No more snow, Please!

 We couldn't believe there was another week of snow.  The boys went to school on Monday and that was it for the week.  I had already had my fill of snow-related cancellations to my plans, so I was over it.  Too bad the kids weren't.  It was another week of dressing four boys in boots, hats, mittens, snow pants and coats, take off, dry, repeat, repeat, repeat.  I don't know how people up North do it.  I guess it helps that they probably have more than one set of "snow clothes"

In preparation of the "big" expected snow, I headed out with the rest of Raleigh to the grocery store.  I had no idea how long the lines would be and luckily for me, having all four kids with me proved to be a free pass to the (somewhat) front of the line when I inadvertently cut in front of about 8 other people.  Whoops!  There was a decent snow on Thursday of this week and the boys and the neighborhood kids (with Derek's help) built a snowman.  Then they were off to do other things.

I had purchased roses (of Brighton's choosing) to bring in to school for the week.  He is in a Montessori classroom and flowers are brought in each week by parent volunteers.  Well, the flowers never made it to school (until a week later when Brighton insisted I bring them in) so they decorated my kitchen table.  It was nice to have fresh flowers and something so pretty during this gloomy, cold, snow-filled week.  

I spent some time curled up in front of a fire to keep warm.  We did lose power for about a day, but luckily it was turned on again before nightfall...the house was getting cold!  I read "What Alice Forgot"  I'm not a big reader, just don't have the time, but I did enjoy this book.  In the story, the woman bumps her head and loses her memory of the past 10 years of her life.  It made me think about my life and all that's happened over the last ten years.  

No more snow, please.  We are ready for SPRING!!

Mr. Klepto

Jamison is still in the crib at 22, almost 23 months.  I have no desire to move him into a big boy bed yet and no reason too, since there's no younger sibling bumping him out.

Being the baby has many perks:

I saw these shirt the other day and just had to laugh.  

"The Rules Don't Apply To Me"

If you see above, Jamison had just woken up for the day and the following items he had requested demanded to sleep with the night before:

1. Elle (his Lovey...the blue elephant)
2. a red ball
3. a stuffed shark (belongs to Brighton)
4. a water-filled tube with glitter
5. a red truck

He is starting to not be a fan of going for quiet time (naps) or bedtime.  He must have so many items to bring with him and always wants to read more books.  Getting him in bed without tears is becoming a challenge.  I know this is a phase, but hopefully not a long one.

Snow Week!

Our world ground to a halt with snow this week.  The big boys had already missed the Friday and Monday prior to the snowfall due to planned holidays, so they got 6 days off from school.  A "winter-break" if you could call it that.  It was no break for me!  Derek had to work the entire time except one morning where he joined us for a little sledding.

I managed to talk him into taking one obligatory picture before me and the troops headed down the street to find the other neighborhood kids for sledding.  After a few hours, I was exhausted and cold and knew at least Jamison was too.  We trekked home and my parents were so thoughtful to bring us chili for lunch.  

The afternoon and next morning were filled with more sledding.  Jamison was not happy about putting on all the layers, especially the gloves.  I wasn't happy about the time it took me to help with gloves, hats, snowbibs, coats, and boots for four others and get myself dressed too.  I was especially unhappy that I had forgotten my "snow" boots broke during the last snow and so I trashed them and had nothing other than sneakers to wear.  

Jamison enjoyed being pulled around slowly on this sled that we borrowed from our neighbors.  

He doesn't look too happy here....but he's so fluffy!

I used the wagon to transport Jamison and some of our sleds down to the neighbors house.  Wagon rides for the little ones were a hit.

Maverick enjoyed sledding with Mommy or this neighbor girl that is slightly younger than Chandler. After going down the hill a few times he got up the courage to go down by himself and loved it!

The aftermath.  The snow gear really piles up and it's usually left for Mom to sort out, and put wet items in the dryer.  I don't mind a snow day, maybe two.  Three is pushing it.

Spring can't get here soon enough!

Swim Team!

We like for our boys to participate in sports teams, but we don't advocate them devoting their (and subsequently our) lives to one thing.  It's hard enough meeting the needs of 4 individuals, but add in separate activities for each and it's impossible.  I can't do it alone, or even with Derek's help.  For the past few years, the big two have done T-ball/baseball.  This year I was surprised and relieved that they asked to do swim team.  We are not members of a pool, since there is one in our backyard.  I looked into our options and found they can be on our local city swim team.  Although we have a pool, our boys have not had much in the way of formal lessons and are not very strong swimmers.  I was hoping that the swim team would be a motivation and also a tool for practicing to improve their confidence in the water.

I was unable to attend the first swim team practice because I was feeling sick.  Derek took the big two while I stayed home with the littles.  It was reported back to me that Brighton would not even get in the pool because he was too scared he couldn't touch!  It was frustrating to me that he wouldn't even try because we had spent the month leading up to this practicing.  I told Brighton that I wasn't expecting him to be able to swim the entire length of the pool without stopping because I know he currently can not, but he needed to try and that was what mattered.  I told him that he would have one more chance and that if he didn't try, he would not be on the team.  That was the motivation he needed, and luckily the next time went much better.  I know he has a long way to go, but he is working hard and we are so proud of him!

Since my 3 spring babies have birthdays so close together, we are having a combined party.  They wanted a pool party and since the weather can still be quite cool in early April, we opted to have it at a local pool.  We took the big boys there today to check it out since they had the day off.  They had a blast.  I can't wait to see how far they both progress in their swimming over the next 3 months.

Playtime

Jamison and his twin spent the morning playing at Marbles today.  I can never get them to look at me at the same time.  His buddy, Jett kept running off.  I think the first picture is really cute.  Jamison is trying to show Jett where he needs to look.

Here are the two boys hugging.  I have a lot of shots of the back of their heads.

We had a really fun morning and it was nice to have some time together with just the little ones.  I really appreciate that each of my boys have special friendships and Jett is definitely Jamison's best friend.  I hope it always stays that way!

Bath Time....Don't Judge.

It's been a while since I've taken any bath-time photos.  The big boys are getting too old for that and rarely take baths anymore.  Brighton begged to take a bath this night, so he got to join the little two in the tub.  As big as it is, it's still a squeeze for 3.

Right now bath time is a major production.  It's usually two and two.  Two in the shower, and two in the tub.  All in the master bathroom, and all at once.  No wonder our general rule is if you can't remember the last time you got a bath, then it's probably time for another one.  Like I said, don't judge.  At the end of the day the last thing I want to do is wrangle 4 boys in my bathroom.  Chandler is pretty self-sufficient and will soon be showering in his own bathroom alone.  At least then we'll be down to 3 (for now)  HA!  Just seeing if anybody actually reads these posts.

Record Keeping

Derek and I are in the process of updating several of our household records and important documents.  A trip to the safety deposit box was in order.  In there I found a book that looks like something from the 1980s.  I think it was a wedding gift, but I'm not sure it was new even then.

It is a record book to record possessions in to have proof of items that may be destroyed by fire or theft.  I think that I must have been in a nesting phase before Chandler was born because I think that's when the majority of it was filled out and the accompanying pictures taken.  It's funny how much our lives have changed since then, and yet stayed the same.

Each "room" has a fill-in chart where possessions are recorded and pictures are filed in the book.  Our house has changed a lot since 2007, so this really needs to be updated.  We no longer have some of the items recorded in the book, and have gained several items from the estate of my grandmother that now furnish our home.  I show above in the picture where my diamond engagement ring is listed, but yet covered up with a piece of paper.  I'm old-fashioned like that and don't want to ever know what my ring cost.  Derek thinks it's silly.

Hopefully in the next month or so I can list out all of the things that are not in the book and take some more pictures.  We also took a video of the home in 2007.  That is really funny to see how it was furnished and decorated compared to now.  Derek's comment was, "it's so CLEAN!"  Ha....No kids toys cluttering the floors, etc...

Speaking of kids toys....the season of Lent is almost upon us.  I'm going to try again to complete the 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge.  I expect to make much more progress this year!

The Yuck

Food Poisoning.

Stomach Virus.

Not sure which of these hit me last week, but it hit me fast and hard.  This was one of the sickest times I've had in my life and I do not care to repeat it.  I'm 8 days out, and still....STILL not fully over it.  It is so frustrating!  I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

Lexi, our puppy is 4 months old.  She is growing so fast.  She has almost outgrown her "submissive peeing" with the family, but still might pee if a new person greets her.  We are working on it.  She gets her rabies shot next week and that will be so nice to be able to take her outside more and go on walks.  She really needs to burn off some energy and we as a family need to start exercising more.  Bring on spring, please!!

The boys seem to be growing by leaps and bounds as well.  We have a few birthdays that will be coming up soon and I'll have kids that are 2, 4, 6, & 8.  I've started a little chant around here:

Two, Four, Six, Eight....who do we appreciate?  Mom!! Mom!! Yeah! Mom!

The boys laugh and humor me with this.

Maverick is starting his last half of the 3's preschool class.  It's hard to believe he'll only have one more year left then it's off to Kindergarten.  What will I do with myself?  I have many part-time jobs that I do to support our family.  One of them is babysitting/tutoring for a family that we've known for years.  Unfortunately that job will be ending come May as the baby young man will be graduating!!  I will be sad to see the loss of income, but also sad that the relationship with that family will end change.  I've been with that family once a week for TWELVE years!  Wow!

On the plus side, through all of my sickness lately, I've had lots of time with God.  There are several things that weigh heavy on my heart.  I will not go into all of the details here, but yesterday I saw a change for the positive in one area.  It came very unexpectedly and I would have bet money against it.  I need to change my way of thinking and hand it totally over to God.  I'm hoping this will be a new beginning for me in this area.  A fresh start, if you will.  I know God is working through me and with me.  I'm trying to have a new mantra:  

"Less busy, More Fruitful"

I want others to see God in me and through me.  I want to slow down and savor life, not just hurry through it like a race.  That is my prayer.