Having a bad day?

No, I didn't have a week of bad days, but you'd think we were having a bad day in this picture! We had a great week actually, and this weekend was perfect! Brent got done with school early on Friday, and we enjoyed some beautiful 76-degree weather.

I heard back on a writing contest I entered this week (unfortunately, not the results I was hoping for), but it was a reminder that I have been neglecting my writing skills. So I'm going to try to practice writing more often, and to go with a writing project, I wanted to illustrate it by trying out a popular shot of kids on the ground in a circle. This was my first shot, and let's just say our circle of kids was quickly reduced...

Bryn was actually happy enjoying the warm weather in our little patch of super soft grass.

But we ended up getting our little group of friends together after a trip to the park and right before nap time. Our one little non-cryer on the bottom soon joined with the tears...

It didn't turn out exactly as I had pictured, but I got some good shots and it was good practice. :) This week was full of fun stuff -- I've been getting a lot done for my Etsy shop, practicing photography, and having fun with the kiddos.

After this, we had a nice afternoon, went out to dinner with our friends and had some awesome dessert (thanks Trina!). Then Saturday we tried to spend some time outside in our second day of 70-degree weather. We even had a barbecue on a beach Saturday evening -- perfect! Of course, I also had to make sure we had everything we need for the next week -- we're expecting an ice storm on Tuesday. Go figure!

Some good lookin' kids...

I've really been enjoying my dabblings in photography. It's been a huge help (at least I think) with my product shots for my Etsy shop. I'm lucky to have two magnificent subjects to practice on. Really, where did these good looking kids come from? Bryn is 5 months old today! She's been rolling over for a while, and she sat up by herself for the first time this week. She started blowing raspberries and she wants to reach out and grab everything. She's so sweet! I just love watching her do more every day.

And let's not forget this little man! He has the most stunning green eyes. He usually runs when I grab my Rebel, but lately, he wants to hop in front of whatever I'm photographing. I hope this means he'll make it a little easier for me to photograph. He's now officially potty trained -- took us a while, but he's been accident free for like three weeks now! We just signed him up for soccer; I think he's going to love it! But, of course, we're really looking forward to baseball season. So enjoying my munchkins! They're both at such fun ages, and I'm extraordinarily lucky to stay home and do things I enjoy while hanging out with my kiddos!

Yuck for being sick...

We've had a really loooooong week! Brent started school this week, although just like last semester, he missed the first two days. But this time, it's because he was sick. I started this little sick round just before New Year's with a cold. No one had gotten it for more than a week, so I was hoping I'd be the only one...

Well, Brent got my cold and some kind of stomach bug on Monday, then on Thursday night, our little man woke up very sick...

I had finally caught up on laundry and dishes this week, which is a huge accomplishment. After one night, my laundry pile looked like this...

But no worries...

My little super hero was back to his normal self by Friday. Unfortunately, that's when this little stomach bug came full circle and I got it...

Want to play marbles, Mom?

As always, I got it worse than anyone, but I think I'm finally past the worst of it. Being sick like this is the worst for me, but so far the baby has not been included (cross your fingers, knock on wood, say your prayers that it stays that way!)...

Brent and Drew were finally feeling better enough to take care of me and build a marble tower truly worthy of our little Super Drew...

Picture of the week...

My friend Kristen had an awesome idea to do a picture of the day -- a big challenge, but a great way to document what's going on in your life. I'm certainly not up for that with trying to do my etsy stuff and maybe get back to writing, but I loved the idea. So my goal is to try to capture a picture of the week, something that shows what's happening in our life that week. Plus, it's a great motivation to pick up my camera and keep practicing.

So what happened this week?

This little one started eating solid food. She really liked it the first time, then the second time she did what I thought she would and used her tongue to push everything out. But she likes sitting at the table and she likes eating while we do.

Oh, those cheeks are so yummy! Bryn is so much fun; she's starting to laugh but doesn't do it much. But she smiles all the time! She's rolling like crazy and loves to be in the walker so she can stand up. I'm hoping those pretty eyes stay blue...

Wonderful holidays...

We've had a wonderful break! We definitely missed everyone, but we really enjoyed our time together during Brent's break. I'm sad he has to go back to school tomorrow...

Drew was really excited about Christmas this year. He was spoiled by all the grandmas and aunts and got cars, clothes, books, movies and all kinds of things! He got plenty of Super Why stuff...

Bryn even got a few toys, but mostly clothes and books. Thanks everyone, for your generosity. The kids are definitely spoiled! :)

We got lots of projects done -- including making some shelves for our millions of minibats and reorganizing the office, and we got to do lots of fun things, like go to the zoo, the park and the mall and we've had tons of ice cream. That was Drew's reward for doing well with potty training, and now that he's really getting the hang of it, we've had lots of ice cream... Brent's new toy is a drill press, and we finally got Drew's baseball jimmy-rigged so he can go out back and hit when he wants to.

The bulk of our break was spent helping Drew with the potty training and implementing a new reward system -- Drew gets a red fuzzy when he's good, and we take one away when he's misbehaving. And we made a chart and hung it on the fridge: Drew's Fuzzy Rewards. He was so excited he would read off the rewards he could earn every day. Sometimes he just reads off the list to himself at random times -- small treat, computer time, stickers, trip to the park, ice cream and the big one: a trip to the toy store. We set a goal when we started, and he wanted to go for the big reward. He earned 50 fuzzies in about a week and a half. So we went to Toys R Us, and he got to pick out something. He settled on a track and car launcher...

He's so excited about what he earned! It was the best watching him run through the toy store, considering what he could get. He was soooo happy! And I think he really appreciated it because he earned it. When we got home and I emptied the fuzzy jar and asked him what he wanted to work for this time, he yelled, "Toy store!"

I feel like by staying home this year, we really got to enjoy our little kiddos. Drew and Bryn are so wonderful -- and we got three weeks to just be together. How I love those little faces!!!