Spring Fun!

Chicago Wolves Game

Our family was invited to the Chicago Wolves game a couple weeks ago to celebrate a friend's birthday. The kids had fun decorating signs to hold up during the game. Truthfully...we spent a lot of time doing all sorts of things to keep them entertained but watching the game didn't really hold their attention. It was still a fun experience for them and they had a blast. 

 Lost Teeth
Jordan lost his two front teeth! He was so excited! He lost one after school and then the other in the car on his way home that very same day. It's hard to tell just how toothless he is, but he's got a pretty wide gap in the front there. It's super cute. There aren't really signs of the next teeth growing in yet so he'll be missing those teeth for a while!

 Dog Sitting
Last weekend, my parents dog sat for my sister's dog Xena. She's the white dog in the picture below. Danny is holding my parents' dog, Daisy. They've only had Daisy for a few weeks. The kids love her so much. It's sweet to watch them interact with her. She has quickly found a place in their hearts.

 Silly Fake Mustaches!
Jordan went to an 80's themed birthday party! He was one of only a few boys there. Here he is with his cousin, Alex, being silly. It cracks me up how these kids can't just smile...they have to get goofy. It's fun!

 Park! Park! Park!
It was finally warm enough for a trip to the park! Since this first time, we've been to a few other parks but this was my first trip to a park this spring with the kids. It's fun to see them run around outside again. It's just been too long of a winter!

I'm so excited that the weather is finally warming up. We've gone back and forth between warm and cool days but we've been in the 50's a few time sand that's awesome! We've even had some sunshine and that's the ultimate best. 

Perfectly Messy Painting!

Late Night Brainstorm

Last night, after we got home from a long trip there and back to Frankfort in the snow, the kids were kind of restless. They were playing catch and Disney Infinity and then all of a sudden they weren't. It was a moment of realizing we were going to have to figure out what to do and quick. I had just heard a presentation at work about letting kids play and explore and learn to really navigate the world. I've been thinking about painting at home because we haven't done it in a long time and I realized the time was now.

As soon as I said paints, the boys were upstairs and trying to grab paints off of the shelf. We grabbed paints, brushes, paper and carried everything downstairs to the kitchen table. 

First things first - shirts off! My friend Krystie taught me that. It's much easier to clean paint off of skin than off of clothes. I barely had the words out of my mouth and they had their shirts off. I was happy, they were happy. Total win.

Getting Messy

In my experience, most kids love to get messy and these two dudes are not the exception. It didn't take long before Danny had his hands in the paint and Jordan wanted to follow suit. These kids just crack me up. They are such a blast! In the end, we had fun, we learned about not touching anything on the way to the bathroom, we practiced scrubbing with soap to get paint off of our bodies, and we made some great art. I love to see them concentrating and creating.

Danner D

Jordan a

The Brothers

Adding a Background to His Snake

A Mess!

Hooray for Art

I'm so glad we got the paints out! It was so nice that they could spend time being creative together. They were focused and engaged and it was probably the easiest night we've had in a while. Wrangling two boys, keeping them busy and happy with each other, isn't easy at this age. But last night was awesome. Jordan said, "We don't get to paint much at home." And he was so right. Since we got new floors and Danny was born, we don't paint nearly as much as we used to. It's time to change that. I love arts and crafts and being creative. I'm going to plan more painting and more other types of art and craft activities. Just like coming back to blogging feels great, so does the idea of doing more art with the kids. I've always loved being creative and making things. I look around our house and see the photos we have up, the collages I have made, our Color Me Mine painted pottery, our Knufflebunny inspired photo-drawings and it all makes me smile. Our house definitely feels like a home because of all of these pieces and I'm so looking forward to adding more of our personalities to our home.

Take care and talk soon!

It's Time for a Come Back!

Back To Blogging
It's been a little over a year since I last posted anything here at From My Front Porch Looking In! With my new job, things have been busier than ever...and somewhat overwhelming lately as we try to manage all the things. What that also means is that I've been thinking even more about life and celebrating how awesome my life is. All this thinking has reminded me how much I loved sharing personal stories and revelations when I blogged here.

Life is truly amazing. It's this wonderful gift that we have been given to make the most of. I go to bed every night thankful for all the wonderful people in my life and all the great opportunities I have to be the best me, to help others, to make a contribution to this wildly spinning world. I wake up every morning thankful for another chance to make this new day better than the last. It's not always easy but I know I've got it better than a lot of people and for that I'm very thankful.

Capturing life through pictures and sharing stories for myself and with others is what I really love about blogging. I have a pretty great record of Jordan's first few years of life but not so much since Danny was born. Ugh, I can't go back in time but I can go back to blogging here going forward. It's so nice that this little space has been waiting for me. While I don't have much time for blogging but I do have some time blogging. And that will have to be enough. We always make time for what's important, right? And this is important. It doesn't mean I won't need a little nudge here and again, so if you don't see me here, feel free to nag me!

That Was Then
Yup, this picture was from 2008 and one of my first posts here when Jordan wasn't even 1 year old yet! Look at our little family! I remember those little slipper-type shoes he used to wear. We were at Chad's school for a roller-skating party and we pushed Jordan around in his stroller.

This Is Now

So...today! Today we set off for Frankfort, Illinois, a place none of us had ever been, to meet Jordan Lynch, former quarterback for the NIU Huskies. Chad and I met when we lived across the hall from each other in the residence halls at Northern Illinois University. It's crazy to think it's been almost 15 years since we first met there in the fall of 1999. Sheesh. Look at our family now? Jordan is 6 1/2 and Danny is 3 1/2. Our little guys are so much fun.

I have to say, it's good to be back! Sharing stories of my family is a great way of celebrating and it feels great. It seems like a blogging goal or commitment would make sense about now. I think I'll shoot for once a week. If I can at least get here once a week and share a reflection of the week, I think that would be great. Who knows, maybe it'll be more, but once a week sounds good for now. 

Take care and talk soon!

2012 Un-Boring Revisited

I'm revisiting my 2012 Un-Boring List so I can reveal my 2013 Un-Boring List! I loved so much about 2012! Looking back at these pictures and the fun we had is nice...but it only captures some of the adventures of this year. Which makes me realize I need to get back to blogging here...making a note to add that at the top of my 2013 Un-Boring List.

What s the Un-Boring list all about? Here's a review: My friend, Alison, declared 2011 a year of fun and created an un-boring list for herself. When I visited her in August of 2011 in Boston, I got to witness her cross off glassblowing from her list. There is something really cool about actively deciding to take hold of your life and make it fun. Since high school, I have been a very reflective person. Everyday, I take time to think about what I love about life and what I am so grateful for. I decided  to take Alison's lead and to make an Un-Boring List of my own for 2012

Alison and I in Boston, August 2011

Here's a recap of my 2012 list:

#1 - Go on a cruise *check*

#2 - Take French lessons - not accomplished

#3 - Go on a Segway tour *check*

#4 - Visit a butterfly garden *check*

#5 - Host a book swap
*kind of accomplished - we did a holiday book swap at work - although it wasn't really my idea - not accomplished after all*

#6 – Go to Mall of America *check*

#7 – Go to a Bulls game *check*

#8 – Picnic and play at Michigan Dunes - not accomplished
*but we did go to Kids Read Comics in Michigan...*

#9 – Makeover an old bridesmaid dress *check*
I fancied up my Maid of Honor dress from my sister's wedding...totally forgot to take pictures though!

#10 – Make a pie *check*

 

#11 – Grow herbs and a tomato plant *check*
(well...some little critter ate my herbs but hooray tomatoes!*

#12 – Volunteer for Sophia’s Heart - not accomplished

Yay for a year of fun! I'm looking forward to more fun in 2013!

Slice of Life - My New and Improved Writing Life

Slice of Life is sponsored every Tuesday by Stacey and Ruth from Two Writing Teachers. 

It has only been two days, but I feel so much rejuvenated when it comes to writing! I am excited to write!

I vowed after the month-long Slice of Life Challenge to keep writing but to change my writing. Instead of spending my Slice of Life posts writing, I'm going to write for myself and work on my book but here write about how it's going in my life as a writer.

To be honest, I haven't written much in the last few days. Today what I did do was some planning. During my lunch, I grabbed my folder with all of my notes for my book. I have a lot of ideas but I haven't been able to figure out how to really plan things so it will come together right. I have a few different storylines going and I needed to get things straight in my head. Before I was just writing and writing and not worrying about things were going to come together eventually.

I already had a bunch of mini-sticky notes with little events written on them on a piece of paper. I decided I needed a bigger piece of paper. This is where it would be awesome to have an awesome or even a little space just for writing. A space where I could lay things out or slap things on the wall and not have to pack it up. I taped two pieces of paper together and then had more space to spread out my sticky notes. I noticed where I needed to add in a few events and some I decided not to include. I was able to see how things might go in order and actually move from beginning to end.

Seriously, I feel so much better about my writing. I am really excited now to write. Now I feel like I can  set little goals for myself and feel like I am moving towards something. I can tell myself to write one of the sticky notes by a certain day, and go on like that for a while and then worry about fitting them all together later. Even though I didn't write anything, I feel like I really accomplished something today.

When I opened my WIP, I saw that I have 55 pages...I have no idea what I was able to write 55 pages about since I don't really know what I'm writing. I'll have to worry about it being too much or not enough later. Right now, I'm just going to write! I'll check back in next week and let you know how I'm doing!

What does your writing life look like now that the March Slice of Life is over?