Sledding

Mark and the girls went out sledding yesterday afternoon and evening. As soon as Lyla got up from her nap, they were dressed in snow clothes and ready to head out. Nina and Mark had gone out in the evening on Thursday, but this was Lyla's first time at the big hills. She had a blast! They stayed out until it got dark, then we ate dinner and settled under the blanket on the couch for a movie night. We picked Homeward Bound, and the girls loved it. Nina, especially, rode every wave of emotion in the movie. Thankfully, it has a happy ending. The only problem was that Nina was crying after the movie for a Golden Retriever of her own. The poor kid wants a dog so bad, and she's just got the meanest parents in the world who keep handing down the verdict of "not yet." Maybe someday...

** Click on the collage to see it bigger

Change of Plans

When Nina woke up this morning and found out that school was canceled, she was very disappointed. She only goes to preschool three afternoons a week, so when it's canceled, she is disappointed, but she was extra bummed today because tonight was Dad's Night at preschool. The dads were all invited to preschool tonight for a special night with their child. Nina and Mark had plans to go out to dinner together then go to Dad's Night, so when it was canceled (until another day), we tried to come up with something fun to do this evening. The girls enjoyed playing outside in the falling snow, and they even helped Mark do a little shovelling.

After playing in the snow, we had a fun pizza dinner, and the girls got to paint a birdhouse together. We'll put some bird seed in it and hang it out on one of the trees in the back yard tomorrow. They are very excited (and hopeful) that birds will come.

Keep an Eye Out for This

Coming on tour to all fifty states this spring is a film I would like to encourage everyone to keep an eye out for. If you live here in the DC Metro area, you'll probably be hearing from me personally as I try to recruit you to come to the film, but for those not living in VA, I hope if the film shows somewhere nearby, you'll take advantage of the opportunity to see it.

Sex + Money a National Search for Human Worth is a full-length feature film that attempts to document how the sexual exploitation of children has become such a fast growing form of organized crime right here in the United States.

The producer of the film met with the leaders of the trafficking task force that I'm a part of and has chosen DC (specifically a showing to Congress and a showing in our county) as the film's second debut location. We are extremely excited to have this great opportunity to help host and promote this film, and as date become concrete for the April showing in this area, you can count on my sharing that with you and hopefully recruiting you to attend!

If you get a few moments, check out the link above for the film and watch some of the webisodes. They will give you an idea of what the group has been doing and what you can expect to hear more about in the film.

Anniversary Help

I got a little help from my girls this anniversary day. Nina started by giving some spa treatment. She painted my nails, put some glitter lotion on my hands, then gave Lyla some treatment as well. Lyla helped bake the dessert for dinner. Anyone who has ever baked things with kids knows that signing up to do so means it is going to take at least twice as long to make your creation, and the mess you'll end up cleaning is going to be enormous. Still, since they love to "help," we agree to the conditions. In the oxymoronic twist of fate, I was trying to make a recipe from one of the most calm, clean, and hypnotizing cooks I've ever seen with one of the messiest toddlers I've ever seen.

The recipe was from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I learned of her just after we had Nina. As those of you who knew us back then remember, there was A LOT of time spent trying to soothe a screaming baby back in those days, and when I would be in the house alone, I would try to have other sounds going on in the background to keep me sane. One of the best was the show, Barefoot Contessa. It's a cooking show (and at the time, I didn't cook much at all except pasta and chicken), but the way she prepared the food, the way she talked, and the whole aura of her show was so calming and almost hypnotic for me to watch/listen to back in those days. Because she provided me with a positive memory of those days, I still use her recipes whenever I can. Also somewhat funny is the fact that Nina LOVES to help me bake. Maybe her baby subconscious remembers her mother being calm when Barefoot Contessa came on. haa haa! Anyway, since Nina was out at preschool and not able to dominate the baking scene, Lyla was the exclusive helper. This picture was taken at the begining of our cooking process. It got very very messy by the end, but we had a good time baking together.

What I Know Then and Now

It was perfect timing...I was going through a bag of old things and came across this little treasure. THE MARK DOLL!!!!!! He is missing his shoes, and his hair has taken on a rather ratty look to it now, but it's still the same doll I remember. Before some of you start thinking that I am a much weirder person than you ever realized, I must explain the Mark doll. It was the master creation of my mom (who else) as a "prize" at my bridal shower. Mark's mom had flown in from FL for the shower, and she and I were put to the test answering random questions about Mark - the winner getting to keep the Mark doll. I can't remember who actually won the game, but there were a lot of funny questions, a lot of laughing, and, in the end, I ended up with the Mark doll. Back then, Mark and I had only known each other a year and a half when I was answering those questions. We dated for six months, he proposed, then we were married a year later. Needless to say, there was some information that I knew and a lot that I didn't know. My guess is that people feel that way even if they date six years. After all, people are like onions (according to Shrek), there are a lot of layers to peel back. Anyway, shortly after winning the Mark doll, I married the man, Mark, and yesterday I came across the Mark doll again the afternoon before we were set to go out to celebrate our 9th anniversary.Our anniversary is actually on Wednesday (1/19), but my parents offered to watch the girls for us last night, so we took the opportunity to head out and celebrate a few days early. Nine years gives you the opportunity to learn a lot more about a person than just a few funny trivia questions does. We've shared many great times, some tough times, some just normal times, and I know a much different Mark today than I did nine years ago. I'm sure he would say he knows a much different me. We sat over a long dinner and talked about the changes going on in our lives, the changes in the kids, and our dreams for the future. Much has changed, yet much remains the same. I am really looking forward to seeing what another year has in store...

Golfer Girl

Since it's been so cold and windy lately, we've been spending most of our days playing inside. For fun, Mark's been working with Nina on tennis and golf in the basement. We have soft balls for both, so they hit the tennis balls off the wall and hit the golf balls from room to room. She really enjoys both, but yesterday when they were hitting golf balls, Mark was really impressed with how she was doing. She's got a great little swing, and she can really hit the ball pretty far. Mark's already looking forward to a father/daughter date on the golf course this spring! (disgregard the hair-do...she had asked for a crazy hair style yesterday)

A Dry New Year

I'm not one to get overly excited about the New Year. I know it's a highly anticipated day for some, and I totally get the reasons why, but I just basically enjoy the fact that it occasionally means a night to hang out with friends or have a nice dinner at home with my husband. On this New Year's Eve, we didn't have a babysitter and didn't have any raging parties to attend (a.k.a. hanging with other friends stuck at home with their young kids too), so we decided to make a fun dinner, get the kids to bed, open a good bottle of wine and enjoy the evening. Does that sound like we're getting old or just lame? Anyway, it sounded like a good plan to us, but even that thrilling evening was not meant to be. Mark and Lyla ended up a bit sick, and Mark succommed to TheraFlu just after 10pm, and after cleaning up from Lyla's throw up at 11:45, I decided to try to fall asleep for a little while before she was up again. So, with that being said, I'm already taking names for all those friends who want to line up to hang out with us next New Year's Eve. Book us while you can!

On another dry note, these pictures are of Nina and Lyla's staticy hair after playing in a blanket. Seems like dry is a theme around our house at the moment.

Yes, you are looking at the front of Nina!