They grow up so fast.

Jacob wears a hand-me-down Hawkeye shirt that I used to wear post-college, and last night he asked me to try on the shirt he wore to school yesterday. So I did. 

And if not for it being about 6 inches shorter than I care to wear my shirts, it fit perfectly. This kid is getting big quickly, which would explain why I was able to wear his flip flops for an impromptu pedicure the other day. I cannot wait for Camryn to be my size. Her clothes are much more my style than Jacob’s! 

Camryn.

This girl is not camera shy, which is why her mug takes up the most space on my phone photos.
A few shots of what she’s been up to.

{Raiding my collection of very old skating costumes. She spent an entire day in a flapper costume, which may have almost pushed Caleb over the edge.}





{Wearing cheerleader outfits. And accessorizing with big bows. This girl has a look, and she knows just how she wants to achieve it.}


{Locking herself in the bathroom so she can get her hair exactly how she wants it. She spent a solid 20 minutes styling her do before we took off to run errands. I should have brought her to some high class places instead of the furniture resale shop!}


{Playing with snow that she made at school. I have no idea what it is composed of, but it has provided hours of free entertainment!}


{Sleeping away a sick bug. But not before she bathed and did her hair. Sweet pea.}

Weekend “Vacation”

In November we planned a family hotel trip to Iowa where we were going to watch the Hawkeyes play Purdue in basketball. And about 5 hours before we left for our trip, Camryn caught herself a fever. But after a lot of coercing (not convincing) by Caleb, our family of five loaded up and hit the road for Iowa anyways.

This was my view from the hotel room.

I had the pleasure of spending almost 36 solid hours locked in the hotel with this poor sick kid. Luckily we had a kitchen in our room and a Trader Joe’s within walking distance so I was able to stock my fridge with some essentials. Like Prosecco.

While I was playing nurse mom, the boys made it to the game and had a blast!

Perhaps the highlight of my weekend was hearing that Iowa was pounded by my alma mater. Or maybe watching Mason run around the hotel for a solid ten minutes upon arrival exclaiming “oh my gosh, this place is so cool!” Poor kid needs to get out more often.

The boys had a great time swimming in the hotel pool and had blood shot eyes to prove it. And maybe next time we can all make the trip in good health!

Well, that was unexpected.

A middle of the night thunderstorm warranted a whole-family sleepover last night. And while I will never understand how my kids can sleep through everything except a thunder clap, I love that they know the drill: bring your own pillows and blankets, line up your bodies on the floor next to the bed, and keep away from foot traffic. Thank goodness for plenty of floor space, and feeling the love of morning snuggles after Caleb got out of bed and the kids snuck in. Heart is full.

Some things about Mason.

{Picture taken today, January 19, after school.}

Number 1: This kid sneaks shorts in the winter. As in he wears shorts under his pants every day, and as soon as he knows he is in for the day he wastes no time stripping off the pants. And because today’s high was above freezing he was none to happy when I told him 37 degrees did not qualify as a shorts-only day. Mean mom. All day. Every day.

Number 2: Hair cuts top his list of hygienic importance. Jacob got his mop trimmed a couple of weeks ago because I made him. Mason’s coif had not yet grown out from the last trim and therefore disqualified him from that scissor session, so to talk him off the ledge at Great Clips I promised him a cut before our upcoming Iowa trip. And this morning, about 8 hours before trip time, he reminded me of that promise. So after some creative thinking, I pulled him from school during lunch and recess to get a cut. Crisis and a broken promise saved for another day!

That kid.

Preschool Wacky Wednesday.

Taken to the Nth degree.

The rest of break.

The holidays are over, and tomorrow the kids head back to school. So a recap of the odds and ends that filled our break...







{New Year’s Eve. With an intentionally small group of neighborhood besties!}





{Painting. And lots of it. Mason drew this flamingo for my parents’ Florida condo. Sorry, Mom and Dad, this one’s coming with me in a few weeks. Have a frame ready.}





{And Camryn. An homage to the letters she knows and loves.}





{A movie and lunch with this group of tight friends. Thank goodness for the fun moms linked to these fun kiddos. Love this group!}





{A group of maniacs crashed my T-25 workout. My official promise: work out every day until I hop on the plane to Hawaii. Six days down. Never mind how many to go...}






{This set of shelves in our bedroom is finally installed and complete. The perfect way to fill up an empty wall!}






{Sledding! The boys rocked their snowboards, and Camryn caught some serious air off the snow ramp!}











What didn’t we do? Take down Christmas decorations. A job for another day!

Cabin Fever

Cold temps have us all huddled up inside. And I’m running out of ways to keep these kids busy. So we are tackling a project I have had on my to-do list for several years now: organizing the roughly 14 million Lego pieces we own by reassembling the roughly 974 sets we own. Numbers may or may not be exaggerated.







All Legos have been sorted by color, and now the hunt is on for all of the missing pieces to all of the incomplete sets we have. My Lego master boys are up to the challenge, and have already completed more than 15 sets. I hope to have this project completed and my Christmas tree put away by June...