Snow Day!

Phew - power's been back for a few days now, the house is toasty, and I can finally post some pictures.

Though we had snow on the ground for several days (and still have a bit) there were really only 2 days worth playing in. Thursday was about the greatest snow you could ask for. Light, fluffy, and DEEP! Sadly, we had freezing rain Friday which made it cold and icy to play in. We still tried, but it wasn't the same. It's tough knowing that we don't get out of school until June 20th now, but snow days hold such a special magic that it's so very worth it to me.

Stella was tring to catch snowflakes and caught a big fluffy one in the eye.

Oh, that face!  She was sitting in a patio chair dry and "safe" under cover.  She didn't know what she was in for. 

She immediately tried to crawl when I put her down.  It didn't take long for her to get frustrated and start crying (of course I got pictures of that too)!

While the snow wasn't much good to her she did enjoy tasting it!

I just LOVE the pure delight on that face.  It makes those make-up days SO worth it!

She thought she was pretty funny coming at Mama with snowballs.  Her idea of snowballs was hilarious.  Most of the time she would just scoop up armfuls from the hood of my car and charge me.  By the time she'd take a few steps it was gone.

I'm so very grateful that we live where we do.  There was a man on the news that had flown into town during the storm.  He was 48 years old and from California.  He'd never seen snow.  I can't even imagine being almost 50 years old and never having seen/played in snow!  These memories with our girls are priceless.

Pioneer Women

We've been out of power for 25.5 hours now and I'm done. I would have been the WORST pioneer woman! If it were just Jim and I it wouldn't be as bad, but it's rough with the littles. (especially Lucy). It's so cold so we decided to all sleep in the front room by the fireplace. Lu has never slept with us before so we couldn't get her to go to sleep and once she did I was terrified all night that she wasn't going to be able to breathe! I don't now how co-sleeping moms can ever relax with wee ones in their bed!

Finally, all 5 of us (the German shepherd too) were scrunched onto a deflating full-sized air mattress. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep! When we woke up it was 41 in here! The power came back on and I about cried with joy but it was back off within about ten minutes. Thanks for the tease PSE! (seriously though, I'd bring all of those power guys hot coffee and cookies of only I had some way to make them)

We've been trying to make the best of it... Stella and I played with her new glasses, Nutella makes everything just a bit better and daddy read Harry Potter to Stella by the fire (she's still a bit too young). Now everyone except me is taking a nap.

I'm dying for a nice hot shower, coffee and a good nights sleep so I really hope it comes back on. If we don't get ours back I'm hoping one of my parents do so I can at least send the girls for the night!

Hope you're all warmer than we are! (I am kind of enjoying having a sleeping baby on my chest, that doesn't happen much anymore!)

Fostering a sister's bond

When we found out we were pregnant for the second time, we both thought the baby would be a boy.  We really didn't even consider much that it would be a girl.  When we found out she was a girl, there was a moment of sadness for me (it was almost like we'd "lost" the boy that we'd been talking about and imagining for 4 months!) and then all I could think about was how great it would be for them growing and how close they'd be.  I instantly pictured them going shopping and out to lunch when they're mamas, sitting by the fire in lounge pants with glasses of wine and talking late into the night and sharing laughter and tears.

I know all too well that not all sisters have this special kind of bond.  I've seen (and experienced) it first hand.  My sister and I are 8 years apart.  Maybe it's because we didn't live in the same house growing up or because we were always at different points in our lives, but sadly, we don't have the closest relationship.  We love each other, but aren't close.  I can't help but think that part of the reason may be because we don't have the same mom.  We missed out on doing girly things together (shopping/lunch/baking/crafting).

I look forward to these things with them, but it also adds some pressure!  I know that they'll have their issues through their teen years, but I SO BADLY want them to be really close as they grow up and especially when they're grown.  It's something that I make a concious effort to foster on a regular basis. 

From the time I was pregnant, Lucy was Stella's baby.  We often talk about how one of her most important jobs is to always be sure Lucy is taken care of and protected (we'll have the same conversations with Lu someday).  We always talk about how they'll always be there for each other and be each other's biggest supporters.  As they get older, both Jim and I will have special days with them together to try to encourage them to have fun together and to be friends.

Lucy is getting more fun to play with all of the time now and we're all loving it!  The other morning Stella, Lucy and I were up in Stella's room.  Stella started pushing Lucy back onto the bed saying, "I'm gonna take you down!" I was about to stop her but Lucy was squealing with delight!  They did this repeatedly for about 10 minutes and I just sat watching with a smile on my face.

Stella got a huge cardboard princess castle that you color and Lucy wanted to help us.  (I think we spent about 3 HOURS coloring this thing last weekend!)

Stella drinking her cocoa with her blankets is something that happens every morning and every night at our house.  (It's not really cocoa, just instant breakfast to try to get some calories in the girl!)  Lu is getting big enough to sit with her on the couch. 

Trying to get Stella's attention...

I know they're little, but they are so crazy about each other, it makes my heart sing!  I was so worried about jealousy issues before Lucy was born but much to our surprise there hasn't been any of that.  I feel so blessed that I get to watch the relationship grow and to have been chosen to be in their lives.

What do you think?  Any tips on fostering bonds?  Am I putting more pressure on myself than I should?  It's one of my biggest Mama goals!

Saturday

Watching Parenthood, kind a wishing our little fam was a bit bigger but trusting that He's given us exactly what we're meant to have.

Listening to a little one waking from a long nap, hubby playing guitar, and Spongebob (ok, ok, I could do without that last one sometimes).

Knitting with Stella snuggling on my lap. I finished Lu's sweater, now I need to get Stella's Drive-Thru done so I can start on some fun/quick little knits.

These are my favorite kinds of days.

Hope you're enjoying your Saturday!

My favorite Christmas gift

After 2 glorious weeks as a stay-at-home family it's back to work for Jim and I tomorrow.  I'm sure we're more upset about this than the girls are, they LOVE going to Sheri's and miss her when they don't "get" to go!  It's been wonderful and busy.  I haven't wanted to spend a single moment of it on the computer which means no blog updates.  Hopefully I'll be back soon with updates about the holidays and the birthday of a very special little girl!

For now, I'm going to share my favorite material gift of the season (because no gift is better than my little fam!)  Now that Lu is officially done nursing I can start wearing perfume again.  I'm not a huge perfume girl, but it is nice once in a while - kind of like lipstick.  Jim got me this perfume sampler from Sephora!

There are a couple of samplers to choose from.  I'd heard good things about both Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue and Jennifer Aniston's perfume.  I picked the one with Light Blue because when you check out Jennifer Aniston's was one of the samplers to choose from so I actually got both.  The best part of it is that you get a certificate for a full sized bottle of any of the perfumes you choose!  I don't know about you, but it's so overwhelming for me to try to go pick a perfume.  They all start to smell the same to me within minutes and it's so great to be able to smell one at a time all day long.  If you're in need of a present I can't recommend this enough.

Do you have any "Favorite Things" to share?

Denial

When I was pregnant with Stella I didn't really look that big (all due to her and my height - she was only 5lb 10oz and I'm fairly tall).

When I was pregnant with Lucy Jim told me at about 6 months that I looked as big at that time as I did just before I delivered Stella.  This is NOT the kind of thing a girl wants to hear from her husband and I knew I was bigger, but I didn't honestly think I was THAT big...!

I was looking for some old pictures last night and ended up looking at Lucy's newborn pictures.  THIS is one of the pictures that jumped out at me.  Taken the morning Lucy was born before we headed out to the hospital.  That thing is RIDICULOUS - it doesn't even look real!  I remember being in Target a few weeks before she was born and I was kind of bent over looking at nail polish.  When I stood up and turned a girl walking down the aisle let out a loud (and scared sounding), "AWK!"  She tried to cover, but it was obvious.

Yep, I was in denial - that thing was out of control!  Still, wish I could feel those little feet kicking around again and feel the anticipation.  There's nothing like it in the world!

This post has nothing to do with anything but I know someday while I'm going through old posts I'll get a good laugh out of it again!  Plus, maybe it will make some of you girls who are still preggo feel a bit better, "at least I'm not THAT big!" ;)

Advent Fun

This isn't the first time I've mentioned that I made an advent calendar last year but it didn't hold up well and there was no good way to store it so it was dumped at the end of the season.  I went around and around about what kind of calendar to make this year, scouring Pinterest, Flickr, and the web in general looking for ideas.  I narrowed it down to two:


Oh, how I LOVE this one!  There are two issues however...  Virtually nothing will fit in one of those little mittens, I didn't have time to knit them all, I couldn't decide on colors, I kind of want each girl to have their own they can take someday and I REALLY don't have time to knit two!  (ok, that's four issues).  I think I may work on this for next year just to hang from the mantel because I do love it so much.

This is the inspiration for mine. (found on Pinterest). I really like the idea of it but I wondered how long it would need to be to fit 24 numbers and I wanted their names at the top.

So... I ordered their names and numbers 1-24 in vinyl.  I got 2 boards, clothespins, ribbon, and glue from JoAnns.  When I got home with the boards I quickly realized the numbers were MUCH too big so I ended up getting 2 sets of numbers meant for board games or something.

 I painted the boards white, glued ribbon to the clothespins, and glued everything to the boards.

As I've mentioned, some of our days are activities, while others are small gifts.  I got a piece of red/white paper to write the activities on and hung them from the pins.

Here's Stella's finished with her wrapped gifts.  It's a bit more jumbled than I'd care for, but it seems to be working well.  So far the only issue is that without fail, Stella wants whatever Lucy has.  Last night I finally had to tell her that if she whines about what she gets again and wanting Lu's I'll be taking the rest of her gifts down and donating them. We spend a lot of time talking about having a grateful heart and how blessed we are.  I need to find some new ways to express that to her because I'm not sure she gets it.

I know "activity only" Advent calendars are big right now, but I like finding little things for them (mostly from the dollar section at Tarjay) and frankly, I wouldn't make it doing activities everyday for 24 days!  I like that they each have their own, I'm always thinking that one day I want them to each be able to have things to take with them when they move out.  It's crazy because I don't even know if these boards will survive the next year! Like I said, I'm kind of a nutty worrier of a Mama.