missed the bus

The other day it was about 18 degrees outside and I bundled the kids up to walk up the driveway and wait for the bus before heading off to school. I thought these two looked especially cute, and just HAD to take a few pictures. In those few short minutes, the bus arrived and being preoccupied with my quest for new blog photos, we missed the bus!

All I can say is a huge THANK YOU to the new car seat we got from Eric and Elizabeth when we went through Ohio. I was able to put Caroline into the seat with this huge marshmallow suit on and still adjust the straps to make her safe. Kudos to Evenflo (and Eric) for implementing those needed improvements on their car seats. (We were the lucky ones that got to "test" these new features!)

rare

I find myself in a RARE moment of complete peace in the house. Rachel headed off for an extended day of preschool, Caroline's down for a nap, the older kids at school. I paid all the bills, went through the stack of homework that I didn't look at over the weekend...even wrote a note to Seth's teacher volunteering to come in and read a story. The dishes are done (mostly). I've caught up on the blog commenting (mostly). I finished my book over the weekend, and that's always a let-down. I finished up on the laundry that I usually have rolling over into the next week. I've got my dinner in the crock pot...so what's a girl to do??

Do I dare just go QUILT? Oh my goodness...guilt-free quilt time. This is indeed a rare moment, so I just had to document it.

january

I LOVE JANUARY!!! Here are the top reasons why:

1. No more Christmas shopping. The stores thin out--even Walmart is somewhat manageable again.
2. I can stop feeling guilty about my late Christmas cards that turned into New Years cards. What's done is done.
   
3. Routines are resumed. School's back up and running which means less fighting at home between the three oldest.
4. The Christmas decorations are put away. Caroline can stop getting into that mischief. The house feels under control again...ornaments and nativity pieces are still found in random places throughout the house, but I am confident that they will one day stop coming out of the woodworks.
   
5. The kids have new coloring/painting/airplane making/handheld games/legos from Christmas. These keep them busy on the go and at home. A lot less of the "I'm bored" syndrome.
6. Basketball season has started for both Eliza and Seth!!! I love this time of year more than any other for the kids' activities (well...I love summer swim too, so it may be a toss up). I learn something more about how to play basketball each time I bring Eliza to practice, and it is probably their favorite activity of the year. After basketball practice on Wednesday Eliza said, "Oh, I wish practice like this could go on forever." She has a GREAT coach (private high school head coach for girls whose daughter is 10) and they are working really hard on different plays...at AGE 9! She's loving it!
7. I have new quilt fabric from James and my Mom that I LOVE, and I'm starting on those new projects. There is nothing better than fabric for Christmas.
8. Things just feel fresh. A fresh new year, new music in Primary, afternoon church again, a new bishopric in our ward. I really have discovered that I like change (mostly). It's fun to shake things up a bit.

I just love the feeling of things completed. Although many things that I do (mothering for one) will never be completely finished, I can still feel the satisfaction of knowing that some things that I put my energy into come to an end and get checked off my list!

"me!"

Christmas morning pictures, and an account of breakfast this morning...I could probably get more random, but I'll spare you.

This morning we enjoyed a family breakfast...scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, bacon, toast and sparkling grape juice left over from last night. (We always have to fix two different kinds of eggs, since there is one child AT LEAST who refuses to eat scrambled eggs on any given morning.)

So, when the eggs were done, James went around the table taking orders and dishing out the scrambled eggs. "Who wants scrambled eggs?" Eliza answered, "Me!" Rachel, "Me". He was just about to sit down when Caroline piped up her little "Me!"

Now, she's said the word a bunch of times--usually a variation of "mama"--"meme". So it was no surprise to here the word come out, but to hear her actually use it correctly was so cute! And she got breakfast out of the deal of course! She's really growing up.