This Week Remains a Smudge

I haven't had much to say over the past week because there has been illness amongst us. Pretty much just Sophia. She came down with the flu on the day of my last post, which makes the snuggling that much more understandable. By the end of the week, I was actually just hoping for excuses to extract myself from under the needy weight of a sick child. I sound like a terrible mother, but I know that almost every mother agrees with me.

Now she's healthier, and Erick and I are trying to regain a little rest that we lost. I bought some curtains for our room today. In the alley next to our apartment, there is a motion light that is quite bright. It hasn't bothered either of us until this week. Now all the sudden, it's blinding!! Not really, but you get the point. So some cheap but attractive curtains from WalMart may do the trick. We'll find out tonight.

Yesterday was Sophia's first day back at preschool for a week. I used it to read. The entire time. I haven't done that before, but I'm looking forward to doing it again one day. I read a fantastic book called Those Who Save Us about the lives of one German mother and daughter who lived through WWII. It's a tale of how the mother saved them and the daughter's desperate need for answers about how they survived. I would highly recommend the book.

Tomorrow night, we're looking forward to having some friends over for dinner. That means the rest of my day will be spent cleaning in preparation. I have several ideas about things to share but they will wait for another day.

Groaning Heart

This winter has been unique for our family in so many ways. We are in a new place, dealing with problems we've never had before that come with renting an apartment in an old building. We are isolated in so many ways in spite of being closer in proximity to many people. In spite of all this, most days don't find me lonely. My family can't live like this forever, but I highly recommend living like this for a while.

Sophia has always had a little trouble sleeping, more at some times than others. Over all, she's actually done great here. However, with the noise of the radiators in the early morning, she's been spending most early mornings in bed with us. The other challenge is that she ends up really tired after an early morning. But if she takes a nap, the possibility of her going to sleep in her own bed is almost non-existent. Anyway, all that to say we spend a lot of time "co-sleeping."

One night this weekend, after our trip to Columbia, we all went to bed at the same time. Sophia's face was pale and relaxed in the light of the streetlight outside our window. Erick on her other side already settled in for the night. And all of the sudden, my heart hurt. This is a feeling that I've tried to describe before. It happens when I feel so full of emotion that my heart actually groans under the weight. Maybe it's a brief growing pain. My heart must adjust to allow for the surge of contentment and gratitude.

I will probably always look back on this winter as the season of snuggling. The snow has helped with that, too. We have been out often and had some great visits around, but the all too frequent snow storms have kept us at home more than we normally would. Sophia and I have spent so much time snuggling to watch a movie or read a book or even just chat that I have come to appreciate the snow. I know that even though I am content and, judging by Sophia's sweet smile when she looks up from my lap, she too is happy with our seclusion, we will need to venture out of this cozy place sooner or later. For now, I'll just enjoy the weight of my groaning heart.

February Schmebruary

 

While the rest of Missouri seems to be getting snow, we seem to be sticking with ice. We have an inch of ice and another inch of sleet on top of that. It's gross. But beautiful.

Hope everyone's staying safe and warm.

Prepared for the Storm

The talk of the night seems to be the impending winter storm headed our way, bringing with it some ice and more than a little snow. Not looking forward to that. However, I will enjoy the afterglow of this day for at least a few days into our being stuck.

The day began as many Sundays do - donuts and coffee. After our healthy start, we had a very productive family work day. Laundry, bills, floors and more were on our agenda. We had more than enough time for a dance break or two, although sometimes the dancing happened while we worked. It's frightening how much like me this kid is sometimes. With better rhythm.



Before noon, we had done everything I expected to get done in the day. So we decided to take advantage of the temps that were warmer than in weeks. One of the things we have talked about taking advantage of in our apartment is the proximity of the zoo. Today was our first attempt at walking to the zoo, and it was a huge success. It felt so good to get out in the fresh air and walk through Forest Park with the hundreds of joggers and bikers also out enjoying the sunny Sunday afternoon.



Once we got to the zoo, we went to visit the baby leopard. She made her first appearance this week, and Sophia and I went to visit her on that day. Since the big cats are Erick's favorite type of animal at the zoo, I knew it wouldn't be long before we made another visit. They weren't quite as active today, so I got a better picture of the baby. The best part was watching the mama leopard and the daddy leopard in the neighboring cage pace near and talk to each other - except when the baby was around. Interesting.



The rest of the day has been spent with a quick trip to a crazed and packed Wal-Mart, then puttering and resting after our day's activity. What a lovely day. I am trying not to think about how disappointed I am that it's going to be far too long before we can have a repeat.

Hat Ladies

 

Our address here in St. Louis is only an hour from our friends in Farmington. Sophia has been counting the days until we could go to Lilly and Nora's house.

The visit did not at all disappoint. Lilly had planned a tea party and found a project for the to do of tea party hats. The making of these hats was very different than anything I'd seen before. I'm more than willing to describe it if anyone is interested. The result was worthy of Fancy Nancy...

And it was topped only by the Talent Show they put on for us before we left. Those girls have the best time together. Can't wait for the next visit, which will be much sooner than the last.

Almost Trouble

Tonight, Erick and I went to dinner while a local tween from the neighborhood stayed and played with Sophia. She is a friend of a friend, and we thought it would be nice to have someone handy for daytime/early dates or appointments, so we gave her a call to let them get to know each other tonight.

Sophia took her directly to her room and barely looked up when we left, so we knew it would be a good time. When we got home, they were still (or again) in her room playing. They told us what fun they had and what they had done. When I got out the door with the sitter to drive her the three blocks home (it's really cold), she said, "Sophia was really fun and sweet." Short pause. "She offered me wine." WHAT?? Yeah, apparently the sitter told Sophia that she was thirsty, and being the gracious hostess that she is, Sophia said, "We have some wine there. Would you like some?"

I doubled over in laughter when she told me. Then I promptly thanked this girl for not taking her up on the offer. Whew. That could have been a very ugly scenario to come home to.

We'll be using her again. Next time, I will put out a nice full glass of water and put my wine out of Sophia's sight...

Just another snow day

 

Little did I know that I should have invested in some ski pants or something this year. It's gross out there! Okay, the beautiful, white blanket of snow can hardly be called gross, but give it a couple of days.

As soon as we were up, Sophia was begging to go outside. Wind chills in the single digits are no deterrent to a kid with a cozy pink snow suit. Eventually, I gave in.

But I did get a treat out of the deal. Kaldi's is on the way to the big hill, so it was easy to talk Sophia into a quick stop to get warm before getting to the hill. Don't worry, I was finished before I took this picture.

 

Also, I have found a very real advantage to radiators. Without a doubt, I will be asked to go out in this weather again today. When I do, I will have toasty dry clothes.

 

In the meantime, Sophia put on some new pj's, and has decided to create some art today. Works for me. I can sit here and offer input and desired affirmation while drinking some fresh coffee and catching up on the world (and Etsy).

 

Even though I'm tired of snow days, this one is definitely turning out to be a cozy one.