Nora was in charge of Madison's lunch box note today (with a little spelling help from mom). She is very into writing the initials of family members so that is what the random L, M and N are for. The blob in the middle is a heart. Nora hasn't had the same early interest in reading and writing that Madison did. It is nice to see her showing more desire to do these things lately. I find with her there has to be a worthwhile purpose behind it to motivate her, while Madison was happy just to randomly write for any obscure reason. It is so interesting to see their own unique personalities and learning styles come through as they grow. They are definitely each on their own paths, which is lots of fun but also creates challenges that I am sure will multiply as they grow older.
Posted by Lisa at 5:14 PM 1 comment: Fun Reminders

With April and Easter just around the corner, I thought I would share a few posts from the past in case you are looking for inspiration. Amazingly, I just passed my 2 year "blogiversary" and am closing in on post number 300! Click the photo to link back to the post. This was such a fun trick to play on Madison. She still talks about it and asks what I am going to do this year. I would love some inspiration for that one, I still have no idea. I set the bar a bit too high for myself. We love making these Easter Cupcake Baskets every year. YUMMY!! Easter trees are decorated and we will soon be blowing eggs for this year's additions. Posted by Lisa at 10:17 AM 2 comments: Dedicated to You!!! Just a shout out to my fabulous hubby! This song is dedicated just for you. I love you so much and am so proud of you! We have come a LONG way together and I look forward to continuing down this wonderful road with you. Thanks for all you do for all your girls. Posted by Lisa at 4:41 PM 2 comments: Saturday, March 20, 2010

The Three P's of Skiing The lessons learned from our first ski day as a family!
1. PATIENCE - All parties must bring patience in great quantities to the ski hill. The girls especially had to deal with this lesson in getting geared up, getting the rentals AND dealing with the Discovery Chair Lift being out of service for the first hour+ of our day on the slopes.
Parents need to also have massive amounts of patience (and a few jelly beans in their pockets:-). We had to enter the day with realistic expectations that we may last only an hour and that this was not a ski day for the parents. In the end we were at the mountain from 10:00-5:00 and closed the lifts down! We did not get real adult skiing in but still had a great time and it is amazing how sore our legs are from helping the kids. 2. PERSEVERANCE - The girls were such troopers. I really was suprised by their ability to get up over and over again after each fall. There was never the words "I can't" uttered by either girl. The progress they made was truely amazing to watch and we are so proud of them both. Madison even ventured with Tom onto the next level of lifts for her last run. It was probably a bit ambitious but they made it down in tact. 3. PIZZA - When in doubt and your child is skiing ahead of you just shout "PIZZA" (synonomous to snowplow). I really am not sure if it did much good but made me feel like I was helping so I shouted it ALOT. Oh, and the real thing is fairly helpful when the tanks are running on empty and you need refueling! Overall, the day was so amazing. I have to admit that there were moments in the beginning where I wondered "What in the world were we thinking". Especially when the chair lift was broke down and required Tom and I to pull the girls up the hill to allow them to ski down. Or moments when the girls had crashed and legs were tangled and I was try to figure out how I was supposed to help pick them up while staying up right on my own skis! The weather was gorgeous and the company fantastic. It certainly helped having friends on the hill and kept the girls motivated. Quotes from the day:
Madison: "Can we go skiing EVERY Saturday?" When answered no, she responded with "Can we go every other Saturday?"
Nora: When asked if she liked skiing, "I didn't yike it, I yoved it!!" (she especially "yiked" the chair lift rides) And she made me pinky swear that we would go again! So, I think that we are officially a ski family and all ready looking forward to next season!
Posted by Lisa at 8:26 PM 3 comments: Tea for Three Nora and her friend abandonded the tea party long ago but left some friends behind to enjoy the leftovers!!
Posted by Lisa at 2:16 PM 2 comments: Cleaning Time So when does cleaning switch from being a fun game-like activity to a dreaded chore? Maybe when you have to worry about the actual quality of your work!!
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