A sliver of winter sunshine

I think God knew today that we were going to batty if we didn't get out of our house. 

I think He sent us a beautiful sunny day (in January) because He knows us. And He loves us.

And he doesn't want us to hurt each other. Or say something we'll regret.

We need to take off our huge poofy coats and slide down a slide.

We needed to make a pyramid in the dirt.

We needed to practice outside and not worry one bit about who might be listening or disturbed by 7th grade trombone skills.

Thank you!!

Welcome home

When I'm old and wrinkly and my white carpet stays white and nobody puts my cheese grater away in a weird spot I will cry every time I pull into my garage because I will miss having my kids run to the back door and sing me the Universal Studios Theme song as I pull in. 

It is guaranteed to make me feel alright with the world.

Everly joins the ranks

She's three and it's time to check out those teeth. 

Luckily we are in the dolphin room and there is a stuffed dolphin to hug. (Dentistry has changed since I was a kid.) 

And when she's all done, she gets two tokens for the "THE CLAW".

Yay dentist!

Daddy daughter date...Plan B

I missed RSVPing for the first ever Sunnyside Daddy Daughter dance.

I felt terrible when the girls came home and all their friends were talking about going tonight with their dads.

ACK!

So Mark took them out anyway and made them feel special.

I helped them get dressed up and curled their hair.

They went to Olive Garden for dinner.

The said to me, "Mom! Did you know that they will just keep bringing you breadsticks as much as you want?" And I thought to myself...."mmm...I need some breadsticks."

I am told that both of them ordered pasta with a side of fries. I am hoping they both maintain that kind of self confidence when they start dating for real.

Get those fries, girl!

After dinner he took them over to Old Navy and let them pick out a bracelet each to remember the night. 

They loved it and the loved having their dad all to themselves. 

The girls and I made a tent out of sheets and had our own fun time. There were stories and flashlights and then we camped out all night (by "we", I mean that I snuck off to my own bed as soon as they were asleep.)

All around it was a pretty great night!

A good book

I love this.

The hallways

I found these on my phone. I didn't take them...

And maybe I need to be more aware of who has my phone and what they are doing with it.

Or maybe not

Or maybe yes....

Restitution

Lessons learned:

A moment of anger can lead to allowance going towards drywall and spackle, hours of sanding, and then even more hours of sanding.

Big holes are hard to fill.

Your parents love you.

Even when you make a mistake (even a BIG mistake), if you work hard and do everything you can to make it right, you can put things back in order.

It's not fun. It's not supposed to be fun.

Your parents still love you.

Everly is 3!!

Birthday balloons! 

A breakfast party hat!

And a huge cake!!

How old are you?

 THREE!

You did it! One...candle...at...a...time...

And the best part....Rainbow! (And low fat...so she can have a HUGE piece.)

A Daniel Tiger lovey...we love Daniel Tiger around here. He has lots to say about brushing your teeth and trying new vegetables and saying sorry. He's the antithesis of Caillou.

She gets her very own fancy pillow case from Grandma Kathleen!

New dress-up shoes!

And a doodle pro she had a hard time saying goodnight to. But hey, if you can't doodle on your birthday, when can you?

Lucky

"Pretending to be asleep"

I love this man.

Makeovers

I saw this cute idea for making pretend make-up for little girls. You paint the empty wells of old compacts with different colors of nail polish and let them dry.

A pack of make-up brushes and you're in business!

I love it when they do my make up. 

It's so relaxing.

Except for the occasional brush up the nose.

A preview

Every once in a while I look at one of the kids and I feel like I can see their adult selves looking out at me.

She might as well be 22.

Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we burpee

Sometimes you make plans.

Sometimes those plans get "adjusted" when things don't go exactly as you expect.

Sometimes your child puts a 15 yr old size hole in the wall....

So Ethan didn't go to his dance after all.

And Mark stayed home with him and Everly (New Years foods are not known for their low-fatness).

I took the rest of the kids over to the Flynn's New Year's Eve party.

And we chatted and snacked with our friends.

We rang in the New Year with sparkling cider and I wished that I was home with Mark and there wasn't a hole in the wall and my son wasn't feeling brokenhearted.

And I wished I was doing what Anna was smart enough to do. But I am hoping that the coming year will bring good things and help us all to leave this night in the past.

The next morning (more like 3 pmish) we headed over to the gym to play our annual Crossfit Candyland.

I don't know if we were preoccupied with our worries, or if the game was just too complicated, but we ended up leaving and spending the day at home.

We're making better choices already.

Here's to 2016!