The Snowstorm

Despite some warm days this week, we're set to have a massive storm that is a "threat to life and property" according to weather.com. We pray it won't actually threaten us in that way, but we want to enjoy the beautiful snow. Tonight we headed to the gym for a quick soak in the hot tub after dinner. By the time we got to the other side of our neighborhood, the weather changed from nothing to full-on snow. It was crazy! We skipped the gym but needed to stop at the drugstore. By the time we made the loop back to our house, the ground was covered with at least an inch. The kids were so excited (maybe we were too :) ) so we geared up and ran around outside. After some books about snowmen and a long night's sleep, the little people should be ready for a fun day of play!

Sledding down our driveway was the unexpected hit! See here.

My mom is officially retired!

Today was her last day of work after 41.5 years of service as a public school educator. She says she's going to sleep for 2 weeks. She deserves it! I'm so proud of all she's done to touch the lives of millions of kids during her career. This picture was taken 2 weeks ago when Amelia and I flew to FL to attend her retirement party. Amelia walked her out of her high-rise building, which was weird, since she's almost always worked inside a school building.
(Of course, be sure to check back to see the rest of the pics which will be uploaded after the kids are asleep.) Way to go, Judy!

Naptime Entertainment

This is why I never get anything done. I was going to knock some things off my to-do list including signing up to bring meals to friends with new babies, planning a packing list for tomorrow's trip to my mom's retirement party, organizing the thank you notes we hope to send out this quarter, finishing our Christmas cards, etc., when Amelia trots out of her room dressed up and ready to tap dance. Thank goodness for the nice padded rug in our living room which dampens the sound of the yard sale tap shoes! Do you think we should start actual lessons this year? At the end she says, "How did that work?" meaning, "make sure you get me on video, because I constantly ask to be photographed and recorded on video."

Smiling Kids

Michael caught this little smile while John was sleeping in the swing this morning. We've tried to follow all the advice of sleep experts about not sleeping in the swing, but desperate times call for desperate measures... Ever since we returned from our Christmas travels, the little people have been sick. John's been up a whole lot the past 4 nights with a pretty rough cold, cough, gagging, crying, etc. We finally decided that horizontal sleeping wasn't working, and we put him in the swing after he woke up screaming from drainage issues. After a 2nd trip to the dr. in a week, he's on augmentin and albuterol, plus zantac, hopefully on the mend. He's being introduced to vegetables and fruits right now, but with all this illness, he's not too excited about solids or eating in general. Click on the picture to see the videos.

Thomas has another ear infection - or set of them. He's got his own meds too, but click on his picture to see a video of him from a month or so ago. He had been making this funny sound while I was playing on the floor with John and Amelia. Finally, I figured out what he was doing and got a little laugh. He is pressing the "button" on the outlet cover, pretending it is an automatic soap dispenser. Listen carefully. He washes his hands, then reaches for a towel "Right behind you down there" which is his stock answer for any where question. "Thomas, where are your shoes?" "Right behind you, down there." It has slowly progressed to "Right behind you, kitchen." Always..."Right behind you" + the actual location of the object. Another thing we hear him say often is, "Help! My pants are falling down!"To remedy that, Michael brough home a Sam's Club pizza, quite possibly his favorite food. In the middle of the pizza dinner he screamed out, "FROM SAAAAAAAAM's!"


Amelia is back at preschool today (hence my ability to type this and to fold 2 loads of clothes!!!), and she was so thrilled to see her friends and teachers! She was totally bundled up in her coat, hat and mittens for the 24 degree drive across the street. She's also actually, battling a very, very junky cough that has persisted for over a month. She is enjoying getting meds too, but she said her body didn't like the taste of the new one she started this morning, augmentin. With all these sick little ones, we're administering 11-13 doses of stuff or treatments each day. We almost need a home health nurse to get that and meals into everyone. Here's Amelia playing Thomas' beloved ukulele her own way. Click on the picture to see a video of her singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to her new baby doll at Christmas.