Tuesday evening after the hubby got home from work, I embarked on a solo trip to the mall to pick up the final items on our gift list. When I headed out, the snow was just beginning to fall, but by the time I got home the streets were completely slippery and white. I flipped on the news to hear that we could have up to a foot of snow on the ground by Wednesday morning. So I was not surprised when I woke up to see this:

It really was a beautiful and peaceful sight, and the snow continued to fall into the early afternoon. Unlike our last snow day, I faced this one with a feeling of joy, with a feeling of glee... I would dare say I was feeling downright jolly!
When I went into Pookie's room, I was happy to find her equally cheerful. She popped out of bed and immediately went to look for Dolly, our Elf on the Shelf. A friend had sent me this link the night before, and I'd realized that I needed to step up my Elfing for the last few days until Christmas. The little elf simply sitting on top of the Nativity scene just wasn't going to cut it. Carter was quite happy when she discovered Dolly sitting in the gum-ball jar clinching a green one in her tiny elf paws.

Once she'd located the elf, it was time to see what surprise Dolly had left in the Advent calendar (yes, our elf does a lot more than simply sit!) How excited was Carter to see that Dolly had overheard our conversation the day before about Carter's new obsession with dinosaurs and placed a precious dino right in the 22 pocket!

Once Dolly was located and the dino had been discovered, we headed upstairs to get up Murphy Girl. How happy was I to find another happy Lewellen. As usual, she was in no hurry to get out of her crib, and I basically had to pry her from the mattress. To get our day started, I put on Michael Buble's phenomenal Christmas cd. It provided the perfect background music for the rest of our day, and by 9 AM all three of us girls were a dancin' and a prancin'! I even let the dogs in to join in the fun (if you know me/know my feelings for the dogs, you understand the great magnitude of this gesture. If you do not, let's just say this was the first time the pups had ventured out of their laundry room paradise in several weeks.)
Carter asked if she and Murphy could go play upstairs in Murphy's crib because they are 'best friends.' Of course, I happily agreed to her request and used the video monitor to make sure the giggles did not turn to tears. They had a ball playing together for nearly half an hour while I got the kitchen and Carter's room tidied up... smiling all the while! For the sake of full disclosure, waking up to see that Santa had stopped by my house a few days early and left this surprise for Mommy may  have contributed to the fixed smile...

It was soooo tempting to take a tiny peek!

The girls grew bored of the crib frolicking just in time to hear a knock at the door from the FedEx man. Since I knew we'd need lots of indoor entertainment on this snow day, I thought Aunt Mary and Uncle Dean wouldn't mind if the girls opened their Christmas presents a few days early. The girls loved their gifts and spent the next little while playing together with Murphy's new Little People set.

Carter decided to engage in a little solo-play and created a 'feast' for the Little People (notice that her new dino was invited to join in the festivities.) She only became slightly angry when Murphy, Godzilla-style, wreaked havoc on the feast. 

Since I knew we'd be home-bound for the duration of the day and Murphy has been veering from her typical nap routiner now and then, I thought this would be a good opportunity to let her dictate her own schedule. Turns out that she wasn't showing signs of being sleepy until around 10:30 (an hour later than I normally lay her down), but she fell asleep the second she got Mousey in her hands and thumby in her mouth. Carter opted to take a marathon-lengh 'swimming pool bath' (water filled to the brim), and I took a minute to scarf down a bowl of cereal and sip on a home-made mocha while watching the snow continue to fall. 

Since Aunt Kiki will be spending Christmas in Tulsa, we'd invited her over for dinner that night to celebrate Christmas a few days early. I thought I would take advantage of the girls' being preoccupied to get our meal prepped so that I could just pop it in the oven at dinner time. So, while singing  humming along to Mr. Buble and sipping my mocha, I got to cooking. I had a slight time crunch, since I knew I'd need to wake Murphy by noon to maintain a reasonable afternoon nap. At 11:56, sharp, the kitchen was all cleaned, and our Cheesy Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage was all prepped!

After I got Murphy up, Carter wanted to join in on the cooking fun and asked to make blueberry muffins. Still being in my holly-jolly mood, I gladly obliged. She is quite the little kitchen helper, and Murphy was happy to be a spectator as she kicked back in the Tripp Trapp and noshed on Veggie Straws.

Once the muffin cups were all filled and put in the oven, the girlies got down to the real fun. The batter licking continued until Murphy decided she no longer had an interest in sharing.

While the muffins were baking, Carter decided that she'd like to have some alone time in her room. I know 'alone time' is code for wanting to play with something that a) she doesn't want to share with Murph or b) she knows can be dangerous to Murph. When I went into her room about fifteen minutes later to let her know that our muffins were warm and ready, I found this:

I know a simple caption alone cannot adequately explain this photo. What you are viewing is a Little People ferris wheel and a little glass bowl filled with... wait for it... empty pistachio shells. The dinosaur is in the center of the bowl of shells, aka, his nest. Our Pookie has her, how shall I say, quirks. She spent two days a couple weeks ago playing with nothing but celery stalks; real celery, fresh out of the fridge. When I asked her about it, she said, 'Don't worry, Mommy, I'm not wasting it. I'm not eating it either.' The celery bathed with her and even slept under a blanket beside her bed. Well, last week's celery is this week's pistacio shells. I just feel fortunate that 1) she's so self entertaining, 2) she's so creative, 3) she cleaned up every single shell when she finished, and 4) she recognized the shells could be choking hazards to Murph. Regardless, I do realize that this sort of play is a bit odd.
We all returned to the kitchen to enjoy warm muffins. Sutton, having now returned to the laundry room, really wanted a taste.

After the muffin lunch was complete, I suggested the girls play together in the playroom for a bit. I pulled out the 6 foot floor piano they'd also received as an early Christmas gift and told them to just go wild in the playroom. Here they are doing a little cooking together.

While Murphy pretty much just observed and tossed things around, Carter put an apple pie in the oven that she then zipped it up into her suitcase and headed off for an imaginary with visit Misha and Pops! She even carried a 'map' with her! Finding myself with yet another free few moments, I returned to the kitchen and began preparing the shrimp for a ceviche dip that I was making for that night. I got the shrimpies all cut and marinating, measured out the cilantro, and then went to pull a cucumber out of the fridge for dicing. That's when I saw something that looked quite a bit like this brightly dancing before my eyes.

For those of you fortunate enough to have no idea what this image is, it's called an aura and is often the first symptom of a Classic Migraine. It was at this very instant that my magical snow day, took a drastic turn for the worst. My particular aura was more like three of the images pictured above and was spinning around in all sorts of directions. I immediately went into hyper-focused migraine mode. I swallowed my pills as quickly as I could find them, put on a show for Carter and explained that Mommy had a 'sick headache' (poor thing gets it by now), and shut Murphy and I up in the playroom. I knew she'd be safe and contained there for the duration of the aura. Keeping my eyes shut during the aura is a must to avoid dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. So, for the next 25 minutes I laid on the floor with my forearm squeezed tightly over my eyes while Murph climbed all over me. (This was also the point when letting Murphy's body dictate her schedule came back to bite me in the booty, as she normally would have been laying down for her nap right about the time this started.)
It wasn't too long, though, after the pain set in that it was time for Murphy to lay down, so I let Carter snuggle up on the sofa for movie time. I quickly finished prepping the ceviche, so that it could chill for a few hours, and then I  laid down to rest for an hour or so. Luckily we still managed to have a nice dinner with Aunt Kiki (who is quite understanding of the fact that migraines aren't just 'bad headaches'), and I got to bed fairly early. (I wish I could say that today was a better day, but my migraine symptoms  actually worsened and were a little abnormal, so I ended up spending the afternoon in the ER.)
Here's the thing of it: yesterday was a GREAT DAY!  So what if some freakish light hallucination followed by excruciating pain crept in and stole a teeny bit of my jolly and a tad more of my patience? I still had a ball with my girls: wearing jammers all day, dancing, singing, cooking, tickling, snuggling, and just being silly!

Here's Murph, in her second set of jammers,

holding her karaoke mic!

I'm so excited about this weekend that I can barely contain myself... Skype present opening in the morning, more cooking, attending what will be an amazing Christmas Eve service at church with great friends, enjoying a light dinner with them after church, waiting anxiously for Santa's arrival, seeing the girls' eyes light up at Santa's offerings, celebrating Jesus' birthday with a kid-made cake, traveling to the mountains ... and, finding out what's in that Little Blue Bag!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

What's More Scary Than the Grinch?

I wrote my last post was on the day after Thanksgiving, and now I'm staring at the final week before Christmas. I love this time of year, especially now that I have little ones, but it leaves far too little me time.  I've actually spent a great deal of time during the past week thinking fantasizing about blogging (kind of a sad confession.) Truth is, I find writing completely relaxing, and I develop a bit of mental angst and become ever-so-grumpy when I don't have time for it... especially if I have a blog in mind.
As magical as this time of year can be, each Christmas chore can almost be a full-time job in itself... take the presents, for example,

1. Create recipient list verbally on I-Phone list (while an elf yells random things in the background adding 'names' to the list)
2. Think of a perfect (or at least quite acceptable) gift  
3. Drive to the appropriate store (while an elf or two play i-spy in the backseat; Little Elf's guess is always the same: 'That!')
4. Purchase the gift (while Big Elf hides in a rack of clothes, and Little Elf remains super-glued to my hip)
5. Wrap the gift (while Little Elf sleeps, and Big Elf swipes the wrapping supplies)
6. Prepare the package for shipping (while the bubble wrap mysteriously disappears) 
7. Drive to shipping location (while Big Elf tries to teach Little Elf to sing Dreidel)
8. Ship the gift (while the other customers give me and both of my elves the stink-eye)
9. Repeat times 25...

Keep in mind that gift giving is just one tiny part of this Elf Mommy's holiday duties that must be interwoven with card mailing, hall decking, shelf-elf moving, Santa shopping, and cookie making. It's easy to see why this season would not allot a great deal of time for blogging. So, consider this a mini-blog, a letter, actually...

Dear ABC Family Network,
If you are going to advertise your December programming as The 25 Days of Christmas and present it as being family-friendly viewing, I would greatly appreciate you showing your anit-METH ads during another time slot. Even when zooming through the commercials while watching The Grinch on our DVR list, this face still managed to terrify my child:

While my friends' children are a bit scared of the character of the Grinch, my impressionable little one is now frightened that she may find herself trapped in a random bathroom stall pulling out her own hair.
I get it: meth is no good. It's awful actually; ruins families; ruins lives; ruins teeth. But, could you please be a little more conscious in your audience choice? While many people may be faced with the peer pressure to try meth, I am pretty sure my three year old isn't needing to learn your 'Not Even Once' message before heading to her preschool holiday party.
Thank you.
(and Merry Christmas)

Thankful

Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day 2011, was filled with frolicking children, a fabulous feast, interesting conversations, reconnecting, and memory making. My lil family of four spent the day with one side of my husband's large extended family at a lake front cabin in Oklahoma. It was truly a wonderful day, and I was purposefully aware that my sweet girls are making holiday memories that will be sacred to them many years from now.
I also found myself thinking back to Thanksgiving of 2010 which, for me, in no way resembled this one. Though my husband and Pookie spent last year at this same cabin with many of these same folks, I was left behind in Denver recovering from a nasty stomach bug, managing postpartum anxiety, and taking care of a seven week old newborn who was in the throes of colic. My mom sacrificed her own Thanksgiving to come and keep me company and (in reality) aid in maintaining my sanity. Because the fancier establishments (such a Golden Corral) had far too long of lines, we celebrated the holiday by eating sub-par, luke-warm food at a local restaurant that is really nothing more than a university campus bar.
While on that particular day last year I felt sad to be spending a holiday away from my husband and my Pookie, when I recall that time in general the feelings were far more intense than mere sadness. I can vividly remember the feelings of helplessness that were at times overwhelming as my sweet Murphy Girl would cry for hours on end for no apparent reason. It was hard to imagine a day would ever come that was not dominated by Murphy's wails and my strong desire to comfort my baby while still managing to show my big girl all the love and attention she had received for the previous two and a half years.
Then one day after Thanksgiving but before Christmas, unexpectedly and without warning, the light began to peek through the clouds. Murphy's tears began to appear less and less frequently, and her bright, contagious smile was seen more often than not. Simultaneously her disposition became one of the sweetest I had ever seen before nor have encountered since. Life became more manageable, and the transition from one child to two suddenly felt much more smooth.
While I would not wish to relive those challenging months, nor would I wish them for others, I feel grateful for the perspective that those trying days helped me to gain. So, yesterday as I watched both of my girls gleeful and giggly with all their 'big' cousins, I felt an extra sense of gratitude, an additional measure of thanks, and a deeper appreciation for a home filled with both joy and peace.

Diary of a Snow Day

I was abruptly awakened this morning at 5:45 AM by the sound of my phone ringing. Seeing that it was an unrecognized -but local- number I answered the call only to hear a friendly, recorded voice stating that Aspen Academy would be closed today. No sooner than I began to doze back to sleep, was I jolted awake my an email coming through on my phone AND by the sound of a text coming through on my phone AND by the sound of a second email coming through on my phone all relaying the same information. (Generally, I would be able to sleep through text and email notifications, but the phone call had put me in a compromised state of sleep.) While I certainly appreciate the thoughtfulness of my daughter's school making parents aware nice and early that school would be cancelled, I should mention that Carter does not go to school on Wednesdays. It is quite a rare thing for anything to shut down in Denver due to snow (Denver Public Schools opened as usual), so I knew that there must be quite a bit of snow both here and due to come throughout the day.

I was finally able to get back to sleep and was so pleased that both of my girlies slept in (particularly Carter who'd woken in a panic/sleep-like-confusion at 3:00 AM screaming my name as if her hair was on fire only to calmly ask me to find her caged -toy- gorilla), and I actually got to begin the Snow Day by sleeping until 7:40 (a real treat.) When my Murphy Girl and I glanced out the backdoor first thing this morning, this is what we saw...

It was a gorgeous, peaceful sight, and I couldn't wait for Carter to wake up and see it, too. She likes to say that all weather treats (puddles, rainbows, snow) are presents to her straight from God, so I was sure this would make her day. When I heard her stirring in her room, I excitedly threw open her door and told her there was a surprise outside. Her not-so-enthusiastic response, 'I already saw.' She then proceeded to walk no more than 12 feet to the living room, curl up in a chair, ask for a blanket and some milk, and tell me that I woke her up too early. (It was 8:30, and I did not wake her!) She began to perk up after her third cup of milk (two white, one choc-y) and bordered happy when I reminder her that I was going to make blueberry muffins for breakfast.
It was at this point in the morning, with Murphy down for her morning nap and Carter having a breakfast picnic in the living room floor, that I began my day of grazing. Of the dozen muffins I'd made, I ate three of them. I also ate some string cheese, some candy corn, two skewers  of stove-top roasted marshmallows, and a huge bowl of chicken and rice left over from last night: all before 11:00 AM.
With her belly nice and full from the 2/3 of a muffin that she'd eaten, Carter decided she was ready to head outside to play.

Here she is 'yicking' snowflakes!

Rarely is a smile so 

genuine caught on camera!

Sweet little angel began rolling a ball to make a snowman, and came knocking on the door asking for buttons for his 'shirt.' She also asked when Daddy would be home to help her. This would be the point in the day when I began to feel like the worst Mommy in all of Denver for sitting in my warm house, pajama clad and never offering to help her myself. She lasted a good 30-45 minutes in the freezing temps before coming inside and disrobing at the back door.

 

I suggested she take a warm shower before we headed out for gymnastics. I was so glad that her gymnastics class would go on as scheduled thus forcing us to get out of the house for a bit. I went to warm the car up thirty minutes before we needed to leave. Then, while Pookie played in the shower, and I got dressed, Murphy kept herself occupied with random items in my bathroom. You can imagine my joy at discovering she was nano-seconds away from eating the icing-free Oreo Carter had a left pre-licked in the trash can the day before. 

When I suggested the warm shower idea to Carter, it did not occur to me that I would then have to dry her hair post-shower since we were heading out into what was now pouring snow. The hair drying process/rushing around to get her dressed got the best of me. I don't know what it is, but I just hate the feeling of panic that comes over me when I am in a hurry. So, on our way out the door, I grabbed a Mommy's Little Helper-a homeopathic calming tablet-and clinched it in my palm. 

Despite the long time that the car had to warm up, the windshield was still completely covered in snow keeping the windshield wipers from being able to move at all. After buckling the girls in (did I mention Carter was not wearing socks? another not so proud Mommy move on a snow day), I opened the back of my car and grabbed the first thing I saw: a plastic package of disposable kids' placemats. Then, with my non-gloved hands (one of which still clenching my little tablet) I began using the package to throw the snow off as quickly as I could-still in my hurry/panic mode. Once the wipers began moving, I jumped in the car, swallowed my pill, put my wet frozen hands on the wheel, and headed to gymnastics. 

As I'd hoped, getting out of the house was good for us. Carter loves gymnastics, and Murphy enjoys being in a different environment. On the way home we ran through the Starbucks' drive-thru for a Mocha (two pump, non-fat) for Mommy and a Whoopie Pie (they were out of Cakepops!) for Pooks. 

We made it home around 2:00, and I put Murphy in her highchair for a late lunch. I offered her: chicken, cheese, broccoli, rice, and peas; she ate: five marshmallows. At 2:30, I put her in her crib for her nap, came back downstairs, got on my hands and knees, and hand-scrubbed this off the floor: 

And I wonder why I can never seem to 

maintain a manicure...

For a child who ate virtually nothing for lunch, she sure managed to create a mess! Once the kitchen was semi-clean, I asked Carter if she'd like to snuggle-buggle with me and watch a movie in bed. She was excited and chose An American Tail.

In case you're wondering what she's holding in the Starbucks' bag, she had told me that she could only watch a movie if we celebrated the ponies' birthday during movie time. Apparently the bag was the party spot. 

During our Snow Day Movie Snuggle Fest, I kept hearing Murphy on the monitor. This was odd because she normally goes to sleep almost the moment she lays down. So, at around 3:45, I went up to her room and found this darling little face saying, 'Hi!' 

Despite this rather peppy disposition, she did finally fall asleep and stayed that way until Carter ran upstairs to wake her up at around 5:00. That's when the real fun began.

Pony party moved to the crib!

Tickle Torture!

Hey! Where's she go?

Peek-a-boo from beneath the bed.

All the sisterly shenanigans continued until about 5:20, when this Mommy decided we had no choice but to hop in the car for a quick errand. We swung by here:

And my Pookie was thrilled that the drive-thru attendant gave her this lollipop! 

(For any of you detail oriented readers out there, yes, you are correct in your observation that my daughter is not wearing a coat. Or a hat. Or gloves. As I said, not my best Mommy day.) So, we got home and a smile spread across my lips as I poured myself a glass. For those of you non-Denver readers,  yes!, we have DRIVE THRU WINE SHOPS HERE! Best (snow day). Idea. Ever.

Ahhhh, Malbec, take me away!

I then began to up my Mommy report card by whipping up a simple, yet tastey and healthy dinner for my girls: protein plus spaghetti with organic marinara for both of them, peas and raspberries for Murphy, and carrots and grapes for Pooks. (As for me, I sipped my wine and dipped white, sandwich loaf bread into the jar of cold pasta sauce.)

Once dinner was wrapped up, Murphy enjoyed a nice relaxing bubble bath (mostly to keep her skin from permanently turning tomato-red) while Carter opted to take her second 'grown up' shower of the day.

Daddy arrived home mid-shower, too late to build that snowman, but just in time to join her for some splashin' fun. We read stories, said prayers, and tucked the girls in. I poured myself a second glass of wine, and the Hubby made himself a hearty plate of nachos (his dinner choice, I should add.) 

Surely a boot covered porch is 

a clear sign of a great snow day!

Ahhhhh, the good life...

Rigged!

Wow! I don't care if each and every one of you 19 new followers clicked follow simply in an attempt to secure a label maker of your own, I still felt the love after my desperate plea for more followers. I had a lot of fun over the past few days watching my numbers grow and reading each of your comments. I appreciate the fact that no one called me out on the nonsensical-ness of my competitive nature that lead to the contest but, instead, gave me props for my honesty!

Ten years ago I attended the wedding of a best girlfriend... known her since we were in seventh grade, lived together all through college, and shared way too many laughs to recall.

When she tossed her bouquet, it landed square in my hands, at which point her dad-never one to care too much about impressions-cupped his hand around his mouth as if her were at a wrestling match and began shouting, 'Rigged! Rigged!' Well, if he were a follower of my blog, he may be shouting that same word again today. With four entries (new follower herself, posted on FaceBook, and brought two new followers along), Holly Lemly is the winner of the GRAND PRIZE! Pookie was excited to pull Aunt Lala's name from the bowl of contestants, and I'm excited to ship her this and this and this!
Holly, I hope you love each Favorite Thing as much as I do, and thanks so much to all my new followers. I will do my best to keep you entertained!

Desperate Measures

There are many reasons I began this blog: I enjoy writing. I miss the creative outlet that writing provides. I occasionally like to use my brain for something other than remembering the words to the Olivia theme song or the appropriate ibuprofen dosage by weight or the names of all the My Little Ponies. I thought this particular time of my life would be unique to reflect on and look back on in future years. My husband encouraged me to do it. And, lastly, I write this blog because I want people to read it!
It's not like this is my sixth grade diary in which I used Paula Abdul lyrics to proclaim my eternal love for Tommy Watson (or Joey Baynes, depending on the month) which was only comparable to my proclamation of my eternal love for Super Mario Brothers 3. I kept that diary sealed with a heart shaped pad-lock and safely hidden inside a steel box that was only opened with a three digit code (not kidding.) I would have been mortified if anyone had dared to read what I perceived as the baring of my soul via sparkle pen.
The dirty little secret of the blog world is that we bloggers write because we want people (in my case, lots of people) to read our blogs. Now rather than being locked away for fear of the humiliation of exposure, I choose to bare my soul on the world wide web, thus allowing access to virtually any human being on the planet.
A few blogs back I casually mentioned that I have a slight hint of a competitive nature; though, in reality, I am fiercely competitive. My husband often avoids playing board games with me because, as he bluntly puts it, 'It's not fun.' When I worked as a counselor, our entire staff took assessments to identify our personality strengths, and I was the only one of the group to have competitiveness anywhere in my top ten, and for me it was number one. So, when a girlfriend of mine started her own blog after I started mine, and quickly dashed past me in 'followers,' my competitive streak took notice. Then, after consuming just a single Bellini at a girls' night dinner last week, I decided to accost her chat with her about the quick take-off of her blog. Turns out she went to a blog CLASS while she was attending a sewing expo (like the multi-talented, amazing woman needs any more talents), and she offered me a few tips (one of which is that everybody loves swag!) for gaining a little more traction for The Salad Days.
Though my stats show me that lots of people read my blog, very few of you are actual followers. So, for the sole purpose of boosting my fragile little ego, I am putting together a fun contest that will prove to be a win/win for us both. The Salad Days will garner more followers, AND its author will bestow upon my beloved readers a few of My Favorite Things. That's right: if you follow the steps below, you will be entered in a drawing to win one item from each of My Favorite Things lists from each quarter this year.  Here's the skinny on how to quality for the prize(s):

If you're already a follower (10 strong!), you'll automatically receive one entry.

To receive additional chances to win:

If you're a reader, but not an official follower, become one!

Comment on this blog or any previous one. (Though, you'll only get one more entry no matter how many comments you leave.)

Add a link to The Salad Days to your Facebook or Twitter (or MySpace if you're still living in 2006) telling your friends what you like about it.

If your friend becomes a follower, both of you will get an another prize entry. (Be sure the new followers let me know you sent them my way!)

This contest will run through Sunday, October 23 at noon (Denver time.) At that time, I (or quite likely my three year old) will draw a winner's name at random. (The maximum number of entries a person may receive is ten.) First thing Monday morning, I will ship the lucky winner three of My Favorite Things. I'm not going to make any promises, but I can pretty much guarantee that this will be in that package. 

Good luck! 

Q3: Now for the Non-Things

Even as I just think about what to include in my list of My Favorite Non-Thing Things for this quarter, I am overwhelmed by how wonderfully blessed life has been over the past few months. Our home has certainly been full of laughter and fun as we continue on in these Salad Days. I did manage to narrow my list to five Non-Things that were especially prevalent in making life just grand.

My Favorite Non-Thing Things of 2011, Q3...

1. Movies... my Hubby and I really enjoy a going to see a good movie.We like the whole experience: the popcorn, the $7.00 Coke, the bag of candy that is slipped into a box so that it looks larger than it really is, the dark theater, the lack of children, the feeling of being on a date, etc... Over the summer, we saw several grown-up  movies that I would give two very big thumbs' up. My favorite was probably the raunchy Horrible Bosses; I especially loved the unexpected roles played by Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farell. Crazy, Stupid Love didn't get a lot of buzz, but it was a really well-written, well-acted, thought out movie that actually included a fun, unexpected twist. I found Cameron Diaz hilarious and back to her Something About Mary roots in Bad Teacher, and I thought The Help was just as enjoyable as the book on which it's based. 
2. Family Here and There... once again, we've been fortunate to get to spend time with several members of our extended families despite living close to none of them. In July we spent a weekend in Estes Park, Colorado, with my hubby's side of the family including three sets of aunts and uncles (who we were excited to introduce to our Murphy Girl for the first time), two cousins, Aunt Kiki, and Pops-N-Misha. The weather was wonderful and the company fantastic... can't wait to see the whole crew at Thanksgiving. Then, in early August the girls and I flew to North Carolina where we spent a week in the Outerbanks with my sibs, their kiddos, and Pa-N-Nanny. Carter had a ball playing with her 'big' cousins and Murphy relished all the attention. The following week we met up with the Bowman clan in Greensboro. Family from Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, and we Coloradans converged at Great-Grandma-Margie's home for a fun afternoon of visiting and reconnecting. It was especially fun to see Murphy side by side with her cousin (second cousin?) Carson who is just a few weeks younger than she, and Carter was completely enthralled with Big Girl Miss Gigi!
3. Organizing Extravaganzas... the rush I get from embarking on organizational projects simply cannot be explained. From coming up with the initial idea and thinking it through to shopping for materials to the actual implementation, I absolutely LOVE it! This summer alloted me several opportunities for major projects. I took advantage of Hubby and Pookie being away for the weekend to rearrange the pantry, making better use of the space and grouping like items in neat baskets with handles that make them act almost as drawers on the shelves. I loved two of my other projects so much that I dedicated entire blog posts to them. The system for keeping track of the Little Things has worked out great as the pictures show Carter exactly where the toys belong making solo clean up a breeze for her. She loves showing her little friends how to put things in the correct spots!
4. Family Firsts... few things are more exciting than watching my little ones experience things for the first time. How easy it is for us grown-ups to take advantage of things we've been doing or seeing for years! For Carter, she really began to stretch her wings a bit and try several new activities as well as attending a new school. She immediately loved soccer and gymnastics and has done a great job of staying on task and listening to her coaches. Though ballet was the activity that she expressed the most interest in trying, after about four weeks of classes, she decided that it wasn't for her. I love the fact that she knows what she likes and doesn't like and feels comfortable sharing her opinions with me. She even asked if she could do a second day of gymnastics in lieu of of the ballet; I gladly obliged! As for Murphy Girl, this has been a period of firsts-galore! She began crawling, standing on her own, and 'cruising' all within a few weeks in August. She now zooms all over the place -including up the stairs- but is still hesitant to take that first step. She has also become quite the little talker! My heart is warmed at hearing her precious little voice. I especially love the sound of her 'uh-oh' although I'm a tad skeptical of the fact that she looks me directly in the eye and says it before dropping an item... 
5. A Whirlwind Wedding Weekend... the Hubby and I had a blast spending a weekend in Raleigh to be a part of the wedding of one of his dear friends. Dash and my Hubby lived together in Charlotte when he and I met; so, having been a part of our early days together, Dash has a very special place in my heart.We were able to reconnect with the all the folks who were a part of the Charlotte crew at that time despite that fact they they are now living all over the world. It was also fun getting to spend more time with Dash's fantastic now-wife, Drake, and meeting all of her sweet friends. I got a kick out of having conversations with all these hip single gals from NYC about my life as a Mommy in Denver... quite contrasting! Being with all these friends both new and old (and being there without my kids) made me feel young again! Additionally, there are few better memories than witnessing my husband, stone cold sober, throw on a viking hat and tear it up on the dance floor! 

As usual, the Non-Thing Things trumped the Things by a mile!

Favorite Things, Q3

Here we are, 75% of the way through 2011. The year is just flying by, and as quarter three drew to an end, I began to look back and take notice of all the things that made life a bit sweeter over the past few months.

My Favorite Things of 2011, Q3,

1. The Container Store...  well, this one isn't exactly a thing, but rather a whole bunch of things found in the same store. I went on several organizational crazes this summer, and each time The Container Store provided the inspiration. In addition to the items that I picked up for my big projects, like this and this, I found several random items that have really come in handy. These car hooks that easily slip onto the headrest are inexpensive and helpful to hold backpacks, purses, grocery bags, etc...  These plastic bottle holders save space in my small refrigerator and are perfect for holding large class containers of water as well as soda or wine bottles. The CableBox- a genius invention- holds the larger power strip as well as all of the cords to our computer and its components. I bought several of these clear plastic baskets with handles to make items in my pantry more easily accessible as well as more space effective. The Container Store
2. Whole Foods Angel Food Cake... to call this pre-made cake delicious is an understatement. I actually don't think I have a word to adequately describe how scrumptious this cake is. I began buying it a couple summers ago to use with fresh strawberries for strawberry shortcake. This summer, however, I picked up one about every two weeks just to have on hand for random munching. It is perfect with a cup of coffee in the mornings or as a semi-sweet dessert after dinner. Even my husband, who's not at all a 'sweets' person, couldn't resist this cake. Hands down, it is the best angel food cake I've ever tasted. Whole Foods Store Locations
3. Immaculate Baking Company Refrigerated Baking Products... crescent rolls, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls are just a few of the products made by this North Carolina-based (shout out to my home state!) company. I had been looking for an alternative to the Little Dough Boy's (I'm not mentioning any names) version of these types of products as, while they were favorites in our home, they are filled with preservatives and artificial ingredients that I try to avoid being a part of my girls' primary diet. I gave the Immaculate variety a try, and we were instantly hooked-especially on the delicious, gooey cinnamon rolls. They are available at our local SuperTarget and are pretty comparable in price to that other brand. The Immaculate Baking Company
4. Golden Oreos... so, forget everything I just said above regarding artificial ingredients and preservatives, and know that these are my guilty pleasure and that I actually hide them from my kids! I first sampled the light-skinned friend of the classic cookie on a Southwest flight from Denver to North Carolina. I was in love at first bite, but at that moment, I wasn't sure if the airplane chardonnay I was drinking via sippy cup was altering my taste buds. Well, when I gave them a try with more a typical beverage companion, ice cold milk, I was just as impressed. I actually like these a bit too much and have now had to put myself on a purchasing restriction from them as I have devoured a good five suggested servings during a single episode of The Soup. Golden Oreos
5. Dyson Air Multiplier Bladeless Fan... I had my eye on this bad boy all summer, but the ridiculous price-tag kept me admiring at a distance. In early August, I was browsing Bed, Bath, and Beyond in search of some photo albums when I noticed it on sale for over 50% off, AND I just happened to be carrying an additional 20% coupon in my purse. I can't say for sure that this So-Much-More-Than-a-Fan-Fan would have been worth its original nearly $300 price tag, but I am pretty crazy about it. The circulated air has a more crisp feel than our other fans, and its breeze can actually be felt all the way across the room. Additionally, it is very quiet and has no blades to to potentially hurt tiny fingers.  Dyson Fan
6. Scentsy Wickless Candles...  I originally started using Scentsy products about a year and a half ago after I attended a home party at a friend's house. I loved them initially, but when I ran out of my scent cubes, I just kind of forgot about them. In early September, I realized how much I missed my Scentsy's when I started using regular ol' candles again. Lucky for me, my cousin Brittany had become a Scentsy rep; so I was able to go online, order directly from her, and have a UPS box on my porch within days. I love the amazing scents that fill my home without adding any of the 'negatives' that come with candles... no dripping wax, no smoke, no burning danger to the kiddos. I'm currently in love with the Thunderstorm scent and am already mentally placing my next order. Scentsy Wickless Candles
7. Missoni for Target... I admit, I got swept up into all the hoopla and went bananas at Target on the morning of September 13. To be totally honest, while I did know about the Missoni launch, I was actually just stopping by Target for light-bulbs that morning after dropping Carter off at school. When I walked into the Missoni madness, I unconsciously joined the chaos and began feverishly searching through the scarcely remaining Missoni items for fun products me, my girls, friends, and family. I scored a skirt, a dress, and a cardigan for me; a coat for Pookie; and a one-piece romper for Murphy. I also snagged a pair of rain boots and a pair of ballet flats for myself, and a couple other things to give as gifts. The prices were great for this high-end designer's knock-offs, and I get compliments literally every single time I wear one of my pieces. Missoni for Target

Looking back over my Favorite Things, Q3, it certainly appears that my sweet tooth was raging with a vengeance this summer; I even unintentionally used the word sweeter in my intro to this post! Cool, crisp evenings are now upon us, and the fall is sure to usher in some phenomenal things (hopefully of the non-edible variety as I'd like to still fit into my fabulous Missoni finds!)

The Long Way Home

Time. I've always been one to think of various things in relation to time whether it be in terms of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, or years. I'm not sure why my mind works this way, but I often think of blocks of time as being repetitive. For example: 'I have been on the treadmill for twenty minutes. I plan to run (who am I kidding?) walk for an hour, so I have to repeat what I've already done two more times.'  I can remember as early as first grade caring very much about how much time it took me to complete a task, particularly compared to others. My fourth grade teacher wrote a poem about our class at the end of the school year, and the line about me read, 'Melissa always finishes first.'  As many folks do, I often look back at previous years and recollect what I was doing at a certain time: 'On this day last year, I was nine months pregnant and anxiously awaiting the birth of my Murphy Girl!'
It's funny how portions of time can seem longer or shorter depending on the activities that are consuming the time. An hour, for example, can fly by during a great movie or a fabulous evening with friends. That exact same amount of time can creep along when lying on a hospital bed waiting to be wheeled into the operating room for a c-section. An hour sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on a Friday afternoon after a long work week felt like an eternity and left me feeling frustrated and impatient. Nowadays, I've found myself taking the long way just to get us home a few minutes closer to bedtime.
Take last Wednesday, for example. Carter finished ballet at 5:15 PM, and since her class is just a couple blocks from Hubby's office, I decided to pop by with the girls for a late afternoon visit. After what felt like four hours, I looked at the clock to see that it was 5:32. I killed a few more minutes and then loaded the girls up in the car. I knew that I was flying solo for dinner/bedtime, so I was in no hurry to get home. As we sat in traffic at a dead stand-still, Carter said, 'Mommy, are you going to take a short-cut?' I slightly smiled and silently laughed to myself.  I knew that I could easily turn off the main road, take a few side streets, and likely get us home in half the time, but a short cut was the LAST thing Mommy would be taking. We made it home at around 6:20 (for a point of reference, Murphy goes to bed at 7:00, sharp), and when I looked at the clock what felt like hours later, it read 6:24.
I blink my baby girl is turing one and my big girl is such a person. I wonder where the days went and beg the hands of time to stand still, yet it can feel like I've lived an entire week by 9:23 AM on a Monday.  I read a quote on my friend Corinda's blog that so accurately explains this phenomenon. Slightly paraphrased, it read, 'For Mothers of young children the years do indeed fly, but you can gag on a day!' As darkness is coming earlier and winter is drawing near which is sure to bring lots of snow days, I may need to remember to savour hot cocoa, cozy blankets, and snuggles... and hide all the clocks!

What We Gonna Do Today?

Each morning for Carter begins quite similarly: she wakes up around 8 and eagerly calls my name; for some reason she has never thought of getting out of her bed or leaving her room herself. Murphy and I burst into her room and greet her with a cheerful made-up song, 'Good morning to you, my sweet little Pooks!' Immediately, she asks, 'What we gonna do today? Pymnastics? Aspen Academy? Chick-fil-a with Pierce?'
As her little schedule has gotten a bit busier, I've been trying to think of a fun way to show her what each day will entail. I did a bit of online searching for ideas and couldn't find much beyond typical calendars. Since Carter's only three and a half, I wanted something that would be fun, interactive, and not require reading.
Since Hubby is traveling for work, tonight was the perfect time to get busy on my project. Several folks responded with interest and positive comments on my Little Things Project, so I thought I'd share details of how this one came together, too.
Once I had a fairly clear mental idea of what I wanted to do, I made the only logical first stop: The Container Store. Here I picked up several necessary pieces to begin my project: a white magnetic tabletop dry erase board, a magnetic bin to hold the activity cards, dry erase pens, adhesive magnetic squares, and a magnetic dry eraser.

Then I ran by Target for some photo paper to use on my home printer and some self-sealing laminating paper. The last item I needed was some card-stock, and at home I had some nifty, glittery pad left over from a project I did last fall. 

Once I had compiled all the necessary supplies, I tucked my girls in bed and got busy. I went through my digital photos to find ones that best depicted various activities. (I had to do a little bit of Google Image searching for a couple pictures.) I then printed them out, glued them to the card stock (which I had cut to exactly 4"x6" so that the laminating process would be simple), and wrote the name of the activity on the card. 

Rather than making 'playdate' cards for each

of her friends, I used a group shot from her birthday.

It's funny that flying is such a 

pertinent part of her young life.

Here's a look at all of the completed activity cards; each has a two magnetic squares attached to the back.

I love the way I turned what's essentially just a daily calendar into something much more fun, and I can't wait to show it to Carter in the morning! 

(Of course, I've already thought of lots activities I missed when making the cards... holidays, special treat days, snow days, throwing pennies in the fountain days, splashing in puddles days... But, since it's nearly midnight, and  I have not even begun to think about packing or writing sitter instructions for a weekend trip Hubby and I are taking tomorrow, I suppose the completion of this project will have to wait till another day.)

When the World Stopped Turning

On September 10, 2001, I had never heard the word Taliban, never heard of Al-Qaeda, had no idea who Osama Bin Laden was, and likely couldn't have formulated a clear definition of a terrorist. I had just turned twenty three and was copping a squat of sorts at a friend's house while trying to decide whether I was going to pursue a full time job in Charlotte, move to another city, or prepare to apply for graduate school. I was single for the first time in a few years and really had no one to consider in my decisions but myself. I was working full time as a nanny and part time as a waitress. Overall, life was pretty simple.
Having fallen asleep while watching a movie on the sofa, I woke up in the living room on the morning of September 11, 2001. My roommate walked in the house at around 9:30 in the morning, an odd time for her to be at home since she worked a regular 9-5 job. She came in and asked if I'd had the television on. I hadn't; but immediately we turned it on and watched, together, the devastation that was imminently occurring in New York City, Washington, DC, and later in a Pennsylvania field.
For me, and for most folks of my generation, this was the first we had ever seen of war; certainly of war on our home soil. I have memories of Operation Desert Storm which took place in the early 90's, but that was different. It happened 'over there.' In fact, prior to that morning the only real pieces of history that I'd felt a part of were the Challenger space shuttle exploding (I was in second grade), the O.J. Simpson chase and trial (I was a junior in high school), and perhaps the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The only history I knew was what I'd read in books and been taught in school. But, on that Tuesday morning, I knew that I was watching history unfold right before my eyes, in real time, on live television.
What I remember most about that day and the days that followed, was the unified feeling of all humanity. I have such a clear image of driving down interstate 85 heading towards downtown Charlotte on the afternoon of the attack. It felt as if every car I passed, every set of eyes I met, could feel my feelings and, I, theirs. We were one. We were all Americans, and for those of us who'd never taken a moment to think about what that meant, this was our time. Despite our political leanings, we all looked to our President for reassurance and comfort, and he provided the image of a strong and steadfast leader. On the Friday after the attacks, I stood on the sidewalk with a precious little four year old friend holding a candle in memory and honor of those who were killed or for those who lost those they loved. I tried to explain to her why we were participating in this vigil without imparting any fear into her innocent little mind.
As time passed, life did return to normal, but normal was never the same again. We, as a country, had to learn the difference between Muslims and Extremists and strive to treat people of all religions with dignity and respect. At the same time, we had to  become vigilant. As we all hailed the passengers of United Flight 93 as heros, we became sure that we, too, would risk our own lives for the sake of our county. We began to take notice of things that looked just a bit off, particularly in airports and on planes. Nearly, ten years after that life changing day, we felt a slight sense of relief as President Barack Obama informed the nation that Osama Bin Laden was captured and killed.
Ten years ago today, I could have never imagined how amazing my life would be. In late 2001, I made the decision to pursue my graduate degree and in 2004 earned a Master's in Counseling. I worked as a counselor for several years, and, along the way, I met the man who would become my husband. We spent a year living in Dallas before setting up a home and a life in Denver. Today we are happy and healthy and raising two beautiful little girls.
As I woke up this morning, like all Americans, my mind went back to that morning that changed our nation. I said a prayer for all those families who lost loved ones and, especially, for all the children who have lived their lives without knowing a parent. I squeezed my own girls a little tighter with a feeling of gratefulness: grateful both for the wonderful life that we have and for the country in which we abide which is a safer place than it was ten years ago. I've written this blog for my girls: for when they are old enough to understand and seek to hear my perspective on a little piece of history.

God Bless America. 

Color Me Organized!

Generally when Hubby calls me at 5:30 pm to inform me that he will not be home for many hours, I go into a mini-panic/slight depression. I so appreciate having a second set of hands for dinner and bedtime for the girls, and I love our alone time in the evenings. Yesterday, however, when I got the call, I got an ever so small twinge of excitement. I had had a project on my mind all day that I knew I would never get done unless I was alone. So, I whipped up a frozen chicken pot pie for myself, tucked the girls in bed relatively early, and got busy.
I tend to be a pretty organized girl (at least in theory, anyway), and I like things put in their place. After a year of tweaking and the purchase of my label maker, I have finally gotten the playroom just so. However, Carter has a new genre of favorite toys that had me thrown for a loop: The Little Things; that's what we call them. Over the past year she has increasingly collected more and more small things that just haven't had a good storage spot. We'd tried different boxes and bags, but nothing seemed to be just right for containing the growing number mini-animals, dolls, and figures. As of yesterday morning, this darling mouse backpack contained The Little Things.

As you can see, this was definitely not an organized system. Buzz Lightyear laid beneath beetles and lizards which were being trampled by ponies whose families were being separated. It was not pretty and it made me a little shaky to see. When a recent vacation yielded a 12 mini dinosaurs to add to The Little Things, I knew an organizational intervention was necessary.
Yesterday morning, I set out for a trip to the Container Store. I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for, but I knew that I would know it when I saw it. I spent awhile debating between plastic and fabric containers with lids or without. As it turned out, I ended up with these these containers:

 As I left the store, I still wasn't positive that they were what I was looking for, but (as always) I knew I would just return them if they didn't work out. So once the girls Murphy was soundly sleeping, and Carter was using her 'wings' to practice 'flying' off of her bed, I got to work on my project. First I separated all The Little Things into categories and threw away all the unnecessary little accessories (how many Halloween hats do Little Ponies really need?) I knew that I wanted to create a simple system that Carter would be able to maintain. My initial thought was to use my handy-dandy label maker for each section, but I quickly realized that my darling 3 year old does not yet know how to read. So then I got this idea...
First, I took pictures of a couple items for each category:

Next, I printed each picture on my home printer and used a post-it note as a template to cut the pictures to just the right size to fit into the compartments:

Then I used my label maker to make labels for each section. Despite that fact that Carter can't read YET, I do want to help her to begin associating words with pictures:

Next, I stuck a label to each picture and covered it with clear contact paper:

Finally, I used my hot glue gun to attach the labeled pictures to the containers:

And, lastly I put all The Little Things in their appropriate compartments ... VOILA!

I am SO PLEASED with the way this organizational project turned out. The linen colored boxes make them perfect for storing on the bookshelf in Carter's pink and chocolate-colored room just above Murphy's reach (as The Little Things can be chocking hazards!) I showed Carter the boxes as soon as she woke up this morning, and she was almost as excited as I was about them!