January 16-22, 2011

We had a pretty low key week. Jaxson was sick all week so on Thursday I took him to the doctor. He tested positive for Influenza Type B. Poor guy. That is why I don't have many pictures of him this week; he hung out in bed with a book for the majority of the week. I am happy to report that he is feeling much better now and will be back to school tomorrow!

Monday was Civil Rights Day so there was no school. We had a pajama day (I think I love this more than the kids do!), made snowman cupcakes, played games, watched movies, and had waffles for dinner.











This is a special cupcake that Emersyn made for Keith.



I was unable to make it to the grocery store at the beginning of the week like I typically do, so by Wednesday I was out of everything. We made an Arby's run and had a picnic on the living room floor. The kids love when we eat on the floor. I guess the food tastes better that way.



Mom and Dad Hughes got this bouncy chair for baby Preslee. Luckily, Jaxson helped me assemble it. He knows a bit more about screwdrivers and their shapes than I do and, apparently, is also better at reading and following instructions than I. Thanks Mom and Dad Hughes! Preslee will love it!



Emersyn has a severe cross bite and had to get a palatal expanding retainer. She will have to wear it for about 3-5 months. It took some getting used to, but she is doing really great with it. I have been really impressed with how responsible and careful she has been with it. Her speech is still a bit off, but the orthodontist said it would take about a week for it to return to normal. She is such a good sport.



Friday was our at home date night and Keith was in charge this week. He spends a lot of thought and I really appreciate it. We have had tons of fun with our dates so far this year. This week, he made a queso dip and got Mexican sodas that we snacked on while we tried to watch Season 7 of The Office. It took us over an hour to watch a 22 minute episode!

WARNING: PROCEED AT OWN RISK!!!!!!!

Part of our date was to create body paint tattoos on each other. This is what Keith came up with:


Grotesque, I know, but I couldn't not include it. I thought it was sweet. It says "My Two Sunshines."



I have always had mad artistic skills (which is obvious here) and this is what I did for Keith. The red devil looking blob is actually supposed to be a cinnamon bear. Told you I had mad skills.



Here is Emersyn in one of her many princess dresses. She wears them almost all of the time. Ever since she ate lunch with the Disney Princesses she believes that she is truly royalty. I hope she never stops believing that.



Everybody knows that princesses have to host tea parties on a regular basis, and Princess Emersyn is no different. Today she served me tea (milk with pink sugar crystals) and crumpets (Cheez-Its).



Emersyn didn't like the milk with sugar, so I had to drink the milk then she would eat the sugar out of the bottom of the cup with a spoon.



Pinkies up!


Saturday evening we headed over to Mom and Dad Hughes' house for a visit. The kids always want to see Aunt Cole's pet.



Grandma and Emersyn played hunt for the alien for a really long time! Grandma was a great sport!



Grandpa and Jaxson love to play games together! Tonight they played Sorry!

We have been blessed with so much, but this week I am especially grateful for our good health and for family members that live close by. I had lots of extra help this week from the moms and I love them both!

January 9-15, 2011

We enjoy playing games together as a family. Jaxson got Legos Minotaurus for Christmas this year and we spent Sunday evening playing it. Emersyn won this go round.




Monday was my lucky day!!! I went shopping Monday morning to find Keith a pair of slippers for our at home date. I didn't find any slippers, but I did find this coat from the Gap on clearance for a killer price!


I also had entered a contest from a fabulous illustrator named Tricia Rennea. Well, I WON!! She did this amazing custom illustration of me that I will use for my preschool. I look pretty dang cute as a cartoon! ;)


Emersyn has always loved the water and would bathe for hours a day if we let her. What she loves even for than a bath is a bubble bath!



We can almost always find Jaxson reading a book. In fact, we have a heck of a time finding books for him to read fast enough.



I went to bed early Monday night not feeling well. Emersyn had left this note on my pillow. The big smiley face is me, the little one is her.



Jaxson has had the opportunity of being in the Gifted and Talented class for the last two years at school. The class meets once a week and does a fun project. This week they folded these "Pup in a Cup." He is always so proud and excited to show us his special projects from this class.


Jaxson has scouts every Thursday evening. I think he looks so handsome and grown-up in his scouting uniform, but he keeps insisting that he just looks "regular."


Jaxson was chosen to Be Like Bentley at school this week. He was able to fill out this questionnaire that will be hung at school for the week. I love that he wants to be a spy when he grows up!


Emersyn had a bad dream and came upstairs to sleep on our floor for the rest of the night. It didn't take Honey long to realize she was there and joined her.


Ahhhhh! Heaven in a carton! No bowl needed.



I came home from doing some shopping Friday night and Emersyn had set up a picnic in the living room for her baby and some stuffed animals.




Emersyn and I picked up some cupcakes from the Cocoa Bean Cafe for Keith and I's Saturday night date. Here she is enjoying a cupcake. Or the frosting rather. She didn't touch the cake part.


Saturday Keith and Jaxson went snowboarding with some friends. Jaxson has been snowboarding since he was 5 and loves it. Like father, like son!


Here is the invitation I did to invite Keith to our date! I did a Baby, It's Cold Outside theme. The coat fit in perfectly with the theme!


I brought in some snow and we made indoor snowmen.


Masterpiece complete! My snowman is on the left, Keith's on the right.



A delicious cupcake sampler platter!


I made some homemade hot chocolate. So good! The recipe is:

1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 cups milk
4 T cocoa
1 t vanilla or peppermint extract

Heat all ingredients in saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly for 10 minutes or until hot. Serve immediately with whipped cream. Yum!



After we made our snowmen, we sat by the fire eating cupcakes, sipping hot chocolate, and reading Shel Silverstein poems. Shel Silverstein has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. Now my kids love to listen to me read his poems to them! Here a few of my favorites:

My Beard

My beard grows to my toes,
I never wears no clothes,
I wraps my hair
Around my bare,
And down the road I goes

The Battle

Would you like to hear
Of the terrible night
When I bravely fought the....
No?
All right.

Listen to the Mustn'ts

Listen to the mustn'ts, child,
Listen to the don'ts
Listen to the shouldn'ts
The impossibles, the wont's
Listen to the never haves
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
Anything can be.



Another great week! This week I'm especially thankful for a loving, hard working husband who loves me unconditionally!

January 3- 8, 2011

Pretty much the only New Year's Resolution I made this year was to update my blog on a semi-regular basis. I have tried different ways to document what happens in my family's day-to-day life, but I'm no good at it. Traditional journaling is too boring for me and I just don't have the time to keep up with my scrapbooks. I decided to give blogging one more go and at the end of the year have all of my posts put into a family history book of sorts.

So in short, these posts will probably be a little boring for most. It is more a way for me to remember the little moments in time as I strive to find joy in my daily journey.




Monday night the kids were feeling restless as we waited for Keith to get home for work. We decided to play Freeze Dance. The kids would bust their best moves until the music stopped and then they would have to freeze. Here is one of Emersyn in the air and Harley looking on like he thinks she is nuts.

This is a frozen position. Jaxson was doing some funky break dancing or some such.




The kids spent a lot of the time they were dancing staring at their reflections in the window. Can't say I blame them much; they are pretty cute!



Jaxson was also doing some flying leaps through the air that made me giggle.




Emersyn receives a very small monthly allowance. She had been saving her money for quite some time. After she got paid in January, she decided she had enough to buy something. And all she wanted was to buy something for her brother. Moments like these make my heart happy. Usually it is fighting, screaming, and teasing, but they do love each other. Even if they fight like wild animals. Keith took her shopping and she picked out this Bionicle set for Jaxson. She was so excited to give it to him when he got home from school!




Keith talked her into buying something for herself as well, and she picked out a little microwave set that she LOVES. She is constantly cooking us plastic food!




This box came with our new baby seat in it. I was so excited because I pulled the seat out just before the garbage truck came down our street. I was gonna hurry and run the box out to the curb, but Emersyn saw some potential in it and asked if she could keep it. She did the designing and Keith did the cutting. She turned it into a house/restaurant. She keeps her microwave on the ledge and serves us our food. I have to say, she has a bit of a creative streak in her.



This is hard to see, but it is the design on the outside wall of her house. It says "Emersyn House", with the s written backwards.




I have no idea why I can't get this picture to turn the proper direction, but it is Emersyn giving my gihugant belly a hug and a kiss. She can't wait for her little sister to join our family!




Thursday I spent the day organizing and rearranging. Not exciting, but I did accomplish a bit. This is one of the closets I got cleaned. Space in this house is at a premium and we have to utilize every inch!


Jaxson noticed that our bananas were looking a tad nasty, so he asked if we could make some banana bread. Friday after school we whipped up a batch. Here is Emersyn. For the record, this is not the same outfit I let her leave the house in today. It is the fourth outfit and one of her choosing. I'm not a fan of black and brown together!


Apparently, eight year old boys are incapable of just smiling for the camera.



Our Friday night treat was these DELICIOUS floats! Apple Pie Floats to be exact. They are made with vanilla ice cream, apple cider, and ginger ale. YUM!!



Keith was in charge of our home date night this week, which was nice cuz I spent all of Saturday at an infant/child cpr and first aid class. We watched a movie and he made us these treats. Apple Pie Puff Pastries with ice cream and caramel sauce. The pastries were actually Pepperidge Farm and they were sooo good!

All in all it was a good week. The kids are getting bored with the winter and I find myself running out of patience way before I should. Thankfully, they are forgiving and loving with their grumpy mom! I am so grateful for them and the happiness that they bring to our lives. I can't wait for our new little one to come join this crazy mess!