SNOW DAY!!!!

Today, for the first time since Zoe entered the public school system, school has been canceled due to weather. Last night we got a couple of inches of snow, but the icy wintry mix has been falling on top of it for a few hours now. I suppose it's not going to get any better, and that's why they closed the schools...which means that I have both kids home with me today. What fun we're going to have! I'm of the mindset that EVERY kid should have a few snow days! I have great memories of that moment...you know the one. When you realize that you get to stay home on a day you should be going to school? I wish you could have seen Zoe's face when that moment hit her...it was precious!
As soon as/IF it stops raining we'll go outside and sled and play in the snow. But for now the kids are "rockin' the party" (to quote Zoe) in Zoe's room with the Camp Rock CD. So I thought I'd take a minute to post some recent pics.
You'll have to forgive me. I haven't really figured out the formatting of the blog, and I'm not sure I ever will. So just ignore how boring my blog looks, and enjoy the pictures!

Skating with the kids.

More skating.

She didn't go down!

Some backyard fun!

Kids sledding, neighbors ice skating...all kinds of fun!

What good is snow if you can't catch it on your tongue?

The sled gives Harry something good to chase.

Harry loves the snow, too!

My angel baby.

More backyard fun.

I love this dog!!

I love these kids, too!!

Zoe

FH

Doing science experiments with Daddy...yes, this really happens ALL THE TIME in my house!!

Listening to Daddy.

I'm not sure what they were doing here.

I swear I didn't pose her...she was really looking at something through the magnifying glass.

Looking at what they could make.

Picking out the right stuff to use.

Observation begins.

He's gotta have his turn, too!

Zoe tells me all the time that she wants to be a scientist...I think she's on the right path!

Tomorrow.

That's when I'll put up a new post.
What are you laughing at?
Really. I swear.
Stop that. I really will.
Tomorrow. But not tonight.
I'm sure I'll get a new post up before Mel! ;)
<3

First skate

I'm so grateful that I am able to stay home with my children. It's SOOOOO fun to see all the firsts. You know...the first smile, first steps, first time feeding themselves...today, it was the first time ice skating!
FH got his first pair of ice skates for Christmas and has been BEGGING me every day since to skate on the pond. Unfortunately the temperature has been bouncing around lately, and the pond wasn't reliably frozen. But the last few days have been FRIGID, so I thought we'd be ok. Especially since we stayed close to the edge. So please share this first with me.

Here is his first minute on skates!

He was SO happy! He wanted to do it all by himself, and wouldn't let me help him at all!

He went down quite a bit, but that didn't deter him at all!

Going down again!

We were trying to work on gliding...maybe next time.

Oh, the concentration!

He was trying so hard!!!

Going down again!

Taking a little break.

And again.

We sure did have a great time!

And eventually he decided to just stay down.

It was SOOOOOOO cold!!!

Thanks for sharing this special day with me! Stay warm!!

Zoe Van Gogh

My sweet angel baby truly sees herself as an artist, which tickles me right to my core. When she talks about who she is and what she wants to do in life, art is always a part of it. She can't help it, really. She's got artistic genes coming at her from all directions. And I think it's wonderful!
Recently her class studied Vincent Van Gogh. I'm not exactly sure what the original assignment was...it was a little bit difficult to get it out of her. But I really didn't care after I saw this:


It's her own rendition of Starry Night, my favorite Van Gogh. Now, I KNOW that I have never discussed this with her, and I'm not sure how many of his pictures she saw, or talked about, or what she was given to use as inspiration. But I also KNOW that this is my mom's favorite, my favorite, and apparently Zoe's favorite, too. You know what they say...like mother, like daughter!
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I've got Zoe's Daisy troop "adopting" a PA based unit of 15 female soldiers...I happen to think that they're FABULOUS role models for these girls! I really want to impress upon the troop that they can do ANYTHING that they want to do, regardless of their gender. And one of the things I've heard from deployed soldiers is that it gets very, very cold in the desert at night. So I figured I should put my talents to good use, and make them some very simple, yet still home made, hats. This is one of the hats that will be going over. Hope it helps these ladies, I feel like it's the least I can do!
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Here are all of the kids at Mel's house for the sleepover. Sweet Abbey's birthday had just passed, and she, in true Abbey fashion, wanted to share her birthday cupcakes with her friends. So here they are after singing her a love-filled "Happy Birthday." Thanks for sharing the cupcakes, Abbey!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Obviously FH enjoyed them!

I love the fact that my children can still eat a cupcake without wondering how much fat is in them, how many calories they each are, or what they'll have to do at the gym to make up for this little indulgence. The joy of a care-free childhood! Wish it could last forever!
Happy Tuesday to you...may you enjoy a guilt-free something today!

Just a quick note.

To say a great big THANK YOU to our local library! I'm SO eternally grateful to you for your very existence! If it wasn't for the library, I'd go broke trying to keep my girl going with new books to read. This girl LOVES to read, and I'm so happy that I can give her such a variety of books to choose from. But it just wouldn't be possible without the library...what a wonderful place!

Playing catch up!

I'm trying to catch up with all of the photos that I've been wanting to post. It seems as if the month of December really got away from me! There were only 3 weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and FH and I were both sick during those 3 weeks. Actually, FH was sick twice. So I'm late in doing lots of the things that I wanted to do! Eeks!
Anyway, here are some pictures from right before Christmas. I did A LOT of baking this year!! We gave cookies as gifts for a whole bunch of people, so there was TONS of time spent in the kitchen. (My favorite place...not.) Truth be told, I actually like to bake. But cooking meals is a different story all together. I only cook because they'll throw me in the clink if I don't feed my kids! So here you go.

As another blogger puts it (I have no idea who she is...just someone's blog that Dodi found), here is my "cast of characters."

This is what I started out with.

FH and I had a ton of fun in the kitchen!

Look at those beauties! And they are soooooooo yummy!

The kids and I had a great time using my mom's old cookie press. I even have her original recipe card!

Here we are actually using the press. It makes those cute little cookies that are shaped like Christmas trees! Love those things!

Zoe using the press.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you how much fun the kids had with all of the sprinkles and other decorations!

FH is very much a "more is more" kind of kid!

Look at his sprinkles! I laughed and laughed!!!

And this is what you get when you decorate as such!

This is what we ended up with when it was all said and done.

It took 16 hours over the course of 2 days, but the kids and I...mostly me, really...made 61 dozen cookies to give away. Well, we gave most of them away. But what's Christmas without homemade chocolate chip cookies?!
Hope the holidays were good to you, and wishing you all that your heart desires in 2009!