Valentine's Dance

Only a few select individuals received hand-made (by Emma) invitations to our first annual "FAMILY-ONLY VALENTINE'S DANCE." Our dance was quite typical of other dances featuring young attendees. Everyone dressed in their best attire, the music had to be adjusted a few times, dessert ended up all over the fancy outfits and the boys and girls cried when their partners wanted to dance with someone else. Emma wanted to dance only with Dave and Nathan wanted to dance only with me. In the end, Dave and I made a deal with our young ones. We got to have the last dance together. Life at it's best. I want more of this.

The Month of Love

Despite the obvious fact that my blog has been sorely ignored for almost a month, Valentine's Day did not go unnoticed in our home. We started early. The first Friday in February was date night, a very special date night. We went out to eat as a family and then...Dave and Emma had a daddy-daughter date while Nathan and I had a mommy-son date.

Emma was beyond excited to get dressed up cute for her one-on-one. Daddy and his date went to see the movie Madagascar II and then found a place to buy a giant pixie stick.

My date and I did something less conventional. We found a giant aquarium and stared at large fish. Nathan could not have been happier wandering around Cabela's. Both dates were delightful and full of memories.

Impossible

Last weekend while visiting my parents in Idaho we attempted the near impossible, getting six adorable, happy, wiggly, energetic cousins and their grandparents to all look at the camera at the same time.

"Grandparents bestow upon their grandchildren
The strength and wisdom that time
And experience have given them.

Grandchildren bless their Grandparents
With a youthful vitality and innocence
That help them stay young at heart forever.

Together they create a chain of love
Linking the past with the future.
The chain may lengthen,
But it will never part..."

~Author Unknown~

I am grateful for loving grandparents that shower upon my kids all that makes grandparents special-attention, hugs, good examples, kindness, stories, life lessons and most importantly, love.

Purchasing Peace of Mind

Did you know that Wal-mart has greeters at 5:00 AM even though the parking lot is virtually empty? I guess they want those crazy moms who have to make 5:00 AM trips to Wal-mart for peace of mind feel not so crazy. When I say "peace of mind" I am actually referring to the Cozy Tot Crib Tent. At least I'm hoping that the on-line reviews are correct and when I use this tent my child will stop wondering around the house at night, start taking naps again, and be safe in the process. Unfortunately Wal-mart failed me. They don't carry this lovely tent in the store. I called three other stores between 6:00 AM and and 10:00 AM and finally found one at Burlington Coat Factory. We hurried down there to make sure no one else got to the last one before we did.

At about 4:45 this morning I had had it with worrying and getting no sleep. Nathan started climbing out of his crib around Christmas time. Worried about his safety and not really thinking about other options, we converted him to a toddler bed. It was not such a fun experiment to have a 20 month old with this kind of freedom. We tried putting a gate up in the doorway, but to no ones surprise Nathan climbed over it on the third day. I'm hoping my new purchase will deter the little climber and that I can get back some peace of mind...and some sleep.

Fort Building

Everyone has memories from childhood of blankets, tables and chairs haphazardly stacked together and named a "fort." Emma has lived and slept in this latest architectural success story for three days. It is going away today so I can have my Living Room Back, but Emma and Nathan have loved it.