Melanie week....

comes to an end. Brett asked me if I have the birthday blues (you know kind of like the Christmas blues that come on the day after Christmas). My answer....YES! Now I have to wait a whole year before I get to celebrate me again! (Ok, so I am exaggerating and I sound a little self centered, but I must admit that I LOVE my birthday!) So, how did I celebrate Melanie week? The first half of my week was actually busy, busy! I had three indian costumes to sew and put together for Cameron's upcoming play (pics will soon be coming), then I found out that one of the Indians dropped out, so I really only needed to make 2 (that would have been useful information to have been given on Monday!) Thursday Brett called to wish me happy birthday eve (isn't he the cutest?!) Then the big day arrived and Brett took the day off to hang out with me, doing whatever my little hear desired, which of course was SHOPPING! which would have been fun, but after 10 minutes in Old Navy, and 10 minutes in Kohl's with Ethan my nerves were frazzled! So, to the car we went and then we were trying to decide if we should eat lunch at In-N-Out, or just take it home (remember we had Ethan with us) We decided to attempt lunch there. We ordered, sat down to eat and 5 minutes into lunch, Ethan was done with his Bruger King nuggets and decided to chuck them over the side of the booth at unsuspecting In-N-Out patrons because he was mad that I wouldn't let him down. So we wolfed down our food and went home to pack for our weekend trip to Napa. Yeah! After the boys got home from school, we were off! Napa was great! Brett and I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant there...ALONE! It was great and then we went back to Kohl's to finish the shopping that we had attempted earlier...I got some cute clothes! Then back to Jed and Kathy's where the boys (with some help from Kathy and Jed) had a little surprise party waiting for me! Yummy cake, party hats and crazy glasses...what more could you ask for! More presents (thank you Jed and Kathy)! Day 2 fun breakfast at our favorite pink bakery, fun at the park, the library $5 book sale (as many books as you can stuff into a paper grocery bag for $5), more shopping with Cam and then a second night out, just Brett and I, to see Unkown (2 dates in one weekend?! Crazy! And to top it all off a 30 minute run through beautiful Napa with my father-in-law and his running friends! Aaaah! It was a great birthday weekend! Now I am exhausted and ready for 4 little boys to go to bed so that I can wrap up this weekend vegging out in front of the TV with Brett....Sounds great doesn't it! Happy 36th to me! (I'm getting old)





I will post again in a few days to show you what Brett bought me. We are waiting for it to arrive and I must say that I am pretty excited to get it!

Mom and Dad, I will post a pic of my new purse soon! Thanks to everyone for making me feel special! It was a great birthday!

I needed to hear this today...

and maybe you did too.

It's good to be reminded of the important job a mother has and the divine help that we are entitled to as we love and serve our families.

Someone's been busy....

hmmm...who could've made such a big mess!

Thank goodness for washable markers which didn't completely wash off, so thank goodness for magic erasers!

A brand new bag of Pirate's Booty...awesome!


And what mess would be complete without crushed up goldfish (and a few that were wet and soggy too)!

Could it have been this little person?!

photo courtesy of Austin
Trying to smile....even though I want to scream or cry (not sure which) This picture was also posted to dispel the myth that the cleaning fairy shows up at our house and cleans up after everyone. Sorry to disappoint, but the cleaning fairy is really just MOM!


So, I hear that someday I'm going to miss these little messes....I am not quite sure about that, but I do know that our kids seem to grow up in the blink of an eye, so even though I get really tired of all the added chores that this little man adds to my list, I will cherish him and love him, because before I know it he will be all grown up and I am sure that I will miss the little cuddles and kisses that he gives me on a daily basis. I am already feeling that time passes way to quickly as my first baby is about to venture off to middle school this year. We had an orientation for him last night and I felt like crying the whole time. I just can't believe that I have a child on the brink of becoming a teenager. Didn't I just send him off to Kindergarten with tears in my eyes?!

Happy Valentines (belated)...

The tradition:



The dinner:



The Family night activity:

Since Family Home Evening fell on Valentines Day, we had a lesson on love. I hid hearts all over the family room and the boys had to go on a heart hunt. Then for each heart that they found, they had to list a way that they could show love for others or list a way that the Savior shows love or showed love to those he served throughout his life.

Then, Brett and I played 20 questions with the boys and they had to guess where their Valentines were hidden. They guessed it with only 4 questions left and each boy received a Lego set from Mom and Dad.

The flowers for the girl:
The first bunch you can see in the pictures above, however, they died the next day so they were returned for a new bunch!

Notice Austin's Lego set on display next to my flowers...CuTe!

The GIANT Hershey's kiss for the man:

Brett has often said that he always wanted one of these when he was a kid and never got one, so I couldn't resist!

The Valentine's thief:

I heard a little voice saying mmmmm... and I came around the corner to find Ethan on the floor raiding his brother's Valentine bag of goodies. Doesn't he look happy?!

The Valentines decor that I managed to complete prior to one of my favorite holidays:





Did I mention just how much I LOVE the month of FEBRUARY! Who doesn't love a pink month? Not to mention I kind of feel like it's my month...let the countdown begin to Melanie day (or Melanie week as Brett likes to call it)! I love my birthday!