I love rainy days.

They make me reflective but they also make me productive. I have this tendency to want to drink coffee and look at old pictures, but I also get ALL the laundry done - usually cook something new for dinner - spend a lot of hang time with my little ones, etc. Today - I'm going to ignore the dirty, melty snow piles - I'm going forget that, in addition to the big gash on our front bumper, the van also smells musty (apparently, while the kids were waiting on us to get the van out of the driveway the other day, they sat in the snow, soaking their pants and, therefore, their car seats :-) - and I'm going to look on the bright side regarding Milo and his refusal to go to preschool today, having decided to pick my battles with him and forgo the screaming, kicking, yelling, etc. that almost always results in an injury for me and my Lil running from him (and me) or getting caught "in the crossfire", so to speak. Sure, I want him to go, but... the tears (mine, usually ;-), sweat, bloody noses (he has given me two, I believe, with his thrashing) and stares from other preschool parents make it SO not worth it. It's just P3. So... the bright side... (aside from just not dealing with the tantrum and, instead, staying home to play board games and "chef's restaurant" in the toy kitchen with L & M :-) - Enzo has been weepy before school for the past few days, thinking that we are able to make a call to the school and tell them we're not coming because of snow, so he wants to stay home and color, bake cookies, play trains, Wii with Milo, etc. and he went happily today - basking in the glow of his first phone call from a friend - Ben - last night - PLUS, Olivia is settled and happy, having received some good news in the way of acceptance letters from high schools (and is flying so high that last night's basketball game against shockingly unsportsmanlike St. Thomas More, my husband's alma mater :-( didn't sway her mood) - and the weather is better so Lil will go to her beloved "morning out" program tomorrow - all is good :-). In fact, as soon as I clean up the pee pee sheets from Lilliana's room - vacuum up all the popcorn from last night - and get the little ones to eat something more nutritious than marshmellows and Chips Ahoy ... we are outta here! Play area - library - museum - SOMETHING :-).

As for my ongoing Olympic watch.... I loved watching the Canadian and the American ice dancers last night (beautiful leg extensions and displays of athleticism on some of those girls - though some couples were a little too campy, over the top for me - thought the Canadians and Americans did beautifully) AND, of course, the crazy aerial skiing (little soft spot for them - heard many had gymnastics backgrounds like I do :-). I do prefer the big grand skiing and snowboarding events to the ice skating, etc., but... last night's ceremony in which the Canadian team so completely embodied the emotions of a country - of all the competitors - It was so sweet, singing their anthem - just their moment - one they'll never forget or duplicate. Really pulling for Canadian Joannie Rochette tonight in the women's skating short program. She is, first of all, a beautiful, conditioned athlete - great to watch, AND the poor girl - in just an unbelievably tragic turn of events - lost her mother to a heart attack on Sunday - terrible story. I think she is doing the right thing by competing; I'm SURE her mother would have wanted that. There are, in fact, a lot of tragic but triumphant stories from this Olympics.

Today's Diversion: Here's an interesting bit of pop culture news.

Today's Photo: Like I said - rainy days bring reminiscing, and... this is us in 2005 - on the banks of the Seine in Paris - Enzo only 6 months old - Olivia, 9. Isn't that Notre Dame in the background? I believe, on this day, we had just visited there with friends.