Home

(this is that haven't' picked up my camera in forever post)

I had Abigail home with me yesterday. She was sick. Not too bad but just enough to need to be home. And you know what I'm going to say next, I loved it.

Mid morning yesterday we started getting some snow and then the day got even better... "emergency closing" call came from the school and Anna joined out wintry, cozy home for the remainder of the day.

Gosh I love January.

And then even better... early in the afternoon Scott walked in the door.

So we filled our day with games. Abigail is silly funny when she plays charades. You laugh out loud til you ache. And we did when she was trying to have us guess "singing Christmas carols". She was mouthing the words and we couldn't for the life of us figure out what she was doing. I read every single snow book we own. (getting excited about taking out the Valentine ones today)

And today I got Scott and my two girls where they needed to be and once again the house is empty. Yes, I love being home. And yes, there is much to do so that I can be the mother I want to be when I pick them up.

My day is busy with laundry, ironing, dinner prep, meal planning, dusting, vacuuming, errands and the like. I am full, and I am grateful for this life that I lead.

But boy oh boy... I'm still getting used to this. I was good a baby on my hip... a nap schedule to shift and adjust based on Anna's pick up times mommy.

I am a mother and I suppose in part I will forever feel that way. I cherish the little that they still are and the home that I am still in because they are still young.

I'm grateful too to be better now. I had five straight days of a fever, non stop, day and night. It was not fun. But it sure makes me appreciate being able to do my dailiness.



"The moments I hold most dear are those that arise unbidden in the course of any day - small, evanescent, scarcely worth noticing except for the fact that I am being offered just for a second, a glimpse into another's soul. if my experience as a mother has taught me anything, it is to be awake for such moments, to keep life simple enough to allow them to occur, and to appreciate their fleeting beauty..." (from Mitten Strings for God) 

I don't think I've ever let a day go by without thinking how 'if she was in daycare' or 'if we had to have a babysitter here for the morning' I would have missed this.  I am so grateful. 

Little Purse Camera Post

Today I was sick.  You know the achy, skin hurts kind.  And Scott had an 'after the girls are in bed' meeting.  And it was 'Pizza Bingo Night' at their school.  I didn't want to go.  It was something like 4 degrees out.  Perfect night to stay in.  But there's only one Kindergarten 'pizza bingo night' and one fourth grade 'pizza bingo night' so we went. 

I had to make Abigail's 'fake pizza' and got so mad at Anna who took the last 'Abigail' "not allergic" cookie off of the dessert tray.  So 45 minutes before we left I was making pizza and whipping up a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies.  So much for it being an easy dinner night. 

Someone (okay me) forgot to explain to Abigail that she would probably not be winning bingo.  Anna never had a problem with it even back in Kindergarten.  But Abigail just couldn't understand why she wasn't winning game after game.  When the tears started, we exited. 

But there were the sweet moments there too.  Like when Anna's teacher came up to us to tell us how proud she was of Anna for sharing in front of the whole class today a project she made.  (first time ever sharing in front of the class) And then there were the boys that kept coming up to Abigail to say hi to her.  She blushed and said hi right back. 

So I'll remember the good and forget the bad. 

And these moments are good too...

"I like to be at home." (that's my girl) :)



They've been walking over a mile every single night together. I have to distract Abigail because if she went they wouldn't get very far. Anna brings a flashlight and Scott brings her geometry facts to help her study for an upcoming test.



Scrapbooking in the playroom





I truly NEVER thought it would happen.



Sister crafting



Little tongue through the new hole smile



After bath



Ready for the day



Ahh



Sweetest little 'at home' Kindergarten birthday party.



This is what my kitchen floor looks like when we walk in from tennis on Friday afternoons.

Three Day Weekend

Yesterday as the snow was lightly falling down and we were 'all home' (my favorite two words in the world) all day I was thinking "every weekend should be three days"!  It was lovely...

tennis on friday afternoon
anna's art school on saturday morning
birthday party abigail attended on saturday afternoon
saturday night 'at home' (there's my favorite two words again) date night
new game playing
sunday fourth grade religious ed teaching
church going
sunday afternoon parents visiting
sunday night relaxing
monday morning baking
morning jammies movie watching (Lady and the Tramp)
monday loving



It was the Christmas of 2010 when the girls got these fairy tree houses. They still love them!



Lip gloss and pearls for church (of course I was in such a rush I forgot both)



My grandfathers bird feeder that my Dad gave me.





I love love love January but I miss being able to take pictures outside. So I tried an indoor photoshoot... it went terribly wrong! :)



Hours of crafting with her sister.



Puzzles with daddy



Oh, by far the best French Toast Recipe I've ever found... "Apple Spice French Toast" (I'll post the recipe soon) Love that I made it the night before and then just popped it in the oven in the morning. While we were watching 'Lady in the Tramp' in our jammies the house smelled soooo good!



Yes, a weekend with my little family, especially a three day one is always wonderful!

Friday Happy

This was such a good week ~
a snow day smack in the middle ~ abigail's kinder teacher 'needed' me for an extra day more than 'my usual' (that Kinder class makes me so happy) ~ daddy was home every. single. night. for dinner ~ and to top it all off... a THREE DAY WEEKEND!

I love tea.  I drink herbal tea all day long from my favorite new tea cup. 



Today I made Strawberry Banana Scones.  So easy... and they all tell me so good. 

1 banana
1 2/3 c. bascuit baking mix
1/4 c milk
1 egg, beaten
1 t almond extract
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c strawberries, diced

Line a 8x6 baking pan with aluminum foil; place unpeeled banana in pan.  Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Peel banana; mash in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine baking mix, milk, egg, almond extract and sugar.  Fold in strawberries and banana.  Press dough evenly into the aluminum foil-lined baking pan.  Lift out foil; cut dough into 6 equal portions.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden.  Makes 6

Happy weekend ~

This and That

I started scrapbooking again this week.  It felt good.  Something about seeing the pictures go on pages, matching paper with the colors in the girls outfits, cutting, and stickers.  I am all fired up about it.  Want to come over and scrapbook with me?  :)

Been reading this devotional at night with Scott.  One per night.  It inspires such good talk, praying together, and an overall positive feeling right before turning out the light. 

Drinking herbal tea with no sweetener in it.  I'm finally used to it.  (that is no activia in my tea)  I gave up sugar cold on November 25th 2012.  I know that sounds dramatic.  But it was a big deal for me. I was diagnosed (that sounds a bit dramatic too when it's really no big deal) in high school with hypoglycemia.  I've found my way around it and through it all of these years.  In the past I really made sure that I had a ton of protein, exercised, but never gave up sugar like I was supposed to.  And I kept it 'at bay' pretty well.  When I was pregnant with Abigail I had gestational diabetes and I think (although a doctor has never confirmed) that it made my hypoglycemia worse.  I was always (as in every day) pushing my protein to keep my blood sugar level up but it was always after I was experiencing symptoms.  I felt horrible at different parts every day.  The uncontrollable shaking was the worst.  I couldn't concentrate, was irritable, and really shouldn't have been driving 'shaky'. 

This fall when Abigail went back to school I was writing out some fitness goals for myself when it dawned on me that I needed to get a hold of my hypoglycemia.  So I amazoned a book, skimmed it, and quit sugar once and for all.  It was miserable at first especially since it was Christmas season.  Also miserable since I love love love to bake.  I bake almost every day for Abigail and well, I used to for me too.  Now I just bake for my family. 

It's not about weight loss for me at all.  Believe me when I gave up sugar I started finding my 'cozy treats' in other things.  I'm queen of yummy appetizers now.  It's not the sweet banana bread or homemade cookies anymore but I love my walnut brie toasts.  I feel so much better.  I've heard people say that before that have gone on diets.  This is not a diet at all.  But I don't get the symptoms anymore and that makes me happy.  And yes, I still fill my candy dish in the living room with seasonal candies.  And every time I want one so bad I can't take it, I run to my cookbooks and plan out the next 'ap night' with Scott. 

And since I can't have a post without a picture... Abigail trying out her ladybug wings. 



Looking forward to Friday and the upcoming weekend. 

Snow Day

This day needs a song!



I love the way Anna came out of her room this morning. All messy hair, rubbing her eyes, looking so confused like I forgot to wake her up for school.


It was about an hour and a half later than I have to wake her for school. And Abigail proudly announced, "it's a snow day!"





There's nothing better than a snow day.  Yes, we have to make it up in June but I still love em! 



Girls at home with me all day.  Games, crafts, soup simmering for dinner, playing in the snow.  (okay well that was with daddy when he got home while I did the hot chocolate) 



Yes, if it's January, bring on the snow! 

"It's Too Good To Be True!"

Those were Abigail's words this morning when she discovered what the tooth fairy had left her. One golden coin.



It happened at bath time. 



I was drying her off with her towel. I heard her cry out "ouch!" I thought, "what in the world... how could that have hurt?"



Then she turned and showed me her tooth in her hand.

She was oh so happy!



She decided to leave it for the tooth fairy in her little mini tea set.





But then when Anna came home she offered her own tooth fairy cup.



It was a magical night for sure




I made her this button to wear to school the next day.



Kids at dismissal are still saying to their mom's as they exit the school, "that's the girl who lost her tooth mom!"

This is Anna on the morning she lost her first tooth. 



Have I ever said on this blog that I'm so grateful to be a stay at home mommy?  Oh... I sure am! 

Weekend

I feel like this post needs a song.

Random pictures off of my little camera...

Abigail packing for her play date at Grandma's house



Diaper folding... I love girls!



Typical evening







Dinnertime sometimes is really silly



Word of the week was you... but I love her sentence



This Weekend We

watched the girls play tennis
played
anna had Art School
abigail had Group Viola class
she went to my parents
we took Anna out to dinner... yum
went to pick up Abigail at my parents and had tea
taught fourth grade church school
went to Mass
anna had an afternoon birthday party
cleaned
worked out
had our first 'i need this for tomorrow' episode (music book for school orchestra... store closes in 15 minutes)
did laundry
made meatball calzones
read about Disney
stressed about taking my EE daughter to a place where it'll be hard to find food she can eat
sent my wedding VHS tapes away to be made into DVDs
scott started building shelves for the shed for more room in our garage someday
edited some pictures
painted my nails... they always have to be done these days even if they're smudged
curled my hair... that's a new thing with me too
worked out again
cleaned some more
lit my 'cozy cabin' candle
read in bed
played fairy magnets with abigail
wondered how it went by so fast.

On Sunday night I felt so sad, and I told Scott that if I could give the weekend a grade it would get a C-.  Yes, we did lots of fun things but there was too much separateness.  I need and the four of us all need time together.  I blame it on the calendar on my phone.  It's hard to see the whole month, and I just can't get a good sense of the whole month when I'm putting in dates.  Too many things get scheduled and that's what happened this weekend. 

As soon as Anna got in from her birthday party we only had 30 minutes until bedtime but we made it family time and it felt good.  After the girls were in bed he helped me redo my calendar.  (I think he was afraid of another over scheduled calender breakdown from me).  It's now printed and in a pretty folder on my desk.  And I can still use my calendar on my phone to update too.  I just need to see that whole month. 

I can glance at it and know when to say no.  And no means yes to more family time.  Yes to a more stable Anna.  Yes to healthier meals.  Yes to being really ready for the week ahead. Yes to my hearing their giggles.  Yes to giving them the time to giggle.  Just yes. 

But I was thankful, oh so thankful that I was home for this. 



It happened at bath time.  One of my favorite parts of the day.  Somehow my little five year old loosing a tooth put everything I was feeling about not having enough 'us' this weekend into perspective.