Weather-Tootie Toot

Yesterday was 55 degrees and mostly sunny. We spent a ton of time outside and Justin wore flip flops. We marveled at how warm (not cold) it was and related it to many mornings at the beach on our CA visit. We didn't wear coats or mittens, we rode trikes and raked leaves and talked about all the things we want to do with our yard this year.

Today is 35 and it's been snowing like crazy all day. We spent all morning on the couch watching a movie and I finished crocheting a scarf from the new fancy yarn I got at the fancy yarn store this weekend. And I stopped and stared out the window at the snowfall too many times to count. Yesterday and today have been equally exciting weather wise. As I drove home from dropping Ty off at preschool I wondered if there is anything more beautiful than a couple of inches of snow stacked on the tree branches and bushes and frosting the street.

I love the whacked out weather. Both days were awesome.
---------
Ty asked me this morning if I toot. Well, yes son, I do. He then let me know that it is ok if I toot on my blanket, but I am not aloud to toot on his kitty. Alrighty then. Hysterical I tell ya!

~

I'd like to have a moment of silence for my childhood pet, friend, and love. Bluebell passed away, less than peacefully on Tuesday night. Justin, the kids and I left San Diego earlier that afternoon. It's been hard on my family, after all, she's been with us for 17 years. I like to think that after a week of a full house (which surely stressed her out) and some extra loving she was just ready, ready to let go of the body that wasn't serving her so well anymore. Maybe after being a caretaker for my family for all this time, she saw that we all grew up and life is good we're all going to be ok. We may have bumps and bruises, literally as far as my kids are concerned and less visibly for some of the older and wiser types. But hopefully we've learned that life is a journey and there's no one way to live it. And we can make mistakes and disagree and still live in harmony.

The last thing I'd like to ask of our little kitty's spirit is to send a new love into my parents life. I fear my Mothers bruise from this particular fall will not heal without help. Let her know that it's ok and good, to love again. Let a new kitty fill her with joy so she doesn't linger in the sadness of this loss, so we can all bond again and get to know a new somebody special, and let them be fuzzy and wonderful. Thank you for all the years a memories, thank you for being our friend; our family.

Just Kidding

We're not quitting cable yet. There's a hefty fee for quitting the satellite contract. So for now, the cable stays. We'll look at it again in a few months (maybe by then we can afford to keep it!lol).

We're leaving San Diego today, we got here last Tues. I have tons to write about and don't know if it will ever all make it into the blog. But the sun has been amazing. The friends are better than ever, and the family is everything we could ever ask for. So, yeah. It's been a great trip.

La tee da

The weather is 'warm', we've been going for walks, stomping in puddles, listening to the beautiful chirping birdies, watching the snow man (snow woman if you ask Ty) melt along with the rest of the snow in the yard. It's the first time since Thanksgiving that we haven't had snow covering most of the yard. Now the yard is soggy, very soggy, kinda gross. But I've got spring fever! My mind is racing thinking of all the fun to be had and hard work to be done on the outside of the house.

That reminds me, my camera jumped outta my pocket again. This time we had to take it in for repairs. 2 weeks! Is how long the want to keep it. That means no pics of the kids stomping in puddles, or Aubree in some cute spring outfits. No pics of our trip to San Diego this week. Ugh! And even though it hasn't happened yet, I swear I am going to post pics of all the painted rooms in our house, when I can take a picture of them while they're cleaned up! Which I was going to do before we leave on Tues. I don't want to come home to a messy house, so it would have been perfect.

Anyway, the sun is out, it's above 30 degrees, around 50 twice! We're going to visit the PB's, my friend in San Diego is getting married and having a baby, I'll be having tons of fun sorting baby things and going to her bridal shower. Life is good.

Aubree is finally getting her eye teeth, the top two popped through a week or two ago. And now the bottom ones are coming through. Her ear infection seems to be gone, and mostly she's back to her old self. Hugs and 'I luh loo's' abound. Ty is a happy guy getting to go to school so much and hang out with his bestie Leah. He's at such an interesting place, he seems so grown up most of the time. But I think it'll always seem that way since he's the big brother, he's the oldest. It's hard to remember that he's still a little guy. He's learning to work out his tension and anger. And when he's not trying to stare me down, he has never ending kisses and words of love for me. I think I'm a pretty lucky mom.

Now if only I could find that money tree seed, I'd be set!

Budget - Dah, dah, daaaaaaa

We're trading digital recordable cable (satellite) service for a gym membership. Yep, for real.

We've talked about ditching the cable several times over the last few years, but each time one of us wasn't ready or able. We both want a gym membership so badly that we finally agree. It's kinda crazy, but with Netflix available to rent dvd's of almost any show, it's kind of a no-brainer. And this gym, The River Valley Athletic Club, is awesome. Let me count the ways, they offer childcare - at NO additional charge. The have a couple classes a week that are just for kids! Let me add here that we just quit soccer for Ty and I was devastated. So I'm all good there. The kids can come in the pool with us at any open swim time. They do swim lessons which we signed Ty up for immediately, courtesy of the lovely Grandma Nan. When you come in, each time, they give you a shower towel, sweat towel and a locker w/key! Most gyms seem to charge extra for any Pilate's type classes, they offer several along with all kinds of other interesting classes I want to try. And they have a family yoga class. Do I sound giddy? Can you feel it? I'm going to have so much fun at the gym I may not miss the tv at all! We've got enough kids movies that if I need to use the electronic babysitter I can. I may try and get a few more shows on dvd so we have options shorter than movies. But anyway, you get my point. This is a huge deal, but I feel like we're prepared and it's a good trade. A much healthier life will be had by all in my family. And that, makes me smile.

Check back with me in a while and we'll see if I'm going crazy yet, or if it works!

My girl

It has been so much fun seeing how much different girls and boys are right from the beginning. Here are some of the things I love about my little girl - mine. : )

1 - She is not mine. Nor will she ever be any one's. She is so, well, hers. Sometimes it's hard because I feel less connected to her than I think I should be. I will learn how we gel together, think outside the box and be open to hearing what she needs from me. Most importantly, remembering that she is not me, nor is she mine. She is her own bright shining star, and all stars have a few poky edges. I love stars.

2 - The way she uses her little hands and fingers so delicately. And points at you with her hand crunched up next to her face as she points at you with her tiny little fingers and tells you something she things is of utmost importance.

3 - Her gorgeous curly hair, the way she smooths the hair out of her eyes across her forehead and pushes it out of the way. And the fact that not only will she wear a bow to keep her hair out of her eyes, she likes them.

4 - How she loves to say coffee and uses the ice cream cone from her kitchen set as her coffee cup. Because her Mommy likes coffee.

5 - She is the messiest eater I have ever encountered. And has no issue with being dirty. And the way she says 'poot' when she has a stinky surprise for us in her diaper. I can almost smell it now.

6 - Her need and love for her blankie that *I* made her. "Miekee" which is starting to evolve into more of a 'mankie'. Also "Tideledelee" now occasionally comes out as 'kitdelee'.

7 - Her love of shoes, and her dislike of lip gloss.

8 - The way she stands sometimes with one chubby little baby foot on top of the other.

9 - How much she likes to hug her people. And says sorry if she thinks she did something wrong. And the way she says 'keymew' for thank you.

10 - Her spitfire attitude that makes me want to plan my escape for the teen years.

Birdies!

The birds are back in town! It is so wonderful to hear their chirpy little voices again. It's a great welcome to the coming springtime. Ahhhh. Not that it was any warmer today, I think it was about 16 degrees when I took Ty to school. But the sun was out and the birds were chirping, and the snow was melting all weekend and it felt like spring. Makes me feel smiley.

Ty is going through an angry phase. It rough on all of us. I think it's a backlash from Aubree being sick/ear infection/ teething. He had to deal with a lot of frustration from her and me and I think it's coming out now. And I blame myself, because, how can I expect him to handle his anger when Daddy and I have a hard time doing it. These kids are like little mirrors I tell ya. You want to know your defects? Check in with your kids, they'll tell you.

Aubree has found that her nose is a nice cozy place to rest her finger. Are you on the floor laughing? You should be. The other day we were in the car and I peeked back at her and she had one single strand of blankie tassel yarn placed up her nose along with her finger. Just sitting there so calm, gazing out the window in complete contentment. It was freakin' hilarious. Man I wish I had a picture of it!

Home at Last by Cathy Nichols

A friend of my turned me on to this artist, lets see, last week? I immediately became obsessed as I tend to do. I checked her website (cathynichols.com) and her Etsy store (cathynichols.etsy.com) daily to see what was new, what had I not noticed the day before, what originals were being bought, wondering what an original painting would look like... you know, your basic obsession. I had several favorites right away and was hoping to purchase one if I could save up the $30 for a printed copy. Well, on Monday she decided to have a sale on this print, one of my favorites! So for $15 it was mine. That is art I can afford. It may not be as big and stunning, nor will it be as nicely framed as our batiks from Bali, but it's nice and it's perfect. I love the warm colors and the funky tree. The little owl who is so clearly 'home'. As are we, 'home at last'. It's kind of funny because if this little piece of art had been named anything different, I may not have fallen in love with it. And it may have never found a place in our home, at last.