six.

Ready to make a wish.


Dinner.

Sage turned 6 last Sunday. We tried to make it a fun day (inspite of being Sunday). In the morning she enjoyed fresh mangoes and waffles. For lunch her favorite pizza from Nick 'n' Willy's for lunch--the Big Kahuna--canadian bacon, pineapple and mandarins. Don't worry Mom we bought it on Saturday. For dinner: hamburgers, fried potatoes and no salad...we let her off the hook on her berfday. And chocolate cake with pink sour cream frosting 'cause mama forgot to get cream cheese and we had to improvise. It was a hideous cake but it tasted good going down and that's what counts.

And she opened some EXCITING presents....a chiropractic pillow to make sure her sleep posture is good, books and gummi vites. We're fun like that.


Donuts.

Then on Tuesday I went to her class to celebrate. She and I made baked mini-donuts for the kiddos. They had to be gluten-free and dairy free. When the time came to pass the treat out the student teacher double checked the treat. Gluten-free? Yep. Dairy free? Yep. Egg-free? Sheesh...nope. The one lone non-egg eating kid got to have rice crackers instead.

A few things about our six-year-old:

• When she earns money by working at Shane's office or receives a gift or her weekly allowance her first question is, "How much tithing do I pay?"
• She loves to make Micah laugh and the sound of them laughing together is magic.
• She's great at rolling with the punches.
• When I call her down from upstairs her immediate reply is, "Coming," or "I'll be right there." And then quick as a wink she's at my side. I sure love that.
• She loves to help: cooking, washing dishes, peeling pears (for Micah), watching Micah...she does anything and everything. I always say that I couldn't get through this time without her.

Listen Up

Lisa Hannigan is pretty fabulous.

Sage's valentines.

Cute eh? And no it wasn't my idea...I found it on a blog.

funny little thing called Sage

Taking Micah for a ride.

Driving home from school:

S: Did you see his hair?"
A: "Shoot I missed it. What was it like?"
S: "It was like....a muffin."

I peeked in the rear view mirror to see the dude in question....he had a giant 'fro. Gives a new meaning to the word muffin top.

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Shane was having a hard time getting his ski boots on one morning recently and Sage had some wisdom to share:

"Just think about skiing, not your boots. I think about cake when I eat my salad and then I don't taste it."

Winter Park.

When I zip up my very humungo ski jacket I look like a puffy marshmallow. I told Shane I want to wear a sign that says "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant." Note to self: buy a maternity jacket next time...much more flattering.


The resort has little wagons everywhere you can drag your kiddos (or ski gear) around.


Riding a gondola up the mountain. And then we came right back down.

Two of Shane's patients offered their condo in Winter Park and we jumped at the chance to get away for a few days. Well one of us jumped, the other balked....yup that would be me. Going away to a 1-bedroom condo (remember Micah wakes and cries many times in the night?) lugging all of Micah's things including a blender (for his food) and his special little bed sounded like a real good time. I need a vacation like that like I need a hole in the head. But I went along with it.

I've been having lots of meltdowns lately (why can't we get this kiddo better? And how will we manage with a newborn?). Just ask Shane...after 7 PM his shirt is usually soggy with my tears. Thankfully I had a huge cry fest the day before we left; I felt cleansed and ready for an adventure. Good thing because when we arrived at the condo after a 2-hour drive it was occupied. Yes, clothes strewn about, phone charging in the kitchen, toothpaste and toothbrushes lying on the bathroom sink. Lovely. Well turns out the patient booked us for Sat-Thurs instead of Fri-Sun. I was ready to head home stat. It was getting late, the kids were hungry and boy was I steamed. Shane being the level-headed and ever calm half of this duo suggested we stay and find another condo for the night. Eventually he convinced me and we paid a ridiculous amount of money for one night. It was a miserable night for all of us. Micah cried and was awake for many hours. Shane was so nice and kept me company for a lot of it. Micah's crying kept Sage up and she was exhausted in the morning. We had to move condos (oy!) at 10 AM.

Sage and Shane persevered and went skiing inspite of their fatigue. She only last a couple hours on the mountain. She was so tired that when they stopped in the lodge and ordered a cheeseburger and fries Sage didn't want even a bite. Shane called me and had me come pick them up. When I pulled up Sage was lying in the snow, almost asleep (where's my camera when I need it??). Shane stayed and skiied some moguls and had lots of fun and the kids and I enjoyed naps and quiet back at the condo.

Note: So...I wrote this awhile ago and now I can't remember what else we did. But I do know that we came away from that weekend relaxed and glad we went.