Brain Bucket, Anyone?

Today was Eli and Jack's first mountain experience.  The entire way to the slopes they debated whether they would ski or board, even though Eli already has his own board.  They settled on snowboarding.  As we stood at the counter for equipment, the very cool ski dude said, "So, you guys need brain buckets?"  Jack was hooked.  Any sport that requires a brain bucket is great by him!  Helmets no longer exist in this house.  Brain Buckets for All!

Miserable Migraines

Poor Jack gets a handful of migraines every year.  He's learned the warning signs and has learned to ask for help early on.  All of his self advocacy didn't help much today.  He was stuck with this one.  He puked a few times, took some motrin and went to bed with 8/10 pain.  His biggest complaint was, "I feel gross".  Such a trooper.

 Sleep well my boy and wake up pain free!

Love is in the air

I love Valentine's Day and so enjoy spending it with the boys.  We use our special plates, eat pink pancakes and red velvet cake.  It's an all out chocolate and red fest...hopefully one where everyone knows how loved they really are!

The Love of Books

Ever since these guys were teeny tiny I have read books to them.  I love when they say, "One more chapter!".  I love that they have discovered the unfolding of a good story.  Today I came home from doing errands and there they were, knee deep in a Hardy Boys book.  As long as Josh will keep reading, they will keep listening.  There's not much better than a good book!

Window to the World

We have a huge window in our stairway that lets in the outside world.  Every morning I look out there to see the day.  It usually has a sheer curtain giving us a bit of privacy, but the kitten took care of that a few weeks ago.  This was the view from that window after a wet nighttime snow this week.  A beautiful winter morning

Braces on Faces

Jack got his braces yesterday.  For years he has felt self conscious about his big front teeth so he was pretty excited to begin fixing them.  Last night, when the novelty wore off and the pain kicked in, he was not so excited.  He turned to Josh...his fellow braces warrior.  He knew that Josh would know exactly how he felt.  And he was right.  Josh told him all of the tricks about pain relief, eating soft foods, brushing.  They will be beautiful men with beautiful smiles and they will get through it together!

The Winter 15

One of the nice things about snow days is cooking, baking, trying new recipes.  Unfortunately we have had 7 snow days so the eating goes on and on!  I discovered a new recipe for icebox cake this week and it was a big hit.  Hopefully all of the shoveling will burn the calories from this yummy cake!

Family Secrets

Grandma Mitchell's chocolate sauce.  It's a family secret recipe...only because I made it so!  Mitchell is not a family name.  This recipe came from a woman who was like a grandmother to us when we were kids.  I could eat it with a spoon, but it's technically supposed to go over ice cream.  It was the perfect addition to a snowy afternoon with some whipped cream...yes, over ice cream!

Crazy Boys

A fun afternoon of sledding with Stephen's kids.  These boys are nuts...they will try anything!