Confessions at lunchtime......

It started as I was making lunch...Ramen noodles for Autumn, ABCs and 123s for Allie, and leftover chili for me.  I know Mom of the Year when it comes to lunches!!!

Anyways..Autumn came in and said, Mom that ball thingy I've been swinging around, well it is stuck in the light.  Now the light that it is in is about 12-14 feet off the ground and it is above the stairs, so I am not sure a ladder will get it for us.  I looked at Autumn and asked why she had swung it so high...she said, I don't know but I told you right away!  UGH!!!

You see, I've been working with my girls to tell me things when they happen and to tell the truth first, explaining they will be in LESS trouble if they follow my plans.  I then told her thanks for letting me know.  She proceeded to ask if we had to tell Dad.  :)  I let her know if there was any chance of getting it down, Dad would have to know.

At lunch the girls unleashed on all the things they have done, but failed to tell me lately.  Including how they hop around in the shower (which they aren't supposed to do), how they have thrown things onto the roof of the house and are still there (buried under snow I am sure), and then proceed to laugh at each other.  As though giant weights have been lifted!

Now, I don't holler at them (often) and I think I watch them pretty carefully, but I am guessing they are much sneakier than I realized!  Either I will have to pay better attention and ask more questions, or no more eating lunch together!  :)

UGH....they did it again!!!

It ALWAYS happens!!  ALWAYS!!!!  I LOVE my girls sooooo much, but sometimes they can make me a little ummm......frustrated.

Autumn, is a talker....I know I should be used to it, she gets it from her father.  :)  She can talk and talk and talk and talk about NOTHING and EVERYTHING all at the same time.  It is quite a talent.  Just when I don't think I can take it anymore and I am ready to tell her to STOP talking she will once again say "MOM!!" That is when I snap and say "What?!?" in a way that is not a sweet mom sounding way and she says..."I just wanted to say I love you!"  UGH!!!!  It happened!!  I was so frustrated and then boom....the sweet loving sounds of my girls!

Allie does it too......She gets so excited talking....and kind of does this repeating thing over and over and over again....then I say in the NOT so sweet mommy voice...."come on, what is the point" and I get the response..."I just love talking to you mom!"  UGH!!!  Again!!!

I was completely reminded of this today.  Autumn has been stir crazy.  She can't sit still, she wants to be in, she wants to be out, she wants to ride the 4 wheeler, she wants something to eat, something to drink, you get the picture.  Mark and I were trying to eat...she kept coming up and wanting, asking, etc.  She finally said can I go outside.  Mark and I both said YES!!!  (in our more commanding voices)  Mark looks out a little later and the neighbors are out with their kids building a snowman.  Where is Autumn, trying to roll some snow by herself to make her snowman for her yard.  UGH......breaking my heart.  Sweet girl!  Mark went out and helped her make a big snowman.

I LOVE my girls......through it all.

Snow Day....the snow came!!!

It has been a great day!  Allie, who was sick last night, woke up better today!!!  She and I each slept on a couch last night and she made lots of noises and coughed lots, but wasn't sick!!!  Yea!!!

The snow started here around 7 this morning.  Just a nice light pretty snow.  I had hot chocolate (with whip cream on it) and pancakes for breakfast.  It was so nice and warm!  For lunch I had Frito chili pie and I have had plenty of snacks today!  :)

My family in Siloam Springs got 24 1/2 inches today!!!  They set a record for Arkansas..that is AWESOME!  At last measure, by Autumn....the new weather stalker, we have 8 inches in our yard and the snow is still falling.

We took the girls out sledding, by pulling them on the back of the 4 wheeler.  It was so fun!  Different from the hill I used to sled down as a kid, but still so fun!  Mark pulled me as well, but coming back up the road was a little tough....the sled didn't quite stay under me.  Mark said I looked like a polar bear...I took that as a compliment!

I did take a nap today, which was fabulous!!!  Autumn has been a little stir crazy.  She goes outside every 10 minutes to measure the snow and then tracks snow everywhere, though she says "sorry" every time.  Mark and I are SURE we drove our parents crazy as kids!  We're SORRY!


Allie has watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 at least 5 times today.  Then she even wrote a story about them.  I am so impressed with her handwriting and I LOVE how she spells words (the way she says them).

I could never get my feet to warm up after being outside today.  Mark was sweet enough to get me a hand warmer to put in one of my socks and he gave me his hand muff to put on my other foot.  That is jut one of the many ways I know he loves me!

I've LOVED this day.  My house is messy and there is lots of laundry to do, but today was a free day and I took it!  Happy Snow day everyone!  :)

Snow day before the snow...

School is cancelled for tomorrow.  We have no snow, nor any to come for a while, but we cancelled school for tomorrow by around 11:00 this morning.  Mark found out tonight (by around 6:30) that he does not have to go to work tomorrow because of the snow that is coming!

There are so many different ways to view this snow day.  You see, we have already missed school 4 times this year because of snow.  That is WILD for us!  In my 10 years of teaching, I don't think we ever missed that much school because of snow and that doesn't include tomorrow...or any days after that!  As a kid in school, I really don't remember missing that many days...we probably did, I just don't remember because I was a kid and probably paid NO ATTENTION to it!

As a teacher....I'm okay with it.  Yes, I know I will have to make up these days in June.  BLAH!!!  My kids came in 4th block and said, "Since today is our last day, do we have to..."  What?  Last day?  The kids said, well we won't be here tomorrow...I informed them that they may miss a day or 2, but we are no where near the "last day."

As a mom...my girls are SOOOOOO excited about the possibility of snow.  Autumn is planning to track it by the hour.  She already has a notepad set up to write down the measurements! Allie is excited too!!!

As me....the idea of drinking cocoa, eating Frito chili pie and other snacks, sleeping in, staying in my pajamas all day, and watching movies with my family...sounds pretty AWESOME!!

So, in June, when I am wishing I had not had these snow days...I will try to remember how happy my girls are and how relaxing my days were (hopefully anyways).  Unfortunately, while writing this my sweet Alliebug got sick.  So maybe tomorrow will be a day for Allie to feel better and hope no one else gets it!

Enjoy your snow day!  :)

I blame it on being a mom.....

I don't remember crying at songs, movies, TV shows, or commercials as a kid.  My mom did.  Gosh, she cried all the time at those kind of things.  (Okay...maybe not all the time, but she did cry.)  When I looked at her completely puzzled and asked why she was crying she would say a brick fell from the ceiling and hit her in the head and it hurt.  For the first 15 years of my life I think I looked at the roof.  :)  I just figured she was weird like that.  (Mom, I know you appreciate me right now...I do love you.)  :)  As a kid I do remember crying...I take that back SOBBING at a movie called Savannah Smiles.  Two robbers ended up with a runaway girl in their car and decided to keep her and ransom her back to her rich parents, Bootsie and someone else were the guys names.  In the end, they gave the girl back and didn't collect any ransom.  She had taught them so much and they learned to love her...I could cry right now!!!  Mom didn't understand why I cried at that one.  Then, one night I cried a St. Jude's commercial...I was determined we should give all of our money to them.  Mom told me we donated to lots of causes...I still cried.  But, I think that was the only movies or commercials I cried through.

                                                                 Savannah Smiles



Now, I cry at EVERYTHING!!!  Folgers commercials, songs on the radio that have ANYTHING to do with kids, movies, TV shows, Hallmark commercials, the Brady Christmas specials.    When Carol starts singing and Mike comes out of the cave....how can you not cry????   The song the Christmas Shoes (and the movie for that matter) put me over the top.  I mean I might as well be done for the day...my eyes puff up and I can barely make it!!!  The part in Armageddon when Bruce Willis tells Liv Tyler goodbye...or when the dad sees his son when they return from space...Oh my gosh...I'm ridiculous!!!

I don't know when the change happened.  I'm going to blame on being a mom, the fact I know a new kind of love now.  This is has to be the reason I cry at commercials where a person comes in and makes his parents coffee and his sister puts a bow on him and says...you are my Christmas present (Folgers).  I mean really....it's a commercial!!  Ugh!!!

                                                   Waiting on Mike to come out of the cave..

Crying, I'm sure can be therapeutic.  I know I can always change the channels or stations, but I just have to watch and get it out.  Mark is very patient with me....he will bring me tissues, today while watching The Last Song, I used a random napkin that had obviously had some peanut butter on it, but oh well.

I know others who are like me, thank goodness.  There are days watching my girls walk into school makes me want to cry, watching them play together, help each other, or when they tell me they love...I want to cry.  I can only imagine how much more crying is in my future.  I love my kids...but I blame them for me being an emotional basket case!!   But, I am good with being their emotional basket case! :)

                               I wouldn't change it for anything....my sweet babies!  Who are growing up too fast!

Oops.....maybe a different day....

So, we all knew snow was a possibility for us today.  Several schools closed before the snow came in.  Our school closed at 9:30.  So, I went for a couple hours gave a test, went and picked up the girls and brought them home.  Mark came home early today as well.   My sweet family was safe at home by 11:00.

It think it was around noon that I laid down for my nap.  The girls (who were starved by 10:30) ate the lunches we packed for school around 11-11:30.  I heated up some ABC's and 123's around 11:30 as well.  After that I found my spot on the couch and that is pretty much where I stayed all day.  The girls would come running through and I found myself barely noticing...or at least sleeping through it.  I woke up around 1 and proceeded to find something to eat and lay some more.  The girls started getting a little wild around 2, so I suggested they go out in the snow.  I stayed inside.  I was in fleece everything with my robe and slippers on.  The girls stayed out for a while, I think I found another snack and went back to the couch.  The girls came in and watched TV and played some video games.  I think at that point I was on NCIS episode 3 of the day and eating another snack.  Mark made the girls pancakes for dinner.  I had leftover spaghetti...because I'm sure I was starved after my strenuous day.  Ha!!

It is 9:15 and I am back on the couch.  The girls are in bed and know that I love them.  Some people have had quite a few snow days lately and I have seen where families have played outside, built snowmen, done various arts and crafts, baked, played games....and me I laid on the couch and ate.  My girls NEVER went hungry and were told they were loved often, but I just failed miserably on being the cool mom who embraces the snow day with a love for doing lots and making millions of memories.  Oops......maybe a different day.....


This is a picture from a previous snow day...when I was a little more....ummmm....active!  :)

Friends...hard to find the good ones!

Friendship is an interesting thing.  Allie (my 5 year old) is at the stage where she has a couple "best friends" and then the "best friend" which is the person she played with that day.  Autumn (8) is a  trickier situation...she is at the stage where she has a BFF and when it changes we have LOTS of DRAMA!!!  I try to tell her that friends change over time.  I try to remind her that she plays with different people all the time and that it is okay if you don't play with the same person every day.

The truth is that friendship is tough.  I had lots of friends when I was in school and then I had good friends in college.  I got married and moved away from most of my friends.  Now, don't get me wrong...Mark is my best friend.  He listens to me and says all the correct things...but sometimes you need your girlfriends.  That was tough for me when we first got married.  Mark knew people around here and I didn't.  It has just been this past few years where I really feel like I have made some true BFFS down here.  I still have friends from home who I can pick up the phone and we talk like we never left off and I LOVE those people.

I have some friends who I have completely connected with because of Facebook and those people have such an important part in my life and often get my "secret statuses" (you know...the things you really feel and want to say, but know you shouldn't).  Then there are my friends who live close and I get to see on a regular basis.  They send Chex Mix to my room, write on my wall randomly, and send me e-mails asking why I'm not at lunch yet.  I love getting random texts from friends filling me in on their day or asking about mine.  Some of my friends are younger than me (this makes me sad...I don't like to think I am aging), some are my age, and some are older than me....or more experienced than me.  Either way....they all make life so much better.

I know my girls are still learning about friendship...but I hope they are as lucky as I am in the friend department!!!  It sure makes each day better!!!