Funday Monday

What a fun day we had yesterday! Matt had to work all day, but Madeleine had a holiday at school and we made the most of it. I'd planned some things to do away from the house, but Charlotte came down with a high fever Sunday and was still a sick little girl on Monday -- so we scrapped those plans and had a fun day inside instead.

We started by letting them have a "sleepover" in Harrison's room on Sunday night. We put the blow up in there for Madeleine and they were sooo excited about this! Thankfully, we didn't have to be anywhere the next morning because there were a lot of giggles and whispers before they finally went to sleep.
They'd requested breakfast in the room the next morning. I made them a muffin tin breakfast (and used up all those cereal boxes that just have a little bit left in them). They quickly gobbled it up!

Sweet Charlotte spent most of the day like this...

or this....

Madeleine and Harrison were quite content to play together in their rooms that morning. I never get tired of listening to them in there, in their own little world, playing. After lunch, we broke out the paints and they spent most of the afternoon happily painting. I have many, many masterpieces around the house today. :)

After baths and dinner, I brought out the rice bucket that I'd been saving for a rainy day. Charlotte was starting to perk up from the Motrin and played for a bit with them before having an early bedtime.

I really intended this as an activity for Harrison and Charlotte, but Madeleine loved it too. They had their mean guys/princesses in there and were putting their imaginations to good use! Then they used it to play with the food stuff. This was such a hit that Harrison woke up this morning asking to do it again. They made a HUGE mess, but thanks to the shopvac, it was easy to clean up!

Such a fun, fun day at home! I love days like this and sometimes it's good to have a whole day at home ~ it you look closely, Madeleine sports 3 different nightgowns during the day. :)

What a Difference a Week Makes!

This has been quite a week around our house. One of those weeks that actually has crept by, which is rare. Change always seems to make time slow down it seems and this week has been no exception.

This week started with Matt starting a new job. Last Tuesday, I met Matt for lunch as we often do since Harrison is in school and we just have Charlotte with us. He'd been at an IF meeting that morning and commented to me at lunch that "something was up." He didn't know what, but he knew that something was going on. That night, he got an email from the Director of Curriculum asking Matt if she could meet with him soon. They set up the meeting for the next morning and during that meeting she asked him if he would be willing to take a the position as the interim Director of Mathematics for Fayetteville Schools. Wow.

We talked about it that evening and prayed about it. He had to give them a quick answer since the position was vacant and they needed someone asap. He told her yes on Wednesday night, met again to see his office on Thursday and had Friday to wrap things up at Ramay before he started on Monday. It was a whirlwind week for sure.

This is a HUGE job. He'll be working with all the elementary teachers and all the secondary math teachers for the remainder of the school year. The job will actually last until the end of June though since he'll be doing professional development that month.

This is such an honor for Matt to be asked to help out with this job. It's been a crazy week so far and he's certainly been thrown into the fire. The job will eventually be open and he's been encouraged to apply, but how many times do you get to try out a job before applying for it?? And, it's going to give him a chance to see how he likes being in a more administrative role and give him a chance to work with making their math program even better.

Matt could not be better suited for this job. It's definitely a change, but he has the schooling and the work background to handle it. If I can brag on my hubs for a minute -- I know he will be great at this. He is so likeable and gets along well with everyone. He is open to listening to other ideas and opinions besides his own and isn't so prideful that he can't change his mind if another idea is better. He gives credit where it is due. He is the ultimate team player and can work with anyone. He is incredibly level headed and can take criticism without taking it personally. He is smart and full of good ideas and his enthusiam is overflowing. This week he has been overwhelmed with the work ahead of him, but he's still positive and excited about the work ahead.

So, that's where we are. We're having to make some changes and sacrifices as we make this transistion. It's going to mean less study time for him during the week, and much much more on the weekends. But, it's not forever. And, it's such an honor that he's been asked. We'll survive with help from our friends and lots and lots of prayer. :)

Valentine's 2012

We had a great, but busy, Valentine's Day this year. It started out great, with Matt sending me flowers! I was completely surprised by them -- with his sudden transition this week into a (BIG!) new job, I didn't think he'd have Valentine's on his mind, but he surprised me! And, I love them! Thanks to pinterest, I had a blast making valentine's for the kids this year! These are the ones Harrison took to preschool.

And, the ones for his teachers.

These were Charlotte's valentines that we gave to a few of her friends. I'm thinking I'll be using these again, they were so cute (and I still have a kagillion bubbles left over).
I'd made these last week for Matt to take to work for all the teachers, but since he's not there anymore, I stuck them in everyone's lunch.

This month is teacher appreciation for the 2nd grade teachers at Madeleine's school. I made these for her to take.

After getting everyone settled (Madeleine off to school and Harrison at preschool), Charlotte and I ran home to pick up and do some laundry. Then it was back to Harrison's school for his party. The director of his school is amazing and full of fun ideas! They had these cute bags to put their valentines into.

After handing out valentines they spread out and got to look at their haul. :) I'm amazed by the craftiness of these moms! All the valentines were adorable!

Again, this party fell during Charlotte's naptime, but she did pretty well. She ate her lunch during the party (again).

The party setup.

Harrison sitting next to his best bud, Drew. These boys are a mess together, but love each other so much! I'm so thankful for this sweet friendship.

After filling up, they did a fun activity of stacking conversation hearts.

After the party, we headed home for Charlotte to get a quick nap before we had to pick up Madeleine. It was a busy afternoon -- we picked up Madeleine, grabbed a quick snack at Sonic and headed back to her school because I had a Board Meeting & PTO meeting. Fun way to spend Valentine's huh? :) After all that, we met Matt at our favorite Mexican spot for some dinner, which made a Happy Valentine's to me since I didn't have to cook! Then we headed home for the kids to see their surprises. Charlotte and Harrison both had M&Ms and a new book.

And, Madeleine had M&Ms and some roses from her Daddy.

Here's Matt with his 2 little Valentines. :)

Getting Ready for V-Day

The days leading up to Valentine's Day were busy ones for us. I got a little "heart" happy and made lots of heart-shaped goodies to get us in the mood for the big day. :) I cut everything from sandwiches and toast to cheese into heart shapes -- might as well take advantage of the kids being at the age they totally love that kind of thing!

I made these heart truffles which were a huge hit!
And some heart shaped cookies. Not our usual big cut-out, iced, all-out cookie shindig, but these were easier and they were just as happy with them. :)

We celebrated an early Valentine's Day with Madeleine's class on Friday. I spent most of last week covering 20 shoeboxes in white butcher paper (no small task!) to get ready. Here's my sweet Charlotte in her new outfit from my new favorite spot -- LollyWollyDoodle. :)

We arrived at Madeleine's school while the kids were at PE and got everything set up. I was pretty nervous how this was going to work, since the party fell right in the middle of Charlotte's nap time. I'd saved her lunch for then, so she spent the first bit of the party happily eating in her stroller. Then she got up and roamed around, entertaining all the kids. :) Madeleine's teacher, Mrs. L, is awesome and so so sweet to my children.

The started the party by decorating their boxes, which these 2nd graders took very seriously. They spent the first 30 minutes working on their boxes and then they quickly exchanged their valentines.

Harrison was my big helper and so good during the party! He spent a big part of the time talking Mrs. L's ear off -- at one point I heard him tell her "I only go one kind of potty at school." Yeah, great. I think she got a good laugh at that. :)

We finished up the party with some valentine bingo and yummy snacks. I checked Madeleine out early and we headed home for Charlotte to get some rest. Poor girl, she was asleep before we left the parking lot and slept for 3 hours. It wore her out!

I love being up at Madeleine's school and seeing all the fun things she is doing and learning. Being the homeroom mom is a lot of work, but so worth every late night! Madeleine is alway so excited to have us up there!

Monday, Monday

Oh, weekend how sad I am to see you go! Thankfully, I get to spend my Monday morning with these sweeties.

Here they are, as usual, snuggled up in the chair together eating their breakfast and watching Dora. This is our typical morning routine now. I love it! They are so sweet together!

Pinterest Projects

Pinterest is a dangerous thing. Not only can it keep me up all hours of the night while I look at all the amazing things that other people do, but in that sleep-deprived state it also makes me think that I'm crafty, which I am so NOT. But, I have done a few projects in the past few weeks that turned out pretty good.

I made this sign -- we write on it in dry erase and leave little loves notes for each other. Cuteness!
I made this for valentine's day. The best part is that neither of these projects actually cost me and money -- I used frames and paper I already had. Woohoo! This "love you" turned out so cute I'm thinking it might go to Charlotte's room after valentine's day is over.

This is not actually a pinterest project, since I kinda just did it on my own. Madeleine is the craft queen at our house and she just loves to tack her crafts up in her room, leaving lots of tiny little holes in her walls. So, I made this cork board for her and she can pin to her little hearts content. When the paper gets all hole-y, we'll just replace it. I used my new favorite craft accessory permanent double sided tape to attach it. That stuff is like glue, but much better for us non-crafty people. :)

I also framed this "M" that was in her nursery, but just never fit in her new room for her desk.

I have a couple more projects in the works and one that I'm really excited to try! If it works out, I'll post pics.

Move Over Donna Reed

With Matt's schedule being what it is right now -- he's gone almost every night during the week and works Sunday afternoons as well -- we are trying to make Sunday evenings a family night. He gets home from work (studying) around 6 and I've been cooking a big Sunday supper where we can all sit down and relax and talk. The kids have started to look forward to this and it's been so good for our family to have some time together before the rush of the week hits us.

I took some pictures recently during one of our Sunday nights. Harrison and Charlotte are ready and excited about dinner!

This night I'd made pot roast with all the trimmings. It was quite a hit -- all the kids had second helping and Charlotte polished off almost 3 pieces of roast! The amount of food that girl puts away is insane and as I found out today, she's gained a whopping 1/2 pound in the past 7 months. Wish I had her metabolism. :)

Sunday night dinners often include dessert. :) Always a hit! This night was chocolate ooey-gooey cake. Yum-O.

There is usually some after dinner entertainment provided by Madeleine and Harrison. They work on their "show" most Sunday afternoons.

This night, after bathing Charlotte I put a pair of Madeleine's old undies on her. They were Madeleine's favorite pair (as in, I washed them almost daily) and Charlotte was a hoot running around in them! She kept pulling them up and down and up and down. She thought she was hot stuff in her big girl undies!

She couldn't quite get the rear up though and this is how she spent most of the evening.

We usually end our night with a Wii tournament before spending some extra time reading with them at bedtime.

I know that one day we'll again be involved in a LifeGroup on Sunday nights. I miss that fellowship time, but right now our kids just need to spend some time with their Daddy. It won't last forever, this season of our life, but right now we are making the adjustments as best we can.