Valentine's Dinner

I tend to be particular about somethings (ok everything) and it makes it hard for him to know what would really impress. Well, this year he was uber adorable and made me wonderful and ROMANTIC valentine dinner. He spent a good 6 hours on shopping, prep, and cooking.Dessert had to be prepared 4 hours before it could be served.
Dallon, Cory's little (big) brother helped make dinner. He and his wife Nicole had dinner with us. Dallon did a great job cooking up a yummy dinner for Nicole and I.The beautiful dinner table with our first course.Lobster parfait! It was delicious! I am usually not a big fan on lobster, but this was so good, I gobbled it right up.Hasselback potatoes that were seriously mouth watering. They had the best parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and butter mix over them. Small portions = small Cortney.The meat was lamb with herbs. It was really good and tasted like rosemary.
Thanks Valentine! You did a great job and I feel so very loved. I hope your ticket to the Jazz game is the kind of romance you were hoping to get from me ;)

Theater at the Jones House

I was never one to be in a play in school or anywhere else for that matter. I left all the acting to my very talented friend Sarah.

But at last my big break...

Winter wants to play a "princess game"...she is Snow White and I am all the other characters from the story/movie. The game consists of her pretending to be the fair Snow White while I am The Queen, the evil witch, each one of the seven dwarfs, the animals in the woods, and the handsome prince. "We" are acting out the whole movie, that's the game.

Winter: Mommy can we play a princess game?
Me: Sure baby, how do we do that?
Winter: When, when I am the princess Snow White and you, you are the Queen.

Scene 1
Me: Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all? Tell me it is I or I shall die.
Winter: Mommy what are you doing? (while she pulls her dress on over her head.)
Me: I'm the Queen, that's what she says.
Winter: Queen you are beautiful, don't die!
Me: (kiss the girl and think to myself, I can't believe I didn't want to play this game)

Scene 2
Me: Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go. Do do do la la la hi ho hi ho hi ho.
Winter: Now go and wash your hands.
Me (grumpy): No stinkin girl is gonna make me wash up before supper.
Winter: Now run along.
Me (Doc): Come on boys, you can do it. Just scrub, scrub, scrub and bluoo bluooo (shacking the face motion.)
Winter: Dinner time!

Then we danced around the living room and she called me dopey.

Scene 3
Me: (creepy old woman voice) Red rosy apples, red rosy apples, would you like one of my delicious apples?
Winter: AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaa stop it, stop it (now shaking like a leaf) I don't want to play this game, I'm scared, I not want to eat that apple. But I was so scared, I told you something again, I don't want to play that game. You trying to get me to eat that poison apple. (tears welling up in her eyes) Be my mommy not that witch. You be my mommy and you remember not that witch.Thee End. I tried to redeem the performance and offered to move to the end ,where the prince wakes her and they live happily ever after in the castle, but no deal.

Challenger

Ok so I think most people that know me, knew I was going to be one of "those moms." Long before I ever even had children I talked about how I expected them to be, what I would do if they were a certain way, my hope for them, how I planned to teach them, etc. Well, turns out there are a whole bunch of moms just like me when it comes to education. Granted Winter is 3 going on 4 in May, but her life has a plan until she is at least 18. I told you I was one of those moms. What I mean is I have every intention of giving her every advantage I can. I want her to be exposed to every positive thing there is out there for her. If I can't afford to give her something that I think will make her future better, I am going to make it happen. I am not living vicariously through my daughter, rather I am hoping to open every door along her path so that she may choose a happier, brighter future.

When Cory and I got married his niece Elizabeth was going to pre-school at Challenger. Kami, her mother raved about it. Elizabeth was learning to read at much higher level than would have been thought possible for a pre-schooler. I did a little research, learned all about Challenger and other pre-schools in Utah, looked up where the best school are, and finally found out all I could about Montessori schools and teaching. I fell in love with Montessori teaching methods and knew if our children were anything like us, this would be the best way to start their education.

Cory always felt like school should have been less structured and more, learn what you want to learn, when you want to learn it. He basically did school because he had to and just did it because there was no other choice. I personally think he could have home schooled himself and been above and beyond anything the public schools did for him. I had a terrible time in school all through elementary and that followed me up until college. I battled with teachers and never really understood what was so important about everything I was being taught. Once in college I think Cory and I both found a happy medium. Yes, there are requirements but you get to choose how you fulfill them, you do it because you want to, and for me professors aren't tripping over their own authority.

Back to the matter at hand. Montessori schools are few and far between and even further are ones that are actually accredited in Utah :( It is just another one of those things that hasn't caught on here. There are however, Challenger schools. Thank goodness for Challenger schools and all that they offer. Winter loves school. She loves her teacher, the other kids, learning new things, singing silly songs, playing outside, practicing writing her name, reading letter combination, and the hundreds of other things that she has done in the past few weeks. EVERYONE there is SUPER nice and that makes me feel good about giving them my money, but more importantly that I am giving them my child and her future. Me and those moms, take our children to Challenger.
I honestly think one of the biggest deciding factors of us buying our home where we did was because there was going to be a Challenger school built literally just around the corner from us. We liked Farmington for a long time, drove through the area often, usually for no reason at all. We had looked at the new town houses that were being built in Farmington for a long time, but just couldn't decide if it really was going to be the best place for us. One day when coming to look at the town houses, there it was, a literal sign! The sign said future home of a Challenger school. It was posted across the street from the town houses sites. That was it for me, we put a deposit down on a town house and made plans to move to Farmington. Well, fate had other plans for us and we didn't buy a town house. Instead we went through four months of house buying drama and ended up living where we do now.

Long story short, Winter started school at Challenger and I couldn't be happier!

Questions from a 3 year old

Q: What color are Snow White's panties?

Winter was playing dress-up and has a Snow White dress. She also has all the accessories thanks to her Granddad and Christmas. It just made sense to her that if she was going to play the role, she was going to do it right...all the way down to her underwear.

A: White (is what I told her anyway.)

Makes sense to Winter

Just this morning I told Berlyn to beat it because she was trying to sneak food from Ledger. Winter then asked me "what did you say to Berlyn, beat it? what does that mean?" I explained I was shooing her away. I just heard Winter shoe Ledger away. "Shoe Ledger, shoe...I've got my shoe" she was pushing her shoe toward him "shoe, shoe!"

For Winter, in her own great way of looking at things, it makes sense that it is not "right" side up. It's UP side up. I have to say, I completely agree. It makes sense that if it is upside down, then it should be upside up.