Today. Well, really yesterday now.

I have been trying to blog for days now, either Blogger or my computer is messed up though.

I started this part yesterday morning:

We haven't really been doing much that is blog worthy. Today we are going to pick up some lunch at my favorite bread bakery (they have soups, salads, and other goodness) and take it to Great Gram's house. The girls and I are really excited.

Since I haven't posted a picture in awhile:

This is why my closet is never clean (sorry for the blurry photos, what is going on with my camera?).

This is what is happening as I type this:

This is what we did before 7am this morning. A little impromptu puppet show.

Real time: Finally, here are a couple of pictures from yesterday afternoon.

Today we are having our sweet neighbor over for lunch. She has grandbabies that are Kendall and Kate's age and I know she is missing them!

Randomness

Random musings from the day:

• Today I cleaned the entire house...all four bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming...I even vacuumed out my car. The only thing that stands between me and a clean existence is my office. My cleaning motivation always comes to a screeching halt in this room.
• I am incapable of remembering my cloth grocery bags. They always remain on my passenger seat when I head in for groceries. As I wheel my cart out to the car filled with blue plastic bags I remember them.
• It's funny how your perspective changes. The last two days we have had temperatures up to 40 and I feel like it is downright warm.
• I never want to forget this about Kate: She likes to snuggle right now, she wants you to hold her so she can rest her head on your shoulder and she always tucks her hands between your body and hers.
• At Lorie's house Kate did something (I can't remember what) and Lorie looked at her and said, "You little snot" and Kate looked at me, smiled so big and said rather proudly, "I snot!"
• Kendall and I both have the sniffles right now, her little nose is so red. My sweet little tidy girl for some reason uses a tissue and then proceeds to toss it ON THE FLOOR. This is the kid that will not go to sleep until everything is clean in her room but she throws her used tissues on the floor?!
• I have an irrational fear of birds in large quantities. I love to watch them from our window but I gave many a street person a good laugh by my exuberant over reaction to the flocks of pigeons in Boston. I think people that go into the large bird cages at the zoo are certifiably nuts. I would much rather hold a snake then a bird.
• I'm avoiding cleaning this office by trying to thing of more random things to say.

Paris was wonderful. I think that the best part was just being a couple with Brian again, making each other laugh and enjoying each other's company. We took our time over meals, a rarity for a mom. We talked about things other then bedtime rituals and potty breaks and just explored and got excited about our future there. We walked everywhere and felt very old because every morning we could barely climb out of bed because of the sore muscles and feet.

We stood out like sore thumbs. Evidently the only suitable color to wear in Paris is black. My red argyle knit hat was like a flashing neon sign saying "TOURIST HERE." But I was completely okay with that, we were tourist to the full extent of the word. We took pictures of ourselves and even our meals. We had a blast.

Brian having crepes in a little cafe near the Pantheon.

My favorite part of a trip is usually the street markets and we went to two different ones in Paris. I loved seeing all the fresh food, meat, fish, wine and handmade goods.

They take their chocolate very seriously here.

It was very cool to see a lot of the work that I studied in school. We visited only two museums: the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay.

This is possibly not the most flattering picture of Brian but it was his favorite meal while we were there. We found this very authentic cafe (recommended by a French friend) it wasn't touristy at all, they didn't even speak English or have any translated menus. Brian had a croissant with fresh jam and two huge chunks of bread SLATHERED with butter.

One night we ate at a restaurant on the Champs-Elysees. The dining room was upstairs directly above a Renault car showroom. The tables were on these narrow walkways so you could look down on both sides and watch all the people.

Arc de Triomphe

The Notre Dame Cathedral from the Seine

Walking back to our hotel after dinner

We had so much fun and we're even more excited about living there later, learning the city more and showing it to our visiting friends and family.

On a completely unrelated note isn't it unfortunate that they make gluesticks to look so much like chapstick? Silly little girls.

Life is Good

Yesterday morning Lorie's neighbor arrived with a tractor with a big plow attached along with a bunch of sheers/chainsaws...He worked all morning with CJ and at 12:30 he talked me through what to do. He demonstrated to me how he was taller then my car and he was able to walk under the hanging live wires with about a foot of clearance. I then put my truck in 4 wheel drive and "drove" over a thick sheet of ice under said live wires. I kept on driving until I reached the road (since I would have slid back down if I stopped). CJ, fully dressed in snow attire brought each of my girls to me in the fully packed truck one at a time and I yelled my good byes to Lorie from the road (we forgot to say good bye before I risked my life escaping the snow trap). Kendall and Kate, who had been confined to about 50 square feet in front of the fireplace for about 24 hours were so excited to go 'bye bye'. I worried that 6 hours of bye bye trapped in 1 square foot of car seat was going to be disastrous but they were SO incredibly good the whole drive. Within 20 minutes of leaving Lorie's they were both asleep and stayed asleep for about 2 hours. The other 4 hours they watched movies, played and sang songs. Kate cried for about 10 minutes when we were about 20 miles from home. They were so excited to be home, Kendall ran up to her "big room" immediately and then proceeded to test out every single bathroom in the house. She also remarked that our house wasn't broken like Aunt Lorie's (hee hee!).

Kendall's school was closed today because of the road conditions. We had a rough (but necessary) trip to the grocery store this morning. Today has been so good for me. I am reminded why I love my life. My 'job' is so fulfilling for me. The girls and I have cuddled and played, I have all the clothes unpacked, washing, folded. All the toys put away, the pantry fully stocked, Super Bowl dips and munchies ready for tomorrow and a big bowl of cucumber salad (his favorite) marinating in the fridge just waiting for Brian's return tomorrow night. I love traveling, experiencing, learning...but I really love home and our day to day life.

Paris blog post and pictures to come when I can get them downloaded. We had a blast, it was a fantastic trip.

I'm Sending Out an S.O.S.

Not really, we're fine. BUT....I packed up everything last night with the intent of leaving today. Last night at 3am we heard a loud noise. The ice on the trees was just too much and it pulled the power line to the house down. That wouldn't keep me here except that it pulled it down across the driveway. We're trapped here without electricity and John is even out of town. But don't feel bad for us because we are super women (plus we have CJ who is a big help)! The generator is going, we've hauled massive amounts of fire up to the house and the fire is roaring. Lorie's pantry is usually overflowing so we're getting creative with the meals. We're doing okay. Evidently it's pretty bad between here and home so I'm nervous about going home at any point! We'll just stick here until we feel safe.

I'll try to keep you all posted, be safe!

Happy Birthday Mommy From Your Girls!!!

Happy Birthday Mommy!!!

We love you this much!!

(Can you tell Uncle John just woke up?)

Paris

Today is our last full day here, I tried to do a post earlier detailing everything we had done but then I lost the entire post. Basically we have walked a ton and Brian and I both feel very old because everything hurts! We've done everything in the last two days! Eiffel, Louvre, Musee D'orsay, Champs, outdoor market, Arc de Triomphe, various gardens...today we will take a boat tour of the Seine and possibly head out to a little area that we think would be a good area to live in when we move here.

I'm loving all the wine, bread, and cheese :) Everyone has been very friendly so far. I'm no less excited about moving here maybe slightly more nervous? Mostly just ready to start learning the language. We're having a lot of fun. I miss the girls and will be so excited to see them tomorrow!

Update On The Kids

Dear Mommy and Daddy,

We miss you, but are having fun while we wait for you to return.

Alex took us to Chuck E. Cheese today. We had lots of fun!!

Kendall hugged ChuckE once....... and then she was done and this is what she did if he came near her!! You can't tell, but Kate is hanging on even tighter!!

We got new cups and they are some of our favorite things.

We were so tired on the way home. Kate didn't make it, but Kendall talked to Alex and was able to stay awake until we made it home.

We took good naps, but kind of short ones. When Lorie got home, she said we needed to be outside because it was warmer than it has been for a long time. We played for a while, and then it got chillier and she had to put sweaters over our clothes. It wasn't cold enough for our big coats.

Lorie didn't notice that Kate was stepping on the ground that was a little wetter than the other spots. Kate did not like what it did to her shoes, but it didn't stop her going in the grass. Kendall didn't go in the grass after she saw Kate's shoes.

After Kate went to bed, Kendall played Wii with CJ. He said she broke her Mommy's score in bowling. He thinks she is good.

We both went to sleep really good and are sleeping soundly. We love you and hope you are having fun.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

At the urging of Lorie I'm doing a quick blog post. We've been having a blast. John took Dani, Alex and me out for sushi, Lorie brought a ton of toys home from preschool for the girls. Kendall has been so sweet with Ollie. I love to hear her talk to him: "What's wrong Ollie? Aunt Lorie will be home in a little while."
On the drive here a gas station attendant gave Kendall these "ear muscles"

We got to visit with little best friends and last night Karin brought over a birthday cake and we got to have a little visit.

Both girls are napping and I'll be leaving for the airport in a few minutes. They're going to have a blast, Alex is taking them to Chuck-E-Cheese tomorrow. I'm not really worried about them but I still occasionally get a nervous pit in my stomach thinking about leaving. Ah, mommy-hood.

Baby It's Cold Outside

It's crazy here. I finally have everything packed and loaded into the car. I have a bag by the back door that I keep dropping things into that I remember. I worry about what I am forgetting. It's not easy to pack your kids up for a two week trip and then pack my self for two different destinations. I'm not going to check any luggage to Paris so I'm trying to be conservative in my choices.

We've been mostly snowed in. Not so much bad roads but cringe worthy temperatures (-25 windchill). The kids were great all week but Friday they hit their limit. We had to get out of the house to get my passport out of the safe deposit box and we stopped at the Dollar Store to pick up some 'prizes' for the drive down. I've divided them all up in paper lunch sacks and will hand them out hourly to each of the girls. We're leaving at lunch time some I'm planning on some driving time while they sleep, say some prayers for me!!

This week this little activity has provided HOURS of entertainment for Kendall. These are little dry erase markers and a piece of paper in a page protector. She sat at the bar multiple times this week for long periods of time just writing and wiping it all off.

Amazing Restraint

We're getting things situated for the trip here. We're dropping off library books, picking up snacks and entertainment for the drive to Aunt Lorie's...Yesterday, while at Target, I exercised some amazing restraint. I found a very cute bag for $30 that would have been a perfect carry on for the long flight. I carried it around in my cart the whole time we were there but I ended up putting it back. I'm trying to save up all the spending money I can to have in Paris. I'm sure $30 wont buy me a purse there though, ha.

It's so slushy and freezing here. I wouldn't mind staying holed up in the house for the week but I feel too guilty, Kendall keeps asking me to go for a walk, ha. Never mind that the snow is to her knees or that it is 7 degrees outside. I took the girls to the play area at the mall yesterday. They had fun and like they do at every playground they never left the slide. I think we're going to break down and buy a slide to have in the basement. They will spend 60 straight minutes going up the ladder and down the slide (in various positions...backwards, upside down, on their knees).

600th Post

This is my 600th post!! It's an important one too, Warnings for Aunt Lorie:

If both girls have a snack bowl Kate's will suspiciously empty at the speed of light and Kendall's will overflow.

Kate is pretty resourceful...beware of silence when it comes to her. For instance today I found her in my bathroom with the stool from Kendall's room pushed against my bathroom counter. She was sitting on the floor surrounded by the contents of my make-up bag.

Beware gaping pants. If your pants gap at all in the back Kate will laugh at you. Then she will proceed to put her hand down the back of your pants and say, "BOO-TEEE"

It's best to just keep bathroom doors closed at all times. Kate will play in the toilet and today I found both girls in their bathroom surrounded by an entire roll (and another half roll) of unwound toilet paper.

Weekend

Snowed In

Snuggled In

CheerIn

Giggle-In

and Love-In Life

(and a little planning and packing going on too).

Summing It Up

This pretty much sums up what we are doing today and what we are looking forward to.

I'm expecting a package today, Kendall calls him the "Eww-E-S Man" (instead of UPS). Sometimes she says, "But he doesn't stink Mommy, he isn't yucky"

The comment about visiting Lorie's house comes from two different possibilities. 1) She has good snacks, even I raid her pantry when I visit. 2) Today I made a list for Lorie of possible food ideas for the girls (sometimes I get stumped on what to feed them). Kendall saw it and asked what it was and I told her snacks that we could eat at Aunt Lorie's house.

The Story

Some of you know about this already since I've been chatting about it on Facebook but here is the scoop.

Two days ago I received a short email from Brian (from work) saying he would have to go to France on the 26th. Shortly after that I called him and said, "SO, we're going to France?" He chuckled and then to my surprise said, "We'll see what we can do." I didn't really get excited because it was just two short weeks away and there was no way I could arrange childcare.

The girls and I remained excited about our upcoming visit with Lorie and Alex. Yesterday Brian sent me another email that said he had received the particulars of his trip and asked if Lorie and Alex could delay their trip a week and stay a couple days longer. That was a lot to ask of Lorie but you bet I jumped on it and immediately started emailing and talking with her. Just a short one hour later Lorie called me and said, "Book that trip."

Next Sunday the girls and I will drive down to our old stomping grounds to visit with everyone and then on Thursday I will fly out to Paris while the girls stay with the Lorie family. Alex will still be off of school and I think Dani plans on coming home for the weekend too. Kendall and Kate will have so many distractions and have so much fun with the whole family--CJ always plays with them so sweetly and of course lots of snuggles from Uncle John and Aunt Lorie (completely spoiled they'll be) . It's a comfort to me because yesterday Lorie called no less then 4 times to tell me how she couldn't stop thinking about it that she was so excited.

I get to visit with the best friends a girl could ask for and I'll be in Paris for my Birthday, the big 2-9!!

On a side note we think we FINALLY found a church we like. We filled out a little card this week and just now a gentleman just stopped by with a loaf of some kind of cinnamon cakey bread and a welcome packet. So nice!

Super Super Awesome

My sister that is. Why you ask? Here is a little hint. I'm making one of these.

Do you know who else is Incredibly Awesome!? My husband, I'm going to have the best birthday, ever.

More to come.

Giggle

Good thing we have so many toys.

I take no responsibility at all for the outfit that Kendall coordinated here.

P.S. My sister is awesome...more to come