Spring Break Comes to an End

My spring break is basically over.  I know I still have the weekend, but it is going to be very full with Easter stuff.   Hopefully this year I will even get some pictures posted.  I still have a partially written Easter post from last year that never got posted.  I seem t have a hard time getting the big things up here.  Like Hawaii.  I actually uploaded some pictures, they just aren't posted. Maybe soon.  I  didn't mean to ramble though I was going to tell about the rest of my break because it really was a pretty good week. 

Isablle had been asking for quite a while if she could go to the park.  Not just any park, but the castle park.  We had told her we could go sometime this week.  Wednesday was supposed to be the warmest day of the week, so that is the day we picked.  I spent the morning doing some cleaning and then we packed up our lunches and headed out.  As anticipated the park was very busy.  My sister was bringing her kids as well.  Isabelle was anxious for her cousin to show up.  Even after they got there, they had a hard time focusing on their lunch.  They just wanted to go play.  Finally we let them go.  The castle park has some slides, but it is mostly walkways, ramps, and secret cubby holes. They had a lot of fun running up and down and around.   I spent most of my time in the kiddie area with Tristan.  He liked to swing and go down the "lide."  After about an hour we said it was time to go home.  We, the adults, were more than ready to be done.  The kids thought it was a tragedy to leave so soon.   I decided to stop at Grandma's house on the way home. It isn't very far specially since the road was closed and the detour took us down Grandma's road.  She wasn't home yet from getting her car fixed, so we got Tosha out and took her for a walk. I got her harness on all by myself.  I was very proud.  I was a little worried about pushing the stroller and holding the leash, but it mostly was fine.  I even got some help.  Tristan kept trying to hold the leash for me while he sat in the stroller.  It was super cute.  He didn't hold on very tight though and then I would have to chase the end out he the leash.  Isabelle spent most of the walk saying how tired she was and out of breath.  Curiously she wasn't too tired and out of breath at the park.  Grandma got home just as we finished our walk.  We stayed to visit with her for a little then headed home.  Thomas was supposed to be home by then, but he had some problems come up at work and was taking longer than expected.  His day off ended up being a 12 hour work day.   I did some more yard work while we waited for him.  Then we watched some Mary Poppins and headed to bed. 

I had thought Thomas only had off work Tuesday and supposedly Wednesday, but he had Thursday off as well. We had a game day at my mom's house.  Thomas went to go "exercise" at the pool.  Everyone was a little late getting there and things weren't getting started.  I didn't want to waste my day, so I finally got a game of Settlers of Catan going with the boys. The two oldest nephews are both going to turn 13 in the summer.  I can't believe they are that old.  I think that the other is about 11.  They are almost the same age as the kids I teach.  We actually had a pretty good game.  I would have won if I could have got four more roads.   After Thomas came we played a game called Wonders of the World.  I think it is kind of fun.  It is however a little bit compicated and I guess I didn't explain it well.  Both Thomas and my mom (who had played before but it had been a while and she didn't remember the instructions) were confused.  It ended up being a three way tie for 43 points and my nephew getting 44 points.  Then I realized that the score for my set of cards was supposed to be squared not doubled.  I had nine points for that section instead of six.  I beat him by two points.   Isabelle wanted to go home with her cousin.  When I went to go pick her up they wanted to have a sleepover.  I thought that would be fine.   She is so sad about her cousin moving.  They had gotten and offer on their house Thursday morning and my sister spent part of the day dealing with that.   We went home and got her stuff and sent her back.  At about 10:00 that night we remembered that we had a doctors appointment at 8:45 in the morning. 

We did not get up as early Friday and we meant to.  It ended up being a bit of a rush. We were only about two minutes late for the appointment and had to wait almost ten minutes still, so i didn't feel too bad.  Everything went well.   Both children are healthy.  Isabelle is 34 lb. and 19 percentile.  almost 42 inches and 37 percentile.  Tristan was 24 lb. and 17 percentile.  31 inches and 5 percentile.  For our kids that is really good.  Tristan especially has moved up a little.  The funny thing is despite being that low in weight and height, his head is 53 percentile.  After the doctors we went home and got ready to go back to Grandma's house for the day.  Thomas was working in the afternoon to close.  I had planned to scrapbook with my mom.  I paid for my younger sister to take Isabelle to see the new Chipmunk: Chipwreck movie.  They both really liked it.  I put Tristan down for a nap and we got quite a bit done.   I took last Thursday and Friday off of work to go to a scrapbook party at my great-aunt's house.  It was a lot of fun.  She had tons of supplies and didn't mind letting us use any of it.  My mom had a similar party back in October.  I didn't take off work that time, so I was only there for Saturday morning.  Before that I hadn't done any scrapbooking for several years.  I have gotten excited about it again.  Isabelle really enjoys looking through them and there aren't that many pictures of her. Most of the pictures are on the computer in digital format.  I kind of need to decide if I am going to keep making traditional scrapbooks or if I want to try something more digital.  Thomas is supposed to do one of the online books they print for his Africa trip.  It was his birthday present last year, but he still hasn't gotten me the pictures.  I also have points from pampers to do a book, which I wanted to do for Isabelle.  The day did not end as well as I had hoped.  I was planning on staying at my parents to watch a movie or something fun, but both the kids were having meltdowns. It was probably because of the shots.  We packed up and headed home.  Both kids were in bed and asleep by 8:30, which for us is really good. 

Family Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas 2011

I was hoping to get this out early this year, but here it is two days before Christmas and I am still finishing up.  I hope that everyone has had a good year and great holiday season.  This year has been a lot of the same stuff with a few surprises thrown in.  As far as our jobs everything is mostly the same.  I am still teaching at Mueller Park Jr. High with 8^th and 9^th grade English.   This is the first year that I have not had a new subject; although the first little bit of 9^th grade felt new since I missed the first seven weeks of the year.  I did apply at the new junior high they built here in Kaysville, but my friend got the job.  Last year our entire English department was expecting.  I had mine in August before school started, the other two had theirs after the year ended, and neither came back.  The fourth teacher was the one who got the job at the new school. That left me as the sole returning English teaching. I had several other friends that quit or moved to the new school, so there have been a lot of changes. It has been a bit of an adjustment getting know and work with new people.  Allen is still managing the subway in Ogden.  Other than the constant influx of new employees not much has changed on that front. 

           

Annika is now four years old.  She is really enjoying being a “big girl.”  She is also generally a fantastic older sister; although sometimes brother “bothers” her.  They are both still at the high school day care.  Annika loves it there.  She is always excited to go to school.  I think that socially it has been a great thing for her.  She has learned a lot about being friends and interacting with others.  She loves to sing.  Her favorite song right now is “I’m getting nothin’ for Christmas.” We are getting a little tired of hearing it.  She is also obsessed with princesses.  She was a very pretty princess for Halloween. 

           

Aidan is almost 17  months .  He is a happy baby.  He is always full of smiles and mischief. At school he is one of the favorites. All the high school girls liked to hold him. He went 14 months without getting teeth and then got six all at once. That  did make him a little cranky, but he seems to be doing better now.  One of his favorite activities is to open and close things, especially cupboards.  He also loves his blankets (there are five of them.) He is always carrying one or more of them around.  He doesn’t always have to be holding it, but it must be on floor in close proximity.  He also loves to be outside.  I have never seen a child before who got so excited about shoes and socks.

           

Our first big surprise of the year was Allen’s opportunity to go to Africa with his uncle.  He was gone for two and a half week during July.  The rest of us kept occupied with camping trips and family reunions, but we missed him a lot.  He spent most of the time in Tanzania and Kenya.  At the end of the trip they flew down to see Victoria Falls as well.  He was his uncle’s photographer.  He “had to” get a new camera before he went and then rented a fancy high zoom lens (you don’t want to get too close to those lions after all.)  He took about 16,000 photographs.  You can see some of his favorites at www.flickr.com/photos/alyntopia/. 

I also have a flickr page, www.flickr.com/photos/wravenlockw/, my pictures are generally not as impressive as Allen’s.   The other thing I got into this year was blogging.  There were two blogs I started reading, which inspired me to start my own blog.  I have really enjoyed writing it;  although  I have not publicized it very much. You can read my posts about some of the other things we have done this year at: adventures-gretchen.blogspot.com. 

The other thing that has kept us busy this year is finishing our basement.  Allen started it in the summer, but he just didn’t have time to really work on it.  We ended up hiring help.  They have completed all the work but the painting, which Allen and I did.   It has taken longer than I expected, even with professionals. Right now Aidan is sharing a room with the computers.  It makes it hard because the best time to work on things is when he is sleeping and you can’t because the computer is in the room with him.  I am hoping that once the computers are downstairs, I will be able to do more with my blog, scrapbooking, and dealing with our family pictures.  I also am very excited about my new tub we installed in the basement.  I can’t use it though because it doesn’t have a surround.  All we have left to finish is the tub surround and floor in the bathroom.  That,  however, is on hold, because something else came up.

Allen’s sister told us in October that she was engaged.  That normally wouldn’t have been a big impact on our basement, but she picked the Laie Hawaii temple.  We had six weeks from when she got engaged until the wedding.  To complicate things the trip would be over Thanksgiving and my birthday.   It ended up being pretty good, although there were a few problems.  Aidan ended up being sick the day before we left, and then I was sick on the plane there.  It is never a good sign when you are nauseous before you get on the plane. The first day there was the wedding.  It was very nice.  The temple workers were amazed that we all came so far for the wedding.   We also got to spend a little bit of time at the beach.  The second day we went to Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center.   The third day there was snorkeling, shopping, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, some more beach, and fish for Thanksgiving dinner.  The waiter also sang me happy birthday. I got a piece of coconut cake.  It was very tasty.  We flew home that night at midnight.   It was fun, but short.  Mostly it helped us know what we want to do next time we go. 

We welcomed December with a huge windstorm.  We did have some damage.  One of our windows was broken by a flying shingle, the roof was not as well covered as it had been, and the plum tree in front of our house was gone.  We were saddened by the loss of the plum tree.  There were originally two, but we lost one in an April snow storm.  It was half dead and kind of ugly, so we didn’t mind too much.  The other was bigger and had a nicer shape.  Our house now looks naked without them out front.  I almost stayed home that day because I was so traumatized just driving up to the high school.  I got hit by a large tree limb and almost by a garbage can.  I was assured that school was on, so I braved the winds rushing through Centerville.  It was terrifying to drive down the road feeling your car sway in the wind and see semi after semi tipped on its side.  In Bountiful it was much calmer.  By the time I got to school the power was already out.  At the end of the first hour we were informed that we weren’t getting power back and we started sending students home.  Emergency evacuations are a huge mess.  I spent the morning as a runner going to get students out of their classes when their parents came.  By the time it calmed down at 11:00, I had over 6,000 steps for the day.  At that point I found out the daycare was closed and left to go pick the kids up.  Unfortunately I had left my lights on and my car was dead.  I had to have another teacher jump my car.  It was one of the most exciting days I’ve had in a while. 

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Christmas Season.

Love the Widdison Family

Halloween

I don't know why it takes so long to get things done.  I was going to post this a long time ago, but we have just been too busy. Now the details are all a little bit hazy.  October went by so fast.  I don't know where the month went.

On the 22nd my Mom had a party for the grandkids.They got to pick out a pumpkin and paint it.  Isabelle loved it; although, her painting skills are still mostly in the blobs of color phase.  She is starting to make actual pictures with her crayons though.  A big step forward in the life of a young artist.  We also played some games and got lots of candy.  I mentioned before that I actually sewed Isabelle's costume, so there was a fair amount of time spent doing that the last bit of the month.  I ran out of time to get things finished up, and my mom ended up hemming it for me.  I thought that it turned out very nice.  Isabelle wore it to school on the 28th for trick-or-treating in the office and counseling center.  In the afternoon, the kids who don't take naps also got to go to the seminary building for more candy.

Saturday we headed up to Thomas' grandma's house for his family party.  It is usually just pumpkin carving and food.  I had picked Thomas out a really nice large pumpkin from my mom's patch.  I didn't know it, but they had a bunch of heirloom pumpkins planted back there too.  His pumpkin was either one of those, or it got crossed with a gourd.  It had a woody layer before the regular squash layer. It took him a long time to get anything done.  He ended up bringing it home and cutting the patter in with his drummel and then cutting it with the regular pumpkin tools. He made a lion in honor of Africa.  It turned out really nice.

Monday I had to go to work, but the kids didn't have daycare because it was the end of term teacher work day.  They hung out at my sister's house.  I got home about 3 or 4 and made dinner. By about 5:30 it started getting dark and a few kids were out and about.  Isabelle was a princess. We borrowed a couple of poofy skirts from her grandma to act as slips and fluff the skirt of her dress out a little bit.  I didn't have time to make a second costume, so Tristan had the choice of a tiger or a cow.  The tiger was a 6 month costume.  We got it on him, but it was a little bit tight.  The cow was a little bit big.  When I made it three years ago for his sister I made the tail so that it was just barely not dragging on the ground.  His tail was dragging quite a bit.  We had a hard time getting him to keep the hood on, and he managed to pull off one of the ears.  They went out with their dad, while I stayed home to hand out candy.  They came back with a pretty good load.The princess needed a potty break, and the cow was getting cranky.  I went out with the princess to traverse the top half of the neighborhood.  She was so excited about running from door to door and collecting more candy.  She ended up with way more candy than she needed.  We didn't do too much restricting, and it was gone within a week.  She keeps asking when it will be Halloween again.  Not for a while I tell her.


Apparently only half of the camera download worked.  I will add more pictures soon.  Right now little boy needs to go to bed, so I must sign off the computer.  

Welcome November

We have apparently entered that time of year known as the holidays.  It is a time characterized by its super busyness.  I have several posts planned, which I have not had time to actually do yet.  Remember several months ago when I mentioned that we were working on our basement?  Well it's making progress, and I have a few pictures to prove it.  I have tried to do some yard work that needed to be done before it got cold, and I have mostly succeeded.   I still owe my mom some weeding for help on a certain princess dress which needed to be done in time for a recent holiday.  There are also pictures of that.  Last week was also the end of the term, which meant lots and lots of grading. My 8th graders turned in essays right before the end of the term, so I spent my fall break reading papers and sewing.  My toddler is also getting to be a handful.  He suddenly seems taller and is getting into things I don't think he should be able to reach, my alarm clock for example.  Today he was playing with my keys while we loading everything after school.  I had set him on the sidewalk next to the car.  He walked over to the car and tied to stick my car key in the key hole on the door.  Where did he get so smart?  Then while we were getting ready for bed, he tried to turn on his sister's lamp.  He thought he was such cool stuff.  I am hoping that things settle down a bit, but I am sure that they won't.  There is the basement to paint, a wedding to prepare for (which happens to be out of state), NAL practices start next week and I am still recruiting ( I have just over half the students I need for a full team), and of course as mentioned... the holiday are upon us.   I hope that everyone's lives aren't quite so hectic, and if they are.. well have fun.  Does it really matter if the laundry get done and the kitchen gets cleaned? Because it might be February before my life settles down again.

Good-Bye Summer

I thought that today was the fall equinox. It turns out that it isn't until Friday the 23rd.  I guess that means that I get two more days of summer!  It wasn't a supper exciting summer, and we didn't get to do a lot (unless you counting Thomas' trip to Africa in that we.)  However, we still managed to have some fun just hanging around at home.  I thought as we say good by those warm laid back days I would share some of the random pictures I had of summer fun. 

 First off we have the day we picked apricots (yummy! Isabelle keeps asking when there will be more on the tree.)  The tree has gotten a little bit big and unmanageable.  I decided to try out an idea I had last year.  What if we held a sheet under the tree while some shook the tree.  That would work great wouldn't it...

 Well, it kind of worked.  We got some of the fruit we wouldn't have otherwise been able to get.  Us sheet holders, however, did sustain a few injuries from being pelted by falling fruit.

We also enjoyed piggybacks,

bubbles,

 and Popsicles.

Sometimes we just sat around playing video games and having snacks.  

                       

        

 Occasionally, we even dressed up.

Even though there are lots of things to look forward to in the fall, I will still miss the summer.  We wait for it all year, and then it is gone so quickly.  It is amazing how time flies.  Before you know it, Christmas will be here, then Valentines, and Easter with the return of  flowers and insects.  Then yes, once again, summer will be here.

Happy Birthday Baby!

 My Baby is a whole year old -actually he is almost 13 months now.

 We had most of his cousins over for cake and ice cream.  It was a lot of fun. I spent most of the day cleaning so that it would look good when everyone arrived.  It cooled off enough that we were able to have the party in the back yard, and very few of the guests appreciated my cleaning, but that meant it was still clean when the party got over.  I was almost ready when everyone arrived.  I had everything ready except the frosting.  I am not good at making frosting.  Luckily my sister-in-law is really good at it and volunteered to help me out.

Tristan was not so sure about blowing out his candle, but the other kids helped him out.  He wasn't as excited about  his cake as we thought he would be.  He poked at it more than he ate it.  However, later in the evening he found a cupcake someone else had abandoned (once they had removed its frosting) and he quickly reduced it to crumbs. 

Tristan was walking several weeks before his birthday.  He still has no teeth.  He has suddenly developed a temper and is very possessive - my blanket, my mommy.  If his sister sits in my lap, he will try and push her out.  I think it is kind of funny.  The one problem we ran into after his birthday, was that his sister liked his new toys, a lot. He sometimes isn't allowed to play with them.  He got a really cute Little People Zoo and a Safari Jeep (in honor of his daddy's recent return from safari.)
He used to be a fantasic eater, (I would link to the post where I wrote about that, but it is still in the editor and only has about two sentences) lately however he has developed a picky streak.  He refuses food, and drops it on the floor.  Very irritating.  We still love him though.  I can't tell you how many people have stopped me to tell me how cute he is.  He is winning people over with his smile. 

Little Bud Needs a Space

I have not had a good post in a while, and I am not sure that this will be one either.  Part of my problem is the time.  I have trouble finding time when I can use the computer.  This is mainly because of one small boy.  Before he came along, we had two bedrooms and an office.  It worked out well. Husband and I had a room, Daughter had a room, and the omputers had a room.  Along comes my little man who must also have a room.  Since there isn't a room available, he gets to shares with the computers.  Now, I can't say that this doesn't have some advantages.  For instance, computers put off a lot of heat.  Having my baby sleep in a room with two computers, at least one laptop, and various other computer clutter, I don't usually worry about him getting cold, even when other parts of the house are a little bit chilly.  Despite this advantage, it has the huge drawback of being unable to use the computer when little buddy is sleeping, a prime computer using time.  I can only use the computer when he is being entertained by his toys, which generally only happens in short chunks. Frankly, I am surprised how long this particular moment has lasted. Not that he doesn't love his toys.  He also goes from perfectly fine and happy to inconsolable when he sees his mother. Despite how much fun he is having, he realizes that he isn't being held and he should be. Although lately I have had a harder time holding him because he has decided that I am in fact a jungle gym.  I think that we will all be happier when he starts to crawl.  However, that will bring its own complications.  Anyway, to get back to the computer issue, it is not meant to be permanent. The computers want to live in the basement.  The basement is currently unfinished and lacks a couple of key items.  1) heat 2) power outlets in the area where the computers will go.  I was hoping to do some framing over spring break.  Thomas was supposed to take a day or two off, but the person at work who does the schedule told him that this was a bad week and it just wouldn't work out.  (Did I mention that Thomas is the manager and is the one who does the schedule?)  We did finish up our taxes last night and we are getting a refund.  Maybe we can use some of that on the basement project. The biggest problem is really just finding time.  I think that is one of those things that needs to be planned and scheduled, or it won't ever happen.  Plus there is the part where I mentioned Tristan is getting ready to crawl.  Not being able to crawl does not make him stationary.  He is developing a fascination with cables the extend out the back of computers, off of desks, and anywhere else that is in his reach.  This to me says that something must be done soon.  He has become very talkative lately.  I can hear him now talking to his toys. Currently his favorite consonant is B. "Bababab Babababa." I did hear a "Ma" yesterday, but is was only once.  I tried to get him to repeat and get a "Mama," but no such luck. 

A couple of unrelated side notes:

1) I was really wanting something chocolate and snackish the other day, so I decided I would make brownies, "to share" with the new neighbors.  I felt like that was a valid excuse to make such a horribly delicious and fattening recipe.  After much anticipation, they turned out horrible.  I forgot to add the flour.  I have never done that before. I couldn't believe that I had done such a thing.  I had to throw out most of them.  The crusty parts tasted OK, but the rest was gross. It made me so sad because I was really looking forward to them and because they are kind of expense. (An entire box of butter, 8 eggs, the cocoa and vanilla!)

2) Saturday when we went swimming, I made it an entire  length of the pool without stopping.  I really wanted to stop, but I pushed through.  Now I just need to be able to do it consistently, then I can start working on going down and back, which most people consider a single lap.

3)  We actually made a plan to do some yard work on Saturday as well, and it happened.  Maybe making plans is the way to go.  I have a whole post I need to do about the yard, but that will have to wait for latter.  Child #1 finally got out of bed and is asking for breakfast, and Child #2 is no longer entertained by his toys.  He says that someone needs to come pick him up.  I guess we will go and make breakfast.

Random Tidbits

I don't like daylight savings time.  I have been tired all week.  I can't seem to get to be on time; I can't get up in the morning. I am dragging all day long.  I am looking forward to the weekend when I can sleep in.  Hopefully.  Lately the children have been getting up before we want them to. 

Today was my second swimming lesson.  I think that I did pretty good.  I can almost breathe, and I only choked on pool water about a dozen times.  She made us do laps, which I was mostly able to do, although not with out pausing to breathe or rest. 

This is a crazy week at work, and I am way behind on stuff.  I brought piles of stuff home, and amazingly I got a lot of it done.  Only because Thomas had the children.  Thank you so much!  I love you lots, and not just for the baby-sitting. 

Tristan has a bad cold.  He has been coughing and had a little crusty in his nose.  The last two days he has become very congested.  I have also not felt 100% this week.  I had a headache Sunday, which lasted until Monday night.  The glands in my throat also felt swollen, and it hurt to swallow.  Otherwise I felt fine.  Last night I also became very congested.  I can no longer breathe, and I am coughing.  I am hoping I feel better tomorrow.  I should load up on vitamin-C. 

Monday

Today was definitely Monday.  I actually got up early, which is something I don't do often.  I showered and did my hair.  Dressed my 3 year old.  I do this when she is mostly still asleep so that she doesn't argue about  what I am putting on her.  After dressing she usually goes back to sleep depending on how much time is left until we have to leave.  Next I went and fed the baby.  Up until this point I thought that I was having a pretty good day.   My little guy loves to eat. He has always been a big milk fan, in any form.  He has taken to solids with a passion.  He is pretty happy most of the time, but if you want to see him get upset, just take away his food partway through a meal. I have to time his feedings in the morning or else he will eat all day or at least until we are late.  Because I was ahead of schedule, I didn't pay attention how long the feeding went.  I realized we were taking a little long, but we weren't late yet. I went and got the three year old up for the second time. We did her hair and then loaded everybody in the car.  At this point, we aren't late, but we don't have time to dawdle. Everything is ready to go, except I can't find my keys.  I look on the TV cabinet where we usually keep them, I look on the kitchen counter where they often get put.  I look on my bookcase, my bathroom counter, my computer desk, my bookcase again, the kitchen again, the whole family room.  I try to remember what I was wearing last time I drove my car and then check pockets.  I check an assortment of jacket pockets. I realize I don't have time for this and go to get the spare key out of the drawer.  The spare is missing. (I still don't know where it is!)  I go out and look at the kids sitting in the car, and remember we have a spare car. The van is old, and doesn't go well on snow, but it isn't supposed to snow.  (You really should check the weather before you think these kinds of things.)   It also has new tires, which I am still irritated about paying for. Tires are not a fun way to spend money.  I decide to take the van to work.  I move the kids over, taking time to secure them.  The seat belts don't want to cooperate, and I can feel the minutes ticking away.  I close the door, go back inside to get the van key, grab the garage opener, and start the van.  At least that is what I tried to do.  It sputtered a moment and then just clicked.  About a month ago the battery was dead, but we charged it and drove it around enough for it to pass inspection.  We then put it back in the garage and then didn't touch it for a month.  I talked to my dad and he says this is strong evidence for a bad battery. Another un-fun way to spend my money.  I call my husband, on the verge of tears, and he offers to come home.  He has only been at work for about 5 minutes.  I asked him if he remembered seeing my keys anywhere.  He thought he had seen them in the kitchen.  I go back and look again.  Instead of just looking on the bar, I actually walk into the kitchen and look.  There they are sitting on the other side of the counter next to the groceries I got on Saturday and didn't put away.  I let my husband know I have found them, then run out to move the kids back to my car. I pull out and head to day care.  I guess the good thing about a morning like this is that the rest of the day can't get much worse.  In fact it actually went pretty good. Although I am not sure what to think about the snow that is coming down now.  Like I said, I didn't think it was supposed to snow.

My Family

I have been meaning to do this since I started my blog, but hadn't gotten the chance.  I want to introduce my family.  I am still deciding how public I want this blog to be and how much I am going to share.  I personally like to share.  Sometimes I am told that I share a little too much.  I would like to publish a book someday and be a famous author, and then I am sure people will know more about me than I would like them too. 
My husband is a fairly private person.  He is reserved in what he shares, even with family.  He is good at keeping secrets, which I find very irritating at times.  One of his hobbies is photography.  He has some amazing pictures.  I personally like the pictures of family.  He is more interested in nature.  I accuse him of not taking pictures of people, but he says it is about 50/50.  You can check out his pictures on his Flicker Page.  His online name is Thomas, so that is the name I will use for him on this blog. 
I have two children.  My daughter is almost four.  Some adjectives to describe her would be sweet, silly, adorable, and loving, as well as, irritating, obstinate, and opinionated. She can go from cute to hysterical in seconds and back again.  We love her a lot, but some times she really does drive us crazy. Her current obsession is anything related to the Disney princesses.
My son is seven months old.  He is one of the sweetest babies I have ever met.  My cousin recently told me at a family get together that she had heard the term happy baby, but she didn't know they exist. He really is a happy baby.  Just like all babies though he does get cranky when he is tired or hungry, and he is hungry all the time!  It has been fun to see him grow and change.  He definitely is starting to get a personality all his own, which is so different from his sister. I am not sure if this might end up being a bad thing, but around the house he gets called brother more than his actual name. I am still deciding if I will use their names, pseudonyms, or just keep referring to them as my daughter and son.  I will probably go with alternate names...but what?

Here is a picture of the four of us that we did for our Christmas cards, which I never got sent out.