UNCLE!!!!!

I know, I know.... on a previous entry I noted that I love winter! I love the quiet storms where the flakes are huge and you can sit home and drink hot chocolate (HA!)............I love the white snow as it blankets the earth for the winter vs. gray, icky landscaping begging for the sunshine of spring and summer to bring it back to it's intended beauty! So..........yes, I love winter and some of its beauty. I do not wish to retract those statements!

HOWEVER,

It is time to cry UNCLE! ENOUGH ALREADY! 2 weeks ago it starts off with 17 inches in the driveway that took 2+ hours to snowblow (yes, I know how to run a snowblower!), and no lie, every other day since we have had some form of a snow storm to add to the mix!

Adding humor to this winter of neverending precip, this morning my sweet husband went off to snowblow for a friend whose husband is out of town. Looking over to the neighbors he thinks it looks like they are out of town too..........so he proceeds to snowblow their driveway too. Moments later the husband emerges from their sleepy, we dont' get up before 10am house and lo' and behold, they are very much in town...........and the lucky recipients of Jamies service project for the year! hahaha! I have been giggling to myself about this one all day!

I gotta go...........we're building an igloo in the front yard!

New Arrival

We are thrilled to announce our newest arrival at the house of Pogue! After SEVEN months of waiting we have finally been blessed with our beloved BUNK BED!!! Ordered on June 7th, it has been a long, backordered, backordered, backordered, snow delayed delivery, wrong address, finally showed up at our door process. I think Noah had me print a picture of it off the computer daily for the last month or two. We finally had to stop making any references to it so as not to drain the color printer cartridge!!

So here it is!!!

Proud Parents (sleepers): Noah and Parker (Noah finally graduates from the crib!)

Height: really tall, about 60 inches

Weight: ALOT!!! it took all Jamie and I had to move it!

Both Mommy and Daddy are doing well!

my short list

My short list............my short list isn't so short! It usually includes a honey do list at least 5 years old, the undying wish to furnish my home, finish my basement, fix the hole I put in the wall while carrying a night stand upstairs by myself, paint the corners where my kids run and scuff them daily...blah blah blah blah!!! This past week my father lost his only sibling to pneumonia, a dear friend lost her sweet mother in law (i know oxymoron, but so true) and in the end I found my short list......still in the back of my mind , to be truly full of minutia. Little things that really mean so little! Sad, but true, that it takes a sad, almost tragic turn of events to heighten my awareness of this, but the only thing that really matters is family and those loved ones we choose to call family! I am so grateful to have these 4 little bodies to destroy most things within their reach and attempt to drive me completely insane daily! I am equally grateful for those adults in my life who let ME drive THEM nuts daily! (you know who you are.....!) As I listened to friends eulogize their mother/mother in law this week, I walked away praying that I could do better at the little things that mean MUCH! I will put that on my list!~ Does any of this make sense? It has been swimming in my head for days! So for today, a long past due entry to 'the blog', no pictures, just babbling!

As for my short list? It will continue to get longer and the hole in the wall will likely stay until my kids are old enough to fix it themselves, the garage will always be a mess and the basement will likely never get finished!! And that is OK with me! I Love you all!

WHEW!!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhh the Holidays! Is it bad that I am breathing a sigh of relief that they are over? I have been feeling blog guilt for days, but am so exhausted from the season that I cannot put together a sentence, much less a blog entry! But here goes!!! Christmas is one of my FAVORITE times of the year! This year we were blessed with TONS of snow and many many trips down Grandma's sledding hill with all of our cousins! (trust me, i am not using the term TONS lightly!). Just ask my bro. Tony the sledding trail maintenance specialist...........TONS of trips were made down that hill and many, many fun memories were made in the process!

So.........In light of my present brain dead condition, I am sharing lots of photos of that. In his picture, Noah, reminds us all that it truly is the little things that mean so much! He eats about 20 clementines a day this time of year but I am certain that this is his most favorite one EVER! (look at that face!) Hope your holiday's were extra special! I hope to recover soon and be able to complete a thought process! Until then, enjoy the pictures. lots of love from here!

the morning after Parker's super dooper, whoop-de-looper, really awful super bad day!

poor little guy!

Parker's super dooper, whoop-de-looper, really awful, super bad day!!!!

Today began with the usual antics from everyone. Sierra lollygagging her way out the door to school, Kendall struggling to wake up, Noah pounding hot chocolate and watching Handy Manny and Parker sleeping in and slowly embracing the day! Jamie's mother has been here for a week, so as Parker warmed up, our purpose for the day became more pressing. The list looked like this:
1) get Noah to school
2) Mama to the airport
3) Noah home from school
4) pick up carpool for older kids
and so on and so on!!! Just as we were loading up to check off #'s 1 and 2 Pman decides to trip out to the car and BONK!! his head on something in the garage..............(insert loud screaming sound effect here). Parker comes running in. Having heard this scream a million times before I first try to assess if he has a hang nail or has cut off a limb. This time, the scream was warranted as blood came pouring off Parker's head sufficiently freaking me out! (i don't have a very good poker face for these things). We got the bleeding under control and went on with our list inserting a stop at the ER after #2. Two hours and 4 stitches ( exhibit A) later we picked up a treat, a little brother from a friends house and scrapped the rest of the list for the day.

Early evening, watching TV, playing hot wheels, attempting to save our star falling off our tree and poor little P-man was just sitting on the potty. Getting off the potty, he slips on the rug and clocks himself on the edge of the bathtub (exhibit B). That scream again!! Mom comes running..............ouch! Where is Rocky Balboas trainer when you need him. This one needed a good slice to ease the pressure. Seriously, I have never seen such a bonk on the eye of any of my children! nicely done P-man! Lots of tears and hugs and kisses later, we are calm, we are in bed and alas..........tomorrow is another, hopefully BETTER day! Way to be brave little man! love you!

LET it SNOW!!!

Many who know me know that I LOVE WINTER! It is the season of giving and loving and I love that! I love the decorations of Christmas (maybe because that is only time my home looks completely furnished). Each year, my friend and I usually race to see who can get their decor up the soonest. She always wins! Halloween is too early for me!! hee hee! I love the treats (too much!), I love the music and I love the SNOW that usually accompanies this a time of year! We have had such an indian summer many wondered when winter would arrive. Today, my friends.......winter arrived! The Christmas season finally feels like it should. SNOW, SNOW, SNOW, tons of snow....... up to 10 inches here in the valley (where we live as opposed to the mountains) and it is still snowing!

I love the huge flakes and the calm that comes over the air as the snow softly blankets the dead landscaping! I love that the kids stay outside forever (for many reasons!!) playing in the snow and constructing snow fortresses and snow men. I saw them attempting snow angels face down and that didn't work out too well. I love wearing jeans and a warm sweater because I have to..........I know I am crazy, but I love winter! Mostly, I love it if I don't have to go anywhere and can sit at home eating bon bons watching endless episodes of What not to Wear.........but then I wake up.. Today I woke up to the SNOW! The rest of the dream didn't pan out but............a the pictures don't do the beauty of the season justice. enjoy!!

Happy winter everyone!