all you need is love

.....love is all you need. Handy husband picked the most appropriate card for Valentines Day.

And the most perfect chocolates. My favorite dark chocolate turtles from "Oh Chocolates"-there is no better sweet treat as far as I'm concerned. You see the 2 in the box? Um, they aren't there anymore. Neither are the other 4 that came packed up so beautifully.

How 'bout this little number? It's mine since February 14th. Isn't he special? Don't get excited-I'm not calling our insurance agent to up our policy. It's not "real" but it's real beautiful.

There are 3 days in my life I've received a ring from handy husband. This picture was taken on one of them. It seems like an eternity ago. Don't we look ignorant, oblivious, and blissfully rested? The sign in the picture should now read, "just had a baby". We could have left it up permanently since that infamous day in July of 2006 and it would have never been out of date.

the ones I love

Valentines Day. It used to mean flowers, a reservation at a great restaurant, a romantic comedy, and a quiet evening with the one I love. That sounds ridiculous to me now. It now means a few hours of making homemade Valentines for a school party, making cupcakes, a breakfast of heart shaped pancakes, dinner in the dining room that ends up on the floor, and about 30 minutes of Secratariat (the movie) while folding laundry.

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Gracie loves anything associated with stickers, coloring, painting, glue, and scissors. I loved my trip to the store with her to pick out the most perfect heart stickers to make our Valentines. My "mother of the year" moment came when we made a visit to the candy aisle. Grace had to pick out chocolates to put in her little Valentine bags. She chose the Hershey's chocolate hearts. I had to explain what they were and what M&M's were. I'm giddy. My job is done.

On Saturday before Valentines, Henry and I had our first night out since Graham was born. Nana was here to watch the kids with a new "Little Bear" video to watch. We headed out to celebrate our friends' 6th anniverary. The kids played with their new ball from Nana & Papa and Handy husband and I enjoyed the homemade chocolates from my Mom.

rain....again?

It's raining again. The "professionals" forecasted quite a bit of snowfall this winter. Where is it? It's incredibly dissapointing for someone that thinks very few things top snow falling from the sky. These raincoats have seen too much rain. Every outing begins this way: the kids in raincoats,looking at worms on the ground, proceeding to stomp through the mud puddles, and eventually their bums in car seats. Yes, they are wet, but at least we are all in the car. Seriously, before I back out of the driveway, I have to turn around and make sure I see 2 blond heads, a dog with 2 ears, and a baby in a carseat. I'm never excited about the herding of the kids to the car. I need a cattle dog. We don't have one of those on this farm, do we?

a few firsts

William and Gracie woke up to chocolate orange french toast. This is a first. Chocolate in the morning? This never happens in our house. To my credit, I used whole wheat bread, topped it with plain yogurt, and used dark chocolate so the kids were definitely getting their antioxidants for the day!

Since my baby is not yet able to partake in such delicacies he chose to lounge with his Nana.

To continue with firsts, baby Graham took his first ride in the BOB stroller on the pipeline trail. It was a typical walk of "non-firsts".....the kids complaining with one another as to who gets to ride in the "jumpseat", running through mud puddles, and picking up horse dung while saying "uh oh" (William). Lovely.

We closed out the afternoon with the biggest "first" of them all-Grace and William snuggled together under a blanket reading "Curious George". Oh, how I love these moments. These are the ones that are so rare but seem to get you through until the next picture worthy moment. Why, oh why is there such a long span of time between the two????

rolling with laughter

Graham is growing like a weed. I don't see him as being "big" or "rather large" but when I look at photos I think, "where did this kid come from?". The rolls just make me laugh. My first 2 were desperately trying to stay in the double digits when it came to the percentiles but not this guy-he's in the 90's. I love ALL of him!

All this growing must be making him so tired.

winner winner chicken dinner

Approximately twice a month I make a roasted chicken dinner with all the fixin's-carrots, potatoes, and shallots.  We've termed this "winner winner chicken dinner".  The kids love it and I love the following days of chicken soup and homemade chicken broth.  The house smells just like Martha Stewart's when the broth is simmering all day.  Yes it does, believe me.  I freeze the stock in quarts and use it in risotto, soups, and so forth.   Koby always gets in on the action with some broth on his dinner as well.

A certain someone just started reaching for toys. I love how he so seriously stares down an object and tries with all his might to grasp it with those teeny, wrinkled fingers. His hands actually quiver from his concentration.

Just a day

Kid #1 had swim lessons today-the first of this session. She is an incredible swimmer.  I began these swim lessons with her when she was just 18 months old (approx) and had to get in the pool with her.  Now, she's become so independent that I'm the parent sitting on the pool deck watching and cheering her on.  How did she become this old so quickly?  Why didn't I see this happening before my very own eyes. 

All the while, I'm starting lessons with kid #2.  I get to get in the pool with him and I savor every ,moment of our alone time.  Being the second child, he definetely gets the shorter end of the stick.  We had an uninterrupted talk on the way to lessons, I became fully immersed (no pun intended) in his concentration and smiles while in the pool, and laughed as he savored his very first shower-alone.  I really think that was my favorite part. 

In this new year, I vow to make time with these precious kids of mine.  To sit and color, put puzzles together, choo choo around the living room with Thomas, and dance to our collection of tunes on our Ipod.  The laundry and clean-up will always be here but this time won't.  Just like my time in the pool with my kids.