Napping Still Remains Dressy

I just have not felt in a writing mode so this blog has remained picture heavy but I do want to update a bit on life as it is… which has no major changes or excitement in it.  I am fine with that too!!

Audrey continues to love dressing up for nap time.  She often remains in the fancy dresses after nap time too.  I love it.  It is something simple that I can do to help with nap time and to make her feel extra special or princessy.  It is so full of childhood nonsense that I think it is great.  Ask me that though on a day where I just really want her to go down quickly for a nap and she just has to take her time changing into that fancy dress…

Enjoy the pictures.  I allow the girls to have one or two lollipops a week, sometimes more, but that is what Audrey is diving into in the pictures.  She is picking one out for Celia too.

Snow

We have a lot of snow out there.  Last Wednesday evening we woke up to about 6 inches, maybe more.  The snow was coming down very fast and heavy and we quickly accumulated what the news said was about 16 inches.  Then we got about 3 more that evening.  So we have a good solid amount of snow out there.    Yesterday we also work up to 2 or 3 inches and the timing was just right so the kids had a 2 hour delay.  Will we ever have a full week of school???

In any case, most people are just sick of the snow.  At our house though it is 1 to 3.  Pete is done with winter but Audrey, Celia, and I are having a blast with the white stuff.  It is just fun.   Now, I am not in the mood to make up any more work days but if there happened to be a little more of the stuff when we need to refresh this snow fall on a Saturday then so be it.  At the same point, if this was our last storm, I am also very okay with it.  I just want to keep having fun in the snow with the girls.

She just can not contain the cuteness, honestly.

Happy Birthday

She is 11 and I remember when she was hooked up to an apnea monitor and when she spit up on my hair and when she fell asleep that you did not move a muscle for fear of waking her…

I remember watching her throw a huge melt down tantrum when her Mom would not give her the last bite of a pastry.

I remember when she was obsessed with craisins and would bring you every bag that she thought was the bag of craisins even if it was a full bag of brown sugar

I remember her cute little baby tummy

Happy Birthday to my Super Niece Katie

Spring Pictures

Audrey and I took a trip to Longwood Gardens last week.  It was frigid outside but refreshing inside, they are set up for Spring.  Audrey also loved going just with Mommy I think.  She got so wet in the children's garden area which has not happened in awhile.  She just had a blast and took in the scenes.  As she is obsessed with purple now, she had to point out all of the purple flowers.

I should also note that Audrey seems to be the flower expert all of a sudden, or at least has a buzz word.  We walked past some flowers and Audrey remarked that they looked like Crapemyrtle.  I had to clarify this with her and sure enough that is what she said.  I have no clue if that is what the flowers happened to be but I was just impressed she knew the name!  We had a blast in the rainforest room, we pretended their were elephants and cats and lions and giraffes hiding.

A Post In Which I Show my Face

So a little known fact about me- I am not a Dr. Seuss fan.

Okay, let the shock and horror wear off.  As a child I actually remember throwing a fit when my sister tried to read Dr. Seuss books to me.  I just did not get them.  As a teacher, I have actually used Dr. Seuss themes but still not the biggest fan.

So when I found out that as a homeroom Mom for Celia's Kindergarten class, we would need to help or at least help organize making Dr. Seuss hats for the entire classroom for I think the month of March (read across America), I was not overly eager at the idea.  So a few weeks ago the discussion of actually making the hats began.  I picked up the materials from Celia's teacher who wanted to me to know that there were other people to help and to please not feel like I had to tackle this on my own.  I sort of laughed at that, thinking there is no way I would make all those hats.

So I got home and started sorting through the hat making process.  I have fabric cutting boards and a rotary cutter and that honestly helped me to knock out hat strips in seconds.  It surprised me.  Audrey thought the process was great.  I would cut a strip and well… take a look for yourselves.

She let me know that I was super cold.  We went on a walk shortly after this and she was completely devastated that I did not wear this outside.

So I sewed the strips together.  That is where I intended to stop and pass the job on to someone else.

But I was nervous, did I make them big enough?  Were they okay? 

So I decided to just make one.  I discovered it was easy, it was fun, and it looked like a hat.  I like sewing but that is not my talent (race walking sure, swimming sure, giving birth in the parking lot sure, drawing, sure)- not sewing!!

So..

I made 18 of these things.  There are 17 kids in the class, I made an extra for "just in case"

They have not tried them on their heads yet, and I am nervous about that.

I tried them on my own head and Celia's head and Audrey's head.   

I have to say, I am more embarrassed that I made all the hats myself.  It really should have been a team effort though as of yet I am thinking that no one really minded.  I think I needed a project and that met the need.  

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to my Sweet Family

Oh and Audrey's Valentines this year

"Hope this Chalks up to be a Great Valentines Day"

We put 2 pieces of sidewalk chalk in a baggy.

See that A?  Did it herself

See that E? Did it herself

Past Snow Pictures

So as we brace for yet another snow storms, I am posting pictures from one of our previous snow storms.  It does not really matter which storm it was as we have had about a dozen.  Our poor school district students are now down to Good Friday for spring break!!

Our Snowstorm show

Weird Phenomenon

When she eats a lollipop this always happens.

One side lolli color and the other regular tongue

A symbolism of how she behaves at home and outside of home???  Hmm...

And today's nap attire

Spring is right around the corner

I just have to write that Spring is around the corner really to just reassure myself.  I love snow, honestly I do.  I think unexpected snow days, snuggling in, sledding, building snowmen, all of it is great.  But this winter needs to end.  So last Monday we had I think about 10 inches of snow and Celia had off from school and it was a lot of fun.  Our past snow storms have brought at least 6+ inches of snow each time however the temperatures were all in the teens to lower 20s, not fun to be out in for very long.  This snow was wet, packable and the temperature reached the mid 30s- perfect.  Tuesday school was a 2 hour delay and Celia had some tummy issues the previous evening and early morning so we kept her home.  She was not feeling bad, but that was her first sick day of the school year and we followed the 24 hour rule.

We knew a storm was coming Tuesday late evening/early Wednesday and we knew it was coming with a questionable outcome.  I actually was a little uneasy about it, I went to bed feeling like things were going to be a mess.  But honesty I was more thinking that it was going to be one of those raining, slushy messes and school would be on time when everyone expected a 2 hour delay.  Audrey woke up at 1 am and it appeared to be just raining out.  Pete and I dealt with Audrey and went back to sleep thinking we were in the clear.  However just as I drifted off, I started to hear the rain get loud and hard- freezing rain…. At 3 am we woke up to beeping- our hardwired smoke detector let us know it had no power.  We had lost power.  I sort of knew then it would be a long ordeal.

So…. Wednesday we woke up to no power of course, Celia climbed into our bed around 3 am and Pete went downstairs to the couch.  No one bothered Audrey.  School was canceled and Pete did not have to go into work until later.  Once Pete left, I noticed that the house was getting cold very fast.  I called our neighbors that had a generator and we headed over there.  They were awesome!  We hung out there, ate dinner with them (they have a gas stove) and then returned for a chilly evening at the house.  Celia slept with me under a very warm heavy quilt and Audrey and Pete slept by themselves.  When we woke up, the house was as almost as cold as the outside.  So I finished packing and we headed off to Lancaster to stay with Grandma and Grandpa.  About the middle of the day on Friday our neighbor let us know that the power was back on.  I brought the girls back Saturday afternoon.  They had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa.

 Celia caught herself a bear at a Pet Shop near Grandma and Grandpa's house

 Our little angel fell asleep at the end of her bed evidently after throwing a tantrum and getting her shirt wet from her "tearsy".  I did not hear her downstairs (am ok with that)

Fun times!!  Do they make a snow and ice fighting super hero?

It was an adventure and on Wednesday evening another snowstorm moves it's way in.  I can not imagine another big storm after all this so maybe I am optimistic but there is a chance that more rain then snow is going to come in and lower our snow amounts.  I think that is what is going to happen.  Of course, all snow, our area seems to handle well.  At it's peak, there were over 800,000 people without power.  My Mom was the one to alert me on Wednesday as to the extent of our storm damage, letting me know that are our area was the hardest hit.    80% of our county was out at one point during the storm.  Our wonderful neighbors kept most of my freezer food and I threw out what was not of high importance.

This is what the storm did to help me clean out our upstairs freezer!  I think for Celia it is now organized according to the importance- ice cream, veggies, then meat!

If this storm were not enough.  

We went to an event at our church and the flurries that we were supposed to get that evening

looked like this when we came out.  Nothing that we can not handle, but really?????

* I should also note that at no time did I feel as if our electric company could have restored power any sooner.  I have to applaud everyone that has to come to the rescue of our area.  We frequently see truck after truck going by and now that they have been working long days since Wednesday.  I am just glad we got back power as soon as we did.

Another snow storm