In Case They Ever Wonder

You could probably count the number of flakes that have fallen in our yard so far, but we are as excited as if it was a blizzard! We have a big pot of chili (thanks to my best friend Ashley ), chocolate chip cookies (thanks to Pillsbury), and the game we've been hoping to watch all year! Sophie and I've already fired up the cocoa and read our favorite "snow" books, Katie and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, and The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. Will was a fan of The Snowy Day - (I think he recognized "Peter" from Whistle for Willie ). We've made big plans for a snowman that will more than likely never come to be, but we've had fun thinking about him( blueberry eyes, carrot nose, houndstooth hat and black and red scarf). He will definitely wear an be named Nick or Mark, and will hopefully hold a sign bearing #13! So, since Matt is off work tomorrow and schoo...

"Today was a difficult day. Tomorrow will be better." Sophie smiled tonight as I told her goodnight and quoted some of our favorite lines, said by "Mr. Slinger" in one of our favorite books, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. It was definitely a tough one today. The kids took turns having meltdowns. In some ways, that is easier than them having them at once, but I found that it made for an all-day endurance test for me. I failed that test and ended up having a meltdown of my own. I am so thankful that Matt came home armed with take-out and a willingness to talk about what we should do. As we talked the day through, we know that part of today was being in "re-entry mode," - re-entering our normal routines after a fun break with grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends. But we also see some areas in which we have been growing lax and the need to "tweak" our game plan for our growing family. The exhaustion of the day hasn't allow...

Sophie has loved the first few weeks of kindergarten! We felt like we had found the right school for her in MAFA and Cordis Academy , and we feel even more confident about this now! For a girl who loves books, art, music, and dressing up, MAFA and Cordis have offered her lots of exposure to her favorite things. Sophie and her scars the day her class studied Atilla the Hun. Sophie, wearing all blue with her bear on Blueberries for Sal day. Sophie dressed as a Celtic girl Sophie, with body painted like a "Pict," an ancient Scottish tribe, complete with a log for our "caber tossing" competition! Sophie in a skit about Justinian and Theodora in my class at MAFA . And last but not least, just a couple of her many projects. Patti-Grams and Aunt Hope helped with the salt map (thank goodness), but I was amazed at how much Sophie was able to actually do herself (under Aunt Hope's watchful eye, of course). The othe...

Things I am loving about my 15-month, 31-pound wonder boy... Correction: 15 months, 32 pounds ...learned yesterday during our first trip to the ER... I love that his favorite new trick is to "carry" me on his shoulders. He bends down under  my legs, gets one of my legs over each of his shoulders and walks as I walk "carrying" me all over the house. He giggles the whole time, and rarely does a day go by that I don't get three or four "rides" on Will's shoulders. He beams when I tell him how big and strong he is!  Will is crazy-passionate about books. While Will's love of books developed a little later than Sophie's did, his seems to be more intense. From a young age, Sophie loved to be read to, and was ready and willing whenever we were. We spent lots  of time reading to her, and when we weren't reading to her, she was happy to sit and  "read" to herself. Will drags books around and fusses, yells, and if need be, cries until we...

We had an absolutely amazing Easter this year. We continued several traditions and began a couple of new ones. Because we didn't have any family with us this year, I worked especially hard to make sure Easter was special, and we celebrated for a solid week. Easter Reading: We read several good books about the Easter story, a couple that we've been reading in our family since I was little. One that was newer and surprisingly good was My First Easter Story  by Tim Dowley. We also continued and expanded on a tradition that we began last year by reading Beatrix Potter stories. Last year my cousin, we read The Tale of Peter Rabbit  and  The Tale of Benjamin Bunny and my cousin, Jamie sent us an amazing video  collection called The Beatrix Potter Collection by BBC video. This year we expanded our reading to include thirteen different tales, and Sophie could not get enough! Not only did we enjoy the video collection again, but we also had the opportunity to explore Mr. McGregor's...

I am always looking for ways to make Wednesdays a little easier. Matt is out late, and the kids and I enjoy quite a bit of "quality time" midweek. There have been several Wednesdays this winter when we didn't leave the house or go outside, and by the time Matt arrived home, I had what my best friend Ashley and I call "the crazy eye!" So in an attempt to avoid "the crazy eye," I am always looking for ways to simplify Wednesdays while making them a bit more fun. One important step in avoiding a midweek meltdown is to make sure we leave the house on Wednesdays. I've been trying to plan some sort of activity each Wednesday because we usually stay home all day on Tuesdays and often all day on Thursdays. Last week we met Matt for lunch, and this week we went to a Valentine play group in our neighborhood. Getting out even for a little bit makes a long day feel a bit shorter.  Another fun thing we've started doing on Wednesdays is having an extra-long ...

Wednesday nights are always a little different at our house because Daddy isn't home. Matt sometimes has meetings or events during other nights of the week, and when he does, we try to plan something fun, but Wednesdays without him are a normal part of our routine, and we shoot for easy above all else.     Wednesday nights look and feel different beginning with dinner. I always make something easy, usually something without meat (Matt doesn't consider a meal to be a meal without meat...), very often blueberry pancakes, oatmeal, or pasta. I don't give the kids a bath on Wednesday nights (unless the blueberry pancakes necessitate one), and I read to and pray for the children together instead of separately. I try to do an extra-long story time since Will and Sophie haven't gotten to experience the absolute joy of Daddy coming home from work, and a long story time takes the edge off. Usually, I just let Sophie pick books, some from her shelves and some from Will's. (She...

Where to begin? My biggest concern about Christmas books is having enough time to read them all! We have had gross weather this week, with too many home days in a row, but the upside has been plenty of time to read. In order to read all the books we want to read each December, we use Christmas books for tea time and bed time. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and just today I've read and heard about several books I want to add to our collection, but we do consider the following books to be must-haves... Dream Snow by Eric Carle   - Patti-Grams bought this book for us several years ago, and t his is one of my favorite picture books to read to young children. I love the simple illustrations and the opportunity to review basic counting and animal names. I love that the farmer looks so much like Santa, and I adore the tinkling sound that "tree"makes at the end. This has definitely been Will's favorite this year. Baby's Christmas  by Eloise Wilkin - This was on...