Poor, poor me... I got kidnapped by a little white and brown dog. She chewed my ear off and rolled me in the snow. I was rescued, and now... may I please come in???

Rachel, are you rolling the snowball, or is the snowball rolling you??

I love being outside!!

There's nothing like deck stairs to make a good slope!

More snow days!

Wow... what a wintery winter break! The kids had LOADS of fun. Two days of skating, a blizzard, a day of plowing and cleaning/starting cars at Wayne Ford with Papa, a trip to a hunting/fishing show, and a good dose of sledding and snowboarding with Stefan/Joshua and Jacquelyn/Carrie. Then... two MORE days of snow!

6th grade had their Medieval Feast - last year Derek was a knight... this year, Luke is... a poor peasant!

Hmmm... how does a mom who isn't even sure where her sewing machine is make pointy peasant shoes and a medieval peasant hat????? Cut, draw, snip, stitch, patch a little here, a little there... oops, that's a bit too much material there.... phew... okay, kids, this ISN'T how you REALLY sew!

They have so much fun doing this - whittling daggers, crafting bow, arrows, and quiver, cutting "rags," and even sewing his own patches on his "poor" tunic!

Unexpectedly, it was just "the girls" at suppertime. Both boys are sleeping at a friend's, Troy is working... so we decided to have a LADIES' NIGHT OUT, at home! It was a good way to "bribe" the girls, too - homework was done in no time and the complaints and whine-ies were squelched quickly when I hung it over their heads as a threat! Oh, and yes, I guess Sparky's a lady too, so she shared our dessert... but she's not sharing our cozy couch story time (something we don't ever seem to have a whole lot of time for anymore lately)!

Rachel has been registered for Kindergarten - hard to believe! It's going to be very hard letting her go... she can play so quietly and nicely, and she's my snugglebug!!!!!!

A getaway for two - the first night away in almost seven years! The Whistling Swan Inn in Stanhope, NJ. Lunch at the Macaroni Grill made Troy smile (after he stuffed himself), and I was so happy to see the little bit of snow and warmer weather the next morning so we could take a long walk in the woods. We enjoyed all the simple pleasures... a cup of tea by the gas fireplace, a cellphone that didn't ring, a hot shower that was allowed to be as looooooooooooooooooong as I wanted it to be because no one needed breakfast, no one banged on the door or shouted "Mooooom!", and no one needed the hot water!! And then not to have to MAKE breakfast... Now, that's being pampered! A little used book shop and toy shop later, it was good to get home again to the kiddies - I'm such a terrible homebody that one night is enough, now matter how nice and relaxing it was - even Troy agreed that our bed feels really good after the fluff and poof and downiness of the great canopy king bed! It was nice to get away, and now... home sweet home - my head is spinning a bit from all the many stories and questions and requirements, and now it's time for spaghetti!