TTT: Season 4, Episode 2

1. You would think that with the amount of time we spent stuck in doors this week, I'd have my blog post up on time. Unfortunately, when you have three littles, there are just nights where bed time and "me" time don't run as smoothly as you'd hope for them to run and you're left with "eh, it'll have to wait till tomorrow." And now it's tomorrow and I'm barely squeaking by yet again! But this time for good reason; we spent the evening at my parents' celebrating my dad's birthday. He has been sick with the flu for a while so we haven't seen them for a few weeks which is rare considering we live relatively close. It's always fun to celebrate with them though, and I feel so blessed that I live close by and can watch my parents "grow up." :) The boys certainly love their Pa and had a blast helping him open his gifts and blow out his candles. Though I've got some work on my hands...they don't quite appreciate the German  chocolate cake the way Pa and I do!

Happy Birthday, Pa!

The older two were excited that they each had a candle to blow out (Pa didn't want to participate since he's still getting over the flu!). Grant had this concerned look on his face throughout the whole spectacle. 

2. As I mentioned, we were stuck inside quite a bit this week. Not the way you want to spend those first weeks getting back to normal life after Christmas. It has rained and rained and rained some more. And there's rain ahead for the weekend too. As I told Mark, if we were roughly thirty degrees cooler, we'd be snowed in. Instead, it looks like spring is here already. The grass is getting greener and greener. (It stays green year round here...never goes brown. Just various shades of green.) So "stir crazy" would be a good term to describe our moods lately. Every time the rain stops we sneak outside to ride scooters for a while, and then head back in and watch the rain from the windows or attempt to do one our jillion other indoor activities. But there are only so many times you can color a picture, play with play doh, play a board game, build a tower, etc. And the kids don't understand why I don't want to "take them somewhere" while it's raining. Ever tried to get four people under an umbrella during a torrential downfall? So today we took a much needed trip to the library and then ran around down by the waterway. Weather permitting, maybe we'll finally get out in the yard and take down our Christmas lights this weekend!

See what I mean!?!

But I must admit, I love listening to rain through an opened window. They do too!

3. As I mentioned last week, I'm planning to do a few changes on the blog this year. One thing is the addition of a little "section" within my usual post. In the past, I've always just called it randomness. Throughout the week, there are always little this-and-thats that happen that leave me thinking Oh, that would be great to put on the blog! But then it's not quite detailed enough to write a whole paragraph on.  Just something funny one of the kids says, something annoying that nearly makes me pull my hair out, something exciting that I'm dying to divulge, a recipe I just have to share. So maybe not every week, but some/most, I'm going to do a little section called "Tantrums, Treasures, and Tidbits." A little TTT on TTT. .....I know..... I'm killing you.  So for example:
Tantrums: My dear sweet "baby" is obsessed with markers. I made an adorable changing pad cover for a customer that I decided to set up and photograph for my site. Then I made the mistake of leaving it out. Grant decorated it for me. Luckily it was with a washable marker and came right out. He also took a sharpie to widow sill but somehow didn't have a single mark on himself.
Treasures: Downton Abbey is back! One episode in and I'm already loving it. I wish I was British and from the 20s. And after watching an episode, I think in a British accent for at least twenty-four hours.
Tidbits: Though it took him a long time to figure it out, Grant has now mastered "Mama." Even the various tones and inflections! Mama. MAma. Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama! MAMA!!!

Sir Pugs and friends

Making pizza on our new pizza stone that G-ma got me for Christmas!

Little boy boots are the cutest. Again, thanks G-ma!

Trouble. (He's fascinated with trying to figure out what the street drain is.)

The boys love making homemade popsicles. These were vanilla yogurt and grape juice and though the combo seems odd, they were surprisingly yummy!

One of the best parts of rainy weather/humidity? Curly baby hair. It's much lighter in color, but definitely Mark's curls. Sooooo cute.