hello monday.

hello monday.

hello winter weather that continues to astound us.

Last week we had a day where buying chalk at Target didn't seem ridiculous.

hello glimpse at what having the outside escape is like.

With very little snow and just cold...it has been hard to play or spend time outside.



hello playing around with my camera.

hello to chatting with friends about their new cameras.



hello to a week with very little on our calendar.

hello waiting news from my sister that it's go time.

hello anticipation...and I can honestly say that the fun is almost over and it is just plane time to hear the news...

Will she have a little girl who will grab the pink and purple chalk...or will she have a little brother for Eli and they will fight over the blue.



hello watching your children all of a sudden able to draw their own dinosaurs on the driveway.

hello dirty knees after playing with chalk.



hello having big brother draw little brother.

hello fresh air and the powerful positive impact it has on all of us.

I am calmer, Syd naps better, the boys are less bouncy...all with a little fresh air.



hello cold.  Because it got cold again this weekend.

hello snow that is falling just a little bit today.

goodbye scooters...but I hear that by Thursday we might be ready to scoot out there again.



hello Monday.

How are you today?

We have had a very slow day.  Just what we needed...as we are still all nursing little colds.

 

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hello monday.

hello "new to Sydney" car seat. Santa brought Henry his new booster, which he has been proudly using for the last week or so. Miss Syd sat so proud in this seat in our living room all weekend. It was her favorite play spot. Today it resides in our car.

hello happy feet.

hello homemade birthday cakes. Aren't they the best. I want my children to remember that mama did her best. I LOVE letting them participate in making their own cake, designing it, or making it for their sibling. I don't go all out with some fancy plan - just whatever comes out at the moment. Henry wanted Harry Potter this year because of a new wii game that Charley got for Christmas. I thought it was silly, since he doesn't know much about Harry. So I found a little lego pack with Harry in it and we added that to our M & M flair.

Hello moment of regret. Henry said all day that he didn't want anyone to sing happy birthday to him. We all thought he really didn't mean it. So he went from this to this in a blink of the eye.  We should have listened.

Hello weekend filled with more moments of getting things done around here balanced with some relaxing and play.

Hello failure at my first goal for the month...waking at 6:00am. Ed attempted to remind me to get up...but Syd's need to see me at 3:30 and 5:30 put a wrench in my desire to pop out of bed at 6:02. I am going to be realistic with myself as we get the whole sleeping through the night thing figured out. Still my goal to wake but not going to cry if I decide to sleep in a wee bit.

Hello little Miss Sydney and her need to NOT nap lately.  We get a decent morning nap, most days.  But the afternoon nap is just not happening and it is killing me.  Busy girl needs to give this mama a moment to fold laundry without a distracted eye on her intense need to investigate every. single. thing.  FOR THE LOVE OF NAPS.

hello readers.  I know you are out there.  I want to figure out how to get you to engage in things here more.  Where are you sitting and reading this post right now...according to my stat thingy...someone might be from New York...or even Germany...Canada...Arizona or just down the road!   Say hello!  It would make me smile.

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hello monday.

hello afternoons that are meant for getting our craft on.  We had beads, Popsicle sticks, glue and our creative juices flowing all over our kitchen table last week.  We added a brown construction paper stem to the trees and a string and the trees hang adorably on the tree.  I really like them.  And the snowmen will have magnets added to them and will be gifted to Great Aunts and Uncles.  We did many.

hello quiet moments with your soon to be four year old son playing Candy Land and sipping hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. (Marshmallows available at Ubake)

hello mug that we painted last spring and finally gets it's first taste of hot chocolate.

hello pinterest.  Just recently joined and am addicted.  Let me know if you want in and I will send you an invite or follow you!

hello new tires on the van.  All I wanted for Christmas...

hello gate that allows me to change up laundry or pee quick.  Really quick.  Because this little girl does not want to be confined for very long anymore.

hello Miss Sydney's signal that she is ready for a nap.  She has been doing it since she was born and continues still at almost 11 months. 

hello Oreo truffles...a new holiday cookie that I can make gluten free for my friend and my sister.

hello holiday special cartoons that keep the boys calm for chunks of time.

hello holiday cards that are starting to cover our pantry cupboard instead of our fridge this year. 

hello Shutterfly - you have given me some very fun gifts to give this year and our holiday card is on the way.  Yipee!

hello Amazon online shopping - I am seriously going to miss the UPS guy that stops by every other day dropping off boxes of goodies. 

hello friends.  I hope you had a good Monday. 

Go here to find other bloggers saying hello to Monday.

hello monday.

hello monday.

hello winter driving - not super excited to greet you

hello to a week where I get to fill in as "grandma" at Charley's school

hello to a year of first grade birthday party invites...they keep rolling in

hello to Miss Sydney sitting at the big kid snack table during our class last Wed

sorry for the poor picture quality...through the secret window with my phone camera.

hello tooth fairy - Charley lost his second tooth a week ago

hello learning not to take your other kids when one child has a giftcard to spend 

hello laundry baskets that keep littles out of trouble.

hello to lots of hours in the car 

hello precious time with family to celebrate and give thanks

hello place cards for my families Thanksgiving meal

hello little girl in her cage

(notice a theme here...keeping Miss Sydney confined)

But check this out.  I hosted a playgroup and we put the two tiniest in the fenced in jail of a play area and look who joined them...all the big kids.  All us moms had to laugh that this was our solution to relaxed playdates - confine the kids and uncork the wine :)

hello short week but full week.

hello to a healthy week so we can all enjoy the holiday festivities.

What are you saying to hello this week?

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all pictures taken with phone (except last one).

hello monday

{goodbye} mellow weekend, hanging out with family, and getting things done in a leisurely kinda way.  Sydney is sad that daddy is back at work, Charley is back to school, and it is nap time.

{hello} monday - we're jumping right in.

{hello} friendly neighbors who raked the most beautiful pile of leaves and called us and invited the boys to jump in them. 

{hello} one more chance to snap some shots of the kids in a leaf pile. 

{hello} to calling a GREAT Aunt to say hi and realizing how fun it is to talk to her.

{hello} to sharing in my mom's new exciting purchase.

{hello} to daddy frying up our cottage fish and watching Henry gobble it because he was so proud of having caught most of it.

{hello}  to moments gathered around our kitchen table elbow deep in paper scraps, crayons, and glue.

{hello} to letting go of the desire to do the project for your child and enjoying their hard work. 

{hello} to Henry's first big school project...disguising a turkey. 

{hello} SpiderTurkey.

{hello} grocery shopping and staying in budget (while feeling like I was on my own episode of that couponing show).

{hello} starting off our Monday cozy at the kitchen table working on some Star Wars counting and coloring with Henry. Thanks to this website.

Friends, 
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  The weather was perfect here, gray but pretty warm, and I kept telling Charley that his bike riding days were numbered.  Ed got SO much done outside...I think we can say that we are ready for winter.  Trying to see our week as simple but there is a lot jammed into the days and evenings.  Taking it hour by hour and enjoying the ride - that's my plan. 

What are you looking forward to this week?
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hello monday.

hello EARLY Monday morning - I actually appreciated not having to rush the boys, since we were all up at 6am...giving us 3 good hours to get out the door.

hello new week, with a new list of to dos.  This weekend we got SO MUCH done around the house.

hello homemade mac and cheese...steaming on our plates on Friday night.

hello one last weekend of beautiful fall temps.

hello little chats in the yard.

hello raking leaves and having them blow right back into the yard.

hello watching Charley attempt handstands.

hello thinking that I can still do a handstand but knowing that my arms would not be able to hold my weight. 

hello Miss Sydney who took two nose dives over our one little step into our lower living area -the girl is brave and goes back again.

hello Motrin that is helping this girl sleep a bit...cold or teeth.  Just can't decide.

hello Henry and your creative busy play during the day.

hello furnace, we have put you to work.

hello cups and all the fun you have given us.



hello week with nothing on our evening agenda.  I know this time is soooo precious.  Soon enough we will be juggling three kids after school activities.  But this week, we are all home for dinner.

hello Mondays that are spent with new friends that come for the day from afar and give me moments to enjoy mommy chatter and time focused on the kids.  Laundry, floor cleaning, dusting etc....all waited today.  Thanks Meg for the fun visit.

Happy Monday friends! 

What does your week look like?

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Hello Monday.

Hello Monday - short week for this full time mama. 

Hello Fall Break {Charley's home all week!}

Hello waffle batter, leftover from Sunday morning, stored in a large mason jar.

Hello Miss Sydney who now shoves every puff in her mouth and so you have to play "Puff Police" and monitor and distribute puffs at an appropriate pace.

Hello breast pump...or rather good freakin' morning because you and I have been meeting at o' too early in the morning lately. 

Hello summer fort...how different you look in just a month and a half.

Hello laundry that needs to get done.

Hello errands that need to be run with all three kids.  whoopee!

Hello fellow mom of three who looks just as frazzled and says, "Why are we doing this with three?" when we pass at Target this morning.

Hello craft hour this afternoon.  We are going to commit to hand print Halloween/ fall crafts...spiders, apple trees, and whatever else makes my skirt fly up. 

Hello pumpkin carving party...in which the dads do most of the work.  And BIG saws and wee pumpkins are laying around :)

Hello new shoes that make me smile.

Hello the feeling of normal as the boys sit together again eating lunch, and this checked out mama is typing this in the other room.  Multitasking at it's finest. 

One last one..

Hello conversation I am listening to from the other room,

Charley, "How about we are at a restaurant and my mom is the cook?"
Henry, "Okay, how about my mom is the cook too."
Charley, "no."
Henry, "I go poopy.  How about your mom wipes me after I go?"

What are you saying "Hello" to this fabulous Monday?

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