THE BIG 5-0!

No, we are not talking about a birthday. I am talking about a lifestyle change. I am so proud that with MANY early mornings, lots of sleep sacrificed and lots of hard work, T reached his first fitness and lifestyle goal - 50 lbs lost. He has lost many more pounds of fat and added many pounds of muscle. He's lowered his body fat percentage. He is stronger and more slim than he's ever been. 

Before - Christmas 2007

AFTER - Fall 2008

I am in awe of this beautiful man.  This new inspiration to be healthy makes him all the more beautiful. His respect for himself is true beauty in my eyes. I am inspired to get my act together and I am proud of the changes he has made, the great example he has set for our children and the hard work he puts in every day. He is a very private man, so I am sure this post will make him blush. However, I want everyone to know how hard he is working and how fantastic he looks!!

The Thaw

As the snow FINALLY starts to thaw, we are getting some great icicles. Our horse windsock is the coolest looking spectacle. 

Happy Feet

We watched Happy Feet just before filming this. G's got a great waddle, without the floppy slippers, but they just made it more amusing.  

Cabin Fever

What happens when you get two Moms pent up in the house for more than a week? A clean driveway! For those of you who live in places used to this amount of snow, keep in mind we only have one snow shovel. We used a regular garden shovel, too, to break up the ice layer. No blade, snow plow or snow blower. T and the kids made the snowman and took the sled down the drive way and street while my sister and I worked to dig out a bit. You can see that T's car has been in and out all week, but mine hasn't. 

Officially beating a dead horse...

We do not get that much snow. 2-4 inches closes us down. Schools. Work. Everything. We are now officially at 14.5 inches in the downtown area. We live in the hills, so we are probably closer to 20 inches since it began snowing on Sunday, DECEMBER 14. Yes, that is 8 days ago.We have not seen our street since the 14th. Many locations around town have been down to bare pavement during the past week. NOT HERE. We don't have a snow blower, just a bent snow shovel. Our city barely has a snow plow and they aren't using it on neighborhood streets. T tried to get out this afternoon and take my sister and niece to catch their flight home. Needless to say the flight was cancelled and they can't leave on another until 12/26. Happy to have them here some more, but I am sad that they can't be with my brother-in-law on the big day. 

I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE FOLLOWING:

T has a car that can navigate this mess.

We have no place we must go (think no labor pains or heart attack).

Our power is back on (out for about 4 hours this morning).

We have a gas fireplace to keep warm, a gas stove to cook meals and snow to keep food cool if necessary.

We got to spend quality time with my parents last week.

Our kids are having fun with their cousins.

G is taking her second nap of the day.

Lots of good family and friends who are just a phone call or email away. 

The view from here:

Tress with snow, then ice, then snow.

B helping me pose with snowy background.

Ice hanging from the roof. Lumps of snow on the deck - now officially higher than the stairs.

In front of the snow-covered chairs is B's John Deere pedal tractor. All you can see is the steering wheel. Now that is DEEP!!

PRESENTS!!!

We couldn't travel to see the grandparents, aunt, uncle & cousin, so we dressed up the kids and opened the presents while on speaker phone. Can you see the snow behind? T measured it tonight and we have over 9 inches in the driveway. 

Construction

Another distraction while snowed in - building a gingerbread house. Hard for the little ones to resist the candy. Is it fair to ask them to? We also made cookies and play dough. 

Costco

I get frustrated when I go to the grocery store and can only fit one kid in the shopping cart. Well, when you have 3 small kids, the carts at Costco can accommodate all of them. 

This was taken before Thanksgiving - I didn't want anyone to think we'd ventured into Costco during this crazy storm. 

Beauty Parlor

As we tried to keep ourselves and the kids entertained, we played beauty parlor. 

G is getting used to the parts, tugs, rubber bands and beads. 

 B was a good sport and seemed to enjoy it. 

This is A's first set of piggy tales. She looks great!

Happy cousins.

 

White Christmas

As a kid, we didn't get much snow at the holidays. The song, "White Christmas" always sounded so good. We'd dream and wish, hope, plead, etc. Well, we've got the snow this year, but around here, a white Christmas means canceled plans, cabin fever, canceled flights, 24-hr news coverage, etc. You get the picture. At the beginning of the week, it was still fun. See the smiles. 

Snowed In

We don't get lots of snow or wind, but when we get them together it is a real event in our world. Flakes began at 7:45 am as we left for church. We didn't get far and opted to turn around. We actually had to chain up to get home (really just for the 1/4- 1/2 mile around our home - with a few hundred feet elevation change) and for a boy from Montana to make that choice, you know it was pretty slippery. 

Snow covered house with baby stuck in the driveway

Our holiday lights were covered and eventually ended up on their side...

Check out the blowing snow behind T. Really - it was barely falling from the sky, more from the house-tops and trees around...

Happy family posing for mom...

Memories

A mild February day. B wasn't 3 yet. He needed a haircut. He'd still let me take a ton of photos without too many complaints.

10 months isn't that long ago. Some days it feels like another lifetime.

Good Times

Party in my crib has a whole different meaning in our house...

Apologies

Is it necessary to apologize to the kids for using a box as a baby-sitter, if they were having fun?

They really did ask to climb inside and it kept them away from the small pieces that were used to hold together our new yard ornament...

As if this time of year isn't hectic enough, I have to go and start using Facebook. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it is an internet based network of "Friends". If you befriend someone on facebook, they can see your profile (photos, videos, basic info) as well as banter back and forth with you. Most of the time it is used to keep up-to-date with your friends. Kind of like People Magazine, only the photos and stories are of people you know. Well, I have been searching and posting there instead of here. Sorry. If you read this blog and use Facebook, look me up. :)

Arm Rolls & Eye Lashes

My friends who have adopted from Ethiopia and I like to discuss how big and chubby our babies have become. Something about going from "Failure to Thrive" to "90%+ on the growth chart" gives us a bit of mama pride. Here, G was playing on Mount Dad as she got ready to take a bath. You can see from the multiple arm rolls how this little peanut can weigh 25+ lbs at 13 months. 

I also want to showcase her INCREDIBLE eye lashes. Hard to photograph, but we finally captured them. I keep trying to get her best pout, too, but she tends to smile when I get the camera out.  I will keep trying while the pout is considered cute instead of aggravating. Women pay lots of money for sets of these attributes. G was just born with them!

Happy Birthday Mamama

One benefit of having birthdays near the holidays is the ability to get together and celebrate. I made an attempt to get each of the 4 grandbabies to smile and pose with Mamama (short for GhraaaahndMaMa - as my mom used to jokingly refer to herself). Not all of the subjects would cooperate, but each made a decent attempt.

Oldest B - gets the prize for best pose with Mamama

Then little B

Tiny A (2 1/2 years old, 20 1/2 lbs)

Last but not least, G. When her eyes were open, she wasn't smiling. She then leaned over and literally knocked Mamama over. It was pretty funny. But at 25 lbs, what do you expect??

Cousins

We spent the last week celebrating the holiday and a few family birthdays. We went to the local carousel near my parents house because Mamama (grandma) wanted to take all of the kids, since she has taken most of them individually. It proved difficult to get a photo of the 4 grandkids at once, so here are two showing the 4 having a good time.

G also learned how to say "Cheeeeeeeze" for the camera this week. Here she is posing with B and cousin A. Adorable!

Thankful

A friend posted her thankful list on her blog, so I wanted to follow suit.  As the list could go on for pages, I will try to keep it brief. 

1. My family. All of them. Beginning with my spouse, kids, parents, siblings, niece, nephew, grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins. This includes my friends. Those people who are family, just not by blood or marriage. Those who are there to celebrate the goodness and lament the sadness. Those who answer the phone even when they don't have time to talk. Those who understand when I hang up the phone in an instant because of some kid crisis and I don't have to explain. Please note that I don't put the words "in-laws" in the above list, because in our family, in-laws are just that - family. Parents means the four of them. Siblings, too. 

2. Modern Medicine. I am fighting a nasty cold and it just reminds me that as uncomfortable as I am this week, I am alive. It will pass. It won't be my end. If I get worse, my physician is a phone call away. I have choices of who to see and when to see them. I have medication available if I need it. Clean, well-run hospitals all over town. Ambulances to get me there quickly. 

3. Creature Comforts.  Without the house, cars, clothing, life would be tough. Too many don't have enough. I want to make sure I am appreciative of what I do have.  

4. The beautiful place where I live. Not just our home itself (which I really do love), but all that surrounds us. View of the mountain, beautiful trees, lots of green space. We have great neighbors. Those who are there when we need them but never too nosey or noisy. I love our city and our state. I love that we are 90 minutes from the sound of the ocean and 90 minutes from snow just about every day of the year. Our country. With a few exceptions, living in this country means you have food, clothing, shelter, clean water, and an education. 

5. Travel. I love visiting new corners of the globe. We are so fortunate to be able to see the world as part of Todd's job (aka - partially paid for). We are traveling less now with two kids, but look forward to ramping it up again as G gets older. 

6. Laughter. Today, the kids were playing in G's room and B was making her laugh. It lasted for quite some time. I wished, in that moment, that I could bottle the feeling I get when I see it, hear it, feel it. Unconditional happiness. 

7. Good Food. I didn't realize until I was in college that not every Mom was a good cook. All of the members of our family can cook a decent meal. Even those we tease or may only cook one particular dish, but they do it well. I married into a family with the same talents. Family gatherings are always accompanied by good food. But not just the good food at home. The good food being prepared in our area, too. After college, I really started to enjoy our local restaurant scene. Always trying a new restaurant. Ordering something unique. Lately, a few of the good restaurants in town have closed their doors. Sign of our tough economic times. Makes me feel bad for not going out more since we became parents. Makes me feel blessed that we still have the option. 

8. Public Servants. I am grateful and thankful for the men and women who protect us at home and abroad. Those who work for our cities, states and nation. From the TSA to the POTUSA. I am thankful that someone is protecting me when I sleep, even if I don't see it every day. I am thankful for those who keep our streets safe and clean. Those who teach our children. Those who deliver our mail. Those who keep the electricity, water, etc. connected to our homes. 

9. My spiritual life. I have a hard time putting this into words. I am thankful for my faith, my church, and our Priest.  Father B married us, invited T to become a Catholic, baptized both of our children, buried my grandfather and who continues to play a key role in our weekly faith journey. 

10. Philanthropy. I grew up listening to U2 play on the local radio station. My favorite movie stars posed in magazines. Today, Bono is raising money every chance he can to help those who are dying of AIDS in Africa. In fact, I recently heard him talk about why he became involved. It started with a trip to Ethiopia. Imagine that.  Brad Pitt spends as much time in the press talking about feeding the hungry and rebuilding the fallen, etc. as he does plugging his latest movie. The wealthy and famous could just be sitting around looking pretty and instead they are trying to bring awareness to the masses. It has become popular to be philanthropic.   

If you are still reading, thanks for that, too.

Random Thoughts

Little Miss G is an ever-changing gal. Along with her new walking skills, she has a new favorite way to sleep - with her posterior parts in the air. The fact that she found the corner of the crib is funny. The fact that we had raised one end of her crib (so that she was less congested when she slept) and she chose to burry her head DOWNHILL, priceless. 

Another new project underway in our house is Mommy learning how to style G's hair. For those of you who are unfamiliar, African hair is every different than hair caucasian hair. Where I typically wash my hair every day or so, we only wash G's hair once per week, so it doesn't get too dry. We also apply leave-in conditioner often - usually once or twice per day and it is still dry. Until recently, once the conditioner was in (and I made sure there were no knots), that was the end of our hair care routine. Well, in an attempt to make an outfit she was wearing look more feminine, I realized that I was ill-prepared to work on her hair. 

I need to start working on hair-pretties and all that represents. I called a good friend, looked at a few web forum posts, found a few websites, etc. G's hair is still short, but long enough to start sectioning into little puffs - more like little flowers on her head. Beads, snaps, hooks, bands, combs have been ordered. With just a few rubber bands, I was able to do the following...

The sides (and back) are still too short, so we lost the 2 side clumps after she finished posing for the camera. That left 3 cute little flower clumps on the top of her hair. They even lasted over night. Stay tuned for more photos as we figure it all out over the next several years. 

Another day in Paradise

As I have yet to master the art of getting both kids to nap at the same time, B and I spent about an hour this afternoon playing while G was asleep. I asked him what he wanted to do and he answered, "Play with trains." Being the multi-tasking queen, I made up a game of cleaning up the mess on the floor while "looking" for the trains. Along the way, we had to pull out a few other toys in preparation for the trains. 

1. I hope B never loses his desire to clean. He will play with the swiffer duster for hours and some of that time is actually spent dusting! I am not sure if this outfit is more Huck Finn or Pimp Daddy, but I love it nonetheless.

2. Just a shot to show he was having fun.

3. I am not sure if you can see it or not, but in these photos his eyes are nearly the color of his hat. 

4. B decides he has enough of the paparazzi and would like to get the camera for himself.

5. I decided it was only fair that he take a photo or two. I didn't touch the camera at all. He took this one on his own.

6. B decides he wants to get some of his toys into the action. First, he takes a photo of Harold the helicopter. Then I ask if B would like Harold's new girlfriend to join him in the photo.

"Sure," says B.

The he busts out with, "Say cheese, guys."

Followed with, "Ahhh. They look adooooorable." 

Wished I had a video camera running at that moment.