pretty much perfect

Today was a good day. In fact, it was pretty much perfect.

To start things off, it was a snow day - so I didn't have to go to work. If we're being honest, we so shouldn't have had a snow day today. The news was predicting 8-10 inches, and I doubt we even got 6. But, who knows, maybe it was worse in other parts and who am I to argue with a free day home?

Abby and I got up and drove Kyle to work and then made our way to Target - where I saw every other mother with a child under 2 within a 10 mile radius. It was fun, actually. Abby spent most of her time pointing and flirting with other kids and oscillating between being social and shy. I got Abs some new sippy cups and some plates and several other odds and ends that we needed.

As we were checking out, I was swiping my card to pay and Abby says "Aww gone!" Which was really funny. The whole line was chuckling - because they all understood that feeling too. At this point, it was just beginning to flurry, so Abs and I stopped in the starbucks and I treated myself to a snow-day white chocolate raspberry mocha and I got some banana bread to share with Abby. It was kind of perfect - I let Abs sit in my lap and we shared our banana bread (or rather, Abby let me have a few bites of her banana bread) and I sipped my coffee and we watched the snow blow around outside. Hard to pinpoint why, but it was a really nice moment...one that I want to keep filed away.

Abby trying to figure out what the snow is

So, after Target, we ran by Best Buy to pick up a copy of TurboTax and then headed home. It was almost Abby's nap time, and sure enough, she was asleep by the time we got home. I got her unbuckled and picked up out of her car seat with her still sleeping - but once the cold snowy air hit her face, she was awake. :) I was a little worried she might not want to go back down, but, after a little crib play, she did - and slept for 3 hours. Glorious. I let her play in her crib for another 30 mins - and when I went to go get her, she was still playing and didn't want out. Crazy kid.

Let's see, then we had lunch and I decided to introduce Abby to crayons afterwards. She had a great time with that. She was more interested in putting the crayons all back in the box than she was with coloring - but we'll get there. She made a few marks of her own. :) I took several pictures during all this. I know, imagine that.

mmmm. green.

here's abby putting them all back in the box, again.

looks like she's getting the hang of it, no?

such a big girl

After crayon time, I started making soup. What better meal for a cold stay-at-home day that beef veggetable soup? It's one of my favorites. Yum. I recently discovered that Kyle's sunglasses are the only thing that work to keep me from crying while cutting onions. Seriously, why hadn't I thought of this before?

so here's what I look like chopping onions - and because you asked - no, I hadn't brushed my hair all day. Snow day, remember?

While I cooked, Abby actually sat in her chair and watched Little Einsteins. Usually she's at my feet pulling on my pants and whining - so this was another nice surprise.

So, to wrap things up. We picked up Kyle from work and all enjoyed dinner together. Well, Abby hated the soup, but she ate her weight in fruit instead. Now the baby is asleep, and the husband is as well. Oh, I forgot to praise my parents in this public forum as well - but they are both doing very well with their diets. My mom has lost a lot of weight and has started exercising regularly. My dad has lost over 80lbs and his doctor told him the other day that he is no longer considered diabetic - so that's amazing! I'm very proud of them both for all their hard work, and wanted to acknowledge it here too. So, today has just been a really good day. Days like today make me wish I could stay at home full time. But, I know that I would miss my job if that were the case - right? :) I'll need somebody to remind me of that tomorrow morning.

either way, I'm really thankful for days like today.

Here's a video of Abby with her crayons. She's such a goof. She makes me laugh all day.