Snowed In

Maxwell checking out the snow from his favorite soft vantage point.

Let the yard work begin... and the wheelbarrow rides of course.
A sweet big brother to Maggie and our buddy Kaya on a recent museum outing.
Maggie loves playing on her toddler bed... maybe one day she'll sleep there too!
A new Megatron to pass some snowed-in hours.
This is just a few hours into this storm.

There's nothing like being snowed in during a Boulder spring blizzard... provided that the loved ones are all home and safe... and the house is stocked with sufficient food and spirits! Thankfully, today all of the above are true. Today, and tomorrow, will give us some much needed down time. Why is it that being home during a blizzard seems so much more fun than being home on a day too windy or rainy to go outside? There is something inherently cozy about it, despite having no fireplace to warm our mittens by. There is a crockpot of chili hot in the kitchen, everyone in sweats, no pressure to go anywhere, and a couple of new inside toys bought in an early-storm emergency trip to Target.

We've been regretfully negligent about posting to our blog this winter... but we have some good reasons! For the month of February... you know what they say about not saying anything if you have nothing good to say. This family was sick, sick, sick. It started with Influenza; full blown flu despite the flu shots all around (public health message: we will continue to get flu shots because who knows how many other strains it helped us fend off!). Then came an ill-timed, pardon the pun, trip to California while we were all still way under the weather and it rained every moment of our vacation! Of course there were good parts of that, but had we used better judgement at the time we would have postponed our trip to more fully enjoy it. Once home we shared a case of bronchitis, which turned into Maggie's first ear infection and antibiotics (there is nothing cute about a strong-willed 17 month old who decides that no she does NOT like the amoxicillin despite it being the "best" tasting kind!) and Mary's sinus infection which led to her second round of antibiotics in a month... So after about 5 weeks of illness, the fog finally lifted and we realized how sick we were.

Then came March. March, so far, has seen Mommy go to work more days than not (today, well, until we closed for the blizzard!) was day 6 out of 7. This of course means many things... LOTS of time with Daddy, a more tired (ok, and probably grouchy) Mommy, many outings to fun places so Daddy doesn't go crazy at home, and hopefully a sizable paycheck to pay for our new landscaping project. We finally know what we want to do with the backyard, and that we don't have the capacity to do it all ourselves. Out comes the checkbook and in comes 12 ton of Red Breeze, 5 ton of large boulders (hey, we do live in Boulder), 2 ton of flagstone, 5 ton of local river rock, 3 new irrigation zones, 800 square feet of turf, 100 square feet of vegetable beds, a 100sf water-wise perennial "Garden in a Box" from our lovely city program, and a new Cleveland Select Pear Tree. Now, all we need is some fantastic outdoor furniture for everyone to lounge on in this backyard paradise! Of course this work is not all done yet, but it's well on it's way and we can't wait to enjoy it.

We are amazed at how an entire season can pass us by in a blink, but the kids manage to fit in so much growth and change. No more toddler and baby, we have a full blown preschooler and toddler. They've outgrown their clothes (yet again!), they have new games, new habits (some cute, some not), and new imagination. Ian is having drop-off play dates (who knew we could do this at 3? Not me, but he loves the independence!), has moved on from Thomas the train and Bob the Builder to Star Wars, Spider Man, and Transformers... Iron Man is his new hero. He is testing us in totally new ways (sneaking a tub of brownies into his room and eating 4 before coming out an admitting his crime??), and has found a whole new level of attitude that he throws around. "I'm not talking to you" and "You need to settle down Mommy" have been heard more than a few times lately. Just now he told me he'd like to "hit her in the face" in regard to the host of PBS' Goodnight Show (still has issues with "goodnight", apparently). But he still runs to us with open arms and a huge smile after a day at work, which melts that ice that can build with so much attitude abounding. Ian can go anywhere and be complimented for how sweet he is, what a good sharer, how "well-behaved" and generally mellow-natured he is. He is a delight to be around, he just saves the "best" for us which we are grateful for.

Maggie is going cuckoo for the Lion King (well, just the opening scene- still not enough attention to watch much more than that. I may be a bad Mom for wishing she could watch the whole thing once in a while...). She holds her baby doll up when Mufasa holds up baby Simba for his presentation in the opening scene, and talks about the "mess" when Rafiki spreads the ash on Simba's face. So cute. The poor thing is getting her incisor teeth, if you have little ones or can remember when then you know what I'm talking about. But she is still the happiest girl when not in pain, and everyone asks "is she always so happy and outgoing??". Yes, she is, but don't let that fool you- she has a will of steel and has a way of talking you in to or out of any number of things, depending on the mood. She puts up with no funny business from her brother, and has started dishing it out too. She is a busy, busy, busy little bee in perpetual motion. Her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds, and while we don't understand all the words she is almost always able to communicate through a combination of words, inflection, pointing, and proper signs what it is she wants or doesn't want. She's edible.

Enough rambling for this snowy afternoon... it's time for a craft project, wrestling match, or other indoor activity!