snow and a second date

both snow in april and two dates in a weekend are very rare and happened this weekend! we were all surprised by how much snow there was this morning.

and then matt and i took a second date since we forgot to use our gift card on thursday night. it was so nice to enjoy a meal on our own. matt even surprised me by suggesting dessert!

thanks for making it happen, grandma!

"they hatched!" and other saturday adventures

the kids, and grandma, were pretty excited to see some cracks in the eggs and even more delighted when they popped open. (there might have been a little help given.) now to watch the critters grow!

grandma got to work on 'her puzzle' while we were getting ready and hanging at home this morning. 

we don't have too many quiet saturdays anymore and we were booked all afternoon today. first manning has his very first ever birthday party on his own to attend. he was SO excited! he talked the whole way there about who would be there and what they were going to do.

but once we got there, he clammed right up and hid his face in my leg. it took him a little while to warm up to the party and join his friends. they had arranged for inflatables at a local ymca for the party. the kids had a blast! we had to leave a little early and missed the gift opening because we had a second party to attend with all of the kids.

manning and i went home to pick up the rest of the crew and take them to our neighbor's birthday party at a "cupcake palace." we dropped the kids and matt off while grandma and i went to do a little shopping.

grandma and i marveled at the weather that was a wintery mix with sleet, big flat snowflakes, rain and then sunshine! crazy stuff.

we came back to some very happy (and very sugared up) kids. matt said that they had cupcakes, cotton candy, juice, popcorn and candy. they even had another cupcake to take home! needless to say, the kids had a WONDERFUL time! love,

grandma goodies

grandma brought the kids 'hatching' eggs for easter. i am not sure who is more excited for them to hatch, grandma or the kids.

and of course she brought other goodies too, including sunglasses from her and big pop's recent trip to the key west. love.

grandma's here

grandma likes to come visit near my birthday to give us some free babysitting and celebrate with us. plus, she loves to eat in restaurants. so i picked her up from the airport, picked the boys up from school and headed to a restaurant where we ate way too much food.

grandma also loves chuck e. cheese. since she would only be here for the weekend, tonight was our best bet at it not being packed. grandma had already had a very long day after an early flight but she was game.

and then i had the best idea - we would drop grandma and the kids off at chuck e. cheese while matt and i went to have a dinner alone at the restaurant across the parking lot. perfect! the restaurant was pretty busy and told us that there was a 45 minute wait. instead of just waiting we went over to buy a gift card at the grocery store a short walk away. our table was ready when we got back. we had a wonderful, relaxing meal. and then we noticed the time - yikes! it was a school night so we quickly paid and headed back to get grandma and the kids. and then we realized that we hadn't paid with the gift card. oops. i guess we will have to go out again this weekend. love.

happy birthday to me!

ah, the weekday birthday of a mom. i did not have high hopes for today being very special since the kids had school and we had church tonight. but the day surprised me.

i got everyone off to school and then went to meet a friend at the ymca for walking and got my birthday t-shirt (they give you a shirt if you come in on your birthday). then home to shower and off to pick up the boys. i decided that we were going out for lunch. they made for great lunch dates.

shortly after we got home a friend stopped by to drop off some flowers for me - brightening my day.

matt surprised me by coming home a little early with lots of special treats! we were planning on eating a quick dinner out at one of my favorite restaurants before heading to church. (it is always closed on sundays when most special days are for me.) but matt went above and beyond coming home with the new vegan ben & jerry's, 'grown-up' root beer, balloons, gourmet cupcakes and gift cards. one gift card was for some new athletic shoes and the other, and most impressive, was for netflix. we subscribe to hulu and matt remembered that netflix is working on a gilmore girls reunion. i loved gilmore girls. and he remembered. he got the gift card so that i could watch the reunion. it might be the most loving gift he has ever given me.

and then we went to church where i worked on prepping for sunday while the kids went to their programming.

i don't think i could have planned a more special day. thank you to everyone who showered me with love. i am a lucky girl. love.

crazy hair

manning did this to his hair and was extremely pleased. he asked me for the picture. love.

manning tatoo

don't let the face fool you. manning was very proud of his name 'tattoo.' the face was just for the picture. love.