Happy Birthday Pete

Happy Birthday to Pete! Another year gone by but a another year of life's gifts have been given and received. We love you.

More hot chocolate please, mama...

So, after a long morning playing outside in about a foot of snow, shoveling with Daddy, rolling, angels, failed attempts at snowmen (not packing snow)...Nora and Gavin returned with red cheeks, icy hands and hungry. We quickly solved the first two with warm clothes, fuzzy blankets and warm hugs from Mom. I sacrifices myself for them to share body heat. Another factor for warm up and to help the hunger complaints...hot chocolate.

Side note - Gavin is NOT a milk drinker. He always drank milk from a bottle and never transitioned. I tried everything but no luck. These days the only milk he drinks has chocolate in it. Luckily he is a yogurt addict - junkie even.

So, we sat down to lunch and enjoyed a sandwich, crackers and hot chocolate. Nora enjoyed the whipped cream (out of marshmallows)...Gavin sipped and decided that warm chocolate milk was disgusting. Picky picky! Nora on the other hand was happy to drink as long as there was unmelted whipped cream in view.

After naps and hanging out in the afternoon, there was a new 4 inches of snow in the driveway. Did I mention that the snow blower is out of commission? Anyway, I decided to go out with the kids this time to play and shovel some snow. As we are getting dressed, Nora says..."I'm going to be so cold. can I have some hot chocolate?". I told her, sure when we go in, we'll have some to warm up. I shovel. They roll and play and attempt snow balls. I shovel snow on them. It was fun. They did hill slides between our yard and the neighbor's driveway and had a blast. The only not so fun part was Nora asking every 5 minutes..."I'm so cold. More hot chocolate please, mama..." Not sure if she was tired cold, or really only went outside to be able to get more hot chocolate. Either way, we are grateful for the passing of the Arctic air and a return to the 20s allows for departure from the house. Sad but true...

Cushy Woopin'

So, my children have fallen in love with the simple things in life. They love being tickled. They love to tickle. They love to laugh and wrestle and play rough with Daddy. But they love, as most kids do, bodily functions...burping and passing gas is becoming a challenge to mange the giggles. With that said, they also love the humor of a woopie cushion. They discovered the beautiful of an inflated balloon in November thanks to Aunt Vicky. "Butt beans" They wore that one out in an afternoon.

So, now they both have new ones via "Santa" - Mr. Santa. If ya know what I mean. They are laughing away. Nora asked me this morning at breakfast if she could "play Cushy Woopin', please". I laughed SO HARD...sweet girl.

I tried to put Pete on the porch!

Warning - this is not a kid story!!

There is this legend from my collage years of a man in my life that carries a curse so powerful that if he even gets close the the TV when his favorite team plays - they lose. Pete is a Browns fan and Lions fan (0-16 this eyar, worst NFL season ever). Pete has what his friends called "Reverse Midas". He in fact does not have the Midas Touch. Exact opposite!! So, once upon a time, Ohio State was playing Michigan on a COLD day in November. The game was in Ann Arbor Hell hole so we were all glued to the TV. A fervent game of drink football was in progress for a party of about 25 people. Kegs of beer were stored on the back porch just outside the living room to minimize ice usage and guarantee cold adult beverages. Pitchers of beer were then transported inside for proper distribution and enjoyment. All took turns braving the cold and extracting themselves from the game to retrieve adult beverages from the porch. The game was a battle early on and the Bucks were struggling. Pete decided to take his turn for beverage distribution and parted for the porch. While filling his first pitcher, the Bucks charged ahead and scored a big touchdown. All were merry for the achievement and the party games continued. We laughed at Pete's unfortunate location at the time, thanked him for the continued party supplies and moved on. Not much time passed and Michigan overtook our beloved Bucks...

The game continued and Pete's turn came around again for a trip to the porch. The door had not yet shut behind him and another big play went down. The Buckeyes were on the 20, red zone, breaking for another touchdown. It was then when Pete was banished to the porch. No reentry into the house until the game was won. The Bucks did score again with Pete on the porch but ultimately did not win the game. Is that because we did eventually let Pete in the house because it was 15 degrees outside? Or is that John Cooper was the coach? We'll never know. The Bucks were not successful again until both left Columbus...

So, why do I tell this OLD story?!? Because, Reverse Midas struck again. Pete is working nights this week and went to bed last night at about 9:00 pm EST. The game was a long one and quiet the battle last night (OSU vs Texas in the Fiesta Bowl). The interest fact that you need to know is that Pete awoke at 11:40 pm EST just in time for Texas to get the ball back for thier last series. He stepped into the livingroom where I was watching the game when Texas had the ball on the 35 yardline. It was all over!! I'm telling you, I tried to put Pete on the porch!!

Go Bucks...another one in the books.

...and to All a Good Night!

I made myself a collage and decided to share...some of my favorite pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I am yet to upload since but I hope to get to it this week. I know there is good stuff on my camera right now.