Couples & Waterfowl

The sign is a wonderful gift, that reminds me daily of my life goal. Thank you my dear friend.

It has been one of the snowiest winters on record. Needless to say, we are desperate for Spring. We've been cooped up sometimes for 3-4 days in a row and at the rate we are going with school closings, Cole will be in school until July with make up days.


Sometimes being locked up together for long periods of time doesn't always bring out the best in us. Dare I say that sometimes we might just get on each other's nerves.


This year, Troy and I will celebrate 17 years of marriage. Almost 19 years as a couple.  In the early years, little things would bother us. My inability to put a cap on the toothpaste or the fact that I chew my straws used to drive him nutty and I used to go crazy about his ability to have our yard in constant states of disrepair.  We have lived through so many REAL rough spots that those sorts of things make us giggle now. We have learned to appreciate each other's finer qualities and truly enjoy each other as friends.

So as I gazed out our window this week, I looked at what would be the first sign of Springs return to the Hoffman house. Our Ducks and Geese.  Every year like clock work we have a set of ducks and a set of Canadian geese that come to roost and hatch their babies. It is truly something we look forward to seeing every year. They are so calming and beautiful. We watch in anticipation until finally little ones appear on the pond in Spring.
I have heard that ducks and geese mate for life.  I don't know how long ducks live... but if it's 17 years......

 I'd hope they would give up the argument about who chews straws and who doesn't.  Hurry up Spring! Troy has a yard to dig up!

She's Five

My baby is five.

How did this happen?

It was yesterday when I gave birth to her.

When I brought that sweet, precious, pink package home.

My sweet girl was born six years after Cole,

so we had six years of life with Cole and being used to his unique personality.

All that changed instantly.

While Cole is a man of few words,

Shelby is a woman of MANY.

I cannot remember her not talking,

or having something of vital importance to say.

While Cole would rather have dental surgery than sing and dance,

Shelby goes around all day singing and dancing and using her imagination.

I have asked Cole every day since he was three what he did at school.

Everyday the answer is the same.... Nothing is ALWAYS the answer.

Now, that Shelby is here she is more than happy to fill us in on what Cole does!

While Cole is all boy,

Shelby is ALL girl

She brings music, dancing, tea parties, princess dresses and play dates

While Cole is laid back, and careful with his emotions,

Shelby wears them on her sleeve and shares them openly.

There is never a question as to whether she is happy or sad!

Cole jumps up in the morning, Shelby sleeps..

Shelby paints, decorates and organizes, Cole builds.

She is the antithesis of Cole,

She was in every way what we were missing in our life.

She makes our world complete.

We are thankful for every second of the last 5 years.

We look forward to what this beautiful, amazing, talented girl will become.
I told her this morning as I tell her every day. She is our gift.
Happy Birthday Shelby.

Icepocalypse 2011 Hoffman Style

I enjoy snow. It's calming, relaxing and beautiful. I love watching it slowly fall to the ground. I even enjoy large amounts of snow falling, knowing for the first time ever, I don't really have to be out in the mess anymore.


Monday we had school and the news began rumbling about how we had an impending snow/ice storm. By Monday night, people were saying it was going to be catastrophic and they were calling in the National Guard. Seriously? The map looked much like this below.


We live in the mostly screwed part.

Snow = relaxing. Ice = panic. I began collecting emergency supplies, flashlights, candles, matches. I started storing water in every container I could find including filling bathtubs. I pre made the coffee because the news began saying we could be out of power for 7-10 days. Troy began rewiring the generator to make sure we had heat and we stocked up on gas. I did EVERY piece of laundry in the house. Somewhere in the back of my mind, memories from the ice storm in 1988 were rumbling around. Memories of being out of power for 10 days. We even brought Bo Bo our normally outside dog in the house.  By Monday night, when the ice started falling, I was drinking wine and pondering the end of the world as we know it. I tucked the kids in, telling them I was sure we would not have power though the night.

Tuesday morning.... we have power. Woo Hoo, it's cinnamon rolls for all! Mama's getting on the treadmill before we lose power. News reports that the second round of ice is coming and it's gonna be worse. Cole was so happy we had power, he went to play x-box until his thumbs hurt. Shelby refused to leave the front of the TV for fear we may lose power if she quit watching.



Happy children with no school and power on!




Ya never know when you're gonna need your gold purse!



Yep! We still have Nick Jr. and PBS Kids!



Joy doesn't really seem stressed by any of this.



Bo Bo the wonder pet is pondering how long he's gonna get to sleep inside the house.

Tuesday Night..... ice falling, winds whipping, we tuck the kids in fully expecting to be without power at some point in the night.


Wednesday Morning.... We still have power. OK at this point, I am loading the dishwasher, draining the tubs,  dumping pre-made coffee and pondering kicking the stinky outside pooch OUT!  I can't decide whether I am relieved or disappointed. I worked HARD for this emergency!  I made emergency food plans! I CLEANED for this! 

The only thing left to go is go outside.

Going down the hill was so much easier than going up!

 Troy has offered to go flip the main power off the house for me and run the generator for awhile, but it just doesn't seem quite the same. Troy was originally set to fly out to Duluth on Tuesday, but he's been working from home. I am hoping we (he) may actually get out of our house by Friday.

I LONG for Spring!