TGIF and "apres le tubb" (which is French for after the tubby!)

Scenes from "apres le tubby."
Love how much dust in our house, as noticed in the photo of Jack!
The kids love brushing their teeth!

The garden club meeting and my presentation went well. I did very well with my card sales, which I was really excited about!

Busy weekend ahead. Gym in the AM, a Sock Hop at Addie's school after that and then Kevin and I are looking forward to an adult night out tomorrow. Hard to believe that Sunday is APRIL... where, oh where did March go?

feeling better!

I'm on the mend. A mother doesn't really have time to be sick, though, you know?! My sore throat is almost gone and the aches and chills have long since left me. I actually felt good enough to get to the gym and run on the treadmill. Progress.

Anyway... we had a BEAUTIFUL SUNNY day today. That's all I ask for every once in awhile... a little sunshine! It was lovely. Not quite as warm as I would like (maybe low 50s), but certainly sunny.

I am gearing up for my presentation to the Garden Club tomorrow. I forget the actual title my presentation was given, but something along the lines of photography and the garden. It all started last spring when someone bought some of my flower cards and loved them. Ginny, the president of the club, then asked if I would do a presentation on how I make my cards and my garden/flower photos. I've made a power point slide show of some of my favorite images and have included some tips on how to take pictures of flowers in the garden (as if I have all the answers!). Ginny told me to take lots of my cards for sale and she's sure they'll be bought right up. I hope so!!!

I'm posting JUST OF FEW (!!) of my favorite images that I'll be showing tomorrow.

A sore throat, aches and the chills...

That's been my state for the past three days. Actually, the aches and chills are gone but my sore throat is hanging around. Did you know you the variety of sounds you can make when you gargle? Gargling (how do you spell that?) is such a strange thing to do. And, it doesn't seem to help!

Anyway... enough crying.

I wont even start to talk about the weather! It seems that the rest of the country is having nice warm spring (and summer) weather and we're stuck under a lovely gray rain cloud. P-LEASE.

On a happy note, the kids aren't sick. Knock on wood. Addie became interested in my camera today and I let her take a couple of pictures. This is what she got: Jack wouldn't pose with me so I hugged the bear, which Addie thought was really funny.

She took a couple of great pictures of the TV and the wall, too! Pretty cute. Here's a silly one of big boy Jack, who now likes to walk up the steps instead of crawl.

Random thoughts

Oh, to be a toddler jumping on a bed again! These pictures are far from technically "correct" but I just love the emotion in them!
Hard to believe that April is right around the corner. We finally got some mild weather and the snow is just about gone (of course the huge parking lot snow piles are still around). We took a little walk in the backyard yesterday (with boots on!) and boy, is it wet. Addie is thrilled with all the little crocus blooming in the yard. I am trying to teach her the names of some flowers. Today she noticed that a few crocus are blooming in the grass and she said, "MAMA... there are some little flowers blooming in OUR YARD!" And, then she proceeded to pick them.

Another cute thing today:
she was drawing a picture in her notebook and she wanted me to guess who she was drawing.
She said, "this is someone who has whiskers."
So I guessed Ruby.
She said, "no."
I guessed a cat, and she again said no.
She then said, "this is someone who sleeps in our computer room."
Again, I guessed Ruby, thinking she was mistaken the first time.
She said no and repeated that he has whiskers.
I said, "Ohhhh. Papa."
She said "YES!"

For you, Papa!

Warm up, please!

Glorious sunshine this afternoon. I can see some green grass again. The weather is supposed to warm up the next couple of days luckily. I am being a big baby about the cold, but I am sick of it!

The kids and I are taking a big trip in a few weeks... we're doing a whirlwind family visit to Ohio and then to SC for some beach time. Addie is very excited - she wanted to start packing her bags already!

Are you kidding? A Nor'easter?

I am sick. I know that it's silly to think that because we had a couple of mild, sunny days this week (in March) that spring is here... but it was hopeful!!! I just heard on the news that we are expecting a nor'easter tomorrow night that may bring 4-8" of snow to our area.

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!

It has been so nice to look out the window and see green. Here's the deal... I like the snow in the beginning of winter. I like the enormous snow storms.... I like that. Now, all of that pretty and fun (and magical for two little kiddos) snow has turned an ugly shade of gray. I'm sick of gray, I'm sick of yucky snow. It's March. It's time for green (ish) landscape and little tiny buds popping out of the ground.

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!

Ok, thanks for letting me rant. On a happy note, Kevin is sooooo excited the Duke "bowed out" in the first round of the tournament.

And, another happy note... here's another pic of that "she's so cute" baby Annika.

"She's so cute!"

We visited our friends today and Addie got to hold new baby Annika. She said, "she's so cute"about 10 times!!! It really was cute, as is Baby A.

WOW! What an afternoon!

Warm temps, the beautiful, warm sun and such a suggestion of spring...
ahhh... great day!

We played outside for a good hour or more this afternoon. Addie had her bike and Jack his "wheels"(push toy) and they cruised up and down the sidewalk. We played with chalk and drew some great pictures on the driveway. We played "tag" (or some 3year old rendition of the game!!!). Just a little taste of what is to come. I can't wait for spring!


The snow is slowly melting. It was so strange enjoying such a gorgeous afternoon in the midst of all the snow we still have.

Tomorrow is another full day... tumbling class in the morning and then playtime with our neighbors.

A couple of pictures from a warm day!

FINALLY... temps in the 40s and possibly even 50s. Tomorrow promises to be as warm** (as if 40s and 50s is warm!!). We all enjoyed some playtime in the fresh air. The sun was out for awhile, too, which was extra special!

Calla Lily

We had the most fabulous standard calla lilies at work the other day, they just begged to have their picture taken. I hardly did them justice - they were gorgeous (and a mere $12 a stem!).

Today was a rainy, gloomy day. The good news is that it was rain, not snow. I'm a little sick of winter and am ready for some more mild weather.

Addie had a birthday party today for a boy in her class. It was held at a big play-area for kids equip with trampolines, mats, huge balls, slides, climbing walls, etc... There were about 25 kids and they had a ball. I got to chat with a few of the moms in her class that I haven't previously met, which was nice.

Dada was excited today because his team, the Tarheels, advanced to the finals in the ACC tourney. He and Jack bonded over the game while Addie and I went to the birthday party.

Going to bed early tonight to try to make up for the hour of sleep we'll lose in the AM. Don't forget to change your clocks!

Sharing Tofu

So, do you think it's a problem that my kids finished off an entire container of tofu this afternoon? Addie had 3/4 of it and surprisingly Jack ate his fair share, too. Yes, an entire container, gone.

Addie and the Icicle

Addie is infatuated with icicles... granted, they are pretty interesting. We had a couple of big ones coming off the front porch so we took it down. She was so excited that it was as big as she was. Then, she turned around and the icicle hit the post on the porch and that was the end of the big icicle!

Winter can be finished any day now. I'm a little sick of shoveling snow. And let's not even talk about the cold. Brrrr... I dare say that the weatherman is reporting a warm up next week. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!

She knows her dog.

Addie and I were trading bedtime stories tonight and the subject of dogs came up. I asked her if she knew what kind of dog Ruby was and she confidently responded,

"yes... a Labradog."

Awesome!!!!

Crayon Toes

My creative child put crayons in her toes and actually let me take her picture!!! It's been a busy, busy week here. I had an event at church on Friday night that was very time consuming... the result was a very fun evening and a successful party. We had a little, teeny-tiny, small, brief (very brief) taste of spring yesterday... beautiful sunshine and temps in the 40s. We'll take what we can get because now it's snowing AGAIN.