I need some fun!

I kinda freaked out last Friday, after being stuck in the house with Jennie's RSV, for what seemed like forever, I just needed the whole family to get OUT! Doug suggested a movie, Lew gave us the idea of ice skating, we ended up at Liberty park, and we all had a blast.

This was my favorite climbing toy as a kid. Joseph was the first to the top. Everything is a race with him.


Sophia wanted to do everything the boys could do. She handled the wild tire swinging for awhile and then begged daddy to let her off for the boys to continue their need for speed.


This climbing toy is new since I last visited Liberty park. Even Doug enjoyed it.


So I said everyone had a blast, and I'm not totally sure that's accurate. Jennie was warm, and included as much as a baby with RSV should be I guess. She seems happy no matter what we do, even when she's sick.

Curlers

I bought these new curlers for myself just to try something new. I totally failed on my hair making us late for church this past Sunday. Soph wanted to try them so badly though that she has been asking me every day for a turn. Today I had the time and patience (our power was out, thus I couldn't do any house work). She was patient too which should be noted. I absolutely loved the results, the only bummer was that almost every curl flopped during her nap. I just hope she lets me do this again.

Relaxedly Happy

I'm feeling really blessed right now. I survived the 3 days as a single mom just fine. The help of all of my neighbors, including awesome fry bread, and cheese manacotti was way more than I was expecting. All of the kids adjusted to day-light savings time like champs (way better than Doug or I have actually). My normal uptightness over the house has eased, and I'm slowly ticking away at the to-do list without it feeling like it will overpower me. My family loves me, my neighbors are great, It's gloomy outside, and I have a smile on my face. Some days, a smile is just all I need. Doug made it home safely, and was much happier to be home with us in our chaos than to be making $, and eating fancy food in Portland. Overall, my life isn't magazine page worthy, but it's good, and actually much better than some of the families who do make those pages. I feel blessed.

Mark Your Calendars

Dalton will be baptized on April 4th at 4pm at the church. If you need directions, or any other info, e-mail me with your contact info, and I'll send it on. We are so proud of his choice!

Jennie is 5 months old

Bright eyed, beautiful, not just content, but happy, and all this while she has RSV and a raging ear infection. Since we were at our Ped's office anyway, (and I forgot to take her for her 4 month well-child), we found out that she is a whopping 16.9 pounds! Now, that's a Crawford on formula! All of her 0-3 clothes are currently being packed away:( She babbles to herself in the crib, in her exersaucer, and in her high chair. She doesn't really like food yet, and that's fine with me. She sits up nicely with help, without help she'll sit for a time and then attempt a back dive as if a cushion of water will soften her bonk. She'll calm down if I say "are you ready for a bottle?" and walk towards the sink. I'm glad that she's still a baby in at least one area though, she is my first child to NOT have any teeth by this age, they all seemed to have at least 2 wee teeth by 4 months. Yea for a gummy smile! Jennie is an absolute delight.

Disaster Averted

At least once a year someone will ask, "what are you grateful for?" and twenty people will say the same things, family, friends, health.... I am grateful for all of those things, but my random response that has always been true, and really ranks up there with family is indoor plumbing. Those who know me well have probably heard that one out of my mouth a couple of times already. Sorry to be so repetitious. Today I'm actually grateful for the parts that rarely get used, like that small overflow hole just inside the front lip of the sink that's barely visible and prevents bathroom flooding. This is what happens when I ignore Soph while I blog. Usually she's innocently playing tea, so I don't worry about sound of water flowing in the back of my brain, but this time I found what could have been a disaster. Yea for thoughtful plumbers!

Sophia's Big News

Since Thursday she has been potty training. Actually she has wanted to do this since I was 8 months pregnant with Jennie, so maybe I should say that since Thursday, I have been willing to help Soph potty train. She just decided that she wanted to wear underwear, and that was it. Thursday was great, she even had a small accident, and held the rest till she made it to the toilet. Friday was great. Saturday and Sunday were not so great, with mulitple accidents, but she did take a nap with no diaper and no accident. Monday was fabulous, and that's when we learned that we needed to spice up the treats, dried mangos were traded for large pink marshmallows. Today is the big TA-DA with Soph waking up from her nap to tell me that she had to pee, and she did both numbers at the same time. No accidents yet to report since Sunday, and I hope I'm not counting my chickens too soon, but, oh wait. There's an accident. That's how it goes I guess.

Rated "Mom"

Okay I've seen the "What's in your bag?" tag, and I still haven't been caught yet, but I thought I'd offer this one up. What's in your Bra? I just took mine off for the day, and found two empty breasts, a pacifier, a ring, a small marker that belongs to a neighbor, some crumbs, and 11 cents in change. Sorry there's no pic to accompany this post, actually I'm not sorry at all.

Food for thought

This is undoubtedly one of the most interesting e-mails I've ever received. Take a good look at the typical diet of each country and the cost of what is eaten in one week.

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07


United States: The Revis family of North Carolina (Sure hope most American families eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less junk food than this family.)
Food expenditure for one week $341.98


Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11


Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09


Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27


Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53


Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55


Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03


Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

Spring?

Yesterday we speant a lovely day outside to enjoy all 58 degrees! I pulled out the lopper, some gloves, and a rake to do some yardwork. My skin enjoyed every molecule of vitamin D it could possibly soak up. I wasn't even wearing my SPF 15 moisturizer! Soph learned how to ride a neighbors tricycle, she was pretty bummed that she could only go backwards though. Joe was happy that his bike tires hadn't deflated over the winter. Dalt loved that I put the tether-ball pole right next to the building so he could practice his climbing skills (no head injuries to report this time... whew.) The neighborhood kids were enjoying the hunt for bugs, and the soft soil from the newly melted snow, and talk of neighborhood BBQ's was in the kids hub hub.

And then, this afternoon the snow started to fly again. I caught the last of daylight's show from the inside with my slippers on. I'm sure that there will be a significant accumulation by morning. I am losing patience with this weather.