Life in February

It's Friday!  Yay!  We are still freezing here in Michigan and Eli was really hoping school would be cancelled.  I assured him that it was unlikely due to the fact that they have missed so much already.  Despite that, this morning as I packed lunches he said "Mom, are you just packing those IN CASE we have school?"   So funny.  What can I say? He's a dreamer that one.  I tried to encourage him with the fact that it is Friday and he has 2 days off after today.

I logged on to my computer this morning to post today and the computer that has my pictures on it will not connect to the internet and the computer I am currently using does not have my camera program installed anymore, apparently.  So I decided to post a pictureless post anyways.

Adds and I grabbed groceries this morning and are now home hibernating.  The wind chills this morning were between -5 and -15 so I had to fight to even make myself go out to do that.  I cannot wait for Spring.

Last night we visited a woman from church in the hospital that had her daughter at 28 weeks.  We hoped to encourage them in the journey that is the NICU with a sweet preemie.  We got in the car and man it hit me.  I remembered all the fear that was wrapped up in those first hours, days, weeks and months.  God's grace was so sufficient.  His hope was ALL we had.  No one could reassure us that they'd be "fine".  It was not a given.  I truly pray that type of grace and peace over this family.

We also have a friend that is 33 years old and has 4 boys, ages ranging 3-12 who has been diagnosed with cancer.  And I have yet to mention here that my nephew Teddy is undergoing radiation for his tumor that returned and continued to grow despite a year of weekly chemo.  It's been a rough winter and this world can take the joy right out of you.  I am so thankful for our relationship with Jesus Christ that assures us that none of us are long for this world.  This life is but a vapor.  Our home is not here.  I need that reassurance today as we see so few answers for all that is  taking place in the lives of those we love.  God is good, all the time.  Painful as this world sometimes can be.

Just some things....

Addie's been out of diapers since before Summer but I just found these in the top of her closet and passed them onto my sister which means there is not a. single. diaper. in. my. house.  WHAAAT?  Crazy.  First time in almost 7 years.  And once Jared and I found out we were pregnant with twins we started buying diapers at most grocery trips SO it may be more like 8 years.  (In hindsight I wish I had a picture of the stockpile of diapers we had.  We were prepared, to say the least.)

I let Addison pick the toothpaste recently and Eli was none too pleased.  I explained that Addie has NEVER picked and she always uses their kind, yada, yada.  To which he replied:  "OK as long as it is not pink and sparkly".  "Eli, just because it is Addie's pick, that DOES NOT MEAN it will be pink and sparkly"  says wise Mom.  Except that when we went to use it, it was in fact, pink and (of course) sparkly.  I laughed so hard at his sheer terror.  :)  Good times.

Here she is re-enacting their favorite scene from "Night at the Museum" (second one),  "Boom, Bang, Firepower!"  The thinker is flexing his muscles.  She cracks me up.

She absolutely loves to be chased.  She cackles.

I was getting a picture of Addie's Cubbie uniform and Eli wanted to a picture with his new library book.  Eli is such a reader.  He reads everything he can get his hands on.  He wanted binoculars for Christmas so he can bird watch and I just reserved a book for him at the library about Michigan Birds.  He is going to be so excited.

And that's a little of what is going on here.

Winter, Winter, Winter

Weather has been at the height of all conversation in "these here parts". We are freezing! It has been crazy cold and the boys got another day off on Friday due to the extreme cold. Next week is supposed to be the same so I am not sure what will happen with school on those days.

The upside of being a stay at home mom is that I am not out in it a ton. I do the dropping kids off, picking them up, grocery shopping, errand thing and outside of that I am in my warm home. I'll be honest I feel a little spoiled. I'm still ready for spring though, don't get me wrong. The positives that are coming out of this are that I am home a ton which is translating to some Spring cleaning (really early and in below zero temps)and cleaning out. I have also had more time to make some new meals and bake some yummy/healthy treats for the fam. And I have been working out regularly on the treadmill because, I have time. This all makes me realize that even when the weather warms up, home is a good place to be.

The downside is that this weather means Jared is working a lot and I am home on a Saturday without him. Bummer. The kids are missing him a little but again it is only for a season and then it is back to the flexible schedule that we enjoy. We are also battling colds and hoping we don't get the dreaded stomach bugs that fly around at this time of the year. So far, so good.

Meanwhile the boys are playing video games more than usual, given the fact that they are unable to go outside OR to school and Addie seems to be intent on undoing any and every bit of cleaning I have been doing. She is at that 3 year old, "I like to dump things!", stage!

Alright, I am off to tackle the basement messes while watching a movie with the boys. Oh yeah and Addie wants to play a game. Ahh, the slow pace of Winter (insert: eye roll).

Winter Days

Addie and I our back to enjoying our alone time. In truth I am not sure what is easier, dealing with Addie when she has full run of the home or having all 3 kids home. I love having all my kids home but I really try to savor my Addie time. Now that the boys are in first grade and on their way to becoming 7, (physical pain from that last statement)I know how fast this time goes. I should add that, even with that knowledge it doesn't make it easy to focus on her. The rest of life pulls at me regularly, as it should. I find that balance is needed between our entire universe revolving around our kids and giving them the attention they need. Moving on. Deep thoughts with Becky (Jack Handy reference in case you missed that).

Anyways, it is downright balmy in Michigan. We are no longer suffering from wind chills well below (-30, WHAT?) zero. I was recess Mom today and as we stepped outside on our way to the gym one of the kids said "Man, it is warm out here!!" I had to laugh. It was 35 degrees out. I was amused by his enthusiasm but just yesterday my sister Missy and I went for a walk outside and dodged snow, puddles and large icy surfaces just to get out into the warmth of 45. What can I say? we are Michiganders through and through.

So here are some of my Addie pics from the week. The girl knows how to completely destroy a room in mere minutes. And she had a lot of fun with Eli's glasses.

She is napping right now, which is a blessing because she woke up at 6:00 a.m. The boys are almost ready to be picked up from school and on go these days that are flying by way to quickly.

It's a hard-knock life

This pouty little girl......

with her big, sad, brown, eyes

has to wear a sweater and pajama pants with her "ballerina dress" (so that she doesn't freeze to death). Mom ruins all the fun.

Poor child.  Rough life. :)

Adieu Christmas Break!

Jared and I thought Alex was channeling his inner Frenchman here while enjoying his baguette.  Hence the Adieu!

The kids have LOVED all this snow SO MUCH.  They were outside today despite the fact that the wind chill was below zero.  Ugh.  I fought it for two days straight because it was insanely cold but today it was in the upper teens (ie heatwave) so I relented and they enjoyed every last second of it.

We ended up getting an extra 3 days of break due to the cold and snow, which has been so great but tomorrows the big day and Mama has plenty to get done. Addie-adds and I will be hitting the grocery store for sure.  Stay warm!

A New Year

AND I return from the longest blogging break in the history of this blog. Oy. Moving on. We are coming to the end of Christmas break and were given 2 extra days due to the snow and well below freezing temps. The boys are dying to go outside and play in the snow. It is 2 degrees out. 2. That doesn't include the windchill which I believe makes it about 20 below.

It has been such a nice break. We stayed home a lot and had time with friends and family. We sledded and played in the snow. Jared took an entire week off which was wonderful.

Currently, they are each on a device of some sort. Alex is beating me 47 to 1 in tic-tac-toe on the ipad. The only issue is I only played 1 game. Ha ha. I am now attempting to move all my 2013 pictures over to a hard drive. I kept up for the most part this year with organizing each months pics at the end of that month. I do, however have November and December to do but that is to be expected. So 2013 almost complete. Now 2011 and 2012 are a different story so I have my work cut out for me. Luckily, I have a long cold winter ahead in which to do some of these nagging tasks.

The boys are headed back to first grade tomorrow. They continue to love their school and their teacher, Mrs. Miller. They are doing well academically and we are proud of their efforts. Addie is still home with Mama. We just started gymnastics 2x/month and she is looking forward to soccer in the Spring. She is every bit of 3! I remember 3 with the boys being the absolute hardest age. I thought now only having one to go through it with would be a breeze. I was mistaken. As was the case with Alex and Eli she is also so hysterical at this age which I am positive God knows is necessary in order to endure this season in the life of a child.

As for the rest of the day, I plan to take in a movie in the basement, snuggled up with all 3 of my babies and this laptop if I stay motivated. :0 I fear that this ole laptop may be on its way out. It connects to the internet when it feels like it and the keys work if you are lucky. I am hoping that moving my camera hardware onto the desktop in the basement will alow me to blog consistently because I will have a more reliable internet connection.

Here's to 2014.