Happy LEAP day!

AL

Four Things

The items below, in no particular order, are seriously helping out my happy right now:

1. Blue skies.
Complete with plenty of sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures. I don't know what's gotten into Ohio but I like it.

2. Pancakes.
Tomorrow, February 28th, is National Pancake Day. I have a great recipe for banana pancakes -and a great song to go with it. Please note the accordionist in that link, btw -- I love Zach Gill.
*Oh, and if you live near an IHOP, they're offering short stacks for free tomorrow, encouraging instead charitable donations to the Children's Miracle Network.

3. Sirius radio.
My van came with a 90 day free trial of satellite radio and it is amazing. I've been driving around town as slow as possible, spacing out my errands and even adding in some non-necessities, to get more listening time. My current favorite is Channel 31: the Coffee House, Acoustic Singers and Song-Writers. There's always something wonderful to discover.

4. Girls' Night.
This Saturday, a handful of soccer moms will let down their pony tails, climb into a minivan chauffeured by a sweet soccer dad, and head into the city for some dancing. I'm attempting to sew myself a top for the occasion; so far, I've used lots of curse words and even more fabric.
But I'm hopeful.
And that is important.

Here's hoping you have Four Things of your own!

AL

Li in a Leo

We try to stay busy in the winter.
And this girl that is so ready for Kindergarten appreciates her daytime social outings. Thus we enrolled in a six week gymnastics session.

It was perfect for getting us out of the house, for keeping us active.
We made some friends.
We looked cute in our leotard.
And we practiced double french braids.

We did a flip or two on the parallel bars but never did manage a proper somersault.
We had fun, but not too much fun, and it's possible that our gymnastics career might already be over.

But did I mention that we looked cute?



AL

Number Nine

It happened bit by bit, as most things do.

First, I started going to games because the little players were so cute, especially my little player, and of course I needed to get photos. And then the little player of mine got used to my presence and was disappointed without it, even with Dad there as well. Then before I knew it, I was there for myself, because I really wanted to watch my team.
Some games are blow outs, while others are absolute nail biters; either way I need to see this tiny team play.

Obviously, it happened with soccer first; and I've only just begun to accept my status of Soccer Mom. (Undeniable now as I have the van AND the club sweatshirt -thanks to Julie B. I fear I am but a few short seasons away from an oversized photo button. Please stop me.)

But now even basketball is trying to win me over.

I'm still learning the rules, yet that doesn't stop me from shouting.
I only cheer positively, of course; though I should really stay away from offering strategy. For example, in the basketball tournament semi-finals this weekend, we were UP by two with less than a minute to play and I yelled -more than once- for our players to foul.
A fellow Monarch mom almost shoved me off the bleachers.

Luckily, no one listened. We won that game and then the championship in overtime; beating out 37 other teams in a round robin.



Max is still new to the game and is building confidence is his skills. He's very easy to read in that his confidence is objectified by his signature soccer headband. When asked if he wanted to bring a headband to a recent basketball game, he replied "Not yet... I can't rush the headband. The headband has to come to me."



So, no headband - but great teammates, amazing coaches, and a very successful season.
It was really fun to watch.

AL

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Hope your weekend is super sweet!



Mine's going to taste like sprinkles.

AL

Breaking News: Ohio Winter MIA

With no snow to speak of,
and a surprising abundance of sunshine,
what's a girl to do

but take her fake puppy to the park...



And then for a ride in the bike basket...



And, lastly, teach the fake puppy to fetch?



(That one took some time!)

AL

Little Laundry Thug

It's been a while since I've found anything noteworthy in the laundry.
I almost miss the rocks, random marbles, and other scarily indistinguishable surprises.

So this guy made me smile.

I like his shovel.


AL

PoeTree

Once again I found myself on the wrong side of an argument.

It took some convincing, but Kirby finally agreed to ditch a day or two of school for a weekend in Miami.
He and Jer flew out this morning, and their recent texts allude to an abundance of good food and great friends.
Then, of course, on Sunday Jer will participate in the annual Fry Bowl -where armchair quarterbacks become pseudo superstars- with Kirby there to cheer him on.
Also, there's the small matter of a Patriots game...

I'm positive that an Algebra-free weekend will be good for the Kirbster.
Though naturally he packed all of his schoolwork; and even asked if his hosts, the Coopers, happened to have a desk in their guest room.
Oy.

At least he's enjoyed visiting his all-time favorite tree:


(It looks straight from the Fire Swamp, doesn't it? Did you know that there were little people in the ROUS costumes?)


Li and I received that photo text and were then inspired to write some refrigerator poetry:



And, yes, I'll be using Lilah as an excuse for juvenile craftsmanship for many more years to come.

Happy Weekend!
AL

Sunny Day

Yesterday was eh.

But today? Well, today is lovely... sixty degrees with blue skies.

And those balloons?

Waited down by a big box of fudge.


Thank you for the birthday wishes,
AL

Happy Birthday MawMaw!

We could not ask for a sweeter and more caring grandmother! We love you so much MawMaw and hope you had a wonderful birthday this weekend!!!! Love and miss you! Jen, Al, Em & families

Don't Let The Pigeon Drive the New Van

Are you familiar with this pigeon? Though extremely persuasive, he should not be allowed to drive, to stay up late, or be given a puppy.

Here, of course, he is the Vanna White to our expensive seven-letter-word:
minivan.

Please note the light knob that does NOT require pliers to operate.



Also notice the space. Room for Brennans plus TWO.



And my favorite part?
Not one, not two, but FOUR seat warmers.
Toasty buns for everyone!!



AL

Good Old Dick and Jane

Kirby has always loved books; but he also loved wrestling around on the floor with Max and sword fighting with anything remotely sword shaped.
So both of my boys learned to read in Kindergarten, and I was not present for that moment when it clicked in their little heads that the letters were a word, the word was in a sentence and they were ...reading!

I was lucky this time.
I actually saw Lilah's little light bulb brighten just above her head...

It was one of those new, 'green', curly lightbulbs. :)



AL

Brennan Family Valentine?

It's almost that time again. Tradition dictates that we Brennans pose for an annual photo to send as postcard valentines.

I'd like to try to think creatively again this year.
Remember, we went for a Beatles-esque album cover shot last Valentine's?



Here's the original, in case you thought it strange that the Brennan boys were into top hats:


That super long scarf, by the way, has come in handy -- we draped it between the five of us last month for Christmas caroling and looked utterly ridiculous. It also made an appearance at a recent holiday party. I would show you, but those party photos have been banned from online sharing.


As far as this year's Valentine photo is concerned; well, I'm thinking of cheating.

Wouldn't it simpler, sweeter and more original to use one of my fabulous Christmas gifts?

I could use a photo of our painted nesting family, courtesy of Jen:


Can you see Kirby's perfect iPhone and Max's headband?


Or this stitched family portrait from Sara:


Please note Lilah's favorite Star Wars tee and Jer's goatee.

We look so cute. No one is blinking or scowling in either~

AL

Ohio Weather

A nice thing about the dark and dreary
Is that it makes the bright seem even brighter




AL

Our Last Bee

Quick question: do you happen to know where Wadi Al-Hitan, a.k.a. Whale Valley, is located?
You know, it's the desert that contains "invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti"?
Info found here.

Neither did Kirby.

Poor kid spent months studying up for the school Geography Bee and ended in a tie for third. He's pretty devastated; there's no second chances, no Geo Bees in high school, no way to soften the disappointment with a playful punch in the shoulder and a "we'll get 'em next year". And this was not an improvement from his seventh grade second place finish.

So he came home from school and cursed his Atlas (which he had slept with just the night before), he glared at his globes, and he shoved over his coveted stack of National Geographic magazines.
Which was really a bummer because then he had to immediately put them all back in chronological order.

The only thing I could think to tell him was that he's obviously saving his big successes for adulthood ...nobody wants to top out in eighth grade, right?

Of course I told him that we are extremely proud of him and all that jazz.
While I'm not positive he handled the loss well at school, there were no calls home so I'm guessing he managed okay.

The sweetest thing, though? The thing that literally makes me teary even to type?
His social studies teacher delivered to our door that night an Oreo Blizzard. And as he gave it to Kirby he made it clear that his intent was NOT to cheer him up but to celebrate that he was the Geo champion of Team 8-3.


AL


Answer Key:

Whale Valley is in Egypt.

Also, Wichita is in Kansas.
Yeah, unfortunately, Kirbs focused his studies internationally, and missed that one too. I think that's the one that really left a mark.
It made you wince, didn't it?

The 35 Step Program

This is not to be confused with the 12 Step Program; which deserves nothing but respect.

What I'm referring to here is actually 35 steps:



This photo was taken weeks ago. Can I just say that they look more intimidating covered in snow?

This stairway provides seating for the outdoor amphitheater located at the park just across the street from my house. During a recent walk with Li, I counted the 35 steps and, realizing that I will be 35 years old very soon (yes, officially middle-aged), I decided to act on the coincidence.

I've pledged to myself that I will trek up and down these steps every single day of my 35th year. I can walk, jog or skip; I can do just one lap or thirty-one laps. Of course, I can also throw my arms up and jump around on top like Rocky Balboa if I want.

I'm hopeful that the sun may join me occasionally and there's also the possibility that I might feel like continuing on a jog after tackling said steps.
Though, honestly, it started as more of a promise to get outside for a few minutes each day than a work out goal.
But then I mentioned this idea to Jer, and as someone who appreciates both symbolism and reasonable levels of fitness, he thought it a fantastic idea; agreeing to accompany me whenever possible.

Here's where the plan takes a turn for the worst.
Jer gets excited and decides to add on 35 daily push-ups. Max, having overheard this discussion, and always ready to show off his hard baby abs, suggests adding 35 sit-ups. Lilah throws in her goal of completing 35 butterflies, just to play along. (A butterfly is actually a stretch... you know, where you sit with the soles of your feet together and pretend that your knees are the tips of butterfly wings? I assume she's counting her wing flaps.) I think at this point in the conversation Kirby was shaking his head and softly moaning.

For the record, I did NOT agree to the push-ups and strongly advised my offspring against them as well. However, no one wants to be left out, especially me.

Another of Jer's recommendations is that we begin this program on the first day of the year so that it may double as a resolution. So for the past six days, I have tackled the steps -with Jer, when he's in town- followed by a gathering of Brennans in my bedroom to take turns holding down each other's feet for sit-ups and making fart jokes.

I've found the sit-ups surprisingly easy; Jer, on the other hand, has taken to perching a cold Bud Light directly in his line of vision during sit-ups - for motivation. Push-ups are another story, of course; Jer speeds through his while I spend a good deal of time with my face planted firmly in the carpet.

I did complete 12 push-ups on January 1st and could not lift my arms above my head until January 4th. (And please don't suggest that I try girl push-ups because I was actually doing girl push-ups.)

As far as the kids go, Max finishes his voluntary exercises with plenty of time to taunt the rest of us; Kirby wastes much of his breath complaining, while simply lying on the floor; and we all try to stifle our giggles at Lilah's version of both sit-ups and push-ups.

She grunts like a tennis player.

AL

Quoting the Grinch

Above is a gift I thought perfect for my friend Elaine; it does double duty here in portraying my sentiments regarding the lack of photos I have to document our December.

Also, I lied to you guys. About that last post before heading to Florida - sorry.

But we did make it to sunny FL--happily, and then happily back; and at no time did I allow myself to overly stress about gifting.

Even if that meant ditching my initial idea of making my brother-in-laws awesome Butt/Face towels such as these. (The ironed on letters looked great, however the cut-in-half-and-sewn-to-another-towel-in-the-middle area frayed terribly in the wash).

We instead gifted Craig hot sauce.
It's okay, he loves hot sauce.

~~~

But without sounding too somber or silly, our goal this year -and always- is to emphasize to our growing boys what the wise Dr. Seuss so perfectly expresses regarding Christmas:

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

I hope we've succeeded in that our kids have learned that being together with family and friends -and a sense of gratitude- is what it's all about.

That I already knew.

What I learned this year is that I should have made more bacon:


(They even smelled like bacon. DIY link here.)

AL

Cody's Christmas Play

Cody just turned 4 in Sept and this is his preschool's Christmas play. He is the blonde boy. He is a farmer. Unfortunately you can't hear him but he says "I brought this fruit for you, I hope you like it." He far exceeded my expectations though I'm not worried about him running off to Broadway anytime soon.

:) Emily

Clev Christmas morning

Happy New Year!! 2011 was very good to the Clev's. We are so very thankful to spend Christmas with all the Kiger sisters.

Christmas is such a wonderful day for us. Santa was good, except didn't label the gifts. Cody didn't think he got anything and Taylor thought she got the make up table. lol. I do apologize for not putting Cody in pjs. Should have thought that one through.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I start back to teaching on Tuesday and Craig is still working for the electric company. I plan on uploading a few videos today so stay tuned! Sorry I'm behind but hopefully you will enjoy them anyways.

McElroys on the move

"The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving." Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

This new year brings new change for our family. Darren will be opening his own lawn care business in Greensboro, and we are so excited to be moving close to family! We have a lot to do before this move, most importantly, selling our house. For the past month, we have worked so hard to prepare it for the market and it is finally listed! Click *HERE* to view the virtual tour. Fingers crossed for a quick sale!