More Snow

 

 

Disclaimer:

There are way too many snow photos here.

I just couldn't bare to part with any.

I know some people around these parts are just over all this snow.

But for me, it has made what normally are the two worst months of the whole year totally bearable.

No, rather, enjoyable thanks to having Brian home so much.

Sure there were bad days.

Ok, some really bad bad days.

But I was preparing for a looooong January and February, bunkered down here at home.

And here we are, almost the end of February, and I'm in disbelief that it's gone so fast!

 



We got about 18 inches all at once last week.

The first time Jane went out, she pretty much hid in the garage the whole time.

She didn't know what to do!

It was too deep to walk or really play in.

They didn't plow our street until the very end of the day.

So everyone was just stuck.

This is Molly watching Brian try and help our neighbor get his truck out.

The next day we made a snow fort.

Now the girls had something to do.

They were out for 4 hours on Friday!

(not all at once)

It was just what we all needed.

We soaked in some vitamin D and were all able to just breath some fresh air.

It was a good good day.

 

Ok, now I'm really ready for spring!

Valentine's Day!!

It's love day!

And what makes this day seem so special this year is that everyone is home.

Due to significant snow, it's going to be an extra long weekend!

 

As disappointing as it is that Jane didn't have her Valentine's Day party at school,

she's been having the best day ever!

 

I made doughnuts first thing this morning (thank you Pilsbury).

The girls opened a present.

And now they have been out in the snow for two hours and counting.

 

It definitely is a sweet day!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday's Weekly Update

Jane

-The girl has no sense of urgency.

We could be going to the most awesome place on earth and it would still take her all day to get ready if she wasn't coaxed along every second.

-We started a food chart with her.

Starting the beginning of February, we said she had to try one new food each week.

We give her two choices.

We're starting easy.

So far she's tried the brown breakfast bars (she usually eats the strawberry but the box from Costco came with strawberry and brown sugar this time), garlic butter bread stick, and cookie butter from Trader Joes (I told you we are starting out easy!)

We made a chart and added the food she tries to it. 

If she likes it she puts a happy sticker next to it.

So far, all likes!

-We've been making tic tac toe Valentine's for her classmates.

She's been doing a great job writing her name tiny on them!

It's a pretty big task.

For each one, there is a place to write her name twice.

And there's 18 Valentines.

And remember the lack of urgency?

Thank goodness there will most likely be no school on Friday because of the snow,

we're going to need the weekend to finish!

 

Molly

-Today was her Valentine's Day party at school.

She was so excited to see Owen and I show up halfway through her morning.

I like to see her in her own environment.

Though I didn't like to see how she didn't share!

I wish I would have left Owen home with my mother in law.

He was more needy than I thought he would be, and I wasn't able to help Molly do her craft, or sit next to her at snack.

I will remember that for the future!

-She's been quite a handful lately, saying No and just doing things that she shouldn't.

I'm trying hard to not lose my cool.

I just want to love her and encourage her in a positive manner, but when she is throwing all the clothes out of my dresser as I'm telling her to stop, it is very hard to refrain from raising my voice.

-I'm not the only one finding it difficult.

If Brian is home and I'm telling Molly to stop doing something she shouldn't, she'll say, "Daddy freak out at me?"  hahaha.

Yes child, so please STOP!

-Molly got her first real haircut last Friday.

I took her to Sweet and Sassy.

She was so brave, and wasn't even a bit scared!

-She loves Max and Ruby.

There is an episode about Super Bunny that we watched recently.

Well the next thing I hear is her calling Owen "Super Buddy".

She may test every bit of patience, but she can be awfully cute!

 

 

 

 Owen

-So it is true, dressing boys is not as much fun as girls.

However, I have found I love little baby leggings!

I love dressing Owen in them, they're so soft and comfortable.

But they range in price from $13 and upwards to $30+!

For thin little fabric pants!

Are they crazy??

I soooo wish I could sew!

-He's just a poop machine still!

-We're borrowing my nephew's Jungle Mat.

We used to have one but it somehow got moldy in our crawl space.

I like that he has somewhere new to play!

He can reach up and grab the dangling toys!

-Toys and fingers all in the mouth.

-His sisters love him soooo much.

He gets so many kisses and hugs throughout the day.

It's hard to imagine that in just a short time they will have someone else to argue and bicker with (I hope not!!!)

 



Sick

There's no denying it, sick babies freak me out.
Bad.
You would think that by the third time around I'd be more relaxed.
Rather, I'm quite the opposite.
With the first, I think I was naïve to all that was out there.
I didn't have many mommy friends.
I didn't know all their stories, their friend's stories, their friend's friend stories about sick babies.
And then there's the febrile seizure that Molly had at 5 months lurking in my brain.
So when the slightest symptom of a cold comes on, I become a complete mess.

He came down with a cold and fever Thursday evening.
And it was all downhill from there.

By Saturday he had a pretty nasty cough and was just miserable.
I called our pediatrician.
I hate calling after hours.
It makes me feel bad interrupting their time off.
But I did it.
And she actually thought he'd be able to wait until Monday to see her.

But you know that feeling in your gut that things just aren't right?
Ten o'clock that evening I just couldn't bare it anymore.
Brian stayed home with the girls, I went alone with Owen to the emergency room.
As soon as we got there, he was is normal happy self.
I swear the nurse checking us in must have thought I was nuts bringing this smiley little baby in.
Once we saw the doctor, she said because he had a fever along with the cold she wanted to test for influenza and rsv.
Also she wanted to do a chest x-ray.
The entire 3 hours we were there, Owen was wide awake.
I couldn't believe it.
And he didn't stay cheerful either.
It was a loooong three hours, and I just wanted to take him home to bed and cuddle him!

After they looked at his chest x-ray, they determined he had early pneumonia, where his lungs were starting to turn grey.
We were sent home with an antibiotic, and since then he's been on the mend.
I am so thankful for doctors and medicine.

Wednesday's Weekly Update

Jane

-Because of snow and ice, there's been no school so far this week.

This is turning out to be the longest winter ever!

 

-We ordered some Disney Princess easy read books from one of those Scholastic Book orders.

Well, it took her only a few days to basically memorize the books.

I'd like to say she was reading them, but she says the words faster than I can point to them,

so I know it's all just memory.

 

-Today I took a video of Jane singing and acting out Do You Want to Build a Snowman from Frozen.

I literally watched it like 4 times in a row because it was so amazing.

She is such an actress.

I never saw the movie, but she has such emotion when singing that I can feel how sad Anna is when she can't be with Elsa.

I mean so good it made me want to cry!

 



Molly

-Some of the things she says are just so funny.
Like the other day when she asked Owen if he wanted to eat the booby.
And how she asks to have ice creamy for dessert.
And when she forgets what a Polly Pocket is called, she calls them lollipops.
Girly, you sure make me laugh!

-Last night she did not sleep well at all.
I am still worried about that incident over Christmas, (though she has not had anything else happen to her since) but because she had a cold I prayed she just had an ear infection.
I took her to the doctor today, and sure enough she did.
Who would have thought I'd ever be happy my kids had an ear infection?

-The girl is seriously going crazy being housebound for so long!
She's been insane!
I can hardly blame her, I am too.
 By afternoon she is bouncing off the walls!

-So to remedy, I try sending them out in the snow to play for a bit.
Which always ends in her cry cry crying!
I know the problem is mostly that she's hungry.
She never wants to eat, at least not the healthy stuff.
And as a result, it makes her miserable.
And I bring her back inside, wipe her tears and feed her.
The not eating is probably the most frustrating thing about her right now.

 

Owen

 

-So the cutest thing by far is when he is nursing and stops, looks up at me, and gives me the biggest smile.

I just die every time.

 

-Last week at church I was in the Parent's Room, where I now spend every Sunday with Owen, when I saw a mom give her little boy who looked around the same age, a toy.

He held on to it and put it in his mouth.

I don't know why I hadn't tried giving him any toys yet.

As soon as we got home, I gave him one.

And sure enough he took it.

 

-I'll tell you what, I'm just not with it this time around.

Slacking with the toys, slacking with the singing, slacking with the reading.

I know part of it is that I'm not sitting and rocking him in his room the way I did with the girls.

But the boy doesn't even use his crib so I never go in there other than to get clothes out.

Anyway, I make sure to sing to him while we do bath time. 

And in the car when he's screaming his head off (doesn't really work though). 

 

-The girls never enjoyed me reading to them at this age.

They never looked at the books, never seemed to have an interest.

So I really hadn't tried reading to Owen- poor kid. 

Seriously, I sound like the worst mom ever!

Every once in a while I put Jane to bed instead of Brian.

And usually when I do, I have Owen with me.

Jane lays on Molly's bed, and I put Owen next to her.

I hold the book so that they can see.

And he smiles and really likes it!

I'm now trying to make more of an effort to read to him.

 

-He's learned how to get my attention.

A little fussing and mommy picks him right up.

I may be slacking on some departments, but not on the love.

And boy is he loved.