Day 3 of our TN Blizzard

Yesterday the 4 of us went and did the same 3mile walk that Michael and Brian did the previous night. It was so pretty walking along the river with all the snow. I can imagine it was even prettier when Brian and Michael went at night. Imaging the snow glistening with the moon. Only I am glad we weren't walking in the sleet! Michael got to show me all his special spots that I told you about in my previous daily blog. : ) How lucky we are to live in walking distance to the lake. Of course that was the selling part of us buying this house! (not to mention my tub! LOL) I will always remember the kids holding my hand walking and sitting next to the pretty river with the snow everywhere. And again, Brian made us hotchocolate and a fire. Today he is working so the boys and I just came in from a big snowball fight. When you stand really still in our backyard you can hear all the ice melting off the trees and it looks like its raining. We had a 1/4 of an inch of ice yesterday on top of our 5inches of snow. It was pretty but made for snow that was not good for snowball fights and snowmen. But today the kids got me pretty good with snowballs as the ice melts. They enjoyed me kicking the snow up at them and knocking them over into the snow. Blake kept saying , "again again, get me." I sure have enjoyed our family time we were able to have this weekend.

Late night Winterland with Daddy

It was so pretty last night that Brian decided to go for a walk in the snow at 9pm. We had put the kids to bed late since we were all up playing wii bowling together, so Michael was still awake so Brian took him with him. They ended up walking about 3miles around the river. Brian said, "It was absolutely gorgeous". They built a snowman, threw snowballs and tried to light a fire. It was sleeting the whole time so it was impossible to build one. Michael said he got thirsty so he ate some snow. When they got home they were soaked. Michael was beaming when he got home from the excitement of their journey together. I asked him what his favorite part was and he said #1 Peeing in the snow because it accidentally looked like a puppy dog, #2 Building a snowman by the river, #3 Throwing snowballs. I asked him if he was scared trudging thru the woods and by the lake so late at night and he said, "At first I was scared of coyotes and strangers, but then I remembered Daddy had a gun." This will definitely be a memory to remember for them both.

SNOW!

What a beautiful snow day this has been! The 4 of us went outside in it for an hour and a half. Our neighbors built an outside fire which was great to warm up by. Michael found a small hill behind our house (and I mean small, but to them it was perfect) and sledded down it. It was so funny to see their faces as they slid down the small hill. They were thrilled! Then their Daddy took us thru the woods behind our house to the side of the road where there is a little bigger of a hill and they slid down that a few times. How I loved to sled when I was a kid. I remember when my sister and I got circle sleds for Christmas and how we would love to sled on the hill next to our house. As a kid, I thought it was so big but I wonder now if i saw it as an adult what it really looked like. Then we came into the house and sat by the fire and Brian made us homemade hot chocolate again. That has become our tradition. I love traditions. You should see the pile of clothes (wet!) sitting by our front door. We got 4inches today and are expecting 4more tomorrow. How fun. That is the most snow I think we have had in TN since I have lived here, if it really happens tomorrow! The boys had a day of snow angels, snowball fights and sledding.

Snow tomorrow?

School is closed tomorrow due to the possiblity of snow. I still remember when we moved from IL to KY when I was 9 and finding out they cancelled school just because it MIGHT snow! Coming from the North that was just unheard of and I was so excited as a kid to find this out! So now MY kids are excited that we have a snow day tomorrow regardless if there is snow or not! And I am excited we all get to sleep in!

Favorite President

Michael came home from school the other day and was telling me he had 2 favorite presidents. So I asked him who it was and he said "Obama and George Washington". These are probably the only two he has heard the names of but when I asked him why they were his favorite he said ," George Washington lived in the White House first".

Sweet stories

This morning Michael told me that he had one bad dream and 3 good ones the night before. Then he told me that God must've been busy keeping other people from having bad dreams last night since he had one and he always prays before he goes to bed to not have a bad dream. Then he said, "But atleast I only had one bad dream instead of 3. That is good, isnt it Mom!" (Can we say thankful? )

Then this afternoon after piano, the boys and I passed by an accident. I have always taught the boys to say a prayer for someone if we see an ambulance or an accident. So Michael starts his prayer (I don't even need to remind him anymore) saying "God please be with those people in the accident and their families. Please make them all better. Amen". He makes my heart swell!

This picture is of Blake yesterday. I came into the room to find him in this position. He just looks at me and says , "Mom the tv is upside down" and grins at me like this!

Good point

"We live, we love, we forgive and never give up‘Cause the days we are given are gifts from above". This is a song I heard on the radio today. Such a good point to remember. It talks about how life can change in an instant. So we should treasure every moment. May we always remember to live, love and forgive.

Sleeping in

Today I am thankful that I got to sleep in this morning, thanks to my inlaws who let the kids spend the night and took them to the circus this morning. I laid in bed this morning enjoing the peace and quiet and loving not having to jump out of bed immediately after hearing a child wake up. But overall I am thankful, because I have my kids to wake up to every day.

Sleeping funny

I have always loved watching my babies sleep! They are so sweet and peaceful looking. But they have never liked blankets untill recently. They would always kick it off. They still don't like the sheet on their bed. Only a blanket. And they sleep in different positions from how you would expect them to. Very rarely on the pillow! I love this picture because it shows how Blake was sleeping the other day. They like to sleep at the end of the bed where your feet are or they sleep with the head where the feet are! This was a new position so that is why I had to take the picture!

Meet Jack

Today was Nursery Rhyme day at school. Michael and his friend Ashlyn were Jack and Jill. They looked so cute and did really good. He wanted me to stay and have lunch with him which I did. Then he wanted me to help at his school in his class. So, luckily for him , the teacher came up to me after lunch and asked me if I could stay and help her so I ended up staying the rest of the school day. I like to be there and see how Michael is in class. I like to talk to his teacher and I have gotten to be good friends with a couple of the other moms that help out at school too. I feel very lucky to be able to help at his school. Brian's Nanoo is a blessing for watching my little one so I can go help at the school sometimes. Michael is always so proud when I am there. He told me when we were leaving his school today that he hugs me alot at school but not as much as the other kids in the class do because he lives with me! SO funny!

Today, 4 mom's and I worked on the class scrapbooks. Tomorrow is Nursery Rhyme day. Michael is dressing up with his friend Ashlyn and they will be Jack and Jill. I decorated a pail and he is wearing a vest over a white shirt with rolled up jeans. She is wearing a jean dress. They will be so cute. They had to memorize a nursery rhyme.

This picture is of Michael with his winter hare him and his Daddy put together to enter in the school contest for Winterfest. They did a great job!

Remembering to be thankful

Today I am remembering how thankful I am to be able to work part time and be able to stay home with my kids.

I am thankful they still cuddle with me.

I am thankful Blake tells me EVERY day how much he loves me and his new thing is to tell me how pretty I am. That cracks me up because he tells me regardless of if I put on makeup or brushed my hair!

And I am thankful Michael asks me alot to come eat lunch with him at school.

Jumping in

I will never forget the day that Blake (2) and I went to the Discovery Center and we were walking across the large concrete steps that walk over the very shallow water that they have frogs and lilypads at . (which we had done numerous times) I looked at him and the look on his face let me know he was jumping in but I obviously couldnt get to him before he did it so he jumps straight in and since its not very deep he kinda topples over into it. The look on his face was of utter shock. He obviously wasnt expecting the lovely slime that was all over him when he stood up. He looked at it and was instantly upset. I dont think he cared he was wet but he was not happy about the slime on him. He was covered from head to toe with it. Luckily we were with friends so I left him with Ginger and I went inside to see if i could borrow a hose since there wasn't anything else I could do. They had soap and a hose outside so I washed him completely naked outside the Discovery Center. All the moms there were so nice and offering to let me use their extra kids clothes but luckily I had some and so i changed him after wiping him down thankfully with one of their towels they had. He never did that again. But i will never forget the look I saw in his face before he did it.

Dress up

It absolutely cracks me up when the kids dress up. But it is even funnier when their Daddy gets into the mix too! I had to post this picture!

Michael asked me today if God has a mom and dad. Where do kids get these questions? And how do I always seem to be the one to get them? LOL! Years ago I prayed for patience and a friend told me to never pray for patience because God will GIVE you something to TEACH you patience. Then I was given kids! May my parents always know how thankful I am for THEIR patience with me! And my kids and husband always know how thankful I am FOR them.

Last night the boys and I watched the movie Benji. I loved that movie as a kid . They got it for Christmas. How neat to watch movies as a kid and then WITH your kids as an adult. They loved it too. Michael came running downstairs to tell Daddy what a great movie it was. We have watched E. T., Wizard of Oz, Star Wars (all of them), Rudolph, Charlie Brown (Halloween, Christmas), Frosty the Snowman and probably others that i can't think of right now. Our goal is to watch all the ones we loved as a child with them.

Memories of the kids when younger

I was thinking of a day last year when Michael was 5 and we were heading home from church one Wed. night. He said to me, "Mom, when I am a grownup how do I get a wife?" So shocked of course, I asked him how did he think you got a wife. He told me that he thought you took $3 and went to the store to pick one out. That was an interesting ride home, trying to explain to a 5yr old about getting a wife some day!

One time when he was 4, we were riding down the road and he asked me if we would ever be poor. Again, shocked I told him no, that we would always get more jobs if we had to so he never had to worry about us being poor. He then told me "It's ok mom, if we were poor we would just go get a bucket of money." (he meant the buckets you put your change in at Christmas time outside of walmart and grocery stores) Another interesting ride home trying to explain to a 4yr old about the "bucket of money".

For a while, michael was sleeping in the guest room so he called it his bedroom. So Blake decided that he would take over Michaels old bed. One day he told me that I needed to get rid of his old bed and give it to the poor kids. I thought that was pretty sweet a 3yr old would tell me to give his old bed to the poor kids.

Bubble gum up the nose

After church Sunday, my 3 1/2 yr old decided to put bubble gum in his nose. Have you ever tried to dig bubble gum out of a childs nose? The good things is I dont think he will ever do that again! : )

This morning my 6yr old told me "thank you mom for being my class mom". Times like that make up for the times when they stick bubble gum in their nose!

Wow, it is 11pm and i have been organizing for 2hrs straight in my kitchen. I have been organizing for 2wks here and there but tonight for some reason I got obsessed with the kitchen cabinets and pantry. But, I am so happy now that it is done! Now if i could just get myself to polish my cabinets sometime soon! My hubby painted our grout lines in our kitchen and it looks so good. He has no idea how much I like it and appreciate it! It has completely changed my opinion of my kitchen. And if I can get him to change the hardware on the cabinets (like Christie recommended) I will love it even more!

Wii time

I am laughing here watching the boys play tennis on the wii. It is so funny to see them jump around swinging. Maybe they will go to bed good now! : ) Blake just swung so hard he twirled around and hit the floor!

My dining room looks like a scrapbook tornado came thru. Since I am new to all of this scrapbooking it takes me probably longer then the average person to come up with a page. But it will be such a great project when we are done. A few of the other moms in Mikes class and I are doing scrapbooks for all 20kids for the whole year. We have taken hundreds of pictures of all the kids. They are all so cute.

Kid thoughts

My kids were full of knowledge tonight. My 6yr old told me that Mother Nature was God's wife. Then he told me that the Tooth Fairy and Santa disguise themselves when they sneak into our house at night. Because once the Tooth Fairy got caught by a little boy so now she is in disguise.

My 3 yr old got a piece of paper at bible class tonight that is wrapped in a little beaded bracelet. When we got home he told me that his teacher said he had to sleep with it under his pillow. First we read it. It says "God loves me". So then when he layed down to go to sleep he told me he couldn't lay his head on the pillow because he'd squish the paper (it looks like a degree rolled up with the bracelet around it) so he was sleeping with his head below the pillow.

Michael got his first phone call tonight from a friend. He was on the phone probably 5minutes and he said maybe 5 words the whole time. The boy was asking him to come over next weekend. They go to school together.

At church tonight I love to peek at the boys when we are doing prayer at church. They look so sweet with their hands together and eyes closed.

This is one of my favorite pics.....

Thank someone today

Today I am thinking how it is important to thank people. I went to a PTO meeting tonight and was thinking how much work the officers put into a job that doesnt pay you anything. They help to raise money for their kids school. They make things happen. Then I was thinking about the teachers that help to teach our children for their future. Today I was "playing school" with my 3yr old like we do almost every day and he was struggling to learn something particular. I was trying to be patient so as not to discourage him. Imagine being a TEACHER that does this with 20kids. Wow! I now say "thank you" to all of my friends , family, hubby, teachers, etc....because everyone blesses me with our relationship.

So far so good on our eating out of the cupboard and freezer for January. We had a couple different soups and some chili the last so many days since I commented on this. Now I am making a tuna pie which I have never made so let's cross our fingers! It is actually a very strange mixture of stuff (like cheese, flour, hotsauce, sourcream, mayo, etc) but i think anything with those ingredients is usually good! LOL! I found the recipe on a little sticky note when i was cleaning out my cookbooks. I stick recipes in there and if they are good I put them in a binder of all my fav recipes so they are easy to find. I have SO many cookbooks it would take forever to remember which one they are in if I didnt do it this way. But another 2010 goal was to go thru and clean out my cookbooks, recipes, etc...January is such a motivating month for me. I hope February keeps up the motivation!

My kids love Legos. What a fun invention. I love to see their creativity in what they will build. My oldest son went to his friend Gaines house yesterday and he said "I didnt know HOW MANY Legos he had". Apparently he was in Lego heaven. This picture is our new Lego table they got for Christmas.

Staying home

One of my goals for the year ( I have alot!) is to not only spend time with my kids (like going places etc..) but to also sit down with them and play something. It may be making cookies, playing Candyland, playing the wii, doing a puzzle, etc but I plan to make a point of trying to do this. We run around alot. We do the zoo, Discovery Center, park, just about anything we can think to do that doesn't cost alot. But I want to stay home more often this year and just do some things at home more. The snow days has reminded me that we can have fun at home too and there is alot let stress being at home too. Not to mention I might get some laundry done too!

Family day

Today was such a great family day. It snowed again so we stayed home all day. We had things scheduled but they all got cancelled due to the weather. The family played the wii alot of the day. That is such a great game for different ages to be able to play together. When a 3yr old can beat you at tennis and golf you know you have a family game. The kids got to play outside and their daddy tried to build them a snowman. The snow was not good snowman material so he built them a cute mini one. And i mean mini! Then we came in and the boys I a cuddled by the fire while he made hotchocolate. (his is much better then mine!) There is nothing I love more then cuddling with my boys. And in between all the fun I have managed to get a few loads of laundry done (granted I have 5more loads but that is not the point!LOL) Here's to snowdays and cuddling with our loved ones!!!!

The kids

I love when the kids play good together. Tonight we went to some friends house and they played so good I lost track of the time. I was thinking how lucky I am for my friends. All these thoughts in my head have to be heard by someone or Brian would go crazy listening to me all the time! LOL!

Wow!

I have been going thru hundreds of photos tonight to pick out which ones to order for Michael's classroom scrapbooks that me and a few other mom's in the class are putting together for the 20kids. I am a little brain dead at this point! But the kids have been so good today. It's a snow day and we have pulled every craft out of the closet we have! We also played in the snow for longer then my toes could handle. We didnt get much but kids dont really care how much there is as long as they have some! Brian made us hot chocolate when we came in and lit the fire for us. But as much work as this scrapbook is, I am so thankful for all of the moments I have been able to share with Michael in his classroom! Some moms cant do this and I recognize and appreciate that I have been able to! The pictures are such a reminder. And the fact that I can look at the pics and know the kids like I do makes me smile!

Rollerskating

I use to love to rollerskate when i was 9. I had my first birthday party with my friends at the skating rink. I loved purple and unicorns. Memories are a wonderful thing. I am thankful for my memories. I am thankful I can take my kids to do the things I did when i was a kid. And I am thankful to make new memories with them. And did i mention i am thankful I didn't fall down once this day! LOL!

Busy day

I love the crockpot. I have meatballs cooking in there to eat with the sides leftover from our dinner last night. Whoever invented that has really saved me alot of stress! One of my goals for January is to try to only cook out of the pantry and freezer. I am not a very clever cook but have survived thru google. Another thing I am happy was invented! So far we have had ham omelets, macaroni and cheese ham bake and now meatballs. I love soups and beans in the winter too so i am sure that will be next on my list. Easy, cheap and good.

The kids crack me up with their costumes. They are very imaginative and love to dress up. We have now graduated to another box just for costumes. One is clothes and one is the accessories!

365 days of appreciating

I plan to think of something every day to appreciate. I have so much to appreciate and am very thankful for that. But sometimes it is nice to jot it down to remind yourself to think about it. Today I am appreciative my husband took the kids to the grocery store while i was at work. One less thing for me to do today.

I was also remembering today the look on my children's faces when they opened their Christmas presents. I am smiling thinking about it. (and looking at the pictures!)

Organization in the New year!

I love to start the new year off with some organization. It makes me feel saner. So down came the Christmas stuff. Then i went thru drawers to organize. Didn't accomplish all i wouldve liked to but I would say that is impossible with two little kids. But I am happy with what did get done today.

Since our dishwasher isnt working, my hubby and i stood at the sink and he washed and i dried. I dont mind chores so much when we do them together! Didnt feel like such a chore!

My purpose of blogging is to express my feelings and to remind myself of what is important in life. My blog is based on 365 days of "remembering what is important". Kinda like a diary of sorts to vent feelings, frustrations, or mainly reminder of blessings. How blessed I am to have my family, friends and health of us all! Thank you for all of your love, support and memories. To 2010.....