Going for a Ride with My Little Buddy

We live on a road that is a big loop. The loop is .4 miles and right now there are no houses in the middle so we can see all the way around it. Although the winter is cold here and at times it gets very weary... we occasionally have a break from cold and get a really mild day. When this happens, we jump at the chance to get the kids outside, even if it is just for a quick trip around the loop. Zoey rides her bike and Max gets on his "chopper trike." That is just what we call it... it is just a fun tricycle with real pneumatic tires. Ross wanted to put ape-hanger handle bars on it when we got it, and thus it got its nickname. Anyway, it is quite a little workout for Max to pedal constantly in tiny circles to get himself around the loop (no gears and all). But he does it with gusto! (and great pride) Sometimes, he even wants me to go along for the ride. I can't believe that he can pedal and make the thing go with me just balancing on the back, but he does. You can check us out...

Pop Art

Zoey learned about Andy Warhol and Pop Art during an art appreciation presentation at school. She usually is our arts and crafts girl, but hasn't been too into it lately. I was glad that she was interested in this, so we decided to take it a step further once we got home. She made some really neat Pop Art of her own... We just printed some clip art pictures and she colored and cut away. I think they turned out well:


And just some pictures of the kids... They look related, don't you think!!

Little Comedian

Max has a funny sense of humor. He can makes us laugh all of the time. And he even cracks up in his sleep!! From early on, he had a keen sense of things being funny, even if he didn't understand them. He also is an early reader. Totally self taught and self motivated. I think part of it is having an older sister in school, who brings home fun, easy reader material. He just hangs out with us after school to see what Zoey's homework is. So he can read some words, and if he can't, he asks us what the words are... he also loves these from Trader Joe's:



As soon as he could read the words, he got that it was a joke and that it was supposed to be funny. So he randomly starts out, "So this strawberry walks into a bar..." and then whoever is around him laughs... He gets the reaction he wants! It doesn't ever get old, to me either. I laugh every time. His teachers must think we are weird when our four year old is telling bar jokes! One day he was looking at the box a little more carefully and said, "Oh... This low-fat strawberry walks into a bar!" Now all he needs is the punch line!

Busted!

I bought some tiny cookies for Valentine's Day. They were cute, little, decorated, sugar cookies... an adult could consume one in a single, (but Big) bite! So as I was driving home today, I remembered that there were two left!! I calculated in my head... Zoey + Max + me = 3!! Oh no! How was I going to get around this when I could already taste the sweet cookie, and cold milk in my mouth? Well, I chose to do what every good, health conscious mom would do... I decided to keep the cookies away from my children, and give them a healthier snack and eat the cookies myself! I know, such a sacrifice, right? Mom of the Year material!! HA! It gets worse. Since they were on the forefront of my mind, I decided to sneak and eat them while the kids were in the same room!! I have no shame. I poured my glass of milk, and popped one in my mouth and then... I choked! Literally. Something went down the wrong pipe and I was coughing so bad that I had to spit the cookie out completely! I couldn't salvage a crumb... Serves me right I guess... Dang Irony.

Valentine's Day

Happy Belated Valentine's Day! Zoey loves any and all holidays. Me, too really! (But mine is more of an excuse to eat special foods, not the holiday itself.) One thing Zoey loves is dressing the part. We often get the little $5 shirts at Target that celebrate the day!! Here is a cute outfit she got from Grandma and couldn't wait to wear for her school party:


She was sooo excited. Normally, she is slow to get out of bed and get ready for school, but on this day, as I reminded her that it was party day... she opened her eyes and popped out of bed!! She practically jumped into those heart tights!!

Snow Days!!

A couple of weeks ago, the kids actually had four days off from school!! I forgot that I took pictures and never posted! The snow wasn't actually that bad... we did have about an inch of ice though! The ice then was covered with about 6 inches of snow. It made for some nightmarish roads for a couple of days, which kept us homebound. I didn't mind though! I love it when we have a fun and unexpected day off. Ross got a couple of days off too, so it was good for everyone.
Here are some pictures from the first round of snow... before the ice:

It's All Relative

It was sunny with a high of 48 degrees outside today.

Zoey opens up the door and walks outside with a big smile and exclaims, "OOOOOHHHH, it's Summer!"

Winter

Max and I had to take/pick up Zoey from her religious ed class the other night. It was 10 degrees. The wind was blowing, so the wind chill was even colder, of course. We all held hands and ran to the car. Now I try to stay positive in front of the kids when it comes to comments about the weather, so I don't take any responsibility for what Zoey said next, "OOOOHHH, some kids in my class say they just love winter. I just don't know why!! This is so bad! I only like summer and spring!" All I could do was nod in agreement and think, I feel your pain, Zoey! Oh yes, do I feel it! (or maybe I don't because I am numb from the cold)

Just to note, my blogging has been light in order to refrain from spewing out all negative comments towards the weather!! I just do not like winter. I do realize that not all people feel like me (how, I don't know, but those people are out there! Crazy, crazy people, running around, loving the cold...yeah right) My excuse is that I have that Seasonal Disorder (self-diagnosed, no less, but very true). And although I did grow up in Germany, I lived a long time in Texas and California, so this is just hard for me. So, this will be my last post about cold weather or complaining about it. Even though I know there is more ahead... there are some breaks out there! And I can say this all, knowing that today, finally, we will get above freezing. And that it will stay that way for a couple of days. And it is no longer January. And February is short, so there is a light out there...

In my former life I must have been a coconut.... oooh, yes, one that gets turned into a fruity drink with an umbrella:) Must be why Ross is partial to those!




Just kidding.




He likes beer.

Sports...Zoey's View

Some funny thoughts heard from Zoey today:

-I know what the Superbowl is! It is when you have to stay inside and watch football!

-Did you know there are two kinds of golf, Mommy? There is the kind that really old guys play. They swing hard and the ball goes way up in the air! And then there is the one like at Magic Castle! (miniature golf)