On day three of the snow siege last week, I got an email from one of my friends stating, "What do you do with them all day!?  This is ridiculous!"  I laughed after reading that.  I definitely have those days.  What mom doesn't?  I think there's a huge difference from just having a normal day at home compared to being on lockdown in your house for five days.  That's right, we were in the house for five days.  I actually surprised myself and didn't loose my mind.   I think it helped a lot that Chris wasn't able to fly out that week and was stuck at home as well.  So, all four of us plus Cooper trapped in the house for five days.  We got out about once a day to walk the glacier that had taken over our neighborhood.   

So, here is how we occupied our time during those five days.

If your children love to read and look at books, I highly recommend the TAG reading system by Leapfrog.  Ella got one for her birthday and then one for Christmas and it has been such a great toy.  I am amazed how that little pen can do so much.  Ella has received the Leapster Explorer for Christmas.  Again, another great toy made by Leapfrog.  Can't say enough good things about that brand.  Great, education and fun toys.  

This is a game that Ella invented called Bumping Down the Stairs.  Bet you can't guess what this game entails.  It's fairly simple, the girls lay on their tummies at the top of the steps and bump down the steps.  Have no fear, it's not face first.  The fleece jammies are their uniforms.  As Ella explained, it allows them to bump down the stairs faster.  Of course it does.  We had about five or six outfit changes a day so they could get in their gear to play their new game.   

This was Maddie's pool where she took her bath.  This was day three so the crazy was starting to set in.  

One of my best friends gave this puppet theatre to the girls for Christmas.  I think it's awesome.  I can't get over how cute all the puppets are.  We broke it out for the first time during our week trapped inside.  The girls loved it and I did too!  We knocked the stage over a couple of times trying to fit our bodies through the stage hole but what play doesn't have some bumps along the way.  With a little more practice they'll be able to take their show on the road.





Playdoh!  Ugh!  I think just about every kid loves playdoh.  And I would bet that just about every parent hates cleaning it up.  My girls love it.  I tried to remember that when I was picking up hard little playdoh balls all over the kitchen floor days after we had played with it.



Getting ready to go outside yet again.  We did a lot of this.  Not sure if I could make it in a place that has snow on the ground all the time.  The prep time just to get the girls ready to go outside is crazy!



We applied a lot of lipstick (really it's just chapstick) since it was cold out there.  Not really, the girls just love it and probably apply it about ten times a day.

And so ends our five day vacation  where we never even left our house.  I'll leave you with the best quote of our time together inside.  Maddie and Ella were playing down in the basement and we overheard this;  Ella: "I'm sick" Maddie: "I don't have any medicine.  Do you want a doughnut?"  If you only knew of Maddie's love of doughnuts, it would make the comment even that much funnier.  

Snowmageddon

It is now day 2 of the snow siege in Atlanta.  Surprisingly, cabin fever has not set in yet.  Although that may change in a couple of days if this stuff doesn't melt soon.  We got out in the snow on Monday but i just couldn't do it again today.  It took us thirty minutes just to get all suited up and ready to go outside.  I think five minutes of that was trying to cram Maddie's foot in her rainboot.  Doesn't go in quite as easy when you have on a sock, leggings, and a pair of fleece jammies.   There's no way those girls were cold!

It's not the fun fluffy snow.  We weren't able to make a snowman or a snow angel.  The girls were still able to enjoy it and have fun though.  

The big bonus of all this snow is that Chris wasn't able to fly out to Ohio this week so he's working from home.  Yay!  Happy that he gets to stay at home and enjoy all of this snow with us.  

Happy 2011!

I rang in the new year up in Kentucky at my in-laws house eating bourbon balls and watching TV.  I didn't even make it till midnight.  The days of staying up to ring in the new year are definitely over.  Who am I kidding, they've been over for a long time!  Yep, that's what happens when you have kids.

So, I may not be able to make it to midnight but I am going to attempt some resolutions this year.  I've never really made any resolutions before but we all have things we can improve on, right?  Here are some of mine:

1)  Take more pictures - My big goal of the year.  I really want to learn more about photography and get better at taking pictures.  I haven't really picked up my camera the past couple of months except for "big" events and I feel like I have missed out on some of those little precious moments.  No more of that.  At the end of the year I want to look back and see some growth in my pictures.   

2)  Cook more - I have a wonderful husband who loves to cook and makes the most delicious and yummy stuff.  I am forever grateful and a very lucky lady.  To be honest, I'm just not really a fan of cooking.  But I want to like it so, I am going to attempt cooking one new meal a month.  I know those of you that cook every night are laughing at my lame attempt but I have to start some where.   I think I can, I think I can.

Those are the two big ones that I want to focus on.  But there are a million other things that are constantly running through my head.  Be more patient with the girls and the hubby.  Save more, spend less.  Stop being such a planner and live more in the moment.  Stop procrastinating.  Eat more fruit and less chocolate, cookies, brownies, and candy.  The list really does seem endless.  I'm not going to try to limit myself and see what happens.  

I better step it up on my resolutions.  It's already the 9th and I've only picked up my camera once this year and so far the closest I've gotten to making a meal is pouring some milk into my honey bunches of oats.  Since I'm slacking on my picture taking, here are two of my favorites that I got of the girls while we were up in Kentucky after Christmas.  

And one with the big man himself.  Both of the girls asked for a train table and a stuffed bear named Bubba.  Ella also requested a baby jaguar and a simba.  Maddie asked for a banana car.  Santa had some difficulties locating the banana car and the baby jaguar but he came through with everything else.

And our Christmas card picture for 2010.

And you can add on blogging more on here for another one of my resolutions for 2011.