a change, a project, and a plan

i am choosing to forget about the last week….here in the NorthEast we have a Feb. vacation week…a week for the schools to clean out all the germs….but the week was long…full of tantrums, recipes gone wrong, ice/rain and the kids spent a LOT of time in their rooms…

so now that they are back to school…safe and sound…i have had a few minutes to think about how I am going to survive this crazy winter….because March is LONG….and NOT my favorite month.

so i have started out with a change this week….this is part of the kitchen where we come in from the garage….our dumping ground…and in the winter it gets crazy with all the winter gear. I tried to be organized with baskets….but it just wasn’t working and the hope chest was completely empty because it opens from the top.

a quick trip to a local antique dealer on Main street, $150 dollars later and this little change is already making me feel better….each of us have our own drawer…the kids love it! 

now for the project….just a hint….how my hubby puts up with me…i simply don’t know….but i took a look at a perfectly good room and said i wanted to paint it! 

my plan for the next couple of months was inspired by Sarah over at Clover Lane to declutter the house….last year at this time she blogged about 40 bags in 40 days…after 6 years in this house i feel like there is just too much stuff…time to get organized!!

and more ways to survive this winter….date nights with hubby, drinks with the girls, indulging in a few good books, a day at the water park planned for this weekend…and of course planning our spring break to Charleston!

Ski!

the best view ever! love watching my little ones!!

all smiles!

my boys…

Coop skiing on his own!! Only once did i think he was going to hit a building…and only once did i think he was going to ski right into the woods…..

 

one of THOSE days!!

did you ever have a day that didn’t go as planned…

almost every day right??

well, yesterday was not cooperating with me….

i had a list a mile long of things to get done…zero time to spare!

i got the kids off to school with treats and Valentine’s in hand.

 

i was planning a couple surprises for our Family Valentine Dinner.

i had a table to decorate….no time for a wasted trip to the dentist!    ( the dentist is 2 towns over, about a 30 minute drive..ughh…i found out i can’t get my teeth whitened until i check with my orthodontist..ughh)

i had a cake to make…..no time for the roof to leak!!! (MAJOR leak in our upstairs sun room…temps hit over 40 degrees…a heat wave! but all the melted ice was running through the ceiling…all i could do until Rob got home was sop up the mess and empty the buckets of water. Rob spent 2 hours after work chipping away the ice in the rain and high winds!)

i had a special dinner to prepare……not an unexpected trip to the doctors, and then a trip to the pharmacy! (Caroline has been fighting a cold for weeks…and now has a double ear infection…which apparently doesn’t seem to bother her! And the doctor’s office is 2 towns over, 30 minutes away..ughh)

 

I don’t know how it happened but things got done,  at 6:00 we sat down, lit the candles, dimmed the lights and toasted to a “Happy Valentine’s Day”

Bella slept through it all….perked her head up when cooper taped up a few Valentines and a balloon of course!

Happy Heart Day

 

do you see the heart??

hoping you are having a day filled with love!!!

randomness

we go from crazy snow storms to bitter cold.

the bluest winter sky….but baby its cold!!

the ice has been a big problem this year….

we had a neighborhood party a couple weeks ago

we try to have one every year AFTER the holidays, when most of us get cabin fever….

so we cleaned the house like crazy….seems like that is the only time this house does get clean….

30 neighbors, yummy food…it was a great night!

  

a picture of the kids waiting at the door….we knew it was going to be a late night so they partied in their pjs….they were so excited…..we love our neighbors!

i made cake of course! chocolate with caramel frosting and heath candy on top.

Caramel Frosting….easy peasy!

melt 1 stick of butter on low heat, add 1 cup of brown sugar, cook about 2 mins. stirring constantly until blended, add 1/4 cup of milk slowly, cook until boil for 1 min, remove from heat and cool 5 mins. in mixing bowl add 1 cup of confectioners sugar.

you can add more sugar if you want it thicker….or less if you want more of a glaze.  so yummy…..and impossible not to taste when its warm!!!

we are Valentine Central around here….the kids are crazy about Valentines!!! i bought these cute little mailboxes at target last week and they love getting mail!!!

i made these winter survival kits for the teachers

tissue holder, airborne, sanitizer and chocolates of course!!!

 

it has been a random kind of week around here…..it has been a full week of school for the kids….no snow days, hurray!!!

view from my kitchen sink

Pam over at Views From My Kitchen Sink requested fellow bloggers to take a picture of their view.

here is mine!

when we built the new kitchen i knew i wanted to have a sink on the island so that i could look out the windows! Can you see the snowman the kiddos made?  and the trim work around the windows and doors is still not finished….oh well…i still enjoy the view!

 

if i look out the doors this has been the view lately….lots of snow!

 

on Saturday hubby was busy taking the snow off the roof.

we just got another 4 inches this morning….time to go out and shovel…again!

father-daughter dance

a tradition

every year Caroline takes hubby to the Father-Daughter Dance

2010   2009

she loves it all!!! the dress, the nails painted, the hair in curlers, new tie for daddy and the flowers of course!

 

we have a few families over for pizza and pictures

my first official picture of me without my braces…i have been avoiding the camera for 2 years! Cooper took this one of us…notice he captured the Lego house he built! I’m surprised he even got us in the picture!

at one point during the party i noticed a mom waving into the bathroom….when i peeked in….i found cooper…..he NEVER even thought to close the door!

it was a great night…..except for the ice storm.

a wonderful group of girls who are growing up right before our eyes!

 

After tucking in a tired little girl…Rob filled me in on all the details of the night….his heart was happy and full.

Snow Day Survival Plan

i needed a plan.

the “blockbuster” storm was upon us

we got the call last night that there was no school.

the half day yesterday left us screaming at each other, tantrums and kiddos sent to their room…..it was ugly, i was exhausted and totally dreading another snow day.

So i sat the kids down and we came up with a plan! We jotted down a few ideas that would keep us busy all day…..when we needed a new activity we just went to this cup and picked!

Ready! Set! Snow Day!!!

after breakfast and a  good dose of cartoons we headed into the kitchen to make a mess! 

not really sure it was going to come out right….

with 10X the amount of flour the recipe called for they played for over an hour…..and i got to enjoy a second cup of coffee…a win win!

clean up

outside for 2 hours…shoveling and sliding

inside for lunch and hot chocolate

needing some down time at this point…. they built a fort in the living room and watched a movie….another cup of coffee for me.

 

while i was getting dinner ready they got to work painting….a snowy picture of course!

we ended the day with books….always special when we get to snuggle in my bed!

our plan kept us focused…or at least kept me one step ahead of the them. I can’t say we made it through the day without any fights, or that i wasn’t exhausted…but it was a good day. And i realized that i would rather shovel 12 inches of light fluffy snow than 4 inches of sleet snow.

how did you survive the day?

my day in numbers

1 cup of coffee, 1 bowl of oatmeal, and 6 pieces of toast

2 lunches and snacks made and packed.

2 loads of laundry

shoveling the 4 inches of snow that fell last night

1 long driveway!

8 hearts hanging pretty

  

4 dozen lemon cookies for church open table

2 hours spent setting up dinner for 60

 

1 Chai latte

getting ready for a party for 30 of our favorite neighbors.

14 games of Go-Fish

bath, books and bedtime for 2 tired kids.

***this was a post i wrote last week….where did last week go????!!! thank goodness January is done….but i am a little bit afraid of February…you see…its snowing and they described this storm as a BLOCKBUSTER…yikes.  A 2 day storm that will leave 20 inches of snow and ice!

i really need to catch you up on a lot of things…..but first i need to catch up on this laundry.