Blizzard February 2, 2011

We've just experienced the Blizzard of 2011.  There were 18 inches of snow on the ground when we woke up this morning.  There were reported snow drifts of up to 5 feet at some places in the city!  Luckily our snow drifts were only about 2 feet.  Luckily our driveway isn't terribly long.  This shortened the time we needed to shovel.  However, the time spent shoveling was still long and intense.  Luckily my husband did the bulk of it.  I did about an hour.  He was at it even longer than that.  It was TERRIBLE!

          
One nice thing that happens when these storms come is that you see the kind hearts of people.  People are helping their neighbors dig their cars out that have been plowed in, people are helping strangers shovel their driveways and sidewalks, and people are pushing stuck cars through snow and ice.  There were reports of thousands of stranded motorists in Chicago.  How terrible that must have been for them!  There were wonderful good Samaritans down there that were bringing hot coffee and granola bars to people that were stranded for hours in their cars on a stretch of road down there. 

Thankfully the snow stopped early this morning and we've been able to dig ourselves out with relative ease compared to others.  The kids played outside for a bit this morning while we shoveled.  That was until their snow pants and gloves were soaked.  Then we came in for hot chocolate and to snuggle in a warm blanket.  Tomorrow it's back to school and we see how far into the streets cars are parked because the snow keeps them from parking anywhere near the curb.  It's going to be frigid temperatures for the next few days (to be expected around here after a snow storm), but I'm hoping it will be warm enough to melt some of this snow before we get a new batch of it.

For the Love of Music

My kids LOVE music!  I honestly think it started from the womb.  I'm one of those people that LOVES to sing alone.  And I have been known to throw some passion and volume into my singing.  I'd be pretty embarrassed if someone actually caught me doing this.  I'll do it with my kids and sometimes hubby around but definitely nobody else.

After the kids were born, the singing didn't stop.  I would play a cd with their name in the songs that my mom had given me for each of them until they fell asleep.  Also, this day I sing four songs to them before bed.  They love getting musical instruments as gifts: numerous play guitars over the years, maracas, tambourine, a metal drum set (still not sure I should have purchased the drum set), recorders from the dollar store (wow those things are loud), the Paper Jams Guitar for Christmas 2010, and probably some others I'm not thinking of.  My son also loves playing Guitar Hero.  He does very well on the drums and he's only 5 1/2.  Beyond the instruments, the kids love to sing whether it's with Hannah Montana or Jonas Brothers.  They even make up quite a few songs on their own.  They are quite the performers!

So with all of this exposure to music it's only natural to assume I'd want them in music at school right?  At their school the only options they have are violin and cello at their age.  My thought is "I'll take what I can get."  Problem?  It's not their favorite thing to do... ok they would like to quit, but I think taking the violin strengthens their music knowledge (for future instruments).   In addition, it's been proven that kids that participate in  musical activities do better in school.  With those two strong factors present, I want them to stick with it until they can switch to a different instrument when they get into a higher grade.  I think they can switch instruments in either third or fourth grade at their school.  Then they can be in band.  I hope they have more commitment when it comes to an instrument they want to play.  Am I forcing something on them?  Yes, I suppose but with 5 minutes of practice time a night (that I don't even commit to sometimes) I figure they'll survive.  They aren't doing a ton of other activities that pile onto their responsibilities of their instrument so I feel good about the lessons.

I'm looking forward to listening to my kids' music for many years to come.  What a blessing!!

Another Christmas Season Come and Gone

Before we had kids I was determined to keep the tree up through my birthday (December 30th).   This year the tree comes down tomorrow.  I can't stand the lack of mobility in our living room any longer.  It is wall to wall disorganization between new toys, old toys, and junk that just plain needs to be thrown out.  Yes, I should have cleared out much of the clutter prior to Christmas.  But between the Christmas related duties and making calls to potential business partners I never seemed to get around to it.

All in all it's been a wonderful holiday season.  It started with me losing the job I hated in November.  That same day I committed to Internet CEO Moms.

What I DIDN'T do this holiday season
With the beginnings of my new business getting underway, I admittedly didn't spend a lot of time on the holiday hubbub.   I missed out on holiday baking for the family except the 2 pies I made Christmas morning.  I also didn't get Christmas cards out like I would have liked.  I wonder if a lot of people had trouble with that this year.  It didn't seem like we received a lot of cards this year. We didn't have to miss my husband attending holiday events as he is no longer on 3rd shift.  During the past couple of years he has missed so much having to sleep to prepare for an evening shift.  It's nice not feeling like I'm a single mother when I go to events.  I'll have to remind him how much I love him being around now that he isn't on 3rd shift anymore.

What I DID do this holiday season
I made time for shopping and made cookies for a craft make and take for the kids' school.  I took a lot of time to appreciate my new role as stay-at-home mom to my 5 1/2 and almost 7 year old.  We spent family time together going through a local neighborhood that has an annual tradition of decking their homes out in lights and accessories until their hearts are content.  It is such a beautiful sight!  It's exciting for kids and grownups alike!  We also went to Christmas Eve services at church.  The service is of course busier than our usual service so the kids couldn't bring the coloring books and such they usually bring to keep themselves busy.  In light of that they behaved perfectly.  The service was beautiful as always.

We feel so blessed and grateful this holiday season.  We gratefully celebrate the Lord sending his only Son for us.  What a glorious gift.  We are also grateful that our family is healthy and happy and so close.  It has been a wonderful holiday season. 

What was the most memorable part of your holiday season?

First Snow in Fall 2010

The first snow fall of Fall 2010 hit us Friday evening and into Saturday. 5+ inches were predicted but I think it was only 3 or so. Note to Southerners and others that don’t get snow: That’s nothing. Well, nothing to panic about. Roads were a bit slippery I hear but by the time we got onto the roads in the afternoon Saturday it was fine.

What do I like about snow? Not a whole lot. One great thing that came from this snow was that it came down wet enough to create snowballs and snowmen. I took the kids outside around 11am Saturday morning to give me a chance to shovel and them a chance to play.

Once the shoveling was done the kids asked if the snow was good enough to make a snowman. I reluctantly said “yes.” I say “reluctantly” because my initial thought was it required too much energy. That same person knows how important it is to create memories with and for her kids. So I helped them make a snowman. I think the last time I did that was when my daughter was 2 or 3 (so I did ALL of the work then) and my son was so little he stayed in the house with Daddy. Well now they are 5 and 6 ½ so they were both able to help me a bit. We made a medium size snowman. Not nearly the caliber I would have made as a teen, but large enough for my young ones. Once the snowman was made we had to figure out how to adorn her… oh yes, my daughter decided it was a girl. We found a scarf and baseball cap in the house along with some twigs for arms outside and leaves for facial features. Obviously we are not ones to stock our home with Buttons, Coal, a Carrot or top hat. We improvised and the kids loved every minute. Less the minute they argued over who would put the arms into the sockets.

When limbs were attached the kids decided it was time for a snowball fight. They both teamed up against me to make it more of a fair fight. It was so fun to laugh with them and run around like a kid. After about 15 minutes of snow flying back and forth we decided to make our way inside for some hot cocoa.

What a wonderful time that will live on in their memories as well as mine! Today it was quite frigid outside making the snow impossible to form into a ball. So the kids sled on the small hill that makes our backyard. That only lasted about 10 minutes as the cold creates stiff limits on time spent outside. Time for more hot cocoa. Yummmmmm!

OK The snow can melt now!!!

What to do....

Am I the only one that can never think of anything to do with my kids? I feel so unimaginative! I want to take them out of the house and do something for free or extremely reasonably priced but there just isn’t enough variety in my head. I say “in my head” because I know there are a wide range of things to do out there… I just can’t think of them. There is the library, 2 childrens’ museums, the zoo, bowling, swimming, the park... then my mind goes blank. Oh! Another unhealthy option is to go shopping to get out of the house. It’s most difficult in the winter. It’s getting to be 30 degrees and below around here lately. Although many people are willing to bare that temperature for extended periods of time, my limit is about 15 minutes.

So if “out of the house” isn’t an option what do we do? What is wrong with me that I can’t think of something fun to d? Sometimes I’d like to throw the tv out the window. I feel like I use it as a crutch. I mean my kids aren’t glued to the tv but it’s always on at least in the background. I find myself Googling “kids activities” or some related keywords in order to find something fun to do. I suppose it’s better than not putting forth any effort in the search of activities that will entertain my kids without allowing them to veg out in front of the tv.

Is it just me? What do you do when you can’t think of anything to do with the kids?

Bedtime for little ones

Do you co-sleep?

I never thought of it as co-sleeping, but I suppose I did a bit of it. I think people that smoother their kids while co-sleeping have drugs or alcohol in their system. I rocked my first one until she would fall alseep so she wasn’t used to me not being there when she went to sleep. So when she moved to her toddler bed I would rock her and if she wasn’t sleeping yet I would lay down with her until she would fall asleep. Inevitably I would fall asleep with her and wake up two hours later to go to my own bed. Also while I was nursing much of the night was spent with my babies on the couch. I slept while they ate.

It could be just my kids' personalities but I wonder if sleep patterns early on help with the closeness you have with your child. My kids are very attached to me. In a healthy way I feel, but I appreciate that they wonder where I went two minutes after I left the room. Or that they want me to come with them when other kids would do things independently. I don't have to worry about them wandering too far off because they want to be close to me. I suppose there could be various reasons for this, but the early sleep patterns could play a role I believe.