Spring is in the Air!

Yay!  It's finally not totally frigid weather here!  We've actually gotten a few days where we have been able to be outside.  To be honest, this winter didn't feel that terrible to me. I know we had a few days of a lot of snow, and many days of cold, but it didn't seem as bad as last year.  I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that the kids stayed relatively healthy this winter!  Last winter, I swear, we were at the doctor every other week.  Also, I think it seemed to go by faster since the time from right after the holidays until now we have been so busy with the move.  Anyway, we are welcoming Spring!!  (although, there is a slight chance of snow on Monday...) St. Patrick's Day was last week, and Kenley had a little party at school.  Charlie was not happy that he was stuck in his stroller, but when I let him out he was running around like a wild animal, and he almost destroyed the organized neat stations of Kenley's classroom in 30 seconds!

Last weekend, my sister and I went to Gurnee for the day/night.  I am so happy we were able to go, and even though it was only a little over 24 hours, it was like a vacation to us  Even though I get to see my sister a lot, it was so nice to spend time with her one-on-one. We actually got to shop, talk and relax without being interrupted by crying, toddler demands, diaper changes, or the usual craziness that happens when were together with all 4 kids. We got to take our time looking at anything and everything we wanted, tried on clothes, and had dinner and drinks.  The next morning, we both got massages, manicures, and pedicures, and we headed back to the mall for a few more hours.  We bought a lot of stuff, and somehow more than half of the stuff we bought was for the kids. We both got a much needed little break!

I have a pretty fun weekend ahead because Ray surprised me this week, and he got me tickets to the Eric Church concert with my friend Melissa!  It's tomorrow night, and I'm pretty excited because again, I will get some time with one of my mama friends without our kids! Melissa probably needs it even more than me since she has 3 kids! I think Ray knew I had been a little stressed out with the move, and he really wanted to give me some "grown up" time since he went on his golf trip.  Then, on Saturday night he and I are having a date night.  We are planning on just doing something simple like dinner and a movie, but we are excited because our last date night, which was over a month ago consisted of errands to Home Depot, Lowes, etc....

Other than that, we've still been pretty consumed with little things around the house.  We didn't have to do much work, unlike last time when we basically had the entire house remodeled the first few months after we moved.  But, little things here and there like replacing a few light fixtures, paint touch-ups, and just making this house "ours."  Ray has been in charge of all of the labor/maintenance, and I happily took over the job as decorator! I have had so much fun decorating, and searching for the perfect little trinkets to complete each room.  I think I'm mostly "done," but every time I say that I find something else I like, or think of something else I want.  I have used a lot of the decorations from the old house, and have made too many trips  Hobby Lobby and Michaels, but I have also found a lot of cute things at several of the local re-sale shops.  I'll admit I'm kind of picky and particular about decorating, and I've bought and returned so many things over the past few weeks until I found things that I felt looked good and made it feel like "home." 

Here are two of my favorite little decorating projects from the last few weeks!