Solids

Bode enjoyed his first solid food this past week.  Watch as he enjoys some rice cereal.

Surprise Birthday Date

Both of my sweeties were taking their naps, and I was finishing up cleaning the kitchen yesterday when I heard our stubborn front doorknob jiggling.  The door creaked open while Asia started barking like crazy.  I went to investigate and sure enough, it was my husband, home from work at 1:00 (he's been walking to and from the school this week)!  I was surprised, to say the least, and even more surprised when he said that his mom was coming in ten minutes, so we could go out to celebrate my birthday!  I had no idea, especially since my birthday isn't for another week, falling on Easter this year.  I hurriedly showered, got myself ready, and got Maggie's and Bode's things ready to go to their grandparents' while Steve and I went out.

We did a little shopping with some gift cards that were burning a hole in my wallet, saw The Hunger Games (good!), and ate a yummy Mexican meal at Don Julio's.  Then we moseyed back to Isanti and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee at Rendezvous before heading home to tuck Maggie into bed.

It was nice enough outside to enjoy our coffee on the patio at Rendezvous.  Ahhh.

It was a fun early celebration and a long overdue date night for the two of us!

Playing the Piano

Maggie has always had a love for music, and it looks like Bode is following in her footsteps.  Recently he was fussing until I set him down at the piano and let him pound away.  A future concert pianist, perhaps?

Play Date Project

Every once in awhile, we like to get together with a couple other stay-at-home-moms and their children for a play date.  Last time we were together, Evie mentioned it'd be fun to have some sort of organized activity for the kiddos to do.  Inspired by the rainy weather and some creative kids activities I found on Pinterest using cotton balls, I whipped up a little something for today's date.

I felt like I was planning a lesson, but after teaching secondary science for years, it was fun to get in touch with my early childhood/elementary side!  

At their age, the kids don't have an incredibly long attention span, but I think they had fun.

Finished products.  Sorry I cut out N's artwork!

We also had to get some photos of the babies.

B - 5 months, C - 3 months, L - 5 1/2 weeks

Buddies

Bode was very interested in C.  C was a good sport.

Spa Day, Anyone?

During snack time, I found Maggie like this:

Apparently she needed a spa day, and there were no cucumbers around.  The jury's still out on whether crackers are just as effective.  However, they did leave some salt in the eye.  Ouch!

Cookies

Today Steve did something that I've never known him to do in seven and a half years of marriage.  He baked cookies.  No prompting on my part at all!  He just wanted cookies!  I saw him reading the back of the chocolate chip bag, and before I knew it, he was getting out other ingredients to begin his project.  Unsure of exactly how much he knows about that sort of thing, I helpfully suggested he use my mom's recipe and explained how to pack brown sugar while measuring.  He quickly banished me from the kitchen and continued on his own.

Sneezing into his shirt while baking.  Very sanitary.

Carefully spooning dough onto the baking sheet.

That looks about right.

 They were actually quite delicious.  Good job, Steve!  I think I'll have to suggest a repeat in the future.

Here are a few other pictures from the day:

Too Cute

Here are some pictures of my little Boo just 'cause he's too cute.

B loves to stick out his tongue now.

 That sweet face almost makes up for the fact that he started waking me up at night again now that I'm getting up early for work every day.  He had FINALLY started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago.  *sigh*  Here's to hoping he returns to that habit when my two-week sub job ends on Friday.

And here's one from last weekend of big sister Maggie enjoying the tire swing at the park.  'Cause she's just too cute, too.

I Forgot How Great Fridays Are

I had an extra spring in my step yesterday (Friday) afternoon.  Sure, part of it was due to the AMAZING warm weather we've had this week.  Seriously, is this really March?  But I was mostly excited for the weekend and the chance to spend time with my sweet little family!  I've been filling in for a biology teacher at C-I High School this past week, and I had forgotten the welcome feeling of the weekend finally being here after a week of work.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy teaching, and I'm so thankful for two sets of grandparents that love and selflessly watch our children while I sub, but my decision to be a stay-at-home-mom has been even further cemented this week away from home.  So this is what we did Friday and today:

I still have three to five more consecutive days of subbing this coming week, but I will enjoy it knowing that it's not permanent and I will be home again with my sweeties very soon!

Oh, and today little B is five months old.  Wow!

Spring Break

Steve had spring break this past week, so we headed to Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells for four nights and five days of fun.  Maggie loved the indoor water parks, and we were even joined by Steve's brother and family for a couple days.



It was a much needed break for Steve and a fantastic vacation for the rest of us.