Snow 2010

Well...they called for 2-5 inches of snow in our part of the area. We wound up with about 1/2 inch of sleet/snow accumulation. With one notable (16" in 24 hour) exception that I know of, South Charlotte tends to get the short end of the stick in the snow department. Regardless, we pulled out the saucer sleds and have made use of every inclined surface we have. Even Maggie took a ride at one point.
If we could just convince our across-the-street (ie- downhill) neighbor to move his car out of the road, we could start in our front yard and have a full yard-street-yard run! We'd end up plowing into his brick house, but surely we could cross that bridge when we get there.
Willow preferred to spend the day inside. Curled up in my snuggie.

Yellow!!

Makena got her yellow necklace today!!!
Short background as to why a yellow rubber necklace is a big deal: the Y Pool's swimming test policy awards a yellow necklace to kids who are able to float on their backs for 5 seconds and swim 15 feet (more like 20 in the indoor pool) unassisted. The yellow indicates that they can go down some of the waterslides and have some more freedom in the big pool.
Makena is a great swimmer. Left alone, she'll swim all over the place, dive for toys on the bottom and jump off the side over and over again. Put me into the mix, though, and all bets are off. I'm impatient (especially when it comes to swimming) and logical to a fault. Watching her swim 20 or 25 feet in water that is up to her chin and then watching her quiver in fear at swimming less than that distance in water just barely above her head makes me crazy! Parenting fail #492. Selfish mom moment #6,247. Humbling realization that I was putting my wants above my kid's feelings moment #4....of what will probably eventually be many more.
Finally, today, God sent us an angelic lifeguard. We were the only people in our section of the pool and I noticed she watched Makena swim all sorts of long distances in her comfort-depth areas. Then, when we came to her (in THE spot that always freaked Makena out)...even though Makena had agreed to try, the freak out began. Long story short- the lifeguard (without prompting) started talking to Makena and telling her she was certain she could do it. "I think you're a better swimmer than you think you are". Amazing. Exactly what I had been saying but, coming from a total stranger, it sunk in.
Thank you, Monique the lifeguard!

Let's be honest.

I haven't pulled the camera out since last year (good dramatic opening, no?). Even though we're three weeks into school and the new year, I feel like we're in limbo. We're two weeks away from leaving for Disney and we're in the throes of finalizing plans and budgets for a kitchen/breakfast area renovation. Details on that will follow- right now, we haven't even signed a contract with the GC yet so it's a bit premature. Interesting that I tell the masses on the interwebs that it would be "premature" to discuss it yet I spend entirely too much of my day researching kitchen cabinet manufacturers, pricing appliances and dreaming of paint colors.
Back to real life- the first two+ weeks of the year were sub-arctic around here. Not good for my sanity. I tend to hibernate. Yesterday and today, however, were 60 degree days and they were glorious! The kids spent ALL day outside (we finally gave them a much needed bath- apologies to anyone who came downwind of them in the last couple of days) and today we took a bike ride around the neighborhood. Our 'hood is slightly hilly...really most of the hills are gradual enough so that you don't notice they're hills until you're pushing a stroller or a kid on a bike up one. There is one decent hill that still terrifies Makena on a bike. She rides her brakes (if I can even convince her to ride and not walk the bike all the way down) and wails for me to hold onto her handlebars. Reese, on the other hand, just goes. Full speed ahead. I forsee this is how our lives are going to be for a long time.

Way Behind...

I've had oh so many more important things to do than blog lately. Like organize my tupperware. And my armoire/office supply cabinet. And the laundry closet. For those of you who think I'm kidding, think again. I love this stuff and the beginning of a new year gives me the excuse to do it and look (to the rest of the non-twitchy world) as a normal person.
A summary of late. December was a whirl. We visited the bears downtown (an annual tradition).
We participated in a Gingerbread House building "contest" at a friend's house (a GREAT family fun event that I would recommend everyone suggest that someone else hosts :) ) Our house was purposefully designed in a "green" theme- complete with a roof that slid off to one side. That was on purpose, I promise.
The girls actually "got" Christmas this year. We spent Christmas Eve with my parents, grandparents and Uncle James. They may well have gotten more presents there than they did the next morning at home.

On New Year's Eve, we had friends over for an annual game night and this year we braved putting eight kids to sleep in our (LITTLE) house. Believe it or not, it worked! Here is how the littlest arrived. I'm told both he and his 2 year old brother were originally in this shopping bag, but I was too slow with the camera to gather proof.
Until next Christmas!

Dependency

Brett has often accused me of being "addicted to the computer". Probably a fair statement at times (this particular time included), but I think I'm in control. Addicted, no. Dependent, yes. Our dinosaur of a computer kicked the bucket for the second time last week. I just got it back after five long days of twitchyness. It's not like I'm sitting on top of the thing fiddle-farting around on stupid websites all day but, wow, I realize how many things I use it for. A friend called to tell me an author that we both like has a new book coming out. Could I get to the library's website to reserve a copy? No. Could I check to see what time REI opens? Check my bank balance? Or, even more importantly, check Facebook?? No, no and NO. Aaaak!
Oh well. Shane the Computer Guy fixed us up again and we should be able to survive until tax refund time. Of course, I had more "mental blogs" lined up than ever but could I post them? Of course not! I'll get to that soon. Until then, know that our Christmas was fun, New Year's was also fun and the return of preschool is even more fun!