...to think of warmer days

...they will come again.

My friend Beth sent me this email today:

Detailed Local Forecast

How to Read This

• Tonight: Cloudy with periods of snow after midnight. Low 17F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%. 1 to 2 inches of snow expected.
• Tomorrow: Snow likely. High 27F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. 5 to 8 inches of snow expected.
• Tomorrow night: Scattered snow showers early with a steadier snow developing late at night. Low 24F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Additional 2 to 4 inches of snow expected.
• Wednesday: Periods of snow, heavy at times, during the morning will transition to a wintry mix in the afternoon. Some icing possible. High 33F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Significant snow accumulation possible.
• Thursday: Snow to start, then a wintry mix. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the upper teens.
• Friday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the low teens.

A collective chorus of groans was heard all around West Point as surely this forecast bodes more school closures, Code Reds (meaning the commissary AND the CDC will be closed), and snow shoveling...well it can't last forever.  Right???


Spring will come and we'll see:

Pretty flowers...

hanging baskets

 Children:

wading in the stream

running through the sprinklers

So I was re-inspired of days to come...

...to shovel some more snow

...not really.

Since I was flying solo for a few days it was I who got to do the task.  Or risk breaking an ankle when I walk out the door at 10:00 this evening to pace the dog up and down the sidewalk in front of our house!

I love winter spring.   I love snow sun.  I love cold warmth.

The forecast for the rest of the week:

Wednesday: Snow
Thursday: Snow
Friday: Snow
Saturday: Snow

It is pretty.  I can't deny that.

When is Groundhog's Day anyway?  Good 'ole Phil had better NOT see his shadow!

...to finish some chores

...and I didn't.

I still have to:

• paint touch-up the gash I put on the dresser that I made when I was peeling the tape off of the mirror
• find two screws that are the correct sizes to attach the remaining handle
• finish the laundry that I started two days ago (or even start what has been acquired since)
• make dinner
• make the rotten bananas into muffins 

I am trying to figure out what I accomplished instead...

• got a haircut
• learned how to sell girl-scout cookies (who knew there were so many rules!)
• planned a baby shower
• taxied children to four dance classes and hockey
• tried a new pizza place for dinner (it was great...and they delivered!)

Sometimes it looks better when you put thing down concretely...a reason why I love lists.  I did accomplish a lot today!  

Tomorrow is another day.

...to take a photo of my chair

...voila

Project #2 from this past weekend.  (Project #1 is not quite complete yet...)

This little chair was mine when I was a baby.

It was my mom's when she was a baby.

And before her?  Her grandfather got it for her.  I wish he had made it for her (this would make for a better story!).  Instead, my great-grandfather bought it used for her as a tot.

I think it is a charming, little chair.  After a bit of wood glue and a fresh coat a paint...

And looks so sweet in my little cherub's room.

...to show our project of the long weekend

...and take a few pictures

A little treasure I found on Craigslist...

 A little bit of help...

 

A little bit of paint...

More to come...

...to play some games

...by the fire on this terribly cold winter evening!

So for a living I drink coffee and play games and talk.  Really.  This is my vocation's real job description.  Oh, yea...and I read lots of books.  Children's books.  Thus, my affinity for them.  I digress.

But I have recently felt like I spend more direct, one-on-one time with other people's children than I do my own.  So, I have been trying to really spend some quality time in the evenings with the kids.  Especially my big two.  And tonight, I thought it would be fun to play some games.

On tap for this evening...

An Eric Carle classic made into a game; perfect for my 3-year-old!

A favorite from Mark's childhood...a great family game of strategy!

Of course we played a bit of Wii

While we did not play this next game in particular this evening, it has quickly become one of our favorites.  

And, while conducting "therapy" today I played this with several of the children I work with (thus, the reason I am mentioning it).  There are so many cognitive skills to work on with this game such as language, short-term memory, processing speed, vocabulary; yet EVERY kiddo I tried it on, LOVED it!  

Our newest family favorite!

What a great evening to start off our holiday weekend!

...to plan a new Girl Scout event

...ugh.  The things I get myself into.

World Thinking Day is next month and the Girl Scouts of West Point are celebrating as a unit.  The job of each troop is to pick a country (our is Egypt...for no other reason than when we first had to pick our countries Mark had just returned from there) and then present on it to the other troops.

In theory, it would be the responsibility of the girls to come up with ideas, research them, and put together wonderful skits, creative foods, or amazing artifact displays.

Well, when the girls are seven and eight, and have limited access to on-line research, the responsibility lies on none-other-than-the Troop Leader!

That would be me.

Thankfully, I have one other mom in my troop whom I was able to bounce ideas off of.  Here is what we came up with.  My ideas...crossed off!  Hers...so much better!

We decided to:

• make and package individual pieces of baklava  make sugar cookies shaped like Egypt
• have each kiddo calculate in hieroglyphics their parents ages  Dumb idea!
• print out multiple sets of hieroglyphics and the kids can put together their names Buy an hieroglyphics stamp set and let them play; sentences, names, whatever!
• Egyptian tatoos
• Artifact table with labels (this was my one contribution; besides Mark brought us back some really neat trinkets!)

Who thinks this mom needs to take over as Brownie Leader?  Her ideas are perfect for the young ladies in our troop.  Lots of fun and and hands on!

About half of our troop at our holiday outing.  BRRR!