If you've been watching the news lately, you've undoubtedly heard about the snow storm that hit Colorado on Wednesday. Many areas are digging out from under more than 2 feet of snow! Here in our part of the metro area, we've gotten about 14 inches and it's still coming down. A high school friend who lives a bit north of us has about FOUR FEET!
When I heard of the incoming storm, I decided to get smart and headed to our local grocery store to stock up on meals and snacks to tie us over until the storm moved out. I'm glad I did because I wouldn't have wanted to drive on the roads (even though the road crews have been doing a great job) or haul my kids out in the below freezing temperatures.
Yesterday, I made crock pot chili and corn muffins for dinner, the perfect meal for a cold winter's day, and the girls & I settled in for some snow day fun. Thankfully, both kiddos are off of school for Fall Break. We watched movies, played Uno and created Mr. Potato Head masterpieces. The girls also braved the cold, briefly, to romp in the fresh snow. They had a blast! Click here and here for some picture of our day. My poor hubby had to drive into work downtown yesterday. A drive that would normally take about a 1/2 hour took an hour. He was, thankfully, able to work from home last night so that he didn't have to deal with the roads at night.
This morning, we woke up to an additional 6 inches of snow (click here for some Day 2 pictures), bringing our two-day total to over a foot of snow! We haven't seen this much snow in such of a sort period of time in awhile. And...it's still snowing! The forecast is calling for another 3-6 inches by this evening and then, gradually, the snow is to taper off and we are to see highs in the 40's tomorrow. Our Halloween forecast calls for a mostly clear evening but chilly.
Our plans for today include doing much of the same things we did yesterday as we are, again, home-bound by choice. I also plan to do some cookie baking with the girls though I'm a bit confused...should I be making Halloween cookies or Christmas cookies? I am so thankful that we have a warm house with a pretty fireplace to stay in and watch the snow fall. What would make it even more perfect is if Ben was here to enjoy it with us. Alas, he trekked downtown again this morning and, having arrived safely, is working hard. We have discovered, however, that his car is in need of new tires. What says Merry Christmas like tires, I ask you?! Haha
Hope that you & yours are happy, warm and dry! Cheers for the white wonderland known as Colorado!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Motherhood Makes You A Celebrity!
**I "borrowed" this from Parenting Magazine. I read it, thought it was hysterical, so I had to pass it on.**
Top Ten: Ways Motherhood Makes You a Celebrity---
1. Someone's always hounding you for your autograph. Even if it's just on a permission slip for the class trip to the recycling center.
2. You travel with an entourage. Okay, so two of them are fighting over a bag of Doritos and one of them has a crusty nose, but STILL.
3. You spend your days club-hopping. How else would your kids get to Brownies?
4. You're front and center at every awards show. Because your 10-year-old would never forgive you for being absent when he wins the school carnival karaoke contest.
5. You change clothes three times a day. And it's much more fun if you pretend it's because you're being stalked by the paparazzi, not a messy toddler.
6. You're on a spa diet. Your kids only leave broccoli on their plates for you.
7. You've flashed your boobs in public. Hey, it's not easy to juggle a hungry baby in one hand and unhook a nursing bra with the other!
8. People beg to sleep with you. Well, only because there's a monster under their bed.
9. You're covered in tattoos that your kid got in a birthday-party-goody bag and plastered on you when you were too pooped to resist.
10. Hassled as you feel right now, in 20 years you'll miss all the chaos.
Top Ten: Ways Motherhood Makes You a Celebrity---
1. Someone's always hounding you for your autograph. Even if it's just on a permission slip for the class trip to the recycling center.
2. You travel with an entourage. Okay, so two of them are fighting over a bag of Doritos and one of them has a crusty nose, but STILL.
3. You spend your days club-hopping. How else would your kids get to Brownies?
4. You're front and center at every awards show. Because your 10-year-old would never forgive you for being absent when he wins the school carnival karaoke contest.
5. You change clothes three times a day. And it's much more fun if you pretend it's because you're being stalked by the paparazzi, not a messy toddler.
6. You're on a spa diet. Your kids only leave broccoli on their plates for you.
7. You've flashed your boobs in public. Hey, it's not easy to juggle a hungry baby in one hand and unhook a nursing bra with the other!
8. People beg to sleep with you. Well, only because there's a monster under their bed.
9. You're covered in tattoos that your kid got in a birthday-party-goody bag and plastered on you when you were too pooped to resist.
10. Hassled as you feel right now, in 20 years you'll miss all the chaos.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Toys My Girls Actually Play With
Fellow blogger Christy over at Superheroes and Princesses has a post about the top 5 toys that her kids play with, without fail. It got me thinking...our house is overflowing with toys...but which ones do the girls play with regularly? With the holiday season comes my annual toy sort & purge. The toys that will be staying are---
1. Play Food:One of the cheapest toys out there has brought hours upon hours of fun as the girls have played restaraunt, house, bakery, etc. Cara and I have also used the food to work on colors, similar versus different, shapes and phonic activities.
2. Building blocks:We have Duplos, Pop-Onz, Peek-a-blocks and the old school ABC wooden blocks. Cara's favorite at the moment are the Duplos but she can be found creating architectural masterpieces out of just about any blocks in the house. Caitlin, Ben & I even get in on the building action.
3. Dress Up Clothes:The girls have a big chest that is home to a wide variety of dress up clothes. We've got "princess" dresses, a cowgirl costume, purses, hats, scarves, you name it. One of the favorite past times in our house is to dress up and dance to some music.
4. Balls:With a little bit of creativity, the various balls that we have in our house have been meatballs, snowballs, scoops of ice cream and eggs among other things. Both girls just love the Roll-Arounds that Cara got a few years ago.
5. Magnets:Not just for putting artwork on the fridge. Both girls love to play with them--writing words, sorting by color and just transferring them from a plastic cup to the fridge, to the table and back provides hours of entertainment.
6. Dolls:This encompasses baby dolls, Barbies, Polly Pocket and everything in between. My girls are little mommas and love to role-play with the dolls and dress them up. Caitlin prefers Barbies and Polly Pockets these days while Cara shows a preference for soft dolls that she can carry around. For years, we had a doll stroller in which both girls have pushed around their babies.
7. Books:While not a toy, like Christy mentioned, books are a favorite go-to activity for both Caitlin & Cara. At times, you can find both of them curled up on the couch looking at their favorite books. Nightly reading time is looked forward to and enjoyed by all. Our library card never has fewer than 30 books checked out on it and we love to browse at the book stores. Caitlin is reading chapter books but still loves reading the shorter story books while Cara loves board books, especially touch & feel.
As I look around my living room, I am not surprised to see that it is the toys listed above that are scattered around. If only I could honestly say that these are the only toys in my house!
So, what are YOUR child's favorite toys? And, I want to add another question...actually, it's more like a plea...how do you keep the toys organized without breaking the bank?
1. Play Food:One of the cheapest toys out there has brought hours upon hours of fun as the girls have played restaraunt, house, bakery, etc. Cara and I have also used the food to work on colors, similar versus different, shapes and phonic activities.
2. Building blocks:We have Duplos, Pop-Onz, Peek-a-blocks and the old school ABC wooden blocks. Cara's favorite at the moment are the Duplos but she can be found creating architectural masterpieces out of just about any blocks in the house. Caitlin, Ben & I even get in on the building action.
3. Dress Up Clothes:The girls have a big chest that is home to a wide variety of dress up clothes. We've got "princess" dresses, a cowgirl costume, purses, hats, scarves, you name it. One of the favorite past times in our house is to dress up and dance to some music.
4. Balls:With a little bit of creativity, the various balls that we have in our house have been meatballs, snowballs, scoops of ice cream and eggs among other things. Both girls just love the Roll-Arounds that Cara got a few years ago.
5. Magnets:Not just for putting artwork on the fridge. Both girls love to play with them--writing words, sorting by color and just transferring them from a plastic cup to the fridge, to the table and back provides hours of entertainment.
6. Dolls:This encompasses baby dolls, Barbies, Polly Pocket and everything in between. My girls are little mommas and love to role-play with the dolls and dress them up. Caitlin prefers Barbies and Polly Pockets these days while Cara shows a preference for soft dolls that she can carry around. For years, we had a doll stroller in which both girls have pushed around their babies.
7. Books:While not a toy, like Christy mentioned, books are a favorite go-to activity for both Caitlin & Cara. At times, you can find both of them curled up on the couch looking at their favorite books. Nightly reading time is looked forward to and enjoyed by all. Our library card never has fewer than 30 books checked out on it and we love to browse at the book stores. Caitlin is reading chapter books but still loves reading the shorter story books while Cara loves board books, especially touch & feel.
As I look around my living room, I am not surprised to see that it is the toys listed above that are scattered around. If only I could honestly say that these are the only toys in my house!
So, what are YOUR child's favorite toys? And, I want to add another question...actually, it's more like a plea...how do you keep the toys organized without breaking the bank?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Pumpkin Pickin'
This past Sunday was the perfect day, with the perfect weather (highs in the 70s), for pumpkin picking. We loaded everyone (including my youngest brother, Matt) into the Subaru and headed an hour or so north to Fort Collins to Bartel's Pumpkin Patch. We all had lots of fun getting lost in a corn maze, petting some farm animals and searching for the perfect pumpkins and gourds among thousands of candidates spread over hundreds of acres. The girls got to pull their pumpkins from the vine, a unique experience that I wanted them to have. It was so neat to see all the variety of pumpkins, not only in shapes and sizes, but colors too. We even saw melons and other members of the squash family. The girls were also able to see how pumpkins and other fall crops are grown and harvested on this working farm. Even though it was a bit of a drive, I just know that Bartel's will become an annual tradition!
Here's a sampling of pictures from our trip to the patch, for more, click here:
Here's a sampling of pictures from our trip to the patch, for more, click here:
Friday, October 16, 2009
Riding on a Bus
Cara recently started riding the bus to preschool. We decided that since it was offered, we'd take them up on it. It saves me from playing taxi all day long. Right now, she only rides to school but soon, she may ride both ways. We just wanted to ease her into change but she's been handling it like a pro. My only reservation to having her bused both ways is that I won't have any time to connect with her teachers and therapists. I'm kind of torn becauseit sure is nice to save the time and money of having to drive her (especially come winter when the roads get bad) and she loves riding the bus.
Here are some pictures from Cara's first day riding the bus:
Obviously, she had no problem adjusting to riding the bus, in fact, she was so excited! She tried to hop up the steps on her own (they must look like mountains to a 3 year old) and climbed right up into the seat. Now, Mommy & Daddy felt a little bit differently--just another way in which our littlest is growing up!
Now, when the bus pulls up, she runs toward it and says, "BAAA!". She tries to wave at us as the bus departs but you can barely see her little fingers.
Here are some pictures from Cara's first day riding the bus:
Obviously, she had no problem adjusting to riding the bus, in fact, she was so excited! She tried to hop up the steps on her own (they must look like mountains to a 3 year old) and climbed right up into the seat. Now, Mommy & Daddy felt a little bit differently--just another way in which our littlest is growing up!
Now, when the bus pulls up, she runs toward it and says, "BAAA!". She tries to wave at us as the bus departs but you can barely see her little fingers.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
War on My Rack
I'm so proud of my husband. Ben walked a 5K with his co-workers early this morning for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. He actually thought that he had to ask if it was okay if he took a Sunday morning to go and participate! Crazy man! He joined 15 other co-workers and thousands of Denver area residents in the walk/run. He said that there was no civility though because their were protesters out with signs protesting everything from abortion to the war in Iraq while all people were trying to do was raise funds and awareness for a good cause. The most humorous sign that he saw was one that said, "Stop the War on My Rack". Too bad he didn't take his phone or I'd have some pictures to share. He is currently taking a hot shower and is going to recuperate for the day by watching some football. He's is in pretty high spirits now, we'll see how he feels later!
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