Lifesaver

Yesterday, I was feeling pretty

under the weather.

So I felt like I needed to stay

in bed most of the day.

Good thing I had Jordan here

to take care of me.

She played with London.

She wrote me a sweet note and

put it on my nightstand.

She made all of us lunch.

She even took orders.

Then she brought a t.v. tray

all the way upstairs for me to set it on.

She offered to turn on the t.v. to football

for me to watch (thinking that was my favorite).

And she brought me a bell to ring,

just in case I needed anything else.

She's going to make a wonderful mom someday.

Devilish

It's ok to commit a little sin, right?

I mean, it's not lying, cheating, or stealing.

OK, maybe it's cheating a little.

But come on, it's

chocolate marshmallow brownies

with homemade butter fudge frosting.

Who could resist that?

It just sits there in the pan on the counter

and calls my name.

All.

Day.
Long.

There, I admitted it.

I feel so much better.

The place to be

Last Thursday night

was Sydney's 2nd grade

music program.

They sang some fun songs,

"Heigh ho", "Go Round the Corn Sally"

and "Miss Suzie".

If you look closely, you can see her

right in the middle of the group.

Here she is afterward
with some friends.
It's great to get out
and watch our kids
do things they love to do.

2 years old

Maybe it's because

she could be our last

2-year-old,

but I find myself

hanging on to

everything about

London.

Here are a few
of her favorite
things.


Favorite
movie
(a must-
watch
while
eating
breakfast)

Favorite book

(has to be read

to her before

she will take

a nap or

go to bed

at night).

"Mom, will you

read the Spots?"

Favorite cereal

requested every morning

for breakfast

"Mom, I want the pink cereal."



Favorite 2

fingers
and
favorite
blanket.







Favorite game: Hide and Seek.
Favorite t.v. shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Little Einsteins
and Blues Clues.
Favorite song: Twinkle Little Star.

And my favorite quotes from her:
"I'm so confused!"
"Mom, don't lose it, it's dangerous!"
(as I was fixing her hair, the rubber band)
"Mom, don't water me!"
(as I washed her hair in the tub)
"Good job, balloon! You're doing good
to go up high!"
"I'm so compicated"
(as she sat down on some pillows,
I think she meant comfortable)
"Mom, can I have a chee?"
(singular for cheese)

I love it.
These are some of the best days ever.

Hope

Tonight

as I was tucking the kids into bed,

I heard the sound of

raindrops

falling on the roof.

I always love that sound.

But tonight, I was extra happy.

Why?

Because it wasn't SNOW!

Beethoven

The kids
all love this
song,
for some
reason.
Austin recently
determined
he was going to
learn it on the
piano.
He's been
practicing
a lot, and I'm sure
it won't be long
till he's got it
down.

It's kind of amazing when your kids

are doing the same things

you did as a kid, too.
Guess that means I'm getting old. :)

Sleeping beauties

Since it was Friday night,

Sydney and Jordan

asked if they could

have a slumber party

and sleep in the hide-a-bed

last night.

I couldn't resist

taking their picture after they

fell asleep.

Of course,

what slumber

party would

be complete

without a little

mattress

surfing

with the

couch

cushions

(a la

Princess

Diaries 2)

the next

morning?

Go. . .team(?)

Even though I've pretty much

converted him to the Nuggets

(with a little help from my friends

Carmelo and Allen),

Doug is a Suns fan at heart.

So, when Shaq had his

debut

with them last night,

we were all over it.

Austin dug out his

Suns hat

and Syd came out all decked out.
We didn't have a Suns jersey,

so she made a Suns sign

to cover up the Bulls logo.

Jordan decided
the Bulls needed
a fan, so she made
a Bulls

sign for her shirt.




(Buls)

And London was content just

being a fan of . . .

whoever.

Crashed

Case in point:

No nap today.

Around dinnertime,

this is what happened:

Oh, well.

It was fun while it lasted.

Excuses

So, this is usually what happens

when I tell London it's

time for a nap.

"Mom, first I need to practice."

"Mom, I need to finish my lunch."
"This is Baby's bed."
"Mom, I'll hide and you count."
"Mom, now you hide and I'll count."
"Wait, let's read a story first."

Okay, lest you think I'm the

biggest pushover,

I'll admit, I was having fun, too. :)

Sunday afternoon

Sunday afternoon

is one of my favorite

times of the week.

Sometimes, like today,

Doug is only home for about 2 hours

before he heads off to more meetings.

So, we like to make the most

of that time.

Today, Austin challenged him

to a few games

of chess.

Austin held his own, but I think

in the end, Dad's years of experience

paid off.

He did teach Austin

a move or 2, though.

Practice makes perfect

Jordan
wanted to
roller-blade
today.
She was
intimidated
at first. She
said,
"Mom, will
I ever learn
to roller-blade?"
I told her

it's just like

whistling.
She used to

ask me to

teach her how

to whistle,
and I told her
she just had
to practice.
You think
it'll never
happen, and
then one day,
it finally does.
Now she's
great at it.
So she said,
"Oh, kind of
like getting
married!"
How cute is
that?

So she practiced in

the house for awhile,

then got brave

and went outside.

Look at her go!

Valentines

Remember the
good old days
of passing out
Valentines to
your friends
at school?
That was
the best.

The kids loved

giving and receiving

valentines today

at their school parties.

Doug

surprised

me by

giving me

a new

glass

and gold

rose for

Valentine's

Day.

It's

beautiful.

He's kept

up this

sweet

tradition ever since

we met, and has done it every year for the

past 15 years. How's that for romantic??

Singers

Austin's in the school choir

right now, and he came home

with a new song

the girls think is just

hilarious.

It goes like this:

"Who washed
Washington's

white woolen underwear

when Washington's

washerwoman

(clap)

went west?"

The words get repeated

over and over

and faster and faster

and faster . . .

It gets pretty crazy.

We've got some silly kiddos.

Little girls

God made the world with its towering trees,

majestic mountains and restless seas.

Then stopped and said,

It needs one more thing...

someone to laugh, dance and sing.

To walk in the woods and gather flowers,

to commune with nature in quiet hours."

So God created little girls,

with laughing eyes and bouncing curls,

With joyful hearts and infectious smiles,

enchanting ways and feminine wiles,

And when He'd completed the task he'd begun,
He was pleased and proud of the job He'd done.

For the world, when seen through a little girl's eyes,
Greatly resembles paradise.

--author unknown

Denial

Happy birthday, honey!

Yesterday was Doug's

??'th birthday.

You can probably figure out

how old he is,

but he's in the denial stage

these days.

So we pretend it's 29.

I think he just keeps

getting better-looking

every year.