quotes of the day...

nora, after getting her piggy bank, told me it was "so we can pay to go to Disneyland". sweet! love her willingness to chip in!

jamey, after pushing his sister down, "sorry, sissy". WITHOUT BEING PROMPTED! yeah!!

we have had a trying afternoon. nora has been pretty good recently, putting herself in time out when she thinks she needs to, usually more than i would put her there! but, today, we were having a bad day. it was a good reminder that she is, in fact, three years old. and i need some patience in my life.

last night, i yelled (okay, spoke harshly in frustration) at her, because she disobeyed. she was really trying to help, but spilled oj all over the floor. i told her i was sorry for the way i responded, and explained why i wanted her to obey. i also asked her to apologize for her disobedience. she did and said, "next time you won't yell". nope. i won't!

they are so cute and getting so big. especially my almost two year old! the kids are playing together so much more and having fun together! i love it! and am sad. all at the same time...

PS!!! we got orders! it's official. hawaii, here we come! AND... it also looks like i will be living at home until stef's wedding, after a brief trip to san diego in may. so, twinsburg, here i come from may to july. thanks for the prayers, everyone. it was a hard decision to make. when david asked my opinion, i told him i thought i would be so happy, and yet a little sad, no matter which decision we made. so here i sit, happy and a little sad. on the precipice of a great new adventure in my life!

spring has sprung!!!

even if for a day... jamey LOVED the "jass (grass)", and playing in the "messy" (snow).

"cheese!"

showing me her sparkly rock. "everything sparkles, my rock sparkles, my eyes sparkle"...

not to be outdone... he has a rock, too!

it's a little blurry, because i almost fell over taking this one!

trying to get everyone in the shot!

managed it a little better...

he just plopped down on the snow and played. LOVING the break in the coldness!! (notice, even those it's been WARM the last several days, it still hasn't melted ALL the snow in our backyard!)

mama's boy...

a new hat... she looks like she's trying to be a gangsta...

but she really likes her hat (it fits me!! i think i want it!). i made it from an umbrella that broke, but i loved the pattern to much to get rid of...

swimming lessons. this might be me trying to cajole him into doing what we are supposed to be doing. oh wait, that's every picture!

at least he'll (kinda) smile!

swimming after the ducky...

he really can do a pretty decent job of swimming... if he'll let go of me long enough!

probably screaming, "NO"!

sweet boy... he's quite the mama's boy right now. as mentioned, he LOVES to snuggle. daddy just put him to bed and i didn't hear a peep. and he did it in less than 30 seconds. i do it, and he always begs for another song. and no matter how many "another songs" he gets, he still screams when i put him in bed.

for nap today i was singing to him. he asked for "when peace" ("it is well with my soul") first. then, i asked what he wanted next, and he asked for "chase". i offered up some of our usuals, but he only wanted "chase". i couldn't figure it out. and he was getting annoyed. finally, i got it... he wanted me to sing "amazing grace".

i also love how he still grabs for your chin to turn your head when he's talking and really wants you to listen. i struggle with the thought of leaving them (still) in the childcare at the gym. they really enjoy it and i do too! there's nothing wrong with it, and working out in the morning makes the most sense. i just feel a little guilty! (imagine if i was working...) but i realized today that it probably is the best thing for jamey. he rarely cries anymore when i leave him somewhere, and i think he would be even more a mama's boy if i never left him!!!

today, i was uploading pics and he wanted "up". i picked him up and he sat on my lap. and then squatted and said, "down". then stood back up and said, "up". it went on for a few minutes. he was so proud of himself!!!

he has also joined nora's bandwagon of loving peppers! whoo-hoo! i am glad that they can enjoy crudites as a snack!

phew... that's a lot... but there you go.

i'm so done...

dancing in the kitchen with my sweet baby boy. i used to wear make up every day. i liked it! feeling put together, not ragged and sleepy looking! now, i go to the gym every day, take a shower usually in the afternoon, and just don't see the point! hence my fresh face! (don't get me wrong... i LOVE to wear make up... but i am also loving this phase!) and, david could care less either way!

nora loves her princess hair. how long it is. how princess like it is. but, she HATES to brush it, and on most days, do ANYTHING with it. sometimes we get braids, a barrette, or a headband. but usually not. when we have a screaming match, otherwise known as hair brushing, i always give her the option of cutting it all off so we don't have to brush. she doesn't take it. today, i told her i would just cut a bit off. she went for it.

before...

after... (not totally straight, but she is also tilting her head...)

another after. i was just done fighting her, and thought i would do it this summer, after ballet (since it has to be in a bun for ballet). but, since we are not doing ballet for the next month, i went for it!

what a day...

the kiddos watching a show!

remainders of my day... shakes for breakfast. mcdonalds' for lunch... a chai tea i made myself this morning. we left at 8:30am and got home at 5pm.

first was the gym. then, the bounce house! the kids had a blast!! we met several of our friends there, along with making some new friends. including a woman who grew up 10 minutes from me! (she noticed jamey's cleveland browns sweatshirt and commented on it!)

the kids... jamey really enjoyed it this week! i was so thankful!

jumping...

after the bounce house, we got lunch and then went on to our friends' house for a sewing/playdate. i put jamey to bed, the other kids played and we sewed. the other mommy is also starting her own business, so we had a lot to talk about as far as websites, design, wholesaling fabric, etc. it was so fun and refreshing! we plan to do it regularly!!

i should also note that i came home to a red velvet cupcake... my hubby knows they are my fav and got me one!! what a sweet man... beats out flowers any day of the week! (he's also working on dinner... LOVE HIM!)

a three ring circus!!!

eating his toast and saying cheese...

his favorite way to eat recently. it's not eating if BOTH hands aren't full!

if i take a pic of jamey, she has to have one taken, too. and she always asks to see it on the back of the camera!

today was a birthday party! check out those AWESOME cupcakes that leigh made....

the kiddos enjoying the cupcakes...

enjoying his cake!!

all the other kids were playing... and he was savoring his cupcake!

i made d a fireman's hat for his birthday.

nora... at 8am on friday morning! LOVE IT!!

getting ready to go run errands... also LOVE IT!

the view across the bridge... of the war college, swos (david's school), and the officer's club. such a beautiful place we live!

across the harbor....

my life recently has felt like a three ring circus. maybe not that crazy, but like time is FLYING! i feel like yesterday was sunday. and now tomorrow is sunday. how is time going so fast? after the party today, i tried (successfully, thanks to a sweet friend who called to check) to go to the store again, and they were open! but, the item i had been waiting on was gone... such is life, right? (and that just means a better one will come along!) we got to hit up a bunch of shops i had been wanting to go to in newport. such fun...

i then convinced david to take us out to dinner... i had to run up off the island for one thing, and convinced them all to come and go to "on the border" afterwards. we pulled up to whole foods, where i had to get the one thing, and saw that they have roses on special for $19.99 for two dozen. i commented on the phenomenal price for roses, and david said, "what would you want flowers for?". i just really didn't know what to say!!! about 30 seconds later, when i could speak again, i think i just grunted, and he said, "oh, cause it's valentines' day?". i laughed the whole way through the store! i think people thought i was crazy!

on the way home, the kids were watching cars, and we were talking about it. jamey loves "jookie" (luigi). nora gets so frustrated that that's not his name... david said something about sally being the grey car. i said i thought she was blue. i asked nora what color sally was and she said, "blue. sally is the blue-grey car". diplomatic nora. very diplomatic!

nora asked if she could watch frost the snowman next time she goes to mom-mom's house. (she routinely asks for things she knows are places... grammie's, mom-mom's, etc and wants to do that something she doesn't get to do at home) i said i thought so, but she would have to ask mom-mom. she said, "mom-mom always says yes". sweet... (but hey, that's what grandparents are supposed to do, right?"

the downside...

the downside to living on a small, tourist driven island. the awesome little small businesses will just close whenever they feel like it, regardless of store hours. so, if you really want to go to the store, and load up two kids in the 30* weather, trying to get there before they close, because they are only open three days a week this month, as figured out by the last two times you were there, and they weren't open, and a sign was posted, and you get said two kids out of the car, to get to the door to find it locked, it's a little annoying!!! argh!

one store i called actually told me that she tells her workers to go home early when it's slow! i wanted to say, "how do i know when to come to your store"? (ironically, both of these stores are consignment stores, and theoretically shouldn't be tourist driven, but driven by the local economy, since most tourists aren't going to come to shop the consignment stores!!) i get the shorter hours in the off season. i get the luxury of owning your own business, so what you say goes. but i just want to come GIVE you business!!

all that to say, we DO have some great consignment stores on the island, and we get to live here when not overrun with tourists, so we get to do some things others don't get to do!!

NOW... if you have stuck with me through my rant... nora is setting the table. she's so excited about and proud of this new capability. SO. AM. I!! it's wonderful. she is SUCH a big girl. we are looking at a 5 day preschool for next year (i can ONLY find 5 day preschools on our next island!), and i am having a hard time with it. she's my baby. and, if she stays in this school, she still has two more years of preschool. (start dates and birthdays in hawaii!) i asked her if she was going to be okay going EVERY. DAY. she looked at me like i was crazy. she told me how excited she was. and then i told her i would be sad. again with the crazy look. and she said, "but you can pick me up after every day.". gee, thanks!

jamey... only refers to himself as jamey. not james. and LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to snuggle. yesterday, we didn't get to snuggle before his nap, so in spite of having two friends over to play when he got up, we snuggled for about 15 minutes. he's so BIG! i can't believe he's almost two. he is so independent, and smart. talking so much more than i expect, because he's my baby. i think we are in the midst of his "terrible twos", hitting it at the worst just before two, like nora did. but, when he's not terrible two-ing it, he is the most precious little boy, with the sweetest heart. he will routinely say "thank you" without prompting! and, he LOVES his amoxicillin. thanks to the makers who make it SO GOOD!! (we are almost done... and then have to do a follow-up chest x-ray to make sure all the pneumonia is gone!)

phew... a lot of writing... lastly, we move in less than three months! no orders yet, so no official plans have been made. no orders due to the lack of signing of the defense spending bill by congress, so there is no money yet to move us. (go to page 2 here. it will do an add, then the digital edition of the newspaper...) so, we plan. and wait. and try to make big decisions (school, house, etc...). and dream of a day when it's NOT 32*!!!