Sucker Love

Just popping in to quickly share the kids' valentines for this year. I decided to make them, and a few weeks ago was able to get the kids to stand still long enough to snap a few photos. I ordered 4x6 copies, and using an exacto knife, I cut slits just above and below their hands and then we slid in suckers. Voila - personalized valentines! 

Happy 3th Birthday

Baby Shiny had her 3rd (or 3th, as Casey said) birthday yesterday. We had a little party for her over the weekend, and her very girly behavior was on full display. I don't know why I keep expecting her to act like the boys, but for some reason I am continually surprised and tickled by the very feminine things she does. Like wearing clip on dangly earrings and a princess ball skirt for the entirety of her party.

Cracks me up. She wanted a Dora the Explorer party, so I made Dora cupcakes, which only really resembled Dora if you were standing 10 feet away and squinting. At least the kids recognized her, and Riley was happy.

Last night it was pizza and more cake, and today I took cake pops into her class for a birthday treat. 

Mmm...cake pops!

What is she like at 3? Well, she's very funny - when asked how old she was turning this birthday her standard response was, "I'm the birthday girl!" and she even treated us last night to a special song & dance she made up about being the birthday girl. She's very sweet - when someone would wish her a happy birthday, she would respond, "Happy Birthday to you." She's at that strange crossroad of early childhood - no longer a baby but not really a big kid either. She wants to do so many things herself, but will still crawl up into my arms and say, "I'm your baby, Mama!" She loves her brothers and thinks (most) everything they do is great, and they (mostly) feel the same about her. And her parents? We continue to be smitten by her. At least once a day I look at her and feel a rush of gratitude that I got to be her Mom, and that I somehow was lucky enough to parent both boys and a girl. I wish I could freeze time right now and keep her at this age, but then again that seems to be how I have felt about all her ages, so I guess I'll have to let her keep growing. Who knows what she will surprise and delight us with before her 4rd birthday. 

Ice Ice Baby

Last week we were trapped in the house for almost the entire week due to an ice & snow storm. It was BIZARRE. Ice built up almost a foot in front of my garage door so that Friday I had to take a pick ax and chip away at it so I could get the van out of the garage. BIZARRE. Neighborhood kids were ice skating not just in the streets, but in front yards as well. BIZARRE. But in a strange kind of way, it was also nice. School was cancelled, obviously, and in a first, Rob was stuck at home with us. I pulled out the craft box and we proceeded to make messes to stay occupied.

Connor working on his Dinosaur Dig kit

Riley cutting paper into a thousand microscopic pieces

We stayed in our PJs all day. We snuggled and watched movies and braced ourselves for the potential that we would lose power, which thankfully we never did. But a week was enough. The temperature is supposed to dip down to -5 tonight, and hover somewhere around -2 or -3 degrees in the morning when Casey gets on the bus. I am now in full-blown spring fever and if warmer weather doesn't blow in sometime soon, there is a strong possibility that I will lose my mind. I bought a bottle of wine simply because it has a pair of flip-flops on the label. It's bad folks.