Photo Journal {March 24th-30th, 2014}

March 24th

I love Mondays. There's such a slipping back into routine. A quiet calm after Sunday.

I didn't used to like Mondays... In fact, this may be the first time in my life where I've loved Monday. Even in Kindergarten, Monday held the impending doom of Phonics. I just couldn't handle phonics... So much early angst.

Well, in the spirit of bonding and enjoying Monday, Grant and I took advantage of Bets' late afternoon nap, and made some art! I whipped up some "paint" from flour, food coloring, corn syrup, and vinegar, and we explored mixing colors and smearing goop.

All the paint started out in neatly segmented cups, but what's the fun of that?!

Concentrating.

Let the mixing begin... By the time we were done, everything was a lovely brown.

My son could make anything an athletic pursuit. He spent most of his time
crouching on the counter or mid-squat.

He enjoyed this so much that he didn't want to stop.
Repeat? I think we will!  

Happy artist!

March 25th

On Tuesday, Scott spent the day at home... He had worked the past several Saturdays, and we needed a daddy/hubby fix.

Having another person home makes the day so much more restful. Bets and I napped (lots!), and we cleaned up our guest room and organized closets. We were expecting a rather long-term guest, but at the last minute plans changed and our house wasn't needed any more. I couldn't decide if I was relieved or disappointed. It was definitely a person who needed a haven, but sometimes creating a haven is very exhausting....

But, regardless, the room is clean, and we love being a haven: so if you need one... :)

March 26th

I cleaned the laundry room on Wednesday! We've been mid-construction since Thanksgiving. There was drywall dust EVERYWHERE. And I was beginning to get the heeby-jeebies every time I walked through that room.

Grant, of course, wanted to help. He became covered in drywall dust, but I'm nothing if not a resourceful mama! (Heehee!) I apologize for my cruel chuckles in the middle of his angst...

March 27th
An errand trip necessitated a trip to Abington. For those of you from the Midwest, Abington is a scant 12 miles away. 12 miles that take 45 minutes to cross. This is very common, apparently in PA. I remember when I thought, "Six miles? That's not so far..."

Now I know better.

In order to make our trip more enjoyable (enjoyable for me, that is, I'm fairly confident both babies would have been happy sleeping in sunny car seats), I decided to stop at a thrift store and do a little light browsing. I had discovered, when I started my new "stay at home career" that I really didn't have a whole lot to wear. After three years in scrubs, my wardrobe of "day-to-day casual" had shrunk. Pregnancy didn't exactly make me want to go shopping. Consequently, I walk around the house most days looking homeless. Let's just say, when my husband started commenting, I knew it was time to do something...

It was fun to dig for treasures. I love finding amazing deals (and yes, I found quite a few!).

But a morning like that means lots of rest and cuddles in the afternoon for my two littles. (And I'm not complaining...)

First tummy time venture that didn't end in dramatic tears.

Baby boy needed lots of cuddles after his nap. I was super-bummed
that I had to sit and cuddle him instead of clean the floors (said no mom ever.)

We found the Grantlet's sunglasses! This was the
way he insisted on wearing them. Now, tell me again that
children don't watch everything you do. :)

March 28th
Friday.

The night that shall live in infamy.

I made black-bean burgers.

Much to my husband's horror.

I'm trying valiantly to re-work our diet while remaining within budget. I love healthy, clean tasting foods. And usually, so does my husband. However, apparently we don't mess with meat-substitutes. That's what I learned tonight. Don't mess with the meat.

As he ate his "burger," I asked him how he liked it.

"It's a little like a hot dog," (He hates hot dogs), "just smother it with ketchup and don't think about what's in it."

Black bean burgers: never attempting again.

March 29th
So, remember that painting project that Grant and I tackled on Monday? I had several goals. Of course painting, bonding, and snapping a million pics is great... But I was also hoping to start an Easter tradition of painting paper eggs and writing verses on the back while teaching my babies about the wonderful story we are celebrating.

This year, our story telling consisted of: "Jesus loves you. He died. Now he lives! Yay!" multiple times while painting. How much did he understand? I have no idea. But I don't want my child to grow up a stranger to heaven's love. Today we finished our craft while Daddy was cleaning at church.

This year's verse: "He is not here. He is risen!" from Luke 24:6

Our pretty eggs! Didn't he do a good job? (Almost) No adult supervision. 

Easter eggs! (And a happy baby!)

We had company for lunch... so of course we had to make
(grain free/dairy free) chocolate-peanut butter cookies. No one
even knew they were "healthy" until after they were devoured.
Yessssss, victory!

March 30th

Wet Sunday! Getting two babies in and out of the car while it's pouring is super fun. But the sermon was wonderful, the fellowship sweet, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Our backyard gets quite soggy when it pours... Hopefully this serves as a "before"
picture after all our summer renovations.