Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.......

Until Tuesday. Tuesday has to be nice so the little redhead can go back to school. :))  Last night it snowed about 5 inches, and we're expecting quite a bit more on Sunday with some daggum cold temperatures.  One of my nephews decided to stay the night with us at my mom and dad's last night. It was kind of a last minute decision, and I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Roo is used to such strict bedtime schedule, that she's rarely up past 8, and I think he thought they were going to stay up late chasing each other & watching movies. I was so afraid he was going to be disappointed.

I really had to watch how I worded things with Roo, and head off any innocent errors that could have led to a meltdown. We didn't "go to bed," we "snuggled and read books" because "going to bed" is something that's done at home. It's a process that could in no way be something done at grandma's house, and Thank God the "snuggling and reading books" thing worked. And even though the tank running on empty is what put us out there, it was pretty awesome in the long run. After all the kiddos were finally in bed, I chatted with my momma for a long time and enjoyed the adult company. When we got up the next morning, Roo kept on spontaneously hugging me. Out of no where. Like, "Thanks, Mom, this is so much fun!" and that was really great, too. The kids played and had fun most of the morning and the roads were clear enough by 1 pm to take him home and run some errands.

My first thought when we ran out of propane on the first day of the new year was "Oh great, this is a awesome indicator of how this year is going to go," but later I realized that maybe it was more of a indicator of how good things are becoming and that, yes, there will be bumps along the way, but everything is going to be okay. Think about it.. We had space heaters, we had some place to go and a vehicle to get us there, and we were able to afford much more gas this time around and still have money left for food and other things afterwords. We are truly, so very, very blessed. <3

Glimmers of Me..

There hasn't been a lot going on around here. Right now, I'm eating popcorn & sipping Pepsi out of a cute cup decorated in a smarties theme. Sleepless in Seattle is on in the background, which is one of my all time favorite movies. The hubby is gone & the kiddo is asleep, & sometimes I just get tired of the quietness.

I pulled a muscle in my calf last week during a massive, early morning charley horse, which sent me to the ER the following night fearing a blood clot. Tests showed the all clear and the check out lady asked me for a $500 co-pay.. which was confusing because I thought it was $100? Either way, the fifth "bill me later" seemed to get through to her, lol.

This past week has been horrible as far as getting to school on time. I think we made it to the bus stop twice.. Anyway, next week will be better, right??

I throughly cleaned my bedroom today.. something that doesn't happen very often.. and it's nice. Sheets are in the dryer & I can't wait to put them on my bed..

And *this* is the excitement of my life! And *this*... is why I haven't been writing. Not a whole lot to share. :)

Just in case you were wondering, the little booger butt is doing great with the potty business. We're getting tons more dry pull-ups when we potty, and the sticker system actually helped this time.

The older Roo gets, the more that I see she does have some of me in her. It's more than looks, and it probably seems odd that it would be such a big deal, but I never knew if I would see any of "me" in her. For instance, she is SOOOO pokey in the mornings, and that is so me. I don't know how many times I've considered apologizing to my mother for all the missed buses just to see if our mornings would suddenly get better.

Something I excelled at as a child was reading, and Roo has always liked books, but now things are  different. She's not chewing on a board book, or flipping through the pages ninety miles an hour, she's listening.  I went out on a limb and changed our bedtime routine a month or so ago. I needed it. It was getting old & there were too many teary nights. It took some tweaking, but after a couple of nights she was hooked. We call all the people she loves to call earlier, and after snack, meds, & potty, we settle down on the couch and I read to her from a chapter book. Right now we're reading "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" & I'm loving it just as much as she is. She lays there and listens until she falls asleep & we carry her to her bed. This  is awesome. We both look forward to our time reading together, and that is something that I definitely didn't know would ever happen.