The State of Maryland mandated my civil duties for juror service last week. I debated whether I wanted to try to get excused, but I figured it would be more trouble than what it was worth. The one drawback was that I had to place the girls in daycare for the whole day. Fortunately, Annie and Mimi enjoyed their day away from me. I actually looked forward to a day of sitting in a room with hours to kill spend at my own free will undisturbed by small children. Alas, my plan was foiled when I was chosen for a trial only 1 1/2 hours after arrival. So there I sat in a criminal trial until 4:45 p.m. Just before deliberation for the verdict, an older gentleman and I were excused as the alternate jurors. By that point I was quite interested in seeing (or participating) in the outcome. However, I did need to get over to the daycare to pick up the kids. What a fun day that turned out to be because I had to go to a church event as well. Which meant the girls and I were away from home from 7:00 a.m. until 9:45 p.m.

The week before was pretty much cancelled in the D.C. metro. A huge snowstorm came through on Wednesday. That night the temperature dropped low enough to cause the snow and all moisture to freeze. This triggered absolute pandemonium in the city. Schools, businesses, the government were all closed. I didn’t spend much time on the roads, but I’m sure there were plenty of accidents, too. The saddest part was that Annie was supposed to have a party on Valentine’s Day at school in her new, red dress. Everyday that she didn’t have her party, Annie would ask if today was the day she would get to wear her “bootiful” dress and take her Valentine’s to school. It was hard to disappoint her several days in a row. Of course, the party eventually took place (on my day of jury duty, no less), and she was thrilled to no end. Thankfully, the temperatures are back on the rise, and the snow is slowly melting. However, it did snow 4″ yesterday.

My first born is continues to charm me all the time. She has become quite the negotiator. While I was searching for a birthday card (I hope Jim E. isn’t reading this), Annie spotted a hidden tiara that scares me because of removable “gems” (great idea, toy makers). She took the opportunity to remove it while I was knee-deep in birthday greetings. A few minutes later Annie approached me, with tiara in hand, and asked if she could play with it. I told her that we couldn’t because Mimi would break it (this is somewhat true, and I have several destroyed tiaras to prove it). Annie then said she would ask Mimi if she would break it. I then heard Annie in the other room saying (or yelling), “Mimi, say no!” Annie returned to me and told me that Mimi told her she wouldn’t break the tiara, so she should now be able to play with the tiara. How can I argue with that? After dealing with her fluffy, unkempt hair for too long, I decided to give Annie a trim. Basically, I just added a few layers all around to give her hair more bounce and to hopefully make it not look so sheep-doggish. Pictures of her new haircut (it’s subtle but really did make a difference for the better) are in the girls’ February album on their page.

The resident two-year-old is too cute for words. Mimi is still the cuddliest of my children, and I manage to steal a few snuggles from her several times a day. I’m torn between trying to get her to quit sucking her thumb and just letting it run its course. I say this because I melt like butter when she climbs up into my lap with left thumb in mouth and right fingers twirling hair. Maybe I’ll allow it for 1 month more;) New words pop out of Mimi’s mouth daily, and she’s putting sentences together quite well. When she woke up from her nap today, she said, “Nose is itchy.” Yesterday I asked her to put a box of wipes back onto a table, and she replied with “No, too heavy.” It amazes me when I ask her to do something with words I realize afterward that she may not understand, and she still does what I requested. Baby and other loveys still play a major role in her life. Whenever we leave the house Mimi goes searching for a dolly or stuffed toy to take with her. She also always reminds me to get her bedtime loveys when tucking her in. Everything she does makes me smile.

The celebration for Mimi’s birthday was small but still lots of fun for the birthday girl. The Smith family (friends from church) was invited for dinner on Friday night. Since Mimi’s actual birthday was on Sunday, I decided that we would make Friday evening an impromptu party for Mimi. The Smiths have 3 boys, so the girls had enough action to keep them busy. The cake was baked and decorated the night before. Annie assisted Mike with the decorating part. I did let each of the girls take turns stirring the batter, too.

Grandma Minnesota’s presents arrived just in time for the event. So her presents were opened along with the others. Mike had insisted that I not shower here with too many gifts. It was decided that we would get her a couple of DVD movies and a squishy chair to accompany the lovely, Care Bear chair that the girls fight over so often. I did give in and buy Mimi a large present that I knew would annoy Mike when he saw it. However, it was actually a training potty for Mimi. I thought it would be fun to wrap it up. You can check out other pictures from Mimi’s birthday bash on the memories page under “Mimi Turns 2”.