Day 21--Babysitting and Cookies

Today I babysat two children from around 7am-4pm while their newborn brother had surgery. It could have been a long day, but these two kids were about as sweet and easy-going as they come and the time seemed to fly.

Ellie had the time of her life with Avery, a kindred spirit, who loved dressing up as much as she did. The girls went through a dozen dresses each and spent the day comparing the princess qualities of each dress.

The only thing that got them to take their dress-ups off for a minute was the siren call of the cookie cutters. They had a great time rolling, shaping, and eating the dough. The second they were all on the pan they ran for the dresses again!

I'll take that kind of babysitting again anytime!

Inauguration Day

So what did we end up doing for Inauguration Day?

I guess we read a few too many stories like this about sanitation concerns and other possible unpleasantries, so we compromised... we walked down to our Metro station to get a feel for the excitement and the crowds firsthand. We were actually quite impressed at the patient, cheerful mood of the crowds and at the efficiency in which they had everything moving there at the Metro.

Then we walked back home...

and watched it all on television. A decision I do not regret one bit. I thoroughly enjoyed our little taste of the excitement at the Metro station and enjoyed even more watching the whole thing from the comfort of our warm, cozy bedroom with indoor plumbing freely available a few steps away.


Then, instead of fighting the crowds for hours on end trying to get home, we went swimming.

Day 20--Faces of the Inauguration

Although we ultimately decided not to brave the crowds and attend inauguration, we couldn't resist a little glimpse at the excitement first hand, so we woke up early and walked to our local Metro station. We expected complete madness, but were completely surprised at the efficiency with which everything was moving and the cheerful, patient mood that seemed to pervade even amongst the tight quarters.

I Heart Faces-Week 2

I found this fun new photography blog, called "I Heart Faces". Each week they are hosting a little photography contest for photographers of all levels. After admiring all the other entries for a week, I've decided to enter one of my own favorite photos of Adam.

We were at the zoo that day and he was just posing so perfectly I couldn't help but pull out my camera and capture that cute smile!


Click here to find out more about the contest or to look at the other entries!

Day 19--Adam and Mommy

In the aftermath of today's snowstorm that wasn't more than a five minute flurry, I decided to take advantage of the good light and the frolicking kids for a good photo shoot (they're getting used to my camera happy ways by now)!

Here's Ellie all decked out in one of her typical outfits...turquoise shirt, jeans, pink frilly dress, silver vest, mismatching gloves, and boots! Actually looking at it more closely I'd have to say that due to the lack of clashing patterns that usually adorn her wardrobe she actually matches much better today than usual.

Emma hamming it up for the camera!


I decided to pull Glen away from his work and ask him to take a few pictures with me and the kids. This was one of Adam and me is one of my favorites!

My Poor Snow Starved Children

While my own childhood memories of winter involve waist high crunchy snow that didn't melt until April, my own kids think of snow as a rare treat that needs to be pounced upon. Usually we get at least a couple of good snowstorms here in DC area every year to satiate their appetite, although it generally melts completely within a day or two of falling. Good snowstorm means that there's enough snow to cancel school, build a dwarf size snowman, and allow a couple of sleds down our hill before it melts.

Today I realized that it's been a while since we've had a good snowstorm and that my kids are completely snow-starved.

How deprived are they?

Let's just say that when we got this light dusting today...
my kids went crazy, bonkers frolicking...
in the five minute flurry that was over by the time they got on all their winter gear. Not that I'm complaining at the five minute distraction on a day off from school, but I was disappointed for them that there wasn't any more to it.

So when was the last time it REALLY snowed here?

In February it will have been two whole years!
This big one-incher in February 2007 brought us to the favorite local sledding hill for more excitement than our front yard has to offer. No one seemed to mind that the leaves and grassy spots kept slowing them down, they were just so excited to be on their sleds.


A week later that same February was the last BIG snowstorm we've seen. It came just before Matt & Karey's wedding (hence Emma's fancy dress) and wreaked havoc on everyone's flights and travel plans. Lucky for us they were getting married in the DC temple, so we got to sit back and enjoy it while everyone else had to wait for hours on end at the airport!

I may retract this statement later, but we're ready for some real snow! Just a couple of inches would be fine, but I want my poor snow neglected kids to remember how fun winter can really be!

(look how little they were three years ago [Wait! Did Adam wear the same coat when he was three as he does now at age six? Yeah, I guess so.])

Hmmm...should I stay or should I go?

There's no escaping it, inauguration fever has hit DC big time! Everywhere I turn there's evidence of the excitement in the air...the buttons proudly worn on jacket lapels, the glowing news clips about all the stars that are proud to be a part of history, and who can overlook all the optimistic political pundits spouting off about the remarkable changes that are surely coming soon?

Having lived in the DC area for near a decade, we have always gone to great lengths to avoid the downtown crowds whenever possible. We feel like we've seen DC enough times that there's no point in going through the pain of visiting when the rest of the world is here.

So why am I even considering purposely stepping into this madness? It's because it seems like there's something different about this time. I'm not sure if it's the historical nature of this new presidency. Or if it's the contagious enthusiasm of a nation in crisis hungering for change. Whatever it is, it's bigger. It's better. And somehow more appealing than any inauguaration has ever been before. And I didn't even vote for him.

So now I need to decide...do we brave the cold temperatures, the overloaded Metro, and millions of people to witness a moment in history? Or do I stay in my warm house, cozied up with my family, and witness it from the comfort of my couch?

Day 18--Real Snail Mail

If you peeked into our home every Sunday afternoon for the last year and a half, you would find a scene similar to this one.

It's letter writing time. Six grandparents (including great-grandparents) and five kids. That means each child writes one letter, then Glen writes the sixth (I help the little ones with theirs). It's been hard work and I've been tempted to give it up several times, but the feedback we hear from our grandparents has made it all worth while. It's become a wonderful tradition for our family.

Day 17--He Survived.

After emptying our wallets at REI and spending a night filled with worry over his well-being, this is how Glen found Spencer this morning after camping out in the coldest weather in 13 years...
...hatless and wearing just a t-shirt underneath his jacket.

How long did it take for him to change into shorts when he got home?

One minute flat!

Just Popping Up to Say, "Hi!"

Only 16 more days to Groundhog's Day!

Can't you just feel the excitement in the air?

I can. My kids have already started talking about it incessantly, eagerly handing me shopping lists, and giving me head counts of their classmates.

Why do they care so much?

It's these cute little fellows that pop up in our house every February 2!

I started making them 7 years ago for Spencer's first grade class and the kids haven't let me miss a year since then. Every February 1st has found our house turned into an icing coated cupcake making factory. We set up an assembly line and watch our little army take shape one groundhog at a time!

Be sure to check our family recipe blog for the recipe and directions, so you can add a little pizazz (and sugar) to your Groundhog's Day too!

Day 16--Glad it's not me!

In my 17 years away from my Minnesota roots I can safely say that I have become a certified cold weather wimp! Every time I walked outside today I just about froze my patootie off. And in true wimp form, in addition to my own shivering complaints, I've been REALLY worried for poor Spencer and his fellow Scouts sleeping outside on this frigid night.

Spence, on the other hand, has been nonchalant and excited about the whole night....especially with all his new cold weather gear.

All I can say...Glad it's him and not me!!!!

There goes another limb...

The Scenario:

• Spencer has a Scout camp-out tomorrow night.

• The projected overnight temperatures for tomorrow night are right about 0° with wind chills expected to be even colder. (I know that's a heatwave to all you Minnesotans out there, but it's bitter for us Virginians).
  

• Our nicest sleeping bag costs $25 and barely keeps you warm inside the house.

Solution:

Anyone have a crutch I can borrow?

Day 15--Ouch! That Hurt!

In hopes that Spencer will return from his Scout camp-out in sub-zero temperatures this weekend with all of his limbs intact, we decided we'd sell a few of our limbs to invest in some good quality cold weather camping gear.

Day 14--PMS is contagious...

Why is it when I'm having a mildly bad day...tired, back-ache, PMS, super busy...the kids feed off of my mood and have REALLY grumpy, needy days? Which of course makes my mildly bad day into a much more exhausting, frustrating day than it ever needed to be.

Don't they know they just need to give me a little space, bring me chocolate, and compliment me profusely? Oh yeah, I guess not. Glen just caught on to that trick last year. : )