We visited 2 preschools so that we can decide where Will is going to attend this fall. At St. William's in Waukesha the kids in 4K were making rainbow art. Will thought it was pretty cool and wanted to make some with me once we were home. It's a good thing I have a huge stash of craft stuff on hand at all times. We printed pictures, I cut out little squares and he got to gluing and coloring.

Sometimes your best friend needs to be your pillow.

He also likes to make animal art with his food. I'm sure this was a bear or a dog :)

 I really need to coin a new hashtag #johnwaswere

Look how patiently John was waiting to see if Will was done with the computer.

What a couple of nice brothers.

Until the wrestling match ensues... These 2 just never stop cracking me up!

 I decided to give this recipe for One Pot Spinach Mushroom Artichoke Pasta a try. It really was damn delicious. Even the kids liked it! And any recipe I can make in a single pot that tastes good is a win in my book.

Wrestling with daddy is the most fun ever. And a good reminder that mommy needs to vacuum more...

He is (not so) patiently waiting for his big brother to be done on the potty.

 We had a nice day so it was a good chance to get outside and have the boys get a head start on their gardening for the season. Today's task: digging random holes in mommy's garden beds.

There's a slight chance that John fell into a puddle.

It's important to take a break from gardening to brush up on your golf game.

Gardening with golf clubs is also known as multi-tasking.

"Well, I think I'll go do some raking now, Mom" 

-John

 John took off running when he saw his brother's water cup. I'm not sure what his plans were but I guess he just wanted to give it a salute with his hat.

Time for some more golfing!

 Uh oh, they seem to have found a water hazard in the driveway.

John likes to march to the beat of his own drum most days and is always trying to be funny. I think riding on your dump truck with no pants on is a great example of his success in doing so. I just love this kid so much and think he is hilarious.

My Stella girl :)

Pillow fort fun combined with a little guitar playing. Just a typical afternoon with my 2 crazy boys!

Will tripped and found this stick to play with. So he just sat there and tried to break it with his bare hands.

This afternoon I just laughed and laughed and laughed. They weather was beautiful and the boys were having continuous wrestling matches in the yard. John would sit and watch Will and Will would wait for the moment that John got up and then immediately come to knock him over. At one point, Will was rolling John in the grass and John was belly laughing. It was one of the funniest times they've ever played together. 

 

 Will built me a city on Erik's pillow. That's a pretty great present, and face, to wake up to.

Having fun with water capsule animals while John John takes his nap.

John's favorite hiding spots - the space between the fridge and the pantry...

...and behind any furniture or curtains. He thinks he's just the funniest.

I earn points in the cool mom club when I make Green macaroni & cheese for St. Patrick's Day.

And when I let babies stay in their jammies all the way through lunch time.

The beginning of homemade Shepherd's Pie from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook. I gave it a B. Everyone else said they really liked it. 

We went shopping with Grandma Karen and the boys each picked out an Easter hat. The plan was for the boys to wear them on Easter Sunday when they were all dressed up. They love their hats so much that they are worn constantly, as you can see from most of these pictures moving forward. 

Will went to a car show with Daddy and brought home a picture of a green truck. Green is his favorite color so that makes it especially cool.

This kid's got style. That's all I know.

 Random pictures of these 2 hooligans playing, hanging out, being cool and wearing their fedoras.

Will wanted to draw an Easter bunny. I drew a shape (in orange, I hope that's obvious!) and then had him watch me and draw the same shape on his own paper (in pink). For 3 years old I'd say he did a pretty darn good job!

 The truth about motherhood. Sometimes I play on my phone while I'm going to the bathroom. In this particular instance a certain someone came looking for me. This picture would be really creepy if it wasn't what I imagine all moms who are home with young children experience every. single. day.

"Mommy, where are you?"

Playing with trucks and shopping carts. In style, of course.

John being his usual hilarious self. 

"Where's John? There he is!"

 Every kid should have a grandma that will bake cookies with him on a total whim. Will is pretty darn lucky that he has Grandma Karen and can talk her into it. They made Easter bunnies and stars. Decorated in Christmas colors, per Will's request, because green is his favorite color.

Can you guess which one he put the sprinkles on?

Evening art projects are the best. 

A couple years ago Erik got me a woodworking class for mother's day. I've had an itch to learn to build things and use tools for a few years now. Sadly, I had to cancel my class after finding out I was pregnant with John. I signed up for a class at a local woodworking store specifically geared toward women and in it learned how to use a jointer, planer, table saw, router and drill press. We made this peg board in class. It may look really simple but its a pretty big accomplishment for me and I'm really proud of taking the class and the things I learned while there.

Will helped daddy carry a big stick to the fire pit while John hung out over by the slide. 

This little man was recovering from an Easter stomach bug he developed. Poor baby. It's so sad when your babies end up sick. 

I took advantage of napping kids and completed a Pinterest project I had pinned a while back. This is an old cork board that sat in our basement for years, some burlap fabric and nail head push pins. I made the graphic in InDesign and stenciled it on. I have since moved it to our mantel and changed up this little nook in our entry way. It was a really quick, easy project that I had thought of completing for a long time and I love it and am so glad I finally did it.

Today seemed like a good day to take advantage of Uncle Tim's open car and teach the boys how to steal a car.

A beautiful, chilly Spring Day in Wisconsin calls for gardening, sitting in the grass and helping teach your little brother how to play baseball.

It's a sure sign that John John is tired when he has his nuk and his snuggle blanket. These are the 2 must haves when it comes to sleepy time for this little guy.

Playing with their Easter eggs and baskets on a lazy morning in their jammies.