Snow day fun

We had a snow day today.  They were predicting a blizzard of historic proportions for the coastal areas and I guess we wanted to get in on the fun too.  We only got about 4 inches, though it did start snowing again late this afternoon so we may end up with a bit more.  Anyway, we got a snow day out of the deal!

I had been planning to take the day off anyway to take Eve to the dermatologist to have the bump on her ear removed.  And Lex has been home sick the past two days.  Just fever, nothing else.  So today he had one more day to recover and now his fever is gone but it has been replaced with a loud, painful sounding cough.  I rescheduled Eve’s appointment because I didn’t want to risk it in the snow (and I just didn’t feel like going out!) so we stayed home and relaxed.  I undecorated the house (finally!) though I didn’t quite get to the tree.  Maybe we’ll have that down by Valentine’s Day!  After lunch we went outside to shovel and play in the snow.  It was great shoveling snow, light and fluffy, but not so great for playing in.  Only a few inches and not packable.  Oh well. 

We spent the afternoon working on a 1000 piece Periodic Table of the Elements puzzle mom gave Alan for his birthday.  Lex was excited to so it and we all joined in.  I love puzzles.  Lex and Alan were studying the table, saying the element names, learning, etc., but I was using my mad puzzle skills to get it done.  :-)  Eve put it in valiant effort.  We all had a great time!

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Smiles for the camera.

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After awhile Alan joined the puzzle party, then quickly tired of the constant kid chatter. He has his ways for dealing with noise. :-)

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Sliding in the big green section!

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We saved the last piece for Lex!

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Ta-da!!!! Alan says "Thanks Mema, we love it!"

Happy snowy snow day!! Life is good.

Happy Birthday Alan

I’m getting so bad at blogging! Alan’s birthday came and went without even a simple blog post. Sigh. He had a nice day though. Well, it ended nicely. Started with some work headaches, but he went into the office and got everything working again. ‘Cause he’s good like that! Then picked up some Indian food (his favorite) and played video games all afternoon. I took the kids to karate and swimming with a friend while he was at work. We ended the day with a very silly movie. It was a birthday celebration just the way he likes it, quiet. We have all been enjoying the birthday cookies I made for him on Friday.

One more year in the 30’s! We joked that he was celebrating the 10th anniversary of his 29th birthday. :) Happy Birthday Alan! Thanks for spending all these years with us.

Belt testing again

The kids had another belt test today.  They weren’t as excited this time, for some reason, but they pulled it together and earned a yellow belt with a white stripe, which is exactly what they were expecting.

I’m impressed with how strong and stable Lex has become.  Watch his kicking here.  He used to barely lift his leg and basically fall into it, but now he has much better balance and strength.

Karate kids

Karate – Pinan Nidan

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Swim team

For years now I have wanted Eve to join the swim team. She would be sooo good at it.  She is a strong swimmer, athletic, and competitive.  Perfect for swim team.  However, it is a big expense and time commitment, and she has had no interest so it hasn’t happened.  Until yesterday.

She came home last week and said she wanted to join the team.  I don’t know what changed in her mind, but suddenly she was interested.  I spent a few days researching when she could start (immediately), what the cost is (a lot) and when they practice (exact same times as karate, of course).  Yesterday we decided to go for a trial swim.  I really hoped she would like it.  Her best friend is on the team and Eve really needs more big muscle activity.  She has soooo much energy and nothing to do with it.

She was thrilled to be back in the pool.  We don’t have an aquatic center membership anymore and it has been a long time since she last swam.  Probably last summer, in a lake.  So she swam in the splash park with her friends for awhile, then headed over to the competition pool to join the team.

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When they were done they joined the next level team in the bleachers, with parents and others, for an announcement on the upcoming fundraiser swim-a-thon.  When that was over and she made it back to me she broke down into baby Eve.  She snuggled in tight and told me it was too hard.  She said she didn’t know what she was doing and it was so hard and she just wants to swim her way and not be told what to do, which has always been her main reason for not wanting to join.  I’m bummed, but not surprised.  She said she wants to swim more then maybe try again another time.   I wish it wasn’t so expensive.  I should probably get a membership again.  Swimming is so good for both of them and they love it.

Spaghetti dinner

Eve requested spaghetti for dinner recently. In fact, she decided she remembered it is her favorite dinner and really, really wants it for her birthday.  I decided maybe we should have it again and tonight was the night!  Eve cooked the pasta and helped prepare the salad.  It came out soooo good!

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This makes me really happy.

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My tofu balls came out perfect!!!

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The obligatory dinner shot.

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Eve practicing her slurping.

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Doubles!

I don’t normally enjoy cooking dinner, but with Eve by my side it is much more fun.  And when she eats the meal too it makes it all worth the effort!

Monopoly beat down!

We decided the final day of Christmas vacation called for an epic game of Monopoly.  Eve decided at the last minute to join us, and boy did we pay for that!!!  She royal kicked our butts!!  By the end she owned every hotel (literally, there were no more hotels available for her to buy!) and was cutting deals with us right and left.  She was quite benevolent, but the game still ended with her owning everything and Lex and I feeling the pain!

“This is the world, Mom,” says Eve, waving her hand over the Monopoly board, “and I have most of it!!”

“Your eyes are gonna be huge. Your mouth is gonna hang open. I’m gonna make you mad, guys!”

I was proud of Lex for sticking with it and of Eve for practicing good sportsmanship… most of the time!

“I’m probably never going to jail because I’m so ri-Ich!” (with a sing song tune on “rich”)

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I wish we had a few more weeks of vacation.  :-)

Happy 2015!!

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Happy New Year!!  With the help of Cheetos Puffs and many game of Fluxx (and wine for mommy!) we made it through the night.  Everyone had fun.  Welcome 2015!

As you enter the new year take a moment to step back and count your blessings.  I find we are all so quick to make resolutions and plans for change in the new year, but first let’s appreciate what we have.  Health. Family. Stability.  Love.  Warmth.  Happiness is.