Life on hold

So much has happened since we got home from Disney World, but we have been going through Disney withdrawls and it has been hard to get settled in everyday life again.  When we got home everything seemed to break, our computer, water heater, pool heater, Derek's phone.  It was a little discouraging and costly, but that is the way life goes at times. So with no computer, we had no way to blog and so we are good to go now. 

Ashlyn has been struggling with making girlfriends in her class (please don't mention it to her).  I have talked in the past to her teacher and sent her an email about my concerns and it has been 3 weeks now with no response.  A week ago I was talking to my sweet grandma on the phone and she suggested that I throw a girls party and invite all the girls in her class.  We called it Spring Fling and Ashlyn and I had a great time planning it and making decorations.

Spring Fling 

I love the banner we made. 

Ashlyn's favortite part was the games and activities: egg hunt, nails, friendship bracelets (thanks Lissy for the idea), and pin the tail on the bunny.

Dr. Suess Week at school

Ashlyn was Thing 19  and she was the Dunbar Star of the Week!

Dr. Williams was part of the Health Fair at Ashlyn's school.  He taught kids how to take care of their teeth and gave out toothbrushes.

If you look past the mess, but this is how Ms. Cinderilla (aka Brinley) wipes the table... on top of the table.  

So the girls usually clean the bathroom and I was scrubing the toilet yesterday and Brinley stated surprisingly and confused, "Moms do chores?" and Derek says in the background, "Our whole life is a chore."  I am still laughing about it!

We found a lizard in our kitchen this week.

In Lufkin, flowers are blossoming.  It is so beautiful!!!

The girls and I have been going on a walk everyday and this is my favorite spot.

My walking buddies...yes I push Desi and pull the wagon.

We have been doing a lot of egg hunts at our house.  I just throw the eggs and the girls find them.  They have spent many hours in the backyard egg hunting.  I love our backyard.  It is so magical and I love watching our kids play in nature.

We are in full swing with potty training Claire.  I am trying to get creative with the activities.  She is doing great. 

This is what happened when I didn't pay attention the first day... instead of painting the paper, she gets naked and paints her own body. 

Well I got brave (or desperate for food) that I took the girls to the store to grocery shop while potty training. It was a crazy adventure!  My kids were running everywhere like crazy, Claire bits into a jalapeno, and she pees while we were checking out.  This is her cleaning up.  Oh how excited I was to get home!  I was definitely exhausted after this errand.

I love how close we live to Daddy's work.  He comes home for lunch everyday and plays with us.  I love how he is in his shorts and jumping with the girls.  We are so blessed to see him so much!

Laundry is my issue lately.  I feel like I can never catch up, especially with potty training.  I usually do Mondays to do all the laundry, but I am questioning my method and debating if I should do a load a day, but that sounds miserable and never-ending.  What do you do?

 Thanks Maren and David for your sweet letter, stickers, and box tops.  The girls loved it!

 Everyday when we pick up Ashlyn from school we drive past trucks that are filled with chicken or just dropped off chickens at the slaughter plant.  It is one exciting time of day for the girls. One day Brinley said, "I wish I were a chicken." ha ha.  I love the innocence of little kids.

 Thanks Nana for telling the girls about the crown braid.  

 My mom is coming out the end of March and I have been wanting to get a lot of house projects done before she comes.  I took down this wallpaper and painted, painted two bathrooms, and two bedrooms in 2 weeks.  I have two bedrooms left to get done before she comes out to help me decorate upstairs to make our house feel complete.  She is very talented and sweet to help me.  We are excited to have you come!

These two are just the best of friends.  It is fun to see them all dressed up, watching a princess movie, eating popcorn.

This is our Valentine tradition for a couple of years now.  I love everyone in the family writing down what they love about each other and when they tell each other, they light up with delight.  Everyone feels so special!

I did it for Derek for Valentine's day.  He is our Superhero!  We are so blessed to have him.  One of our family chants is "Daddy's the Man! Daddy's the Man!"  When Derek comes home from work, right when he walks in the door we start the chant.  Derek loves it!  Lately we have been chanting "Daddy's the Superhero!"

Thank you to Grandma Martinson for the fun Valentine package.  The girls were so excited! 

Ashlyn wrote a Valentine's letter at school and it was sent through mail.  We were so excited to read it!