Good Days

I have really, really been enjoying this winter.  It's just such a great time to slow down a bit.  Our society is so fast-paced, and sometimes that is disheartening.  It's like we forget about what is truly important.  Lately, I've been reflecting on how I view my days.  I tend to feel like I had a good day if I was productive, and if I failed to be productive, than my day was a wash.  Well, I've realized that I get to define what constitutes a good day. It doesn't have to always be measured in how many loads of laundry I finished or how many new professional endeavors I pursued.  It can be measured by how many games I played with the kids or how many minutes my family spent interacting together, all five of us.  And by those standards, I've had some really fantastic days lately.









I admit that I feel like I've done a good job in prioritizing family dinners.  I have no problem eating an hour later if that means that we can all eat together.  However, I still do not understand why my children find it so hard to sit in one place during meals.  They are constantly in motion.  I've never counted how many times I say "sit down" during meals, and honestly, I don't want to know.


We finally got a few snow flurries on Friday.


I am writing this on Saturday and today was a wonderful day.  It started off with ALL THREE kids sleeping in.  Charlie was the first to wake up at 8:30.  Honestly, that has never ever happened before and it was glorious.  And then all the kids decided to cuddle in our bed together.  I loved it!








Much like mealtime, no one stayed still for long.  Still, I just found myself looking from one person to the next and counting my blessings.


Mark and Taylor are determined to finish the first Harry Potter book this weekend. They have about 40 pages to go.


When we finally rolled out of bed, I decided it was a chocolate chip waffle kind of morning.




After breakfast, we played Fluxx, Monopoly Deal and Backgammon.  Then we retreated to different corners of the house for a bit before thinking about lunch.


During the kids' rest time, Taylor came to me and asked me to pull her other front teeth.  I tried, despite my squeamishness, but was unsuccessful.  Still, I think it will be out by Monday...


Following dinner, we decided to play another new game from Christmas called Beat the Parents.  It's a trivia game with individualized questions for kids and adults.  It was quite fun especially since mom and dad won!


We finished the night with homemade brownies, more Harry Potter, and a few Elmo books.  All these games must have worn Mark out, because he was asleep before the kids! (Or maybe it was his afternoon tennis match that did him in.)  So I am going to use the rest of the night to read some photography blogs and tutorials and then call it a night myself.  Good night all!

Our Week

I hope everyone is enjoying their winter so far.  We are once again enjoying our little hibernation and spending lots of time together indoors.  Here's a few shots to recap the past week.

Charlie was Super Star Student last week.


He got to bring in a special treat as part of his super star week and decided on these little snowmen heads.




We've been loving having Aunt Julie here again.  Morgan finally bonded with Julie during her holiday visit and it has carried over to this visit.


The day Julie got in town, Mark picked her up from the airport and brought her to my mom's house.  We used the opportunity to have a nice dinner followed by a game of cards.  I brought the ipad mini knowing Morgan would need some entertainment as well.


Then the girls snuck off for some girl time before heading home.


The next day we celebrated Uncle Chad's birthday at grandma's house again.


It's a tradition to give the birthday boy or girl toasts on their special day.  The kids are starting to get into it.  Charlie's toast:  "You're thirty-seven.  I'm glad you're not eleven."




I took a few photos in charlie's room this week for my 365 project.










We had a girls' night on Friday night and enjoyed dinner and a movie together.


On Saturday, Taylor's school had an adult-only fundraising event so all the kids had a sleepover with Grandma and Aunt Julie.  They decided to make it a safari-theme and went all out making it special for the kids.  I took two quick photos before heading out and then snagged some photos off of Grandma's camera to check out the rest of the festivities.




The kids ate dinner in a 'cave'.








I'm told Morgan loved wearing this hat.




They finished the night watching a movie. Jungle Book, of course.


The next morning cousin Grace pulled Taylor's third tooth.




Monday was MLK Day so no one had school.  We decided to brave the Dayton Mall and go to Momtopia.


There was a juggler/ventriloquist performing that Charlie found particularly funny.


Afterwards we let the kids play in the indoor play area.




My mom must have been feeling guilty about declining my birthday request for a cookie cake from the mall so she treated me with one.  We took it to McDonald's where the kids got their monthly fix and enjoyed it as our dessert.

Hello 2013

Welcome to part two of my post!  We have welcomed the new year in true Williams fashion, by relaxing and retreating to the comforts of our family and our home.  We spent all most of New Year's Day in our jammies and much of it cuddling in bed with the kids.



I've noticed lots of similarities emerging between this winter and last.  It seems that during the cold months our family game nights increase significantly.  A new favorite game in this house is Fluxx.  Charlie is especially fond of this game and thinks about Fluxx games in his sleep.




Morgan still adores her blankie (and her thumb) but she has added to her list of favorite items which you'll see in a moment.




Santa brought Charlie an Angry Birds playdoh set.  First, you create angry birds and pigs with molds.


Then you build a cardboard structure for the pigs and launch the birds at it in hopes of knocking them down.


Morgan was standing at the other side of the table and kept getting birds flying at her head.  She'd respond by saying "Hey!"  Finally, she started using a box as a shield.


Taylor is not as crazy about Fluxx as Charlie.  She prefers regular card games.  And yes, that's Morgan with our ipad mini.


Morgan now knows the difference between ipads, iPods, and mini iPads, and she loves them all.


Here she is teaching her baby to play.




Mark also introduced the kids to the game of basketball.  They have special rules which involves Mark staying stationary.  (Morgan usually plants herself at his feet.) Mark's basket is the hamper (behind Taylor in this photo).


The kids use Charlie's new basketball hoop to score their points.


Santa gave the kids this fun present.  It can be constructed to make an igloo, castle, rocket, and whatever else the imagination conjures up.


Morgan went through a brief stage in which she insisted on being called "baby".  She'd correct anyone who spoke to her or spoke of her using the word Morgan.  Then she discovered these baby dolls (which we've had at the house for years) and decided that they were baby.  Now if you call her baby, she will correct you by saying "NO, Morny" which is the adorable way she pronounces her name.


These days, Morgan likes to have her blankie, her baby, and her baby's blankie close by at all times.   Not to mention "little baby" and "little baby's blankie".  Here's hoping this phase is short lived as well.


Tomorrow we await the arrival of Aunt Julie again!  We cannot wait to spend more time with her!!