So...I cut my hair.

A long-running bout of "hair boredom" inspired me to exchange my long locks for something different.

I haven't had it short for quite some time. And I've never had it cut quite like this before.


The "before and after."

A view of all sides. (Plus a picture of my tiny little ponytail - which I love).

What do you think?

I like it. Most of the time. It's a great cut. I'm just still getting used to the
very. big. change.

Nate loves it.

Liliana tells me I look pretty.

Julia DOES NOT like it.

When she saw it, her response was...
"IT LOOKS HORRIBLE!" She then broke into tears. I just take it with a grain of salt because I know Julia just doesn't like change. And, I know she prefers my hair long. That's okay though. I know she still loves me.

Last night, we were all driving in the car and Julia piped up with her latest thought on the whole "Mom's new hairdo situation."

She said, "Mom, you look like Willy Wonka." She then went on to say how I was the one who made ice cream that doesn't melt and various chocolate goodies. Honestly, all I could do was laugh. Nate and I both thought it was a pretty funny comment.

Now Lili will point at me and yell, "Willy Wonka! Willy Wonka!" and giggle mercilessly.


Yeah, I guess I can see it.

Now, where did I put my top hat?

Valentine's Day Delights

We had fun this year for Valentine's Day! Lots of fun, celebration, and, appropriately...LOVE.

My friend Beth, who only has boys, had a little get together the night before the school Valentine's parties for several of her friends' daughters, to do super cute hairdos for the big day. There were yummy treats, a fun "girl" movie, and lots of darling hairstyles to choose from. Inspired by the choices, I jumped right in and tried my hand doing Lili's hair. I think it turned out so adorable! Julia didn't want to have her hair done. She put it plainly when she said, "I'm not that kind of girl."

Beth thought of everything! The girls even got shower caps to sleep in, so their hair wouldn't mess up!

Thank you Beth! It was so much fun! What a great idea!

Julia loved making a Valentine's box to take to school. Her favorite part? Going to Hobby Lobby to pick a few pretty things to go on it. I think it's her favorite store! Can you blame her?

I enjoyed getting to go to her school party! They had treats, made a craft, and enjoyed the valentine cards/goodies they had exchanged. Julia picked out a little crystal bear holding a heart, complete with a poem for her teacher. She thought it was the perfect thing. Of course, her teacher loved it.

The girls made special Valentine's for me. Have I ever told you how much I love handmade Valentine's? I think they're the BEST! I think anything handmade is very special. Especially when made by my children. Nate is the super-star dad who led the event. {Thanks babe!}

Lili made me a coupon book. So cute! Nate said she came up with all of them herself. I loved it!

Julia made me some flowers (complete with a vase). I love her attention to detail. Notice how the flowers even have stamen? I loved it too!

Our Valentine's gift to our children was a day of making and decorating sugar cookies. We had so much fun! They turned out so cute! And yummy.

I think these were my favorite ones.
Our little family...as sugar cookies.

Nate and I had such a delightful date on Friday night. We got a babysitter for the kids and went out to eat at a really nice restaurant (Kirby's Steakhouse). We enjoyed a delectable four-course meal, a romantic ambiance, great music, and wonderful conversation. Thank you for being my Valentine Natey! I love you!

I also want to let all of YOU know that I'm so glad you're a part of my life. Whether you're family, or friends, I hope you know that I love you!

Thanks for keeping up with us!

January Fun

We had a lot of fun last month. It sure flew by quickly! I'm attempting a mass catch-up (again) with this post. Ready or not, here I go...

We got to experience winter at least twice last month. Though we had some 80-degree days a couple of times, we also had freezing rain and ice on more than one occasion. Enough so on one day to warrant an "ice day" pass from school! Nate still went in to work, but got to delay a little. When it was time for him to go, he had to first scrape all the ice from his car windows. Which was a bit challenging considering we, apparently, no longer have an ice scraper. Nate improvised...with a spatula.

Liliana used some of her Christmas money to buy "Shrinky Dinks." She was delighted with the whole process! Boy, it sure brought back memories! She especially enjoyed the one-on-one time with Daddy!
She was so sweet, she even shared and let Julia do some too -um, I guess I didn't get pictures of that!

We got to go to Chuck E. Cheese's for a friend's birthday. The kids had a blast!

Julia volunteered to bring popcorn (cooked on the stove-top) to school for their publishers' party. (She discovered she really liked it made that way in SC over Christmas).

Liliana loves to help in the kitchen! Recently, she really had a hankering for chocolate chip muffins (from scratch)! She didn't want to make it from a mix. Yes, I bought one thinking that it would be quick and easy. She wouldn't have it! So, I told her it was our back-up plan, in case we didn't have all the ingredients. It turned out that we did. We had such fun making them together. She was so sweet to make sure Simon helped too!

Everyone sure enjoyed eating them! They were YUMMY!

We got to go to a little Superbowl party at our friends' house. The kids had fun playing together, and the adults enjoyed talking and watching the game. I must admit, I did more talking than watching. Oh, and eating, of course!

Other, random moments in January included...
bath time fun
Simon LOVIN' his cars
Lili built an obstacle course
Simon & Lili played in her hamper
Simon now enjoys sitting (not more than that yet - except "reading") on the potty
Julia made a reading fort
Nate & Julia enjoyed the "sunny spot"
Lili & Simon had a blast at "Jump for Fun"

Just for fun...
Howie discovers just how sticky peanut butter can be.


Lili tells us about it (after sharing her love for "Funky Monkey")...