TTT: Season 3, Episode 6

1. Last week I promised details on our fun little weekend, so here goes. We have lots of milestone birthdays in our family this year on the Asmussen side. Mark's brother Brian and I both turn thirty and both of Mark's parents turn sixty. Miss Lora (Mark's mom) was the first to reach her milestone and celebrated the big 6-0 last Friday. We didn't want the birthday to go by un-noticed, but it's hard to throw much of a celebration from afar. So instead, thanks to help from my dad and his awesome job, we shipped the celebration there in the form of a surprise visit from Mark and Kolbe. It would have been great if the whole family could have gone, but really unrealistic...especially airplane ticket wise. So Reagan, Grant, and I stayed behind and had our own little fun weekend together. Although I only got to be a part of the surprise weekend through phone calls and texts, it was still so wonderful to know that G-ma (and Papa Jeep, too!) got to spend the weekend with two people she holds so dear. From what I hear, they had a great time with lots of food, shopping, and relaxation!

2. As mentioned, while Mark and Kolbe were in Lubbock, Reagan, Grant and I stayed home in The Woodlands. I must say that both Mark and I made a keen observation while apart: Kolbe and Reagan are completely different when they aren't together. Night and day difference. Mark commented several times on how laid back and "grown up" Kolbe acted without Rudy around. And I was amazed how calm and peaceful Rudy was without Kolbe. He thought about what he wanted to say, made his own observations, and did much less "attention getting." Granted, I know these two are the best of friends, and can hardly imagine a life without each other, but I have to admit that it was kind of nice to spend time with Rudy and hear what he has to say instead of just a repetition of whatever Kolbe just said. It was nice to not see him have to compete or conform and just be himself. He's such a neat little kiddo. Who happens to turn three tomorrow! I know Mark had a very special time with just Kolbe as well. We're quite blessed to have such wonderful boys. They do make us pull our hair out from time to time...especially when they're together!...but really, they are fun, unique, amazing little boys. And seeing that they will have to spend the majority of their childhoods side by side, I think this little experiment has shown us just how important a little time apart from each other can be as well.

3. Since we're nearly half way through February, I thought it might be fun to check in on my 2012 Bucket List and see how I'm doing on keeping up with things.

Successes:

- #3- follow my two daily devotionals

I'm pumped about this one. I've gotten several daily/365 devotionals in the past and never made it much beyond the first few weeks. I'm proud to report that I'm still going strong with my little books. Partially because their both very easy to read. One is Small Steps for Catholic Moms and the other is the widely popular Jesus Calling. Both are very enjoyable for me at this phase in life, and it's been nice to read and discuss the Jesus Calling one with Mark, as his mother gave us each a copy for Christmas. Somehow, it manages to speak to us in some way each day.

- #5- make something for our home each month

You'd think this would be easy since I own a business in which I make things, but since it takes up the majority of my very spare time, it's actually hard to squeeze in projects for our home. But I did manage to make a few pillow covers for our couch pillows, our Valentine's wreath, and a felt heart garland for Valentine's Day. And I made the garland as a sequencing activity with Kolbe. Educational, to boot!

-#7- blog more often

While you haven't seen anything on here beyond my weekly Thursday post, I have managed to catch up on our family/photo blog! And by caught up, I mean Christmas. Because, while I've done well to get all the posts done, I've since started failing at taking pictures of everything else. Anyway, if you want to see pictures of the major happenings in the fam over the past three or four months, hop on over to the family blog.

Marginal:

-#1- drink more water

Eh. I'm trying. Usually I feel guilty that I haven't had much at the end of the day and chug a few glasses. Does that count?

-#3- work on the budget

Hey, I got our taxes done! Toot, toot! And I'm proud to report no whammies. But with Mark's job transfer on the horizon...and the fact that Mark's going to need a new car as well...it's kind of pointless to fine tune something that will change within the next two months.

Failure:

-#8- Develop and maintain a house cleaning schedule

I mean, really. Do I have to? It's the ever present monkey on my back. I love a clean space, I just don't like doing it. It always gets pushed to the bottom of the list. No, we don't live in total squalor, and yes, it is fairly organized, but man, it sure could be cleaner!

-#19- Write a meaningful letter each month

Oops. January slipped by and I definitely didn't do this. And this was one of my goals I was really excited about! I vow it will be in the successes at the next check up!

Most of the others would file under "marginal or "work-in-progress." I'd say overall it's going pretty well! And I'm actually enjoying having this list in the back of my mind. Gives me something to strive for...other than just making it through the day. :o)

Other than the gift of Mark and Kolbe surprising her, we made a fun little sign for G-ma for her birthday. We were running short on time so even the hubs had to get in on the crafting action and help me out. See those flowers in the corner? They are made with the little boys' finger prints. So needless to say, I was busy trying to control that effort while Mark worked on tracing the letters and then filling in the imprinted area with paint. A little trick I saw on pinterest. It ended up being a fun little family crafting night!

Kolbe sipping broth at 50 Yard Line in Lubbock- a fancy-shmancy restaurant that most little boys don't get to go to!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
This guy can stay occupied for hours with a chair, some dishes, and running water.


Ready for a dose of baby goodness? 

Grant has taken to this little blanket that my sister-in-law's mother, Mary Bergman, made for him. So now he has his blankie and his thumb. Just like every baby ever illustrated.

Such a flirt!

He's already gone from crawling to pulling up. We're at seven months right now...pretty sure he'll be walking before one just like the other two. And asking for the keys to the car shortly after that! It's going too fast!

Thought I'd throw this in for a little fun. I've taken many, many, many custom orders through my little etsy shop but never for something this hardcore! Yes, that's a Star Wars crib sheet. And there were changing pad covers to match. Hey, people deck out their kids' rooms in various sports team themes all the time! Why not go for your favorite movie!?!