Trying to get back to normal, whatever that is!

You guys! 

Three things:

ONE-- Maggie is SO sick!  We went to the doctor yesterday and it is just a sinus infection, thank God!  But, this is the sickest I've ever seen her. Starting to see little signs of herself returning today. 

TWO-- Our laptop is on the blitz. Um, OMG. I am trying to be positive and patient, but OMG. 

THREE-- I'm updating from my phone because of the laptop. So, I have no idea how this post will turn out! Ha!! 

Hope to be back in the land of normal people soon!!!...

Snow Days 1 a-n-d 2 !!

We woke up Friday morning to a little bit of ice and a little bit of snow!  Our morning started off at 4 AM, when I heard talking coming from Eric's work radio.  He wasn't budging, so I kicked him.  {I'm not responsible for any of my actions before 6 AM.}  Five minutes later, he was heading out the door to drive the roads.  I was really hoping for a snow day, so I put in my two cents and bribed him with some pancakes if he would cancel.  He just rolled his eyes at me.  He got back home around 5:30 and declared a SNOW DAY!  Hallelujah! :-)

Levi ran into our room at 8, yelling that he was late for school!  Hilarious.  We told him it was cancelled and he demanded asked for pancakes.  ;-)  I decided to brake into some of my Valentine's Day gift stash and pulled out some PAINT!!  Woo hoo!    

The kids were so excited!  Levi was a self-proclaimed painting pro, because they do it at school.

Maggie, on the other hand, was a mess!  But it was pretty cute. 

More fun times: eating lunch on our bed while watching Toy Story.

Eric ended up leaving the office early and three of us took some pretty awesome naps.  Levi decided his time was better spent playing xBox. ;-)

YEAH -- Life in the Ohio Valley...

 ...although, from what I am hearing, kids all over the place are having breathing problems from our insane weather!  

GUESS WHAT?!!

We woke up to MORE SNOW this morning!  And, it's a really great snow for sledding.  I would guess we got between 2 and 3 inches.  

We headed out early before they plowed the roads and let the kids sled.  SO MUCH FUN!!  I love snow days.  Ready for a night filled with movies and hot chocolate.  Finally -- some good January weather!

Flashback Friday - Eric's 30th!

One of the fun things about organizing is when you come across old pictures!  Well, sometimes it's fun...sometimes it's downright scary. ;-)  One picture I came across was from a trip that Eric and I took together back in the days before kids.  

In many ways, Eric and I are a lot alike.  But, in many ways, we are complete opposites, too.  Eric is a thrill seeker.  I am not.  In high school, he raced motorcycles on the back roads of Southern Indiana, while I sat and read my Bible and went to bed at 9 PM, after watching 90210...okay, not really, but you get the picture!  He loves to fly in those little two-seater planes and I prefer to get a Diet Coke and watch from the sidelines.  And, HE LOVES ROLLER COASTERS.  I do not.  I like the Smurf ride, where you sit on a boat, go slowly through an air conditioned building and get "scared" by Gargamel at the end.  I do not like things that take you immediately from 0 to 60+ mph, whipping you around, screaming down hills that make you want to hurl.  Not my cup of tea!  BUT, for Eric's 30th birthday, I planned a trip for him to Cedar Point, the Roller Coaster Capitol of the World.     

{Picture taken on the ferry}

Yes, THE ROLLER COASTER CAPITOL OF THE WORLD.  I'm pretty sure that trip earned me the wife of the century award!  Not only did I plan the trip, but I made it a surprise!  Several of our friends went with us and we made a weekend of it.  It really was a ton of fun!  We spent all day on Friday at an island nearby called Put-In-Bay, where they don't allow cars.  You have to take a ferry across the lake and then rent golf carts to tour the island.  So much fun!  We spent Saturday at Cedar Point where Eric screamed his head off all day long.  I even rode THREE roller coasters with him.  Of course, one of them was called The Dragon and you sit in a little enclosed seat and it takes you gently around its huge arms of steel, but it was pretty calm.  Kind of like a roller coaster for children.  BUT IT WAS A ROLLER COASTER, DARN IT!

What a great memory to come across!  I love weekend getaways.  Looking forward to lots more! :-)

our weekly excitement

Even though I wanted to stay in bed all week and mourn from watching Sunday night's episode of Downton Abbey, I realized that I still needed to get up and go on...for my children.  ;-)

It's been a pretty boring week here.  And, when I say boring, I don't mean that in a bad way!  I like low key weeks where we don't have a lot going on.  

Tuesday, I spent some time in Levi's classroom for reading groups.  Seriously, this kid cracks me up!  Trying to get him to read in front of his friends is hilarious.  Instead, he will say, "Mom, can I play xBox tonight?" "Mom, what are we doing this weekend?" or even "Mom, do you think Papa will let me borrow his rifle to shoot again?" Oy.  That kid!  Ha!

I also had a dentist appointment.  I've spent about a fourth of my life at the dentist.  Or, at least it seems that way!  I had some serious issues last year and had to get a root canal.  Since then, it seems like I have these little weird things that come up.  This week, they were polishing off a tooth that I had to get re-fixed.  That's a story for another time! ;-)  But, while I was there, I found this picture in a magazine.  I have a small obsession with Courtney Cox.  I LOVE HER HAIR.  LOVE IT!!!  I thought she always had the cutest hair styles while on Friends.  And, she seems to get more awesome with age.  (Except, lately, I think she's had a little too much Botox!!)
This is what I want! ---

 ...it would probably help if I had a stylist, a make up artist, and weighed 98 pounds soaking wet, too! Ha!

Today at CBS, I was forced blessed to be a Helping Hand.  That is where you are forced able to help in the children's department.  I helped in a three year old class and it was fun.  The best thing?  I was right beside the music room so I got to sneak over and watch Maggie through a double glass window!  She is so shy!!  Every time her teacher would move, she would almost cling to her leg.  Poor teacher!  The very last song is Jump for Jesus, and she did do a little jumping.  I seriously almost cried.  There is something awesome about seeing your child engage in an activity.  Yes, I am a sap.

Oh, and then there is this...

A snake that Levi made with paper mache at school.  And, yes, he chases his sister around the house with it while she screams bloody murder.  Nice, Levi.  Nice.  Boys!

Downton did me in.

DISCLAIMER: DOWNTON ABBEY SPOILER INCLUDED

If you watch Downton and have not finished the 4th episode on Season III, or if you plan on watching Downton and don't want to know what happens, stop reading.  Now.  :-)

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When I was in college, I fell in love with Jane Austen's beautiful story Sense & Sensibility!  I could seriously watch the BBC video every single day and not tire of it!

 Then, a few years ago, I took the plunge and watched Pride and Prejudice.  I didn't think I could love anything as much as Sense & Sensibility, but I was wrong.  Love it just as much!

I am fascinated with these time periods!  Sense & Sensibility was first published in 1811.  Austen actually wrote the first draft in 1795 when she was 19 years old!  And it is still a loved book today - that's pretty awesome!  Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813.  Amazing!

Jump ahead about a hundred years to 1912 and be.still.my.heart.

Downton Abbey

I am in love.

This show.  Oh my stars.

If you are not a fan, you will not understand this fascination.  And, that's okay.  But I will go on for a little bit here. ;-)

Katherine, over at Grass Stains, did this post a few weeks ago where she posted some of her favorite live tweets from episodes 1 and 2 of the new season.  I usually have to stay off of Facebook and Twitter until after I have watched the most current episode or I will see spoilers.  I was happy that I got to watch Downton last night, shortly after it aired.  When it was over, I headed on over to #DowntonAbbey and #DowntonAbbeyPBS to check out the tweets.  I saved some of my favorites.

Let me tell you this, though.  Downton fans were NOT happy last night.  At all.  One of the main characters died during childbirth and IT WAS HORRIBLE.  I did not see it coming and I feel like I need to go through some therapy now.  She was one of the favorite sisters (I saw lots of funny live tweets asking why it couldn't be the sister many people didn't like! Ha!) and it was just plain sad.  There was talk about last week's episode being a tad boring - well creator & producer Julian Fellowes made up for that this week!

So, while I sit in mourning today, cursing Lord Grantham in my head, silently weeping for Cora, and wondering how in the heck they will make milk for that sweet baby with orange juice (??), enjoy these tweets that I thought were funny from last night:

And I posted this for Jami because she texted me and asked if I saw Peyton and his son at the Pro Bowl. 

 If you stuck with this post, God bless you.  I'm not sure how life will go on today, but I must try to maintain some sense of normalcy.  For the children.  ;-)

how did these little creatures get so big?

I can't believe it is already time.  Ready or not, my kids are growing up way.too.fast.  I seriously feel like Maggie was born, I blinked, and now she is almost ready for preschool.  It kind of makes me want to throw up a little in my mouth.

We headed out yesterday morning to visit our first preschool.  She will be THREE YEARS OLD in May!  I guess I never thought I would send her to preschool at three, especially when I decided to be a stay at home mom.  But, I really think she will benefit from it.  Mags is a big mommy's girl - and I LOVE IT!!  I do think, though, that she needs to start getting a few hours a week away from mommy. ;-)  When we drop her off at church or CBS, she has a hard time with me leaving.  I know this is natural for a lot of kids, so I try not to worry too much about it.  

My cousin teaches the three year old class at the preschool we scoped out yesterday.  She suggested we check it out -- and I'm SO GLAD we did!  I love their program.  Love it!  During the informational meeting, they had some cute stations set up for the little ones.  Maggie had a blast!

I kind of assumed we would send Maggie to the same preschool where Levi went to daycare, but now we may switch it up!  Having lots of good preschools close by is a great problem to have. ;-)  This next chapter in our lives is a little bit scary, but I'm also looking forward to it.  Is that allowed?  Ha!

Levi has been begging to go shooting.  This makes his daddy's heart swell with pride! ;-)  So, yesterday, Eric told me he and our neighbor were picking the kids up from school a little early to go to the gun range.  O Happy Day.

Three excited kids.

 Seriously, the pink ear protectors - I'm dying.  Adorable!

My sweet little buddy {um, his nose is painted black because it was the 101 day of school and they watched 101 Dalmatians.}

Levi even got to shoot Eric's gun for the first time.  This gives me a little anxiety.

So glad to have a man that teaches gun safety to our kids!  Lord knows their momma can't even load a gun right. ;-)  All in all, a great Wednesday.  

Sunday fun-day!

Sunday was fun-day around here for the boys!  Eric surprised Levi and took him to see the Harlem Globetrotters after church.  He didn't tell him where they were going until they pulled into the parking garage.   Levi kept thinking Eric was taking him to an indoor shooting range.  Ha!  Funny kid. ;-)

I got them tickets from a Groupon a couple months ago and it included a pass to go early to watch the Globetrotters practice.  Levi got to sit in their seats and watch them do some skills.  Cool, right?!

Um, hello!  This guy, appropriately nicknamed Stretch, towered over Levi.

I love how he has the finger on his left hand pointed, too.  So cute!

They had pretty good seats!  Looks like my Groupon paid off.

Hey, look, it's Cee Lo Green! Ha! ;-)

Seriously?

I love his smiles.  He told me the show was "so funny" and he was glad that the Globetrotters won. ;-)  He also told Eric, "Thanks for the fun afternoon, Dad."  Love.