While taking this photo at the Boston Public Garden, I stepped back to get a better shot, lost my footing in a two foot snowbank, and .......landed my derrière deep in the snowbank, Ugg covered feet up in the air! Kat and I laughed 'til we cried. Grace rolled her eyes.

A Whale of a Time

Vineyard Vines is one of Grace'sl favorite stores...this a beach girl. Her 16th birthday is at the end of the month....so everywhere we go in Boston, she has lots of birthday hints and suggestions!

Grace and Kat

Shop 'til they drop in Boston!

Fun

More fun!

Who Are You?

Boston. Kat and Grace met me in Anthropology, one of my favorite stores that inspires my creativity. A few years ago, I went into another Anthropology store with my twenty something, traditional, classic, conservative, ultra-prep niece.... as we looked around and I pointed out some beautiful bohemian, yet with classic lines and rich colors....that's when Claire said, "Who ARE you?"

All Claire has ever known is the prepster, classic, traditional, conservative, tailored aunt who loves happy colors. In Anthropology, she was baffled by me and my groovy side, the artsy me!

While checking many of the splendid colors, styles, textures in the creatively coordinated displays, I was awestruck by something that glistened on the table. I sipped my Starbucks venti coffee and took it all in....that's when I dropped my Starbucks venti coffee cup, the lid popped off and the Starbucks venti coffee was in a puddle at my feet! Kat and I giggled....and my Grace looked at me. Kat and I had that nervous laughter. Grace had a look of horror on her face! With her eyes, Grace shouted, "Who are you?"....just before she bee lined it to another area of the store!

Who am I? Still someone who mixes it up! Still creative. Still traditional. Still conservative with a twist. Still open to new things. Still trying new things. Still seeing beauty in everyday people, places and things in nature and art. Still me.

Do you mix it up and are you open to beauty outside of your box? "Who are you?" Do you know?

Sleepover

Kay's here with Grace tonight for a sleepover. They had a nice boy over to watch a movie too. Things are changing. I love how they talk so honestly and laugh all together. I gave them the family room and I enjoyed some time in the living room
Grace, Kat and I stayed up for Saturday Night Live. We chatted and had some fun. Kate and Grace rolled into a tumble trying to get the other's blackberry.
Even sleepovers have changed since cell phones have arrived. These kids do make me laugh.

Oh Happy Day!

Saturday out and about in the woods... deep in the snow. Good workout for all of us.

Sunshine

What a day! Cold, crisp and blue skies.

Tromping through the snowdrifts....

Absolutely beautiful in the sunshine...Daisy and Fitzy were like sled dogs!

Cinderella

Grace was off to the city today with Biff's sister Cee. T.J. left with Biff yesterday for a Navy Lacrosse camp for the weekend.

I stayed home to be here for Grace this weekend.

After I walked the dogs through the snowdrifts in the woods, they leapt and bunny hopped and jumped and trudged...me too....we were all exhausted.

After a cup of coffee and some quiet time to think....... of the many choices available to me, with a day all to myself...solo..me...alone....on my own....I decided to make a huge commitment. This may be hard to believe but I chose to stay home to clean and scrub and mop and scour and do laundry and vacuum.

Did you faint? Yup. It's still me. Just a cleaner, fluffier me. Oh sure, there were so many more glamorous choices out there today. So tempting!

But no. I had the house to myself. Different than any other day, I had no interruptions...no calls from school, no visits to the gym or the grocery store. No calls from friends to walk the dogs. No need to shop....we have too much stuff.

With that in mind, I had a dream...a flash of inspiration...a moment of truth....a badge of courage...I cleaned for 4 hours!

I am exhausted. Our house is back to liveable. Until we're all here again...then it will be moments...just moments and the kitchen table will have mail and the foyer will have backpacks, the bathrooms will run out of toilet paper, shoes strewn all over at the back door.

It will feel like home. I love our family even though we're not perfect. I love our family BECAUSE we're not perfect!

Lessons

This is the tree that came into our home as a little lesson for Grace and T.J...since they didn't come with me an Biff to cut down our tree. It was bare amd rather bedraggled and pathetic at first glance. It was the perfect remedy for our crabby and resistant Grinch-like, moody teens that day! They snapped right out of that when we showed them the real tree. They were just like little elves from that moment on. I painted and dressed and bedazzled that tree with sparkled and tinseled and sequined and glittered an glistened that tree. Just as our children sprang back into the spirit of Christmas , this tree sprang to life and gave us all peace and thw ability to laugh at our less than charming side. The tree gave us calm where there may have been a storm. There was abundant beauty in thi tree's simplicity. It has been a peaceful reminder. We have all found it to be calming with the little white lights, different from our colorful traditional tree trimmed with special ornaments, reminders of family and friends and Christmas' past. What a gift this Christmas season has been. The traditional tree has been down for awhile.....this tree is still standing....it still sparkles. Do we have to take it down? Maybe later. Not today.

Get Out of My Life

"Get Out of My Life, but first could you drive me and Cberyl to rhe mall?" Great book...even if it wasn't a good book, the name is wonderful! Although we have no Cheryls in our life, we could insert many otber names....and the story is the same. Teenagers ups and downs and changes in plans and likes and dislikes and love and hate and highs and lows and chatter and sulking and sharing and secrets........

Laundry/Magazine

Our kitties love to live in the lap of luxury...always finding a new spot with a color that's quite flattering.

Cozy kitty

Napping by my side on the couch..I realized Boo was asleep under my magazine! This is one cute kitten!

Kitty Boo

Mail call!

Big snow has the mailbox post propped up in the snow plowed heaps roadside!

Snowplow sets me free!

Backhoe Bob came by this morning at 7a.m.
It's been since Tuesday night that I've been home...and it was kind of nice.

T.J. and Grace making a leap over the heap of snow left by the snowplow last night.

I laughed when I heard them working this out.....Grace shouted to me,"Oh no, look at this!" Then they had a little discussion. I heard Grace's voice,"T.J., you go first..." That made me laugh. They always make me laugh!

The wheels on the bus......

90 minute delay....we finally get a real snowstorm in Connecticut with 2 plus feet of snow. The schools were closed yesterday. Today while other schools are still closed, our schools are open. A 90 minute delay was disappointing considering they've had early dismissals from school with NO snow on the ground. I admit that i was hoping for another snowday. Now that Grace and T.J. have gotten on the bus. I admit that I breathed a sigh of relief ....since now I can get more done. I have lots to do.

Me...the mini-snowplow! Just enough to let the kids get out for their bus to school!

Oh my achin' back...and arms...and legs...and neck. And I rhought I was in pretty good shape? One and a half hours and the path down thw driveway was done. Now how do I get out?

Good Morning!

Daisy and Fitz checking out the snow....from the inside.

Snow day for real

Daisy and Fitzgerald are looking out the window at the snow.....today they were up to their ears in the white fluffy stuff...literally! We couldn't open the door this morning....this is the snow day of my dreams.

Ooh ooh ooh looking out my back door!

Snow day like we wish for!

Crayons on the table

Back in Vermont, we had dinner with our friends after a full day of skiing. We had lots of laughs. All off the kids played Trivial Pursuit with occasional outbursts by the parents who were desperate to "help" answer the random questions. Life has changed. The questions came to us via the iPhone App! The world is getting crazier by the minute. All of our wi-fi service and internet connections could never have given us the fun we all had with the crayons. T.J. crayoned a portrait of Kate,the 5th grader, while Kate drew a portrait of T.J. T.J promised Kate that he would make her T.J. portrait his facebook profile pi ture.The simplicity of crayons make them capable of connecting all ages. I am convinced that we could have peace in the world if every house in the world kept crayons on the table. Everyone has a different perspective. Coloring, side by side with anyone, crayons have the power to connect. We all seem to see and respect the other's perspective when crayons are the common drawing tool. So simplistic. Make crayons not war.