since eli isn’t feeling well, we’ve been pretty home bound:( the weather is yucky, he feels yucky, and the house is starting to look yucky! you know when you are home all the time, and things just start piling up? well, that’s what my house looks like right now. and we aren’t going to get out and socialize anytime soon, i’m afraid. eric has decided to head to the mountain for some boarding tomorrow. i LOVE that he does this, i’m just never overly excited that he takes the truck with him, so………eli and i made a plan:

instead of sitting at home, and being crabby and bored sorrounded by a messy house, let’s plan some projects :)

i have to say “project” is my favorite word!

we made a list and headed to craft wherehouse in search of some supplies.

eli is going to get started on his valentine cards……they are going to be fantastic! i’m not posting any teasers because i don’t want to give it away, but he picked out all of the stuff by himself!

i’m going to make myself an apron. i’ve wanted one for some time now, and now this “project plan” has given me a great opportunity! the pattern is too cute! not exactly what i was looking for, but with a few modifications, i think it will be great! and i can never have too much amy butler fabric, can i?

the papers are for this little project inspired by heather bailey. my other favorite designer.

i’ve wanted one of these for over my kitchen island for valentines day! kind of like an old fashioned kissing ball! how appropriate……

so all of these fun little activities will begin after the house is clean. hence the title of the post.

“incentives” are what these are.

as you can see, dylan got started a little early this morning. i had just finished getting dressed, and was going to get him dressed when i found him at the kitchen table looking like this:

you know how it is when you are ready to leave the house…..you have to go, or you might lose the momentum? so i cleaned him up the best i could with a wipe, and we went to town. needless to say, we got some amused looks from people. he seriously looks like a little joker :)

NEVER a dull moment!

i really should go and get to cleaning……hopefully i can stick to the rules!

……and for those who care, tamar and i are on the verge of the “reveal” of lucy’s room! i can’t wait. as soon as these kids are healthy again…….

just feeling extra lovely towards this boy right now:)

he started getting sick last night, losing his voice, and coming down with a fever:(

he’s always more snuggly when he doesn’t feel well……

here’s some pictures i took of him last week.

i know i say this ALL the time, but i seriously have the MOST beautiful boys in the whole world!

i had a meeting at eli’s school last night, and it always nice to hear from other parents that they think he’s pretty awesome too!

the other day, we were heading to the grocery store. i had my list, and eli wanted to write one for himself. he ended up deciding to write a list of who was going to the store. i’m not even kidding, he wrote this all by himself. he sounded out the words, and wrote them! i’m sure every mom is amazed by their child, but i just can’t get over him.

we went to the pearson air musuem on sunday. the weather was yucky, and we needed to get out of the house! the boys LOVED it, and they were all over the place. it made it hard to get any great pictures of them, but it was fun to see them excited! papa would have been proud :) i took to taking pictures of non-moving things. here’s a few:

i would really like to order this as a storyboard for dylan’s room……

these pictures are SO him, and the colors are great.

i would really like to use a quote or a saying about little boys or something that fits the pictures.

i’m TERRIBLE when it comes to words, so…….i would like some help if anyone has any ideas :)

just leave your ideas in the comments, or feel free to email me!

thanks!

it’s amazing what a piece of licorice will get you.

in this case, some stinkin’ cute pictures of mister dylan.

i’ve been trying to take more pictures indoors. practicing with the settings on my camera, and really trying to utilize the available light without having to break out my big flash unit.

i took these the same day as our winter walk. the sun was just pouring in our living room window, dylan woke up from his nap in a great mood, and i had some yummy licorice on hand.

the perfect recipe for some great pictures!

these are print worthy for sure…….

despite the sunshine, it was still a mere 22 degrees this morning!

i really wanted to go out and take some pictures…..so we got all bundled up, and headed out in the frigid air.

doesn’t this look like the ice is layered?

i just love the cool crisp air , and the way the boys’ little cheeks get all rosy, and their eyes sparkle.

and an extra picture i played around with. this flower pot is just sitting on our back porch. it looked kind of lonely, and wintery :)

i hope everyone is having a great wednesday!

i had yesterday……

i haven’t taken many photos of newborns, but i love to do it! could this little one be any more precious? i had a blast, and i really hope the family loves them!

so…….a lot of pictures, i know.

i can’t help it. they’re perfect. i love them so much, and i don’t think i ever want them to leave! the boys are having SO much fun with them!

can you get over how cute naomi is on the tricycle? or how beautiful emma is?

today we went and hung out with tamar and her little ones at their house, and then we came home and just played around here. i can’t get over how well the kids get along! it makes me so happy! i have some pictures of the kids just hanging out i want to get posted, but for now this will have to do. eric and i went out for dinner tonight (heather stayed home with the kids :)) and it’s getting late, so……..i’m heading to bed.

till next time…….

i am thoroughly enjoying my girls.

i picked them up from the airport yesterday, and we headed to downtown portland. heather really wanted to go to anthropologie. i was happy to take her there. shopping in portland is not something i do very often. not so easy with two little boys. they stayed with their daddy :)

today we had a lazy day. just a quick trip to fred meyer, and the rest of the day was spent playing indoors. it was pretty wet outside. i got a few pics of the kids making pizza with eric. he’s the best daddy and uncle ever. he was spinning the dough in the air and everything. the kids got such a kick out of it. hope to get some of them up soon.

in the mean time i’m in love with this one of nomes.

from cleaning . i’m trying to get the house ready for our visitors :)

the sun came out for a bit this afternoon, so i grabbed the camera, and took eli out on the front porch, and snapped some pics. i haven’t taken the camera out much lately. the weather has been so yucky, we even had a tornado on thursday!

but, right now all i can think about is having some girls in the house for a week! i’m so outnumbered around here!

anyway, here’s a few of one of my handsome guys: