Who Picked 28 Days?

Normally February is a quick few boring weeks of nasty weather where we start planning events for the future Spring & Summer months because those sound far more fun/warm.

Look at this sweet face (who has to have his beautiful crib covered in bed sheets so he won't gnaw through the wood with his beaver teeth)

Well, not in this household this February! Holy cow have we been busy! And what better way to procrastinate the inevitable by wasting some time blogging (i.e. "collecting my thoughts" & sharing some fun photos).

New Greenbay Packer Light-up Shoes from Cousin Colten

Who says you don't need Apple Cider Vinegar to play the piano?

A little monkey-business minus some pants

I suppose I should start with some accomplishments.

First things first, Greenbay won the Superbowl. Go team! Can you sense my excitement? I was very excited that Shad's team, ahem, OUR team played in the Superbowl this year & more importantly, I was very proud of them for winning the Superbowl this year. I just wish they had different colors - I don't care for the tacky green & yellow. Oh well, go team!

Riding Kohlman's motorcycle is far more fun than watching our team win

We also spent a day in McCall for the Winter Festival for the first time ever. I've always heard great things about the festival & all the cool snow sculptures. So this year I thought we should make an attempt to go check 'em out. Aside from the inflated food prices & long lines, it was fun & well worth the two-hour drive. Next time I would prefer a hotel stay though.

Bundling up for the McCall Winter Festival

"I caught me a Marlin!"

Cashe & I also attended a Little Gym Intro Class to determine how cool it really was. Sure enough - it was super cool & Cashe was in HEAVEN. That child is fearless & was climbing all over the balance beams & the bars & the stairs & the walls & ceiling. I just let him roam & he would come back & check in every so often to make sure I was still there (while I played with the group of other kids & their parents). Although, it's a little spendy & we're going to hold off on enrolling for now, I would recommend it.

Watching Daddy's basket"baw" game

In addition to that, Cashe & I have also been attending "Baby Bugs" at the Public Library each week, which is also very cool. Kids who are Cashe's age can't sit still for longer than 30 seconds, so again, there is lots of roaming around the room while all of the adults sing, "If You're Happy & You Know It" with each other, but the interaction with other kids is important for Cashe right now.

Morning Quiet time in his room

Lovin' on mom (& his highlighter he snagged from the desk drawer)

What else? Well, my sister is expecting her first baby, Miss Sage Madison in mid-April & I am throwing her shower in Missoula next month. That means that our dining room table is no longer used for dining; it is instead serving as "Auntie Nicole's craft table" while I construct 18 different projects that I have to somehow cram into a suitcase that will also house my clothes & Cashe's clothes as well as baby gifts galore.

And might I add, these crafts come at no small cost ... I have what I would classify as third-degree-hot-glue-burns on my thigh because of one of these projects.

Why my thigh? I was trying to watch American Idol with Shad while multi-tasking & I couldn't hear what the Judges were saying, so I kept asking Shad, "What'd they say?" He got tired of me asking & told me to start watching & not just partially listening, so I looked up at the TV & dripped hot glue all over my leg (I had shorts on). Then, my first reaction was to scoop up the glue with my hand. Genius move. So then I burned the palm of my hand. Little Sage is going to have some really "personal" touches to her shower decor with my skin melted to them. Mmmmm ....

On that note ... where did all these birthdays come from? When I was growing up, everyone I knew had a birthday in September. Well, for some reason that changed & now everyone has a birthday in February & March. My sweet little God-daughter Amara turned two, my nephew Colty turns three, little Miss Ella turns three, Shad turns THIRTY-three & Alicia's going to be twenty-seven. All of these special days take place in less than a month & I'm a little overwhelmed, mainly because I'm too busy burning holes in my flesh to find time to let them know how much I love them.

Speaking of love, Valentine's Day is right around the corner & as a shocker to my dear (I almost just typed "dead" ... deaR, deaR, deaR) husband, I found a babysitter for Mister Mister & we're going out for a night on the town! Wow, what's that like? I can't wait to find out.

And while we're on the topic of LOVE, I love this picture. My boys are handsome.

And speaking of babysitters, I know some of you think I'm a nut for putting Cashe in daycare part-time because when I signed up (on God's sign-up list) to be a MOM, I was signing up for a full-time position of just that - motherhood. Well, I DO work part-time & I DO need a break. Besides, Cashe needs some kid-interaction since he's not going to have another sibling around for awhile.

He has been attending an in-home daycare (not full-time or anything, but I'm certinaly not going to provide any specific details to any blog-stalking-creepies out there) at this FANTASTIC place that came highly recommended to me by a girl who I attended BSF with a hundred years ago (well, maybe 5 years ago). I just happened to run into her at our pool last summer & she had such great things to say about this place & I just happened to be ready for Cashe to make the leap into the daycare world. Well, 5 months later & we find out this daycare provider is retiring. WHAT?! NO!

So I added it to the weekly prayer request list for my current BSF group with super duper specific details about what type of daycare I wanted & where I wanted it to be. Sure enough, God delivered as always. Not only were each & every one of my requirements met, the new daycare is located EXACTLY on the map of where I asked it to be. Goosebumps anyone?

Some light Bible reading in the hallway

Besides the convoluted mess of a blog post I just composed, life is going really well here in this busy home. Work is piling up (in a good way) & I feel like I'm moving a few mountains these days rather than running circles on my wheel in my little hamster cage (Cashe's fave at PetSmart - boy are we in trouble for his future pet desires).

Making mischief of one kind ...

... And another.

Our weeks seem to be plum-full of meaningful events ranging from productive work days to days at the library to mornings at BSF & now will also include a few days at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). We were accepted a few weeks ago & I am really looking forward to it (I hear they serve good food - just kidding - I'm psyched to spend some time with some really cool girls).

And aside from the faucet attached to my face (a.k.a. my nose), I feel really good & have been doing well with training for the "running portion" of the triathalon with full-force. Praise the Lord for the sun we've had these past few weeks, while the rest of the country gets DUMPED on with snow - my sympathy goes to those who have been dealing with windchill & nasty roads. I am reminded of why we live in this great place.

So, who said February had to be boring?! (Um - no one, apparently just you, Nicole.) And 28 days just doesn't seem like enough time to cram all this chaos into. Who picked 28 days? I need at least the normal 30.