If you asked me in November what I was most excited about in the upcoming months I would tell you all things winter. Cuddling by the fire, hot cocoa, Christmas... SNOW! Snow days. Being cooped up in the cozy house and not being able to go anywhere while watching ice storms and blizzards out the window.
BUT.......
We are seriously SO over this winter.
Trying to make the best of this lousy weather even though literally the minute Craig gets the driveway cleared, in 2 days it's full of snow again. Like, inches of it. The piles just keep getting bigger and bigger. It's the middle of March, people!!
The kids like to go out and play when daddy is clearing the driveway. Andrew thought it would be fun to run into the snow shooting out of the snow blower! (Disclaimer: I got a comment on FB about this not being a good idea because of rocks or other things that could come flying at him. But I wasn't that worried... the blankets of snow were huge and I think he was safe, and having too much fun to stop! I know. Mom of the year.)
And can I just be real for a minute? Thank goodness for iPads.
There have been way too many days of being cooped up inside and we have had to bust these out once in a while. I promise they don't play on them all day and every day like it looks like! Ha!
They crack me up because they are almost always sitting together when they play on them, and if nothing else, it gives me a few extra minutes of sanity to get a few things done (or to sleep longer when they are up at 6am raring to go!) I just love iPads. They are so easy to operate that even Kerigan can play independently with her apps and not need my help. We have tried everything in the book for portable video games, the leapsters, leap pads, etc, and the kids always needed help with them. Every single time. I even thought the games were hard! And the games were $25 a piece! You just can't beat free apps. And by the time we pay for a few games for the other devices, we were spending as much as you would on an iPad anyway! We love the mini. It is a perfect size for them!
And speaking of Apple products...
Yes, this actually happened. And it wasn't even the kids' fault! Good thing I was due for an upgrade. This was the first iPhone 4 and so slow I could hardly stand it anymore. It wasn't working right anyway so I wasn't too broken up about it. I headed straight to Verizon and picked myself up the new 5c and I am in love. That certainly helped my winter blues!
My girl and I still brave the cold and a 45 minute drive once a month for our hair cuts! I don't have them cut hers every time, but every once in a while she gets a trim. The best part for me is our Panera lunch dates! Best mac and cheese ever! She and I just share a big bowl of it! I look forward to it every month!
Time for a trim!
This was her second time and she did much better than the first time! Now that she knows what to expect she just sat up like such a big girl and she enjoyed it!
iPad and snacks while waiting for mommy! I just love a fresh little bob! I don't think I could grow her hair out super long because I love short hair on little girls. I'm just waiting on it to thicken up a little bit!
She seriously posed like this herself. I know, I know.
Getting lots of use out of her new robe!
Naps are few and far between these days so she will typically fall asleep in the car if we are going somewhere. I brought her in this day and she was so out of it she kept sleeping on the couch so I let her! And yes I am aware she's wearing pj's and we were out and about. I pick my battles. Ha!
Sweet and rare moment when they are not tormenting each other! (Although I think about 2 minutes after I took this, one of them was in tears for some reason! Ha!)
Kerigan got a belated Christmas gift from Ga Ga and she has been loving it!
I had seen this little dressing table at Pottery Barn Kids about a year ago and wanted it for her, but didn't like the price tag.
I found the exact same one someone was selling for super cheap! Couldn't pass it up.
It has provided hours of entertainment for her! This is right up her alley!
Gotta love the princess poses! I still need to get her some baskets for it and fix it up for her but she is just in love with it!
The girl spends hours in her room, just playing. Andrew never did that. I guess I didn't keep a lot of toys in his room and for her, she has all her dress up stuff, babies and accessories in her room and she just loves putting on her Sofia the First or princess CD's and dressing up and playing with her babies. Her closet looks like this almost every day and she goes through about 4 pairs of pj's and 6 princess dresses per day! Ha!
This was too cute for words. At night lately she's been asking to take books to bed with her and look at them before she falls asleep. I don't have a problem with this because it keeps her in her bed and she always goes right to sleep. The other night I found her like this when I checked on her. So sweet she fell asleep reading!
And one weekend the kids were begging to have a "slumber party." Daddy was gone at work and I just gave in! Ha! They actually slept like this most of the night. Until Andrew made his usual move to our bed around 3am. I couldn't believe they actually fell asleep together since they are always bugging each other!
Lots of movies by the fire! Nothing beats the winter blues like a fire and free kids rentals at Family Video! We are hooked and we always have an excuse to go because every time we need to return movies, we just get more! Ha!
And these are my people. My heart mamas! They are an amazing group of women I am so blessed to know! We all escaped for an overnight retreat at a lake home a couple of weekends ago and it was so heavenly. We ate dinner at this delicious restaurant overlooking the lake. It was so amazing that as our waitress was taking our orders and we started talking to her and telling her why we were there, we found out that she is also a heart mom! Her 8 year old daughter has a heart defect and has had open heart surgery! We couldn't believe it! What a small world. So we had to get her in the picture too (front row, on the right)! Ha!
Then we headed to the house where we had munchies, great conversation and just amazing company. No kids allowed (and I must say we all have pretty amazing husbands or this little getaway would never have happened!) It was so cozy and fun and so many fun memories were made!
I found this quote on Pinterest and it couldn't have been more perfect for that night. Yes, I am pretty sure I haven't stayed up that late since college. But it was so worth it! I am so grateful to Craig for giving me this much needed break! It was his first time by himself with the kids overnight and they did great! He even let me take a nap the next day!
And if you can't go to the beach... why not bring the beach inside? Ha! These are Kerigan's sweet little day care friends. They had a beach day and just had so much fun! I died when Ashley sent me this picture. And Kerigan apparently has a twin. Even my mom thought she was the one in the striped swim suit. Kerigan is at the bottom in the Ariel suit with the darling smile! But when I looked at it again I could see the resemblance! I just love all her sweet little friends!
And of course we had to watch the Oscars the other night. I saw this on Facebook and died laughing. This was SO true! I just kept saying to Craig, what's that movie... or haven't heard of that one...
Of course we stuck with it long enough to hear "Let it Go" and see the winner of best animated film, and we weren't surprised one bit! I personally think it is one of the best Disney movies ever made.
And in true Elsa fashion...
I found this shirt and had to have it for her. We all LOVE this movie and I just pre-ordered it and we can't wait to get it next week!
Just in time for spring!
So, take THAT, winter!
