Picture this scene. It's 3:20 in the afternoon. Everyone is home from school. For a few moments it is relatively peaceful. Then...all of sudden my children all had need for my attention. Allison wanted to do Play-Doh, watch TV, needed help getting her Polly Pockets dressed, all at the same time mind you. Rebecca needed help with her piano lessons. Katie needed help with her math homework until her friend called and then we needed to discuss whether her friend could come over or not. AND...I was trying to get dinner started so that we weren't eating at 7:00 at night! I found myself going from one end of the house to the other and having 3 conversations at the same time!!! Talk about multi-tasking! SOMEHOW Rebecca's lesson got practiced, Allison's multiple needs were met, Katie was taken care of, and dinner got started!! When I realized how NUTTY it got so suddenly I got to laughing - OUT LOUD - by myself, the kitchen! My children probably thought I was losing it but the whole thing struck me so funny! If anyone had walked in on this scene they would've thought, for sure, that there was NO sense of order in our house EVER! Fortunately these crazy moments aren't the way it usually is. I'll admit that I did feel a small sense of accomplishment once everyone was taken care of! Isn't that what being a mom is all about anyway?
I've found myself addicted to American Idol! I think this is season 6 and it is the first time I've watched it! It's amazing to me how some people THINK they are talented singers and yet my DOG can sing better than they do!! At first I felt bad for those who were turned away and insulted, mercilessly by Simon and then I thought, "If they want to subject themselves to a televised audition in front of a panel of CRITICAL judges then they deserve what they get!!" Heartless, I know.
We went ice skating last weekend. SO FUN! I was surprised how much I enjoyed it! Becky was my skating partner. She'd never been skating before and, in theory, I was supposed to help her. I say 'in theory' because I'm no skater! Ed is the skater in the family! My girls were in awe of his ability!! As we would watch they'd say, "WOW, Dad is an AWESOME skater!!" Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know! Katie caught on really fast and managed to stay on her feet pretty much the whole time! Becky and I made it around the rink 3 times in a half hour!! But I think we were both improving by the time we were done. And Allison LOVED it! She's still talking about it! I can't wait to go again!
The snow I mentioned in my previous post never materialized. I'm finding that the weather people seem to have a difficult time FORECASTING! I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it's because of the complex weather environment we live in.....whatever.
Today's a half day of school. Katie and Becky are having friends over. Should be a fun afternoon!
Tuesday, January 23
Friday, January 19
More SNOW
I had to post again because I wanted to let you know that I've just come in from SHOVELING and SLEDDING with Allison! My last post must have been like a rain dance or something! We have about 1 1/2 inches right now and may get up to about 4. I am surprised that we are actually experiencing Lake Effect snow which I'm assuming is off of Lake Erie (is that the one by Buffalo?). So now the wet clothes are hanging to dry and Allie and I are going to have some hot chocolate!
By the way, the museum was fun this morning. We got to learn about different lizards and then pet a Blue Tongued Skink! Allison was impressed!
Snow
I feel obligated to post something since it's been over a week since my last post, although I have no idea where this will go...
It snowed last night - big deal - a dusting. I was starting to get really bummed that we have NO snow. Let me clarify what I mean by NO snow. The ground is bare! Haven't seen more than a half inch all winter. Our pool is just now starting to be frozen. Katie hasn't worn her snow boots yet. That's what I mean. Anyway, instead of bumming over NO snow I've made a list of reasons I'm glad we haven't had any.
1)
2)
3)
Hmmm....I really did try to think of something. Instead I kept thinking about the things I LOVE about snow...
1)Bundled up kids who can barely walk due to their bundles
2)Big snow men (or little snowmen) in the front yard
3)The way sound is muffled by the snow - everything seems more peaceful
4)All the brown, dirt, and grime are covered up by an unblemished layer of white
5)Snow angels
6)Seeing my kids play together in the snow
7)Playing with my kids in the snow
8)Hearing the neighborhood snowblowers
9)Little red faces that need to warm up
10)Hot chocolate
11)Sledding
12)Snowball fights
13)Snow forts
14)Icicles from snow melting off the roof
15)Shovelling (I really do like to shovel, and since the snowblower ALWAYS kicks my butt shovelling is the best option for me. Of course when Ed is home he does the snow removal thing, unless I want to shovel, that is)
16)Trying to walk in thigh deep snow without losing a boot!
17)Watching the dog bury her face in the snow and come out with a bunch of it on her nose (we haven't seen Lucy's reaction to snow yet, but our dog Emily LOVED it)
18)Snow days from school
19)Driving in the snow at night with your high beams on. My dad would say we were going "Light speed" Try it, it really does look like it!!
20)It's fun to play in and pretty to look at
I probably could think of more but I'm bringing Allison to the museum this morning for Aquarium Storytime. We haven't been before, I hope she likes it. She is starting a music class next week. It's musikgarten. We went to an open house and tried it. We both really liked it!
Enjoy your snow if you have any!
It snowed last night - big deal - a dusting. I was starting to get really bummed that we have NO snow. Let me clarify what I mean by NO snow. The ground is bare! Haven't seen more than a half inch all winter. Our pool is just now starting to be frozen. Katie hasn't worn her snow boots yet. That's what I mean. Anyway, instead of bumming over NO snow I've made a list of reasons I'm glad we haven't had any.
1)
2)
3)
Hmmm....I really did try to think of something. Instead I kept thinking about the things I LOVE about snow...
1)Bundled up kids who can barely walk due to their bundles
2)Big snow men (or little snowmen) in the front yard
3)The way sound is muffled by the snow - everything seems more peaceful
4)All the brown, dirt, and grime are covered up by an unblemished layer of white
5)Snow angels
6)Seeing my kids play together in the snow
7)Playing with my kids in the snow
8)Hearing the neighborhood snowblowers
9)Little red faces that need to warm up
10)Hot chocolate
11)Sledding
12)Snowball fights
13)Snow forts
14)Icicles from snow melting off the roof
15)Shovelling (I really do like to shovel, and since the snowblower ALWAYS kicks my butt shovelling is the best option for me. Of course when Ed is home he does the snow removal thing, unless I want to shovel, that is)
16)Trying to walk in thigh deep snow without losing a boot!
17)Watching the dog bury her face in the snow and come out with a bunch of it on her nose (we haven't seen Lucy's reaction to snow yet, but our dog Emily LOVED it)
18)Snow days from school
19)Driving in the snow at night with your high beams on. My dad would say we were going "Light speed" Try it, it really does look like it!!
20)It's fun to play in and pretty to look at
I probably could think of more but I'm bringing Allison to the museum this morning for Aquarium Storytime. We haven't been before, I hope she likes it. She is starting a music class next week. It's musikgarten. We went to an open house and tried it. We both really liked it!
Enjoy your snow if you have any!
Thursday, January 11
My Daughter, The Celebrity
Allison has become somewhat of a celebrity at Rebecca's school. I've been noticing over the last few weeks how different kids want to sit with her at lunch or play with her at recess. Everyone seems to know that the seat next to Allie's is for Rebecca but all the other seats are up for grabs. Yesterday a couple of boys who were in Rebecca's class last year got the two seats across from Allison. I got a kick out of that because they were the only two boys at a table of about 15 girls! Anyway, one of the boys kept playing peek a boo with Allison by ducking his head under the table and then making some sort of monster noise at her when he stuck up his head. She was not sure what he was doing or why! Since I'm there partly to make sure lunch time is somewhat under control I thought I should step in and help this child focus on his lunch. I was trying to explain to him how since Allison is younger we need to try to be a good example to her of how we should behave at lunch time. I asked him if he had any younger brothers or sisters and he said he had a "really big brother who was 12!" Then he said, "My brother is the one who taught me the scary noises!" ... So much for that! It was too cute!
Then there's our principal. He is the stereotypical principal that kids are genuinely afraid of! I think he's a little too stern but he is a nice man. Anyway, Allison has been making eyes at him at lunch and talks about him at home. He always says hello to her and he's friendly but that's the extent of it. Well, last week she must've really batted those pretty eyes because he came over a few times to chat with her about her lunch and then, to the amazement of the rest of the table, he sat down next to her and talked some more. A little later he came over and sat down to talk to Rebecca. You should've seen the eyes popping out of the other kids' heads, Becky's included!! At first they were SCARED! WHY IS THE PRINCIPAL TALKING TO REBECCA?! When they realized he was just visiting they all relaxed! It was priceless! So this week was more of the same. The principal comes over to check out Allie's lunch and the other kids rush to sit next to her! It just cracks me right up!! When Allison goes to kindergarten there she will RULE THE SCHOOL! - at least she'll think she does.
I going to do my first Home Visit for Labs 4 Rescue today. When you want to adopt a dog from L4R a visit by a L4R volunteer to your home is required to 'seal the deal.' It's kind of a formality but I'm sure there have been instances where the home visit revealed a less than ideal home. So, I got an e-mail from L4R the other day looking for Home Visit volunteers in our area. The people I'm going to see are adopting a 4 month old black lab named Savannah. Their lab died in May and now they want a new pup. I feel kind of silly even checking out their home but the rules are the rules, right? Check out the L4R link and you can read about their good work and find out how to enter to win Yankees/Red Sox tickets!
Rebecca brought home a frisbee from Pioneer Club last night and you should've seen Lucy's reaction! She was flipping out! We tossed the thing to her and she grabbed it, chewed it a minute, and then lay down next to it with her paw on it. So adorable! Someone must've played frisbee with her somewhere along the line. That's the sad part about Lucy...not knowing what happened in her life before us. Obviously there were happy things. She was well trained and taken care of. Then the hurricane happened and her life changed...poor pup. It's funny how you rescue a dog from hardship thinking you're doing them this big favor and then you realize it's the dog that added happiness to your life. What a good thing.
