This boy

Most of the time, when we are out somewhere, Brady is not very outgoing. Many of our friends comment on how he scowls at them. Kind of like in these family portraits we had made.

It's not that he's mad or unhappy. He's just really shy and unsure of people.
These are pics are proof that he is a happy child and he DOES smile A LOT!

Sometimes we play a little game where I say, "don't you smile at me!"

Then he looks like this. He purses his lips and won't look at me, trying not to smile.

But, he can't handle it, he gives in and smiles, every time!

I think he thinks that if he closes his eyes, I can't see him smiling.

This boy...he just melts my heart.

My Attempt at Organization

For some reason, January usually brings a desire to purge and organize. We have definitely been doing that in the Dolberry household! I always feel like I am trying to get to a place where everything is in order, because I think things will run much smoother! I am not always good at putting organization into practice, but there are a few things that have made our lives easier and I thought I would share some of them.

One thing we have done is move the kids' chore/behavior charts to the laundry room. They used to be in their rooms. Now, they are more centrally located which makes it easier to check off their lists. The washer acts as a great place to keep our magnetized markers and are in perfect reach of the kids. (I'll be posting about our behavior rewards system soon.)

This window calendar has been a great help in keeping our week organized. It is an old window from my Mom's house. I cut the days of the week out in vinyl and I use a dry erase marker to write in our appointments and schedule for the week. This is great to keep up with practices and meetings. I have also found that having 2 kids in school and 1 in preschool that it was hard for me to remember which child had a party when and when what paper was due for which kid.

Each Sunday, I check their separate calendars and write in anything that will be coming up that week. I'm totally a list person, so this really works for me.

Since I mentioned kids and school, this is another area of my house that helps me keep things under control, for the most part. I blogged about it here and here.

Each kid has his or her own basket where all their school work goes until the end of the week. We will recycle most of it and keep a few pieces to save. Those pieces go in this basket.

Another item that has added organization to my life is my Droid X phone. I have my daily to-do list on it that I love checking off everyday. (I told you, I'm a list person.)

I think this app is called Astrid tasks and it is free.

Another app that I love is Evernote.

It allows me to have several different notes/lists that I can access from anywhere on the internet. It is also free!

So there you have it. What great organizational tips do you have?

Snow, snow and more snow.

I like snow, I really do, but now that this is the 4th time we have snow forecasted in the past month and a half, well, I must say that I'm not that excited.

Nevertheless, we will enjoy being at home together (assuming they will cancel in the morning) and pray all the siblings will get along.

Here are some pics from 2 snows ago.

We got about 4 inches at our house, which considered a blizzard for us in the south. : )

Brady always seems to put his hat on any way but the right way. I just leave it because I think it's cute.

We started building a snowman.

We wanted to make a really big, giant snow man.

He ended up being a little munchkin snowman.

I had seen a snowman kit right before Christmas and almost bought it. It was so cute with everything you need to accessorize your snowman. We just used what we had. Since it was the day of the SEC championship game, we put an Auburn toboggan on our snowman to show our team spirit. War Eagle!!

Then, a little ditch sledding took place.

B spent a little more time with the snowman.

The next day, we did some real sledding on a big hill we found while driving around.

B went down the hill a few times with me or Kris. But he mainly just watched. Notice the hat again.

Konnor turned a few flips.

Emma started out just going down from halfway up the hill. She finally would go from up top.

We had a great time sledding and it looks like we might be able to do it again tomorrow. One thing I haven't done in the three snows we have already had this winter, is make snow cream. I put a bowl out to catch some fresh snow tonight. Guess I'll be googling some recipes to make some for the kiddos tomorrow. Stay warm!

Wrapping up Christmas

Well, the decorations are down and the house is pretty much back in order.

Here are some pics of our Christmas this year.

After our church Christmas eve service, we usually go to our friends' house to celebrate with friends. The kids have a birthday party for Jesus. When we get home, the kids exchange presents and open a new pair of pjs.

On Christmas morning...

Our 8 year old got a cell phone...yes we are those parents. Go ahead and think we are crazy.

We didn't go out of town this year until the day after Christmas, so we went out to dinner on Christmas day. We had Japanese food and it was awesome!

It was snowing when we left!

For Christmas presents this year, I made fabric coasters using this tutorial:

I paired each of them with a vintage mug filled with my favorite peppermint taffy candy.

I also made these crayon folders using this tutorial.

I did add a ribbon closure after taking the pic. Using the directions from the tutorial, 8 fat crayons fit perfectly in the slots. If you sew 16 slots instead, the regular crayons fit nicely.

I'm definitely making these again. I'd love to make them for B's whole preschool class for Christmas next year. We will see!

I also made some felt flower pins.

They were super easy! My friend, Nancy, showed me how to make them, but I'm pretty sure she saw a tutorial on The Pleated Poppy.

Well, that about wraps up the Dolberry Christmas 2011. It was awesome! Now on to the organizing....

Gingerbread House

We have never made a gingerbread house before. With the pre-made house kits they have out now, we thought we would give it a try.

Dad was the official icing applier. He was really good at it. Once the icing was on, it was time for some candy.

The kids had to eat a few pieces along the way, of course.

B even shared some with Dad as he worked.

The finished product.

Now, how to eat it?

I wasn't sure if they would like the taste, but they did!

We will definitely make this a yearly tradition!