Back to Reality

Christmas Break has come to an end.

Kevin and I both had to go back to work today.
After 2 weeks off, it was BRUTAL going back.
Can I just tell you how nice is was to have 2 weeks together as a family at home?

It was such a great week of hanging out & spending time with one another.
We had big plans of getting things done around the house...putting new tile floor in the Master Bath, doing work in the backyard, painting, etc....the list goes on & on.
We actually didn't get most of the things on our "to-do" list done, but we did get a lot of quality time as a family (Kevin & I even got to go on a date one night!)

So, what did we do over Christmas Break?
Kate had one final romp in the leaves in our front yard before they were cleaned up for the winter.
This girl loves her colored leaves just like me :)
A wind & rain storm last week wiped out all the leaves & trees are now bare.

Claire burned off a lot of energy on the days it rained. Her new favorite thing is to run around the downstairs in her Super Girl Halloween costume yelling, "Super Claire Bear! Super Claire Bear, Bear!"
I really need to get this on video! I'm telling you, this girl is quite the character.
It was a cold & rainy 2 weeks, so when the sun came out one day, we knew we had to take advantage of the nice weather & take the girls on a walk to the park.

Claire would have rather walked her tricycle, but that only lasted a few houses.

Kate showing off her new Princess bike basket & bell that Grandma got her for Christmas!

The whole family out for a walk.

The girls LOVE going to the park. I really should take them more often.

Kate climbing at the park:

Claire looks SO old to me in this pictures. Tear.

Since some of the days were cold & rainy, we decided to snuggle up in the Family Room & show the girls some movies:
(check out my out of control laundry pile on the couch. I just can't keep up!!)

Here are some of our DVD's we watched over Break:

For the first time, we showed the girls The Sound of Music.
They LOVED it. We split it up over a few days.
This was only my 2nd time seeing it. The first time I saw it was a few years ago.
Yes, I was deprived as a child. ha! My parents never showed us musicals.
And, we showed the girls Mary Poppins for the first time.....and it was my first time seeing it!!
(I told you I was deprived as a child!)
My friend Rachel should be proud! Now I understand her blog name!
Kate is now OBSESSED with Mary Poppins and sings the songs throughout the day & says "spit spot". Hysterical.
Santa brought Kevin & I season 6 of The Office & we are trying to catch up since we have Season 7 on our DVR.

Let's talk about this little 2 year old for a moment.
(check out her lack of pants & the dress diaper cover she is wearing without a diaper, might I add)
Originally, we were thinking about doing the 3 day potty training method with Claire over Christmas. For the past month she has been showing A LOT of interest in the potty, refuses to wear her diaper (and most clothes) and goes pee on the potty at least once a day. She is ready....I just need to bite the bullet & do it. I just didn't want to deal with potty training over my break. (Call me lazy, selfish, etc...I agree....but I just wanted to enjoy the break)

But, in 2 weeks it will be MLK, Jr Holiday so I think we are going to go for it that weekend & just do cold turkey, no more diapers that weekend. (Maybe typing that will help keep me accountable)

Kate also got an early birthday present over New Years Weekend.
As you might know, her favorite color is purple.
As you may know, purple is one of my LEAST favorite colors.
But, ever since we moved into our house 7 months ago, she has been asking us everyday to repaint her room purple.
We told her that *maybe* for her birthday we would paint her room.
Well, her birthday is in a few weeks, and since we had the time off, we decided to bite the bullet and paint her room over the weekend.
Here is a sampling of the colors we tested out:

We chose the 2nd one on the right.
Kevin was the amazing edger & I had the easy job...rolling.
Kevin's mom also came over for a bit to help us paint.
Kate absolutely loves it.
Even if I don't love purple, I love that she loves it.
She has thanked us about 100 times.
To quote Kate, "I LOVE my room now. It is SUPER fun!"

The paint is done, Kevin put in new baseboards & in a few weeks she is getting new bedding for her birthday (from the Grandmas), so I will post the finished room in a few weeks.

So now, I am off to bed to get some sleep...it is already past my bedtime.
I tried to go to bed on time last night, but 2 weeks of staying up late caught up with me.
I couldn't fall asleep until 1 am last night. Yikes.
Let's just say I wanted to throw my alarm out the window this morning.
All my students were tired today as well.
Like me, I don't think they were ready for break to be over.