One-on-One Snow Day

I still have people think that sending the kids to school on alternating days is a bit crazy. However, there's really no other way that I could have so much great one-on-one time with them. For instance, on Tuesday while May was at school James and I played in the snow. He showed me how to make a snow block with his giant dump truck, and asked if we could build an igloo. You'll see from the picture that we didn't quite get there, but we did give it an honest attempt. (The sun was working much more quickly than we were.) I cannot imagine trying this project with May in tow, and watching James engineer the entire thing was wonderful. (Mama, they need to lay flat, and we can't fit the same number on top because they need to sit on the cracks of the bottom ones . . .)
Later on Tuesday, Chad was able to get off work a bit early (read as: he snuck out during his class's chess session.) So Chad took James to gymnastics and May and I were on our own. She asked if we could go outside and build a baby snowman. (You'll notice from the picture that by now the snow was almost completely gone!) In the past when we have built a snowman, James plays a very active role and May follows his lead, so it was nice for her to tackle this project on her own this time. Her snowman, sorry, *baby* snowman was a bit lumpy but really very excellent work for a two year old!

I adored getting to play with my kids in the snow one-on-one. They are really something.

2012 So Far

Happy New Year to all of you! We certainly haven't squandered any of our chances to play in 2012, as you will soon see . . . .

We've been very busy building life-size puzzles.

Experimenting with new camera angles and ways to "frame" our shots (ha ha).
Rocking the hair accessories that we received in our stockings - feathers rule!
Opening package after package of Wisconsin gifts that could not fit into our suitcases for the flight home.
Practicing our letters using uncooked rice and a stiff paintbrush (this lady draws a pretty mean M)
And working on our fine motor skills. (Holding a magic wand in our left hand only creates a bigger challenge and therefore more fun!)
Lastly, some of you know that we have gone gluten free in our home, which has been my biggest adventure of 2012. The kids and I have had a blast trying new foods and experimenting with ways to make our biggest portion consist of fruits and vegetables, making our fats and carbs merely sides. (Thanks to all of you, btw, who have lent me advice with this transition!)

Hope your 2012 is shaping up to be just as wonderful as ours!