Opposites Attract

Doug and I are so different! I know that will shock some of you. :) It's actually funny because I think people would be surprised how similar we are in some ways. I am so grateful for my fantastic husband because he just fits me so well.

But, there are still many ways that we are complete opposites. One of those areas is our idea of "fun."

Doug likes "the off-season" and small groups of good friends. He likes cold weather and hikes in the woods and camping in the snow without a tent. He likes hunting and fishing with one or two people who know how to stay quiet enough not to scare the fish or animals. Doug likes his own space without anyone touching him. He likes physically demanding and risk-filled hobbies. Doug likes air conditioning.

I love festivals. I love the peak of summer. I love heat and noise and crowds of people and summer concerts and outdoor events. I love street fairs and amphitheaters and block parties and live bands that play on packed restaurant patios with shoulder-to-shoulder people. I love tank tops and flip flops and sandy beaches and colorful drinks with little umbrellas. I love city streets at night with a million lights that sparkle and twinkle in the dark. I love sunsets on the water with sand between my toes. I like open windows.

I like big events where just the two of us are together in a crowd of anonymous people.
Doug likes private parties with good friends where he knows everyone present very well.

I like new and exciting for the sake of new and exciting.
Doug likes familiar, comfortable and trusted.

I tend to run shallow and turbulent...he tends to run deep and still.

But nobody on this earth makes me laugh as much or as often as he does. And we have learned to embrace most of the differences...

I sent this text to Doug yesterday:

"9 hrs sleep + sunshine + sandals = bliss"



He responded with this text:

"you have your idea of bliss....I have mine!"



I love that man. ;)

That's My Girl *Sigh*

Danika has so much...well.....PERSONALITY. :) She just cracks us up because we never know what she is going to pull next. And the daycare we take her to is just top-notch. They love her as if she were their own child, and they know how to handle her little "moments." But there are days where we show up to get her and we have to be informed of some difficulty she put them thru while we were gone.

And then there are the days that it can't wait until we pick her up.

I was working on February 5th and I received this picture message on my phone from Leah, one of the daycare workers:


"This is your daughter after she filled the toilet with toilet paper...she got a time-out but it was hilarious!"

"...we sent her to the room and she put herself in the corner....haha"

Yes...a whole role of toilet paper. That's my little girl. *sigh* And I can't even blame it on Doug, because we both know that she is me on the inside...through and through.

That means this is only the beginning....she is going to torture us when she becomes a teenager.

Stuck

John is SO CLOSE to crawling I can't even explain it. He is super strong and determined to be mobile. But, much to his dismay, all he has mastered so far is going backwards. If I leave him alone in the middle of the living room floor for a few minutes, I inevitably find him wedged against a wall or piece of furniture by the time I get back. Several times now, however, I have found him wedged UNDER my antique table. It has a cut-out front and it is just high-enough to get his lower body under it, but not his gigantic upper body. :) So, after walking out of the room, I hear squawking and eventually angry bellowing and I enter the room to find this:


He cracks me up. :)

Cooking with Dad

Danika recently turned 3 and we had a little shin-dig for her. It was tremendously fun.

One of the gifts Danika got was just plain awesome....our friend Courtney made Danika a fancy little apron, and made a bigger version of the same apron for me so that we could match in the kitchen. Danika was SO excited....and so was I! What a fun gift. My little mimic will get lots of use out of this thoughtful present!

So...she has been dying to wear it, but the next night when she was very, very vocal about wanting to wear the aprons I was busy feeding John and it was Daddy hard at work in the kitchen doing dishes and clean up. I confess that I may have whispered in her ear that Daddy would look good in Mommy's apron. :) That was all the encouragement she needed. She pulled her stool right up next to him and started begging to help him with dishes and looking at him with those big brown eyes asking if he would wear an apron to match her.

What could he do? Daddy's little girl was asking so nicely with those giant brown eyes looking at him. :)

He's going to kill me for this. But it is SO cute...I have to post it. :) The things we do for the love of a child. :)





I love him all the more for doing that.

The loves of my life....

I love my little family.

I love my crazy feisty 3-yr old red headed girl.
I love my incredibly strong, slobbery, ALWAYS hungry, fat little 6 month old boy.
I love my patient, supportive, gentle, funny, incredible husband.


And when everything else in life gets overwhelming....those three incredible blessings right there tell me that whatever seems overwhelming can't really be that bad.

Look at this smiley happy face - isn't it great?

Snow, snow, and more snow.

I hate snow. Living in Erie, I have had to adjust to the white stuff out of necessity, but we are still not "friends."

We have recently endured a LOT of lake-effect snow..with more to come. This is what it looks like outside my back door right now.





The interesting thing is that all this snow has become "normal" for me. I don't even get worked up about it anymore. It's just part of living in Erie. Sad but true!

Don't you wish you lived here with us????? :)

Ummmm....yeah.