Still snowing

Is the winter ever going to end?  My lower back is so ready to be done shoveling!  At least it is all white and pretty to look at.  Feburary is usually my least favorite month.  For being the shortest, it is almost always packed to the brim and feels like the longest month.  Generally February is filled with dirty, brown, slushy snow.  The kind that just makes you want to stay in the house all day long because you don't want the hem on your pants to get wet and dirty. 

This is not the case this year.  The snow just keeps coming and coming.  We are starting to gear up for our yearly trip to Florida, but it isn't truly paradise there this year either.  70 degrees is nice and way better than 20, but when I go to Florida I am going because I want 85 or 90 degrees not 70.  6 weeks and counting.  It is right around the corner.  Hopefully it will be nice and warm come April 1st. 

Ms. Bee, these pictures are for you....you always have these lovely, sunny paradise looking photos.  So today I am going to show you what my paradise looks like......

Here is the view out my front door.  BRRRRRR........ (and no I have not yet shoved for the morning.  I have decided to have a cup of coffee before I venture out to do that project.)



Here is the view out the back door.  No I am not a nice doggy mom, I do not shovel the snow off the deck for my doggy.  And for the record, he doesn't have to lift his leg to pee, because well the snow is just that high.  Need I say more?


Here is the mound of snow in the cul-de-sac on our road.  The kids are having a blast on this.  Well that is on the days it is actually warm enough to go outside and play.  Yesterday, they played, and they played hard.  I wish I would have braved the climate to take pictures, but instead I enjoy the view from my window. 


This is the parking lot at Bella's Pre-school.  The mound is higher than my car.  I was sitting in the car waiting in line to drop the kids off  when I took this.  They are starting to run out of room to clear the parking lot. 


Gee, I just love winter!   Do you hear the sarcasm in that statement?
Yea that's what I thought!  It was suppose to be dripping with it!

Ms. Bee I do believe I prefer your paradise over mine (at least Nov-March)

M. I. A.

So I am alive, yes I have been missing in action, but something had to give in my life for a few weeks an it unfortunately had to be blogging.  What started out as a simple computer problem turned into a major virus that wiped out Windows on my computer. I am happy to report that the computer is back at home and running better than ever, but not without a few minor surgeries and a few new programs.  Some lessons must always be learned the hard way. :(  At least they were able to recover my pictures (all 8,000) of them and my iTunes.  The rest, well lets just say we now have an external hard drive and I will begin adding weekly backup to my new routines.  

Old man winter sure is putting up a good, long fight this year.  Still cold, still snowing......the kids and I have been home with no school since last Thursday.  It has been nice to have a little break from school and routine, but I am tired of being stuck in this house. As I was driving Gabby to swim practice tonight, I noticed it was after 6pm and it was still light out.  Man oh man did this put a smile on my face!  Spring is right around the corner. Ahhh my favorite season of the year.  Spring Vacation is about 45 days away.....oh Florida gear up, we are so ready to steal your sunshine, eat your fruit and run our feet in your sandy beaches.

cleaning machine

I decided that January was the month I was going to better my life.  Most people make all these New Year Resolutions about losing weight and eating healthier and then after two weeks quit.  As much as I would like to do those things I decided I would focus on de-cluttering my home and work towards making it more organized.

My hopes are that by becoming organized and clutter free, I will have more time in the day to work on other things I have wanted to start doing, like walking on my treadmill.  I decided that the kitchen is the center of this house and the real problem area.  Since we do not have a office, papers end up all over my island or counter.  We have a den where we keep the computer, but it is a small area that is consumed with toys.  I have been searching bloggyland for a blogger who is organized.  Then I found her.... This lady may have changed my life and that is no joke.  She is a mother of 8 and a grandmother of 3 and a lover of organizing while decorating. I think I may have just meet my new best friend, and it may be love at first sight. 

Her are some things I have learned from her.  These pictures are my newly organized kitchen. 

She suggested using a pretty box and turning it into a daily file organizer.  I found these cute box on sale a craft store for $5.00, and the file folders on clearance.  A pack of 4 crazy print folders for 20 cents.  I spent about $8.00 and bought every last one they had.   I already had a label maker because deep down I am a want to be anal organizer, but I have never been able to find a method that everyone could help with. 

I love it!

There are no excuses for lost papers or counter top clutter.  This is a daily system and I have found a routine that works for me.  I use it about 3 times a day, but anyone who can read can use it as well.

I found an empty space on my island that needed sprucing up....



The best part of this project, is that the rest of my kitchen now looks like this......


It's been 2 weeks and it still looks like this!


My new best friend, also taught me about a clipboard system.  AMAZING is all I can say about these puppies.  Each child now has a decorated clipboard where all school papers can go. 



This project was great because it was FREE! I had all the supplies holed up in my basement/craftroom.

They turned out awesome.

Here is Gabby's....


Here is Bella's.....


And here is Gia's....



3 kids, 2 schools = way to much paper work!  Now below the car key holding dock is this awesome organzing system.  Plus my kids love there clipboards.



Now the door to the garage can be seen and full used.


I am on a mission.  I have begun to clean and declutter everything.  Junk drawers done. Laundry room done....Watch out treadmill, this girl just found some extra time in her day to give you a run for your money. 

And in case you are wondering.....Yes I am in LOVE!

Guess who has braces???

When I was in 4th grade, I got braces. I was ahead of my time, back then. My teeth were so bad I wore them for 4 years. The nice part was by time I hit high school my teeth were straight and I was only in a retainer.  My teeth were nice till about 3 years ago.  During my pregnancy with Gia, one of my fillings broke while eating an Oreo cookie.  I ended up needing a crown.  When the crown went in, it caused some spacing issues with my perfectly aligned teeth.  Now my bottom row has become slightly crowed.  Little by little my teeth are turning, fighting for space.  I think by time Gabby is in phase 2 I will be side by side her having my bottom teeth re aligned. 

Orthodontist do things differently now. My 2nd grader, just got braces. Her orthodontist says this is phase 1 of 2 maybe 3phases.   Phase 2 will begin at the age of 10, when all her adult molars are present.

Here is the last look at Gabby's teeth pre-braces.


Back in May a jaw expended was put in.  Her teeth have greatly improved in just 7 months.  This is the after the expander picture and the pre braces picture. 


Here is my 8 year old trooper, proudly sporting her new pink and blue brackets.  Pain free as of now.  Feeling like such a big girl and making her momma feeling so old.



I can't wait to watch this transformation unfold.

fog freeze?

This is the post I was working on the day Picasa would not load my pictures.  It has taken 2 days, and Picasa has a new update and so now I can upload pictures into my blog.  Enjoy....

Ever so often the midwest has a nice wintertime appearance that just takes your breathe away.  Monday was one of those rare times.  It was just another ordinary day, I was taking Gabby to the lung doctor for an asthma check and I couldn't help but notice all the trees and bushes had this white coating.  It was actually quite pretty.  It is hard to explain.  Everywhere you looked stuff was covered in white, but it wasn't a snowfall white, the kind after a fresh snow storm.  It was quite different.  Like things were frozen white. 


Everwhere you looked it was wintertime white.  Even Gabby noticed. 

The pictures do not really give it justice. 

For being around 20 degrees. It was one of those weird days were it didn't feel so cold. 



The weather man on the news called it a fog freeze.  Have you ever heard of such a thing?  We have so much snow that when it warmed up on Sunday it started to melt.  As nightfall approached it got colder.  Jared and I were driving home from a work get together and at 10pm it was so foggy.  The kids had no school because of Martin Luther Kings Day, but by morning you couldn't see the house across the street because the fog was so heavy.  Had there not been school already we most definitely would have had a 2 hour delay. As the fog rose off the ground it apparently froze. 


This is not fresh snow on the bushes, it is frozen frost, and it was on everything.  Making a beautiful white coating.  A wonderful wintertime surprise.


Today was a day I didn't mind living were it is cold, and that is something I hardly ever say.

Rumor has it we will see high 40's this weekend!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Please Mr. Sunshine can you make an appearance?

bX-l1gck6 ?????? WTF!!!!!!

So today, I was actually going to blog.  Yep had the pictures loaded in Picasa and hit blog this.  It has now been over an hour and I have nothing but error after error.  Hate it, Hate it, Hate it!!!!  I then thought well I will upload from my phone into blogger, same thing error after error.  I am starting to lose my cool.  I have limited amount of time and my computer skills are not so hot.  I just want to rip the computer out of the desk and throw it in the snow! 


Help???  Anyone having problems today? 

There is cold and then there is colder.......

Well, when you live in the Midwest you in a way are choosing to live with the good the bad and the ugly. It is a given that we have 4 full seasons.  Yes, it is true and we just happen to be in the ugly as we speak.  I'm not sure how it is possible, but each day it seems darker and colder.  Yes it is certainly the freeze your ass off season.

Spring has always been my favorite because the days are starting to get longer and warmer and everything is beginning to become alive and full of life again. Yes it is a known fact, I dislike winter. It isn't the snow or the cold, but it is the lack of good old Mr. Sunshine. Unfortunately I am stuck here. So what else is a family of 5 who hates being locked  indoors all day long to do?

You guessed it.....



SLEDDING AT THE PARK!!!

It was cold, real cold.  15 degrees to be exact, but that didn't stop this crew!



Bella is the speed demon of the family.  She has no fear.  This girl can sled and sled fast.  Not to mention she has the energy of  a bunny.  She sprinted her way up the hill just as fast as she flew down it.   




Even Gia Pia had fun.



Speed was not quite her forte, but she still liked the motion of going downhill.  She gets an A+ for effort. 



Gabby on the other hand was more cautious.  She like her mother, got a little scared when she picked up speed.  She had a blast, don't get me wrong, but she wanted nothing to do with speed or bumps. 





I think this house of five on cambridge drive may just have a future with winter sports.  I see skiing in our future when Gia gets a tad bit older.  The cold didn't bother any of us.  Then again when you have to carry a sled and walk up a hill it is pretty easy to break a sweat.
 
After 2 hours of sledding mommy and daddy were begging to go home.  I think I may have bruised my tailbone and well my legs are a little tired today.  Shoot, I am getting old!  When will my mind learn that I no longer own the body of a twenty year old?

While fixing dinner Gia, I mean Al Bundy, decided she was going to rest her eyes for a moment.  I mean how else are you going to warm your hand up after 2+ hours of sledding. 

Oh to be a kid again.....


♥