Elena and Lucas appropriately named their favorite game, "Circus." They rip the cushions off the couch and have at it like a couple of acrobatic monkeys. I don't mind because it will seriously occupy them for at least half an hour before bed. Here are a few pictures for our upcoming circus billboard:
I was reading Ecclesiastes 3 last night and the tune to the popular song came into my head. I could not help, as hard as I tried, reading the passage without humming. I started laughing then. Great. I don't feel like I was committing some heinous sin, but I was just amazed at how little control I had over my thoughts. It was a gentle reminder how easily culture and media can be internalized.
Speaking of internalizing media - whenever I read a book, especially a period book, I begin to talk and think in the dialect or style the book is written. For example, I'm reading a book about the deep south in the early 1900's. If I'm reading and the phone rings, I have to remind myself to answer the phone in a normal voice instead and not use the southern accent I'm sure I've perfected, in my own head. And I have to keep supressing my urge to use the words, "I reckon" and "yes'm." I'm pretty sure Drew was ready for me to finish my Jack Kerouac phase so I would stop talking like a beat poet or the European books that bring out my finest English accent.
I am not usually an advice seeker (in fact my eyes usually roll back into my head anytime I see the unsolicited kind coming my way) , but this time I'm open to any suggestion you may have. We finally had Elena potty trained to stay dry through the night. She had been accident-free for over a month. All of a sudden she started having nightly accidents. She refuses to wear a pull up and I really don't want to go backwards. We (by that I mean ME) have been getting up with her in the middle of the night to take her to the potty in order to avoid the accident. I was just wondering how any of you may have conquered the nighttime potty-training. Let me know and I promise I won't roll my eyes.
I did find this little contraption, but I don't know if I'm quite at that point =).
I don't really need a ground hog to tell me that winter has set in.
My laundry is getting done at an alarmingly slow pace. Elena has been home from school more than she's gone. My car begs me not to make it try and climb the crazy hills around here. I still haven't unpacked from my trip to North Dakota. The mailman hopes he doesn't have any mail for me because he knows the hike up my porch to the mailbox could be his last. Drew parks facing the wrong direction on the street so he doesn't have to slide down our hill when he leaves for work. Snow pants and ice skates are adorning my front entry. The kids act like uncaged animals any time we go out in public. I put autostart and a garage on my Christmas list for next year. I started a new calendar to wring in the new year. My children have our collection of Disney movies memorized.
Despite the lack of sunshine and presence of ice, I'm loving winter! I get to snuggle with the kids under a cozy blanket while they memorize their Disney movies. I don't really mind not getting things done around the house, which greatly improves my mood. I get to sleep in when Elena doesn't have to go to school. It's always an adventure when we drive someplace. We are playing all of the fun games they got for Christmas. We're eating soups and stews like there's no tomorrow. Let it snow, let it snow (just not too much =).
Congrats to our closest hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers for their upcoming trip to the Superbowl. If one didn't know better they might think we have something to do with their success. After our second year in Indianapolis the Colts won a Superbowl. After our second year here, well GO STEELERS. What do you think?
Actually, it probably has nothing to do with us - considering where football ranks on my list of interests.
We're doing well and slowly getting into our groove after our winter trek to North Dakota. My family made it out here for Christmas and we drove back with them. The trip was long and snowy. We followed closely behind a Wal-Mart semi because we couldn't see the road and they always know where they're going, right? When he pulled off we figured we should follow suit and camp out for the night at a little hotel. We made it finally (after 32 hours) and spent two great weeks up in the frozen tundra I call home. The temperature averaged -15 over the course of our visit, so we spent a lot of time inside.
Now we're back! Elena has had two of her three preschool classes cancelled due to weather, so we're getting a little antsy around here. Lucas is turning two this week, so we have that to get ready for as well. So not too much, but enough for me. I'm still stretching my legs and trying to get life organized.
