kid was a trooper.  they poked and prodded and made ammends with a geen popsicle.  everything came out negative so we are probably dealing with some pesky virus.  tis the season.

we pulled out of the parking lot and i heard miles praying in the backseat of the van.  "jesus, thanks for letting me get well."  man, that kid melts my heart!

i am hoping he keeps this one to himself.