Snow Day!

 

Temps well into the below zeros + snow and ice = snow day for all!

 

I’m not sure when the novelty and excitement of a snow day wears off.  All I know is that it’s not at age 30.  Seeing my email from daycare at 9pm Monday night with the subject: Closed…ahhh, I wanted to cartwheel through my foyer.  This snow day did wreck plans for Parker’s first dentist appointment though.  8am appointments were on the calendar—me first, then mini me 1—but bringing Teagan was not factored into the equation.  So we had to reschedule.  All our talks about the dentist will have to be revisited.  Talks like:

 

Me: (after explaining how at the dentist she will sit in a big comfy chair and watch TV while the dentist brushes her teeth)

So Parker, how do you feel about going to the dentist?

 

Parker: Good.  I’m excited to go to the salon and get my nails painted and my hair done, and sit in a comfy chair, and watch TV.

 

Perhaps I go to the salon too often.

 

Or

Me:  Parker, we are going to the dentist so that she can brush your teeth with her special toothbrush.

Parker: Oh Mommy, that’s okay. We don’t’ have to go. I have a toothbrush here.

 

So instead of going to the dental “salon,” we cuddled up at home for a nice relaxing day that went something like this:

 

8am:

That’s right, 8am! Two wee ones and we slept in! The day started off right with a big cup o’ Joe and Sofia the First. Not by myself, though I'm down for solo Sofia watching.

9am:

The biggest whole wheat oat pancake my pan could handle, complete with sprinkles.  Everything in life is better with a little sprinkle here and there.  My 101 cookie cutter box came out from hiding and the girls had fun cutting out their own mini pancake shapes.

10am:

Ladies of lunch and leisure. 

11am:

DBPA.  Dairy Based Products Anonymous.  If this existed I, without a doubt, would be the most active member.  Mix this obsession with Costco and only bad things happen.  Bad things like homemade blue cheese dressing.  But on the flip side, I've started working out again so really aren't all these extra fat and calories merely a wash?? Appease me here.

12pm...
1pm...
2pm...
3pm...

Yes ma'am, a nap of the four hour variety.  Disclaimer: I'm usually not much of a napper.  Feelings of laziness wave over me.  I cannot get my go-go-go mentality to slow down for the time it takes to nap so it's not even a line item in my life.  But it's something with this winter, the cold, the fabulously warm down comforter, this super cute cuddle bug.  I couldn't resist.  Teagan was nestled all snug in her crib so I opted for the king bed :)

4pm:

Might as well wake up now and take it easy with Frozen music videos and a little more Sofia. Obsessed with Frozen doesn't come close to describing it.  Even Teagan says "Elsa" and "Anna" when she sees their faces. Ahhh, the hard life we have on our lazy day off.

For the record, Parker is into picking out her own clothes and Teagan is into starting the bottomless trend. I'm aware that it's quite literally freezing and my children are half naked ;) Hellooo 71 degree home.

5pm and so on:

A little of this and a lot of that

Seeing as how today brought a heat wave (1 degree and sunny) school is back in session.  But I'm looking forward to the next snow day of the season--you know it's gotta happen sooner rather than later!

January Fun

I’ve hit that spot where I see something cool/cute/hilarious and snatch up my phone for a picture rather than my DSLR.  I promise DSLR I have not forgot about you.  It’s not you, it’s me.  But for now, my phone photo dump:

Bowling:

 

Check out those lil bowling shoes baby girl is sporting.

Paid for 2 ½ hours and barely last an entire hour.  And even that was about an hour too long.  I thought the thrill of pushing the bright balls down the kiddie ramp would provide hours of entertainment. Mama thought wrong.  Parker pushed two, maybe three balls down before that novelty wore off.  But I had a blast! Kris and I took turns between throwing strikes and hanging out with the girls.  Might be a few years before we take another family trip to Classic Lanes though it was nice to get out as a family on a cold, wintery day.

 Do you see what I see?? Yeppers, as of a few weeks ago Teagan is walking 100% unassisted!

Birthday Fun:

 

Red cheeks and sweaty.  The result of running, sprinting even, for three straight hours.

Parker’s social calendar is filling up with birthday parties.  Last one was at the gymnastic studio where Parker used to take lessons and this one was at Jungle Java, the huge indoor play-place.  Something about watching your child interact and have a genuinely good time with peers is so heartwarming.  The smiles, the laughter, the sliding down the huge slides again and again and again…it’s neat seeing her in a moment of pure and utter joy. 

Ready to jump in the foam pit for the 453rd time.

If you ever wondered if three year old girls chest bump the answer is yes.

Library:

Our library is stocked with goodies.  There’s a puppet show area, play kitchen, a bazillion blocks, magnents, and puzzles, fish tank, and this statue of “some dude” as Parker would say.  Obsessed doesn’t even describe how she feels about this boy.  Teagan, however, feels the opposite.

I did not notice Baby Alive in the background until now.  Scared me to death.

Frozen:

The movie, not the weather, though same thing ;) Lucky duck Parker saw this movie not only once but twice! Her first movie theater experiences were nothing short of amazing.  With the big screen full of Disney amazingness and a big ol bucket of popcorn how could you not have the time of your life?! Rapunzel even tagged along.  Parker really liked this one, and I find it really cool that it’s about the bond between sisters.  We’ve spent many evenings blasting songs from Frozen and dancing in our living room, all while Parker pretends to be big sister Elsa and Teagan acts as baby sister Ana.  Are they just trying to be super cute in hopes that I remember these moments when they inevitably get into loads of trouble down the road? More likely than not. 

Siblings:

Let me break it down for you.  Parker has a more adventurous, risk taking personality.  Teagan is more cautious and calm.  But when Parker repeatedly shows off her daredevil skills while in the presence of lil sis, the end result is this:

Shaking it!

As Seen on TV:

My sister knows my love affair with El Vaquero’s taco salad and my inability to eat it on the regular due to 4 hours between me and Columbus so what’s the next best thing?? Taco bowls! My deep freezer is always stocked with tortillas thanks to Costco so it makes sense.  Love this heavenly goodness.  The shell comes out nice and crisp and flavorful if you do it up with a little oil and spices. And while this dish looks like a mix of vomit and canned dog food, I swear it was so good.

Sisters:

Enough said :)

 B-ball:

View from our sweet suite.

Pistons game with my team at work.  The actual game took a backseat to the food, the drinks, and most important of all--Faith Evan performing at halftime.  Out of 20+ people only three people have heard of her. Two of these people were me and Kris.  Only one girl was super excited.  Not going to name names though ;)

And that's about it.  We are spending this weekend enjoying the WARM indoors! With 40 mph winds and below zero temps I really don't think we have a choice in the matter ;) Bundle up everyone and if it's sunny where you are, by all means send some of that warm weather up our way!

Christmas and NYE 2014

Mid-January seems like the best time to recap Christmas and NYE, don’t ya think??

Christmas came early as we celebrated the week prior in Columbus.  We had a wonderful time with family just hanging out, seeing the zoo lights, visiting with Santa (NO TEARS, though I have to admit that was 100% because we held the girls versus forcing them to sit on the big guy’s lap), eating good eats, and exchanging gifts.

One of the most special gifts we received were from Grandma Eva. While she passed prior to Christmas, she already had gifts ready for the great grandchildren.  Not only did she get both girls dolls, but she sewed the most incredible blanket for Parker and crocheted a sweet blanket for Teagan.  I’m pretty sure she was smiling down on these two during this moment. Perhaps not smiling down when it turned to tantrum city (lack of schedule = house of horrors), but definitely smiling when she saw this cuteness.  My aunt also gave us copies of Grandma’s recipes, written in Grandma’s handwriting, and placed in a binder.  Being able to continue serving family recipes to my family is something I’m so looking forward to. 

After a week in Columbus we made it back home.  Christmas Eve was met with our annual all-day-PJ-day.  Sparkles the Elf delivered presents first thing on Christmas Eve—PJs for all, new Christmas movies, and Christmas cups.  All day we lazed around, watched TV, cooked a turkey (that Kris of mine is obsessed with turkey), and Kris’ parents and sister arrived.  Parker set out 342 cookies and almond milk for Santa.  Knowing the power of bribery at a young age? Priceless.  Reindeer food tossed outside, reading The Night Before Christmas, and the girls were out. 

Christmas Day! Ahhh, Christmas! I love Christmas.  Hands down  my favorite holiday.  The food, the gifts, the Christmas shows and movies, the excitement, I love it all.  Both girls loved ripping into their gifts—from Puma’s to Sperry’s to body pillows to movies to the playroom futon brought by Sparkles (nice elf this one is) to presents under the basement tree as well to everything in-between.

 

Santa has quite the appetite.

:) 

Tell me how you really feel why don't you?

Then of course, the grand finale of...

Dual seat Jeep!

The first accident.  No points on our insurance though.

T: Hey Dad? We only have 13 years to correct this reckless driving.  Better get on it.

These girls will be zipping around the sub at high speeds of 5mph for years to come. 

The rest of Christmas was spent enjoying the day.  We watched Tangled for the first time and 9 times since then (not exaggerating) and it is one of my faves.  We dined on breakfast casserole, dips, pasta salad, and finger foods.  We drank mimosa punch.  We opened every.single.toy and played.  We had a white Christmas! Really, I could not have asked for a better day.  I have the best memories of Christmas growing up and I hope to do the same with the girls.  I think we’re on the right track. 

Little stinker.

I also have great memories of NYE.  As a kid we would spend this night watching a bunch of new movies and snacking on an array of all things tasty.  So of course we did the same! Crab cakes, shrimp scampi, pepperoni, cheese and crackers, spinach dip, the works! Tangled played and the girls did a mix of watching and playing with each other.  Initially I wanted Parker to see the ball drop.  But after witnessing the worst tantrums ever—screaming screams that could break glass, talking back, general moodiness, hell would have to freeze over before I messed with schedule again.  Weeks of this behavior led me to consult with the Google to see if this was normal three year old behavior.  Google assures me it is.  Though I’m happy to report that since we’ve been back to our routine the past couple weeks and have figured out some effective cool down methods, the tantrums are a thing of the past.  For now. 

 

Oh yeahs.  Not only food but my all time fave drink--Olive Garden's Italian Margarita. 

NYE is my second favorite holiday to Christmas.  The excitement for what a new year will bring, everyone celebrating happily with noisemakers and champagne, the midnight kiss…it’s all so fun and festive and full of joy.  Looking forward spending 2014 with my crew--Kris, Parker, Teagan, Cinderella and Rapunzel. 

I have a feeling that 2014 will be a great year for us full of new adventures, experiences, and memories.  How could it not be?! :) 

So there you have it!

xo-Stacie

15 Months!

Yes, as surprising as it may be I am not frozen solid.  13 inches of snow and -40 degree wind chills ain’t got nothing on me. Yesterday was a snow day for all of us.  Daycare closed, my office closed (which you KNOW means it must be a snowpocalypse), and Kris worked from home.  Lazy day with the babes, we stayed in PJs, cooked up  storm of banana bread and focaccia bread turned spinach dip cheesy bread sticks, watched an embarrassing amount of Doc McStuffins, and basically just enjoyed being in our snow globe of a home.  Total and utter relaxation.

Snow up to my knees.  Cannot WAIT until we get up to the 30s this weekend so the girls can frolic outside and enjoy all this fluffy stuff!

Yes, perhaps I am laying in a snow drift in zero degree temps in the middle of the afternoon while in my pjs.  Drifts so high it looks like I'm standing up.  Craaazy.

But today was back to the grind.  As I sat in my office today I was like a walking NorthFace billboard.  NorthFace boots.  NorthFace ski jacket.  If I had NorthFace ski pants I’d be in those too.  The space heater was on, my mug was full of deliciously warm coffee, but I could not kick that chill.  But enough of this cold talk...

Teagan is 15 months!

15 months and still grinning.

It’s been a month of new things.  Little sponge has found her voice and is picking up all sorts of new words.  Book, guh guh (good girl), bayyyybee (baby), hi, bye, mommy, daddy, up, no, that, tree, mi (mine), and soch (sock).

 

Helping mama cook up our NYE spread.

Girl is very assertive.  If Parker tries to take a toy, Teagan will yank back and yell “MI!” 80% of this time this causes a Parker meltdown.  80% of the time Teagan thinks it’s hilarious and smiles and/or laughs.  100% of the time this slap in the face causes Parker’s freak out to hit an entirely new level.

There’s only one kind of wine I like.  And there’s not a letter “h” in it.  But back to Teagan.

 

First time in pigtails.

Just a mama and her babe :)

We have become very mobile this month.  Whether it’s standing on the ottoman while dancing and clapping, or holding onto the stair railing and walking the stairs, or pulling herself on the couches, or pushing the shopping cart, or walking while we hold her hands, she’s getting around.  She’s walked on her own a lot too.  The most steps was on her 15 month birthday—12 steps all by herself! On the road to walking on her own. 

 

Big sis showing lil sis the ropes.

Other happenings:

 Every night at the dinner table, no matter how messy her hands are, Teagan will entertain us by covering her eyes with her hands, waits for us to ask “where’s Teagan?,” then giggles as she removes her hands and we clap. 

Knows her animal sounds! Turkey-gobble gobble, dog-woof woof, cow--moo, sheep-ba ba, goat, ma ma, cat, meow.  So very sweet.

Believe it or not, but Kris' expression is not staged.  Parker dressed up like a princess and Teagan ripped off the headband.  If you knew what would go down after this, you'd have the same expression on your face.  Ahhh, the sweet relationship between sisters.

 

Little one cannot get enough of her almond milk.  We fly through ½ gallon every two days.  Little one can get enough of food though.  Eating is not her favorite thing to do.  Adding to this is the fact that she can’t have any sort of dairy after early afternoon or is causes pain and an up-all-night affair makes it difficult to find things to get her to eat.  Sigh.  I’m just hoping that the mix of almond milk and toddler formula is giving her lots of nutrition.

Ask her where her belly is, she’ll lift her shirt.  Ask her wear her head is, she’ll pat it.  Give her a pair of socks, she’ll say “sooock?” and put her foot up in the air, requesting us to put it on.  Though, without fail, she someone always ends up with only one sock on.  Giving her the nickname of One Sock Woogle. 

For the most part, we’re now bedsharing with Teagan.  While she naps for about 3 hours in her crib and goes down by herself in her crib at night, she will wake, randomly, and prefers the snuggles.  Finally my non-snuggly thing has come around J Sometimes she wakes at 10pm, sometimes 1am, sometimes she sleeps through the night.  We never can tell.

LOVES reading books.  It’s probably her favorite thing, after almond milk and generally annoying/loving on Sydney.  Teagan will crawl to her books, push it over to us, and plop in our lap.  Really the most precious thing.

Man oh man, is this stage one of the best.  Watching the joy in Teagan's eyes as she discovers new things, from putting puzzles together successfully to flipping on a light switch, to seeing major milestone happen in front of our very own eyes, like those first steps, it's all very incredible to be a part of. 

Happy 15 months sweetie babe!