Life as a Leach

Remember a few posts ago when I told you about Caleb's statement that "the shoes make the man, Mommy!" and I laughed like crazy? Well, the other day we were getting into the car. Caleb pointed to his shoes as he climbed into his car seat and said, "Mommy, the man makes the shoes!" I giggled and replied, "Yeah, some man probably did!" :) "The shoe makes the man" seems to be his new favorite phrase, after "what are you doing?" and "what's that?" Ah, to be two again!

I was awoken by a lovely phone call (two, actually--first from my mom and then from my coworker) stating that we were off school today. I promptly went back to sleep and didn't wake up until close to 10 a.m., which I desperately needed (thank you, Matt, for taking Caleb!) Caleb and I spent the day enjoying each other's company. The highlights ? Painting with water colors ...mostly on the floor and his fingers! Thank goodness it was washable! Watching Annie...Caleb is learning some of the songs and was especially enthralled with Sandy (the dog). I thoroughly enjoyed sharing a bit of my favorite movie with him. We didn't get through the entire movie, but I'm okay with that. Cooking in his kitchen ...Caleb seems to especially love to make hot chocolate. Today, it was hot chocolate and eggs. Flinging monkeys ...we got Caleb a game for his birthday where you flip monkeys onto a tree. It is much harder than it looks, but Caleb enjoys flinging them and cackles when...

We had snow in the forecast last night/today. Loving a good snow day like I do, I was extremely disappointed when I was awoken by my alarm rather than a phone call by my colleague! So, I went to work at about 7:15 and the road were fine. It was snowing, but just a flurry. By 8:30, we had at least an inch on the ground and people were talking about how bad the roads were! Kids poured off of the buses with stories of sliding into ditches and fish-tailing into trees. By 9:30, we knew we were going home three hours early...why even come at all?? Thankfully, we were just presenting projects in reading today and I wasn't requiring my kids to concentrate and do all kinds of work. Good thing, because I heard "It's snowing!!!!!!!!" about 37 million times in just 3 hours! Why do short days like this seem longer than normal days...? Matt picked Caleb up and got home around the same time I did. Caleb was asleep, so we did some things around the house while he napped. Af...

I'm trying to find the right picture to be the header background, but do you like the template? I'm a big fan of www.thecutestblogontheblock.com. They have cute ones that are not real difficult to apply. Let me know if you have suggestions!

On Wednesday night, the little girl of two people that Matt and I know from high school choked on a carrot and passed away. She was only 2 1/2, so it really hit home with me. It's kind of sad that it takes something tragic like that to remind me of how fragile life is. I love my boy dearly and know how blessed I am to have him in my life, but I do admit that I don't often try to imagine how life would be without him. I have a feeling that M and J didn't wake up Wednesday morning wondering what life would be like without their daughter. I'm sure that they didn't consider the idea that this would be the last time they would kiss her goodbye or tell her they loved her. Not that it is something that I like to think about, but we truly have to make the most of every moment we have with these precious little ones. So kiss your babies tonight and hug them a little tighter than normal. I have shed a few tears for these people and cried a bit over the thought of having...

Friday, Caleb didn't want to put his socks on. Matt told him that "the socks make the man," so he needed to wear them. Caleb then came in to see me (I approve the outfit each morning to make sure he doesn't look like a ragamuffin!) and proceeded to inform me that "the socks make the man, Mommy!!"

"> So, really...who told this woman that she could sing?? Is THIS how we honor our new president??? She would have gotten laughed off of American Idol...

I haven't done this in a while, so I figured why not tonight when I have more time than normal? * Wrapping presents: I seriously love it. It's pretty much a sickness. I love it so much, in fact, that I usually wrap the presents as soon as I buy them. Not that I'm a beautiful present-wrapper or anything---I am definitely not! I just really like wrapping presents...especially whole groups of them, like at Christmas time. Let's just say one Halloween I wrapped Christmas presents in between greeting trick-or-treaters...and this year, I was done wrapping before Halloween...like I said, it's a sickness! * Hot chocolate: I thoroughly enjoy this. I will drink all kinds, but I really just love the traditional milk chocolate. It has to have marshmallows though--they are a must! Have you had the peppermint hot chocolate at Bob Evans yet? It's to die for!! I have now introduced Caleb to hot chocolate (thanks to this ridiculously cold weather we've been hav...

Caleb's new piano came today! I put it together and it works great! Best of all, the piano has diverted his attention from the "new" (to us) play house that my Uncle Tom just brought over yesterday. He wants oh-so-badly to go out and play in it, but his two year old mind can't comprehend the fact that it is BUTT COLD outside!!!! So, thank you Barbara and Carter for sending the piano just in the knick of time to keep Caleb and I from freezing our bottoms off! :)

Alright, here's the recap of Caleb's party: First, I have to tell you what we got Saturday morning--a 35 pound ride-on dinosaur that we lovingly named Hank. Hank was given to us by our neighbor (whose daughter I teach). Their kids got it for Christmas from a friend and they are way too old for it. They asked if we wanted it and we told them sure! It does all kinds of stuff: purr when you rub his chin, play several songs, eat, burp, etc. So fun! Little did we know that our son would be absolutely terrified of it! It sits in between the playroom and the living room, and Caleb actually walks around to the other entrance to the playroom to avoid going near it! At this point, the only thing we have succeeded in doing is getting Caleb to sit on it while it was off. At least we didn't pay anything for it! Okay, back to the party! We had lots of friends and family here (around 25 people total) and everybody seemed to enjoy the food. The PBJ sandwiches were a big hit with...

I cannot believe that my baby is two today! In about an hour exactly two years ago, I gave birth to the biggest joy of my life. He is absolutely beautiful and has caused me to love deeper and more selflessly than I ever thought possible. He is an amazing little boy, and I enjoy every minute with him. Tomorrow is his construction party ( remember this post ?) and we are doing pretty well with the stuff we need to get done. Matt scoffed at my daily list of things to do to prepare for the party, but it has helped us to pace ourselves so that tomorrow won't be so stressful! My practice bulldozer cake that I did last weekend turned out really well, so I'm hoping that tomorrow's real cake will be even better! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of the whole fiesta. Caleb, I love you. You won't really know how much until you have a child of your own. I sure didn't understand the depth of my parents' love until I had you! You are an amazing boy. Happy 2nd...

Thanks to my favorite sister, I have now learned how to format my blog! (It only took 3 years....) I can't believe how easy it is!! In other news, we now have a working blog/website-ish kind of a thing for our crafty group "Our Favorite Things." You can view it here . Amy is now working on putting up some of her bow pictures. There is an email address on there if you see anything you like!! :)

I added pictures to my Christmas blog and the one accounting our NC trip. Check them out! ;)