when life gives you...

trace amounts of snow,

make snow angels.

It's barely worth mentioning, but we got our first "snow" yesterday afternoon. Emma was waiting for it, and watching for it and reading about it. And apparently this was enough to warrant a few angels. It definitely warranted lots of skipping, footprint-making, skidding shoes and song. Yes, song. I don't think I ever heard her playing quietly out there--some tune was always passing her lips.

The girls and I slipped out of town Friday morning to visit my mom--a two-hour trip west. Dan stayed home because of work, so Emma left this note for him on the fridge and stickers on his pillow. (which oddly ended up stuck to his forehead and hair this morning when we woke up.)

I know this sign doesn't require translation for many of you out there--fellow mothers of backward-writing children.  But for everyone else: "feed my fish. bye. I love you." If I wasn't the one spelling all the words out for her, I might need a little translation myself. I love the way she just puts the words and letters on the page wherever there's room. I'll never get tired of that.

The trip home was nice. Quick, but nice. I loaded up with a bunch of these for the roadtrip. They saved me.
Emma finally connected with my mom this trip to get her birthday roller skates. So far she has graduated from a carpet skater to a carpet-hardwood floor skater. Not sure when she'll make the transition to driveway. I might have to wrap her in bubbble wrap first before I let her head out the door.

We were gone for under 24 hours and yet I still feel like I'm recovering. I always feel the need to "reclaim" my house when I come back from a trip--laundry, clutter, vaccuuming. Who in the world gets my carpets so dirty while I'm away?

And thank you, thank you for your outpouring of encouragement and kind words about the two dolls. You guys are great. I was overwhelmed by your responses. You get a girl feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, you know?