Valentine's Day Fun

We got to celebrate Valentine's Day, all weekend this year. It started out with the surprise flowers from Jeremy on Wednesday. I love getting flowers. Derick was too sick to attend his preschool party, so our friends delivered his valentine's on Thursday. Friday we got valentines in the mail from Nonna and Pappa. And then had yummy pink heart pancakes on Sunday. It was a fun weekend full of loves from my little family.

A little note to myself

I posted this on my facebook page, but liked it so much (and kept adding stuff to it) that I thought I would post it here too.

Sometimes I can be pretty hard on myself. As most people tend to be. So this valentines day, I wanted to write down as many things as I could think of about myself, that I like. Just to remind myself of who I really am. Take it or leave it, this is me.

Jill Peery:

is a devoted mother

is a loving wife

is a loyal friend

is a little goofy

is sometimes too loud

can be wishy washy

wears her heart on her sleeve

loves the smell of the forest in the rain

can be scatter brained

is usually smiling

eats a little too much

needs to exercise a little more

is addicted to chocolate

loves the smell and sound of the ocean

has very little fashion sense

can barely keep up with pop culture

believes in astrology

lives for big bear hugs

loves photos; looking at them, taking them, sharing them

can't spell

feels the heart of spirit beating in time with her own

loves to laugh

looks for the good in everyone

loves long, hot showers

wears very little make-up

believes in magic

loves to dig in the garden

loves to swim

thinks humming birds are amazing

would love to be able to fly like the birds

Other random pics

I had a fantastic day today...and so unplanned. I spent the day at home with the kids, cleaning. Both of them have colds, so I thought an at home day would be good for us all. I know, not exciting, but it went great! There's something so wonderful about cleaning out the clutter. And the kids handled it fairly well. I felt productive. And in the middle of the day, the door bell rang. It was the Fed Ex man with a box of flowers for me!! Surprise! Happy Valentine's Day, early. Jeremy, you touched my heart and it meant even more because it was so unexpected.

Here's some other random pictures of us over the last few weeks.

My super hero!

Darla with her lovey, Blankey. It's so cute to hear her say 'blinky' while she uses her version of the sign for blanket. (Patting her tummy with both hands, over and over) She has to have it with her almost all the time. Even when nursing!

Daddy play time! No one plays with the kids like a dad.

Darla on our slide. She LOVES to slide.

Derick and Darla

Over the weekend, I took a picture of Darla that reminded me SO much of one I have of Derick. So, I went back through the photos and sure enough, I found it. Here are the two pictures of our beautiful children.

Derick at 13 months (June 2007)

Darla at 14 months (February 2010)

First Signs of Spring

The weather has been so pretty and so mild this winter! It's so nice to be able to play outside with the kids in January and February. This week, I spent a lovely afternoon weeding while Derick dug for worms right beside me. I am looking forward to more afternoons spent this way this spring. With all this nice weather, mother earth has begun to waken. Here's a few pics of my plants pushing up through the darkness to meet the light.

Tulips coming!

Darla and Derick playing outside.

Weekend Highlights

It was a fun weekend full of birthday parties and sweet moments. We got more done in Darla's room.....the closet is now finished and looks adorable! The bookshelf and bed are in place. I can't wait to get the trim on and the shelf hung. It's starting to come together.

Happy Birthday, Jewel! I can't believe you are turning 7. I remember holding you just days after you were born.

While I was getting ready to celebrate Savanah's birthday today, Derick came into the bath room and watched me putting on my makeup. After a moment, he asked, "Mommy....are you painting dark circles under your eyes?" I had to giggle....cuz I kinda was!

We had a great time at the bouncy place with Savanah and all her friends.

It was such a fun weekend, I didn't want it to end!

A very busy weekend

One of the perks of being employed by the Federal Government is getting some of the smaller holidays off. Jeremy enjoyed a three day weekend for Martin Luther King's day. I enjoyed having him home with us. Saturday was a quiet day. We headed to the park with the kids for some fresh air.

Since the weather wasn't supposed to be nice, I talked Jeremy into painting Darla's room. It's a project that we have been thinking about doing for a while. Sunday we headed to Lowes for supplies. Jeremy and I wanted to make it different, so we picked out two colors; one for the top and one for the bottom. We chose a light pink and a plumish purple. Then, we'll add trim and paint it white to make a border between the colors. I am working on a daisy design that I'm going to add to the walls in white also. We have lots of work to do to finish the room, but the hardest part is done!

Since her room had the taupe color that is all over our house, we decided to use a primer first. That added extra time to the project, but we got all three colors done by Monday afternoon. Derick was a good helper! He enjoyed helping Daddy take the trim off with a pry bar and did a little painting too. During the project, Darla slept in our room in her pack-n-play. I have to say I am looking forward to moving her back into her own room again.

It was a fun weekend, and now that we have Darla's done, we are planning for Derick's room next!

A quiet week

is not without it's interesting moments. Darla had strep throat this week, so we stayed home alot. Sometimes I struggle a bit being home so much....I feel so isolated from my friends. However, I did have some sweet moments with the kids. Here's a few pics from times when we are just hanging out at home.

D & D playing in the tent.

Darla has discovered she can climb the ladder on Derick's bunk bed. ACK! She gave me a heart attack the first time I found her standing at the top, with no spotter!

A rare moment: Derick fell asleep in the living room while I was putting Darla down for a nap.

Bath time fun. Robes made by Jeremy's mom, Judi. They LOVE them.

A Quote that was shared with me today......

May today there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.
May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content with yourself, just the way you are.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

Friday Night Pizza!

When I was a kid, my family had a fun tradition of making home made pizzas on Friday nights. We would make four and each of us would pick the toppings for one of the pizzas. My mom would make the dough from scratch, and I loved to help kneed it. After eating our fill, we would save the rest and have pizza all weekend long.

Tonight, Jeremy said, "Let's do something fun for dinner." I thought of this old tradition right away. So, we did it! I only made dough for two pizzas, and I used half whole wheat flour instead of the white. My yeast was a bit old, but it still had enough life in it to rise a bit. We let Derick pick his own toppings and Jeremy and I put on as many veggies as we had in the house! (well, except the carrots....) The pizza tasted great and we have a whole pie left for the rest of the weekend. It was a fun trip down memory lane for me, and a nice way to turn dinner into an event.

Happy New Years!

We had such a mellow celebration, it was JUST what we all needed.

Happy New Years! Welcome the new decade. 2010 is going to be fantastic!

Here comes 2010

I've been doing some reflecting about the new year that is coming. Being a stay at home mom can be pretty amazing. I have such a strong bond with my kids and I enjoy watching them grow. That said, there are some pretty repetitive, lonely, and mundane parts of it too. Earlier this week, I was feeling a bit depressed about another year of alot of the same moments. What can I look forward to? What will be my goals for 2010? What will I do for myself?

Here are the beginnings of my goals for 2010:

*I want to re-connect with my spiritual heart.

*I want to honor my body by taking better care of it.

*I want to continue to be present, real, and honest with the loved ones around me.

This year, Jeremy and I are going to celebrate the new year a little differently. Dinner at home, movies, maybe a massage. I am really looking forward to a quiet night, just us.

However you celebrate, I want to wish you a safe and happy new year!

Happy Holiday!

Jeremy and I are lucky to have our families living so close. But it also makes for a busy, fun filled couple of days. We celebrated Christmas eve with Jeremy's extended family at the VFW hall in Mercer Island. I would guess there were around 100 people in attendance this year. It's a crazy potluck dinner, and Santa comes afterward with gifts for the kids.

Christmas Day started with the four of us exchanging gifts. Derick was up at 6:50am and ready to open presents. We did our best to delay him, but that only lasted about 20 minutes. So, we woke Darla and got it started.

Jeremy's brothers, sisters, and parents joined us for dinner Christmas day. We decorated cookies (a new, old tradition), ate very well, and exchanged gifts. The elephant exchange was a blast; I got a HUGE box of my mother-in-law's old Tupperware. I'm actually going to keep quite a bit of it! The kids had fun giving each other gifts and the evening sped by.

The day after Christmas was spent with my family in Edmonds. My sister and her hubby hosted a breakfast feast this year. We got spoiled in all the right ways. We were having such a nice time, we just stayed the whole day! Darla took a nap in Sydney's crib and Derick had some quiet time while Cooper crashed. We played video games and visited. Dinner was leftover ham sandwiches. YUM!

It was a beautiful weekend. Here's hoping yours was filled with love, peace, and joy!

Christmas Favorites

Just a few of my favorite things about this time of year.

*Holiday lights in the dark night
*Warm coffee in mornings with peppermint creamer
*Forecasts of snow
*The smell of the Christmas tree
*Getting holiday cards in the mail
*Holiday music
*Family gatherings
*Wrapping paper
*Stowing gifts and being sneaky
*Yummy chocolate treats
*Turkey dinner
*Excited little boys and girls
*Giving gifts
*Perpetuating the magic