Winter Storm 2010

Welllll, our biggest snow of the year! As opposed to the rest of the country, we didn't get much. But for us, it was a big deal. It started out really light and nothing seemed to be sticking to the ground. But after about an hour of good downfall, things started to stick to the roads and driveways. We ended up with about 4 inches on the grassy areas and probably 2 inches on our driveway. I'm just glad it fell on the weekend when Christian was home and could go out with the kids. They had a blast playing with Daddy!

This is a picture of our neighbor's property with the snow on the trees. It really was beautiful!

Doesn't he look like he's up to something?

Two beautiful angels!

What Daddy? Its not too slippery!

There wasn't much snow on the cul-de-sac, but it was covered in a sheet of ice!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was a busy day. The kids and I went back to church for the first time since Magan was born. Christian stayed home with Magan because it was still too cold to get her out. To tell you the truth, I really think Christian wanted to stay home because the Daytona 500 was coming on at 12:30 and they started TV coverage at 7:30 a.m. I think he was afraid that he would miss something!

My mom and dad came out (this is a tradition for my mom and Christian) to watch the 500 with us. The kids got Valentine's gifts from GeeGee and PeePee and they brought a BIG cookie for dessert! The kids had a great time but were really tired of racing by the end of the weekend.

Sisters

I'm so glad Mallory has Magan now. I think all little girls should have sisters. Yesterday, Magan was fussy and couldn't get comfortable anywhere. I put her in the swing to give my arms a break and to wash dishes. While she cried in the swing, Mallory decided to help me out. She thoughtfully told me that make Magan feel better by reading to her. So, she went to Magan's room and got a book (a rather big book). She placed her chair right by the swing and began to flip through the book.

A few pages into it, she discovered that she couldn't read the "big words" and she went back for a new book. All while Magan is screaming at the top of her lungs. I wanted to pick her up but I couldn't deny Mallory this chance to soothe her baby sister. When she returned with a smaller book, she began to look through it also. Sweetly, she looked up at me and said, "I don't think I can read this book but I can tell her about the pictures."

It was a priceless moment.

To my valentine...

The kids are having their Valentine's Day party at school today. Yesterday, we had to work on their valentines cards. I wrote down all of the kid's names from their class and they each wrote out their own Valentines. I had to get this on camera for two reasons:
1) They were so cute working on them. Each letter was meticulously written, and they took time to decide who would get which valentine card. Surprisingly, they were very interested in the fact that they would get a card from each other. I had to explain to Mallory several times that she would get a card from everyone in her classroom.

2) It was the first time that I didn't have to write out the cards. It means that they are getting big and can do a lot of things without my help. It was kind of sad for me to come to realize that they aren't babies any more and can think and feel for themselves. (I can tell you that my post-pregnancy hormones kicked in and I had to fight hard to hold back the tears!)

Mason's cards came with tattoos for each valentine. He not only had to pick out the card that each person was getting, but he had to pick out their tattoo also. When it came time to write out Ms. Janie's card, I had to stress that Ms. Janie probably didn't want the Power Ranger tattoo and that she would be just happy with the card.



Mallory looked so cute dressed up on her costume while she worked on her cards. She took them very seriously and her handwriting was perfect. Although, in the end, she was "over it". Eight Valentine's cards was enough for her and she was ready to move on. What a sweet little girl!

Cooking with my Valentines!

Yesterday, I got brave. I'm still recovering from the baby but I decided my other sweet Valentines needed some attention from mom. So, I decided we would bake cookies for Valentines day. The kids were so excited. Sugar cookies with lots of icing and sprinkles.

Mallory is a "touchy-feely" kind of girl. (Just like her mom and GeeGee.) We like to touch and feel the texture of stuff. She absolutely loved having this dough in her hands. Then we added the flour and she was in heaven. She really could have cared less if we actually made the cookies. She just enjoyed running her hands through everything.

Mason wanted to eat the icing more than he wanted to put the icing on the cookies. He licked the knife a few times before I caught him, so we had to change knives. I'm not sure how many cookies got iced with the licked knife, so these cookies we have to keep home.

Vola! Such beautiful cookies. And...look at that proud smile! :o)

Mallory was so proud too. She wanted to take her cookies to school, but I wasn't sure if anything had been licked on her tray. Just best to keep them home. More for Mommy to eat!

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!!!

Its 8:24 p.m. and all of my children went to bed at the exact same time tonight (7: 45 p.m.). Clean, fed, sang to, homework done, and bags packed for tomorrow. And...I did it all by myself. Aren't you proud?????

Mawmaw's Visit

Christian's mom, Nancy, came for a visit today with Magan. Luckily, Magan was staying awake at the hour she arrived, so Nancy got to visit with her for a while. Nancy couldn't get over how much she looked like Mallory. Pawpaw came too, but he was busy with Mason and Mallory outside. They made him run around the outside of the house and chase them. It wasn't long before he was ready to go!
We were glad they came and hope they come back soon!

2 wks old!

Today, Magan is two weeks old. Its hard to believe that I was having a baby two weeks ago. About this time, I was in the recovery room and anxious to see my new baby.

Magan went for a second check-up last week to get her weight checked. She was born at 8 lbs. 1 oz, and at her first appointment, had dropped down to 7 lbs. 12 oz. Dr. Jattan just wanted to see her again to see if she was gaining weight. We took her back yesterday and she weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. She had gained almost 1 lb. in 1 week. Dr. Jattan jokingly asked if we were feeding her lead. We were just glad that she had gained!

This morning, were just hanging out on the sofa. This picture is a little dark but really cute! It won't be long and she'll be as big as Mason and Mallory. Its hard to believe!

Nothing to do...

Well, not really. I have house work, laundry, dusting, etc. And I'll get to that sooner or later. If I start heavy cleaning now, Christian and my mom will probably have a heart attack. But I'm a little bored right now. Magan is such a good sleeper and eater, that she's not too much trouble. I know, I know. Don't get too excited. It'll come and I'll be so overwhelmed. But for now, I'm relishing the time to catch up on the things I like to do and staying on top of my blog. (I know this makes my mother happy!)

I don't have any new pictures to post. Magan has been asleep so much of the time and the unofficial rule at my house is that the baby has to sleep in her crib. So I haven't wanted to disturb her sleep with the camera. But I'll work on that in the next few days.

My mom and my friend DeLynne have gotten me interested in sewing. My grandmother did this for us for as long as I can remember and I think I might really want to learn how to sew for myself. I think when I'm able to get out, I'll be checking in to a starter sewing machine. DeLynne puts her basic patterns on her website and she says they are really simple. Maybe for her, but I'm hoping she'll help me with them.

I'm just blabbering now. Check on me tomorrow.