Snow Day #2

It was a cold and snowy day on Tuesday and schools were called off due to snow that hit right about 5am or so that morning (I had looked outside at about 4:30 due to being up with Trey and there was nothing!). I knew that it was supposed to get up to 36 degrees for the high, so I told the girls they had better get outside to build a snowman before the snow was gone. I didn't let Trey out b/c he is still getting over his double ear infection, so he watched from the door--with his cute FED EX toboggan on!

The girls worked hard at rolling the snow. They did all the work by themselves! Meg took the finished picture of their snowGIRL. She had a carrot nose and raisin eyes, complete with hat and scarf. They had a blast!

Number 5

On the morning of Daniel's birthday, I took Trey to the doctor (again) b/c he was running a fever and pulling at his ears. Well, this time he has a double ear infection and it is now tube time. Honestly, I am glad that he is getting tubes so that we can stop this cycle of ear infections. I hate that he had been on 6 different antibiotics in 10 weeks. I am really hoping the ENT is tomorrow even though it is a holiday, b/c I want to schedule our consultation asap! Alyssa gave me the low down on how this worked for Luke (our kids go to the same pediatrician), so I am prepared in how it works and hope that by sometime in February, we will be ear infection free!

Birthday boy!

Yesterday was Daniel's birthday and we had Andy, Alyssa, and the boys over as well as his good friend, Mike and....Jamie! We had forgotten he would be up here for drill, so that was a nice surprise to have him come over. We made chili and had a very yummy chocolate/oreo cake for dessert! Happy birthday sweetie!

Making the Grade!

Okay, I have to brag on my girls for a minute (mom's perogative, right?) Wednesday was report card day at our house. I had actually forgotten about it. Meg was so excited when she got in the car...."Mom, guess what???? I got straight A's!" Yea, Meg! She could not stop smiling. Last nine weeks, she had a B in social studies (one of her favorites, btw), but got a 100% this time! Lily had a great report card too (no letter grades for Kindergarteners)! She is reading so well! Great job girls!

Making caramels!

This past Saturday, my mom (aka Nana) came over to help us make caramels. This recipe has been in our family for longer than I can remember. My mom made these with her mom when she was a little girl and her mom did the same. My girls love making them, but they really love eating them! These are only made in the winter, b/c it cannot be raining or high humidity...otherwise they just don't turnout. It was lots of fun, but very hard not to eat more than we wrapped!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my nephew, Luke (yesterday)!

We had fun at the Wilson/Caroline/Luke party Saturday evening! They were all so cute! Trey got tired about 8pm (not a good nap day), so below you can see that he slept thru a lot of the noise as Mommy held him!

Updates and then some.....

Well, Trey did a little better last night. He only got up twice and I didn't get him out of bed (yeah me!) and just told him to lay back down. He did and went pretty much right back to sleep......so I felt like I had gotten a pinch more sleep, even though it was my first day back to school (boy, getting up was SOOO hard!). My first day back was pretty good. No major catastrophes and the kids all seemed glad to be back, not to mention we got to play outside! It was 70 degrees today....in January! I was loving it! Meg started an intro to volleyball class today that will last about 6 weeks. We are hoping she really likes it so that she will want to try out for her middle school team. So far so good. She was so excited that today was finally here so that she could go to class....that is a very good sign! While I went to pick her up, Trey was trying to chase the neighbor's lawnmower....as she mowed! He is taking after his daddy in his love of mowers. His daddy loved mowers at his age too! I guess that is what Trey will want for his birthday.

Speaking of birthdays.....Happy 4th Birthday to my nephew, Wilson!!!


Now on to supper tonight. Over the break, I watched some Rachel Ray episodes. One was talking about how picky this one family was compared to this "adventurous" family. I decided we ran too close to the picky family, so we are trying to branch out (slowly, I might add). I found a recipe for a crockpot meatloaf and decided to give it a try. None of my children have ever had meatloaf and I think the last time I had it was as a child. I am not real fond of how it looks (come on....it looks like a loaf of bread, but it is meat....not really pretty). I got all the ingredients and mixed it together this morning. Note to Alyssa....do not try this one....you have to mix all ingredients by hand...literally! That part was not my favorite by far. I used ground turkey instead of beef too. It smelled great when I got home and the kids loved it! Meg and Trey both had seconds (as did Daniel), so I would say it was a hit! If any of you have any recipes you are willing to share let me know!

Mommy Needs Sleep???

Okay...maybe I was wrong. Trey still woke up in the middle of the night. I tried to get him to sleep, but he wasn't having that, so I got in bed with him (reminder...he was in Lily's bed). That lasted for a while, but then I wanted back in my bed, so he came with me. He did not sleep well there either (kicking Daddy), but eventually fell asleep around 6am and slept until 8am. He took his nap today in the big bed and did well (until Lily woke him up), so I am not really sure what the heck is going on. Anyone have any ideas???? I sure could use some......

I Just Want Sleep!

Since Trey's last ear infection, he has not been sleeping well. Of course, with ear pain, that is understandable. However, he has been feeling much better as of a week ago today and he is still waking up multiple times during the night. I think a stroke of genius finally hit me this morning. What if he is getting too big for the crib??? Now that his bumper pad is gone (has been for about 2 months), he is easily hitting his head in his sleep. Trey is not a lay-in-one-spot-sleep-all-night kind of boy. Oh no...he is a sleep-all-over-the-bed kind of boy. He will go to bed with his head at one end, wake up with it at the other end, covers still intact (amazing how he does that!). So that is why I am thinking he is waking himself up accidently. To test my hypothesis, I had him nap on the bottom bunk of Lily's bed...he did great. Right now Lily is in bed with Meg for tonight so that I can test him all night in her bed (and yes, we have a rail up to keep him in bed!!). So far, so good. I have been praying I don't know how many nights now for Trey to sleep all night, but I have not had that one answered yet. Last night, for instance, Trey got up at 11pm, 2am, 3am, 5am, and then 7:24am. At 5, I just finally gave up and put him in bed with us, but when he sleeps with us, he likes to lay his head on me and put his feet on his daddy...therefore, kicking daddy in his sleep (not making daddy happy). I am not quite ready for him to be out of the crib (he is only 17 months!!), but I know if it means sleeping all night.... I will gladly move him over to the big boy bed! The girls both moved before they were 2, so who knows....maybe it is a family tradition. I need to get in a couple of good sleeps before returning to school on Monday!!!!

Snow Day Fun

We ventured out into our little bit of snow to play for a few minutes this afternoon after Trey's nap. He didn't want to touch the snow, but he thought Molly running in it was pretty funny. Lily and Meghan threw some loose snowballs at each other and Molly. Trey wouldn't leave gloves on, so he was only out for about 5 minutes. My camera batteries decided to die, so these are the only pics I got before that happened. I am sure the roads are better and school will be on for tomorrow!

One More Day?

Christmas break for the girls is over.....or is it? Okay...given where we live and how the weather can change in 5 minutes, it is no surprise that we received some snow last night. Not a lot...but enough that school was called off...last night! The county we live in is notorious for not having many snow days, if any. So to have school called off last night, before the eleven o'clock news was big. This morning the temp was 10 degrees, factoring in the winchill and you get a lovely -7 degrees....yes, you read that correctly...-7 degrees. COOOLLDDD! I am glad that the girls didn't have to wait for the bus in that! Every county surrounding ours is out too, so it is pretty yucky out (my school is not out for snow b/c our break is not over yet). Below are some pictures I took outside our door this morning. Even Molly said she didn't want to stay outside (but who could blame her!). So another day at home for the girls. Today is definitely a good pajama day!

Christmas Cheer!

Here are some of our pictures from Christmas Day and Christmas with Mimi and Poppy. We had a great time with all the family. I think the girls have plenty to keep them busy this winter! Trey is finally back to his old self. He seemed back to normal this past Saturday and doesn't require Mommy's arms to help him through the day! We packed up our Christmas decorations this morning and now our house is somewhat back in order (or as much as it can be with three kids). The girls hated to see Mimi and Poppy leave...Lily cried after her Mimi was gone. The girls got to spend some much needed one on one time with them on Sunday afternoon, so that was nice...they can always use more of that Mimi and Poppy (hint, hint)! I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed 2008!