My February Ramblings

• What is it about February and the weather that has made my kids crazy? We have had some of the oddest "lessons" lately, that I thought we had already covered, but, here I am, doing this all over again.
  
• I am starting to feel that I really need a maid. Need is probably not the right word. REALLY WANT a maid. The only problem is that my home is not maid-ready. I would have to clean/organize BEFORE the maid could come and clean. Sigh. Anyone up for either of those jobs?
  
• Why yes, I did just have a birthday. Milestone too. It was quite lovely, and no, I didn't cry. I don't feel old....yet. I took the kids to the House of Bounce and had friends and family all around the whole day, and ended the day with dinner with my mom, sisters, sister-in-law and new neice. We stayed out for hours, and it was just wonderful! We haven't done that in forever. I don't have any pictures of the "new me" yet, but I will do that soon. Tommy keeps making jokes that we "haven't been here since you've turned 30" or such nonsense. You know what's funny? I have a great group of friends, and I am the oldest of our group! That is just so weird to me.
  
• I have been thinking about what I am going to get myself for my birthday, and am realizing that there is a theme for my gift requests. For Christmas I asked for an attachment to my Dyson vacuum for my kitchen floors (I LOVE it!). Now, I want one of those Shark steam mops to use AFTER I vaccuum. LOL I must be getting old! I just want practical gifts.
  
• The snow is finally melting. It's mostly the big piles at the corners and in the front yards in our neighborhoods. Call me crazy, but I miss it. I loved seeing all the whiteness outside, and remembering the fun we had. I kind of wish it would snow again.....(ducking for cover before someone in my area throws a snowball at my head!)
• Lent is upon us, and I have yet to begin anything. I know. It's terrible. But, to be honest, I have come to discover (in my old age) that each penitential season, I don't usually pick my own penance. God almost always sends something my way to work on, and though I may not always listen, I do notice, and really want to try. I need to help my kids understand the meaning of "giving up" for Lent, because though we had a manger and straws to do during Advent, they really didn't get it. I read a great idea from a new blog I found, and I think I would like to implement something similar. I think a trip to the craft store is in order!

To The Alarm Clock

Dear Tommy's Alarm Clock,

He is not home. Really. He's not here. I promise. You don't need to go off at 5AM. I know you have this internal program that tells you that you MUST go off during the week, but He's.Not.Here. I am not sure how to work you, so I thought I had the best solution for this week. Can you please explain to me how you STILL went off at 5 after I unplugged you??!?! I'm pretty sure I wasn't dreaming because I made sure to look at my own clock before I crawled to that side of the bed to shut it off. Really? I mean, REALLY? I know it's Lent, and it may be a time for more penances, so I should accept it as such, but it's hard.

Could you please get your act together for the next couple days?

Very respectfully,
The sleeping momma-that-just-may-throw-you-out-the-window-if-you-try-that-again

"Massanuthin" Weekend

I kept telling the kids we were going to Massanuten, but they kept saying massanuthin' and it made me laugh. We had planned a trip with the Iveys and Matt Wilson for the long weekend. Little did we know that we would be indoors and Tommy would be home for the whole week before! The house belongs to Matt's parents and it was just perfect for our weekend. I loved that it was a winter wonderland around the ski resort with all the lovely mountains around. Our day trip was to Luray, which I had never been to before.
The kids were really excited, but kept asking us if it was real rocks, or just pretend. LOL

This is the Dream Lake, the formations are on the ceiling!

See the headsets? There was a version for the adults and one for the kids. The latter was WAY more entertaining!
Here's the Iveys! Susan, Mike and Lauren (and baby due soon!).

This was Patrick's favorite: The Fried Eggs!

Here's Wilson and Patrick! My camera doesn't do the caverns justice.

Lauren and William played so well together! Look how cute.

We played LOTS of Wii, and William was right in the thick of it too! See those pajamas William has on? Those are his "football" pajamas that he loves because it has the redskins and footballs, his favorite things. Well, one night while we were there, he found them in my suitcase, pulled them out and brought them to me, saying "footballs, footballs." He was already in pajamas, so I just put them aside. He got very frustrated and kept repeating the same thing, and handing me the pajamas. Finally, he points to the pajamas and pats on his legs to get the point across (all the time repeating "footballs" over and over, each time with more emphasis) that he wants to wear them. I said, "okay, but you have to lie down" and he did just that. I put them underneath his other pajamas. All night he kept patting his legs and saying "footballs" in a very contented tone. That kid is too funny.

After Sunday Mass, most of us went Tubing. Emma absolutely loved every minute of it, and Patrick was done after 2 times. The kids called my mom to talk about it, and while Emma was telling her that she did something "twice, no, three times" Patrick corrected her and said "thrice." What a kid! I wished I had brought my camera to capture their fun on the slopes. It was a great weekend, with much needed time away.

Sing with me now: "Let it snow, let it snow!"

Call me crazy, but I love snow. I love being at home in the nice warm house with my family and watching the snow fall from inside. The snowstorm which dumped 32" of snow in our area was soo pretty to see! I was amazed at the amount, but it was just lovely.

We had some great plans for our snow day, but the power had other ideas. So, our day was spent bundling up inside as well as out. For about 12 hours we were without power. Tommy spent the day shoveling and trying to figure out where to put all this snow. (There's a photo that shows piles and piles of snow on either side. The left are the cars and the right are the piles in the front yards.) The kids were playing outside with all of the other neighbors who were out of doors as well, since we were all without power. I spent the day hanging wet clothes that wouldn't dry and fielding the same questions from the kids: "Why won't the stereo/light in the fridge/clock on the oven/light in the bathroom work?" It was pretty funny. My favorite conversation was when I heard Emma on the phone with my Dad who offered to loan us some of his power. I don't think she understood, but to hear her tell about Mommy shoveling, and the lights out, it was too cute. We had some wonderful family time, and it was really nice to go out and chat with our neighbors. (On a side note, we have AWESOME neighbors! They let me kids help them shovel and brush snow off, because they wanted to help, and they were just so kind. I would like to think of this as a bonding experience.) Our dinner was served by candle light which included a mix of all the scented candles I had on hand, of which I seem to have quite a few! LOL Thankfully, the power went back on before the REALLY cold night. I have to admit I was happy to go to bed with the hum of my dishwasher and heater lulling me to sleep.

One of the neat things that came from the storm happened the following day. We were invited to watch the Super Bowl at our neighbor's house! It was so great, and the kids had so much fun in a different house with a change of scenery and toys. It was just nice to sit and chat with such a great couple and their son who is Patrick's age (he's in the sledding picture).

Can I tell you that I am excited that we have another storm coming through with about 10-20" more?? ;)