Life as We Know It....

So, like my friend Bonnie, I've been wanting to blog, but yes, life gets in the way! My days are so full, that once the kids are in bed, my brain is mush! We have been treated to a week of gorgeous winter weather. The sky is such a beautiful blue and everything has a wonderful touch of frost. The chilly air feels so fresh and crisp. Today is a pro -d for the girls and my day off, so we are going to get out and enjoy the weather while it lasts. I'm not sure what we'll do, but it will be outside. Mike was very sorry he couldn't take the day off so we could go tobogganing or skiing, but he had some meetings he had to attend. On Monday, he officially starts to work for the newly formed company. He had his last review yesterday and got all 4s..meaning exceeding expectations. I was really proud of him and yay!....it means a bigger bonus! It's nice that they reward good work. I don't know if his new company will give bonuses, so this may be the last. We are thinking we may secretly (from the girls) plan a nice vacation. We'll see. (Ha! My girls hate it when I say "we'll see"...they tell me it means "no"!)

He had a busy, but good time last week on his trip to Philadelphia and Boston. There were some funny moments like when he and his colleagues had 1/2 hour to kill before they went to the DuPont plant. Apparently, there was nowhere to stop but a little donut shop. As soon as they walked in, all eyes were on them, because they were all dressed in shirts, ties and leather jackets! One of his work mates kept pretending to adjust his earpiece, like he was a CIA agent! LOL! I'm sure they freaked out the whole shop. Someone asked for a latte which was up on the board. It was clear the poor clerk had never made one before! She had to pull out the instruction manual and it was pretty awful tasting at that.

Maddie's kid birthday is tomorrow. She invited all the girls in her class, since there are only 7 of them. We are going to the pool, so that should be nice and simple! I'm making a snorkeler cake that is really super simple and cute. I got it from my favourite website...familyfun.com.

Last weekend, both girls got a goal at their soccer games. Maddie's team was playing a really skilled team. They were getting creamed, but Maddie found an open spot in net and shot it in! That was her first goal of the season. I almost missed it. I was glad I was walking back to the field and watching when it happened. As Chelsea was watching her sister, she said, "I'm going to get a goal today too." In the first half of the game, she scored too! We were proud parents...Mike, particularly, was over the moon.

So, that's life as we know it, these days. We're enjoying our girls at this age so much. Overall, they are great kids. Of course, we have our occasional "attitude". Maddie continues to want to argue her point in every situation, so we try to listen to her point, when appropriate. At other times, it just has to be "conversation over"! She is such a funny kid. She has always been fascinated with Martin Luther King and the whole slavery/civil rights movement. I had a few kids' books about it and she was always drawn to them. Lately, it's been the underground railroad and Harriet Tubman. She's chosen this topic as her study project at school. She's got some books out and has been taking notes. Now we have to figure out how to present her info in a creative way. I'm not sure why she couldn't choose something simple for her project! LOL! Oh well, I love her quirky interests! Chelsea is still loving her Geronimo books. Last night we almost finished a book in one sitting. She is still my fashion "diva" and loves spending time in her room figuring out which outfits she could mix and match! She always lets Mike and I know how we look and what we could improve upon! She has a little mechanical mind too. In her classroom they have a building centre. She really likes it and surprises me with her intuitive knowledge of how things work.

Okay, this is way too long a post, and I need to get our day going. It has been nice to sit here and write with my cup of tea...a rare treat!