The birthday girl...

Today is my sister Sofia's birthday. I think she is past the point where a lady appreciates the mentioning of which birthday...not that she is old...after all, she is my younger sister. Growing up, I always liked being the older one. Now, I would trade those two and a half years in a heartbeat!

My beautiful sister is a wonderful mother, hard working student and ambitious career woman. Just thinking about all that she does makes me exhausted and feeling a little underachieving! On top of everything else, Sofia is training to run a half marathon with me this summer. We are running this race, our first, to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am thrilled to be doing this with her for such a great cause!

Is Sofia a super woman or what!?

I am so lucky to have a sister who is also my best friend. I just wish we lived in the same city!

Sofia and Ollie last summer

Why is public speaking so hard?

I have heard that public speaking is the number one fear among adults - I'm not surprised because I am certainly one of those fearful people.
Dan and I, along with another couple, were co-chairs of a big fundraiser last night, called Oscar Night America. It helps support a wonderful charitable organization whose board Dan is a member of. Since the planning for this event started about the same time as Emma was diagnosed with leukemia, I really have not been an active participant in putting on this event. I felt embarrassed that I was called a co-chair even though I had done nothing to help out.
As Dan and I walked into the ballroom where the event was held, a woman on the staff approached us and asked that we go up to the podium right before dinner and thank the sponsors of the event. We said, sure - we'd be happy to --- and I started having stomach pains. The room had about 35 tables with 8 people at each table...quick calculation in my head...I had to say something into a microphone in front of 280 people!
As Dan and I walked through the silent auction room, all I could think about was how I could get out of this... Dan didn't get it at all - he is not a part of that majority of people who fear public speaking. He just thought we could wing it and be fine. This is not how I operate so I made Dan come to a quiet corner so we could decide who was going to say what. I know I was being ridiculous - I only had to say 2 sentences and list 3 sponsors...still...this makes me nauseous.
In the end, I said my few words and it was over.
It was probably a good thing that I didn't know I had to say anything in front of everyone until I walked in the room. I am sure I would have lost sleep over it if I did...

As promised...

...it has been snowing all day. Emma and Henry went outside to play in the snow with Daddy earlier and then came in for some O'Boy! with marshmallows on top. I stood by the window and watched as they all played on the swing set and in Emma's play house. I get so emotional watching Emma play - you would never guess she is sick by the amount of energy she has and by the excitement she shows. I am so thankful for that. Every bit of normalcy is a little miracle in our lives.

Snow days

We have had so much snow this season. (We're supposed to get 8 more inches tomorrow!) I can't say that we have been outside enjoying it as much as we probably should have - there always seems to be something else to do. Emma and I did manage to make a snowman and a snowball lantern one day - unfortunately it got so warm that afternoon that our snowman melted and our lantern caved in before we even got a chance to put a candle inside...but we had fun while it lasted! Maybe we'll get another chance tomorrow?

Emma and Henry love a song by the famous (in our house anyway) Chickadees

that goes like this:

"Let's build a snowman, let's build a

snowman. We'll use a carrot for his nose,

cookies for his eyes, raisins will give

him a great big smile..."

Emma wanted our snowman to be just like the song said so we used a carrot for his nose, of course, and raisins for his mouth. Emma was upset that we didn't have any cookies to use for his eyes but then we decided that cookies are better for eating than using as a snowman's eye's anyway. We went inside when Henry woke up from his nap and made yummy O'Boy! It was a very nice winter day.

Molly enjoying the sun and the snow.

A happy little girl!

What could be better than a pair of sparkly, pink shoes? Emma can't think of anything.

Sushi made with love

Dan and I love sushi. Unfortunately our date nights have been few and far between lately so since sushi is not exactly a favorite with our little ones, we have not had any for quite a while. On Valentine's day we decided to make our own after we put the kids to bed. We had tried our hand and making sushi once before, when we had just started dating. We weren't at all successful that time - I don't even remember what the problem was but it made us not even want to try it again...until now. We didn't have very high hopes this time either, especially not with the presentation of the food, but we were going to give it our best. The only sushi grade fish I was able to get was tuna. I wish we could have had some salmon but the store "does not recommend eating any of the salmon varieties raw". I'm not one to argue when I might get sick if I do so tuna it was. We also used crabfish, roe, cucumber and avocado. We had so much fun making a few rolls and some tuna sushi pieces and though they were definitely not very pretty, they tasted good! We made way too much, which is fitting because whenever Dan orders at a sushi restaurant, he orders about twice as much as we can, or rather should, eat. It was a very nice way to spend time with my Valentine!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day with your loved ones!

We have a lot of catching up to do, don't we?

First and foremost, Emma is doing just fine and responding very well to treatment. We are amazed everyday at how strong our little girl is.

Beyond that, please stay tuned - updates are on the horizon!

XOXO