Grace in small things, March 21, 2016
- Spring is here, AKA "Mud Season." Warm enough to play outside today but our grass is literally under 10-foot mounds of snow, so it's going to be a while before I can take the kids there. They were thrilled to play in the wood chips and mud outside our front door, though, lol...
- Kids making cute little chicks at library story/craft hour...
- Reading some fun chicken-themed books on the couch before bed...love how I can make the kids laugh with stories and pictures...
- Rocking Luke tonight, singing "Let it Be." (And Zo with "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?")
- Workweek's looking pretty darn sane, knock on wood...
XOXO
28/50
Spent a chunk of time over on the Pony Express side of the mountain on Sunday...my gosh, the snow is great right now. I got myself onto something...steep, big moguls, narrow with trees all over the place...it was the first time all season I had to falling leaf down a little...I'm sure I could have done it, but...
Anyway, great couple hours. Love this place. Love my life.
XOXO
Grace in small things, March 17, 2016
- Walking our brindle boxer Newton in late afternoon snow--big, big flakes, like feathers--with Luke and Zo
- My mother-in-law making corned beef and cabbage for dinner...super delicious...
- Reading "Once Upon and Alphabet" (one of our favorite books) on the couch this morning and taking the time to answer a million questions, eg, "Can people get sucked into microscopes?" "Maybe only blue microscopes?" "Why didn't Nigel like to climb?" "Can Zeppelins go into outer space?" etc... Love love love my leisurely mornings with my kiddos...
- BUSY workday, but got everything done I needed to get done...
- Headed to the mountain first thing in the morning...should be some excellent powder...so psyched...
26/50 and grace in small things, March 16, 2016
- Rudi's Run. Lightening. Sunset. Lights Out. Moonlight. Tomahawk. Children of Winter. Rode up Sunshine lift, off which we saw the 4 cows pictured above skiing into the aspens...too funny. Sunshine Lift Line, which I'm not sure I've ever been on...great fun in the aspens. South Peak Flats. West Side. Arc. Heavenly Daze. Ted's Ridge (super fun). Eagle's Nest. Giggle Gulch. Basher. Swinger. Right-o-Way. The snow was all over the place today, some crunchy, some little sheets of ice, but mostly soft and snowy and fun and a few places some super-fun powder...
- Having my parents up for Luke and Zo's birthday...it wasn't an easy trip for them to make and I so hugely appreciated having them here...made it really special...
- A huge, onerous work project turned small and fun...
- I am still loving the snow up here...I was a little worried about the winters being so long, but it's so fun when you can get up on the mountain. I don't want it to end. (Although I know once spring starts to come it will be delightful...)
- Kids having a great time all day with their new birthday toys (and balloons and musical cards)...we try not to stress material things around here, but love seeing the happiness these thing are bringing them...
Luke and Zoey turn 4...
We kept things very low-key this year and had a small family party at home with Me-Ma and Grammy and Papa coming up for the night...rainbow balloons tied to Jeff's childhood elephant piggy bank and brown paper bag packages with denim and pink-and-white cloth ribbons and Frozen-themed cakes and a doll bed for Zo's Lambie and Luke and Zo got presents for each other which was the cutest thing, and musical cards which were a big hit and piggy banks and transformers and a doll closet...corn dogs and carrot sticks for dinner and everything was just absolutely perfect.
Happy fourth birthday my loves!
It was a magical day!
XOXO
Grace in small things, March 13, 2016
- We were going to take the kids skiing this morning, but it was such a warm and beautiful day instead we ended up on the bike path for the first bike ride of the season! :)
- My dad cracking jokes on the phone this morning...and he and my mom are going to be able to come up for Luke and Zoey's birthday...so grateful...
- A rainbow-colored hot air balloon so close to the house this morning...you could see the people in the basket, hear the fire whooshing on and off...
- Breakfast at Creekside with my loves...and the creek is flowing again...Luke and Zo did stick races just like Ben and I used to when we were little...
- Wrapping birthday packages during naps with brown craft paper and pink-and-white fabric ribbons for Zo and denim ones for Bubs...the packages turned out so cute...
- We're off to the grocery store with the kids to let them decide on their birthday cakes and ice cream flavors...and then ordering in Chinese food tonight (first time ever in Steamboat...fingers crossed it's good) and we're going to watch Ghostbusters with the kids for Sunday Night Movie Night...what a lovely weekend this has been...
XOXO
Grace in small things, March 12, 2016
- Watching Luke's language skills evolving...two striking things today, first he wanted to write an email to Papa and said, "Let me write my name, I know how to do it, L-U-K-E." (And he did.) Also earlier we were reading a new book with a volcano made of sequins in one of the pictures and Luke said, "Look, it's a volcano made of sparkles! It's a sparkle-cano!"
- Getting to talk to my dad this morning...he's dealing with some tough stuff...we love him so much...can't wait to see him soon...
- My husband giving me the day off (plus he set up my new printer while I was gone)...so lovely (and so needed...)...manicure and a massage and the hot springs and the sauna, the library by myself, the fabric store which I'd never been in, the car wash for my husband...tea and a new magazine...
- New library books on the porch with the kids...warm enough for short sleeves this afternoon...
- Clean sheet night tonight... :)
Grace in small things, March 9, 2016
- Zo hanging out with me on the porch before dinner, right before the sun went behind the mountain
- A blustery, snowy day...I wasn't able to get up to the mountain but I'm hoping to go tomorrow first thing for a little while...
- Luke is feeling MUCH better...so grateful...he slept with me last night because he kept waking up in tears...and his breathing was so ragged...but this morning it's like nothing happened...
- I got a day extension on one of my work deadlines, which is making me feel much better about my schedule over the next week or so
- A million forms filled out tonight...doctor questionnaires eg fine motor skills, gross motor skills, social skills etc. for the twins AND everything (23 pages for each child!) I need to register them for preschool...eek! We're thinking 2 half-days a week. I'm not ready...
XOXO
Grace in small things, March 8, 2016
- A sick little boy at the Allen household today...poor guy...so grateful I could cuddle up next to him...he and Sis watching movies while I worked...
- Zo is not sick so far, and was super cool about lounging around the house all day with me and Bubs...
- Luke fell asleep early tonight and I had a long time to talk and laugh and play with just Sis, talking with her about her being afraid to turn 4, and singing a song--with her feeding me scenarios before I started each verse--about her stuffed lambie babies going to the desert and climbing a mountain and playing in a sandbox and going to the car wash before coming home to their mommy Zoey, and I made her giggle hysterically by saying silly things and kissing her tummy over and over and over...that girl is such a delight...
- I've got a huge work project that got sprung on me today that I'm trying not to freak out about...but the extra hours will be good for our bank account, right?
- I miss my husband, but he'll be home soon...
25/50 and grace in small things, March 7, 2016
- Great powder day with Huffman's, a run I can't seem to find on the map off of Sundown...weird...Children of Winter X 2 (ahhhhhhhh...), South Peak Flats, Rolex (not as much fun as it normally is, some bare spots and ice...), Rudi's Run, a little bit of Why Not?, Vagabond, Betwixt, Eagles Nest, Giggle Gulch, Shortcut, Stampede...it's weird trying to find on a map where I've snowboarded after a whole season of just getting lost and ending up wherever...
- All my mother-in-law's ongoing help with the house, the kids, the laundry, dinners, etc...she is amazing...and sooooo appreciated....
- My parents are back in the country...yay!...and we get to see them next week!
- Worked until almost 11 tonight but that was because I was able to take a couple hours to snowboard in the afternoon (and my husband is in Chicago on business so I'm not neglecting him)...love my flexible work schedule, it's the best...
- The perfect happiness that is a 3-year-old with an after-dinner brownie...
Grace in small things, March 6, 2016--Vail edition
- Met a friend from San Francisco days and her daughter in Vail today...I can't even begin to describe how wonderful it was to see them...
- Zo with a stick she picked up on her forehead, in an effort to make herself a unicorn...
- A ride on the shuttle bus is such a treat when you're 3...
- Luke and Zo on this silver bunny statue saying, "We're Bunny Guards!"
- Luke riding down the escalator with me, and then sneaking away to ride right back up. That and the automatic revolving door were big hits...
XOXO
24/50 and grace in small things, March 2, 2016
- Spur Trail. (Didn't like.) Tomahawk. Children of Winter. Sundial. High Noon. Storm Peak Catwalk. Storm Peak South. Dusk. Hurricane. (Super fun.) Ego. BC Skyway. Right-o-Way. (I hate these last 2 trails.) Yep, I'm suddenly on a mission to snowboard everything on the mountain...
- Sis, looking at my picture on my ski pass, with a sweet smile: "Who is that pretty girl?"
- Sis is having real birthday angst, which is interesting. "I just want to stay small Mommy. I don't want a birthday. I'm just going to sleep through my birthday, sleep all day, and then I can stay 3."
- Kids exuberantly running in circles in Sis' room last night until they fell down from dizziness. "We're running amok, Mommy!"
- Porch time last night...not too cold...and I saw my first shooting star in a long time, right over Emerald Mountain...
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 29, 2016
- Pajama Day for the kids...and they played beautifully together all day...ring-around-the-rosy and pillow fights on our bed while I washed the sheets, and hours with the elaborate wooden train set-up I made for them yesterday upstairs...
- Zo coming to me in tears this morning: "What's wrong, sweetie?" I asked. "I don't want to get bigger," she said. (We've been talking about them turning 4 and how once that happens then they'll be really big kids.) "I want to stay little forever," she continued. "And I don't want you to get old. I want us to be together." And I hugged her tight and told her I wish things could stay just like this forever, too, I love having her and Luke with me so much. But even though things will change--everything changes, that's just life--I will always be her Mommy and I will always be with her no matter what. I don't think I've said anything in front of her, but I've been sad about her 4th birthday being in just a couple weeks...I love having 3-year-olds...it's hard to think about not having 3-year-olds any more...although, like I told Zo this morning, even when they turn 4 it's not going to change anything. Our days will still be exactly the same...
- Getting up early to work out, and feeling pretty much fine today despite sleeping terribly last night. (I've been having really bad insomnia about once every 2 weeks...which is a big improvement over how things used to be, but still hard after the nights that it happens...)
- I thought maybe the kids had gotten sunburns on their faces yesterday, despite sunscreen (and I was feeling especially bad about it because they have their 4-year doctor's appointments tomorrow and sunburned kids don't really say "good mom")...anyway, this morning they were fine, yay...
- Some fun work projects this week, already coming together nicely...
- FaceTime with my Mom and Dad yesterday...miss them...
- Alpenglow on the mountain with the sunset this evening...as seen from our front yard:
XOXO