Snow Break

Kate appropriately dubbed and referred to SPRING BREAK as SNOW BREAK this year.  It's sad when the kids are even over the snow and groan when they hear accumulation is possible.  Besides the strange weather and having to tweak a few plans, the kids did enjoy having a week off of school.

 Look at the depth of this snow!  This was certainly a no joke snowfall! 

All ready to head off to church for Resurrection Sunday!

The Easter egg hunt had to be indoors this year, but there were still plenty of hiding spots. Even Howdy Doody got in on the action!:)

 Scott- 9

 Natalie-7

 Kate- 5

We were able to have a few playdates with friends and also some extra time with the cousins over break!

Scott has a little odometer on his bike, and he and Grandpa like to compare mileage.  His goal was 200 miles by April 1st, and so he did several trips up and down the driveway in the cold recently to meet his goal!  He then reset his odometer and has started accumulating miles for next year's goal. 

 And finally, a crazy cat picture.  Ever feel this way?!

March Minutes

Gotta get a March post up before April!!  We've had some nice days sprinkled in over the past month.  It has given us a hope of the warmer weather to come.  It's so nice when the kids can go out for some driveway fun!

 They were playing Follow the Leader (if you couldn't tell). 

A few weeks ago, I got to attend Scott's field trip to a park to learn how maple syrup is made.  I told Jon that I'm glad I didn't have a quiz afterwards because despite a detailed tour and explanation, I was too cold to focus on the guide's words.  The third graders however didn't seem to mind the chilly morning or the MUD! 

Natalie dressed like American Girl Doll, Julie, for a special day at school.  Kate wanted to join in the fun too, of course!

Natalie's looking more grown up all the time.  Comments like this though scare me...

Natalie (frustrated):  Mommy, as soon as I move out of this house, I am gonna buy 3 pairs of high heels, 4 bottles of nail polish, 2 bottles of lipstick, and 10 pairs of earrings!

Scott had a big week last week.  He was in the spelling bee and the talent show!  We are proud of him, and he is relieved that both are behind him.  It seems that everyone who was in an elementary spelling bee has very vivid memories of it and forever remembers the word they went out on.  Mine, I hate to admit, was GHOST!  Scott will remember spelling NOTIFY when the announcer said NOTIFIED.  Ugh. 

Blurry picture below...I may have been shaking for him just a bit!:)

Natalie:  How can anyone look like their dad?  Since babies come out of moms, I get why they look like their moms, but how come some people look like their dads?  If you just kiss someone on the lips, that doesn't make you look like them.  I could kiss you on the lips, but that's not going to make you have a baby that looks like me. 

Me:  Well, it's more complicated than that.  The dads have more of a role.

Kate (very seriously):  Yeah, Daddy pays all of the money for us. 

 New blog material coming in two weeks...these furry friends may be a little jealous...

Random February Stories and Happenings

*Kate was counting her coins and asked, "Do you think I have enough money yet for a car?"

I humored her and asked, "Well, what kind of car do you want- a new car or a used car?"

She shrugged and said, "A used one would be fine." 

Keep saving, Sweetie.  :)

*Awhile back, I was describing our hair color to the girls as dirty blonde.  Natalie was very offended by this color description.   Scott thought it was hilarious!

Yesterday, Kate was seriously trying to describe someone and said the girl had stinky blonde hair.  Ha!

*Playing UNO with her dolls is fun, but playing UNO with Grammy is the best!

*Natalie and I had fun at a church Sunday School party!  Bonus points- we haven't killed the potted plant yet!

*Last weekend, we went to a dog show!  We didn't know what to expect, but it was fun to see so many different dog breeds all in one spot.  The golden retrievers were so adorable!

Scott did a report on Alaskan Malamutes earlier in the school year, so it was fun to see them up close, too!

A year ago, Natalie was TERRIFIED of dogs.  She's come a long way and has now joined in on the lobbying for a puppy. 

Kate could ride the Saint Bernards.   SO BIG!

After seeing many dogs, the golden retrievers ended up being our favorite and the ones that we kept returning to watch.   Make some room kitties...a dog may be in our future...time will tell. 

*The girls still think matching dresses are the best, but size mix-ups may happen every now and then.  Oops!

*So we are only a few days into it, but I'm trying a new experiment.  I've taped a $1 bill onto each of the kids' doors.  If they keep their room picked up all week, they get to keep the dollar.  Each night at 7:00, I do an "inspection" and can take their $1 bill if their room is a mess.  SO FAR, I'm very impressed with the results.  The kids are super motivated and are nervous Mean Mom is going to take their money.  Tech-savvy Scott even set up a reoccurring alarm to go off each evening at 6:40 as a reminder to clean his room before inspection time.  Tonight I was pleasantly surprised; they were all engrossed in a television show when Scott's alarm went off.  He immediately paused the show, alerted the others, and all three kids RAN to their rooms to tidy up.  Wowzers!   Who knew?!

Steppin' & Snackin'

So in keeping with my regular New Year's resolutions, I've been trying to exercise more.  Kate, my faithful side kick, has been doing step aerobics with me.  We work out to a 90's Denise Austin step tape- originally on VHS- that has been converted to DVD.  It's a gem.   

Kate has been making me laugh while stepping together.  (Well...laugh on the inside because I don't do much laughing during the workout.)

Here are a few of her lines...
**"Mommy, I know it gets long for you, but maybe you should start doing it twice a day."

**(Referring to Denise) "Does she even know what brownies are?"

**Sitting down for a rest, Kate said, "It's okay if I take breaks because you need more workout than I do."

**"Why did Denise make this so long?"  (Obviously on a first name basis now.)

**And finally- the question that gets asked everytime we workout- "Do you think Denise is wearing any underwear?"  Her swimsuit type leotard really intrigues Kate.  

Natalie recently had Colonial Day at school.  She was a cute Colonial girl!:) 

She has a sweet second grade teacher!

I told the kids that we had to leave for Scott's piano lesson and Natalie groaned.  I paraphrased Hebrews 12:11..."No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."  Much to my surprise Natalie changed her attitude, and said, "Yeah...someday later Scott can play at a church and earn a lot of money for our family."  (That's why we have him in lessons, of course!;)

Kate and I were making brownies one afternoon.  (No wonder the step aerobics aren't working!)  I was talking out loud and said, "Half a cup of vegetable oil." 

Kate stopped stirring and said, "Wait...vegetable??  Are you sure that's one of the ingredients?"

I told Jon that Prince caught a mouse and Jon said that the cat is earning his keep.  I won't tell him which type of mouse he caught!;)

After Scott created a game for all of the kids to play in the basement, Natalie said, "Scott thinks of all the really great ideas.  I'm glad we have him.  (Me too, Natalie!)

Natalie was supposed to send in a picture with 100 of something for 100's day.  Here she is with 100 Beanie Boo Eyeballs! 

Kate doesn't play independently very often, so I was thrilled when she decided to strike up a game of UNO with her dolls.  She said, "I think I'm maybe gonna win...UNO!" And..."Maybe I should let someone else go first next time."

Kate:  I'm trying to be nice, but it's hard to be nice because I can't think of anything nice to do.

I vetoed this game the first time the kids played it thinking that someone was going to get hurt.  I had to laugh a few days later when I saw the kids playing this modified version.  Scott had passed out helmets for safer play!  Spring, where art thou?!