We're Back!

We got back Sunday afternoon. It was one of the worst drives ever & a reminder why I don't like traveling in the winter. There was maybe 500ft of visibility, blowing snow (tons) and slippery roads. Then it turned into sleet while temps were under freezing and then we finally caught a little break towards the end. All in all, a 3 1/2 trip turned into a stressful 5hr trip, but we made it back safely. It is nice to be home.

We surprised my parents, literally. My parents were out of town when we came into town, so we had time to plan our surpirse. We had the kids jump out of the closet at them. It's always a little difficult going to a new place for more than a few days b/c it takes the kids a few days to adjust (especially Kiersten), then she adjusts and we come home & she has to adjust again. The weather up in Traverse City was pretty nice for most of the week with temps in the 40s. We had fun and it was a nice break.

I finally finished unpacking and am now trying to get over a head/sinus cold. I had to take a benadryl to help me sleep last night and Benadryl always makes me a little groggy in the morning. Hopefully I'll be up and running in a few days and will have more time to post some pics later in the week.

Other News:

Peter is ready for kindergarten (we have kindergarten roundup next week already). He can count beyond 100 and is already reading and writing short phrases and words. He is really good at remembering directions and numbers (like dad).

Kiersten's vocabulary exploded this past week. She was always able to say words and a lot of babble, but she is now speaking in short sentences on and off. Of course, it is helpful when you're child #2 and have a big brother who is always showing/teaching you new things too! She is our little princess and quite the drama queen too!

See ya!

Peter has a 1 week mid winter break (how lucky) next week. The kids and I are packing up to leave town tomorrow afternoon & we're going to surprise my parents & spend a week up in Traverse City. I will update & hopefully have a lot of pictures to post next week! Poor Pete has to work and has a final exam on Tuesday night, good luck!!!! To the rest of you, have a wonderful week!

Pics from last week

Quiet moments are hard to come by. The kids just hanging out together watching a lil Noggin. (P.S. Blogger has been a pain in the neck for me this week, I can't even center my comments!)
We spent part of Pete's last day as a 'twenty-something' hanging out at the mall playing & having lunch. Pete spent the rest of the day doing homework.
A little blurry, but its Daddy & Kiersten. Peter & Dad on the carousel.
Peter loves playing in the jungle gym. Too bad its for 10yrs & under, I'm smaller than lot of the 10yr olds I see playing on it! I want a turn! A little wave from Kiersten!

Instead of a birthday cake, I made a brownie fudge sundae with whip cream. I also found these cute '30' candles.
The kids helped dad blow out the candles, they each blew one out.

Presents! Pete got a few items (I'm on a stay at home mom budget) that he had wanted. The hardest part was getting away alone to actually go buy the items. The weather has been so cold I didn't want to drag the kids in and out of the stores shopping.

Pete especially wanted this Hydrogen Rocket from Sharper Image. It must be a guy thing.
Happy 30th Birthday Daddy! Love, Peter, Kiersten & Mommy

Happy 30th Birthday Pete!!!!

Today is Pete's 30th birthday!!!! What an 'old' man( : We celebrated yesterday so I will post pictures later since blogger is being a lil cranky to me today!

Enjoy the snow & stay warm..forecast since 4-8 inches Tuesday through Wednesday!

Fierce February!

We didn't make it up to TC this past weekend. I checked the weather forecast Fri night (and packed all our stuff) and again early Sat morning. Unfortuntely, the weather up north and 1/3 of our driving would be hampered by lots of lake effect snow plus the frigid cold wind chill. We decided not to go at the last minute and it was a good choice after speaking with my mom and hearing all those pile ups (20 car & 50 car) on the highways this weekend.

We spent Sat late morning/early afternoon taking the kids up to the mall for a much needed playtime. They really needed to get out of the house b/c I have not taken them out much the past 2 weeks due to weather. Sunday morning, I went grocery shopping (man was it CRAZY...crazy from all the shoppers and some crazy woman was going nuts in the meat dept!) and got out of there as quickly as I could. I'm glad the kids & Pete stayed home b/c I move much quicker without them.

We stayed home and watched the Superbowl. We didn't really have a favorite team and felt both teams deserved to win. For bragging rights only, Pete bet on the Chicago Bears, so I went with the IN Colts. Obviously, I won ( : It was a little funny that it was such a 'sloppy' game due to all the rain, but glad no one got seriously hurt.

NO SCHOOL TODAY!!!! Last night school districts north and south of us were closed, so I had a feeling we'd be closed this morning and it happened! Not that it really matters since Peter is in pre-school and I drive him, but I think that school closed b/c of the wind chill and not being able to get all the buses started. Pete had a heck of a time keeping his car on without having to stay in it and keep his foot on the gas. We can't wait for spring to get here.

Other News....rumor has it that the number of people (DCX) to lose their jobs (including 3 plants closing) will be 10,000 (roughly 10%). There seems to be a lot of uncertaintly b/c no one knows what will happen and Feb 14th can't come quickly enough (the announcement date) b/c we just want to know. Hopefully, Pete will still have his job and can finish up his MBA at their expense. Pete got through the first round a few years back (as a trainee) when they let go of roughly 12,000 people, so hopefully all will be okay this round.

Making the most of a snowy day!

These pictures were from last Friday after school. The kids have been practicing making 'snow angels' on the living room floor and been itching to make a real snow angel. They really enjoyed even though I was cold!!!

See ya!

We're packing up & heading north(Traverse City) tomorrow morning for my nephew's 10th birthday party (Feb 5th). The first 2 hr drive is usually good and then we hit Midland/Bay City/Clare and then Cadillac is usually the worst. That last 1 1/2-2hrs is when we get a lot of the lake effect snow. Hopefully the drive will be okay & the kids won't bother each other too much. Kiersten hates being in the car & makes it well known.

Have a great weekend everyone!