Simple Pleasures

It has been nice and warm here in Texas and we were lucky enough to enjoy a warm winter rain the other day.  The kids and I had so much fun splashing around in it.  I took a little video while trying not to get the camera too wet!

Peeping Toms

The awful nap time "incident" has changed things forever around the house.  We went back to putting on onesies under the kids' outfits - they have yet to figure out how to rip these off.  As the paranoia set in, we considered covert ops for surveillance, complete with infrared cameras we could operate from the computer.  However, times are tough so we had to get creative.  

Enter the era of the reverse peephole.  Now we can spy on them from the outside looking in without ever entering the room.  Grandpa Glass thought of this genius idea, effortlessly installed the peephole and coined Mari as the "peeping mom." 

Apparently this spying thing runs in the family because we've seen evidence of little proteges popping up all over the place. 

Cohen & Noah Doing Backyard Surveillance

Undercover Ops For HOA Compliance

Noah Works On His Agility Training

Sophia's Puppy Dog Stakeout

Finn Screens The Living Room

And apparently we need to heighten surveillance on Jazmyn since she devoured Mari's Valentine chocolates without leaving a trace of evidence behind!

Hallelujah!

There is a bible verse that I often repeat over and over to myself which is more of a coaching mechanism for me than an act of worship.  "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God..." (1 Thessalonians 5:18).   That's a hard one to remember at times but we truly have a lot to be thankful for so I thought I'd list our top 3 hallelujah moments of the week:

3. 3 Hour Naps!

We changed the schedule up so the kids only have one nap a day. This has been tough to keep them occupied with minimal meltdowns for the longer wake time stretches but a 3 hour nap is well worth it!  I really don't even know how to fill all of that time yet!  

2. Time Outs Are Working!

We've been doing timeouts for months now and they never seemed to sink in.  We put them in the little nook outside our bedroom door and have them sit there until we come back for them a minute or so later. The kids almost thought it was a game or extra attention time that they'd get to have once I returned for them.  Threatening time out was like offering them a cookie, they were all for it! I've seen a dramatic turn around this week where they clearly see that time out isn't any fun and they are starting to stop the behavior with a simple time out warning.  It's amazing to me!  All the persistence is paying off - (well that, or they are finally getting to an age where they can comprehend it - whichever it is, I'll take it!)   

1. Family

Grandma and Grandpa Glass came to visit last week and let us parents have a weekend away in San Antonio.  Oh, how nice to enjoy some time away, if only to appreciate all that we truly miss when it's not right in front of us. Plus, my dad has some work to do in Houston and is staying through the end of this week. It surely is nice to have some extra hands around here - especially when changing up the schedule, thank you, Dad!  

Picnics in the Backyard = No Cleanup, Yippee!

The second broken pot of the week and no one was hurt!