Off to the Ball....!!

Playing with phone cam filters...

 .  

The only way i get computer work done....

Most people keep their laptops on a desk or similar. 
 I keep mine on my bed.
 So that the 2-3 times/day that I lay down w/ Charity to get her to sleep (or ease her into the world of waking up, post-sleep), I can get work done. 
It's tricky to position myself well, and I occasionally get sore shoulders from leaning too long on one side..... 
But we take things day-by-day here, and for right now - this works!

Twin games

While at Ziggys picking out new bathroom flooring (yay for remodel! Boo for spending money...it's still painful for me)...the twins developed an interesting little game with the samples.

 One would think of a particular square and the other would guess which one. 

Courtney always said YES! and let Bennett win on the first guess. 

Bennett said NO! on every guess Courtney made.
The game didn't last long...

Carpet remnants = entertainment for 4 yr olds

She likes PB

and I like her.

OOOOO so much 

!!!!!!!!!!!

Brian goes to Utah....

Brian's siblings decided to throw their father a big county-wide "Retirement Party", (like a wedding reception, except w/ Kent in the greeting line) so he went down to Utah for it.

Lesson learned: books tickets early! We only procrastinated a few days and it cost us mucho.

This wouldn't be too hard - just 2 nights away - except that it's at the end of a week-long trip to Chicago. 

So it's been a LOT of tough nights taking care of the kids solo.  Bed time is has been ROUGH some nights.  

This is definitely a two-person job!

But I'm ok with making the sacrifice. 

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? :)

(pictured here w/ Grandpa Berrett in Provo)

Brianna & Lily, the ballerinas

I've never been keen on putting my children in dance lessons.  Many excellent reasons for that. Mostly, that there are only so many hours in a day, so we need to focus squeezing in only the BEST extracurricular activities.
But Meredith really wanted to put Lily in ballet at a new little studio we found near us, and Lilly wanted Brianna to come.... so I gave in.
I feel a little better about this place, as it's focused towards young children. So - emphasizing the FUN - and not so much the ridiculous makeup, expensive outfits, subjective scoring, or inappropriate dance moves.
We'll see how this goes!  {curtsy}

MILK SHARING

Bribery

 

Meredith invited the girls to join her and Lily on an outing. 
Brianna wanted to go solo - just her and Lily, not Courtney. So she politely went upstairs, grabbed her piggy bank, and poured it out:"Here Courtney - I'll give you all this money if you stay home instead of going with us." Courtney, being the practical girl she is, accepted!

Playdates

This cute little Sophie hung out with us for 2 days while her parents were out of town and her aunt was working during day. Loooong playdates, but Courtney loved every second! Charity... not so much. She saw this 25 month old child as a bit of a threat, I believe. And tried to steal the monkey. Sophie is a sweetie, but that's where she drew the line. it was HER very special monkey. I need to get Charity a monkey.... cuz some days, I feel like I'M her monkey....

Meal planning

I rarely take the time to make MYSELF anything "cute" to eat. I throw things together and eat it with one hand while helping a child or two with the other.  But I know better. I should do better. I CAN do better.
So I'm trying.
TRRRRYYYING.
I made these little yogurt/granola/cottage cheese/fresh fruit/pumpkin seeds parfait type thingys - 3 meals' worth.  And I really appreciated having these there in the fridge ready to go!  NOW - I just gotta invest the time to actually DO THIS more often!!

Lumpy thighs

No, not mine...Brianna-the-goofball's!

Rejected daddy

Charity is obsessed with her Papa (my dad). 

She follows him around, begs to be held, and just loves to be with him all the time. 

And SOMETIMES (often!)...she even refuses to go back to her dad!!

Storytime and crafts at Primary Movement

Found a new mommy-resource!

Nonny wants to be NONNY!

My poor mom. She's been sick for a long time - well over a month now.

Chronic Bronchitis.

And she's SAD that she's so sick, because she just wants to do Nonny stuff!

 Like play with the kids!

Yesterday she forced herself up and out to go take food to Sammy. On the way home she had to come by my house to pick up a new microwave plate she ordered off Amazon and accidently sent to me (happens a lot when you share Prime accounts! :) 

As she was leaving, the kids got really really sad. So she dropped everything, put on a happy face, and read to them on our couch until her coughing wouldn't let her go on any longer.

 

I love my mommy.

 

And I just wish I could make her coughing go away!!!

Seahawks

Brianna has occasionally asked what a seahawk is.

And why people around here seem to like these seahawks so much.
I have to ask myself the same thing sometimes!
We're not even near Seattle - it's 5 hrs away. And pretty different from this side of the state in terms of population, climate, politics, etc.  So why are people so obsessed with a sports team based there?!
  But I was able to answer Brianna's question at Fred Meyer today when we saw the promo area set up like a football watching party.
"Brianna, Seahawks (besides being coastal dwelling large fowl) are the name of a football team. People like them because it gives them an excuse to lounge around and eat." The end.
Go hawks?!

Fancy (free!) dinners

The nicest restaurant on the north side of Spokane is probably Twigs, so that's where we go whenever Brian's Medline people come to town.

I ordered the salmon last night, and it was aaaamazing.

It tastes even better because we don't see the bill :)

 

I'm grateful Brian works for a good company that does little perks like this regularly.

If only Brian didn't have to put in a full 60-70 (yes, SEVENTY!) hrs/wk, it'd be perfect!

Forbidden picnic

I usually do NOT allow food in the family room, so they think it's pretty exciting to have a snack picnic in there :)

I'm desperate to keep them entertained on this snowed-in day!

(Pistachios & apples in Straus yogurt)

Crafty girl....

"Look mom, I made a necklace out of straws!"  

Can she stay 6 forever?!

Cold blooded family

Mom and Mere are ALWAYS cold.
It's funny being in their cars or homes with them because it feels like a sauna to me, but apparently it's just right for them!

So when they're at my house, which I do NOT keep at sauna temps, they claim it's like being in the arctic. Apparently it's a miracle my children escape the threat of frostbite every day.

Solution: they stand in front of the oven after I pull dinner out and enjoy the warm post-cooking air.

Just found this UNBLOGGED picture! {gasp!}

Sickies

My poor baby has a fever. 

Nothing crazy- 99.5 last I checked. 

But enough that she's been sleeping a ton, acting lethargic, eating very little, etc. 

So sad.

 I miss her happy smile. 

But it's days like this I'm so grateful to be able to have the easiest, healthiest tool to comfort her - nursing! 

Just wish Brian could do it too cuz I'm all tapped out...it's been a long day.

messy

The view from my bedroom window

I spy Brian and Brianna outside sledding!

Charming

Brianna loves her charm bracelet from her cousin Kiya!

Movies with Papa!

I love that we live near a Grandfather who randomly calls up and says, "hey, get the kids ready, I'm picking them up and taking them out!"

I love that I can leverage outings like this to get the kids to do things  ("everyone who works hard to clean up their room and playroom before Papa gets here will be going on the outing!")

I love that Cougar joined them and treated everyone to popcorn with his own money. Such a sweet big-brother-cousin thing to do. 

I love that Brianna is crossing her legs in this pic! I've never seen her do that!

Penguins of Madagascar. They loved it!