P365(+1) - 2012 - Day 60 - Happy Leap Day!

P365(+1) - 2012 - Day 60 - Happy Leap Day!

A few weeks back I realized that since it is a leap year, Project 365 is technically Project 366.  But I have decided to not change the name.  Leap Day is kind of like a bonus day - so I like the addition of +1 ;-) 
The kids leaped at the idea to write some letters to their "future leap day selves".  We are going to seal them and read them on the next leap day. HAPPY LEAP DAY!

P365 - 2012 - Day 59 - soaking in the fresh air

P365 - 2012 - Day 59 - soaking in the fresh air

In a continued effort to coax spring to stick around, I did my spring cleaning today and put away all of my winter decorations.  When the kids came from school they went outside to play in the beautiful weather and I caught The Bear taking a break on the front porch just soaking in the fresh air.

P365 - 2012 - Day 58 - Very good signs

P365 - 2012 - Day 58 - Very good signs

I realized that even without a winter like last year, I am still chomping at the bit for spring to get here.  I tried to embrace winter this year and while I am very thankful that I didn't have to embrace much with all of the mild temperatures, I realized that I am just not a winter person.  It is dreary.  The grass turns brown, the trees are bare, there are no pretty colors outside, and I am officially tired of all of my long sleeves and pants.  I am ready for the world to come back to life and today was a good step in that direction.  It was a beautiful warm, sunny day.  I got to go for a run with My Wonderful Husband this morning and when we returned, the street sweepers were coming down our street which heralds the coming of spring or at the very least the fact that the township has resigned itself to the fact that we are done with snow?....  Then when the kids came home, they went outside to play and I was able to open the front door while I prepared dinner and listen to the outside sounds.  All very good signs that we are getting closer.... :-)

P365 - 2012 - Day 57 - Bathroom Cleaning 101

P365 - 2012 - Day 57 -Bathroom Cleaning 101

Let me start by saying that I love my sons.  Regardless, I snapped tonight when I walked into the kids' bathroom and found a "flood" on the floor and wall behind the toilet and incriminating yellow liquid dripping down the back of the toilet.  Is that graphic? Perhaps but important to illustrate and justify the reason for my said snapping.   This was the proverbial last straw and I requested that The Bear and The Boy bring the cleaning products up to the bathroom and I gave them a quick lesson in bathroom cleaning 101.  They were visibly disgusted by the task at hand and I reminded them that it is not exactly my favorite past time either and unless they can figure out a way for this type of "flood" to not occur again in the future, this will continue to be their job.  There were groans of protest, but they got the job done and I hope I made my point.  To my future daughter in laws....You are very welcome! ;-)

P365 - 2012 - Day 56 - A Force of Five!

P365  - 2012 - Day 56 - A Force of Five!

Today was The Boy's last indoor soccer game for the season.  His team was missing four players but they still won! (So I know we don't "keep score"....but I lost track after about 13 goals on our side...) These peanuts played with all of their hearts today and really brought their A game!  They were a force to be reckoned with - A Force of Five!  Go Spain!

P365 - 2012 - Day 55 - A Smashing idea!

P365 - 2012 - Day 55 - A Smashing idea!

After a friend mentioned starting a "smash journal", I checked them out, showed them to the kids and we all decided that we had to start one too.  A smash journal is kind of part scrapbook, part memory box, with a smidgy of a junk drawer....  It's a place for all of those bits and pieces of life that we all save and stash away.....  The kids and I all started ours today and I already love it - it's a smashing idea!!! 

P365 - 2012 - Day 54 - Who's that girl....

P365 - 2012 - Day 54 - Who's that girl...

Someone is clearly practicing ways to evade the paparazzi - but there is no evading the "momarazzi".  Even in disguise, I know "who's that girl". ;-)

P365 - 2012 - Day 53 - From PA to VA and back :-)

P365 - 2012 - Day 53 - From PA to VA and back :-)

The Princess had to go back to the doctor today for a follow up to make sure that her lungs were clear after the course of antibiotics.  So, she and I set off on our journey to the doctor - yes I said journey.  Let me start by saying My Wonderful Husband makes this trip to work a few days a week and due to the fact that his insurance only travels so far and we chose to live three states away from his job, we make the same trip to the doctor.  As The Princess and I were driving down this morning, I couldn't help but think how slightly ridiculous and possibly crazy it is that we drive through 4, yes I said 4 states to get to a pediatrician.  But that is just what we do.  Luckily we have not had to make as many trips down there this winter as we did last winter...but still...  So it occurred to me today that it would be kind of funny to get a picture of each state sign on our way down to the doctor. Now, believe me if we had more time this morning, I may have considered stopping at taking pictures.  I realized that I should not take the pictures while I was driving and while I considered asking The Princess to do it, I decided against it.  But my mind was set on this being our story today.  So, what to do?  What else? Google it!  These are the actual signs that we pass on our journey to the pediatrician  - from Pennsylvania to Virginia and back.  :-)

P365 - 2012 - Day 52 - Wisdom and stuff

P365 - 2012 - Day 52 - Wisdom and stuff

My hope is that P365 (although I realized today that this is a leap year - I haven't decided if that should mean a title change...but I am aware that it is actually P366 this year.  At least I am aware now...) is something that will preserve those small moments and memories for my kids.  But I also hope that through it I can impart some wisdom along the way - here and there.... Perhaps if my wisdom is in print, they will appreciate it even more. ;-)  So here goes - are you ready for some wisdom?  Stuff happens.  Big stuff, little stuff.  Stuff that makes you want to scream.  Stuff that makes you want to cry.  Door slamming and foot stomping are optional.  Good stuff.  Bad stuff.  Life stuff.   It's important to keep all this stuff in perspective.  Today, the picture of the day was going to be a picture of the stinkin' water heater.  It died and needed to be replaced only to lead us to find out that the main water valve is also leaking and needs to be repaired. Annoying stuff! But instead of making the water heater the picture I decided to search for some inspiration - wisdom if you will.  So as I said, stuff happens - and when it does the best thing to do is KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON.  :-)

P365 - 2012 - Day 51 - Friends

P365 - 2012 - Day 51 - Friends

Before we headed back home today, these friends got some time to hang out and play. 

P365 - 2012 - Day 50 - Happy Early Birthday!

P365 - 2012 - Day 50 - Happy Early Birthday!

We celebrated Poppy's birthday today a few days early with a nice brunch and some time together. 

P365 - 2012 - Day 49 - Great job Galaxy!

P365 - 2012 - Day 49 - Great job Galaxy!


Today was the last indoor soccer game for The Bear and The Princess' team.  They went out with a bang with an undefeated season!  Great job Galaxy!

P365 - 2012 - Day 48 - off we went...

P365 - 2012 - Day 48 - off we went....

My Wonderful Husband and I have decided that we are going to run a half marathon together in April.  I am so thrilled that he is going to run with me this time!  I did an 18 mile run 3 years ago and he ran a marathon 10 years ago but we have never run any races together.  We started the half marathon training program last week and today was our first "long run" day that we could run together.  Our plan is to do our long runs on Friday mornings and today all three kids went back to school - so off we went - with cell phone in hand just in case...;-)   

P365 - 2012 - Day 47 - Hooked

P365 - 2012 - Day 47 - Hooked

The Bear is now reading the third book in the Harry Potter series.  He is hooked.  I'm thinking maybe next - The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.....  I love that my kids love to read.  :-)

P365 - 2012 - Day 46 - Handy work

P365 - 2012 - Day 46 - Handy work

 Thanks to The Bear (now, otherwise known as "My P365 consultant") I knew that The Boy had finished his first LEGO set that he got last night for Valentine's Day.  The Bear came downstairs to get me and said, "I think you should take his picture with his LEGO set since he is finished and it is his first one."  Good thought!  The Boy was ever so proud of his accomplishment and thrilled to have his picture taken with his handy work.  We now have two Lego boys in the house. :-)

P365 - 2012 - Day 45 - Heart Day!

P365 - 2012 - Day 45 - Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! xoxoxo

P365 - 2012 - Day 44 - Have I mentioned?

P365 - 2012 - Day 44 - Have I mentioned?

Have I mentioned how much I love duct tape?  Seriously, this stuff is amazing and you can do anything with it!  We recently moved an old table into The Bear's room so that he had a surface for his Legos.  The table has had many incarnations...it was once my grandmother's kitchen table, then My Wonderful Husband and I used it in our second home as a kitchen table.  It has been used on our porch and it even served as my "desk" for awhile.  It was not in the best shape and I was considering spray painting it (b/c along with duct tape, I LOVE spray paint) but the weather hasn't been cooperating for spray painting.  Then last week I was searching online for duct tape crafts (because The Bear had gotten some as a birthday gift from a friend) and inspiration struck!  Duct tape the table!  So I asked The Bear to draw me a design that he would like on the table and he said he wanted the LEGO logo.  Ask and ye shall receive!  I am pretty proud of the way this turned out and love that I found a new way to bring life to this old standby table! 

P365 - 2012 - Day 43 - You never know what you are going to get!

P365 - 2012 - Day 43 - You never know what you are going to get!

When I asked The Boy if I could take his picture tonight, he posed like this and said "Take a picture of me now - I am playing quidditch!"  Ok. Further proof that you never know what you are going to get with this kid.  
It's not always easy being 6 and while this weekend was one of those times...well actually this whole week it was quite hard to be 6.... it was nice to see that grumpy, foot stomping, demanding alien child that had been living with us turn back into this quirky, silly, charming child that we much prefer.... I hope he sticks around, but with 6 year olds, you never know what you are going to get!

P365 - 2012 - Day 42 - Catching up...

P365 - 2012 - Day 42 - Catching up...

I spent the afternoon in front of my laptop today catching up on my scrapbooking.  When I finally started to scrapbook I jumped right in to digital.  I started in the present and have been working at staying current and completed several albums since I started.  But I am also working backward and trying to "catch up" from previous years.  Today I went back and did pages from all of the past Halloweens.  Hopefully someday soon I will be all caught up....

P365 - 2012- Day 41 - Early present

P365 - 2012 - Day 41 -Early present

 Last night, I got a crafty inspiration and made this cute little purse from one The Princess' old skirts and was planning on giving it to her for Valentine's day. Given the fact that we found out today that The Princess has pneumonia and she has been home sick for three days, I thought that a little early present might make her feel a bit better so I gave it to her today!  She loved it!

P365 - 2012 - Day 40 - Thursday is the the new Friday

P365 - 2012 - Day 40 - Thursday is the new Friday

My Wonderful Husband's new schedule has him working from home on Fridays.  Even though he has to "work from home", when he gets in on Thursday night, it feels like the start of the weekend.  So this semester, around here Thursday is the new Friday. :-)

P365 - 2012 - Day 39 - It was bound to happen....

P365 - 2012 - Day 39 - It was bound to happen....

We have been having a much better health winter than the disaster that was last year.  The weather has been mild and I have been very thankful.  But I was holding my breathe, because the winter is not over even if it felt like it was yesterday before the snow today....  I heard the cough start yesterday and may have crossed my fingers and toes... So when The Princess told me this morning that she "didn't feel too good", I knew the jig was up.  A yucky cough, a headache, a tummy ache and a fever that kept rising all day kept The Princess wrapped in her snuggie and on the couch all day.  It was bound to happen....hopefully it doesn't make the rounds in the house.  :-(

P365 - 2012 - Day 38 - Loot

P365 - 2012 -Day 38 - Loot

Last night, The Boy lost his second tooth and this morning he was thrilled to find that the tooth fairy had left him "3 dollar bills".  He ran downstairs to tell his Daddy before he left for work and brought his bank with him so he could count all of his money before stashing it away.  My Wonderful Husband took some time before leaving to help The Boy practice counting his loot.

P365 - 2012 - Day 37 - We reached 100 days!

P365  - 2012 - Day 37 -We reached 100 days!


It is entirely possible that I was more excited than the kids that today was the 100th day of school  Now don't get me wrong, the kids love school and are learning a ton and I am thrilled that they love school and love to learn.  We are lucky enough to have three fantastic teachers and the kids look forward to school.  All that being said, I think I have mentioned before how much I love summer and to me the 100th day of school is a celebration that heralds the fact that we are now more than half way to there!  I don't like to rush through life and wish the days away - it goes fast enough as it is - but I can not help but be a bit giddy today about the fact that we have reached 100 days and now we can start the countdown to summer! 

P365 - 2012 - Day 36 - Superbowl

P365 - 2012 - Day 36 - Superbowl

After some fast showers, the boys were ready to watch the Superbowl (even though neither team is a team they like) while the Princess curled up with a good book.  The commercials were a big hit and I was pleasantly surprised that Madonna's  halftime show was really good! 

P365 - 2012 - Day 35 - Special Movie Night

P365 - 2012 - Day 35 - Special Movie Night

I love the Harry Potter series of books and could not wait to share them with my kids.  The Bear, The Princess, The Boy and I have been reading the first book in the series (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) together and finally finished it this week.  The Bear and The Princess also read it on their own as well.  I told the kids that we would watch the movie once we finished reading the book - so as promised, we had a very special movie night tonight.  I am so proud of them that they read the book first!  They loved the movie - although much to my happiness - they said they really liked the book better. :-)  We'll be starting the second book in the series soon and we'll have another movie night when we are done. 

P365 - 2012 - Day 34 - "non-winter" winter

P365 - 2012 - Day 34 - "non-winter" winter

I don't think I am the only one who can totally get used to this "non-winter" winter thing we have going.  The boys were thrilled to have another nice afternoon to go out back and play football.  The groundhog might have seen his shadow yesterday, there might be "6 more weeks of winter" on the way, but in the meantime the kids are taking full advantage of this beautiful weather!

P365 - 2012 - Day 33 - just how I roll

P365 - 2012 - Day 33 - just how I roll

As promised...my purple  feathery extension.  Because that is just how I roll!  haha!  

P365 - 2012 - Day 32 - Papers

P365 - 2012 - Day 32 - Papers

Every school year I face a battle with papers.  Ultimately I like to have a portfolio of "keep papers" for each year but usually end up with the herculean task of going through all of the papers at the end of the year.  This year I had a grand plan that we would hang papers on the "wall of fame" and then go through them at the end of each week for keep or pitch.  That lasted...not very long....  We continued to hang the papers on the wall of fame but then the papers slowly started to all go in the kids' files without sorting through them.  So, tonight the kids went through the very big pile of papers that they each had and sorted through to pick what they wanted to keep and what they wanted to pitch.  At least we got a handle on these papers again now instead of the end of the school year... Now if we can keep this up...