Snow

It rained most of the night last night, so due to icy conditions Kade's school had another two hour delay! He was excited. Tenley loves it too. When I put them to bed tonight Tenley asked if Kade had to go to school tomorrow and when I told her that he did, she was sad. She said, "I hate it when Kade has to go to school!" She's a funny girl. But it makes me so happy that they have so much fun together!
I got the kids all bundled up to walk Kade to the bus stop and when we got home Tenley and Ryder did not want to come inside. They love playing in the snow. I let them enjoy it as long as possible today since it looks like it will all be gone soon.

Down Time

I vividly remember when Kade was about the age that Ryder is now. It was just him and me. We lived on the Simmons property at that time so we spent our days running around in the fields, throwing rocks in ponds, and chasing cats and dogs. We had simple, fairly structured days. In the afternoon after playing outside, we'd come back in for some down time. He liked to sit on my lap and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and I'd occasionally close my eyes and get a quick power nap before needing to make dinner.
Today I tried to re-create that situation with Ryder. When Kade gets home from school he likes to have some electronic time and a snack. So Ryder sat on my lap, ate apples and peanut butter with me, and instead of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, we watched Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. I wasn't able to shut my eyes at all, but it was still a relaxing moment that gave me the energy I needed to finish out the day.
I love my sweet kids and the moments like this that I get to spend with them.

Kade had the day off from school for Martin Luther King Jr. day. I loved having him home! Brad was able to go snowmobiling and the kids and I decided to stay home all day. They never even changed out of their pajamas! We had dance parties, played freeze tag and hide 'n seek, played the Wii, and got a few projects done. I guess we're all home bodies :). Brad brought home pizza just in time for family night and a movie.

Family

Today was a good day. Sundays are usually always good because my focus is on church and family and those two things make me the happiest. We don't have church until 1 PM now so we are able to sleep in and have a relaxing morning. But it also means we don't have a relaxing afternoon. We get home, I make dinner, and then it's almost bedtime. We didn't have dinner with the Simmons tonight but we still had a yummy dinner. I just love my people; Brad, Kade, Tenley, and Ryder. I could spend all day everyday with them and be happy. They're the best and I'm so grateful that they're mine!

Saturday

We had absolutely no plans today, which I was kind of excited about. Ryder helped me make waffles in the morning. He loves to sit on the counter while I cook and he really loves helping me mix things together.
Then the kids and I played some games until Kade asked if we could go to the aquatic center. Brad and I decided we could as long as they cleaned up the house and Kade finished his homework. They did all those things really fast and then we headed to the pool. Ryder loves swimming. They all do. We had a lot of fun at the pool and even had some friends join us! It was fun to be spontaneous today.

Ryder

Ryder has been the cutest, sweetest, little boy lately. He loves to repeats us. He can sing the whole ABC's one letter at a time while he repeats me. And the more time I spend hanging out with him and playing with him, the less time he has to get into trouble and make a mess of the house. He's been hugging and cuddling us a lot more lately too. I really love this age and we all really love our little Ryder.

Brothers, Food Fights

There was another two hour delay for school this morning! I wish it was like this all the time. It's fun to see Kade and Ryder have some bonding time together while Tenley sleeps in. There's about 5 years between them, but I hope they're still able to develop a close relationship!

Tonight after dinner, Brad started a food fight! I think he was trying to lighten the mood because Kade and Tenley had been fighting all afternoon and they lost some privileges so they were super sad. Anyway, we had potato soup and bread bowls for dinner and Brad took some of the bread dough, made it into a ball and started throwing it at us! The kids jumped right in on the fight! It was kind of funny, and luckily not too messy!

Delays

This morning all the schools in town were delayed for two hours because of the weather we've been having. It was so nice to have a slower morning with Kade. He played with Ryder while Tenley slept in and I made german pancakes. Then we all played in the snow while we waited for the bus.

Reading

Every night I ask the kids what their favorite part of the day was. Kade usually says that his favorite part of the day is school unless, like today, he got to have friends over after school. And Tenley's favorite part is usually her reading lesson. Apparently my kids like learning!

I love having a reading lesson with Tenley too! She has been easy to teach. She's a quick learner and she always tries her hardest. She has made so much progress and I'm so proud of her!

Sleeping Ryder

Ryder is a sweet, sweet boy and we all love him! But, he is quite a handful. I turn my head for one second and he is in to something he shouldn't be. I'll tell him not to do something and he'll obey for a minute, but he seems to know just the right moment when I'm no longer paying attention to do it again anyway!
Yesterday when I was getting ready for church, he ate my lipstick, scattered Tenley's hair elastics all over the floor, and started using Brad's toothbrush to brush his teeth (sorry Brad!) all within 5 minutes. And today while I was video chatting with my parents he somehow reached Brad's wedding ring on the counter and started throwing it around the kitchen like a toy.
I love that he is independent, curious, and creative, but I guess I just need to learn a little more patience with him.
It's amazing how he can go from a handful to super duper adorable in 10 seconds though. Tonight when we started our movie for family night he sat on my lap for the first 20 minutes! And then for the next 20 minutes he was doing jumps on Brad and flipping off the couch.
It was a crazy night for a while there, but he's always sweet when I put him to bed. He always folds his arms for the prayer, says 'AMEN!' as loud as he can, gives everyone hugs, says 'I love you', blows kisses, closes his door, turns off his light, gives me a good cuddle with his blankets, and then lays down and goes right to sleep.
Then the house is eerily quiet until morning.

Nursery

Our cute, happy, curious, little Ryder went to nursery today for his first time. Techinicallly, he could have started going six months ago, but he's just too cute and fun to be with to send away.
He almost stayed the entire time, but I'm sure he'll love it even more next week!

Fun Family Days

Wow, I can't believe how cold it is right now! Our house seems extra drafty too so I feel like I'm always cold. Thank heavens for wool socks, cozy sweatshirts, and heat blankets! When we're at home, those three things keep me extra warm.
We spent a lot of time indoors today. We watched a fun family movie in the afternoon, and then we finally decided to venture out. We took the kids to the library, then Walmart to play with toys, and then to dinner. That's how we have fun in small towns during freezing cold winter days! But it really was fun and I loved hanging out with my silly kids and my cute husband all day. Nothing could have been better.
Unless we could have gone to Disneyland I guess...;)

Birthdays

Today was Brad's Mom's birthday so we did our best to honor her memory in little ways. We talked about her a lot with the kids and Kade still has some good memories of her. The talks did prompt some crazy questions from Kade like, "How old is Jesus?" He is such a deep thinker...
We bought some balloons to send off in the sky tonight. It's a fun way for the kids to do something for Grandma even though she isn't here. Ryder wasn't very happy about letting his balloon go. He really, really, really loves balloons! But later he was super cute while I was busy in the kitchen. He kept saying, "Dada, basketball!" He loves sitting on the couch with Brad to watch basketball with him. He wouldn't stop begging for it so Brad gave in. It was the sweetest thing!
I made homemade bread tonight because it definitely reminds me of my mother-in-law. I also attempted cinnamon rolls which were her thing as well. Hers were always so delicious and I've never been able to make good ones! I tried a new recipe tonight and was pretty excited about it until I saw that it called for powdered milk which I don't have! But then I remembered that years ago, my sweet mother-in-law had given us boxes and boxes of canned food storage like flour, sugar, potatoes, and powdered milk! I dug it out and used it for the first time. I was so thankful! And the cinnamon rolls were really good! Tiny miracles :)

Chances to Slow Down

I've been feeling pretty sick today. It's a bad head cold that started when we got home from our trip but today has been the worst of it so far. My kids have been sweet to me though. It's funny to say this, but I'm sort of grateful to be sick. It has forced me to slow down and spend more time lying on the floor which attracts my children who come and lay down with me. I've spent more time cuddling, playing with, and talking to them more today than yesterday and it's helped me realize how important it is to slow down more often! I need that more focused time with them and they probably need that more focused time with me. My favorite party of the day was cuddling with Tenley and Ryder on the bean bag while Kade read us a Henry and Mudge book. After I sat on the bean bag Kade made sure to put a blanket over me. He is such a gentleman!

Rest

These past few days have been busy! Even though we are home now, I'm still not back to our normal routine yet as I'm still catching up, but I'm anxious to get there. I made a lot of progress today though so I can see that the end is near! Just bathrooms to clean, outside Christmas lights to take down, and a load of toys to take to goodwill. I really wanted to get rid of some of our toys before adding all the ones the kids got for Christmas and they were all surprisingly helpful in choosing some to discard. I was grateful for that.
After dinner and clean-up and putting Ryder to bed, I finally took a break to watch a little show with Brad, Kade, and Tenley. It was a nice rest! Brad's been pretty exhausted as well. It's hard to get back to a busy lifestyle when you've been relaxing for 10 days! But our trip was SO worth it!