Snow Days

Global warming, schmobal warming.

Winter is in full force here in Ohio. We were hit hard with snow and ice on Tuesday and Wednesday and schools have been cancelled since Monday. Taylor's school is also cancelled if there is a two-hour delay at the high school, so she's been to school a total of three days in January. We pay the same no matter how many days she actually goes, so when you break it down, each of those classes cost about $23. Yikes!!

I get major cabin fever. There's only so many board games you can play, pictures you can color and puzzles you can put together. The weather has been so bad that a trip to McDonald's Germland, er Playland or Walgreens was out of the question. Taylor really wanted to play outside, so we got really, really bundled up and headed outside. It was Michael's first time "playing" in the snow. I gave him about five minutes, then bundled him up in the wagon. We followed snow prints, looking for snow monsters.

You can see her snow angel in the background.

He thought the snow was pretty cool and even walked around in it a little.

The perfect after-playing-in-the-snow treat - hot chocolate and Teddy Grahams! Okay, Michael really just got warmed milk. And my darling Taylor, doesn't venture outside her comfort zone of food/drink, so she got very slightly warmed milk with a tiny squirt of chocolate. She's not a big fan of chocolate milk, but she insisted on hot chocolate because that's what Max and Ruby drink.

We actually snuck out to BW3s (or whatever they call it now) for dinner, before the storm got too bad. Yay for 4-wheel drive! Here are some pictures from that night:

On Wednesday, I had big plans for the day. Taylor and I put on a circus for the boys! We made costumes, set up props and rehearsed our parts while Michael took his morning nap. Our spectators also received a handmade program and bag of popcorn. Our acts included: Taylor the crazy clown, Mommy juggling, magic trick (pulled a white rabbit out of an "empty" bucket), tight rope acts by Taylor's bears and elephants and the grand finale - Taylor dressed as a tiger jumping through a fiery hoop (construction paper attach to bent clothes hangers). We caught it all on tape, but I don't know how to add it here. You get pictures instead.

Act one - Crazy clown.

Our spectators with their popcorn and noise maker.

Dogs riding elephants, who were walking on hind legs.

Lanie Bear on the tight rope.

Little tiger, jumping through the flames.

The animals that performed.

The Pear couldn't wait to check out the tight rope. It took him all of about two minutes to get the rope wrapped around his head and neck, which is exactly why I keep it up on a really high shelf.

Mommy, did you know that the AAP recommends children under 4 not eat popcorn?

So, that's how we got through. I'm back at work today and Mike is home with the kids. I noticed that the sun is shining...finally.

Until next time,



Mommy Kel

Here She Comes and Happy Chinese New Year

Taylor and I had one of those classic mommy/daughter moments yesterday. We watched a rerun of the Miss America Pagent! I've never been a girly-girl, but I've always liked watching pagents, seeing the dresses, making fun of hair, etc. :) Boy, Taylor jumped right in. She was thrilled to see that Mario Lopez was hosting. He's also the host of one of her favorite shows, Pet Star. It's a talent show for animals and we actually DVR it. Since Slater, er, Mario hosts both shows, I asked Taylor which she liked better. She picked the dogs. Later, we came up with the perfect combination of the two. Here she come...Miss Americanine!


Poor Champ. Yes, that's my wedding tiara. I don't get too sentimental about that stuff (obviously).


Sorry Champ, Taylor makes a much cuter pageant girl.

It was a banner day for Taylor on Sunday. I happened to glance at the calendar and notice that today is Chinese New Year. I told Taylor and she went dancing through the house, arms in the air, exclaiming, "It's Chinese New Year, it's Chinese New Year!" Let me tell you, Nick Jr. does and excellent job with the multi-cultural stuff. She always calls the American New Year "Chinese New Year" too. On New Year's Eve, she kept wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year. She asked me last night, "Is this the REAL Chinese New Year?" She wanted to draw a picture to commemorate this big holiday. Since it's the year of the ox, that's what she drew. She wants to send it to someone in China. Too cute.


Side note: I was born under the sign of the ox, so I think that means it's supposed to be a lucky year for me. I don't follow all of that hocus pocus, mambo jambo, but let me tell you, Wiki's description of an ox-born person is pretty much right on.

The Pear slept through the pageant and he and I played while Taylor colored. Poor kid is getting like six teeth right now (I'm not exaggerating!) so excuse the drool. I finally just gave up and took his shirt off.

"Hi, I'm Michael, but you can call me Beefcake." He's got my scrawny upper arms, though!

He loves for me to talk for his Cookie Monster puppet. He preparing to give him one of his patented open mouth kisses.

The kids like to rough-house with each other now. This round ended about two minutes later with Taylor crying. Apparently Michael hit her in the nose.

Must get back to work now. Happy Chinese New Year!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

He's Walking, Yes Indeed

The title says it all. The Pear has finally decided that he'd stop moving around like Champ and start moving around like the rest of us. He's funny. It's only been a few days since he took his first steps and now he's walking all over the place. He was the same way with crawling. Being a proud mom, I'll say it's not later physical development; it's the kid using his brain. He gets it all figured out so that he's not face-planting every step. Sorry the video is so dark. Yes, I was bribing him.




Taylor is so proud of her little brother and encourages him all of the time. It's really cute how much she loves the Pear (and the Pear loves her)! They drive each other nuts sometimes, but they are definitely buds now.
"I've got your back, Michael." And no, he won't be wearing his jeans like that when he's older. Like the rest of us, he has no butt and his pants slide down.

He would not sit still so I could take a picture. And holy cow, when did Taylor start looking so grown up??

Goofballs. I'm such a good mom that I took a picture instead of making them get down. Please disregard the mess on Michael's face. We had just finished dinner and there was enough food left on there to feed a small African village.

Stinker.

Taylor is such a good little artist. She's coloring this picture for a contest at the bank. Side note: Look how long the Worm's fingers are! Maybe she'll be able to palm a basketball like Mommy. :)

I need to get some sleep. Have a good one!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Hoops, Hollywood and Hines

All is good in our world. Despite gross Ohio weather, we're having fun right now. Mike had a particularly good week last week as his basketball team went 3-0 (beat a conference rival Tuesday, an undefeated team Friday and a defending district champ at OSU Saturday). Then, of course, the Steelers put a butt-whoppin' on the Chargers Sunday to advance to the AFC championship game (with home field advantage, I might add. Titans, thank you very much for choking.) Mike and Jason will be headed back to Heinz Field to watch Hines and Ben take care of business Sunday.



Mike's hoops team is now 9-0 and ranked fifth in the state in the latest AP poll. They've been pretty impressive! Saturday was a lot of fun. We got to Ohio State a little early and I took the kids over to the Scholar house to show them where Mommy lived for five years. It was 11:30 a.m., but we had trouble getting in because everyone was still asleep. Some things never change, haha. Finally, a kid with tossled hair stumbled out with his dog (I assume the dog's bathroom needs were the only reason the guy was awake and moving) and let us into the building. Taylor thought it was pretty cool to see my old abode, even though it was really messy and kind of stunk. According to one of the nice Scholars that emerged from his room (wearing just PJ pants), they had hosted a party the night before. Plus, they've just built a new building a few blocks away and are preparing to move. I told him no need to apologize - I was there once, too.


Taylor and Michael posing on the bar in the Scholar rec room. Neither wanted to sit up there (Michael is whining and Taylor is faking it), but I couldn't pass up the opportunity.)

The game was fun and I almost forgot how AMAZING (that's for you Lauri) the Schottenstein Center is. Both kids were on the big screen several times. One of the local photographers took a picture of Taylor on the big screen and it was in today's Wilmington paper. Too funny. She's a little celebrity. I keep calling her Hollywood. You can check it out at http://www.wnewsj.com/. Click on Electronic Edition on the left side and go to page B8. If will be there on Tuesday and you can still find it after that by clicking on archives (after clicking Electronic Edition).

People always comment on how good my kids are at the games. I have one word: snacks.



He's not really eating them; just holding them.



Don't you love his little shirt? Side note: he doesn't drink out of a bottle during the day anymore, but I left his sippy at home. That's one of the bottles Taylor uses for her dolls and it was in the backpack.

Not much else going on. I feel like Michael went through a time warp the last few weeks. He takes several steps now, eats almost all table food now, is off the formula ($$$$$) and is starting to become more verbal. He said "cookie" tonight while he was eating an animal cracker. Taylor and I had fun painting Valentines today (yes, in the middle of winter with nothing else to do, you start with the Valentine activities a month early). She is such a good little artist. I showed her one time how to make a heart and she was drawing them like a pro. She made an awesome Valentine for me and a Valentine with a picture of Hines (her idea) for Mike. Cute, cute, cute.

Alright, back to mommy time. Michael is sitting on my lap right now and I fear for the safety of the keyboard.



Until next time,



Mommy Kel

Top 10 Signs of a Good Basketball Coach's Wife

10. You shovel snow because your husband is never home in the winter to do it.

9. You know that zone defense is soft.

8. You spend date night keeping a shot chart.

7. You know what "rat tail", "flex" and "hedging a screen" mean.

6. You've put together a meal of popcorn, soft pretzel and Blow Pop.

5. You have a new appreciation for the band and dance team because they keep your kids entertained during the game.

4. You look more nervous at the end of a close game than anyone on the bench.

3. You can detail at least one of your husband's team's out of bounds plays.

2. You watch game tape immediately after getting home from said game (and enjoy it).

1. You're around teenage boys more than teenage girls.

They Make Me Laugh, They Make Me Cry

Ah, the novel of motherhood.

I love these little rugrats so much. They make me laugh harder than anything, those good belly laughs that cause the little tears to form in the corner of my eyes. We were watching Sesame Street this weekend and a Cookie Monster skit came on. They both think CM is hilarious, probably because I do a pretty mean impression. CM was trying to resist eating the cookie letter of the day, but finally broke down and attacked it. Now, anytime I reenact it, the kids go nuts. Serious belly laughs all around.

Taylor comes up with some doozies and she knows how to push my buttons (good buttons and bad buttons). Her favorite words lately are "amazing" and "unbelievable." She's such a little drama hound anyway that the words seem so natural coming out of her mouth. Sometimes we'll be watching animal planet and a small animal will get mauled or something and she ALWAYS wants to see it again. Same goes for her little shows where someone is crying, etc. It cracks me up. She's also quite the competitor. We talked Mike into playing her lady bug game yesterday and he did some stupid victory dance after he beat us (she was not amused). Later, just she and I were playing and she beat me. Without missing a beat, she jumped up, waved Mike's crusty terrible towels, did a victory dance and posed with the giant basketball trophy that is currently residing in our house. Good times.

Michael has his own little quirky things that make me laugh. He likes to have little stuff in his hands and it's usually something off the wall. First it was the twin babies from Taylor's dollhouse, then the little fairies from her Sleeping Beauty doll. Lately, he's been carrying around the toilet from the dollhouse, holding it by the attached toilet brush. It makes me laugh everytime. He also has a giant teddy bear that he just loves. When he sees it he squeals, then approaches it with an open-mouth "mmmmm". That's his way of giving kisses.

Both of them like for me to do a whacked-out version of Rock-a-Bye Baby where I rock them like crazy then "drop" them at the end. As soon as I finish with one, the other is on my lap. It kills my back, but it's worth it.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and roses. Like any mom, there are times I feel absolutely spent. I actually got a little emotional the other day when I had just finished feeding the two of the them and had finally sat down with something to eat. Michael was screaming to get out of his high chair (then screamed at my feet to pick him up) and Taylor was whining because she had a runny nose. My super-smart 4-year-old can't figure out how to blow her nose so I had to find the snot sucker and deal with that (while holding Michael) when all I wanted to do was eat. Of course, these times are far outweighed by the good and probably make the good seem even better. Nobody said parenting was easy. Eh, it's worth it. :)


Taylor and Michael posing with Mike's team's trophy for winning the county tournament.



A slobbery, teething Michael holding the toilet brush and sitting the wrong way on his Elmo car.

Big boy Michael, holding some other various item of Taylor's.


Taylor, celebrating Brownie the dog's 4th birthday with a Play-Doh cake. Yes, I played along by making the cake and lighting the candle. Mike even came up from the basement to sing Happy Birthday.

A close-up of Champy that Taylor took. He makes me smile, too.


Until next time,


Mommy Kel

Happy New Year!

Man, where does the time go? I can't believe it's been over two weeks since I've updated. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas! We had a great time visiting friends and family. Mike's brother Pat and his girlfriend Tawanda came to visit on December 23rd. Mike was supposed to have a game that night, but it was cancelled because of ice. We all ended up hanging out, eating pizza and watching movies. It was a much needed day of relaxation!

On Christmas Eve, we went to mass, then headed down to my brother's house. Taylor loves her cousins and Michael has taken a particular liking to his cousin Jacob. Michael hung with his cool big cousin much of the night, which gave me the opportunity to chit chat and have a glass of wine (or three).

Michael and his buddy Jacob and the Mole (my brother Chris). Chris doesn't always dress like that. It's a tradition for him to wear a horrendous outfit at Christmas. He had on his wife's sleep shirt from college and Sponge Bob pants.

The fam, sans spouses and kids.

The cousins - Noah (7), Taylor (4), Haley (5), Jacob (11), Michael (1), Abby (2)

Mike and Noah.

G-pa and Taylor.

Snuggling with a Christmas Pear. He looks thrilled.

Santa was good to the kids this year! Taylor has been asking for a swimming puppy since October and the jolly old elf obliged. He even left it unwrapped, so it was the first thing the Worm saw when she came down the steps. The Pear loved his new wagon, but wasn't so thrilled with his Tickle Me Cookie Monster. He cries every time we turn it on! Other big hits for Michael include his Elmo car, Learning Table from G-ma T and pull-along turtle from Uncle Pat. Taylor loves everything, but has played mostly with her Hungry, Hungry Hippos game, remote control My Little Pony and Jungle in My Pocket set from G-ma T. Thankfully, Taylor seems to get the whole meaning of Christmas and I'm sure Michael will, too.

The beloved swimming puppy.

My little elf with Daddy.

Taylor and I. Yes, I was as tired as I looked.

Trying out Michael's new ride. It was like a double Christmas for Taylor. She played/plays with all of the Pear's toys.

I'm so anal sometimes that I want to smack myself. After about 15 minutes of basking in the Christmas morning glory, I went into cleaning mode and had the living room clear of debris and all toys out of boxes and assembled before 9 a.m. We fed and dressed the kids, packed and started the next leg of our Christmas journey. (Mary and Joseph had nothing on us.) The kids were great during the car trip to Pittsburgh and we made great time. (I say "we" like I actually drove or something. Now that I have a 50-minute commute each way to work, I've pretty much handed over all family driving duties to the Man.) Marilyn prepared a delicious Christmas meal for us and it was great seeing Mike's entire immediate family there. I can't remember the last time that all of his siblings were together! We rested and chatted awhile before taking off for the next destination - Aunt Ginny's house to see all of Mike's aunts and uncles on his dad's side. I really enjoy these guys and I know the kids had a blast. Michael - in typical booger Pear form - wanted no part in being held by his lovely great aunts. Instead, he buddied up with the men and reached for his 16-year-old cousin Matt anytime he was in the room. What a stinker!

"Mommy, I love Matt."

A rare picture of Mike and I.

(Note: I have more pictures to add, but the image uploader was acting goofy last night.)

We headed home the next morning. We really ran around a lot this year and I was impressed with how well the kids handled it. We were all a little grouchy that night from the lack of sleep, but all is good now.

I'll end with some recent pictures of the kids. Enjoy!

What a cutie!

Taylor at her friend's Princess party. She's Miss Social now.

Michael always has stuff in his hands now. It took me forever to get the pine crap off his hands from carrying these pine cones!

We had a few warm days right after Christmas, so we got to try out the wagon.

I love this picture!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel