Happy Valentine's Week...

We spent the entire last week celebrating Valentine's Day...my body hasn't had that much candy in several weeks...the kids went to valentine activities all week, and I think they really had a good time...I couldn't believe how much sugar was involved...we consumed A LOT of sweets, so much so that I had to officially take the week off from Weight Watchers...I just couldn't watch everybody else participate in candy-bibbing and not partake myself! To end the week with a bang, I had a handful of chocolate chips tonight, and tomorrow I'm back on the points-counting-wagon...

We had a fun Valentine-themed playgroup on Wednesday with our friends...the kids decorated cookies, ate frosting, and poured sprinkles all over the table...good times...
Kate's friend Sophie made the CUTEST valentines...a sucker with big felt lips attached...when the kids ate the suckers it looked like they had big red lips...here are Sophie, Jensen, Kate and Morgan...

My really close friend Sarah came with her daughter and we made and decorated sugar cookies (again, the kids mostly ate frosting)...it's always so nice to just sit and catch up...Sarah is due with baby girl #2 in April...she's in full nesting mode...I have to give a shout out to Shelley...we missed you girl...It's hard to decorate sugar cookies and not think of you! Shelley is living the good (and expensive ) life in Tokyo and we miss her...She called this week and we talked for a long time...again it's nice to catch up with old friends...


Our friend Brandy from MOMS Club hosted another V-day party at her house...the kids did crafts, exchanged valentines and candy, and us moms chatted...

Valerie and Noah had a V-Day party on Friday and I took the 2 little ones...Lauren was in school having her own V-day party with her preschool class...that's another story in itself...I bought valentines for her to make for her class, but she got a little side-tracked and had more fun just playing with them and making multiple valentines for her family and church friends, as well as using up all the princess tattoos that came with them...I kept telling her that I wasn't buying anymore and that she'd have to go empty-handed to class to class on Friday...she didn't care...then I felt like a bad mom and ended up stopping at the store on Friday morning and buying a whole new box of valentines and filling out 20 of them for the kids in her class while sitting in the pouring rain in her school parking lot...nobody cares about the card, they just want the candy...anyway, back to Valerie's party...lots of candy and fun moms to chat with...
Valentine's Day brought flowers from my favorite valentine...the BEST husband and father in the world...thanks hon, you are wonderful beyond description...I'm the luckiest...
My 3 mini-valentines...Kate has the 80's "comb-over the eyes" look going on...
I thought this picture was fun...Lauren LOVES holding Charlie, and Kate and Andy are in the background making pancakes for V-day breakfast...my kids are ALWAYS sitting on the counter...it drives us crazy most of the time...I have to constantly be aware of what they are doing while I'm trying to cook....Andy and I also went to dinner with friends that night...it was a really fun night to end the week...
Some other photos from the week....gotta love the dripping drool...nothing gets by this camera...
Charlie was sitting in the swing, or so I thought...I walked away for a few minutes, and when I came back, he was halfway out...he wasn't complaining at all, just sort of looking around from a different angle...he's beginning to move around quite a bit....he's very close to rolling over and likes to just sort of shimmy around on his back...
I immediately thought of this almost identical picture of Kate doing the same thing when she was a baby...although she's not quite as far "out" of the swing as Charlie...and she's complaining...

Raspberries from daddy...

We walked to the park again on Sunday afternoon...it's been rainy and a little cold, but the kids had fun...Lauren cooperated for the camera more than usual...Kate was a different story...










Charlie just hangs out with daddy in the Bjorn...I'm glad that Andy can still carry him...he's a big, heavy boy and it just about breaks my back to carry him around for an extended period of time...I think my wrists take the brunt of the weight...I'm always glad when Andy's around to hold him...

Andy usually talks to his parents while we're at the park...here's Kate "talking" to Grandpa Hyer...mostly she nods her head to something he's saying on the other end...we have to remind her to talk out loud and not just nod silently...It was a good week...we are doing well, considering all that is going on with this crazy economy...Andy came home excited this week because they are launching a new product soon that will hopefully perform well despite the current, crummy status of the stock market. We are slowly putting our hallway back together after the flood...we re-hung the closet doors on Saturday, and now I need to clean the carpet and get the food storage out of our room and into its rightful home...what a pain, pain, pain that laundry flood has been...Andy also dug out the remainder of the flower beds in the front yard...there was a section on the birch tree that was really "rooty" that required some serious elbow grease...nice job, hon. I think this week will be quite mellow...more rain, less candy...