A Day Off

Sisters

Violet is asleep for her mid-morning nap.  I am enjoying a quiet couple hours with a host of small chores on this peaceful President's Day.  Depositing checks, cleaning, grading papers, some lesson planing....all small, simple things.  These are the things I enjoy doing when I have the time, yet seem nearly overwhelming when crowded with too many at once.

Dixie, Penelope, and Violet

A warmth, though barely detectable, has crept into the air and the sun has found its way into our skies the past several days, making moods rise and energy soar.  Having lived in Alaska, and now the Midwest, I understand winter and darkness, and my appreciation for longer stretches of light each day continue to grow as I get older.

Audrey upside-down!

My knee is nearly healed (hopefully), and I have begun training again for my half marathon next month.  With clear skies, more exercise, and a house full of crazy girls, spring finally feels like it's on the way!  Soon we will resume our daily long walks with the dog and more time at the park and zoo!

The family on the couch.

Daddy and Audrey waiting for ice cream.

Audrey giving Violet some ice cream

Nose kiss!!!

Audrey with cake and ice cream.  This is serious business.

Snow baby Violet

-a

It is Good

Making chocolate chip cookies is an enjoyable activity.  It is good.  Working with Audrey while Violet looks on, it is important to wash our hands first to make sure we don't get any germs into the cookies.  Then Audrey sets the oven temperature in preparation for baking the cookies.  Even though they won't go into the oven for a while, it is important to think ahead.  Next, we must collect the necessary ingredients and tools for the baking that lies ahead.  Butter, flour, sugar, vanilla, chips, cups, and bowls all crowd the counter within minutes.  We read the directions and add the ingredients, carefully practicing our measuring and pouring so just the right amount of things get put in.  It is very important to put the correct things in at just the right time, otherwise your cookies might not be very good.  Audrey locks the mixer down and begins combining the creamed ingredients and the dry, and soon a sweet aroma is rising from the silver bowl in front of us.  She wipes her hands on her pink apron and watches as the mixer mesmerizes us both with its infinite rotation.  We clean as we go, putting away ingredients and materials when we are finished with them, so we don't leave ourselves with a messy kitchen once we have finished the cookies.  Now that the dough is ready, Audrey scoops it out, spoonful by spoonful, dropping the chunky lumps onto the fresh silver baking tray.
We sing along to the bluegrass tunes or Chicago blues melodies on the CD player as we slide the full tray into the oven.  Audrey helps me put the rest of the dough into a plastic bag and we freeze the rest for another day when cookies will be a wonderful treat at a moment's notice.  We play and sing and dance and laugh together while the cookies bake, and finally we take them out, let the cool, and enjoy our oatmeal chocolate-chip creations with a cup of cold milk.  The cookies will be gone in a couple days, being eaten as snacks and treats between meals.  However, making the cookies, well that will stay with us for much longer.  And that is good.  Cookies are good.

-a

A Cold February

Two Sledding Sisters

The snow is everywhere.  The cold snaps at my ears and throat like a whip, while sounds are muffled by the fluffy blanket of white.  The big game is today, but the Bears fans of Chicago cannot find any true connection to this game and will most likely watch with half-hearted interest and more curiosity about the next commercial than the next plan on the field.  The groundhog in Pennsylvania predicts an early spring, and despite my lack of confidence in the science of rodent weather predictions, I wouldn't mind seeing the sun and temperatures rise earlier than later.

Nose Kiss!

 

This is the face you get when Audrey does not agree with something you say.

We have been visiting South Bend the past couple weeks, and while the snow outside continues to pile-up, it has been warm inside and wonderful to play with the girls and watch them enjoy time with their family here in Indiana.  Violet has been exploring and experimenting with new toys and activities and has really taken to playing with pots and pans, as well as enjoying tinkering with electronics such as phones and iPads.  Violet is now a full walker, no longer crawling unless absolutely necessary.  She waddles everywhere an can now reach the next level of shelved items in the house, which means that only "top-shelf" items can be hidden away from the semi-destructive force that is Violet.  I describe her as a miniature Stay-Puffed Marshmallow man from Ghostbusters.  She is truly a sweetheart, though.  Her smile is contagious  and she laughs with pure joy and enthusiasm.  She cares very much about everyone ad is always giving out kisses and hugs to anyone who will hold still long enough, despite her often runny nose.

Winter Audrey

Winter Violet

Audrey is also thriving and making the world her own creation!  She is loving school and absorbing so much new information each day it is amazing.  Her class is currently studying outer space and the solar system, and I simply marvel at how much she brings home and can explain to us.  Knowing and explaining what orbiting is, and the king planet, and how stars are formed are concepts many people don't know, yet she seems to grasp and discuss these topics with fascination.  This week I helped her construct a model of Saturn as her homework project for the week.  We traveled to the store and she selected the materials for construction and looked at pictures of Saturn on my phone and picked the colors she saw to paint with.  Overall, she worked very hard and diligently to reach her goal and I was very proud of her.  She is also starting to read with me every night, and I believe she will be a completely self-sufficient reader by the time she is five years old!  However, she still maintains her Orelove sense of humor and goofiness, and can laugh and goof with the best of them!

Audrey in front of her library.

Snug in bed.

With the cold all around, we keep ourselves entertained with laughter and books and art activities.  I look forward to the possibility of taking the girls to the swimming pool or the zoo when things thaw out.  I savor the weekly trips to the library and movie night on weekends.  We watch Mythbusters during our snack time every day when we get home, and make predictions about whether or not the myth will be busted.  I do my best to train and run every week, despite sub-freezing temperatures and a nagging right knee that gives me a little grief at times, but will not halt my progress towards the half-marathon in March and the Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage in June!  These are the things that keep me motivated and moving and active as the wintry weather does its best to isolate and pacify.

Violet:  Always ready for adventure!

Lazy Sunday.

So now I sit and watch the snow falling outside.  The flakes fall so slow, almost as if they don't want to touchdown and are taking their time during their free fall.  The sounds of my daughters laughing and yelling and talking keep the rest of the house on alert and full of life.  I think about my family and friends around the country and world often.  I wonder how my parents are doing in Alaska and Arizona, and I think about my sister in Washington, DC making amazing strides in her career and life.  I wonder what my friends from childhood are up to and can't wait to see some of them in June when I travel to Alaska for the first time in a long time.  I wish I could be in more places and see more people yet also realize the reality I have created for myself and the home that I love so much.  I feel so lucky and blessed to have so much love and wonderful people in my life and the lives of my children.  We look at pictures and talk about family far and near all the time, so please know that you are always close in mind and heart despite the miles that are between us.

Two sisters.....

Reading together....

and debating the finer points of the text.