Sleepover with Travis

My nephew Travis, who is 2 years old, stayed at our house Saturday night so Brian & Lea Ann could celebrate Lea Ann's 30th birthday. Madelyn & Ansley loved having him over. Ansley watched every move he made...if he laughed - she laughed, etc. The kids basically played around the house for a couple of hours, then they took a bath, & watched "Toy Story" while eating pop corn. Travis slept in Madelyn's bed & Madelyn slept with me. Jon was out of town that night so there was plenty of room. All 3 kids woke up at 7:30, ate breakfast & played until Brian & Lea Ann picked up Travis around 11:00. Travis is such a sweet little boy & we really enjoyed having him over.

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a nice Valentine's Day. I made scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, & strawberries this morning for Jon's Valentine's present. I took the girls with me to the gym while Jon worked on our taxes. After lunch, we ate some Valentine cupcakes that the girls & I made last night. Ansley & I took an afternoon nap while Jon mulched our landscape & Madelyn played on the computer. Later in the afternoon we played Candyland (well Madelyn has her own idea how to play & Ansley prefers to throw the cards around & chew on the game pieces). Jon presented us with his gifts... he got me a card & some chocolates, Madelyn got a heart necklace, & Ansley got a little box of chocolates with a doll attached. We were filling cooped up so we went to Oxmoor Mall where we ate at California Pizza Kitchen (I got to eat one of my favorite dishes...the Thai Crunch Salad) & let the girls play on the boat & exert some energy. We were all worn out by 6:00. We went home, put the girls down for bed a little early b/c they were very sleepy, & Jon & I watched "The Kite Runner". It really was a great day. Valentine's Day is a celebration of love & I feel we did just that...being together as a family.

Home Sweet Home

At 3:00 AM Tues night we lost power in our home. We stayed home Wed & even slept in our house that night. Jon suggested all 4 of us sleep on the living floor so we could make sure the girls didn't get push their blankets off in the middle of the night. We used every blanket in the house & were still cold. We decided to stay the night b/c our power came on for 3 hours on Wed, so we thought for sure it would come back on anytime...boy were we wrong! That morning we packed a suitcase & went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast to discuss our next move. After breakfast, we headed over to Corey & Stephanie's house where we stayed the night. We appreciated their hospitality immensely! On Thurs we headed over to Jon's Uncle Rick & Aunt Jenny's house where Madelyn & Ansley played with their cousins all day. We ate some of Aunt Jenny's chili (boy did it hit the spot) & were prepared to stay the night but Barbara & Ordie's power came back on so we headed over there. We stayed there for the duration of our power outage (we got home Tues afternoon). We were very comfortable there considering their house is child proofed & they had plenty of food & room for us. Jon & I also went to the UL/Connecticut game while the Day's babysat for us. All in all, we were very fortunate to have a warm place to sleep every night. I felt really sorry for the people that had to tough it out at their home with no heat b/c I know our house was freezing! Its good to be home!