Snow Day- A real one this time!

Correction

Many thanks to my sister-in-law Amanda... The discredited planet is not Jupiter, but rather Pluto.  Poor Pluto- sorry!  You were a planet for soooo long, couldn't "they" just leave well enough alone?  ;)

First, a shout-out... then, an update

From the very bottom of my heart (or tummy I guess would be more appropriate), a warm, cookie-filled "thank you" to Girl Scouts everywhere.  Good for you girls!  You do such a wonderful job distributing your product to the masses and for that I am grateful.  Will I find you outside my grocery store this weekend waiting to give me more of your goodness?  

Now, an update on our little Bray family.  Jack is sick with another cold at the moment.  It started out with what sounded much like croup, but now seems more like just a chest cold.  I am keeping a close eye on him in case we need to have him checked out by our pediatrician.  He is doing great otherwise... really starting to develop quite a little vocabulary.  He seems to pick up a new word every few days or so and lately I have been noticing him mimicking Maggie and Lydia a lot- both their speech and their activities.  He is always so interested in whatever the two of them are up to.  

Lydia is keeping busy just being busy.  She is really starting to take an interest in learning her letters and the sounds they make which leads me to think she might be an early reader.  Her preschool teacher had mentioned to me that in the 4 year old class next year they will do some early reading in preparation for kindergarten.  It is amazing to me how much they are learning at these early ages- they are such sponges! 

Maggie is really enjoying kindergarten, her teachers, and all her friends.  Right now she is bringing home word lists about a mile long, learning to count coins, and is just starting to learn to tell time.  On Monday her teacher started a unit on outer space that Maggie has really been enjoying.  She was explaining to me that "they" took away Jupiter... (I think the former planet Jupiter lost it's planet-status at some point in recent years maybe?  Was it Jupiter even, or do I have that wrong?)  Anyways, in the car the other afternoon she told me all about Saturn and its rings- they are made of ice you know.  But according to Maggie, this ice is not suitable for ice skating purposes- "It's just not safe, Mom" she informed me.  Gotcha.  :)

Brian has been keeping busy at work taking on loads of new responsibilities these days.  I am so proud of him and all that he is getting accomplished, and I can tell he is quite pleased with himself as well.  Yay Bri Guy! 

I am starting to think I might want to splash a fresh coat of paint all throughout the house- I am thinking new colors, different colors, bold colors.  I guess it's the warm temperatures outside that make me start thinking of spring and decorating my nest.  There are loads of blogs out there that I have been checking out for inspiration.  

In a nutshell, that is all.  We are looking forward to a busy spring- visits from family and good friends, another trip to Disney World, soccer (Maggie!), choosing our summer camps, all sorts of good things! 

It's Fabulous Friday!

Where is your feather boa?!

That's gonna happen...

When you find your 15 month old eating out of the box of Swedish fish that somebody left low enough for him to get into... 

...chances are it's going to be a pretty busy afternoon.  

Sunday = Funday

We have been having some crazy nice weather here in the Mid-South and Sunday morning we had a chance to get out and enjoy it.  We picked up some donuts from our most favorite bakery and headed out to the park for a quick picnic and lots of playtime. It was such a nice treat from all the cold wintery weather we were becoming sort of accustomed to.  

Now Jack has been out to the park before, but usually spent most of the visit sitting in his stroller.  This was his first "real" visit and he was taking it very seriously.  He had so much to get accomplished before the dreaded "5-minute" warning was given.  

(this might be one of my very favorite pictures ever.  maggie and lydia really adore their baby brother and this picture so nicely captures how protective they can be of him.)

25 Random Things About Yours Truly

1) My husband is my very best friend and I adore him. We have a lot of fun together. 2) Our children are 3 of the very best things to ever happen to me. 3) After 2 failed attempts at breastfeeding with my daughters, 15 months (and still going!) of breastfeeding my son has been one of the sweetest rewards of motherhood. 4) I love Disney World! Love every mouse-eared, chocolate-smeared, noisy, colorful, fun bit of it. Especially now that we have kids! Oh sweet escape! 5) I love to balance my check book. For realsies. To the penny- every time. Surely this means I am a control freak. 6) I love how different each of my kids are from each other. I also love that we are somehow managing to raise a few artists here at our house.

7) The older I get the more I am aware of certain fears: loss, change, etc.

8) I should go to Mass more often than I do.

9) I love going to bed early. I am so not the night owl I once was.

10) I probably do not eat enough veggies. Working on that.

11) I like salt bagels with veggie cream cheese. (Does that count toward daily veggie intake?)

12) I really enjoy a good gin and tonic. Bombay Sapphire for me, please.

13) Oh, unless you have already poured me a glass of (good) Shiraz. That would be fine then. Thanks. ;)

14) I love reading to my kids at bedtime.

15) While I do think she sometimes has excessive amounts of homework for being in Kindergarten, I do enjoy helping Maggie with her school work each night. I cannot get over how much she is learning at such a young age. Kind of makes Kindergarten 30 years ago (yikes!) look like a play group.

16) I loved living in California. Loved it. I didn't love the cost of living though.

17) I also love Etsy.com. You must check it out if you haven't already.

18) I am thinking I might want to be a teacher someday, after each of my 3 is in school full time. Need to start looking into that.

19) I think my kids are some of the funniest people I know. Even the baby has a great sense of humor.

20) I have really enjoyed being on FB and catching up with so many long lost friends! It's great to be in touch again!

21) I *heart* Barack Obama and I am filled with so much hope for our great nation now that he is in the Oval Office. I think I might be sleeping a little better at night.

22) I think I am a much better mother now at #3 than I was with #1. Experience has given me confidence.

23) I don't like drinking coffee.

24) I can be a little obsessive about cleanliness in my home. Especially my floors.

25) I realize that I am a work in progress, as a wife, mother, and friend.