Snow Day!

Today was such a blast!! We woke up to a good 9 inches of frozen fluff outside! I love the silence and brightness that fills our home when we get a good snowfall. The kind that makes you think you're living in a cloud. To make our day complete, my darling stayed home from work to play with us, and get this, stayed outside almost 2 hours longer than the kids and I to finish his snow tunnel. We did all sorts of snowy day things like make hot chocolate with too many mini-marshmallows. D made chocolate chip cookies too. (Is he the best or what?) Jacks and I had fun walking in the snowplow tracks on the road. Miss Caro made snow angels and did experiments with measuring the snowfall. (Can't help it; I'm a teacher...)
The highlight though =drum roll= was my SNOW ICE CREAM! Whoo-hoo! I am still so excited about it! Now, my Moms Club friends will be thinking, "Seriously," because we have had so many of these recipes float through our posts for years, but my little people and I have never taken the plunge. So today was the day, and friends, if you need a recipe this is THE one! If you can get past the mashed potato look to them and think in terms of eggnog, you may be in line to be just as delighted as me! The Snow Ice Cream Recipe

2½ cups milk

2 beaten eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Cook until a slight custard is formed and then cool.

Pour the custard over one gallon of fresh, clean snow and stir until thick.

Side Note:

This is an excellent way to squeeze in the all important life lesson on yellow snow.

Jack Jumps Over His 2nd Candlestick!

The line every parent has in their handbook is, "It goes by so fast!" There are some days this could be meant as a polite encouragement to hang in there, but on days like today it is more of a lament. Two years ago this day our little guy arrived with lungs singing as clear as the truth ringing through that phrase. I admit, those all too familiar words are causing my joy to sting a bit this evening. Today was one of those treasured days I would love to capture. I was extra aware of how my little baby boy has somehow slipped into little dude-hood. As I cleaned the bright red, lipstick polka dots he added to our blase tan couch this morning, I tried to remember him like this...

And later in the afternoon as I scrubbed his very fancy signature a la Sharpie Marker from our floor, last year's birthday-cake-smeared smile came to mind...

My friends and I were saying there is something to this "terrible two" phenomena. It is "terrible to" see a momma sweating the small stuff and forgetting this is what little boys are made of, because time does seem to fly. The poem that comes to mind says something about "puppy dog tails"and "snails," which is a detail I never really cared for, but shouldn't the author have found a way to include the word graffiti?! Oh! And how could one forget cars, trucks, planes, helicopters, boats.... To me, my little boy's complete fascination and awe of anything with wheels blows my mind.

I am truly amazed that he can correctly identify every motorized sound in our little part of the universe. So of course, to make his day complete I wanted to give my little darling his very own dump truck birthday cake. Voila!

Humbly, I apologize for the envy my very sophisticated, state of the art Caterpillar centerpiece may cause. Maybe we should legislate to ensure that every tot has his own collection of construction trucks construed with glitter and bling for special celebrations. =Oops. Momentary slip.=

I may remember Jackson's 2nd birthday not as the truck birthday, but more like the sports gear birthday! Another fun reminder: Bye-bye stacking rings and hello balls! (I had no idea baseballs come in all sorts of sizes!) He was so tickled!

Grammy and Grandma are two of my favs who like to remind me of "how fast" our babes grow. There are so many exciting moments ahead!! But I would still like to put a bookmark in time every now and then.

Last night's family birthday party for our little dude would be a great place to revisit once in a while. Or today, a one of a kind strand of moments smooshed between newly decorated furniture and flooring. (Albeit, they are one of a kind now, just like my little guy!)

Happy 2nd birthday, precious Jackson.

Your silly mommy loves you so!

Local Transportation

This beautiful beast was parked right next to my friend's spot at the Fork Union Post Office the other day. Gotta love living in a rural county! Now hold your horses because here is something to ponder: I was driving right past this very post office on Saturday, and smack in the middle of the busy two lane highway was a dead chicken. Guess he didn't make it to the other side. (=Couldn't resist!=) Is it me, or does there seem to be an unusual amount of farm animals out and about in these here parts? Love it!!

Thanks, Liza Jane! http://elizabethmiller.blogspot.com/

Favorites in 2008

Happy New Year! We just spent the evening with our babies on our bed and a big bowl of popcorn, watching home movies from the past year. It has been the highlight of 2009 so far!

Favorite things from 2008:

Caroline (4)
making projects, anything princess related, chocolate milk, dance class, writing her name, playing dress-up, Treasure Hunters youth group, Joey the Puppet, Monkey Joe's, pink "night-night" blanket, Daddy's "Once upon a time..." stories, Mommy's versions of The Three Little Pigs, finding a Christmas tree, Snow White, Spring Creek's Art Camp, VBS - twice, roasting s'mores especially with strawberry marshmallows, pirates, ballet birthday party, hot chocolate, drawing hearts, Dora umbrella, new big girl bed, Christmas caroling, preschool, Chuck E. Cheese's, riding on Granddad's four wheeler, Mary Poppins, painting her toe nails sparkly pink, Chapstick, her very own CD Walkman, playing in the sprinkler, playing in the rain, and last but not least - dancing with Daddy

Jackson (1)
Elmo, playgroup, walking, kissing, throwing balls, sippy cups that are not his, playing in Grammy's birdbath, Granddad's puppies, the thrill of a tent, trucks, cars, airplanes, choo-choos, helicopters, "trac-tors", smearing cake on his 1st birthday, construction in his backyard, cookies, "night-night" blanket, climbing everything, being outdoors, "Big Buck" = all deer, Chuck E. Cheese's riding toys, the word no, ball popper toy, "doing the Jackson" - his very own dance move, climbing up slides, the vacuum cleaner, pushing strollers, blocks, riding in his push car, his big belly, Eskimo kisses, big sister LaLa, second helpings, Dada

Moi
hearing my kids belly laugh, watching Donald play with them, time at Mom's house, Wanda's mac & cheese, HOME (Mom) group, teaching the young couples class at church, Bible study, new friendships and fantastic older friendships, family trips to Wilmington, NC, camping, visiting Aunt Leni in Lakeland, keeping up with Grandma in California via email, playing on the beach in the rain, surprising Mom for tea at Keswick Hall, Book Club, visiting Laura in GA, road trip to Deeper Still conference, visit from the Rollins, creamer with a little coffee, "Good Will'n" with my sister, Guadalajara, watching Caroline dance in ballet class and sing in the kids' choir at church, answers to prayer, apple/strawberry picking, Pee Wee's BBQ in Scottsville, the hours spent on Mom's John Deere this summer, American Idol (minus the beginning shows), http://www.grocerygame.com/, my love-hate relationship with blogging, reading my friends' blogs, meeting our friends at the playground, tutoring Emily, teaching "school" to Caroline, how Donald folds back my side of the bed each night, and I could go on and on...

The Big Kahuna
camping, family trips to Wrightsville Beach, Spring softball champs, building our backyard, teaching Caroline to ride her bike, wrestling with the kids, building blocks with Jackson, cooking big breakfasts, hunting season, UFC, 24, Christmas caroling with Caroline and her friends, playing with our kids at Lake Monticello, Cabella's catalogue, R.U. Alumni baseball game, serving our church, the Cowboys, golf, The Oceanic Restaurant on Wrightsville Beach, funnel cake, Kite Day at Pleasant Grove, pool volleyball, When We Were One, Under the Overpass, carrying the kids on his shoulders, sweet-sweet-SWEET tea, a cold beer after cutting the grass

Here's to your favorite things in your 2009!
(Thanks to Erin for this great idea!)