Grace in small things, February 9, 2016
- What a perfect little ski hill I found for my kids...big enough for them to get some speed, small enough that they aren't scared...and there are bigger hills in the area too, so we can easily step up when we're ready...and it's 5 minutes from the house...and we had it essentially to ourselves (aside from a few friendly cross-country skiers)...and it was gloriously sunny and warm today...and we had a picnic at the top of the hill...just glorious...
- Took the dog for a walk on the path that goes from our house...and there's this tree-y area with a couple dozen of these birds today...I thought duck, then chicken, but they're wild so I'm thinking grouse...I've seen the same types of birds in the same area before...they hide so well you don't even see them until you get too close and then they fly away...
- Sis wanting me to call her "little fella..." Trying to come up with a cute-yet-feminine alternative...
- Luke wanting me to make up his bedtime song vs singing a standard, feeding me the story line a piece at a time...
- Luke: "Mommy, the Panther's are NOT NICE!" Me: "Why?" Luke: "Well, because they take the football and they won't give it back!!"
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 8, 2016
- Eating icicles at the snow-covered playground...a little tough to play when everything's buried, but we still had fun...
- Warmer and sunny today...good to get outside...
- Found (by accident) a great place to take the kids to practice skiing, where it will just be me and them...think we're going to go tomorrow...I'll have to be the magic carpet for them but it's a little hill so shouldn't be a big deal...
- Luke putting on elaborate musical theater productions upstairs...too cute...
- Tulips blooming on the mantle...
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 6, 2016
- Our first winter carnival...where else do little kids get pulled behind horses on skis in races? Too cool. Luke says he wants to sign up next year...
- Kids took a long nap and I was finally able to get some traction on a work project that's been going on since October...
- Grocery shopping with my husband and prepping lots of yummy treats for our family Super Bowl night...
- We were hoping we could see the carnival fireworks from our porch...we turned on the electric blankets and the kids and I cuddled up...for the most part we couldn't see except for a few small ones...and then, at the end, two in a row off the top of Emerald Mountain, huge flares going up in the sky and booms that shook our house which is a mile or more away, and then the biggest starburst fireworks I have ever seen by far...spectacular...someone was saying these are some of the biggest fireworks in the world...
- Date night same as every Saturday...the time with my husband is so precious...
18/50 and grace in small things, February 5, 2016
Bless my husband and mother-in-law and kids for making it so I could spend a few hours on the mountain first thing this morning. The snow just keeps getting better up here...it's incredible. I'd rate today's conditions among the top 5 ever for me...just crazy amounts of powder and those first few runs (I was on the 7th gondola cabin up)...Heaven.
And a few other lovely things that happened today:
- Zo waking this morning and coming down and telling me she had a dream we were riding on pink and purple birds together...
- Feeling Luke, my brother, so close to me today out in the snow...it was the kind of epic day he would love...I think a lot about him on days like today...
- I minorly tweaked my ankle last run today, and wanted to ice it at home and the kids put together the ice pack, got the dish towel, set me up with pillows on the couch, let me rest and read stories to them...so cute how they wanted to help make their Mommy better...
- Football movie ("Invincible") tonight with my husband and kids (well, kids kind of...they were in and out). I'm not a huge, huge fan of football, but I love love love football movies
- Daddy started teaching the kids how to write their letters a few days ago...and they are so into it
Happy Weekend!
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 4, 2016
- "Fastest Bath in the West" tonight, which we haven't done since ABQ...where each kid and I see how fast we can do bath and there were some impressive under-a-minute times tonight...Luke won by about a second...
- Zo putting on a finger puppet show for me
- A trip to Ace Hardware with well-behaved kids and comments from strangers about cuteness as they zoomed around with the kid-sized carts, popcorn in the popcorn holders (smelled soooooo good), taking turns taking items for their carts...
- Zo walking Newton with me after work, holding my hand the whole way
- It's supposed to snow all night...and I've arranged to be on the mountain for a couple hours first thing in the morning...excited... :)
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 3, 2016
- The soccer game/dance party happening in my living room this afternoon
- In the sun, no less (we haven't seen much of the sun lately...nice to have a little...)
- A good night's sleep last night
- Snow extra, super squeaky under my boots walking the dog today
- Luke to Sis while coloring: "Can you hand me the naked crayon?" (By which he meant the crayon with the paper peeled off.)
XO
Grace in small things, February 2, 2016
- Long commiserative talk with my best friend
- Emails from my dad
- Mid-day library trip with the kids
- Pizza slices and Ms. Pac Man for dinner
- A picture of my brother's ridiculously cute new puppy...and a date on the calendar when we're all going to get together...
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 1, 2016
- I got Luke and Zo each a Valentine's heart to decorate when I was down in Junction the other week...Zo's red with stick-on sparkly jewels, Luke one you could paint blue and make into a heart-shaped robot. They didn't want to make their crafts though...Luke wanted red sparkles and Zo the blue robot...I thought that's what they wanted for themselves, but turns out, they wanted to make them to give to each other. Awwwww....
- New games invented today: "roly-poly," which involves getting inside a pillow case and rolling around on the bed, and "kung-fu," which involves running from one end of the couch to the other and kicking pillows with everything you've got...
- Daddy spotted a fox outside tonight and hustled the kids out to see...they were mesmerized...
- Kids entertaining themselves while I cleaned the master bedroom/bathroom this morning with "disco chips" (sparkle poker chips with some special history for me...long story...) and a couple pieces of wrapping paper "wrapping" books over and over
- Work was just not coming together for me today like I wanted it to...but luckily there were no urgent deadlines...days like this are frustrating but I'm getting better at going with the flow of it...I'm almost always crazy-productive...the occasional day where that's not the case is not the end of the world...
XOXO
17/50--Cow-cow goes snowboarding edition
Got a few hours on the mountain while the kids napped today. Zo sent her stuffed cow along in my jacket pocket. Way more crowded than it's been, but amazing snow...
Grace in small things, January 30, 2016
- This pic of Luke with his favorite stuffie, "Tiny." He sleeps with Tiny every night, using the bunny instead of a pillow. And Tiny must be positioned just the way Luke likes him, otherwise I have to come in and reposition...
- Snug and cozy in our house with the fire and Bengal Spice tea while it snows hard hard hard outside...
- Had some incredibly rare free time around the house yesterday afternoon, which I used to play with my camera...fun...
- Planning out our February...lots of fun stuff is going to be happening :)
- Luke and Zo sliding face first down snow mounds out in front of the house saying, "I'm hot lava flowing down the mountain! Watch out!"
- Zo when I came out in jeans and boots and a sweater to kiss her before leaving for date night last night: "Mommy, go back in the bedroom and change! You're not fancy enough for date night!"
- Snowy and cold walk with my husband this morning...
- My husband's got the kids covered during naps, and I'm going to go to the mountain to play...feeling so happy and lucky...
XOXO
Grace in small things, January 29, 2016
- We set up wooden trains upstairs this morning and have been playing with them all day
- House smelling of sugar cookies with sprinkles that the kids made with their grandma this afternoon
- Trying to put a website concept together...it's coming along...
- Promise of a TON of snow this weekend
- Read a very long and complex and literary book (with allusions to Huckleberry Finn, The Little Mermaid, Moby Dick, Don Quixote and more) to the kids before nap today...and it held their attention, which surprised me...but was awesome...
- Weekend is here! :)
XOXO
Grace in small things, January 27, 2016
- Bubs coming in to pillow fight with me at 5 PM on the dot, right when my workday is over...he's so big into pillow fights these days...
- And Luke first thing this morning, heavy and snuggly in my lap, watching the early morning sunlight touch Emerald Mountain...
- Kids both consistently calling "instructions" "constructions"
- Fun running errands, including the kids as airplanes flying in circles in the doctor's office waiting room, me "losing" and "finding" pet baby whales in the haircut place, a sighting of a UPS grandpire at the UPS store back in back, behind the huge rolls of bubble wrap. (I can't remember how the whole "UPS grandpire" thing got started but it's been going on since Albuquerque...the kids thinking "grandpires" (grandparent-aged vampires) drove the UPS trucks...
- Kids making a list with their grandma of all the fun things they're going to do this weekend while Mommy and Daddy are away...they are excited for the time with her, which makes it easier for me to leave them for a couple days...
XO
Grace in small things, January 26, 2016
- An hour at Excel Gymnastics with the kids this morning...with Luke doing laps like crazy the first half hour...they both loved it...and they napped so great this afternoon...
- Reading a book about a bunny whose passion was carrots. I explained to them what passion was and then asked, "What's your passion?" "Ski school!" they both replied
- An enthusiastic game of Count Your Chickens before bed
- Daddy's home!!
- Zo (and Luke to a lesser extent) truly helping to pick up the disaster that was our upstairs...
XOXO
15/50 and grace in small things, January 25, 2016
Conditions are absolutely perfect right now, and most of my runs I had all to myself. Steamboat is Heaven. It was snowing hard at the end of the day too...would give anything to be on the mountain first thing tomorrow but have kid stuff and work stuff that needs my attention, so...
Here are some other lovely things that happened today:
- Hot springs with a friend and her daughter and my kids after snowboarding...which was delightful, but I'd planned on working tonight and there's no way...just feeling so incredibly relaxed...just want to curl up with a book after I put the kids down and have an early night...I'll get up super early and make up the time...
- Catalogue with swimsuits came in the mail today...one with rainbow stripes, and polka dot bikini bottoms and short-sleeved rash guards...makes me dream of traveling somewhere warm...
- Paw Patrol before bed...
- Luke and his Duckie snuggling with me during said show...
- Keeping things easy around the house tonight (eg sandwiches for dinner), with my husband away on an executive retreat...miss him...grateful it's only one night...
XOXO