Winter fun

I should've realized by now that there's a huge difference between the way I picture how things will go in my mind and reality.
Saturday was absolutely beautiful. We haven't taken our kids outside to play in the snow at all, so we thought it would be perfect. We borrowed a sled from the neighbors and I thought Darek would be in heaven going down hills and being pulled by his dad. Nope. All he wanted to do was pull the dumb old sled behind him along the shovelled sidewalk. And after 15 minuted he wanted to go inside.

The two minutes Darek sat in the sled being terribly annoyed.
 

Mia's turn.
 

Reality.
 

This is Darek, "going to work." He gets Blayne's wedding ring, an old watch, and a "briefcase" and comes to tell me he's going to work. He leaves the room for a few minutes and then comes back in the room to tell me "I'm home!" And I cheer and hug him. It really is a cute game.
 

What's a Hexagon?

Darek walked up to me last night, opened his hand, and said, "Look Mama, a hexagon - six sides." And sure enough, it was...

This is what he was holding:


I about died! Not that it's useful information, but it was so cute - thanks Sesame Street.

We went to a Gymnastics gym today that had open hours for young kids during the day. The kids LOVED it. They had trampolines and foam pits and mats of all different shapes and sizes.

Games

One of Darek's favorite games is "Go to sleep with me"; it's second to "Get Me" which is just chasing him down the hall. It's amazing that he can pretend to sleep so well, but getting him to sleep for real is a nightmare!
 

 

The daily bathroom mess. I either need to get up early enough to get ready before Mia's up, or let her scream outside the bathroom door while I get ready. Neither sounds very appealing, so instead I pick up the contents of my bathroom drawers and cabinets every single day.
 

It's been a busy week:
-we had playgroup at our house; Darek's had lots of friends over to play (we've been helping some other moms get a break :); Darek smashed Mia's hand in the door and we went to get x-rays (it's fine but majorly swollen and bruised). And just to make sure that things stay tricky I realized that I had somehow thrown a dirty diaper into the washing machine with a load of laundry (I realized it when I was pulling the clothes out to put them in the dryer - awesome surprise); Darek emptied out our garbage can onto the living room floor so that he could play "Garbage Truck" with one of his toy trucks; Mia has peed on the carpet more than once (everytime I change her diaper, she's off like a rocket as soon as I get her diaper off - I'm going to have to start sitting on her). And the general disorder of our house continues. But since I've become resigned to it, I'm a much happier person than I was a few months ago. Just another day in Paradise, right?

Happy Birthday Mia!

I realized today that it's possible that birthdays are more for the mom than the child. Everytime I look at Mia today I think about being pregnant with her and the moment she was delivered and bringing her home from the hospital and how she changed our lives. I love having a day to remember it all!

These are the things that stand out about 1 year old Mia:

-She really is a monkey; we have to securely strap her into everything or she will get/fall out. Grocery store carts are dangerous because the buckles aren't enough to keep her down. She turns around in the seat, stands halfway up and growls at people (happily). Plus she gets into EVERYTHING. Her latest game is to throw things into the toilet when I'm not looking. Our bathroom is a constant disaster.
-The growling definitely gets attention. She does it all the time!
-Blayne says she's like me because she's so happy for the most part, but goes from calm to screeching in no time.
-Her first word was "Dada" and the only other word she's added is "Daddy." She absolutely loves her daddy and he is completely wrapped around her finger. When I tell him that she's driving me crazy, he says, "I cannot believe that little angel would do anything wrong."
-She's very clingy.
-She's little (or at least she looks it). People always say, "How old is she? Like 8 months?" But the truth is, she's right on track for her age.
-She completely holds her own with Darek.
-She is happy to laugh or smile for anyone who will look her way.

She is our little angel and we are absolutely in love with her!

 

 
 
 

Shout out to a local business

Last week I was at a convention and met Bart, the owner and man behind the idea of Tech Time Rentals (by Wal-Mart on Hitt Rd.). I thought his concept was such a great idea and I think it's important to support local businesses, so here's the deal:

You can rent all kinds of electronics and other items from Tech Time at a very low rate. For example:

Portable DVD players: $12/day or $22/week
Cricut machine: $20/day
Cricut cartridges: $5.50/3 days
All kinds of Canon and Nikon camera lenses and accessories: $7.50-$45/day

There's GPSs, Game systems, Computer equipment, and all kinds of other stuff. Check out their website for more information and items you can rent: http://www.techtimerentals.com/index.html

Like I said, let's support local businesses!

He's Mad

Darek's totally into emotions lately. When I get irritated he says, "You're mad at me?". And then I can't be mad cause it's so cute. He tells me that he's mad at least once a day and makes the face below. He regularly asks me if I'm happy, sad, or scared. I love it. It makes me feel like he's a little man.
Today he told me he wanted a Crabby Patty for lunch after watching Spongebob and he told me that he wanted to go to the moon on a rocket ship (oh, the influence of television). He's also started drawing on himself with markers and telling me that he's a robot or a tiger (depending on what he sees when he looks in the mirror after he's done drawing on his face).
 

Mia's rockin' this Pebble's ponytail everyday 'cause that's all her hair can handle. This is the face she makes to be funny.
 

Nothing new, but we're all happy and healthy. The earthquake in Haiti has really been on our minds as Blayne and I both served missions in the Dominican Republic which borders Haiti and is home to many Haitians. One of the greatest new members I met on my mission was a Haitian man we called Cloudy. He was educated and a deep thinker. The Dominicans were very hard on Haitians - in Cloudy's neighborhood, there was one outhouse shared by a large group of people; they put a padlock on it so that Cloudy and other Haitians couldn't use it. Cloudy painted to earn money and could be found in his home (a concrete slab smaller than 100 sq. ft. with cardboard/scrap metal walls) painting nearly everyday. He'd take his paintings to the main tourist area of the country to sell them. The painting he gave me is my favorite item that I brought home. Haiti is a place where there was not even close to enough food and resources on any normal day. On top of that, third world countries don't have rescue teams, (legitimate) police forces, entitlement programs, homeless shelters, or other government resources. Any earthquake that might occur in the U.S. isn't even in the same realm as an earthqake occurring in Haiti. Just a reminder to think about what you can do to help those who are truly suffering.

And on a brighter note, this is a boy after his dad's heart: polishing up his piggy bank after he filled it with money.