WHOO HOO!!!!!

yeah... that about sums it up...

Sure Signs of Insanity

I'm not exactly sure how to start this blog, I guess the most appropriate would be a favorite saying of my mother's - "Insanity is hereditary, you get it from your kids." It probably should be two blogs, but it all has somewhat run together so here goes...

This past Friday was wonderful, we all got packed and the house cleaned up (at least somewhat decently so) and headed to Saratoga to see the family there. The drive over was great and we even managed to get the kids to bed before midnight which practically never happens it seems when we're traveling.

I think it could have best been described as the calm before the storm. Saturday morning a little before lunch time we all get the idea to go and tromp through the woods at their home. This began as a wonderful adventure. As time wore on though we were beginning to all get a little tired. It was at this point that I lost the lens cap to my camera, nearly sprained my ankle while carrying Ryan, and then a few minutes later accidentally dropped Ryan in the snow. Shortly following all of this we discovered that the stream that we had to cross was higher than normal. This left us with three options - going back the way we came which would have meant another hour at least, walking through the cold water, or trying to cross on a fallen tree. Uncle Matt became the hero of the day, he braved the water next to the tree and carried Ryan across (who was then left by himself in the snow on the opposite bank), I then had Alicia cling on to my back as Matt helped us across the tree. After watching our slow progress Mark decided to also cross on the rocks a little further down so he could get across to Ryan. I'll just say that it was an experience that I don't think I'll soon forget and that walking back the extra hour probably would have been the smart thing to do. Thankfully we all made it safely though. We were all glad to reach the house a few minutes later and warm up. I feel pretty certain that I would have made for a very pitiful pioneer. Ryan was pretty fed up with all of it too after the first little while. Alicia is my trooper though, aside from a few minor complaints about wishing it was spring instead of winter and frustration at prickers, she was determined to fulfill her destiny as a "wood explorer" and was offering me advice.

The day did not end with that however. We decided to go have lunch and then take the kids to the park. Once again, it was a beautiful day and the kids were re-energized from lunch and the excitement of being at the park. Both kids wound up on the swings after about 15 minutes and After a few minutes of this Ryan wanted down. After he was down however he decided it wasn't what he had really wanted and ran for another swing that was still going. It was one of those moments that happe n so quickly it takes a while for the brain to process everything. He wasn't really watching where he was going (not really surprising), just heading for the swing and it swung back toward him and hit him right above his eye. At first we were thinking it was just one of his normal bonks but as he turned around there was a gash. By the time that we made it back to the van to try and clean it up it had clotted for the most part and he was treating it as a war wound that no one was to touch or it would defile his honor. That pretty much ended time at the park so we drove back home. He was crashed so we finally got some ice on it and all in all it's looking okay now.

The saga continued Monday with Alicia waking up with a fever of 103. Tylenol only helped marginally so off we headed to her pediatrician. He guessed it was the first signs of a sinus infection and prescribed some antibiotics for her. Actually it made for a peaceful day because she was too tired to do much of anything aside from lie on the couch and complain whenever Ryan decided she needed to wake up and play with him. The major problem came when Ryan got bored and wandered into the kitchen and found her medicine and figured out how to get the "kid proof" cap off. Thankfully he's clumsy and proceeded to drop the bottle and only got one in his mouth before I came to investigate. This resulted in my first ever call to poison control and the wonderful lady there assuring me that it would be fine.

Thankfully that was pretty much the end of it except for a few meltdowns from Alicia. I swear sometimes that she's almost 15 instead of almost 5. A few days after the fact I can look at it and laugh at myself and realize that it could have been much worse and be grateful that hopefully a few lessons were learned along the way.

Mud Season has Arrived

Yesterday was beautiful. Just after lunch I looked at the thermostat and it was saying that it was 60 outside. I took my book for class to read while the kids ran around for a while finally able to navigate through the snow to reach their swingset. After a little while of that they decided that the mud-puddles now populating our driveway made for an even better adventure.

A few minutes into this Alicia disappears into the house and comes back wearing her swim-suit. I figured after a few minutes reality would sink in and she would get cold. No such luck - for a good half hour they both continued playing in the mud puddles "Mommy - Ryan and I are mud lovers!" and chasing our neighbor's dog Nikki who came for a visit. It was finally Ryan who decided that his hands were rapidly turning into ice-cubes that convinced Alicia it was time to come inside. They were both covered, when I took Ryan's shoes off I had to pour the mud from inside them, wash them and put them outside to dry. They both got a nice bath that helped to warm them up and as soon as he was clean and warm again, Ryan crashed.

I guess it's not over yet...

Reality struck somewhat overnight. Saturday night it was raining, Sunday we walked around without coats and enjoyed beautiful sunshine, overnight we got about 6 inches! At least it's pretty...

(you probably can't tell, but the tracks are about 1ft deep into the snow)

(yesterday the roof was for all intent and purposes clear of snow)

Proof

This was actually taken on the 4th... proof that spring is coming!!!

The sad remnants of Goyle and Cubby... okay, not really that sad...

Pictures of the Munchkins

I've been playing with the new camera the past couple of days so I thought I'd share some.

Another Year Older... Another Year Wiser?

So yesterday was the big day. Not really anything substantial this time in numbers. Actually, after all the years of picking on Dad for not remembering, I had to really think and count it out when I realized it was coming up. Sad really, I don't even want to think about how bad my memory will be when I get to 60. I've seriously considered stocking up on Ginko... but anyways.

So I wake up to the sounds of the kids attacking each other in their room, but since they weren't yelling for me yet I decided to spoil myself and ignore them (I really am horrible about waking up). Just as I had about succeeded I hear the phone going off... thanks again Mom! (I love you :-) !) But since the kids now knew I was awake, that pretty much ended that idea. After we went through the routine of getting their milk (Alicia's version off coffee) Alicia got a really excited look on her face... "Mommy I got you a present!" So she runs and brings back this package wrapped in a paper bag that she's been slicing to shreds for the past few days and hands it to me. It was actually one of her books, but the wrapping job was fairly impressive.

When Mark got home from work I got the rest of the presents, including a real camera again to replace the one I lost back in August. Needless to say I'm beyond myself with excitement. Now I can actually take pictures of spring (I was dying last fall... it was our prettiest yet and me with no camera.)

When we got home from dinner and shopping for a camera bag Alicia started loading up the laundry basket with the clothes that had been in the dryer. She even knew to check the lint trap. When she was done she started moving the clothes from the washer into the dryer. I went to go do something else and then walk into the living room to see her pushing the dry laundry basking in and I hear the dryer going again in the background... sure enough not only had she finished loading the laundry into it but had got it going all by herself. This was totally all on her own she just really loves the front loaders. I guess it's moments like those that make up for the "Mommy feed me like a baby" moments....::sigh::

Overall, I've had a really great year, and I'm determined that this next one will be even better.

Looking Forward

Ignoring the fact that it's snowing again outside, it's March, and that is cause for great celebration! Only one more month of winter (April only half-way counts) The sap buckets are out and the plow piles have finally melted so they're not taller than I am. Saturday we went to the store and bought our seeds for the garden this year. Alicia helped me choose a variety of herbs, flowers, and lots of veggies.

As part of this countdown also begins my countdown to the birthdays, even though there's a month and a half, I think this year will be a big one since it's 5 and 2. Pretty much everyone is invited but I've had a hard time picking themes, currently the idea is a princess/dragon/knight idea (mostly based on some awesome cakes I saw on the Betty Crocker website), but I've also been thinking about bugs and garden since it's spring, Dora because she's just always fun, and Hawaii because Alicia's already decided she wants us to go there although I think we finally did find a new home for the palm trees that appeared magically about 3 years ago! Just wishing I had Lindsey here to help with the cakes...