We woke up this morning dejected. The supposed 4 inches of snow that should have blanketed our lawn turned out to be a dusting of white powder atop our green grass. The kids looked out the window and sighed. But although Old Man Winter failed to appear through snow, he did appear through frigid temperatures.
-1 degrees with wind chill.
No run for me this morning. Instead, I hit the 8 am yoga class downtown with the hopes that everyone else slept in under their covers. Not so lucky. It was packed with women in their yoga attire and freshly painted toenails and perky little ponytails. How awful and judgmental am I? Jon always gets on me when I start describing people like this. And he’s right. The reason why they annoy me so much is because I secretly want a pair of yoga pants instead of my ten-year old adidas capris, and I secretly want bright candy red nail polish on my nasty, beat-down toes. So, I’m jealous – I admit it. Class was ok – I got spoiled with my very first instructor who whooped me up and made me feel like I had run a marathon after her class. Everyone else pales in comparison (as Jon says to me “they teach like normal people, Mary!”).
Maggie came over at 11 am to watch the kids while Jon and I hit the Container Store to order a custom designed closet. Whoo-hoo! I would post a picture of our closet to let you see the disaster it is but it would be way too embarrassing (and that is from someone who is rarely embarrassed). The store personnel were great – very friendly and efficient. Our designer worked a layout for us and within 45 minutes, we had purchased the materials and installation for our bedroom closet. Awesome. When we got home, Ms. Maggie had bathed out children – a feat we had not accomplished in two days. She even got Mario to wash his hair (a feat I have not accomplished in a week) and Maria to let her brush her hair. Maria’s hair looks gorgeous when you actually brush it (imagine that). We have Maggie sitting for us this Summer and we cannot wait – she is going to have these kids whooped into shape so quickly that Jon and I are going to be put to shame. We have no problem with shame.
Maria’s friend Gwen came over at 2 pm. I was skeptical as to whether we should keep Alana over when Gwen came but these are 6-year-old girls – there couldn’t be too much drama, heh?! Actually, they played well together without any drama; a few spats here and there but no drama. They trashed the basement by having a “paper party” (consisting of throwing paper all over the place); demolished Maria’s room by spreading barbies and clothes all over; and trashed the kitchen by making crafts. I had gotten them interested in Wii Just Dance but I noticed Gwen sitting on the chair looking bored and a little sad. I asked her if she liked to dance and she shook her head “no.” So, we moved onto a different activity – crafts.
- Maria with her TP doll
Gwen told me she loved to draw and so it was an easy choice. Maria and Alana went with it, too. We made toilet paper dolls (I did not make that craft up – I found the idea on the internet!). The girls also tried to one up each other by drawing on themselves with magic marker. Alana drew on her hand, Gwen on her finger, Maria … on her neck. Yes, a giant butterfly with different colors across her neck. She cried when I told her that dad would be so upset and told me with big tears rolling down her face: “I was just trying to be funny.” That is her thing – she likes to make people laugh by going to the very edge – or over sometimes. I love her for that trait but also worry about it. We need to temper it a bit. We got most of the butterfly off and Maria moved onto stickers.
After crafts, we had to get out of the house for a bit. Not so much for the kids but for me. I know I have ADD – the folks should have diagnosed me years ago but then I would have been on drugs for way too long so I am glad they didn’t. And it could be worse – I could sit on the couch all day watching Ellen. We headed to Graeter’s playland for some running around and some ice cream (a tad hypocritical). If I could eat Graeter’s for every meal, I would be one happy camper. I love their chocolate chocolate chip. I love their peanut butter chip. I guess I simply love anything chip. The girls loved the see-saw until some other kids moved in and bothered them. They moved on to the slide and the tree house. Some boys began teasing Mario on the slide, and Maria took care of them. She protected that boy like a vicious guard dog making sure that they stayed away from him. I was even scared. After playing, we enjoyed some yummy ice cream. Alana got strawberry (ugh!), Mario got 2 dips of chocolate chip (and left some for me god love him) and Maria and Gwen split a chocolate banana split. They went to town on that thing. I think Gwen has Maria’s appetite so the two of them together ate that split in record time. Alana hadn’t even made a dent in her cone. On the way home, the girls looked out the back window and talked to drivers behind us saying things like “Come on slow poke, catch up!” or “That woman looks old and look at that man…” They giggled the entire way home. It reminded me of me and my girlfriend, Beth when we would take road trips as young girls. The innocence and slapstick and giddiness.
We ended the night with pjs and toothbrushing and helicoptering (until Alana bumped her head on the bed headboard). Oh, and some ice cream sandwiches just to make sure we got our fill of milk and sugar for the day.
"MOM!" 
Ice cream is a perfect choice for cold days! 🙂