Wait? I thought things were slowing down?

We keep a busy schedule here in our family. 2 kids, ballet, soccer, school, Gum-do, yoga, playgroup, pre-school, Mom's Morning Out, and some semblance of a social life! Every once in awhile we hit a point where we have been so busy for so long that we could really use a break. But Wait!!! We see the light at the end of the tunnel!

In the last 2 months we have had on our plate:

-The unexpected death of Big Daddy (more on that later)
-Tying up loose ends related to the unexpected death of Big Daddy
-The wide range of emotions stemming from, again, the unexpected death of Big Daddy
-Family vacation to DisneyWorld
-An Increased workload for Russ
-A request for a paper to submit to a conference for Russ
-Halloween preparations
-The rest of our life

It's okay though, right? Work is slowing down, the paper is submitted, Halloween is over. The light at the end of the tunnel - we have finally reached it!

On my plate today?

-A brunch for a friend who is about to have her 3rd baby
-Hailey's second-to-last soccer game
-Picking up the trophies and team photos at the soccer field, since I am the soccer Team Manager
-Working for 6 hours at the Democratic Campaign Headquarters for Obama and Mark Warner.

So, maybe tomorrow I can veg? Maybe? Please???

This is for you Miss Christy, and you too Mr. Russ

So, I decided to take a short break from the blog. As I am sure you are all familiar, life has a tendency to jump up and get in the way of, well, life.

As a result, I am back. Why? Well, you see, I decided to start this as a way to keep track of the smaller, day-to-day happenings in the life of our family so that we could look back after a period of time and remember all of those things that make life great. Some people scrapbook, some people keep journals, but I never print photos and I type faster than I write. As a result, 3 months of small thing and large things and there is no record!

So, Miss Christy and Mr. Russ who have given me a hard time about not posting....here you go.

Hailey and her Keyboard

So, I finally have a fully functional keyboard, this one attached to my laptop, so I have been able to get rid fo the wireless one I have been using!

Hailey thinks it belongs to her and is walking around with it, and it is kind of funny to hear some of the things that come out of her mouth - I think I need to cut back on my internet time!

"Mommy, how about you can be the big girl, Allie can be the baby, and I can be the Mommy who is working in the other room?"

"Dot Com big girl! You can play a game! Say Yayyyyy!"

"Allie no! That is my dot com!"

To Allie: "Allie, want to come and sit on my lap sweetie? You can play a game on my kempewter"

All the while typing on the keyboard.

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary - we have been married for 7 years!

We had a great evening - Russ came home from work early, so I was able to get ready in peace, and we went to The Melting Pot for dinner - it was our first time there and SO nice! The food was okay, what I loved was the ability to sit and have a conversation over a long period of time, without feeling like everyone was rushing us! We then went to see Sex and the City, which was a lot funnier than I had expected!

A few years ago, we went to see Star Wars on our anniversary. Russ figured this time he would let me pick the movie, and yes, there were times that even he was laughing!

Plus, we had one of those rare nights out where the sitter comes to our house! Usually we are dropping the girls off somewhere and have to pick them up. It was SO nice to come home and have them already be in bed! That alone makes it worth paying a babysitter!

Today back to a very, very hot and humid day. I think we are going to run through the sprinkler in a bit!

A Day in the Life!

I love that summer is here! The kids are out of school, which means a lot more time to do fun things, and we seem to see a lot more of our friends!

Today was a morning concert with Mr. Knick-Knack. It was hot and humid, but it did not prevent the kids from singing and dancing and having a great time! Followed up by a quick lunch at Panera and then off to another friend's house to run through the sprinkler!

This afternoon A is coming over for a bit, and we have playgroup. Hopefully the rain will hold off so we can get outside, but it isn't looking likely!

Busy, Busy Weekend!

What a crazy couple of days!

Friday morning I hosted the New Member Brunch for the Mom's Club. It was so much fun, we have a great group of new members! That evening we went out for dinner and to run errands, so it was a late night for the girls.

Saturday morning we were up early to go to the farm and pick our strawberries for this week's CSA - luckily we got there early, because as we finished and were waiting for the wagon, it started to rain on us! We headed home, I dropped the berries off and left again to go to work for a few hours.

Normally my job is pretty low-key, but I was there for the end of the month breakdown. It is not my favorite activity, especially since this time we had to scrub the floors. Ugh.

Saturday night we had a party to go to, another late night for the kiddos.

Sunday morning Hailey was up a 8, thank GOD she slept in! We spent the day at home, playing in the backyard, cleaning the kitchen floor, things like that.

The best part? After dinner we were sitting in the backyard and the girls were in their pajamas and we just hung out and sang some lullabies as the sky was growing dark and the neighborhood was SO quiet. I carried Hailey up to bed, and she was asleep before we even got to her room. It is times like tonight that I really can't believe I am a Mommy!

Time for a Big Girl Bed!

A short time ago, I went to get Allie up from her nap, and she was so excited to see me, she stepped up onto her Ocean Wonders Aquarium and hoisted her leg over the side of the crib. She did not get out of her crib, but rather slipped backward, fell on her rear end and whacked her head on the side of the crib.

We removed the Aquarium from the crib, but both of the girls have had them since birth and Allie loves her Aquarium (we call it the "fish tank"). I felt bad taking it away from her, so we decided to convert her crib to a toddler bed.

Now she has the safest bedroom imaginable - no dresser, no toys she can stand on, etc. - and went to bed last night in her big girl bed. She got up this morning, without making a sound and started playing quietly in her bedroom, until we went and retrieved her!

Granted, she was so tired by the time she went to bed last night, I don't think she realized that she was in a big girl bed, so I fear that tonight will be more of a challenge!

Goodbye, Mrs. Swiech!

The day I have been dreading is now upon us. My good friend Miss Jody and her family are moving away to Kansas. We found this out last year, and it always seemed so far away.

Miss Jody and her daughter Lily have been in our playgroup for over 2 years. Lily and Hailey are good friends, and Hailey is heartbroken that her dear friend Lily is moving away. Jody was a huge part of our group, a constant source of good times and laughs, and an all around great friend.

Tonight we went to their "front porch party" which was literally a party on the front porch. We had an awesome time, the kids all had a ball playing together and it ended with some long, drawn out goodbyes.

So Miss Jody and Lily, we bid you a fond farewell. I know you will enjoy Kansas, and I am anxiously awaiting your tales of a tornado lifting your house and dropping it on a witch. Because seriously, that would only happen to you!!

I'm Annoyed

I love change, thrive on it really. It drives me batty that when I change my template I lose so much information!

If anyone has a way around it, please let me know!

Houston, we have a problem!

Did you ever realize how often you use the letter "a" or the number "1" or an exclamation point? Or, how many times you have to delete a typo?

Well, my friends, altogether too often.

I have been absent from the blogosphere lately due to some technical difficulties. Quite randomly, on a sunny afternoon 2 weeks ago, my keyboard broke. Not the entire keyboard, just the A, Q, Z, 1 and delete key. Let me tell you, trying to communicate via internet is quite difficult when you cannot use the A or the delete!

We have somewhat solved the problem. In the short term, I have a wireless keyboard attached to my laptop. Of course, that renders my laptop a lot less portable, which makes it much more difficult to get anything done! Hopefully I can get a replacement keyboard, it is a fairly easy fix on my laptop, however, my laptop is over 3 years old so it is a little difficult to come by!

Hopefully this will mark the return of the few and far between blog posts!

Oh, to be a mother of 4....

As crazy as it sounds, I think I am cut out for a large family. Having K and E here for a few days went remarkably well! Of course we had our moments when, like siblings, the kids were tired of playing with each other (or one kid was sick of the other, but the other couldn't understand that - a phenomenon that played itself out in a crazy number of relationships!). We were busy, active, constructive and the kids treated it like a sleepover and they all slept like rocks!

And, of course, I was able to witness the joy that comes when a mother and daughter who so desperately missed each other being reunited. It was awesome.

Since then, back to the grind. Between birthday parties, Mother's Day, and Russ' most recent undertaking - installing a ceiling fan in a 20 foot ceiling, we have kept busy the last few days. Today it was raining, again. The girls and I headed over to JumpWorks, an indoor inflatable playground, and they had an AWESOME time. It was a Mom's Club event, so I got to chat with the other Moms and do some playing myself! 3 hours later, all three of us left exhausted, sweaty and ready to take a nap!

My Bright, Shiny Medal

One more mark in the "Claire is the best friend you could ever ask for" column!

We have 2 little houseguests for a few days! K and E, who are the children of a good friend of mine are having some fun at Camp Brasser this week while their parents are busy sunning themselves in the Bahamas. So far, so good, although it has only been a few hours!

We have a jam-packed few days planned to keep the kids all occupied, out of the house and distracted from the fact that they are parent-less for a few days. In the meantime, Mom and Dad are getting some sun and relaxation before the craziness of summer and the new baby that will be joining their family in late fall!

Miss Claire gets a gold star, and the ability to pretend to be the mother of a little boy for a few days! Plus, the chance to dream about where I am going to go for the weekend to get some payback for this favor!

Something I do not understand.

I went running tonight, and could feel that I was running faster than I normally do. Literally, I could not stop my legs from moving!

So, why is it that even with that, my pace is still almost a minute behind what I normally run in a race? I can understand the idea that adrenaline will keep you going, but a whole minute? That seems a bit much.

Imagine how fast I will finish a race if my training pace catches up to my current race pace! Ha!

The Sounds of Silence...

What could be better that sitting around on a Friday afternoon, a relaxing weekend looming, beautiful weather, a breeze coming through the windows and two sleeping children?

Right now, I cannot think of a thing!

She Certainly Doesn't Get it From Me!

So, I have a black thumb. As much as my Dad contends that my only plant problem is that I don't water them, I believe that I was never meant to be responsible for the care and feeding of any other living organism plants. I mean, they can't tell me what they need, of course neither can my children so no matter how often I water, fertilize or talk to them, they all shrivel up and die.

However, Hailey would like to try her hand and see what color her thumb is. So, off we went today to buy some seeds, came home and planted a container garden. Right now it is "planted" in the flower bed in the backyard and I will keep you posted on how it does!

A special thanks to Miss Suzanne for giving Hailey gardening tools for her birthday! She loves them!!!

Dear Mother of Small Child at the Restaurant...

**WARNING: Very Judgy McJudgerton Venting Post Ahead***

Your daughter is cute. So are mine. However, I need a break from mine, and am in love with the idea of spending a few precious hours with my husband without having to chase after a child.

So please, would you not allow your daughter to come over to our table and do everything shy of SITTING WITH US? I really don't want to have to make conversation with someone under 4 feet tall. You don't know us and while we are honest, hardworking people who (contrary to ONE person's opinion) do not hurt others, YOU DON'T KNOW THAT.

I appreciate your apology, and I appreciate your comment of "but you are here to get away from them" when I mentioned, ever so nicely, "we understand, we have 2 of our own", so I know you feel my pain. I thought I picked a restaurant that wouldn't be too family friendly, in the hopes I could avoid small children, but obviously I was wrong. Yes, your adorable daughter was the only child in the restaurant that night and we had the misfortune of sitting at a table right next to you. Oh well. Life goes on. Had she been sitting nicely at the table, or even walking around it wouldn't be a big deal. I get it, my kids get antsy in some restaurants too. But going to strangers tables and sitting with them? Walking out the exit door, but just standing there with the door open so the wind was blowing in on the people who were trying to get a few hours of peace? I can't tell if you didn't notice, were ignoring, or simply thought everyone was getting a kick out of it.

I won't even get into the eating sugar packets like they were pixie-sticks, that is your bedtime battle. But seriously, I nearly lost it when she walked out of your line of sight and OVER TO THE BAR. Was your conversation THAT important?

Signed,

A pretty laid back, non-helicopter Mom who was apalled.

Why Run a Race?

Every day I get an inspirational quote from Runner's World magazine. Usually they do not apply, but I got this one today and in light of my feelings about the race on Sunday, it seemed appropriate!

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about. "

PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

My friend C asked me the other day why I pay to run a race when I can run around the neighborhood for free. Truth be told, I have a tendency to doubt my ability to do this and constantly feel the need to prove it to myself. That is why I run races. I don't run races to compete against the other runners, after all, I am a long way from winning a race! I am simply running against myself, and proving to myself that yes, I can run 10 miles!

There is one other reason - the exhiliration of crossing the finish line! I am quickly becoming an addict!!

Cherry Blossom 10 miler!

It is that time of year again in DC! This morning I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Race. I have been not-so-eagerly anticipating this race, since I haven't been putting in the long runs, but I am happy to say, I beat my goal time!

My goal was to finish in under 2 hours, 10 minutes, and I came in at 2:09:44, it is just under a 13 minute mile, and 39 seconds per mile faster than the half-marathon in September!

The race itself was okay. It was cold and rainy which may be altering my opinion a bit. It would have otherwise been a beautiful race! Also, the race committee has a strict 14 minute/mile pace that you have to maintain - after all, it is the height of the tourist season here so they need to get the roads opened back up again! As a result there was a truck that I could see from miles 7-9 picking up all of the signs, barricades, cones, etc. It was really discouraging!

But, for a cold, rainy and sometimes windy morning, I am very, very happy with my performance!

Next up - Race for Hope 5K on May 4th!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

I do not know where the last 4 years have gone, but I do know that becoming a mother was the best thing to ever happen to me.

Happy 4th Birthday Hailey!

Flip-Flops are not just for Summer

So, I have changed my mind.

I was driving home the other day from the store and realized how excited I get when I think about the 10 miler this weekend. I WANT to do this race, and I have wanted to do it for quite some time! I am going to do it, and have gotten over myself and me fears of not finishing!

Since making the decision, so many signs have pointed me in the direction of running the race that I know I have made the right decision.

Stay tuned for a race report on Sunday afternoon!!

Running into an old friend

Don't you love when that happens?

Today while in Target, I ran into an old friend. Heather used to be my next door neighbor, and still lives in the area, but I haven't seen her in close to 2 years! It is simply a case of both of us having a lot going on - Heather works a somewhat odd schedule, and her kids are much older than the girls, and of course we had Allie (she met her for the first time today), and the events of 2007 that kept us quite busy!

It was awesome though, we picked up exactly where we left off! I am looking forward to getting together with her for coffee and really catching up!

A Little Fun for a Rainy Monday

Interesting.

Usually when I go to work, I take along a 32 oz cup of iced tea, and have 2 or 3 Lipton Cold Brew tea bags with me for backup. I LOOOOOOOVE my iced tea. One day, about 20 minutes after I got there, my boss, Rolf, asked me if I had met my quota of iced tea yet that day, because I wasn't very much fun. Apparently, the difference in my personality is that clear when I am decaffeinated. He claims is it something along the lines of Jekyll and Hyde.

So, I must continue caffeinating for the sake of my family, friends and co-workers, because apparently I am that much more enjoyable! Which explains a lot, because yesterday was a 1 Diet Coke day, and I was not very peppy.

Anywhoooooooo....so far, I have downed 2 Diet Cokes and have a pitcher of tea brewing on my counter. Apparently that is enough for me. If only I could turn the "extremely high excessive energy" into motivation to clean my house!



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The Cherry Blossom 10 miler

To run, or not to run, that is the question.

I think I have to drop out. I have not committed to training for it, and while I could finish the 10 miles, and come in within the time limits, I do not think that it will be an enjoyable experience for me. I am disappointed, more in myself than anything for not making the time to prepare for the race, because I really wanted to do it, but I procrastinated on the long runs, didn't make it a priority and now am 6 days pre-race and really unprepared.

I could run it, but what fun would it be if I can't walk for 3 or 4 days post-race????

Option 1 is to drop down to the 5K. Option 2 would be to give my bib to a friend who really wants to run it. I still haven't decided between those two!

My Birthday Weekend!

I had such a nice birthday! Very low-key, but it was fun, and I am so excited because Russ bought my a new FM transmitter for my iPod so now I can scroll through my music much more easily! The girls were so excited to celebrate, A even sang "Happy to You, Happy to You", which just made my heart melt! I can't wait for her birthday in July!

Saturday I had to work and we did some shopping, and then yesterday we had back to back birthday parties! The time worked perfectly, we were able to get out to Alexandria in the morning for the Blue's Clue's party (where Russ played a starring role as Mr. Salt, and Mr. Halloween took it seriously and showed up in costume!), and be at Toddlin' Time in the afternoon to celebrate with Julia!

It was a great day and while it was busy, it made me feel really lucky to have the friends we do!

Happy Birthday Drew!!! Happy Birthday Julia!!!!! Thanks for including us in your celebrations!

And to Target we go...

I am out of dishwashing liquid. My freshly scented, Seventh Generation, environmentally friendly dishwashing liquid that I bought last week is used up.

I guess I should be glad that my soon-to-be-4 year old has taken it upon herself to wash the dishes, but really - a half bottle of dishwashing liquid on one plate from breakfast???? I need to teach that girl some self-control!!!

I should add that last week she used the other half bottle on a stoneware bar pan from Pampered Chef. You know, the ones that are not supposed to be washed with soap?????

On the good side, she is so excited about the idea of washing dishes, and gets a little peeved when the kitchen is cleaned up and there are no dishes for her to wash. She pulls a kitchen chair up to the sink and gets to work! I love it!!!!

No pocket, no problem!

My kids love footie pajamas. So do I, because our floors get cold and both of the absolutely REFUSE to keep socks on, so at least I know their feet are warm!

A has a new habit though. She will walk around the house picking up small toys, and drop them down the front of her pajamas. Now when she walks, there is something going "ka-thunk" in the foot of her pj's.

Today, it was a pen. I am just glad I found it before it broke!

3 going on 35

It still somewhat surprises me the different things that kids pick up on, not only words, but the appropriate time to use those words.

H's birthday is Tuesday, and my parents have sent her a gift, that arrived a few days ago. It came the day after theUPS man delivered my gift from my parents, and Hailey was really excited that another box arrived.

I showed the box to Hailey and she said "Wow Mommy, that was really nice of Papa and Kiki to pick out something for me too!"

It was so sweet, and so mature and so innocent. Little does she realize that Papa and Kiki would give her the world on a silver platter if they could!

My Little Blue Box

Recently, I have found the need to have projects. During Spring Break, H needed a princess hat repaired, and instead of repairing it, I broke out my sewing machine and made her a new one. It is pretty cool too - it is a Rapunzel hat, so it has the veil in the back and a yellow braid that drapes all the way to the floor. It took most of the afternoon, but that included an orientation to my sewing machine, since I had never used it!

Once that was complete, I was bitten by the project bug. When we moved into our house, we liked most of the decorating (the orange master bath had to go though!). Over time we have repainted a lot of it, while it was nice, it wasn't what we had picked out.

The last room was the powder room. Russ liked it as it was, but I have always thought it was too dark. Since I have been planning on repainting it, I never bothered to do any decorating in there. Now, 3 years later, I have finally repainted. It is blue. Tiffany Blue. I can't recall the exact color, but I have definitely solved the problem of it being too dark! I still have to hang pictures, cabinets, towels, etc., but I think I am going to like it.

My husband, well, not so much. He doesn't dislike it, but did tell me that it was the last blue box I was getting for quite some time ;-)

Happy Birthday to Me!

29 and counting....

2 years now!

Update on the Shamrock Run!

Thanks to Jennifer and her Garmin, I learned that my actual time for the Shamrock Run was 35:47, which is a new PR! Woo-hoo!!!

Sad, isn't it? That is an 11:30 mile!

Onto the next race...

Shamrock Run

Saturday marked my first 5K of the year! It was cold and rainy, but what more can you expect of a Shamrock Run?

Hailey and her friend Will ran the fun run, which was a mile! The Fun Run she did in October was only .6 miles, so this was longer and she did GREAT! She had such a great time, but was a little disappointed that there wasn't a prize at the end!

Because Jennifer (Run Happy) and I were finishing the fun run with the kids, we missed the start of the 5K, but ran the course anyway. Jenn is an impressive runner, after about 2 minutes of trying to keep up (and she was running slower!), I wished her well and off she went!

My time? Not so great. Officially 39:57, but since we missed the start we were 3-4 minutes behind the clock. My watch said 37 minutes, which still isn't great, but all I can do is improve for next time. It wasn't my best time, and it wasn't my worst time!

Next up is the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. I can't wait for that!

It Worked!

Spring temperatures have finally arrived - at least for today and tomorrow! I am SO excited and can't wait to get out of the house!

Pardon the Pink....

But I wanted something "Springy"

I am hoping that the cold weather comes to and end soon and we are back to Spring temperatures!

I've Got Cookies!

I've got Cookies, I've got lots and lots of cookies!

Always one to support a worthy organization, I bought 10 boxes of Girl Scout cookies from our friend's daughter, and she just dropped them off a few minutes ago.

I am in Thin Mint and Tag-a-long heaven!!!

Note to self....increase exercise to account for crazy cookie intake!

We're Going to Disney World!

Yes, it is true.

The other morning, when I was supposed to be sleeping in, my darling husband came upstairs to sit on the edge of our bed.  That means one thing - he wants me to wake up, but does not want to be accused of actively waking me up on a day when I get to sleep in.

The reason?  He decided that morning that he wanted to take the girls to Disney World.  Yep, that woke me up all right!  I have been wanting to go for about a year, but we were waiting for a good time.  Finally, he decided that this was a good time, and really, with all of the Disney deals you can get, and our penchant for driving hundreds of miles with little to no prior planning, going to Disney seemed, well, logical!

So, we are heading down in September, after Hailey goes back to school.  We are only staying for 3 days, but will visit my family as well, so in all we will be gone for about a week.  I am SOOOOOOOOO excited!

I think 3 days is good.  We want to go for a bit longer, but that might wait until next year or the year after when the kids are a little bigger!

Interesting...

I am not a good housekeeper. I admit it.

But what is it about "snow days" that it causes me to channel my inner June Cleaver?

It isn't snowing today, but it is really cold and icy, so schools are closed, and the girls and I are going to hang out at home. They are happily playing together, and I am compulsively cleaning. Clearing the clutter, vacuuming, dusting. Removing pictures from shelves and dusting behind them, vacuuming under the furniture.

Perhaps it is the idea of spending the entire weekend in the house that forces me to make it liveable? Who knows!

This afternoon we are making cookies, I have already taken dinner out to thaw (Salisbury Steak - how 1950's is that!) and am tempted to put on a dress and heels before Russ gets home just to complete the picture!

A Girl's Girl

I am not, nor have I ever been a "girly-girl". As a kid, I played baseball on the driveway, made mudpies in the backyard, and as my Mom always says, the first dress I wore was at my wedding! Okay, there was my First Communion, but you get the point.

So, being the mother of two girls, I have had to learn a lot, especially since Hailey is most decidedly girly. Dresses, princesses, feather boas, pink and purple - you name it, if it is feminine, she loves it. Well, we have finally gotten to the point where Hailey's hair is manageable enough to start with ponytails and pigtails. You see, Hailey loves her curls, and for the longest time did not want to do anything to her hair for fear that she would not have it curly.

Welllll, now her hair is long enough that it can be pulled back into a ponytail and still be curly, and I don't think I have ever seen her so excited! Of course, now this opens up a whole new category of female accessory - the "hair holders". While I may be content with an elastic band, or maybe a barrette if I am feeling fancy, that does not sit well with my diva daughter. Ribbons, bows, flowers, and "Mommy , pleeeeeeease can I have some purple sparkle lipstick? Pleeeeease? I love you Mommy".

Who knows, maybe I will learn a thing or two from her!

The "Chesapeake Primaries"

I got to go and vote today. Honestly, it is one of my favorite things to do - I really believe that ANYTHING can happen on Election Day!

I also have to hand it to the Democratic Party - regardless of what your political views are you have to respect the fact that one of the major parties in the nation has put forth a black man and a white woman as candidates - finally, we have caught up with the rest of the world. These two people, who even just 15 years ago would have gotten nowhere are the front-runners for the nomination.

Who will win? Who knows. Right now, it is too close to call. But, it doesn't change the fact that for the first time in my young life, I had the opportunity to vote in an historic election.

Go Democracy!!

Ketchup

As you may imagine, we had a lot of fun at the chili cook-off! Little did we know that would be the last time we left the house for awhile!

For the last week and a bit, we have all been battling illnesses. Fevers, stuffy heads and noses, and an all-round general unhappiness.

We are finally on the mend thought! Everyone is back to normal activities and I am glad to be out and about on a regular basis!

So, there is nothing else exciting to add, unless you want to hear about my week sacked out on the couch, or if you want to calculate how many trees were killed in the production of Kleenex consumed by the family!

And The Award for "Most Creative" Goes To...

Yes, believe it or not, I won an award yesterday for my culinary greatness.

Stop laughing.

We were invited to a chili cook-off yesterday at the home of one of Russ's co-workers. Always up for a social event, we decided to go, even though we (I) knew very few people who were going to be there!

So, my point is that it was a chili and dessert cookoff. While some say I make a mean pot of chili, I decided to go for dessert instead. Aiming for the award in the "Most Creative" category, and wanting to make something kid friendly, I made Oreo creatures.

Yep, a catepillar and frogs made out of Oreo cookies, with some flowers and patches of grass thrown in for extra color...



Yes, I won the award for "Most Creative" in a landslide election. Of course my competition were a lot of store-bought desserts!

Oddly enough, the other couple that I knew there (that I wasn't meeting that day!) won the award for "Most Creative Chili". We laughed - they have never made chili, so they brought tortilla soup!

Looks like the newer employees are the more creative ones! Or, at least their wives...

"Daddy, why don't the lights work?"

The other night we had a power failure. Judging by the number of sirens we heard, we assume that someone had an accident and ran into a junction box, leaving our neighborhood in darkness for about an hour. Thankfully, we had already eaten dinner - we have an electric stove!

But, it made me realize how much fun it can be with the kids! The girls had so much fun playing with their flashlights, and Russ had a ton of lightsticks and glow bracelets, so the girls were able to play with those as well.

Honestly, by the time the lights came back on, we were having so much fun that we turned them back off! I was glad to have heat again, but the darkness was fun.

And of course, it was a photo op ;-). Hailey is on the right, in case you couldn't tell by the purple lightstick!

Kindermusik

So, Tuesday was supposed to be Allie's first day of Kindermusik. She was so cute, all dressed up and singing "E-I-E-O" in the car! We drove the 30 minutes out to where the lessons were to find out it was cancelled!

Apparently, when I registered her, there was a problem with the site, and it registered her for a 2007 class, and there are no classes on Tuesday in 2008! So, next week we start Kindermusik on Wednesday, with Hailey as well - I am excited, Hailey loves to sing and dance and this way they can both participate.

But, to appease Daddy, I signed Allie up for swimming lessons while Hailey is in school so she still gets some undivided attention!

Kindermusik or not, she still looked pretty darn cute in her little dress!

IKEA!

I love IKEA!

We went to IKEA this weekend with some friends. I am not a shopper, but I have to say, I could spend (and have spent) the entire day in IKEA. I am bummed because they no longer carry the curtains I wanted for the dining room, but I was able to pick up some other cool stuff, none of which is packaged bigger than a breadbox!

Amazingly by the end of the day we were all exhausted. I swear, 8 hours in IKEA (including lunch!) it a LOOOONG day!

Whoops!

So, no one knows that this blog is out there, so I only feel partially bad for not having updated it before now!

New Year's was a lot of fun, we had a few friends over, people we have known for a really long time. It was kind of strange to look around and see people with whom we have shared so many major life events! Weddings, babies, birthdays - we are very blessed to have so many old and new friends in our life!

Hailey is back in school and Allie is up to no good! Russ loves his new job, and I am doing the same things I have always done!

I promise to update more later, especially since I will soon spread the word that this exists ;-)