Snow Day

All week, the weatherman threatened us with a winter storm hitting Columbia and the rest of Missouri today.  As per usual, I took the threat pretty lightly.  On Wednesday night, Columbia Public Schools cancelled classes for today and I simply laughed as I hadn't even seen a flurry.  This morning, I woke up, looked outside and got myself ready for work and the kids ready for school.  I dropped them off at 8 to light flurries.  Twenty minutes later, I left my first office and serious ice was coming down.  I decided to attempt one more office building.  I went to three offices with all but two doctors out of the office and therefore smarter than me.  By the time I got out of the office, it was only 9:30 and over two inches of snow had fallen.  We were being pounded by thunder, lightning, snow and ice.  I immediately decided to pick up the kids.  Avery was exstatic and Logan was a little confused.  Our normally 25 minute drive home took over an hour with two stops to deice my windshield wipers.  Shortly after I got home, the highway shut down.  No one should have been on the roads.  I guess the weather predictions were correct; as of 9:30 pm, we have at least nine inches of snow and sleet.

Anyway, Luke is in Milwaukee and Minneapolis this week so it was just me and the kids.  As soon as I got to school to pick them up, Avery grinned, jumped up and down and said, "Now that we are going home, it must be time to play in the snow."  Don't worry, I didn't deprive my girl of her snow time.  I even took her out to play a second time while Logan napped since he hated the snow so much.  Overall, we had a great day playing dress up, making snow cream, playing in the snow, reading books, watching a couple shows and practicing letters.  The kids were so good.  I might even stretch to say that this might have been our best day as three.

Enjoy our fun pictures from our fun day!

We didn't have snow pants, so layering with sissy's leggings had to do.

"No, Logan do it."

Lost in the snow.

"Mom! I think I'm stuck."

Pure Joy!

Avery loves the snow, Logan does not.

Maybe we should have just watched from inside.

Post snow Lorax watching. 

Second Serving

Snow Cream!

Third Serving

We Wear Two Ponytails On Tuesdays...

You know it's going to be a good day when Avery marches into your room first thing in the morning and declares,"I need two ponytails, like Josalyn is going to wear." Let's be honest; her hair is certainly not thick enough for ponytails so hence forth we will refer to them as 'pigtails'. When she asked for pigtails, I didn't think about it too much. She looked just a little more grown up and was so excited to see herself in the mirror that she giggled. Sure enough, when I dropped Avery off at school, Josalyn was wearing two ponytails.

Today, Luke asked Avery if she wanted pigtails again. Her response: "It's not Tuesday so Josalyn and I only need one ponytail." I just smiled as I put one ponytail in her hair. When we arrived at school, I had to check out Josalyn's hair. Sure enough, just a single ponytail.

We love Josalyn and I think it's great that Avery has a bestie at school. It's even better that Logan also loves Josalyn and Luke and I get along with her parents (Luke and Matt seem to enjoy an adult beverage every now and then). I just don't know how I feel about my three year old already planning her hairstyle with her friends.

No, mom, I really do need two.

Thank you.  Now we will look alike while we work on our plan to grow up too quickly.

Wordless Wednesday

Home Remodel Burn Out

I never thought I would say it, but I am completely over home remodeling.  Since we moved into our new house in August, we have been in a constant state of chaos.  I want a clean, organized house back.  I don't even care about the master bath remodel I have been dreaming about and my must have heated tile floors.  It's true, I can deal with cold feet in the morning if it means having my house put together.

The following is a list of the things we have done or paid to have done since August:

1. Tear out existing floors on main level and replace with all hardwood.
2. Paint kitchen cabinets and change the cabinet and sink hardware.
3. Remodel the main level half bath.
4. Decorate the living room and hang a huge gallery wall.
5. Paint the laundry room.
6. Build cubbies in the garage entry.
7. Paint kids' bedrooms.
8. Wallpaper wall in Avery's bedroom.
9. Decorate kids' bedrooms and hang new light fixtures.
10. Hang 8 sets of curtains.
11. Build a workshop.
12. Organize the garage.
13. Trim all of the large trees in our backyard.
14. Install new dish disposal.
15. Paint and decorate the kids' bathroom.
16. Pantry optimization.
17. Begin decorating Master Bedroom.
18. Install French Doors in Luke's office.
19. Building cabinets and bookshelves in Luke's office.

I'm sure I missed something, but you get the point.  We never know how to do things half way.  

So, after Luke's latest office project, I want to slow down and take a break.  This project has been one of the worst, but will have amazing payoff.  Luke and his helpers (my dad and Luke's dad) have done a great job tackling this project.  This weekend was the worst.  A lot of sanding happened so dust got EVERYWHERE.  I cleaned yesterday and had to re clean the whole house today.  Fortunately, I think painting is the next and last step.  After that, we can put the office together and the dining room and hopefully have an organized house.  At least until the next project.

My master carpenter staining the countertop.

Almost finished.  Just needs doors, paint and some molding and a good cleaning!

Logan's Big Boy Room

We finally finished Logan's big boy room and I am so pleased with the results.  We might add another picture or two, but for the most part, I LOVE this room.  When our decorator, Jesse, and I discussed Logan's room, I really wanted something that could grow with him, but matched his two-year-old personality.  He never had much of a nursery in our old house so getting his room right was pretty important to me.  

This is where all the creativity happens.  :-)

Even the most angelic little boys sometimes need a time out chair.

Logan's favorite spot.  His books, trucks and blocks.  The picture says, "Don't Forget to be Awesome".  I hope he never forgets...

This light fixture is perfect.

Logan's Balloon

My favorite thing in Logan's room.  He calls them, "My ABC's" and insists on reciting the alphabet every time he goes in his room.

Merry Christmas!

Crackin' Nuts

To use an overused phrase- "they grow up so fast."

Last night we had the pleasure of having both sets of grandparents in town for Avery and Logan's Tony award winning performance of the "Nutcracker". Okay, so it wasn't exactly award winning but I was completely amazed with how well almost 200 kids under the age of 8 behaved. 

Avery and Logan were so focused on doing a good job. Even before the play Avery told me "Daddy, we can't sing. If we make a noise, we're out."

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Just look at that focus.  That's right, future Fortune 500 CEO right there...

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That's a lot of kids.

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Logan isn't the only one who has the eye of the tiger...

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Again, look at that determination.

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Santa is making his way down to the stage so you know who all the kids are looking at.

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Ours would be the short one...

Happy Holidays!  Luke

My Favorite Thing

I know I'm not Oprah, but I'm convinced my current favorite thing is worth taking a look.

I have always been fairly active.  I like to multitask, can't sit through an entire TV show without getting up to do something, love chasing my kids and enjoy walks (especially around the mall and target).  Unfortunately, I have never been a huge fan of intentional exercise.  Those of you who know me well are probably a little shocked.  Yes, I have always exercised.  I truly believe in the health and emotional benefits of exercise, but I just don't like to actually do it.  Circling back to my multitasking tendencies, I prefer a treadmill or an elliptical machine so I can read my Kindle App. on my iPad.  In fact, I have run outside less than ten times since college.  (This drives Luke insane!)  When I hear my friends talk about getting up early to go to the gym, I am baffled.  I can't imagine someone getting up early to do anything, especially exercise. 

Ever since Avery was born, my personal health and fitness has taken a toll.  As most moms to young children know, "me" time is VERY limited.  If I have the choice to sleep, watch tv, read, clean the house or go for a run, going for a run is the absolute last thing I want to do.  Simply put, I need motivation.  For me, my first motivation came with a group steps contest.  This contest is the Columbia Steps Challenge through Cerner Health.  Teams have been put together and the teams compete to get the most steps per day.  I love competition and am very proud of my progress, but am still trying to figure out how a few people get 40-50,000 steps per day?  Seriously, that is a lot of steps.

My second bit of motivation came from my amazing pedometer.  (The first one I bought was crap so I had to bite the bullet and buy the expensive one.)  This pedometer I'm talking about is called the Fitbit One.  Seriously, it's amazing.  It not only tracks steps, but miles, flights of stairs, calories, activity level and sleep.  I am obsessed.  Sometimes when I am low on steps, I run in place in my bedroom before Luke and I go to bed.  It drives him crazy, but he sometimes humors me and joins in.  If I'm bouncing around the house and Avery sees me, she often asks how my steps are going.  It's hilarious.

The contest started about two months ago and my step average has quickly increased.  I  now run on the treadmill almost everyday and make more conscious efforts to get extra steps in wherever possible.  My weight has stayed the same (I wasn't trying to lose), but my body fat has decreased 3%.  I am in an overall better mood, less tired, but more able to sleep at night and have more energy during the day.

So, this FitBit.  I think it's amazing.  If anyone is looking for a little motivation or even just more awareness of your activity level, I definitely recommend picking one up.  It's also very small and can be clipped to you waistband, pocket or even bra strap.