Wordless Wednesday...Brrr or Grrr?

Finally!

Finally the weather warmed up enough so we could get the kids out sledding today!  It was a perfect day  for it!  After last year's (literal) run-in with a tree, I insisted the boys wear their bike helmets for safety.  

  

After a couple trips down the hill (and rides back up the hill!), Alex was content to sit at the top at eat the snow while the big kids (Nate & Brie) went down over and over.  He even talked a big game about building a "snow castle" but couldn't maneuver his fingers well enough in those bulky gloves.

Aunt Tiff hung out with her Godson while I took an "emergency" run down the hill to find out what was wrong with Nate as he lay at the bottom of the hill.  As it turns out, you apparently can't get back up the hill while still laying on your sled.  That was Nate's big drama.  

Couple more runs down the hill for Nate and Brie whilst the rest of us hung out up top and ate more snow.  Yum!

And finally, exhaustion set in. 

He was done.  It was too much work!

So, we packed up and headed to Cam's Pizzeria for some delicious (and WARM!) lunch!  

What a fun day!

Simple Woman's Daybook...February 1, 2011

FOR TODAY...February 1, 2011

Outside my window...nothing.  Although they are calling for a "storm of historical proportions" tonight and tomorrow.  Supposedly we're going to get a foot or two of snow over a short period of time.  The weatherman are using words like "crippling" and "snowpocalypse" - it all seems awfully dramatic, but we shall see.

I am thinking...about the changes that are going on in life right now.  Dave has been offered a promotion at work which is huge.  I'm so proud of him and happy that he accepted it.  Now I have to make it work for him.  I promised him I would.  I know it will all work out, I just wish I knew how at this point.  I have faith so it will all fall into place.

I am thankful for...a job that is willing to be flexible to work around some of the changes going on.  They haven't answered my proposal to work an alternate schedule while Dave is in training for his promotion, but my direct supervisor (who is fabulous!) has said he'll do what he can to help me out so that's awesome.  We'll see how it works out.  I'd hate to have to quit.  I (generally) like my job and really need the income.

From the kitchen...popcorn.  The boys and I are snuggling on the couch together as I type this watching Despicable Me (or "pickle me" as Alex calls it).  I popped some popcorn for our movie and Nate said "What about the melted butter?!?  Grandma puts melted butter on top".  Thanks, Mom!  :)

I am wearing...my fuzziest PJs.  Warm and cozy.  *sigh*

I am remembering...a long list of things I had wanted to get done tonight.  Between watching the ever growing list of school closings, snuggling with the boys, and finally getting this post up on my blog, it's almost 10 PM and I'm tired so that list will probably have to wait.

I am going...to check on the weather again in a few minutes.  Last I looked it wasn't doing anything, but the weather channel had said it should start up after 10 PM so I'll see if anything is happening.

I am reading...the same books I've been reading and haven't gotten back to in a long time.  I really need to do that.

I am hoping...for a snow day tomorrow.  Or at least a day that I can work here at home and not have to waste my day driving to/from work in horrible weather.  I could really use a snow day tomorrow to get away from the office politics.  I'm much more productive here at home with my boys anyway.

I am hearing...snowmobiles outside, I think.  The sounds of Nate fighting crime in his bedroom.  He's decked out in an army hat, wearing a belt with a sword, harpoon, laser gun and pirate hook stuffed in it, and carrying a pop gun and welder's helmet.  He's well-equipped for any such disaster.

Pondering these words..."As we grow up, we don't lose friends, we just learn who the real ones are" - Unknown

Around the house...mess and chaos.  I desperately need to purge the boys toys and get rid of some of their clutter.

On my mind...some drama that's been going on at work.  One of my very good friends has been squirrelly for more than a week now.  She claims she's not mad at me for anything, that she just has stuff going on, but her actions don't back that up.  She hasn't talked to me in weeks, doesn't return my text messages, yet everything seems hunky dory with our other friends in the office so I'm not sure what I said/did to push her away.  I would think if she truly had things going on that were bothering her she'd want to talk to me, but perhaps I'm over stating my importance.  I tend to do that a lot.  I've had a couple incidences recently where I think I'm more important to a friend than I really am.  I assume we're tight, that they'd confide in me, and then quickly realize that I am not the first, second, third, fourth, or even 115th person they turn to when they have something big to share or a problem to discuss.  It makes me wonder if I'm really that significant to anyone or if I overstate my importance across the board.  It just feeds into my theory of being invisible.  I'll get used to it someday.

Noticing that...I haven't posted anything on my blog in over a week...that's sad.  I've started several things but my thoughts have been so scattered lately that nothing ever gets finished or is up to par when it is.  I have to clear my head so it makes sense.

One of my favorite things...my photo-a-day blog.  It's been a lot easier to keep up on than I thought and I like the journal of my year that it's keeping.

A few plans for the rest of the week: snowstorm that may or may not interfere with my plans to see Heidi & family tomorrow, library, sledding with Tiff & Brie this weekend!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

My handsome Bug.

I ♥ Faces...Jump for Joy

Over at I ♥ Faces the challenge this week is "Jump for Joy"

Now, I have two very spririted and energetic little boys so you can bet your bottom dollar (whatever that actually means) that I have LOTS of pictures of these two jumping for joy (or jumping for fun, or danger, or stitches...)

I realize this photo isn't fantastic in composition or editing, but it brings me joy because this is my son through and through.  He is partaking in a favorite winter day activity with his baby brother: couch cushion jumping.  Enjoy!

Be sure to check out I ♥ Faces for more photos of people jumping for joy!

The 5-Minute Snowman

Yesterday I decided I wanted to make a snowman.  I've never actually made one, start to finish, so I figured, why not?  I had taken the dog out and was biding my time when I started the project.

I packed my first snowball and rolled it around to build the bottom of the snowman.  No sooner did I drop it in place when Avery came whizzing by and pounced on it.  She chewed up my snowman in seconds flat.

So I started again.  Quickly, I patted together a ball for the base.  I figured I'd go small.  I moved onto the second layer.

*Chomp*  *Chomp*  *Chomp*

Poor snowman.

Perhaps the third time is a charm?

Nope.  No such luck.

Finally Nathaniel came outside to join us.  He provided just enough distraction for the dog so I was able to put together my snowman.  It took me less than 5-minutes, total.  I slapped that sucker together so fast.  And I felt accomplished.

But Nate wasn't satisfied.

"Mommy", he said, "the snowman has no face".

So (quickly!) I gathered together some twigs, a couple stick pieces, and some miscellaneous dirt to make some eyes, a nose, arms, and mouth.

Avery was distracted by the rest of the stick I had broken the arms off of so she was off chewing in the background while we worked furiously to build our 2-feet-high snowman before she decided to ruin our fun (again!). 

Time for one quick picture.

Then before I knew it, Nathaniel took a stick to my snowman.  Like a Major League Baseball player he was batting at my masterpiece until there was no more.  Just snow and sticks and dirt strewn about. 

Oh well.  It was fun while it lasted.  Now I'm off to build a 3-minute Lego Castle before Alex decides to knock it over on me.

Snow-icane 2010

When Mother Nature sends you a "Snow-icane", what do you do?

Take a vacation day from work and hang out at home with your boys, of course!

We hunkered down inside today and enjoyed some quiet time.  We snuggled.  We laughed.

Alex and I did some reading.

Firefighter Nate treated "En-Juries" sustained from some accident I was unfortunate enough to be a part of.  He put me on a stretcher and stabilized my wounded limbs. 

Then the boys got a little stir crazy so we tried to burn some energy by jumping in the couch cushions for a bit.

Once the weather lightened up a little, we were able to get outside to supervise Daddy while he snow blowed a few paths into our backyard so the boys and puppy had somewhere to run.  The snow was too deep, otherwise.  We got well over a foot of snow in our backyard.  It was up to my knees when I walked through it.  The dog was lost in the snow and Alex would have been lost if he had sat down at all.

Here is Alex standing up in the path Daddy snow blowed.

We ended the day with some warm hot cocoa and dry clothes.  Days like this make winter fun.  It can hang on a little longer, if it must.  At least I know Spring is just around the corner!

Winter Fun

The other day while I was at work, Dave took Nathaniel and the puppy outside (Alex was napping) to build a snow fort.  When he said "snow fort" I pictured a pile of snow dug out so Nate could crawl in it or something.

But, no.

That's not what Dave had in mind.  He cleared off almost the whole yard (which had a LOT of snow!) to make this:

Nathaniel was so proud of "his castle" that he immediately wanted me to help him bundle up so he could go out and show me his fortress.

Alex was up by now so he got to go out and check it out, too.  I love when the weather in Western NY actually allows us to get snow, and get outside to enjoy it.  It's a rarity!

Nate was so proud to show off the castle "he" and Daddy had made.

Even Avery got in on the fun!

I do love winter through the eyes of my children!  But I also look forward to getting to take them outside without the 20 minutes of bundling up that's required first!

Near Miss

I don't mean to sound dramatic but I feel as though we dodged a bullet today.

It started out a normal day.  We had plans (the boys and I) to meet up with my fellow Mamas for our Mama Reunion 2 and at the very last minute that was cancelled for sick kiddos and puking Mamas.  So Tiff and I decided to still meet up to get the kids together so they wouldn't be too disappointed.

Plan B was sledding.

I left Alex at home with Daddy since it was his nap time and Nate and I bundled up and headed out.  When we got there he put the rest of his gear on and was down the hill in a snap.  Literally, before I could say "Wait for Mommy!", he was zooming down the hill on his first run.  (This kid is going to give me a heart attack!)

The next few runs went smoothly, he would fly down the hill, dawdle at the bottom, I would walk down the hill and pull him back up.

Tiff and Brie joined us after the first couple trips down and then the fun really began!  (By fun, of course I mean the actual trip DOWN the hill.  The trip up was NOT so much fun for Mommy and Aunt Tiff.)

We decided to call it a day and head to McDonalds for lunch, after one final trip down.  Nate and Brie wanted to ride together so I planned to ride down separately to keep tabs on them.  We plopped Brie in the front of the sled and Nate behind her.  (So cute!)  Then off we went!

This is where my tale gets harrowing.  (At least to me!)

Halfway down the hill I wiped out and the kids stalled.  So I got back on my sled, got them going again and we headed down the second half of the sledding hill.  During this second leg of the trip, I got going SUPER fast, flipped around backwards, and totally lost sight of them as they crested the hill behind me.

When I finally came to a rest (after wiping out again at the bottom) I scanned for them and saw them off to the left...in the trees!  Nate was laying face down in the snow crying his little head off and Brie was standing behind him looking stunned.  Their sled was wedged between two trees.

As I ran up to them the first thing I saw was a huge scratch in Brie's helmet that she was (thankfully!) wearing!    Nate's nose was scratched and bleeding and he had a nice scratch and bump/bruise on his forehead.  He was screaming and crying and wouldn't let me look at it. (Which is typical for him so it was refreshing for me that THAT at least was normal!)

Some nice gentleman snowboarder came and helped us out, took a look at Nate, said something about him getting looked at due to a hematoma spreading across the bridge of his nose or something, and nicely helped us back up the hill with our sleds and children.  Tiff carried Nate up and was asking him if anything else hurt when he exclaimed "But I wanted to go to Old McDonalds!".

Oh yeah, he was fine.

Seconds after receiving reassurance that we were STILL going to McDonalds for his happy meal, he was fine.  He stopped crying, wanted to walk up on his own, and was even pulling his own sled.

Brie wanted to take one more trip down and Tiff wisely indulged her interest so as not to make her last sledding experience a scary one.  Even though Nate had no plans on going down again because it "was too scary", he quickly changed his tune when he saw his sweet Brie going.  So Tiff and Brie and Nate and I took one last trip down (together!) to "get back on the horse", as they say.  It was such fun!  And at the bottom we did a "We DID it!" dance to celebrate their bravery.

Nathaniel got some extra special treatment on the last trek up the hill.

Once we got home he laid pretty low for the rest of the day.  And while he looks a LOT better now than he did at first (and will probably look worse tomorrow since it looks like he might be getting a black eye), he managed to escape relatively unscathed - both physically and emotionally (judging by our successful final ride of the day!).

And for this I am eternally grateful.  

I feel blessed that we lucked out today.  

I am so thankful that Brie was wearing a helmet, and because she was wearing a helmet, I'm glad she was sitting in front.  I'm convinced that helmet saved her and her being up front saved him from a worse fate.  

I'm relieved that they went BETWEEN the trees instead of directly INTO one of them.

And I'm so happy that they had an angel with them out on that sledding hill today.  

It could have been SO much worse. 

Nate learned a very valuable lesson, though.  On our last hike up the hill, he pointed to the sign by the trees that warns sledders to stay out and said, "See that sign?  It says S-P-E-E, Stop!"

He also learned that life's adventures are ALWAYS more exciting (and special!) with your best friends by your side.