Right Now: March 3

I always love when Katy posts her "Right Now" posts so I thought I would follow suit and break out of my blogging slump with one of my own.

Listening... to Wicked and Les Miserables on my runs.  I never get tired of Broadway show tunes:-)  Also love Bruno Mars and always look forward to listening to the Wait Wait Don't Tell me podcast that I listen to as I clean the kitchen on Mondays.

Remembering....  the fun little getaway to Great Wolf Lodge.  The girls loved having their friends with them and it sure made it easier on the parents!  Love this photo of Nora photobombing Maddy and her friend underwater:-)

Reading....   My personal read is Sisters of the Sari, it started out promising but is feeling a bit forced to get all the pieces tied up at the end.  And I don't think it will bring me to tears, which is always necessary for a good book in my opinion!  Nora and I are reading Return to the Willows which is reminding me of when I was a girl and read Wind in the Willows.  We are enjoying the read aloud time together, especially when we go out for coffee together to read.  The family read-aloud is currently Scat which we are enjoying but is nothing amazing.  I am looking for a really good one to start after this.  Let me know if you have any recommendations.  I am feeling like we have gone through so many of the classics and with Maddy getting older and having read so much it is getting harder to find new material that will engage all 4 of us.

Eating...   Loving my egg white, spinach, green pepper and onion scrambles topped with pico de gallo and also my daily spinach smoothies.  Healthy can be yummy:-) Maddy made crepes with strawberry sauce all from scratch 100% on her own for dinner tonight.  DELISH!!!

Enjoying.... The glimpses of spring weather we have had.  I have gotten a bit of yard work done and today we enjoyed a full day outside with a family hike (thanks to tohula.com) and then the girls got home and biked in the neighborhood for another hour.  Looking forward to more sun, warmth and outdoor fun.

Playing.... the family has been enjoying Wits and Wagers that Nora received for her birthday (thanks Amy!).  It is a super fun and easy family game for all ages.  It will definitely be going in the camper this summer.

Coveting....  a ceiling without holes in it.  The good news is after years of issues the leak FINALLY seems repaired.  Now to get the drywall work completed and then we will move on to window replacement.  The joys of being a homeowner!!

Watching....  nothing worthy of discussing!!  The girls are excited for The Amazing Race to be back on as that is there one prime time reality show that they get to watch.

Thinking....  alot about having a real job next year.  I am enjoying planning and preparing for the fun but then have moments of wondering why I am doing this.  I am definitely wanting something more in my life to help fulfill me with the girls away all day but then I realize all the freedom I will be giving up and wonder if it will be worth it.

Making...  getting ready to make these clay fish with 25 second graders on Friday.  I have never done a ceramics project with a class, so am feeling a bit nervous about the process.  Wish me luck!!!

So what are you doing RIGHT NOW???  Feel free to play along and share!!

Christmas Wrap-Up

We had a very wonderful Christmas.  We were very fortunate to have both sets of grandparents drive over 12 hours in snowy and wet conditions to spend the holiday with us.  It made for a fun and full house.  We had lots of laughter, games, food and memories that will last the rest of our lives.

 Each night was ended with game time.

 The annual tissue paper snowball fight.

Maddy's Creative Corner #1

Here is a tutorial from Maddy on how to make an American Girl doll lamp that really lights up!

2012 photo highlights

2012 was a wonderful year for our household but somehow blogging on a regular basis took a backseat to everything else.  The amount of times I think about making a blog post vs. the amount of blog posts I make is too large to count.

So instead we decided to catch up on the year by posting this slideshow of some of our favorite photos and events of the year.   Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Thankful #12

Today I am thankful that Nora finally hit the 48 inch mark and can go on the slide at the Federal Way Community Center pool!  It has gotten harder and harder to go swimming there when she couldn't go on the slide especially when many of her friends have been able to go on it for a long time.  She had a fantastic time today going on the slide over and over and over again.  Maybe it is now time for Disney????

Thankful 5-11

 Thankful for fun preschool projects.  Today we made centerpieces for Thanksgiving.

Thankful for the right to vote.

Thankful for four more years.

Thankful for fun teachers at McDonalds.

Thankful for our veterans and our school that does such a wonderful assembly for Veteran's Day.  The girls were thrilled to contribute some family photos for the slide show.

Thankful for a sunny day for my morning run and 2 girls who kept me company.

Thankful for an enjoyable and relaxing day spent in the kitchen.  I made white chicken chili, mint brownies and 2 batches of pretzel rolls.  

Thankful #3 & 4

Day #3 photo represents many things I was thankful for:

•  Thankful that I survived the season being the "head coach" of Nora's soccer team
•  Extra thankful for all the help Tom gave as "assistant" coach (he really became as much of the head coach as I was)
•   Thankful that my daughter still thinks it is great to have her parents be her coach
•   Thankful for a successful season with a fun team
•   And especially thankful that the season is over so I don't have to wear that hideous orange           t-shirt anymore:-)

Day #4  Seahawk Sunday

Today I am thankful that we were able to enjoy a Seahawk Sunday game day.  The past month we have had many conflicts that have interfered.  But today we were able to enjoy it with every ritual and superstition that we have including:  pizza poppers for lunch, cheetos for second half snack, skittles for Lynch Touchdowns, First Down cheer (pictured above), touchdown celebrations and of course all of us showing our Seahawk Pride with our gameday gear.  I love that our girls enjoy all of this as much as I do and not only do they enjoy all the silly stuff but they fully understand the game of football and can watch it and give good commentary on what is going on.