It's Been a Week (Or Three), I Tell Ya!

Nothing that doesn't warrant a 'First World Problems' hashtag#, mind you, so I will spare you any kvetching I may feel like doing. 
In the midst of what has been just a crazy few weeks, I have needed to reminded myself  (over and over... and over)  how important it is to stop and notice all the little things in life.. And that yes, even in the midst of exhaustion and chaos, there is a bit of beauty and hilariousness to be found, even if we may not feel that way at the moment.

That said, in lieu of my annual unsolicited Oscar’s red carpet review (I didn’t even watch this year) I will be celebrating BESTS of this month!

BEST Day: Mike finally had an ENTIRE day off  last week (this hasn’t happened in I don’t even know how long) so we got to spend the whole day together as a family, relaxing, playing, cooking, laughing. As annoying as our opposing schedules can be during the winter, the family time we do get together is worth it.

BEST Excuse: Viv, on why she should not have to wear undies… apparently they are “too kooky.”

BEST Down-time Distraction: ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Gypsy Sisters’. Could the two shows be more opposite? I have decided that having watched the Downton season finale twice, makes up for the hot mess that is ‘Gypsy Sisters.’ Don’t judge me! Actually, feel free to judge me, I will simply respond like to Dowager Countess.

BEST Work-related Happening: Finally filming for our long-awaited PSA, to be premiered this spring! SO PROUD of the folks that took part!

BEST Things to Look Forward to: Spring, winter sports ending, going to FL soon, Teenie’s wedding, iced tea weather.

BEST Feeling: Laughing deliciously. 

So folks, what bests are you celebrating today?

It may be freezing and snow-covered still, but there was something about this sky that reminded me that spring isn't too far off  (and that's a nice thing to look forward to, eh?)

Low-Cost Valentine's Day

Or would that be LO-cost Valentine's Day? Hahahahahah..hahha..ha...mmm. Yes, I'm often a lot less funny out loud than i am in my head. ;-)
We're not huge into celebrating Valentine's day, although it's certainly fun to do crafts with Viv and all that! Here are the two little things Vivi and I made for Mike:
Photo Collage: This actually only took a few minutes to do each part! About 10 minutes to take the pictures, 10 minutes to edit them and add the text (we used Picasa), and about 3 minutes to print. Total cost: $3

Message in a Bottle:
I saw this idea on Pinterest, and when I came across the bottle at the dollar store, I decided it might be fun! I opted to remove the gaudy faux rose petals (Mike doesn't really dooo faux petals, and the pre-written (well what's the fun in that?) note. We replaced them with some M&Ms, a "Daddy and Me" picture Vivi drew, and large amount of stickers that all preschool-aged projects require. Total cost: $4

Happy Valentine's Day!

Fighting Cabin Fever

Totally needed, especially after all the chilly weather and being stuck inside sick all week! So I decide that before anyone went  all Jack Nicholson, it would be good for all of us to get outside for some Vitamin D. Mike got called into work early (I am dreaming of Spring when his schedule won't be so brutal and he can spend more time at home!) so Viv and I bundled up and headed out.
What a stunning day! We are so fortunate to live where we do! Today's weather reminded me that winter in Vermont isn't really all that bad :)

Action shot!

About 40 seconds later she bowled me over, which resulted in snow.down.my.pants. Boy was she amused by that!

More snow down my pants, but oh well ;-)

My Funny Valentine

Mike had to work, and it was pretty chilly out (um, we got almost no snow), so Viv and I opted to stay inside today and work on valentines for her class :)