June had a couple family events – father’s dad and my father’s birthday – won’t say what number but it was one of those ‘milestone’ ones that brings the entire family together.  ‘lil q really liked being around her older cousins.  (she is the youngest of the group by 6 weeks) The school had a father’s dad even and I didn’t take too many picture because I was required to do the activities with ‘lil q but before we got started I snapped this one of her and her BFFs: And this one just made me laugh so i figured I share it:

We’re almost to the point where ‘lil q is hip to all the holidays.  Despite mentioning it several time that the Easter Bunny was coming today, he needed a bit of prompting to remember.  But once she did, she was all into it. So after getting up we put on our bunny ears (that didn’t even make it down the stairs before they fell off) and down to look for our basket, then breakfast. (Yes, I let her have chocolate before we ate, I’m not a total ogre. ) Grandma sent her a basket of goodies that we opened and no shock this was her favorite. We’re off to here other grandma’s today, so more pictures tomorrow.

So DC had another snow day – at least the last few have been legit – we got about 8 inches of snow over night and it snowed up until about 2 pm on and off. But it’s stunning that it went from 60+ to snowing in less than 36 hours.  Here’s a shot from Saturday that grandma took. Snow days sure ain’t what they used to be when we were childless. Trying to find ways to entertain ‘lil q is getting harder as she gets older. She’s in that in between window where we can’t just let her play by herself just yet. We’re getting closer, but we’re not there yet.

I have to eat a bit of crow, I was complaining earlier that they closed the schools, daycare, government before we even got a flake of snow.  It did start snowing about 10:30 am.  But really? Even the squirrel didn’t care. Of course the snow picked up some and by 4:00 pm there was enough to go outside.  ‘lil q was born in Sept ’11 – the winter of ’11-’12 was so mild, we never got to use the winter coat we bought her. [Fortunately a co-worker of mine’s daughter fit in it last winter and this winter it made its way to Boston to the co-worker’s cousin’s daughter.] Last winter was colder, but there wasn’t a snow fall that would …

As many of you have guessed from the Holiday Event I had on my blog this season, I love the different aspects of Christmas. I also want to create memories for ‘lil q like my parents and grandparents did for me. On Deanna Wadsworth’s blog I wrote about how Christmas is for kids, even the little kid inside us all: Christmas Is For Kids: And onBrita Adams’ Advent Calendar, I wrote about Christmas lights and how ‘lil q and I went out driving to look for them. Christmas Lights:

Every year Mike and I have this debate with ourselves, should we get a tree or shouldn’t we? By the time we get around to buying one, half the Christmas season is over and we ask ourselves, do we really want to spend the time and money on a tree. Every year we come to the same conclusion – yes, we need a tree. This year, ‘lil q understands that ‘she’ has a Christmas tree – and it has lights. Sunday we decorated the tree. We waited until she took her nap to begin. With two of us we just managed to get it done before she woke up.  When she saw her tree she was beaming. Made it so worth …

Trying to shop with a toddler is like trying to herd goats – it sounds hard, but it ends up even harder. But with the Thanksgiving to Christmas time at under 4 weeks, we had to ‘multitask’. One of the tasks I didn’t let fall by the wayside was our weekend daughter/daddy breakfast. Every weekend – usually Sunday – I take her out to eat while Mike walks the dog. I get so little time to see her during the week – she’s still sleeping when I leave and at most she’s up for 2 hours after I get home and that includes, dinner and bath time – that I wanted a time for just us. When asked where she …

‘lil q had her first holiday concert on Friday. Yes, I’m one of those parents who took off work early to be there and to film it. She walked in with her class, looked around but couldn’t see us.  I snapped a few pictures:

Andrew invited me to participate in his holiday event, providing the theme of family and kids. My mind immediately ran to the myriad of experiences a mother of four has after spending 20+ years “holiday-ing” with her kids. Josh’s first Christmas, when a roomful of twenty adults sat looking at each other from six a.m. until noon because the one-year-old was still asleep and a mother never wakes a sleeping baby. The year PJ (3) and the cat curled up in matching boxes and feel asleep under the tree. The first year Asia (18) brought a male guest to Christmas morning and my husband felt the immediate need to clean all his guns at the kitchen table. The year the dog got tangled in …

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be here today and thanks so much to Andy for inviting me over to his blog! My name is Jay and I run a m/m romance review blog called Joyfully Jay.  In my real life I am a suburban mom of two wonderful girls, ages 10 and 12 1/2.  Yes, we are right on the cusp of having teenagers, and let me tell you, the view is scary from over here!  But they really are fabulous and my husband and I are so lucky to have them in our lives. Andy asked me to share my thoughts about kids and the holidays with you guys.  I love the traditions of the holidays, the …