My very first crafting injury!!!

So dabbling in something officially becomes a hobby when you suffer an injury in its name. I decided on this rule today. Having said this, I am not an official crafter. I got my very first crafting injury today, an extremely nasty looking blister from a hot glue gun. I was making this lovely Valentine's Day wreath for our door.

While I was busy maiming myself in the name of art, Zoe was going to town churning out scrap book pages. She literally made every single thing you see in these pictures. And when she was done, she took a roll from the paper towels I was about to throw out, grabbed a few sprigs of fake flowers, put some stickers on the cardboard and declared it a vase of flowers for her daddy! So cute, and I have no idea where she got the creative genius from.

We also went to a really awesome park we just discovered and had a picnic for lunch. She got to play and then I threw her in the stroller so I could walk around the lake and get some exercise. They have an awesome trail, and it's open until 10 pm. I am so excited!

We had spaghetti for dinner (I even snuck in a bag of peas!). All in all, I kind of feel like a real mom today! I had a really great day with her.

Off to finish a few homework posts and pack some lunches! Hope everyone is well.

Why I love having a girl..

Every week when I sort the laundry, there is always a "pink" load and I look forward to the pink lint in the dryer trap.

More Daddy Printer Magic..this time in graphic novel format!!

So I had kind of a lame day
(who else manages to get two colds in three weeks and lose their voice two days before Christmas?), and then I came home and I must admit, the daddy printer magic worked on me this time! This was amazing and hilarious, and I am incredibly proud of this. I love it, and I can't even imagine the time and effort that went into it. Unfortunately, Zoe is at my parent's tonight but I can not wait to get over there and show her. She is going to think it's fantastic. When did my husband turn into a graphic artist?

Zoe's 1st scrapbook, a lot of baking and why my husband is "magic"

So the big news is that I got a kitchenaid mixer! Jessica and I decided to put it to the test today and bake like crazy! We made...well, a LOT of things. Zoe even rolled rum balls for us. Things turned out fabulously and the mixer did it's job (in the case of the key lime cookies, it did its job a little TOO well, they turned into a kind of whipped mess).

While we were baking Zoe worked on her very first scrapbooking pages, shown here. I think she has a real talent for it. There was absolutely NO help from anyone on these creations, they were done completely on her own.

Chris managed to set up a printer in our living room that prints anything he wants it to from Qatar. Picture this - Zoe and I are just sitting around when suddenly the printer starts up and out comes a picture or note from Daddy. It's amazing, right? Well, as soon as it started the first time, Zoe just assumed it was from Chris. She thinks it's their top secret special mailbox. She has had her eyes glued to it all night! She used on of his pictures in her scrap book!

A technique that worked on a three year old..

Zoe and I went to Borders tonight, and while we were waiting in line she started acting crazy (of course). I decided to employ a new tactic. I knelt down, and said "let's play pretend". I need you to pretend to be five right now, and five year olds stand with their mommies in line and stay quiet.

And it worked! Hallelujah!

Cough, cough!

Of course when Zoe gets sick, I get sick too. It's inevitable. This time, though, it actually worked out. She had her winter concert this morning, and I was able to take her home right afterwards and we have just kind of been hanging out all day watching the Shrek trilogy and dozing on and off. She is doing really well, she wrote both an "a" and a "b" today and told me they were the first two "sounds". (Montessori teaches sounds, not letters).

She did very well in her holiday concert, although she was kind of out of it as a result of being sick. She was in charge of counting the eight candles for Hanukkah and did an excellent job.

I have actually been off for four days in a row, and it's been amazing to spend time with her without rushing around and trying to get everything done in our normal routines. We decorated the tree (it's PINK!) and made a "daddy chain" with a link for every day until he gets home. (great idea, Felice!) I have just really genuinely enjoyed getting to hang out with her. She has such interesting ideas about things, it's amazing getting to know her emerging personality.

She met Santa this weekend, and is adamant that she wants a computer for Christmas. It always makes Santa laugh. She is doing well with them though, she can type "Zoe", "mom" and "dad" and typed all of these when she got to webcam with Chris the other day.

I also got the chance to do quite a bit of baking this weekend for Chris's birthday and Christmas - I made espresso hazelnut brownies and they were SO delicious. Easy too!

I am headed back to work tomorrow, but I have a lot to look forward to. My brother and family will be here hopefully sometime next week! Whoo!

Today was definitely a Christmas-ey day

Crazy and insanely full day. I took Zoe to a breakfast with Santa Claus, and then she was in the Christmas parade throwing beads and then we went to my parents to get out all the Christmas ornaments and decorations. I also helped my mother wrap a ba-zillion gifts! I am definitely Christmas-ed out this week, and it's only the 6th! I guess a lot of it was having to get everything out to my husband to make sure it got there on time. Things are great and crazy, but I am exhausted and with my exhaustion goes my ability to be at all witty. In lieu of my infamous comedic prowess- enjoy some adorable pictures:

It's been an extremely long week..

I can remember, as a child, not really understanding why my parents were so exhausted during the holidays. And I am paying for that today. I am absolutely exhausted. The week passed in a blur of cooking, baking, driving around in delirious circles. Today I had to wake up, drive Zoe to Tracie's house near the base then drive all the way up to work. The day passed in a 9.5 hour blur of people purchasing new cars, and requiring faxed copies for their rental vehicles. I then got back in my car, drove all the way back to Tracie's to get Zoe, then back in the car to finally head home. I have been at my parent's house since Monday, just generally getting ready for Thanksgiving and I was really missing my house. Zoe was having a similiar issue, she kind of went ballistic last night just generally demanding to go home.

When we finally drove into our neighborhood, I literally heard my three year old breathe a sigh of relief. It's not that we don't enjoy spending time with Nana and Pop, it's just that sometimes there is literally "no place like home".

And you know that feeling you get when you have been away on vacation and you walk in and everything just sort of settles? You breathe in, and the air is comforting. Kicking off your shoes has never been more satisfying! You look enviously at your bed, knowing that it will welcome you with open arms! I felt that way tonight times about a million.

We did all of our normal things. We ate dinner together, we put on our jammies while singing the pajama song. We are now cuddled up on the couch watching "The Polar Express" together. Life couldn't be better. Well, actually, it could be...there is one thing missing. Popcorn! Just kidding, of course. One of our favorite activities with Chris was getting together on Sunday nights and watching a movie on our couch and competing for Chris's lap. I ALWAYS lost!

On the agenda for the rest of weekend: work tomorrow, trying to put a dent in Christmas shopping and biscotti experimentation! I am going to do my best to make some, so if anyone has any tips let me know. I figure it's a win-win right? I mean, if you screw up biscotti, don't you just end up with cookies?!

The words will keep you warm on cold nights.

Zoe is definitely my daughter. I just went in to make sure she was covered up and found her cuddled up with an armful of books.