Toy Story 3 on Ice...

They are coming soon.

I have so so so many pictures, I want to share them all. My blogger space is running low, so I am going to load them in to Smilebox and I'll post tomorrow!

Holy Cow!!

After Toy Story 3 on Ice, we went to Harry Caray's restaurant for dinner.

FIVE STARS!

Not only was I surrounded by Cubs (my favorite) paraphernalia, we all enjoyed an absolutely delicious dinner!! I loved being able to introduce my boys to a legend and someone who I listened to as a kid. They had NO IDEA who Harry Caray was and honestly, I don't think they really cared. Let's just hope I was able to erase some of the Philadelphia brainwashing that goes on in our house!!

HOLY COW!!

Blizzard by iPhone

There were so many photo ops during the blizzard and these are just a few of my favorites...all courtesy of my iPhone.

(Clockwise from left - a bulldozer plowing the court, 2 feet of snow on our front walk, the deck. buried, a huge snow drift on the roof, a man skiing down the bike path, Matthew and I after shoveling, Ethan wandering around during the snow, the mailbox, a major road - whiteout, Matthew getting blasted by Bryan's snow blower, and the driveway (center))

{click to enlarge}

Shoot'n Hoops

Another sport. More practices. Lots of sitting on the sidelines with a VERY active younger brother. This boy is a social athlete. He loves being around his friends. He loves laughing and playing. The actual sport??!! Not so much. I think it's just a way for him to hang out with his friends. Right now, I should be OK with that. Right??!!

He was even more excited because he had a LARGE fan section. Poppy and Lo Lo came in from NJ, his dad took the day off of work, and Nonny and Babop came with his cousin, Eli. Don't forget, his two most loyal fans, were also there...Ethan and I!! :)

Happy Birthday, Bryan!!

I love the end of the video when I say, "...1 year closer to 40!!"

Matthew replies, "You're 48?!"

Wow. The math is amazing!

There is something so special on these kids' faces. Ethan just adores his dad and Matthew looks so content cuddled up to him. This is what makes my days happy...seeing these three, happy and smiling. :)

Happy birthday, hun!

Heart Attack

A few years ago, when I was working in a third grade classroom, we had an especially difficult year. For me it was an emotional roller coaster. The teacher I worked with passed away unexpectedly, my grandfather passed away a month later, and the following month I was due with my son, Ethan. Valentine's Day was a week before I was scheduled to deliver and we wanted to make the kids feel extra special before I left. It was time consuming, but boy did it feel good. Every single kid left the classroom feeling loved, appreciated and wearing a smile. Each kid made a heart for every kid in the class and then dropped them off. The students got to read 25+ reasons why they were special! That makes a person feel so good. I had forgotten all about it until I was reading 71Toes, and I realized her family did the same thing.

{Her family is ADORABLE, by the way! Check her out if you have time!!}

After dinner tonight, I sprung it on my very hesitant family that we were going to do the same thing. I have to say, it was the best thing we've done as a family in a long time. It cost us nothing, but each person left feeling a little bit better and a lot more loved.

The boys were hard at work!! Matthew was chosen to read all the hearts. A few of the hearts...

Blizzard 2011

Blizzard 2011 lived up to the hype. After 20+ inches of snow and two days off of school, this blizzard made for some real fun for the boys!! Bryan shoveled and snow plowed for hours. From the looks of the snow drifts, I'm afraid we'll have snow in our yard until August.

{click image to enlarge}

Jumped on the 'BLOG-WAGON'

I jumped on the bandwagon (err, 'blogwagon') and I like it. A LOT! Even my mom (Hi, Mom!) has become a frequent reader of many blogs I follow. Most blogs are giving tutorials on fabric rosettes, but honestly, I don't do well with a needle and thread. I've been really wanting to try to make some for a long time, then I found a really easy tutorial. Super easy and not a fussy pattern. Even the circles don't have to be cut perfectly! Whew. Not to mention, anyone who knows me, knows that I have a slight obsession with polka dots, so when I saw this fabric in the store, I knew it was meant to be. I apologize for the quality of the pictures, but I was just to excited to wait for daylight to get a good quality one!! Can you guess what the teachers are getting for Valentine's Day??!!

You can find tutorials on these websites:

Mad Mim #7

Mad Mim #6

(I know there are more, but I can't seem to find them right now!!)

The Naughty Finger

Please don't judge me or the parenting that takes place in our home. I honestly don't even know how this started. Apparently he just wanted to share. I'm certain he didn't learn this in his Lutheran preschool...so where oh where did he pick this up?!

Terrible Twos?!

He's three.

In 20 days he will be four.

This can't be normal for a child his age.

I should already know that there is no such thing as normal.

Matthew never did stuff like this.

Today Ethan gave me a double whammy.

He cut his own hair.

He flushed directions down the toilet. (attempted, anyways.)

He lied about all of it.

Someone tell me he'll stop this.

Please.

I'm really thinking that I should have enjoyed his 'twos' more.

He saved up the naughty for his 'fours.'