I am thankful for....

Every week on my Monday morning (which is actually Saturday) I give a few minutes of thanks for being able to go to work. I turn all Mommy responsibilities over to Dad and off I go. I get in the car, drink my coffee, and listen to Howard Stern (or some other programming which would be horribly inappropriate for children). I do not look at the car seat in my rear view mirror and I do not wonder which corner of the car the baby has thrown his shoes into. I get to work, log on to my computer, and involve myself in tasks which have nothing to do with 2nd grade, baby talk, or poop removal of any kind.

Sure there is the pang of guilt I feel as the baby waves bye-bye. Of course I torment myself with thoughts like "...how much TV is he going to let him watch today?" or "what if he lets him eat candy??!!" I have to remind myself that Shane has been doing this a lot longer than I have. Just because we don't do everything exactly the same doesn't mean he isn't a great parent. I am, afterall, very fortunate that we can both work without having to put our kids in day care.

I am usually missing them terribly by lunch time, but I wouldn't trade my coffee drinking, Stern listening, e-mail checking adult time for anything (except a huge lotto hit, in which case I would hire a nanny for a few hours a week).

Forts with Friends

Dillon's dad made an awesome snow fort for all the boys to play in. They spent the whole day playing inside, waging a huge snowball battle. It was too cute!

So Cal Storm!

Last Wednesday Shane called me at work and told me that I'd better get my a** home, or I wouldn't be able to get there later because of all the snow. As disappointed as I was to have to leave work early, I hightailed it up the hill. I spent Wednesday through Saturday barely leaving the house.


By Friday, I was over it and had to get out! I took the kids to Kam's sledding spot, but it was way too snowy to be outside for long. I got panicky, because it was getting really cold and the kids were getting wet despite their many layers of clothing. I wanted to get them warm ASAP so I drug them both home in the sled up the long steep hill. Cash was getting upset because his sled kept tipping and Kamden was upset because we had to leave. It was quite an adventure.

I'm not one of those moms who wishes to inflict her passion for mohawks on her small child, but this was too cute to resist.

Caught in the Act!

I walked into Kamden's room to find Cash climbing the bunk bed ladder. He was quite proud of himself.

...and here is is running away. He knew he was in trouble.

Ski School

Kamden started ski school last week. My hat is off to the instructors (cat herders) who lead these classes. It wasn't easy getting him there with his warm clothes, goggles, helmet, boots (that fit...Euro sizes???), skis (that the boots fit into...again...???), hat, gloves (I wonder how many pairs of those we will go through this year), sunscreen, snack, water, etc. It's a lot of work for two hours of skiing, but he loves it so it's well worth it.


Up the "magic carpet" he goes. We found it impossible to walk all the way up the hill to his lesson in ski boots, so Kamden hitched a ride.


Before class the kids found partners...Kamden and his PIC, Dillon, paired off right away of course. The teacher had a short discussion with the kids about their ability levels. Kamden and Dillon informed her that they know EVERYTHING about skiing. I, personally, was thankful for the two kids dressed in fluorescent orange as this made their class easy to find.



Off they go!

Welcome Baby Ty (Better Late Than Never)

(Please excuse my back blogging): This past November we welcomed my nephew, Ty Robert Kenneth Wilkey. Megan let me stay in the room for the entire birth. It was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced, and I am so grateful that she let me share the special moment. With exception of a little jaundice, he was perfectly healthy weighing in at 7 lbs 15 oz. His cousin Karissa was one of his delivery nurses, and she did an awesome job (I would have thought SHE was the doctor). He is clearly in the running for cutest baby alive.

I am also very proud to announce that I have been named Godmother to Baby Ty! I am so honored (more baptism pics to follow).

Cal City Camping

This weekend we went on a camping/riding trip with our friends Mike & MJ, Chris & Arlene, and Holly & Johnny. Although Cash and I don't do much riding, we had a blast. Cash rode around in his wagon for hours and hours (all while making motorcycle noises). Given the nature of my job, it's hard to say if I will ever let him ride a dirt bike, but we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. MJ and I took a looong much needed hike, read gossip magazines, and gave ourselves facials. Kamden and all the big kids rallied their dirt bikes and built forts from sun up 'til sun down.

Holly won the weekend warrior award. She crashed on her quad and had to be taken to urgent care. After filling her prescriptions, she came back and finished out the weekend with us.

Bagpipers!

I tagged along to Shane's Cal Fire union convention in San Diego. I was amazed by the amount of pride and deeply rooted tradition exhibited by the organization. Every night there was a beautiful dinner accompanied by the CDF honor gaurd. The resort was beautiful and located right on the beach at Mission Bay. On the final night we followed the honor gaurd to all the local pubs in Pacific Beach. It was wonderful to have a weekend to ourselves too!

Tree Trimming

Santa

"Grammer & Poppa Oso" joined us for our Santa visit. We went to Bass Pro Shops (along with every other family in the Inland Empire). Cash wasn't terribly impressed by his first Santa visit, but at least he didn't cry. (PS-Kamden dressed himself that day).


Click here to see Santa's special message to Kamden:

http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/14ef19a62a5f7ff3a08e1573e0a51e1b

He loved it! He watched it at least 50 times.