Mommy's little helper

My little shopper-in-training...

Going Bananans

Will's class has been "going bananas" at school with all the cold winter weather so they decided to make the most of it. Everyone brought their favorite stuffed monkey and a banana for snack and they "monkeyed around" all day!

Pizza Night

Homemade pizza is a new favorite for the smallest member of our family...

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"Don't worry dad, that's what the dry cleaner is for."

"Hmmm...I think I'm ready for another piece"

"Did somebody say I'm cute?"

"Dad, here is a love smear just for you!"

"Why in the world did they think I need a bath?"

Our Getaway

I mentioned at the end of my last post that I received a surprise email Monday afternoon from the hubs requesting that I have my bags packed by 6:45 for a night getaway!!! He had arranged (all by himself!) for his sister to come and babysit the kids so we could have a night away for just the two of us to stay at a new swanky hotel in downtown!!! One of the many, many reasons I love this man is that he is so spontaneous and is always up for a fun adventure and even though work is busy and stressful work he still pursues me!

Oh, what fun we had just being foot lose and fancy free for the night. Here we are being cheeseballs in the hotel bathroom:) To me it felt like we had traveled somewhere out of town, even if we were only 4 minutes from home. Just to be able to relax and spend quality time together was a total treat!

But on the down side, I started feeling feverish and yucky during the night and woke up the next morning with the flu:( Yep, my fear of Will's germs spreading had come true. I am ever so thankful for Kelly and my Mom who helped me this week while I was out of commission and very thankful for a husband who loves me extremely well!

Happy Valentine's Day and 10 Months!

Happy Valentine's Day from our family to yours!
Hope you feel extra loved today!
This little love bug is 10 months old! She is a spunky, fun, happy little squirt. Not many milestones have changed since last month so I will just leave you with this little smile!

Oh, one more thing. I just got an email this afternoon from my sweet husband that said this.....

1) Don't get sick
2) Be ready to leave the house by 6:45
3) You'll need to bring a "shack pack"
4) be ready to blow up our "miscellaneous" budget.

I love you! NB

I have no idea what he has up his sleeve but I feel very loved and excited about this adventure!

A few more V-Day projects

HOMEMADE OREOS!!

Soooo, I tried out this new recipe I saw as a link on Holly's blog and they were quite yummy! The only requirement for eating them is a big cold glass of milk. I made them to give as V-Day gifts and to satisfy my stinkin' sweet tooth, which unfortunately acts up way too often:)

While I was making the filling today, I looked down to find this little stinker eating a sucker. What in the world? How does a 10 month old get a hold of such a thing? Well, she found it in my purse, took the wrapper off and was thinking "boy I hit the jackpot with this one!!"

We also made these V-Day cards for all of Will's Love Bugs in his MMO class.
I found this cute idea from a friend's blog.

And for the records....this, my friends, is why I hate Elmer's glue...

I must head to bed so I can care for my sick little love bug again tomorrow-this will be day 6 of the flu--ughh!

God is Love!

Will and I have been busy at work making some fun Valentine's decorations to help us remember the ultimate love that Jesus Christ showed to us.

I John 4:8-10

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

I pray I will constantly be reminded of the ultimate love Christ has shown me so that I can love my husband, children, friends and neighbors well. I fail everyday but he continues to love me despite my sin. What wonderful news!


Will keeps walking past the fire place and saying, "Look mom, remember God is love!"

Yes he is Will.

I need to be reminded of that ALL the time.



Some other Valentine's Day fun we have had is making Valentine's Day monkey's for our pencils at playgroup. Here is Jackson showing off his masterpiece.


We did some sponge painting and made Valentine's Day cards for daddy, grandparents and special neighbors:)

Here are our finished pieces of art. Do you think we have a Van Gogh in the making?

And now we are currently making homemade Valentine's for Will's MMO class along with some homemade Oreos. More pics to come (hopefully!).

:(

My littlest man has been hit with the flu and croup this week:(

So pitiful. So sad. Poor little guy.

On the bright side, I have had lots of sweet "nuggling" time with him while watching many "toons" together but we have also had our fair share of whining and cabin fever.

Please leave our house germies. You are not welcome here and nobody else wants you either.

GO AWAY and leave my Will alone!

Brannen Birthday Bash

If your last name is Brannen and your birthday is NOT in January then you are in the minority.

The Brannen family is full of January birthdays so each year they have one big family shindig to celebrate.

We went to Nick's parents for the party to celebrate Nick, Kelly, Pops, Uncle Jimmy and Uncle George's birthday BUT you would have thought it was this little guys birthday even though it's in May, because Pops had this waiting for him....

A dump truck of his very own!!!!! As you can imagine, this little guy was pumped!!!

This fall Pops found this jeep at a thrift store and with his genius car-fixing skills he got it to work. So now they both have a car to zoom around in (or just sit in and look cute).

MJ was ready to race big brother! Beware though, Will is a horrible driver. He has not quite mastered the skill of turning the steering wheel or the brakes.

After spending the morning outside playing, the guest arrived for a delicious lunch made by Grammy followed by some gift opening.

Molly Jane got to meet her great grandmother for the first time which was special.

Nick's aunt and uncle from England were there via Skype.

If you get all the Brannen men together you can count on them getting their hands dirty in a project. They are all so handy. This year they had to take a look at Pops antique car.

Too bad this car was not around when we got married. It would have been put to good use.

I might be a little bias but I think my kids have the best dad around:)

Happy birthday to all the January birthdays!