Minnesotan + Coloradan

What happens when a Minnesotan and a Coloradan get married?

Besides a bunch of teasing about whose homeland is colder (I definitely win that argument), you also get a couple of weather skeptics who are constantly poking fun at the hype that the weather receives here in the DC area.   When forecasters started predicting that a big snowstorm may be coming that could leave us with 5-10 inches of snow,  it was hard not to get excited first, then leery about whether this one would be yet another dud storm where the temps would hover just above freezing and bring us nothing but another rainstorm.

They seemed to have a little more confidence in this storm than usual, but after a whole lot of false alarms over the past few years, we have gotten used to only expecting the lower end of storm totals, if anything at all.

So when we woke up this  morning to an entire foot of snow (even more than was predicted), there was elation in our house….from the kids that there was no school yet again and from Glen and I that we could all have a day at home together.  Although we haven't even had a full week of school since Christmas break, Glen always still has to work, so it ruins the fun a bit.

With the roads looking like this though, there was no way Glen was going anywhere today!    Yay!  

Here's a little glimpse of how we've spent this first real deal snow day we've had in about four years….

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Adam decided he really wanted a bird to land in his hands, so he's spent over an hour motionless out on the deck with birdseed in his hands.   He has had a few little wrens and a dark-eyed junco  land near him and this little one who looked like he was trying to make friends, but thus far none have ventured into his hands.   We always enjoy how many more birds we get at our feeders after a snowstorm!

Cami, as always, had to find something cute she could wear outside in the snow….

the hand-me-down boots from Adam, however, were an unexpected addition to her fashionable ensemble.  

Ellie spent 10 minutes explaining to me exactly how little girls in the "olden days" stayed warm out in the snow (with lots of layers underneath their dresses), so I shouldn't have been too surprised when she put on her fanciest dress and refused to wear snowpants as she play outside.  In the end, she came back in soaking wet from head-to-toe and hopefully convinced that modern winter wear is  a good thing to embrace.

Glen says that there's no way that he can miss another day of work tomorrow, so eventually we assembled the shoveling brigade to dig our driveway out before the rain made everything too soggy and even heavier to lift…

It took nearly three hours, even with the whole family out helping….

but eventually we got our driveway all cleared out...

and cleared a path to the mailbox.  

Based on neighbors' reports about road conditions, I still don't think we're going anywhere anytime today, but now at least we can drink our hot chocolate  in peace knowing we did our part to clear out!

Now it's time to sled, sit on the back deck some more, blog, bake cupcakes, and do laundry...

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Things That Make Me Smile

I am finding that my brain struggles with writing meaningful blog posts when I'm in the hubbub of daily life.  From the moment I wake up at 5:30am to the moment I crash sometime in the 10:00pm hour (if I'm lucky), I am usually running and still haven't found  a natural time in my schedule that suits itself well to blogging.  Most of my friends have long ago abandoned their blogs or update them very infrequently.   I, however,  still love…perhaps am slightly obsessed…with capturing the little moments in our lives and squeeze in a post whenever I can.  

This is one of those posts that is a conglomeration of a whole lot of pictures and mini-stories that I've wanted to share, but haven't had the time to devote to writing a whole blog post about them.   The stories and pictures are not related to each other in any way, other than they show a glimpse of little aspects of life and motherhood that are making me smile right now!

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Monopoly!  Spencer led the family in almost daily games of Monopoly when he was home for winter break.  He was cutthroat (in a  nice way) and usually won, but they loved playing with him anyway!  Now Adam is the ringleader and he employs many of the same game strategies that he learned from Spencer!

Cousin time!   I am so grateful that my kids are growing up with a relationship with at least some of their cousins.  I love the fun they have when they are all together and love that it gives them the opportunity to interact with younger children!

Ellie, in particular, is blessed to have a whole host of girl cousins to play dress-up with and giggle and laugh with her.  She fits in so well with them that some days I wonder if Pete and Mika would even notice if I left her at their house for a few days!

We bought our house 12-1/2 years ago and always thought we'd move at least one more time before settling down for good.  It turns out that we have settled down and don't have any intentions on moving.  Our house has been pretty tight the last few years with the older kids needing/wanting more of their own space, but we've made it work. When Spence went to college,  it gave  Emma the opportunity to move out of the room she was sharing with Ellie and Adam  and into Spencer's old room. How surprised I was when she made the switch, that we discovered that she's actually a very tidy child.  I had no idea I had any of those!!!  

I love that I have children who are thoughtful enough to write us notes like this one below that we found waiting for us the other day.    She knew how to make my day!

I think it's funny that Cami snacks on Wheat Chex, just like I did when I was pregnant with her all those years ago!  In fact, Wheat Chex is actually a family favorite cereal.  Yesterday I opened a box for breakfast and by lunchtime it was completely empty!  Better than Lucky Charms!    

Here is a glimpse of John, our adopted friend.  He is here, far away from his family, for a few months  for some career training and we like to have him over for dinner once a week to give him a break from his roommates and give him a taste of family life.  He is always teaching the kids some new skills--like drawing, computer skills, massage techniques, etc.--and we will miss him when he returns to his family and a new job soon!  

Last, but not least, I love seeing my little nephew, Jack, grow into his own personality.  I love, love, love that toddler stage of life and when I get baby hungry in the slightest (an exceedingly rare occurrence anymore), it's for sweet little ones the same age that Jack is….not for a newborn.   I love this picture of he and my sister-in-law, Karey!    

Flashback Friday: Visiting the Berlin Wall

As part of geography in our homeschool we've been learning about Europe.  It's the only place in the world that I've actually visited other the US, Canada, and Mexico, so it's been fun to share some of my memories with them of what it is like there.

My family didn't have lots of money, but I did have a dad who loved to travel and made it a priority to make sure we kids got a chance to see a little more of the world.   It was 1987 and the oldest five of us kids, plus two friends joined my mom and dad for a trip of a lifetime to Europe.  To save money we intended to camp most of the time we were there and had a big utilitarian van rented to drive everywhere.

Unfortunately 1987 turned out to be one of the coldest, rainiest summers in European history (to this day you can actually still read articles about how unusually cold and wet it was) and camping proved to be more miserable than we could bear sometimes.  We did still camp a lot of the time, but we ended up in hotels far more often than my parents budgeted for and even still spent a good portion of the trip damp and shivering.    We visited 13 countries (France, England, Austria, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, East Germany, West Germany, Hungary, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia) and despite the bad weather had a mostly fantastic time.  

One of my most vivid memories of the trip was our time spent in Berlin.   We spent time in both East and West Berlin and we were all struck by the  appalling and stark differences between the two sides.  Although previously the vibrant capital city of Germany, a couple of decades of separation had lent two very different feelings to the two sides.  Gray and depressing is the best way I can think to describe East Berlin (and the other Eastern European cities that we visited) and I don't know how you could ever get used to the machine guns everywhere you turned.   The buildings, the streets, and even the people lacked the color, vitality, and drive that we found abundantly through most of Europe and we all left there with a strong appreciation for what it meant to be an American.

Me with four of my seven siblings standing on the West side of the Berlin Wall.
Don't judge my crazy hair--remember that not only had we been camping in the wet and the cold,
but clearly my hair was suffering for lack of a curling iron with proper European voltage!

 A bit more than two years after that trip was when I heard the news that the Berlin Wall was being ripped down.  I remember being awestruck and excited as my family sat glued to the television coverage of the wall being torn down.   I still get emotional when I think of what that moment meant for the families who had been separated for so many years!


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"The wall was an edifice of fear. On Nov. 9 , 1989, it became a place of joy. For 28 years, East Germans could not even approach it. On Nov. 9, 1989, people danced on it - and the world looked different afterward" - 

German President Horst Koehler.

Today...Ice, Meltdowns, and Paint

*I had a total and complete meltdown about cupcakes today.   About 288 cupcakes to be precise.   Next FHE at our house is going to be about not overcommitting yourself and it will be directed at one particular teenage girl.

*We took our lives into our hands when we left our house today.  We got a very thin layer of ice overnight that coated everything, including our sidewalks, driveway, and grassy hill.  I literally thought I might have to have to crawl on my hands and knees to get back up to our front door as even the grass was as slippery as an ice skating rink.

*I think 5/7 people in our family may officially have all the words memorized to, "Let it Go," from the movie, Frozen.   I don't sound as good as this little girl, but I'm pretty sure with as much as we listen to the soundtrack that one of us will probably be chosen to be an understudy for Idina Menzel in her next movie.  

*It took my 1-1/2 hours to pick up Emma and Cami from school today.  Their schools are only a mile or so apart, but traffic coming home was so horrible (and unrelated to the aforementioned ice) that it almost made me want to bake a couple hundred cupcakes instead of sitting another minute in the car.

*Yesterday we finished getting our kitchen and living room painted.   Now it's just the floors and decorating and we will finally be done!  Are we always this slow when it comes to house projects?  Yes.  Yes, we are.

The blue and brown are gone, gone, gone!!!

*I am only blogging tonight because I am still grumpy.  

Kissing Party

I couldn't tell who was more excited about Glen coming home early one day last week---Glen, Ellie, or Rocky!  Normally he comes home after the sun is down and we don't know that he's arrived until he's walking in the door.  That day, though, Ellie caught sight of him pulling up in the car and she simply couldn't contain her excitement long enough to wait for him to walk up the stairs.  She and Rocky were literally jumping up and down in the doorway ready to pounce on him so they could  deliver his welcome home hugs and kisses the second he walked in.

Seeing Ellie's unbridled joy at her Daddy coming home early and the expression on Glen's face for the enthusiastic welcome  just about melted my mother heart.   I sure love my family!  

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We Are Ready!

We've got our "healthy" snack….

and our festive snack…. 

Glen is wearing his favorite old shirt, paint splatters and all….

Now we are ready to party and cheer on Glen's hometown!   

Go Broncos!!!!

Who Am I?

Can you guess which of my kids this is about?  

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I've recently started wearing my brother's blazers to church and to school.  

I randomly decide to bake yummy things and deliver them to people's houses…for no reason at all.  

I make dinner, including homemade tortillas from scratch,  without using any recipes.  

I drive my mom bonkers with my late nights and early mornings. 

I am the happiest one of all that there have only been two full days and two part days of school in the last two weeks.  

I hate writing essays with every fiber of my being.  

I accept babysitting jobs that pay in treats instead of cash.

I've recently begun receiving stacks of letters daily from prospective colleges.

Who am I?  

I am Cami Rose--

the kind-hearted, hard-working, beautiful oldest daughter in the house! 

I am loved!

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PS  Cami didn't know anything about this blogpost when I wrote it.  :) 

20-months

Glen took the day off of work today to drive to Harrisonburg and  take Spence to the oncologist for his 20-month check-up.  We are inching ever closer to that 2-year post-treatment mark, which is a big hurdle to get to and I am pleased to say that...  

It is all still good!!!!

Now they are hitting the town and having some good old-fashioned guy bonding time (eating and watching a movie), while Cami is running in a track meet, and the rest of us have settled at home after an evening of running kids here there and everywhere.

Yay for normalcy!    

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Clinic stats:  
WBC=4.6    RBC=4.72    Hgb=16.0   Platelets=156

Looking Good in Any Weather

On Monday it was 60-degrees and sunny.

The kids spent all day outside playing.

Then on Tuesday we woke up to this...

Temps dropped into the single digits, the wind howled, and five inches of snow fell...  

 School was canceled for three days in a row (in addition to having Monday off for MLK day), a fact which may have induced a tad bit of silliness at our house...

The wind was blowing too hard to play outside much, but we did get get to do a bunch of shoveling...

which of course required a good dose of hot chocolate afterward.

Today it was all of 15-degrees or so and this is how I found Adam playing football outside with his friends at homeschool co-op….

Besides the genius pairing of shorts and winter boots, I hear that red and orange is the new black and white!

Stay Tuned:  Fashion Seminar by Adam--only $2784 per session (or a plate of homemade cookies).  Sign up here for great tips on color pairing and how to be fashionable in any kind of weather.  


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Mom Time

 Being the oldest in my family means that I also have the oldest grandkids for my parents.  In fact for ten years I was the only one in my family to have ANY kids of my own.   Shortly after Ellie was born though, the baby boom started and now there are eight cousins from my side to share the love with!    And lucky for us six of those eight cousins happen to live within 50 miles of us!

 Being the sole proprietor of Crain grandkids for so long, meant that grandparental trips out East usually revolved around our house and doting on the kiddos.  So imagine my surprise when just a couple weeks ago I started hearing rumblings that my mom was coming to town soon and nobody had bothered telling me.   She was going to be a mere 30 miles away and her visit had nothing to do with us.

It turns out that my brother and his wife were accompanying another two of my brothers on a trip to Spain, Morocco, and Portugal and my mom was coming to babysit their four children.  I couldn't stand the thought of my mom traveling 2000 miles and me not seeing her, so I've been thinking of every excuse possible to spend time with her.  We spent all afternoon and evening there on Friday, had them all over for dinner on Sunday,  and then went back and spent all day on Monday to enjoy the MLK holiday with them.  

The following photos were mostly taken on Monday and are some of my very favorites.  It was a gorgeous day that day -- about 60 degrees and sunny.  The kids spent most of the day outside and just soaking up all the cousin and grandma time!

 We laughed when I took this picture and realized that the only three grandchildren that are missing in this photo, also happen to be the only three brunette grandchildren (Spencer, Andrew, Madeline).   Apparently we have some strong blond/light hair genetics going on!

Little baby Jack was absolutely in love with Grandma.  He wouldn't willingly go to any other person besides his mom, dad, and grandma.  Here he is helping himself to grandma's dinner! 

This is Bridgette and McKenzie FaceTiming with their parents.  I absolutely love how happy they look to see them! 

All of us were eating up the chance to dote on babies/preschoolers!  It's been a long time since we've had one of those around our house!

Lincoln loves his grandma too!

This was a common sight on Monday--lots of dress-ups and lots of chasing the baby around.

It's easy to see that my mom is a seasoned pro when it comes to taking care of kids, because they all flock to her!

I also enjoyed my little kid time.  

….and my mom time!  

After all the beautifully mild weather on Monday, on Tuesday it got really cold and started snowing.  We got about 5-inches of snow, which may sound kind of wimpy to all my Minnesotan friends, but it's a lot for Virginia--more than we've had in three years.  With the super cold temps in the teens (again relatively speaking), the snow is not melting and my kids haven't gone to a single day of school yet this week and are home yet again tomorrow.

My poor mom thought she was was only going to have one kid home with her during the day while she babysat, but it turns out that their county has already called off school for the rest of the week and she's had a houseful every day.  

Although I don't think my mom minds too much, I do think  she might need a nap when she gets home!  

Idiot

I woke up in the middle of the night last night to someone yelling the word, "Idiot!" 

It was me.  

Yelling to the bad guy in my dream. 

It made me think of that crazy lady at church who crumpled up, colored on, and ripped up a brand new $100 bill--just to teach a lesson.  

Oh yeah…that was me too.


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