O Nebraska Winter, how you torment me so! One day it’s delightfully warm, your wind dying down to nothing and the sun shining in the clear blue sky. And the next, oh the next sees 4-5 inches of white snow piled upon my sidewalks. The snow is charming in its icy, cold, harsh kind of way. And I sense perhaps the last opportunity to earn a Good Mom Badge by taking my daughter sledding, but really, it’s time for you to go. It’s time for Nebraska Spring to make its blustery entrance. If I fill the basement emergency kits for impending tornadic storms, will you be tempted to leave? If I start dressing in capris and sandals, will you take a hint? If we install the screen in the front door will you understand that its time for you to move on? March comes tomorrow. Sayanora, Nebraska Winter! (Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.)

Yesterday we had gorgeous 60 degree weather—perfect weather to take the kids to the park. And just so everyone knows, that second kid pictured actually belongs to Renae. (Simon tends to show up here from time to time simply because of our close proximity as neighbors and dear friends.)

Once again our family is participating in the Lincoln Safari, whose motto is “Healthy Families Play Outside!” The Safari is something of an introduction to our hometown as it has us visiting parks and various locations we’ve never seen before. Yesterday I took my decidedly unhealthy child to two neighborhood parks in north Lincoln. The second park involved quite a walk and I questioned my sanity—and wondered whether I could haul my 45 lb child back to the car if she was totally pooped out. But our imaginations helped us out as we became great adventurers and braved a raging river (an empty culvert) and explored some magic trees (evergreen). Liv never protested the walk and we had a great afternoon outside.

If I had the stamina to do so, I would write something about Lent—why I’m doing it, why anyone should do it for that matter, and how it prepares us to celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday. But the past few days have been rough family-wise and frankly I don’t want to explain much to anyone at this point in the evening.

Livia is sick. Again. As in viral illness, vomiting, fever and constipation. Tuesday night was incredibly rough and Jeremy and I ended up with around 2 hours of sleep apiece. Last night was better, but still involved a child waking in the middle of the night—a child who then didn’t exactly embrace sleep at that point. Now both Jeremy and I are feeling run down. This is a serious issue for prayer, friends. We’ve had various illnesses in our household for the past 3-4 weeks and it is really wearing on us now. Blah.

For Lent I’m taking a break from blog-surfing. I’m skipping Facebook and ignoring my Google reader in order to do some spiritual focusing over the next 40+ days. I’m excited about spending more time reading the Bible, reflecting on Truth and doing what God asks of me. So forgive me for not commenting on your blogs; it’s nothing personal, I’m just not reading them. When the opportunity arises or when I feel creatively compelled, I’ll continue to post here. I’ll also continue to check my email on a regular basis.

A few days ago Livia told me she wanted to turn her bath water brown. (Yeah, you mamas out there know exactly what I was thinking.) I quickly warned her, “Don’t poop in the tub!” and thought all was well. A few moments later I returned to her side to realize she had dumped out my entire glassful of Diet Dr. Pepper, ice cubes and all, into the tub. Diet Dr. Pepper = brown, and yes, the water was colored momentarily. Good grief.

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Like I’ve said before, Livia is my favorite English Language Learner and I love how she is making sense of our world. Jeremy showed Liv the cave episode from the Planet Earth series and from that exposure, Livia later spoke of the man who jumped into the cave wearing a “pair-of-shoes.” Parachute does sound like pair of shoes, doesn’t it?!

Also, I tend to speak in hyperboles and figures of speech, which causes problems for ELL folks. I told Livia she grew a foot in the past few months—and then watched her seriously exam her socks.

Finally, we got a kick out of Livia’s exaggerated statement today, “Boy, am I parched!” Nope, she didn’t know what the word meant, but she did know she was quoting a character from Madagascar 2. My girl learns quickly, though, and after being taught one time, she remembers the correct meanings of words and phrases. Odd how that skill doesn’t apply to putting things in her mouth or yelling across the house… Hm.

Q: How hard it is to find decent photos of you and your spouse?
A: Very hard.

Photo credit goes to Charity P. (Thanks for snapping this shot, and for sharing it, CP!) I tried to look at my blog with fresh eyes tonight, to see what it might look like to someone who hasn’t seen me for years and I quickly realized that I rarely post photos of Jeremy and me together. Not a huge problem, but one also not easily remedied with help from my iPhoto files. Apparently Jeremy and I never take pictures of ourselves. Okay, so never is a long time. But it’s a rarity. So next time my husband and I are standing next to you, friend-with-a-camera, be certain I’m going to ask you for a favor.

This picture captures my 31st birthday celebration at Blue Orchid. I believe 31 is the age where you begin to forget how old you are. Either that, or I was so worked up at turning 30 that nothing else is memorable.

A quick glance around the first floor of my house reveals how very much I’ve fallen behind… in about every way. That’s how things go after the entire fam has been sick, but still, it’s now driving me crazy. Couscous under Liv’s seat at the dining room table, garage sale clothes stacked a few feet away from the couscous, the old stroller returned by my sister-in-law only a few feet away from the couscous and garage sale clothes. Yikes! Can we either call Merry Maids or find something all-consuming for Livia to do for about eight hours solid?

This is life. Sickness and organization rotating in cycles, with no need to get all worked up about either. The couscous will get swept up, the clothes will make their way to the basement prior to their eventual sale, the stroller will eventually be placed in the garage.

All this to say, if the status of my dining room is any indicator, then you can imagine what my email inbox looks like. If you are waiting on a response to an email, please don’t feel ignored. Or at least consider yourself in good company. You and the couscous have something in common. And goodness knows I love couscous. ; )

Last year was the first time Livia handed out little Valentines cards to her classmates. It was so darn cute to see the teeny Incredibles cards and envelopes we found at Target. She received a few really creative handmade items last year as well—and I was inspired to make something at home this year. So before we get too far from V-Day, here’s some of the craftiness we came up with this year. (Next year I’d like to try hanging hearts and heart-shaped pancakes.)

The recipe for shortbread hearts can be found on Needs More Butter, our community dinner recipe blog.

I took the ruler idea from the Family Fun website, which has quite a few cute V-Day card options. Since Livia was sick and missed the Valentines party at school, I just might be able to make this sweet gift come together for her teacher as a belated Valentine.

**I should point out that finding six-inch rulers is far more challenging than it should be. If you think ahead and order online, you should be fine. If you want to be like me, I recommend buying four rulers from Hobby Lobby, then driving to Target, Michaels and ShopKo before returning to Hobby Lobby and giving up your perfectionism just a small bit in order to buy five more (gasp!) non-matching six-inch rulers. I ended up thinking about a certain preschooler’s Valentines far more than any adult ever should. Don’t be like me; buy online.

I could not have been happier with a special delivery to my door yesterday and here are the reasons why. 1) My husband gave me this delightful gift. 2) I love chocolate truffles, and 3) these phenomenal chocolates are handmade by my very talented friend Elaine Cranford.

Aren’t they beautiful? They are, honestly, the best chocolates I’ve ever eaten. Divine.

For more information on these truffles, check out Zola Chocolates.

Today was a good day. We played inside. We played outside. We walked down the block with Joie, Simon & Renae.

The wee one is in bed and now it’s time to watch tv and cuddle with my husband.

Goodnight, mouse. Goodnight, house.

It’s a snow day in Lincoln, Nebraska—not because of the snow that’s already accumulated, but because of the snow that is expected to fall today. The announcement of a snow day is STILL exciting for me even though I’ve been out of school for almost 13 years now. I think there’s a collective, community anticipation of fun when school is called off for the neighborhood kids and I’m sure we’ll see them out in force today, making snowmen and sledding down the few hills we have in this flat part of the country.

Livia and I hit the grocery store yesterday for a few staples and aside from a library run this morning, we’re prepared to enjoy a homebound Friday. I’ve already promised her adventures both outdoors and in. As long as everyone gets healthy here, we’ll be doing fine.

What are your plans for today and tomorrow? Does anyone have big Valentines plans?