and....i'm back!

Its been almost a month since my last post- and my last post was pretty pathetic! I've been trying to spend less time on the computer, I find myself so easily distracted by blogs, facebook, and all those neat little social networks. I really do need to keep up on this blog tho- not because i think people care about what i'm doing- but because i have the worst memory and my kids are growing and changing so fast- since i cant freeze time, i figure i might as well blog about it so that i can look back someday and remember all of these fun times!

So, what have we been up to lately? well- Nick spent some time in California for work in Jan- which left me home with kids and lots of snow for a week! During this time i learned that we REALLY need to get a snow blower- i have no idea why we dont own one!! Thank god my father in law lives 2 blocks away and loves to use his snow blower- he was here bright and early to clear the driveway and decks so that we could get out! Not that i had planned on leaving, but it was nice to know i could leave if i had to! Plus, i didnt like looking like "that neighbor"....

Good thing he made it back in time for this snow storm....he became quite creative with how to move the snow from one side of the driveway to another :) 

Grace has been busy with preschool and bossing around her little sister. She says the FUNNIEST stuff! Just a few Grace quotes from the last few weeks-

Nick takes Grace to preschool in the mornings, one morning on the way to school he saw that there was some roadkill of to the side of the road- he said he was hoping he could speed past with out her noticing, but you can't put anything by her. She saw it and said "oh man, that squirrel should have stayed on the sidewalk!!", Nick of course thought this was hilarious and called me to tell me right away. On the way home from preschool (my mom usually picks her up) She pointed the squirrel out to my mom on the way home and told her that "he forgot to look both ways"....she acted like it was no big deal- just a typical thing that happens when you dont look both ways! Then- a few hours later after we thought we had heard it all about the poor roadkill, she added another cute comment. She asked me "Do you think heaven will pick up the squirrel before i go to preschool again??".....I lost it, she is to freakin' funny!!

I had found an old picture of me and Nick from 2002 (before we were even dating!) in a photo album i was looking thru last night. Nick was out with some friends (by out, i mean at someones house, drinking diet mt dew, and playing cranium! who knew- thats what 28 year old college buddies do when they get together for old times sake!) I stuck the picture up on the fridge for him to see when he got home, and i went to bed. I thought he would find it funny! First thing this morning Grace saw it and wanted to see it. I took it off the fridge for her to see, she sat and stared at it for about 2 minutes and then said "what happened to you guys??"....haha, guess we dont look the same as we used to :) She had a hard time understanding that she didnt exist when that picture was taken- she didnt understand where she was if she wasn't in my tummy. I was trying to think of a good way to explain it to her, and before i could think of anything she said "hmm, god must have still been working me".....I have no idea where she got that- but it melted my heart! So- thats what Grace has been up to lately- asking lots of questions and filling her little brain with knowledge!

Maddie is my little stinker! She really has quite an interesting little personality! She is a major mommy's girl (which is totally fine with me!) She loves to follow Grace around and wants to play with all of her toys and do what she is doing- I think its sweet that she looks up to her so much already- Grace is usually pretty good about sharing and playing with her- but Maddie has been known to mess up the doll house and rip a few pages out of the Bernstein Bear books, and that usually ends in lots of tears from both girls. Maddie knows what she wants, and if she doesnt get it right away, she will usually let you know she is ANGRY! She turns her body into a "noodle" so to say and throws herself on the ground until she gets what she wants. This is usually the worst at lunch time- she sees me start to make lunch and she wants it NOW, so she spends most of the time screaming while I make lunch. I havent figured out how to fix this- but i'm working on it. She is going to be a talker, she is way ahead of herself on talking, she is starting to learn words to songs and sings part of her ABC's- I'm pretty sure this is advanced for her age, since my 3 year old just learned some of these things a few months ago. I guess that's what having an older sibling can do for ya- when you hear them do things all day long you start to pick up on things. Just earlier today I was asking her "where is daddy?" not thinking she would actually answer and she quickly said "downstairs, papa!"....amazingly, she was right, he was downstairs with papa! I feel like she is growing up so fast! One of her most favorite things right now is Dora- We made the mistake of letting Grace watch Dora on the WII thru Netflix....now that they know that we have Dora whenever we want it seems like thats all they want to do- Maddie will find the WII remote and walk around with it saying "backpack, backpack" which is a Dora song. We try to only let them watch one Dora show a day- but sometimes Dora is my savior, she lets me clean the kitchen floor without interruption!

I just got to take an awesome trip to NYC with a good friend from highschool! It was hard to leave the girls and Nick- but it was so fun to get away for a girls weekend! I have a good friend from Highschool who has lived in NYC for almost 4 years now. She is considering moving this summer (to Chicago) and I knew that i needed to get out and visit her before i lost the chance! My friend Christina and I booked our flights from Chicago to NYC for $210 round trip! It was hard to pass up such a great deal! It was so great to spend time with Sarah and see all of the sites of NYC! We spent 4 days there and didnt come close to seeing everything.We had lots of fun, i'm really glad I went- I hope someday I'm able to go with Nick- he would love it!

Well, thats all for now- Its already after midnight and my goal of the night was to get the trim in the basement painted (yes, we are that close to finishing our basement!!) If i don't get this trim painted, then the carpet will not be laid tomorrow....so....back to painting! :)