Wedge Watching Movies

If ever there's an animal on the television, Wedge can't help but watch to make sure it isn't going to try to attack us. Usually he wines and barks at it. In this case, he's protecting us from The Good Dinosaur.

Reading To Her Stuffed Animal Friends

Doing Dishes

Sleepy Shelby

I fell asleep on the couch at Grandma's house and the next thing I know, Shelby's asleep on the couch with me. I love my little cuddle bug... even if she doesn't understand personal space!

Wants To Be Big

I found Shelby wearing Shasta's shoes while Shasta was at school. I can't help but adore the cuteness.

Mail

The girls got 2 letters in the mail on the same day (only because it had been a few days since I checked the box). But they were so excited to have envelopes addressed to them. Every time I bring in the mail they always ask if there's "kid mail" (the junk mail that I never open), and this time there truly was! One was from Grandma and Grandpa Brockmeier and the other was from their friends Lizzy and Robyn who we miss so much. And both were special Valentine's! So fun!

Painting

I hit some after-Valentine's-Day sales and picked up some fun painting books for the girls. I told Shasta we couldn't do them until we did some cleaning and she was headed to bed for quiet time so it had to wait. When she woke up I was on the computer and she immediately went to the kitchen and started cleaning up the Valentine's decorations from the night before. She then proceeded to clean the family room and never once complained. I was so impressed with her that I got out everything we needed to paint before she even asked. Once she was done she asked if she could paint now and I pointed to the table to show her it was waiting for her. She was so involved in cleaning that she didn't even notice I got everything out! She then proceeded to paint for the next hour, took a 2 hour break, and then painted some more for at least another hour. Best. Purchase. Ever! My rule of thumb is if they spend more time doing the activity then it takes to clean it up, then it's time well spent. It took less than 2 minutes to clean up so I'm thinking I need to go back to Hobby Lobby and buy every last paint book they have...!

Valentine's Day

I have to record these moments to prove that sometimes I can be a fun mom, nursery teacher, and friend!

I figured since Valentine's Day was on Sunday this year, it would be fun to take treats to our nursery class. This is what they got.

This is my favorite Visiting Teaching tradition, 4 years running.

The girls also woke up to their door being heart attacked.

And of course our festive dinner. On the menu: Spareribs and white rice, our favorite kinds of soda, and cupcakes. We were supposed to have heart-shaped rolls, but we forgot to get them started early enough. And we probably should have rounded the meal out with a vegetable, but when the main course tastes so good, it's hard to allow room for anything else.

And Nick attempted cheesecake brownies, but by the time we finished dinner we couldn't bring ourselves to eat them AND cupcakes. I had one after the girls went to bed though and ended up eating two more. They were amazing!

Shelby's hair for church. Shasta threw up twice before church so I stayed home with her while Nick and Shelby went.

And our cute neighbors next door stopped by and gave the girls gifts. They each got a box of gummy hearts, a heart shape ring pop, and those adorable stuffed animals. And they gave Wedge a bag of dog treats. It was completely unexpected and the girls LOVE the pets. It slightly out-shined what Nick got for them (each got a small box of chocolates, a heart shaped pillow about the size of the chocolates box, and a hot wheels car), but that's okay because they were happy with everything they got and it turned out to be a really fun celebration.

Matching Game

Shasta got a matching game in her stocking from Christmas and she is OBSESSED. She begs everyone to play every. single. day. And for the most part, Nick and I always play with her and play several rounds. She usually plays with Nick while I'm at work and then I get home and play a few rounds with her. And she never tires of it. Unfortunately, Nick and I do! So this happened. Nick and I neither one wanted to play and although Shelby is getting much better and understands the rules, the girls can't play together because they just fight the whole time. So Nick suggested Shasta play with her animal friends. She set up 10 friends and she made sure each of them got a turn every single round. The best part is SHASTA LOST! Two animal friends tied with 3 matches and Shasta only had 2! I love that she played fair and honest. She didn't save all the matches until it was her turn. Such a great moment!

Clean Up, Pick Up, Put Away

The girls destroyed the upstairs so I hid nickels and pennies under a bunch of stuff in the family room and their room. Best $2.50 I've ever spent! They were so excited to clean and discover all the money. Shasta understood a lot better than shelby that with each thing you pick up you actually put it away. Shelby just moved things around in a search for the change. But with the before and after picture, I'd say they did a pretty awesome job considering I didn't help them with any of it. And you'd think it was christmas morning getting to count their money after!