the Human Canvas

Creed has discovered the myriad of options he has when using his body as a canvas. Pens, markers and glue, have all been tried to create the perfect picture.

I had no idea that yesterday when he said "off, peaze" that creating a masterpiece is what he had in mind. So, since he said "peaze" I took his clothes off.

He hung around me, acting cute, showing me the characters on his diaper and saying "cheese" for the camera.

And then I lost sight of the little guy and when I went to find him, I found him having some quality art time.

He's actually really good. He even used the marker to get his back and upper neck. Now that's a talented artist! Good thing for washable markers.

Friday Night

{sometimes I feel a bit crazy}

Friday Night is movie night. We started this tradition with the boys about 5 months ago and we all look forward to it each week.

Sometimes we go to Reams to get a video, sometimes we use Redbox or Netflix and sometimes we pick something from our video library that we haven't watched in a while.

Well today, I thought it would be fun to go to the library to pick out our videos. Gibson was home sick yesterday, Easton hasn't been feeling well today and allowing them each to pick out a video for a measly $1 was a steal! Plus, it would get us out of the house for a few minutes which we all needed!

Ugh, what was I thinking?

Terror erupted when we walked through the library doors. Creed the rows and rows of upright books and decided to use his quick hand and just start pushing them off the shelves. Awesome.

Easton found the only step stool near the videos and Gibson just melted because he couldn't see any of the videos up high.

It was the fastest we've ever been to the library. I basically threw the money at the librarian just to get the boys out of there.

So, I decided to go to Wal-mart.

I had a great idea to take them to the freezer section and let them pick their own dinner. I fondly remember TV dinners and thought they would too.

Instead, I got tears, tantrums and Wal-mart employees asking me if my kids are okay. We went to Wendys instead.

How quickly can I get home and pass these adorable boys off to their dad?

Oh wait, dad went to watch cage fighting. It's me, myself and 3 boys.

Frankly, I should have known. My mommy instincts should have kicked on and I should have known that my boys don't usually act like that, something was not right.

And indeed it wasn't. Fevers, vomiting, coughs and pink eye erupted with a force a few hours after bedtime!

Sorry library and wal-mart for spreading the germs. I hope everyone washes their hands!

Yeah for playdates!

Sometimes I feel like I've been locked inside and someone on the outside ran away with the key! January can be so blah. This January has just been cold. cold. cold. Frozen snow not ideal to play in is all around us. The only play lands are those attached to fast food restaurants and a serious case of the blahs had me in a chokehold.

Thank goodness for playdates!

Casey and I decided to head to the mall and let the kids play on the very exciting foam thingy they have there. We weren't the only moms with that idea! The kids played, snacked and enjoyed some free time while Casey and I enjoyed refereeing and catching up on the small town to-do's.

{Casey and I holding down the bench. Picture courtesy of Gibson}

It was only 90 minutes {Erin, that is the same as an hour and a half} but it was so worth it! We dropped Gibson off at school, Creed took a nap and Easton and I did some puzzles. It was what we all needed to get rid of a little of the January blahs.

Is it really, January 12th?

One of my goals for 2011 was to blog more often. Why? Well, because it's my form of a journal and I want to be able to document the small things in our lives, the everyday moments that make us tick.

Obviously, I need to put more focus on it. It's January 12th and I haven't even thought about blogging. Ugh. Not that we haven't been doing anything because we've been plenty busy. See, I'll show you.

Jared has been enjoying his new iPad that I gave him for Christmas. Honestly. I didn't think he'd enjoy it or even use it. I bought him an iTouch last Christmas and I quickly got ownership of it within weeks. However, the iPad is just too cool and too convenient. He plays Pandora at work, surfs the web and keeps track of all his to-do things. I rarely see it and when I am able to use it, I get the stink eye because "it's his."

Another one of my goals for 2011 is to get organized and to learn to live with less. The first item of business for me was the toys in the basement and with a trip to Ikea, I was able to organize, purge and arrange all the little trinkets like blocks, legos, trains, cars, etc.

Second item of business was the pantry. An explosion had happened over the past year and it was driving me mad. It's not perfect but boy oh boy, is it clean{er} than it was! Makes me happy when I open it.

{yes, those are giant buckets of flour and sugar. Mirror, mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all!}

Creed has decided to live/sleep on the edge. Literally.

The big boy bed has brought us many nights with a little Creed sandwiched between us. We have only had a few successful "all nighters" in his own bed. We're working on it and we are trying to be consistent with the process of getting him to sleep but sheesh, it's exhausting.

{things I love about this picture: Buzz Lightyear is represented, artwork by Gibson is hung on the wall}

And last but not least. In case you're wondering what we look like, Gibson has drawn our latest family picture and using his stash of scotch tape, he hung it right by my side of the bed.

I. love. it.

I love that we are all holding hands. I love that I have cute, flippy hair, earrings and I'm holding a flower. I love that the grass is green, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Oh, it just feels perfect.

I've started Project 365 with the goal that I will be better about documenting what happens each day. As a reader of my blog, you may just be lucky enough to see some of my daily pictures. I know, you're excited!