When Mara was just older than a newborn, we were at the park and met a dad and his two sons. The boys were no older than five and about the same difference apart as Thane and Mara. They were also wearing very brightly colored (red and white, I think) matching shirts. We started talking to the dad and he gave us two pieces of advice that we have taken to heart:

1) When you go out somewhere big (zoo, aquarium, etc) dress the kids in loud shirts that match so you can spot them easily. (OK, so not the matching, but we do the loud thing)
2) Tell them how they are each other’s best friends and that they love each other.

We do #2 all the time. Wow, in a house with a potty trained little boy and a 6 month old puppy, I should rephrase that last statement. We took the second one to heart and have said that all the time. “Mara loves you” “Thane, who is you best friend?” “Thane loves you Mara” etc etc etc.

Sunday night, Mara was sick. She would not lie down and would certainly not go to sleep. I rocked her in my arms until 10 pm when she finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

Before Thane went to bed, he came in to check on his crying sister. As I held her, he put her tiny hand in his slightly bigger hand and said…

“It’s okay, Mara. I love you. I am right here. I am not going anywhere.” Then he kissed her cheek.

To show you that we always do the right thing, especially when it comes to Mara, here are some pictures to prove it.

Mara found Aesop’s crate open and decided to crawl in

At a friend’s, Mara found the (shut off) treadmill and decided to climb up. This is her trying to get off of it. Apparently she does this at school on the steps sometimes too.

This is Thane, sick at home, with a downgraded fever. Photo is here for his awesome fashion sense (those are shark pj’s with a preds jersey) and the skates he won’t take off. Apparently he can get to the Kleenex faster this way.

Tennessee forecasters are notorious for calling for blizzards. And then nothing happens. In response to this, schools close whenever the white stuff is mentioned. Mentioned. Not on the ground, not starting. Snow = Bomb Threat. Take no chances, better safe than sorry. They also don’t follow a cry wolf theory.

Yesterday was no different. The snow was coming and I woke up to a text from the news (technology is nice) saying school was closed. I looked out the window and saw nothing.

I called into work (okay, emailed) and worked from home. So did Jay, who was in a training class. His training class was to be held via webcam, complete with microphone headset. Again, technology is nice.

At lunch, I went to meet Kennette. The snow had started to fall but it was light.

Neither Tennessee nor Tennessee roads can handle snow. When I left Prairie Life an hour and a half later, the snow had piled up and it took me almost an hour to go twelve miles.

I got home to some homemade chili. Yum. After Jay finished his class, we headed outside and played in the snow (Mara was still sleeping, probably a good thing, it was way too cold out there!)

Thane loved it. He ate the snow which he announced tasted like chocolate. We tried to make a snowman but the snow would not pack. I tried to convince him to make a snow angel but neither he nor I was willing to lie in the cold stuff!

Later on we headed out with the neighborhood kids and rode on the sled they had. Well, they did, I sat inside with the moms and watched….warm.

Imagine this…

You are about to be three
You are a boy
Your parents are throwing you a birthday party with all of your friends (oh, and theirs)

What would you have your theme as?

A SUPER HERO BIRTHDAY PARTY OF COURSE!

Martha Stewart had nothing on this one!

We talked it up to Thane for awhile, the idea of dressing up is still a new one for him and not always a success. We had two costumes…Spiderman and the Dark Knight. Spiderman had muscles to spare. The Dark Knight had a cape. I was rooting for the Dark Knight. We figured he should choose. Again, I was rooting for the Dark Knight but I KNEW he would choose Spiderman!

We had him try on both costumes early. The Dark Knight was not a hit. Spiderman, Spiderman, Spiderman.

And, what do you dress the 13 month old little sister in? A catwoman outfit of course!!! Well, not your traditional catwoman, more like a 1950s poodle skirt with cats and matching onesie, but we get points for imagination and double for creativity.

Getting in the car he wanted nothing to do with the costume. Actually, I think he might have held it. We arrived and saw some others getting dressed in the cars and I think that made him a little more at ease. Let the dressing begin!

Leading the way, we walked through doors dressed with Super Heros and signs that read…NO VILLAINS ALLOWED!

Thane never touched the bouncy in the backyard but found Madeleine and they hit the sandbox and the toys. Trampolines were discovered in this party as well.

Thane’s favorite part…BIRTHDAY CAKE! Whenever we have cake at home (which is very rare) he always associates it with a birthday, so it definitely was not to be missed at a birthday party!! Yummy!

Mommy, Daddy and Mara had fun, too.

We might be stealing this birthday idea…