That’s what Analise said early last evening as she struggled to fall asleep.  They were actually very prophetic words.  Brian and I had planned a nice in-house date night with coffee, dessert and Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire on the agenda.  Analise was out of bed several times after her initial 8pm bedtime (half an hour late).  She finally dozed off, and something woke Josiah into a crying fit, of course waking Analise again.  Josiah needed tending to a couple times before we finally settled into the movie without interruptions at 9:45. 

Amazingly, the kids were sleeping soundly when Brian and I were jolted out of bed by the tornado sirens, which are less than a mile from our house.  I’ve always wondered if we’d hear them in the middle of the night.  NO QUESTION about it.  The kids still slept, somehow.  Brian decided to check the TV or computer to see if we needed to head to the basement.  Often, the sirens go off but the storm is in another part of the county.  It was very quiet outside, and the only sign of trouble was crazy lightning in the distance.  I listened to the storm pick up while Brian was checking things out, and about 10 minutes later, the power went off.   Brian came in to tell me that the storm was moving east at 40mph and heading our way in just a little bit.  There was no actual tornado, but something indicative of one on the radar. 

So we gently woke the kids, grabbed some flashlights, blankets and pillows, and made a big sleepy pile just inside the basement area, listening to the worst of the storm blow over us.  The kids were so good, and we stayed for about 20 minutes before heading back to bed.  The power was still out, and the storm was still raging.  I thought Brian’s parents were surely up, due to the sirens, so we called them to see if they had power and could tell us what was going on.  Whoops… they were still sleeping, and they had power and had never heard the sirens.  Tom assured me the worst was over (though I don’t think he got up to check!), and we tucked the kids into bed.  Josiah went right back to sleep, but Analise flopped around in our bed, scared of the thunder.  She finally fell asleep, and Brian took her back to bed, at who-knows-what-time-bc-the-power-was-still-off. 

Early bird Josiah decided it was time for us to get up at 7, and our power finally came back on at 8:15 or so.  Whew- the house dropped to 66 degrees!  We started a fire and heated water for coffee and warmed up our waffles on the stove   Analise talked about the nighttime adventure all the way to school, and I’m sure all her classmates and Miss Brenda got to hear about the thunder, lightening, ‘nado and the power going off. 

Just catching up with some cuteness. 

A rare moment of playing nicely together.  Maybe there will be more soon…

Josiah sharing a pacifier with Boz the Bear before bed.

Analise creating her Valentine sucker flowers.  She worked so hard!  I cut them out, and she colored a bit, and wrote an "A" on them. 
She pushed the sucker through the flower, and I finished the her name and taped a leaf on the sucker-stem.

My Valentine rose.  Josiah and Brian picked it out. 

I’m on a roll   Enjoy a few glimpses of our lovely day at the race.  The kids first, because they’re cuter:)

My little monkey was determined to scale the most challenging part of the playground. 
See him in the background of the photo below, too, making his way up.  Crazy boy.

Kim and her daughter, Anna, led Analise down the high, fast, curvy slide.  They all spent the most time here.

Anna wanted to ride with Josiah in our double stroller.  Josiah was busy ringing the bell at the finish. 
Every time any racer would come by (and everyone did 5 laps) the kids would all stop playing and yell, "Go Daddy!"  It was so cute. 

The Tria Market-Two Men & A Truck (fruit jerseys) congregating at the start.  They were quite a presence.

Brian and Mike Olheiser in the break coming around to start the 2nd lap.  The BMC rider is just behind Brian.

Yep, it starts early! Today was Brian’s first early season "race". It’s only a training race, with minimal prize money, and everyone is training through these 3 Sunday races. But it’s still a great test for the legs and gives you a glimpse into who’s ready to dive into the season.

And Brian came out on top! He was in an early break with another elite Alabama rider, Mike Olheiser, who just finished racing the Tour of the Bahamas and the Tour of Belize. He’s also a former 2-time Master’s National Champ and finished 2nd in the Master’s World Time Trial Championships last year. He’s a Big Dog There was also a pro from North Carolina who rode for BMC in the break. The three of them worked hard, and it came down to a sprint finish. Brian played things just right and came out on top! What a sweet start to the year! And we’re $25 richer (well, minus the $15 entry fee and the gas… so maybe $5 richer, haha).

Analise, Josiah and I enjoyed a cool spring day on a GREAT playground with the family of one of Brian’s teammates. Their kids are almost exactly the same age as ours, so we had a fun time together. Kim and I are even planning a birthday party for all 4 of them. We may even travel to some races together, which will make juggling the kids much more enjoyable.

Maybe I’ll even come back later with some photos. Hope everyone else has had a lovely weekend!

My kids usually eat Eggo waffles for breakfast (I console myself by buying the Nutrigrain blueberry version, so it’s somewhat healthy).  But we struggle to get breakfast eaten completely before being pulled away by the fun things the day holds. 

So today, Analise was whining that she was hungry at around 10am.  "I"m so hungry, Mommy.  I’m not growing!" she cried.  (Isn’t your heart tugged?  Poor girl.)  I pointed out that half her waffle was still sitting on the plate in the kitchen, and that was the only option. 

"It’s too cold!"  I popped it in the microwave for 10 seconds and handed it to her.  Whoops… too long. 

"It’s too hot!" (Is this reminding you of any fairy tales?)  I told her to wait just a minute and it would be just right.  She found a distraction playing in the den somehow, and the whining ceased, amazingly. 

A couple minutes later, Josiah walked in, munching on her waffle.  Of course, more tears. I just can’t win.