My year is up. I made it through 28 books with some surprisibg wins and some real duds. More than anything I love that reading is a part of my daily life again. Happy reading!
We braved the cold, drizzly weather to attend the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade downtown last Saturday. It was cold, but the kids had a great time collecting candy, seeing the bands, floats, and different animals (there were even llamas all decked out!). We were even on TV, which thrilled the kids. Per our tradition, we headed out for Mexican food after the parade. I think we were the only people in South Bend, Irish or not, eating flautas instead of corned beef and cabbage but it’s fun and we never have to wait.
We ended the afternoon celebrating one of our favorite people, Tessie! Love that girl (apparently so much that I forgot to take pictures of the party!). Date night for us (Oz: The Great and Powerful and BW3s) and a sleep over for the kids with Grandma and Grandpa sealed it as a pretty awesome weekend. Sunday, Grace and I went shopping with Jon’s mom to pick out some new things for Grace’s birthday. That girl cracks me up. She picked out her Easter dress at the first store and then got the rest of her stuff at the second. We were in and out in less than two hours… including lunch! #SoMyKid
February
We spent the better part of February battling a stomach virus, but we had fun trying to stay warm.
Snowball fights.
Library
Baking
Reading
Helping with chores. ;)
Hanging out.
I got highlights!
Joey completed the St. Jude’s “Math-A-Thon” challenge. A big thank you to those of you who sponsored him! We talked about how he was doing the different problems as a way to help sick children and what it would mean to those kids and their families.
While most of the month was too cold for family excursions, we drove through Potato Creek State Park several times to check out the fields and lake. It was really fun to point out the different landmarks to the kids and have them recognize how our favorite spots change during winter.
The best part of February will always be our Thomas! I cannot believe he’s two already. Two?!? Unfortunately, he spent the better part of the week surrounding his birthday sick so we celebrated with dry pancakes. A few weeks later we invited our neighbors over for dinner and cake to celebrate. Thomas was a happy boy. Happy birthday, littlest man!
52/52: Quiet
I was really excited to read Quiet after seeing numerous recommendations online. Honestly, I thought it was awful. Badly written, more self-help than science, and far too long for the lack of substance.
On to better books! 
Seven!
With the start of the new year, our family enters into what we jokingly call “Birthday Season.” Joey in January, Thomas in February, and Grace in March. It’s actually ridiculously fun and we have put together little celebrations to make each month special (e.g., each kiddo gets to be the featured photo on my phone for their birthday month).
Here are a few photos from Joey’s 7th (7?!?) birthday. He kept with his standard interests and asked for Star Wars Legos and Sea Creatures.
We got Joey a sperm whale to add to his collection of creatures. It was a hit. 
After school, we went bowling with friends and had a GREAT time.
We met Grandpa Dave at “The Hot Dog Place” to enjoy his free birthday hot dog.
A few days later we had a really fun party with his friends, including a pinata in 20* weather! Jon won dad of the year in no time flat.
52/52: Batch Entry
For Valentine’s Day, Jon and I gave each other an iPad Mini and I’ve been reading consistently since then.
The Happiness Project
Happier at Home
Love and Salt
Your Brain After Chemo
52/52: Son
The final book in “The Giver” series. It was darker and failed to answer a question I’ve had since reading “The Giver,” but still enjoyable. Also finished in less than 24 hours.
52/52: Messenger
Part 3 of “The Giver” series. I finished in one afternoon/evening.
52/52: Gathering Blue
Loved it.
52/52: The lost week
I haven’t read anything since Monday night when I sat down to watch Downton Abbey.
So good! I’m half-way through season 2 and hope to finish and see the start of season 3 before the next episode airs.
