Happy Valentine's Day

How did you spend your Valentine's Day?



Ours began with balloons and a card attached for each kiddo and I had gotten a bouquet of flowers the day before which was the centerpiece of our dinner table.




Joe got the "I Like You" book, per a suggestion from my friend MaryBeth, and a perfect card about chaos, laundry and the love we have through it all...



The kids enjoyed some Krispy Kreme donuts as we drove Joey to school - which was a Valentine Day filled celebration in his kindergarten class. Joey signed Laffy Taffy Valentines for his 15 classmates and 3 teachers...it took a while the night before!

In the afternoon, while Jameson and Jackson napped, Morgan and I made a heart shaped brownie - homemade frosting for decoration too...sadly, there were also sugar cookies made, but my recipe was lame, so they all turned out to be one big flat mess on the cookie sheet...not even worth frosting...still will be eaten, most likely though :)





On Sunday, Morgan, our photo journalist, captured a few more of Jackson (cropped and edited by me)

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day!

Joe, Megan, Joey, Morgan, Jameson and Baby Jackson!

Belated 2nd Birthday Party for Jameson

Poor Jameson, being born in February pretty much guarantees a cold birthday...but who would have thought that his 2nd birthday would be in the midst of one of the harshest ice storms in Indiana history! We were virtually trapped in our home for four days, with Jameson's birthday (and what would have been his 2nd Birthday PARTY) we had to celebrate halfway.
a. I had not bought a cake mix yet (the plan was to go on the Tuesday before his birthday...and then it rained ice...and froze)
b. I had only gotten him 1 gift (again, see "plan" from a.)
c. I had never made a cake from scratch before...



So the make shift "Snow Day" Birthday Cake for Jameson's 2nd Birthday served it's purpose, tasted..well, pretty good, but needless to say, SELF RISING Flour is something you MUST use (all purpose just doesn't cut it!)

Today, we celebrated the belated birthday the way it should have been! Our sweet boy loves trucks, hammers, building blocks and destroying things...so of course, it was a CONSTRUCTION PARTY! And it was super fun!



There was a Dump Truck Pinata (with lots of noisy whistles, toys and bubble gum inside!)



JJ had fun opening presents...this one was a STOMP ROCKET!



Jameson's good buddy, Eli, enjoyed the magnifying glass best!





Jameson got some wonderfully fun presents and I think everyone had a fun time!
Can't believe our son is 2! How quickly the time has gone...

Joe, Megan, Joey, Morgan, Jameson and Baby Jackson!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jameson!

Jameson is 2 years old today!



Jameson is our sweet boy - always smiling and easy going...still doesn't speak much, which I think makes my life a little easier (only 2 voices constantly saying "mommy, mommy")
He is quite impressive with his fine and large motor skills for his age. He enjoys trucks, balls, music/dancing, and running around sounding like the monster while his siblings run in fear!

We are so very thankful for him and love him so much!





Since the 1st of February (that's 3 days now), we have been virtually trapped inside our house due to crazy cold weather and 3 inch ice on the roads. Joey has not had school and we have not left the house.
Yesterday, we had the Schmidt Olympics - it was super fun!



Our neighbor Dylan battled the weather to walk 3 houses down the street (only falling once) to come compete!



Morgan wasn't much into participating, so instead, she was the photo journalist...many of these are her photos

BOWLING:



STREET HOCKEY:



SHUFFLEBOARD:



GOLF:



Here's a few cute ones of Jackson too!





Stay warm out there!


Joe, Megan, Joey, Morgan, Jameson and Baby Jackson!

Hello February!

February is LOVE Month!

For my Happiness Project in February, I plan to focus on my Marriage.

I will be reading 2 books -
Again, my focus is on LOVE - so here's the one that applies to that:
How We Love by Milan & Kay Yerkovich



Additionally, as a part of Lent the past few years, I have included reading from this next book as much as possible...it's a devotional that you read in the Morning, Midday, and Evening
The Divine Hours - Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle



I still have 9 more days of Purpose Driven Life (it's a 40 day devotional)
So this is going to be quite a reading filled month!


WHAT WE DO EVERYDAY MATTERS MORE THAN WHAT WE DO ONCE IN A WHILE.

As I re-read through this month in The Happiness Project book, I pulled out some great ideas and actions that I hope to accomplish with Joe.

- 1 word reminders (rather than nagging in full sentences)
- Be more observant and appreicative of his acts
- Don't expect praise
- Hug for 6 seconds or more (the author found research that showed hugs must last 6 seconds or longer to positively affect your happiness levels)
- Fight Right (No using NEVER and ALWAYS)
- PROOF OF LOVE "There is no love; there are only proofs of love." Piere Reverdy
- ILY (a text I plan to give him often - it's short for I Love You)
- Spend time alone together
- Play Games
- Extreme Nice (1 week this month, I will be totally focused on being nice to everyone)

I have added another DAILY activity that I am very excited about - orginially, I was going to try a new recipe once a week...well, my friend Laura turned me toward a fantastic website called e-mealz.com



They send you (after you become a member for a very small fee) recipes that correspond with the grocery store you frequemt based on the sales of that week at that store. You get a grocery list and 7 recipes (for dinners).
I went Sunday night to the grocery store (9pm, no kids) and it was the most pleasant shopping experience I've had - with 7 meals worth of food bought (and the usual must-have supplies and milk) for less than $100!
Talk about lowering your stress, which in turn makes me happier!
And the focused/lower spending and using "coupons" makes Joe happy too!

I am also going to try to commit to doing Yoga at our Y on Mondays (it's a free class). Now that's the way to start your week!

So here we go!
February is here and it started with a snow day for the kids - all 4 kids are home all day, with temps too cold to go outside and no snow, but instead a huge sheet of ICE covering our trees, ground and roads.

It's PJ DAY!



Hope you find lots of love and happiness in February too!

Joe, Megan, Joey, Morgan, Jameson and Baby Jackson!