SNOW MUCH FUN!

Finally, a day we could get outside and have fun in the snow.   I put the little dude in for his morning nap while the rest of us came out to play.  WHAT FUN!  

The OBX Experience...

So we did the Disney vacation last April and are in dire need of a relaxing, summer vacation for 2011.  Hell, we've had about 4 feet of snow in the past month and it's super fun to research online over a glass of wine while it's snowing outside.  Another foot coming tomorrow!  My Traverse has been AMAZING in the snow this winter.  I really love driving it, the way it tracks so well in the snow and slush.  So sure-footed and we feel so safe!

But the Traverse needs another adventure.  A sun-roof adventure.  We're thinking about a week on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Now that we know we can drive to Disney, we can do anything.  REALLY.  Twelve or so hours, piece of cake!  As long as that bridge in Delaware cooperates...

OBX looks amazing.  I am in need of something new.  Don't get me wrong, we love R.I. and Cape Cod, but we figure this is something we can still do when the kids are young and we aren't tied down to camps and lessons and friends.  A week on a wide, white sandy beach with a house across the street to call our own.  A house with a pool and a blender.  A house with lots of bedrooms so we can invite a couple other families to join us.  Other kids to keep our kids occupied.  Sound enticing?  

I have a house in mind.  It's pretty sweet.  JUBILEE anyone?  I WILL NOT DRIVE TO THE BEACH!

Only 2 weeks remain that are not booked yet.  So if you think you would be able to put up with us for a week in luxury, let us know.  Chris will do the cooking.  Corolla is calling the Stows.

Trendsetting

A co-worker stopped me this morning and said, "I think you've started a trend! Everyone is cutting their hair pretty drastically since you've been back!"  I laughed. "Oh the HAIR!  I thought you were talking about cars!  Whose Traverse IS that, anyway?

Igo School Lot

Well, while I have your attention AND we're talking CARS...listen up!

Have you checked out the new Chevy Cruze?  Feeling lucky in 2011?  Need a new ride?

Your Local Chevy Dealers (Boston, Maine, Hartford, Providence and Springfield) are holding a Chevy Cruze New England Test Drive Challenge!  All you have to do is simply go to your local Chevy Dealer and test drive the all new Chevy Cruze!  You'll be registered to WIN a brand new 2011 Chevy Cruze!  Simple, right?  After your test drive, you'll be invited back to your dealer on February 21, 2011 at 6pm for a big party where the winner will be announced! So stop in any time before February 15th and tell them I sent you!  You'll be glad you did!  Good luck and stop back here to comment about the car!  We want to hear how you like it!

Cruze Interior...Pretty Sweet!

Bring It.

Six lovely months home with the kids.   Wow.  So different when there are 3 home. Did I enjoy it?  Did I love it?  Is it for me?  Would I go if I didn't have to?  Is it harder to go or stay home?  Does it make sense financially?

Yes, I loved being home with them.  I have the best little baby in the world AGAIN, who can sleep 12+ hours through the night and smile at the world.  Did I love every minute of it?  Of course not!  I now have so much more appreciation for my Mom, who did it with 4, and all the women out there who have had large families.  It's quite the balancing act.  How do you not go crazy, that's what I'd like to know.  Like, for real.  CRAZY.  Absolutely bonkers.  You just do it, they say.  It's actually better when you have lots of kids because they learn to entertain each other.....REALLY? So am I going to have a 4th, you ask?  NOT ANY TIME SOON!  But have I gotten rid of the bassinet, the baby seat, the girl clothes?  Nope.  Why not, Anne? Because I'm crazy in Crazytown.  I could be done, that's for damn sure.  But there's a miniscule tiny iota that tells me not to get rid of it all just yet.

I'd pass by the Igo every morning during the preschool schlep and Aidan would say, "There's Mommy's work!"  Felt good driving past it every morning in Sept. Oct. Nov...  but something happened in December.  I started to miss it.  Like REALLY miss it.  There were a few weeks between November and December where Em and Aidy decided they would TEST ME.  Now, how can a just turned 5 year old and an almost 2 and a half year old test their mother.  Let's see......

"You're NOT THE MOMMY!  I'M THE MOMMY!"  


"He threw the laundry ball at me and it hit me in the head!!!!!  WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"  


A new game called, "Remove ALL the Cushions from the Couch" and lots of jumping and diving.  


"I Don't Like You Anymore and I'm Not Talking to You!"  

I mean, we all know about the witching hours.  They were sometimes ok and easy going, don't get me wrong.  But on the days when we didn't leave the house and four o'clock rolled around......watch out.  That was, if of course, Aidan was up from his nap.  Nothing wrong with letting him sleep until 6pm if it keeps them out of each other's hair!!!!

Her vocabulary is now extraordinary.  She now understands antagonize, instigate, hunyak (don't even ask!), aggravate, lollygagging...just to name a few.

In the morning I will understand paycheck, a few hours out of the house, me-time that's not just the 5 minute shower, teaching kids to read again, and a little-make up and no sweats.

January 3rd, 2011.  My first day back at the Igo as a part-time reading specialist since I gave birth to little Owen.  Bring it!

My Mom's going to work tomorrow!