Happy Valentine's Day! We started making valentines about 3 weeks ago. Katherine quickly decided it was too much work, and went the way of store-bought. But Maggie enjoyed the artistic expression of stickers and stamps. She made cards for the 25 kids in her class. I thought I was ahead of the game by making them early, but was surprised when they had to be at school last week. We used up all of our creativity making those cards, and, while cards for Grandparents and other important people were started, they were never finished. Maybe by St Patrick's Day?

I also offered to bring a snack to the preschool party, and planned to bring popcorn to balance the sugar rush I expected. However, I hadn't thought ahead about how odd it would be to pop popcorn at 0800, especially after a rather busy night at work. And I wasn't sure how much to pop, so I made twice as much as was needed. Oh well, the girls ate the leftovers all day - maybe they'll eat more tomorrow. After school I finally realized why Chris says Valentine's is worse that Halloween. Our house was a disaster of candy, little cards, and assorted other trinkets that came home with both girls today.

I tried to get the girls to take a nice picture before Church on Sunday. But Abby only wanted to hold the camera and take her own pictures. I finally bribed her with a cookie - but forgot that Maggie and Katherine had already put on their new coats. Well, sometimes you take what you can get.

(In the picture at the top of the post, I bribed Abby with the ipod. Yup. Sad but true.)

On Saturday, when the temperature hit a whopping 33 degrees, we went outside to play. Chris took Maggie to a big sledding hill nearby. When he took Katherine 2 weeks ago, it was incredibly busy, so we didn't think it was safe to bring the whole family. As it turns out, they had the hill to themselves and loved it. I took the little girls to a nearby park where we used swings and slides. It was somewhat of a challenge for me to plow through the (more than) knee high snow to get to the equipment, made much more challenging by having to carry one and sometimes 2 children with me. But it was great. I took this video of the swings, because I loved Abby's giggles so much. I hesitate to post it because it sounds like I'm hyperventilating in the background. Really it's the wind, trying not to laugh, and yes, a bit of catching my breath after running, climbing, pushing, dragging, lifting girls in the snow.

(and in case you missed it, here is snow removal, Franklin style, for my nephews, and a little glimpse at our fun times post-blizzard, 2/2/2001)

Last Friday night, Chris treated us to a lovely fire in the fireplace. Of course, that requires a big plastic gate, which kills a bit of the ambiance, but it was a treat nonetheless. The girls made the most of it by asking to camp overnight by the fire. That idea was nixed, but a compromise of a picnic dinner made everyone happy.

And this picture is Super Bowl Sunday. This is a glimpse at what Halftime looked like. The Black Eyed Peas might not have gotten rave reviews , but we thought their show was great. We had a fabulous dance party.

A few other random tidbits.....

I took the girls shopping on Saturday to find Chris a birthday present. The mall was insane, and we ended up walking through the lingerie department of Boston Store to make it to a less crowded elevator. As we walked though, I heard Katherine say to Maggie "Oh, look at those pretty nightgowns, I wish I could have a nightgown like those!" She was referring to all of the lacy "pretties" on display for Valentine's day. Classy!

Abby has become a more frequent visitor to the potty. If she asks, I'll let her sit for a bit to see if anything happens. The problem is, she wants to sit for SO LONG. She doesn't get bored. She just chatters on and on, even if you walk away for a minute. She never stops talking!

And as long as we're talking about talking, tonight at dinner, Abby used her own had as a pretend phone, and made several calls, saying "Hi, how are you, ah, good, love you, bye bye" over and over. Hilarious, but also disturbing to see myself reflected back to me so clearly.