ben's faves

there was a sign hanging on ben's classroom door today asking us to bring in his favorite stuffed animal.
i had to laugh.

ben doesn't like stuffed animals.
at every chance he gets, he throws them.
as far as they will go. and never looks back.

on the other hand, these are his favorite toys.
josh's hand-me-down rescue heros.


ben carries them everywhere.


i even found one in my bathtub this morning.


i guess i can see why he likes him.
isn't this a friendly face?

super cheap (as in free) craft mom

i can't believe i'm even posting this.
it's ridiculously simple.
but if your kids are getting as bored as my kids are, you might need something like this to keep their little hands busy and happy.

we opened three new tissue boxes this weekend and i happened to notice that the strips of cardboard that we tore off to open them, were the perfect size for bookmarks.

i punched a hole in one end, tied on a ribbon, and let the kids go to town decorating them with old stickers we had in our junk drawer.



now they each have a new bookmark and i'm officially super cheap craft mom.
cool.

welcome back daddy

john came home late last night.
this morning, the kiddos woke up and came running to our bedroom to see him.

anna crawled in bed with us and kept kissing him.
she begged him never to leave her again.
josh told him he missed him so much.
ben just squealed, "daadeee!"

they all wanted to know what he got them.
john always gets little gifts for them. he loves to spoil them.
he bought josh a small lego set and anna some markers that write on windows.
(poor ben didn't get anything but extra kisses, but he was ok with that!)


if you really want to make your kids happy, buy them these markers.
anna drew for hours straight. and now i have her artwork everywhere.



it makes me so happy.
smiley ocean animals (above), tiny american flags, flower gardens.
happy, happy, happy!

so very happy to have you home daddy.

bad picture, big picture

i snapped this picture this morning.


yes, it's a bad picture.
the quality is terrible.
the focus is off, not much natural light, and it's even a little grainy.

but honestly, i don't care.

when i look at this picture, i see my sweet children, barely awake, hair dishelved, unbrushed teeth, donut crumbs on their faces, engrossed in the magic school bus show, spending time together.

together.
what a nice word.

when i see this picture, i see the much bigger picture.
and i'm so grateful.