Basketball tournament

 

She started her day out with a dance recital and then a quick trip to a neighboring town to join her team in their basketball tournament.  She had spent the night at a birthday party sleep over and I was certain that by noon she would just be a puddle of overtired emotions.  She stuck with it, not a whine out of her, she was tired by the time we returned home at the end of the day.

She amazes me often.

My little dancers

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With their awesome dance teachers Mrs Meyer 

Dancing

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Winter sun

a sunny day in the midst of winter always makes me smile. always.

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Small pizza

"Hey my pizza is little like me!" She exclaimed when it arrived at the table 

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Pizza night

Last night found just these two home so we headed to Pizza Hut before Rosie's appointment. Reyna was excited because sh e got to use her book it coupon.  Kinda weird to be dining with two instead of six.

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New mixer

The arrival.of this the other day caused one member of this house's heart to swoon (mine) and generated a lot of curiosity from the younger members. 

"What is it?" They wondered. And as I explained one said in shocked disbelief "it does what?"  cooking with this crew is always an adventure and when it comes to mixing anything our standard tool of choice is a fork or spoon since adding a hand held mixer  into the equation would guarantee an er visit. Thus the disbelief for a few to hear that a machine would do in minutes what previously had taken much longer. I laughed at their faces wondering if this is how I looked when first introduced to a microwave or my grandma when a washing machine first made its appearance in her life.

We tried the mixer out today and as many faces watched the wonder of cookie dough being mixed, love that the mixing bowl is clear adding a clear view to the process. One said quietly " that was so fast"  and because it was simply so fun and easy we made a batch of brownies and a cake ...these little wonders are in baking heaven at the moment.  

Care in community benefit

Today our family worked a benefit for a family that lost their home in a fire last November...what an amazing experience to work with so many generous and caring volunteers.  The experience and knowledge made this a great experience. So amazing to be able to help out those in need. 

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Basketball tournament

A day spent at anthony s tournament involved a lot of basketball games and an equal amount of visits to the concession stand.

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Happy mail day!

A package came in the mail for reyna yesterday from kelly.  Inside were new socks and an Olaf pez dispenser she was so excited to get mail.

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Blizzard

my house is in there....
this first full week of the new year has been filled with snowy weather.   Late starts on several days and today a snow day...dangerously cold temps and of course snow and wind.  Today we were in a blizzard warning and by noon it was clear the forecast was right.  School is already 2 hours late for tomorrow.  I am so ready for summer....

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Snowday

in high school I worked at a grocery store, I absolutely disliked snowdays.  If the weather forecast included snow it was a guarantee that the day was going to be busy, crazy busy.  I never understood the reasoning behind leaving your warm house in weather conditions that were dreadful to pick up a few groceries.  Until I had children.....
running out of milk is the equivalent of the world ending
no chocolate in the house...could be hazardous
or perhaps it is simply connecting with others this venturing out into the elements
or curiosity...how bad is it out there, when you view is limited to those out your windows. 
today we were in a blizzard warning, by noon it was apparent the weather forecast was spot on.  I lost site of the house next door often throughout the afternoon.  So when the last daycare child left Anthony and I headed to the store, he needed food for his boy scout camp out the next day and there was limited milk left in the refrigerator, and I was curious just how bad was it.  I felt fairly safe traveling to the store a few blocks away and as we drove I pointed out the clear blue sky above us even as the wind whipped snow around us...we quickly traveled thru the store filling our cart with groceries and when 20 minutes later when we exited the store the world had changed from bad to crazy bad.  Visibility was zero..the drive home was slow and from memory.  Longest few blocks of travel I have logged. it was with great relief that i pulled into the garage. 

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Spaghetti

enjoying kelly's amazing spaghettie sauce.

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Bathtime

she was tired, crabby, whiny....when I said it was time to take a bath she geared up for a melt down of epic proportions.  I briefly toyed with just skipping the bath, but the syrup in her hair from breakfast and the sandy fingers, combined with the dirty face complete with runny nose and tear streaked cheeks certainly meant she would never pass the stick test ( you know that test where you touch your child and if you don't stick they can wait another day for a bath.  it's a test mom of many kids will fully understand)  so as the water started to fill the tub and she sat on the floor a miserable puddle of attitude I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a few glowsticks from the drawer.  Once back to the bathroom she watched curiously as I activated the sticks and dropped them in the tub..."what is that" she asked?  "tonight" i said "you are bathing by magic lights"  "those are glow sticks" she pointed out "yes they are" i said "but when you put them in water they become magic" "really?" she asked a skeptical look replacing the tears..."guess you will have to see" i suggested.  She crawled into the bath and poked a glowstick with her toe...she wasn't quite sure if she should believe me or if perhaps I had truly gone bonkers.  "would you like the shower curtain closed or the light off" I asked.  Light off she said and so there we sat in a bathroom lit by glowsticks .  She was quiet as she washed her hair, it had been a tough day. busy, with little pause and to a 5 year old who is determined to experience and explore it was exhausting.  as I helped her dry off and dress she glanced over at the tub with the glowing lights and giggled "can we do this again" she wondered "I like taking a bath in magic lights."  She was asleep before her head hit the pillow perhaps dreaming about magical bathtimes or what she would conquer the next day.  As I cleaned up the bathroom I breathed out a thank you for the idea that had come from nowhere, that had taken what would have been an epic battle and made it a quiet, peaceful way to end the day. 

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Dinosaur excavating

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Birthday party

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Opening gifts

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Making Popsicles

she asked to make Popsicle since we didn't have any in the freezer, once she had poured orange juice into the mold and added sticks we discovered there wasn't room in the freezer...plan B put them outside overnight...there was one very excited little girl in our house this morning eating a Popsicle for breakfast.

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Today he is 7

Today on the first day of 2015 we celebrate this little guys birthday! For 7 years he has greeted life with that smile even when life gives him challenges there is always that smile. He teaches me daily and inspires me often. Happy Birthday Pedro!

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Ringing on the new year

With home made pizza and movies 

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These two

Went strong most of the night. ..it seemed both woukd ring on the new year together but 15 minutes before the dawn of 2015 the o e on the right fell asleep 

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New years eve

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Light

Yahaira made this for us for Christmas  love the simplicity of it and the beautiful light it sheds in the darkness of the evening 

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Loving these gas prices

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