Freezy Fun

And the snow has come....
And it keeps coming and coming and coming.....

What else is there to say? It snowed!!

This just in.... Seriously, as I am sitting here dreading another snowy day driving into work tomorrow, the phone rings. Okay, it's 10:45pm and although we're always up this late, we don't usually get phone calls from friends who just want to chat this late. This is the time frame for phone calls that can quickly excite worry and panic and fear. As Eric picks up the phone and reads the caller I.D., it's my boss to tell me that we don't have to work tomorrow! I'm so excited that I'm just about jumping out of my seat! Can I just tell you the number of times that the county government offices close for a snow day? Rarely to say the least. Yeah, we get every major holiday off; short of Groundhog Day, but closing due to inclimate weather is just about unheard of. Let my vacation begin!!

And since I realize that probably not more that one of you really cares if I work tomorrow or not, here is a sweet little Elaina story I can pass along tonight.

In the past few weeks, after we finish reading books together in her room I announce that it's time to say our prayers. We begin by saying the Lord's Prayer followed by the traditional, "Now I lay me down to sleep..." bedtime prayer. Tonight, after we read our last book, I told Elaina that Mommy just wanted to hold her and rock her just a little while longer. As I turned off the light and hugged my girl, Elaina turned to me and asked, "Pray-as?" She was reminding me that we hadn't yet said our prayers before bed. Ummm.... hello? Is this girl like a 7 year old in a 19 month-old body or what? I was impressed!

Since I'm bragging unconditionally, let me do just a little more. I have discovered that Elaina and I seem to make our relationship work for us much better when I tell her in advance what we (or I) am going to do. For example, after her bath water runs down the drain, I turn on the faucet to splash out the remaining bubbles from the tub. Elaina loves to grab her little plastic bowl and hold it under the running water as if she has just struck gold. Tonight I told her that I was turning off the water when I counted to three. I kept my promise and there was no fit, no fuss and no tears about getting out of the bathtub. Elaina watched the rest of the water go down the drain and she began to count to ten. Flawlessly and unprompted. Every time she does this, I prep myself for the likely chance that she may mess up and I then I begin to think that the times she has made it to ten have been just a fluke. Not a fluke-- she can do it. By herself!

There's enough bragging in this post for tonight. And now, here is the end....