A Matter of Perspective

We got the snow the weatherman had been promising. (The above photo is trees in our yard). I got up with a big sigh hoping that Mike would have the day off work. No such luck! I immediately thought to myself, "if Mike isn't home, that means I have to take the kids out to play in the snow." Big sigh....I am not a winter weather person. I would much rather spend time on a warm, sunny beach...well, that won't be happening anytime soon.

The kids have had breakfast and I am getting dressed. On my dresser mirror, I have posted the following quote:

Forgive me Father,

You gave me the perfect gift of right now,

but I threw it away hoping for a better gift later.

As I read that quote, I realized that was exactly what I was doing. By summer, Joey will be 5 and Dani will be 2 1/2. Do I really want time to go that quickly? NO! So I ran into the living room and said "Hey kids! We're going outside! Let's get dressed." Now, Joey knows I don't like to go in the snow and it is a Daddy activity, so he was pleasantly surprised. We got on snowsuits, snowboots (Joe's are a size too small, they're from last year!) and I even got them to wear gloves!

Dani looked like that kid in the movie "A Christmas Story". She looked like a stuffed tick and if she fell over, well, I don't think she would be able to get back up. She was completely adorable!

Remember how when you were a kid and we got so much more snow and it was so much deeper than it is now? I realized as I'm watching Dani that it is a matter of perspective. The snow is almost to her knees! I don't think we get less snow, I think I am just taller now!

I got a little exercise shoveling the sidewalk and part of the driveway. At least then Dani could walk around. She decided to make the best of the situation by sitting on the front porch and drawing with chalk.

Joey enjoyed digging in the snow, pushing his dump trucks around and just running. The kids were completely enthralled, happy, and not fighting! What a great gift that I almost didn't take advantage of! We were out at least a half hour; maybe longer. I'm not sure how long it took to get those snowsuits on.

Now we're back inside, toasty warm. And guess what? The kids are arguing! Doesn't that just figure??

This week's happenings

This week on January 22, Danielle turned 23 months old. It is exciting to see all the new things she can do. At the same time, I am sad to be losing my baby. I have been cleaning out all the baby items from our house: bottles, bottle warmer, crib mobile, baby food processor - it all has to go! Our home is cozy and we don't have room to store all of our memories. I do have tons and tons of photos. If only I could find more time to scrapbook....

Anyway, January 22 was a fairly warm day so we headed out to what Joey refers to as "Goo Park". In the spring, the cottonwood trees leave sappy stuff all over the playground equipment, so because of the "goo", we now call this place "Goo Park". Dani went down the big slide all by herself. Joey was close behind her going up to the slide to make sure she didn't fall.

Also this week, Dani and I took a trip to the mall. She fell in love with the Elmo underwear. Dani loves Elmo. She uses the potty sporadically right now. I have been telling her that she will be a big girl when she learns to use the potty. She decided to wear her Elmo underwear right away when she got home. As you can see, it makes a great hat!

Yesterday, it snowed. Not much but one time the snow started coming down pretty good. The kids just HAD to get out in it for a few minutes. Joey grabbed a dump truck to push around. Dani decided to try and catch snowflakes on her tongue. In case you're wondering, yes, my children do own gloves. They just opt not to wear them. Plus, they were only going out for about five minutes. It is really supposed to snow later today. We are expecting 3 - 7" the last I heard. I would rather it be 80 and sunny, but the kids do enjoy the snow, so we'll get our snowsuits on tomorrow and go out to play IF the snow really does come.

Last evening (Sunday) we took a trip to the Magic House. It was a private event fundraiser for the preschool where Joey currently goes one day a week. It was so nice. Not overly crowded. The kids could actually try out all the different activities. We have been going to the Magic House every year around this time, so we always have our picture taken in front of the big wall of Skittles. Then, Dani and I really got wild and tried out the electromagnetic ball. Doesn't our hair look great?

Those of you who have known me a long time (like in my college days) know that I always wanted my hair to stand up like this but it never did. Finally! I got the punk look I always wanted!

Here's hoping everyone keeps warm in all the nasty weather that is supposed to be heading our way this evening. Will post snow photos as soon as we get the big storm!

An update for Aunt Charlotte

This post is especially for my lovely Aunt Charlotte who lets me know whenever I see her that I just don't update my blog often enough (unlike some of my cousins...).

Being a stay at home mom, I don't know why I cannot find the time to update more often; I am here all day just watching TV and eating chocolate, right? WRONG! So wrong!

We started a new schedule at the beginning of 2009 and the kids and I are still trying to adjust! We were so used to leisurely mornings,and now we have places to be at least three, sometimes four mornings a week. I know, don't you all feel sorry for us? This is quite a change for me as it means my babies are growing up and have lessons and activities.

So our schedule is now like this:

Monday morning - gymnastics (both kids)

Tuesday morning - swimming lessons (Joey)

Wednesday - usually a free day HOORAY!

Thursday morning - MOPS (mothers of preschoolers)every other week

Friday morning - preschool (Joey)

Let me just say that I am not good at change! This is our third week into our new routine. It is certainly better than the first two weeks that were filled with morning tantrums trying to get everyone out the door.

My favorite incident: I needed to put stuff in the car and warm it up, so the kids stayed in the house. Dani was having a HUGE fit! When I came back inside to get the kids, Joey tells me that he had told Dani to be quiet and she hit him. I told him that was terrible! Joeys says, "So I told her, 'Danielle, in this family, we don't hit! So I hit her back!" All I could do was laugh. He has the basic concept but the urges of a four year old to reciprocate in kind. No harm done and we were soon on our way!

So, let's see. Here are some recent photos. The first is Dani and her Godmother (and cousin)Claire. We went shopping one day when Claire was home from college on Christmas break.

The next photo is Dani with one of her favorite characters, Bob the Builder. Hey, if anyone sees any Bob the Builder stuff let me know. All I can find these days is Handy Manny, which my kids don't watch. When Joey was little, we had a lot of Bob the Builder clothing, shoes, etc. I gave them away when he outgrew them and now I am kicking myself because Dani loves Bob!

Here is a photo of Joey at his first swimming lesson. Joey is standing on the right side waiting his turn to go in. It is taken through glass so it is not that good. Parents aren't allowed on the swim deck during class. I am so proud of him. Yesterday was his third lesson and he was jumping into the deep end, going under, bobbing back up all by himself. His class is three kids and one teacher. They do not use swim belts or life jackets. Yesterday, his class spent a lot of time just jumping in the pool and going under. I do not like to go under water, so I am glad that he is learning how to do this and will not fear it like I do.

Finally, a big step for Mommy. Dani got her first hair trim. She had lots of wispy little hairs everywhere that would not stay put and she was starting to look like she had clown hair. I took Joey to get his hair trimmed (he did not want it cut short, says it keeps his head warm!). While we were there, I asked Dani if she would also like to get her hair cut, and she said yes. So here she is with our stylist, Carol. Dani just sat there and didn't move. Don't you just love the pacifier in Dani's mouth?

We hope all of you and your families are doing well. Keep in touch! We love hearing from everyone.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I find it hard to believe that the holidays have come and gone for another year!

Joey and Dani are lucky kids in that they got to open presents THREE times; once on Christmas Eve with the Marchand clan, Christmas morning when Santa came, and Christmas afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's house (my parents).

Here are some photos of Christmas Eve with Mike's family:

Danielle checking to see if Uncle Rick has all his teeth. He had just checked her mouth to see how many teeth she had!

Dani cuddling with Aunt Cheryl and Joey cuddling with Aunt Kathy

Joey and cousin Brett

Christmas morning, Mike and I woke our kids up (yes, you read that right!). Joey and Dani are NOT early risers, usually they sleep until 8 a.m. every morning. But, we had lots to do and places to go, so we got them up at the unheard of hour of 7 a.m. Mike and I were excited that Santa came and wanted to see the looks of joy and excitement on our kids' faces. Here they are sitting under the tree right after we got them out of bed.

Some of the presents that Santa brought were a monster truck, pinball game, fishing pole, Cars matching game for Joey; a baby doll, doll stroller, Bob the Builder tool belt for Dani.

Santa brought me a new waffle maker and Mike got a new coffee maker!

After opening gifts, we got in the car and headed to my Aunt Charlotte's house for the annual family Christmas gathering. My dad has a large family and it is always fun to go and see aunts, uncles, cousins, and meet all the new babies! We have a gift exchange there; a "rob your neighbor" kind of game where you never know what gift you will come home with. A lot of the gifts are homemade (okay, so this year, I contributed a non-crafted fiber optic Moose!) One of the most wanted gifts is Aunt Wanda's quilt. Every year, Aunt Wanda makes a quilt for the gift exchange. This year, I came home with it! For all of you that were at the exchange, and did not come home with it, here it is on my bed and it sure is warm and comfy!

After the family party, we went to my parents' house where the kids (and Mike and I) received more gifts!

Grandparents are wonderful! This is where Joey and Dani received the gifts that they were most wanting.

For Joey, an electric train and Dani got the "bike" (tricycle) that she has been requesting since before Thanksgiving!

Danielle had more fun than she could stand for the day, (no naps!) and ended up cuddling on the couch with Grandma.

Mike had the entire week off work -he goes back tomorrow :( and it was a fun time for all of us.

New Year's Eve was spent at home eating popcorn and ice cream! What a celebration! The kids were in bed by 8:30 and Mike made it til 11:00 and I made it til 11:30, so none of us were up to ring in the New Year. Now, to start working on those New Year's resolutions, which I will tell you all about another time...