Yes it is still winter

Still snow, still cold, but
We have had a few teaser days of warmth. Just enough to lift my spirits, but also just enough to torture me when it snows again.

That groundhog said we would have an early spring. Well I am waiting, impatiently!

In the meantime, we have been packing in more fun.

Mike, C and the girls along with Jeff, Amy, and LM came over for our long overdue pollyana party. Since our group of kiddos is getting larger each year we decided the kids could take part in a pollyana. Thanks to C and the girls for picking out the matches.

The kids had a blast with their belated Christmas presents. It had been awhile since they were all together. It is always amazing to see the changes. It seems like just yesterday it was only Alek and Keeley, they were the babies, now out of no where, they are the big kids. The ones looking after the littles, the ones dishing about school and friends. How did that happen so quickly?

It amazes me to see how much LM and Makenzie have grown as well, that toddler phase just flew by, they are walking, talking little people. You can hold a conversation with them, its crazy!
At least for me, Maks and Ry still stay the same, maybe its because they are the middle kids or still need to be mama's kiddos, but for me it hasnt been such a shock when they are togther.

Before we know they will all be teenagers sneaking down the basement, looking for trouble!

God I hope we are sane and coherent enough at that point to know what is going on!

It was a fun evening, capped off with me giving C a lesson in Michael Jackson experience. I know she wants a rematch!

I have officially kicked some serious butt and scores in Thriller, Billie Jean and Black or White! To anyone willing to step onto the dance floor with me--BRING IT ON!

February also brought around Maks' 1st report card. He is in the kindergarten class at the day care, though this isn't his official kindergarten year. But none the less, the report was pretty good.

His report stated that he was a very smart boy who was grasping all the kindergarten concepts. His writing has improved a great deal, though he continues to struggle with being a perfectionist and therefore getting frustrated if what he is doing isn't what he thinks it should be.

Of course, he still needs some work on the attention department, but that will come. I am sure by September he will be ready to start at the big school with Alek.

His speech as improved so much. It is very rare that you cannot understand him. Unfortunately he still struggles with his volume issue, but he definitely can physically whisper now. he is working on voice therapy and has his yearly IEP coming up. His therapist though feels he will not qualify through the county for her services anymore, so it looks like we will have seek out the private sector.

It is hard for children his age to work on control in terms of his voice and volume, but we really need him to so he doesn't make the polyps on his vocal cords worse. At least he is making some progress and can turn it down when we tell him.

We spent the last weekend up the Poconos with friends and their kiddos, 7 kids total ranging in age from 5 to 16!

It was a great time.

The kids got along so well and it was fun hanging out and catching up with our friends.

The weather could have cooperated better. When we left on Friday it was a gorgeous 68 degree day, I was loving life, by the time we got up there, it was cold, in the 30's and a bitter wind kicked in.

We made the most of it though, hanging out by a large fire, stoked by Kevin all day. The kids explored the woods, found dry wood and sticks for us while we sat by the fire and kept warm.

Later that day we went sledding. We were excited to see we were the only ones on the sledding hill. Well, there was a reason why. The winds were insane and the hill was ice.

Alek went flying down on the tube alone, I almost had a heart attack. We had to shorten the run so as not to pick up too much speed.

It was crazy and fun, but we decided to quit while we were ahead (meaning no injuries or ER visits).

It was definitely a fun weekend and I am so glad we got away.

Next up is Alek's birthday party!! He has been talking about it for months now. It is being held this Friday at a local bounce place. We had to move it from his actual birthday as the place is unfortunately going out of business the end of February. He is so excited to have all his friends there. He is stoked for this whole weekend as it is party central for him. Not only is his party Friday night, he has parties for his buddies on Saturday and Sunday. I think I can predict Sunday night will not be pretty in our house!

In 2 weeks, my baby will be 7. 7, WOW, so unreal.

February brought milestone birthdays to 2 important young women in my life.

My niece Kristin turned 21! She is amazing young woman who is making all of us proud with her hard work, persistance and determination to follow her dreams and her chosen career path. I know she will succeed wherever she goes! Its hard to believe that beautiful little 8 yr old in my wedding is now legal--well I cannot wait to take her out for a drink when she is home on break!

Cheers Krissy!!

My best friends daughter, Jess, turned 16. I was honored to be in the delivery room when this wonderful young woman made her entry into this world. We always laugh and joke about that night, she loves when I tell her the story.

It seems like just yesterday I was holding her for the first time, looking into those beautiful brown eyes and now she will be driving!
I am so proud of the smart, beautiful, strongwilled, and hard working young woman she has become. I am so glad I get to be a part of her life!

So despite the weather, the snow and the cold, February has definitely been a heart warming month and I really have enjoyed it!

Now, bring on Spring and Sun!!

Love is

Its February. Not much happens in February except snow, ice storms, and Valentines Day, oh and Krissy and Cynthia's birthdays :o)

Alek and Maks really like Valentines Day. They like the class party and exchanging Valentines. Its sweet and its cute. I like that we get to talk about love and what it means to them. Its pretty wild to ask a child what a love is and hear their response.

I'll start with Maks. He says I love you a hundred times a day, he will be in the middle of something or talking about something and change it up and say, mom I love you. So I asked him, Maks what is love? Hmmmmm, ummmmmm.....

You can see the wheels turning.

His response: "Its mommy and daddy and Alek. I asked him what does love feel like and he said its in my belly and I feel happy." He went on to say, that love is listening to mommy and being good and not getting time-outs. He also said sharing toys with his brother and friends.

So sweet, so simple.

Onto Alek. He says I love you my cutie pie mommy. He also says, I love my whollleeee family! He always tells me he loves me to the moon and back, but recently I got, "mom I love you to God and back, because that is further then the moon"

Seriously, how fabulous is that?

So what does love mean to Alek. He says he feels it in his heart and his belly and it makes him happy and smile. He said it means that even though mommy and daddy may be mad when he does something wrong, they still love him. He said it means mommy's and daddy's do things for their kids first and that they will always be there for their kids.

I asked him if he thought of anything else and he said, it means that you always want to be with the people you love and that you miss them if they aren't there ("like Corlie, Kaiser, and PopPop").

So profound.

He then asked me what I think love is. Gotta love when they turn the questions around on you! So,
what do I think love is?


Its a feeling that is really hard to describe and it is probably different for each person.

Like Alek said, it makes you want to be with the people you love and miss them alot when they are not with you.

Its your heart skipping a beat when you see that person, or when your child wraps their arms around you tight. Its unconditional, especially when it comes to your children. Its hurting when they hurt, laughing when they laugh, having your whole life wrapped up in theirs. It is wanting to do what is right and what is best for those you love. It makes you do things you may never have wanted to do before. It is putting someone else's needs before yours.

For my kids, it is just knowing they are my world, and I cannot imagine life without them. Its knowing I would give my life up for theirs in a second. It just amazes me how deep that feeling goes for a little person who exhausts you, tries your patience, gives you headaches and doesn't let you sleep! Its just so hard to describe the love for your child, it is unconditional and everlasting, its simple and pure.

Love is also doing your best not to judge and to be ok with the quirks or personality differences. Its standing by that person and being able to forgive no matter how angry you are.

Its knowing that no matter how much you mess up, the people who love you will have your back. It's knowing who you can count on. Its wanting to be the best person you can be for those you love.

I think Love can bring out the best and worst in human nature, but love is what life is all about.

So, Alek, does that answer you question?

Happy Valentines Day to my sweethearts, all three of them!!