Starting with a Thankful Heart in a Snow Globe

It is snowing again here. I'm not talkin' a few little wimpy flakes, or even the on-again/off-again freezing rain we experienced yesterday. Today's snow is the REAL deal - it started about an hour ago and we already have 2-3 inches. Our street looks like someone coated it with whiteout. The birds all look confused and we have giant cotton balls on the branches.

If I actually took a photo today, it would look much like this picture of us in December. But, we're too cozy inside today (and Little Sister is a bit too grumpy with her molars coming in) to bundle up and head outside.




Despite the birds' confusion, Mother Nature is giving us a visual treat. The kids are getting a total kick out of describing the way the snow is falling, since it seems to change every five minutes. According to them, the snow has transitioned from:





floating





to





racing





to





drifting





to





blowing





to





float racing





back to





floating





And so, now that the snow is slowing (dusting, I'd call it), I can pry myself away from the window to think about what I'm thankful for this week:





1. Our "hot" date on Saturday night to Costco, Target and Qdoba while the kids enjoyed their first sleep-over at my parents' house in over a month.





2. Wednesday afternoon Mr. Music and I will complete the final requirement for the application process at the Multi Age school in our district (the student visit). The lottery will be drawn in early April and we'll finally know what the plan is for Kindergarten.





3. MizFit is rolling on creating a MizFit Mag!





4. I looked down at my legs yesterday before doing my Treadmill 5K and realized that my "Runner Legs" are back! Now that I'm back on track with running 4-5 days/week and doing my strength training, I'm seeing the results. Now I'm feeling more confident that a few 10Ks and a Half-marathon will be good fits for this year.





5. The quilt my mom and I are making for the school auction is nearly complete. I'll post a photo after I put the finishing touches on it tomorrow. It is INCREDIBLE! Neither of us has made anything like it before.





How about YOU? What are you thankful for this week? Did you reach a fitness goal? did you finish a fantastic book, did you try a new recipe that was a big hit? Come on, don't be shy - celebrate it with a quick note in my comments!

Cabin Fever Busters

HOORAY!!! Today marked the first day in over two weeks that we left the house using something other than just feet. The snow/ice finally melted enough that we could take our four wheel drive vehicle out of the neighborhood and even venture as far as the next town. Though it was a bit like taking two monkeys out of a zoo into the wild of the human world for the first time, it was still nice to get out of the house!

So, what have we been doing for all of these days? Here's a little list of cabin fever busters we attempted over the last few weeks . . .

1. Run on the treadmill. Even Mr. Music took a bit of a walk on it (assisted, with a MAX of Speed 2)
2. Holiday movies (Rudolph, Grinch, Mickey, Garfield, Frosty . . . shall I go on? I think Mr. Music saw each one at least twice - and this is a boy who watches 1-2 half-hour shows MAX a day, if ANY!)
3. Christmas cookie baking (just once - with just enough to share with neighbors and Santa)
4. Trips to the Vet (2 trips made by my husband, father and dog - once by foot because the roads weren't safe, another by car in the miracle window of good weather and "safe" streets before the third wave of snow hit). I'm thankful his bite is healing nicely now.
5. Christmas Card writing (see letter below) - complete with Mr. Music signing his name on each card himself!
6. Pre-Christmas toy sorting to make some space for a few new things from Santa and family
7. Facebook updates
8. New quilt project
9. Driveway shoveling
10. Igloo construction with snow from said driveway
11. Treadmill running
12. Balance ball workout
13. Dinner prep game - What can we make with what is in our fridge and pantry???
14. Treadmill running
15. Closet sorting
16. Driveway shoveling
17. Visits from parents who snow-shoed a mile to get here
18. Sledding with neighbors
19. Present wrapping
20. Piano playing and Christmas caroling
21. No church due to road conditions - lessons and carols at home!
22. Shoveling out neighbors' stuck cars
23. Christmas!!!!!
24. Using degrees in English, Art History, Forestry & Education to put together children's toys
25. Catching up with all of the laundry TWICE
26. Treadmill running
27. Digging trenches to allow the snowmelt to reach the drains and prevent our garage from flooding (that's where all the books are!!!)
28. Oragami with Netflix mailing envelopes - they have patterns on their website!
29. Phone calls to distant family to pass along words of cheer for Christmas
30. Writing "Mad Lib" style thank you notes for the gifts we received (see below)

I'm sure there was more excitement these few weeks, but I've blocked them out . . . I'm putting the "adventure" behind me now and am looking forward to the promise of a new year!

Here are the letters we put together for our friends and family this year:

When you leave the Christmas card responsibility in the hands of a little redheaded girl who is not quite two years old, you get something musical, short and snappy - much like her!

(sung to the tune of “Baa Baa Black Sheep”)

Hel-lo, everyone!
For Merry Christmas time,
(Sister’s) here to sing you
A little family rhyme.

(Mr. Music) is reading,
And learning how to write.
Daddy is dreaming
Of me sleeping through the night.

Mommy is eye-ball deep
In blogs and press releases.
I’m learning to put together
Puzzles with (a handful of) pieces.

Swimming lessons, music
And (Mr. Music)’s pre-school, too.
As much as we enjoy them,
None are as special to us as you!

Merry Christmas, Family.
Happy New Year, Friends.
Wishing you love and joy
As this full year ends!

Love,

Little Sister

And our thank you notes go something like this:

We’ve been a little stir crazy this December (i.e., the snow has kept us homebound for over 2 weeks!). To entertain ourselves (and you), we created this “Mad Lib-style” note to express our gratitude for your kindness this Christmas. We did part of it for you, but you’ll need to pick the nearest friend or relative to help you fill in rest of the blanks before you read the note. Be creative and enjoy the results!

Adjective: ________________________
Person’s Name: ___________________
Person’s Name: ___________________
Verb: ___________________________
Verb: ___________________________
Plural Noun: ______________________
Verb: ___________________________
Noun: ___________________________
Verb: ___________________________
Noun: ___________________________
Verb ending in –ing: _______________
Number: _________
Number: _________
Noun: ___________________________
Group of people: __________________
Noun: ___________________________
Person: __________________________
Person: __________________________
Verb ending in –ing: _______________
Exclamation: _____________________
Adjective: ________________________

Sorry I can't format the letter to look right here on Blogger. I think you get the idea, though!

Dear _______________,
(person’s name)

Christmas at our house was _______________. We spent the day with
(adjective)

_______ and ___________ doing _____________. We ______________ with
(person’s name) (person’s name) (verb) (verb)

our new _____________________.
(plural noun)

My favorite part of the day was _____________ ______________. Next
(verb) (noun)

year I hope we can do it again, and maybe __________________ with ____________, too.
(verb) (noun)

Snow has been _______________ here for _______ days. We took advantage of
(verb ending in –ing) (number)

the _______ inches of snow by building a ______________, sledding with our
(number) (noun)
_____________, and having ______________ fights. My _________ and _________
(group of people) (noun) (person) (person)

even snow-shoed to our house everyday to visit with us! It is all melting now and we’re

____________ for floods. _____________!
(verb ending with –ing) (exclamation)

Thank you again for your thoughtfulness this Christmas. I really like the

__________ and ___________ and ________________
(noun) (noun) (noun)

you sent me. I’m looking forward to ______________________ with it.
(verb ending in –ing)

Have a _____________________ New Year!
(adjective)

Love,

______________________________
(person’s name)

Enjoy the end of 2008, everyone!

Running with the boys

For the first time in a long time, it was our daughter who woke up the family this morning. Usually it is our son, the early bird, who announces the numbers displayed on my husband's alarm clock and insists that it is time for us to wake-up - even if the first digit is a 5, or even on occasion a dreaded 4. Much to my surprise, the numbers told me it was eight-zero-zero (as Ethan would read), about an hour later than Ethan EVER lets us sleep! Of course, he was up a few times over the course of the night, but I finally convinced him to settle in and rest by creating a "cozy bed" for him on the floor at the foot of our bed. There is something magical about that space for him. He slept there peacefully from four until eight (if you leave out the incident where our dog thought the space looked pretty cozy, too, and layed ON TOP of Ethan, resulting in Ethan shouting out "Bad Albus! No, no, no! This is MY bed!").

Since we were so late in prying ourselves from the bed, attending church was out of the question for us. We go to the early Mass only, as Ethan just doesn't have the right balance of energy, calm and curiosity for the later Mass. Though David and I decided last night that we'd both like to get in a run today, it just wasn't looking good. Then the phone rang. A phone call at 8:15 AM isn't always the most welcome, but this was by far the best call we've received before 9AM. My mom wanted to deliver a plate of her homemade cookies on her way to her church (of course, Mom, bring them right over!) and then suggested that she take Ethan and Megan to the service with her so they could enjoy watching my dad play with their church band (of course, Mom, I can have them ready whenever you'd like and I'd even be happy to put little Megs in a dress!). She suggested that David and I head out for some breakfast (knowning that sleeping in was a RARE thing and breakfast on our own is even more rare!) together while they were all at church.

We kicked around the idea of a breakfast outing for abut 2 minutes. We immediately knew that this was a chance for us to enjoy a run together outside and that it would be great, even if it was snowing. So, we got the kids fed and dressed, buckled them into their carseats in my mom's car and didn't look back to watch them pull out of the driveway. We were going for a run - together!

Our dog, Albus, loves to run, too. As we got dressed for the run, he immediately recognized the signs - clothes from the bottom drawers, white socks, running shoes . . . with each item his tail wagged faster and his eyes darted between each of our faces to see which of us would acknowledge that he was invited for the event. His running is the same style as David's - full speed ahead. It helps that Albus has four legs and David's legs are LONG. This speed is not my favorite, so Albus doesn't often get to join me when I run. BUT since David would be going, he received the much anticipated nod that he could come, too.

So, there we were, the three of us, running the hills of Duvall at 9AM. While the treadmill has kept my legs strong, it does have the drawback of keeping my lungs from getting the same experience that hills and cold air provide outside. Even with the few walk breaks I requested, it was a good morning to run. We waved good morning to our neighbor has he strung their outdoor Christmas lights - a festive picture, if not the ideal conditions he would choose for such a chore. The wind changed direction with each of our turns, encouraging the snowflakes to fly into our faces and stick on our eyelashes. I can't remember the last time we went for a run in the snow, which means it has probably been a few years. We'll definitely do it again . . . and maybe even give it a try with the kids in the double jogger, if need be.

Thanks, Mom, for sharing your morning with us all. We hope running around with the kids was as satisfing as our run around Duvall!