7.5, Jonquils, Dr. Pepper, Krispy Kreme, Fried Rice, Roses, & Snickerdoodles!

These are the gifts I have been showered with as I return to work!

7.5

The number of glorious uninterrupted hours of sleep I got last night!  Thank you Abby!  I haven't slept like that...in over eight weeks!  What a gift for mommy's first night after returning to work!  Let's try a repeat performance tonight!

Jonquils

Bright yellow flowers waiting for me as I walk into my classroom from a fabulous team mate and friend.  The perfect way to be greeted after walking in from the snow!  

Dr. Pepper & Krispy Kreme

Presented to me with a card by one of my BFF's first thing Monday morning!  Does it get any better than this?!...wait it does!

Chicken Fried Rice & Egg Drop Soup

The free lunch my amazing team mates and BFF's had delivered to celebrate my return!  Man, these ladies know the way to my heart!

Roses & Snickerdoodles

Brought to me by a parent of a student in my class! 

I am truly surrounded by amazing people everyday!  

 

WARNING:

You may experience some blog neglect as I integrate back into the work force...juggling both a full-time job and a family of four...this could get tricky...

Strategic plan of attack:  Get Girlfriend sleeping through the night and be as prepared for the next day as much as possible before I go to sleep for the night...

GAME ON!  

Cherishing These Tags

There Is No Place Like Home hosts a paper crafting fun Wednesday and giveaway every week.  Swing by to participate or check out some fabulous creations.  I fell in love with her style when I discovered her Etsy shop a couple weeks ago.  She inspired me to dabble in the art of making tags.    

Today while Girlfriend and Little Dude slept, I pulled out my stamps, ribbon, some bling, and a couple pieces of my favorite paper to throw together these fun little guys.  I have realized that my addiction to buying scrapbook paper and fabric is really rooted in my love for bold patterns.  I just can't resist a great colorful pattern...whether it be on a paper, a fabric, a shirt, a bag, or a pair of rain boots...if my heart flutters when I see the pattern, much to Andy's chagrin, I usually end up taking it home.  So when I spotted these funky papers, I knew I had to give them purpose.  Here they are ready to adorn a package or a scrapbook page!

I Could Make That...

Feeding my addiction (surfing Etsy) the other day, I came across a fabric belt...& thought, "I could make that."  So inevitably I didn't rest until I did.  It is not perfect...I'm too impatient to make my first one perfect.  First I have to see if the final product is worth recreating, then I slow down for a higher quality product.  My next one will have much better sewing.

The most difficult part of the project was deciding what yummy fabric to use...in the end I used both and made it reversible!  What a happy solution!  I'm already planning my next belt...making belts could replace my making totes obsession.

This Is The Lunch...

That made AJ exclaim with awe, "WOW, thank you!"

The menu was:

1 clementine orange

3 Triscuit crackers

a Smucker's Strawberry PB&J Uncrustable

Apple Juice

Really ?!...I didn't even put it on a plate...

I hope he is always this easy to impress.

Photobooth Documentary

Inspired by A Little Bit Funky, I pulled a few snapshots from our Photobooth library over the last couple years.   I love how these silly fleeting moments that we captured by a click of a mouse have documented us grow!

Look at baby AJ!

The above picture is what happens when we tell AJ it is time turn off the computer and go to bed.  Ha!  Just had to take a picture!

Something about Photobooth makes Andy stick out his tongue...

The tongue thing must be hereditary...

Momma, baby Abby, & AJ

baby Abby...a week before she met us...

We have hundreds (not exaggerating) of pics of daddy and AJ's tongues... 

Potty Power!

Not only does bear go everywhere with us, he must be buckled in....

AJ went all day without any potty accidents, including a trip to the store, a trip to the park, and a nap...so we rewarded him with Dairy Queen.

About half way through our ice cream treat, AJ stood up on the bench and yelled to the entire packed restaurant, "I have POTTY POWER, POTTY POWER, POTTY POWER!!!"

At least he made the connection...

Abby slept through the whole thing.  

Sunday Outside

Today as AJ was swinging with his bear he said, "Momma, I love bear!"  Notice he has loved one of the ears right off...and the tail, but you can't see that.

Nothing like swinging barefoot in the sun!

Off we go to play at the park...

AJ gloating about his free ride as I haul baby Abby in the Snugli...

We went down the slide approximately one hundred times...occasionally on top of another kid that just wasn't moving fast enough... 

There's that tongue again...it seems to appear when AJ concentrates really hard or is having fun... 

Baby Abby's sunhat

Zoo Lessons

Today we took advantage of our new zoo membership from AJ's great grandma Jody, the gorgeous spring like weather, and one of my last few dwindling maternity days off and went to the zoo with a friend and her three kids.  That's right...three toddlers and two babies!  What an experience!  

I learned a few things about going to the zoo with children under the age of four:

1. Dress your child in hunter safety orange because half of the other children under the age of four in the city are also at the zoo running from their parents.  Your little escapee needs to be easy to spot amongst the before school aged crowd.
2. Leave the wagon at home and bring a backpack, thus making it easier to maneuver through crowds chasing your child...minimizing things you need to keep track of...and protecting innocent bystanders just trying to look at the zebras from being side swiped by the gigantic plastic tank as the children push it down hill at ramming speed...
3. Avoid the hut that sells cotton candy at all costs...even if it means the detour requires an extra half mile walk...my child will outlast me as he loiters by the counter waiting for me to give in and just buy the $2.75 bag.
4. Cash to ride the train is necessary to avoid a melt down that might rival Chernobyl...
5. If you think taking your child to the zoo will wear them out...it will, but you will be just as exhausted from the trip if not more...
6. And lastly...a membership to repeat today's adventure as often as possible over the next year is worth every penny!  

Who Needs A Pot of Gold...

when your kids are this cute?!

Spring Nest & Daddy

After a walk to the park, the warm weather inspired me to decorate for spring.

Daddy and Abby

Washing Momma's Car & Tummy Time