Big Snow 2009

Last reported we had some friends over due to the big snow storm brewing and their lack of power. Well, our friends left about 8ish and I got the kids off to bed. Our power flickered on and off a few times but didn't go out...until 1:30 am. My mind began to race as I listened to globs of snow fall from the trees onto our roof. I wondered if I should bring the kids in bed with us? I was fearful a tree would fall into the house (it happened September 2006). We have a vacant lot next to us with lots of dead trees. I also wondered about how much food we would lose due to the power outage. Eventually I left the kids in their own beds and fell back to sleep. Thankfully the power came back on before morning.

As our luck would have it a tree did fall in the middle of the night. As Pete was getting ready to leave he noticed a tree directly in front of my car. We haven't had a chance to closely inspect my car (too much snow) but we think we got lucky and it simply fell in front of my car! ...here's hoping it didn't bounce off the hood first.

So onto the obvious...the snow. I figure we got 4 or 5 inches? The kids, of course, were itching to go outside and make snow angels, snow men, snow dogs, snow balls, crazy footprint paths, etc. Hmmmm, what to do with the girl in the cast? It should also be noted that my kids don't have snow pants. If I would have known we were going to get a couple snows this year then I would have bought some - I will invest in some for next year. I was just fortunate we had snow boots! So we bundled up in layers, wrapped Izzy's cast in a bag, and headed out to our winter wonderland.

We Have Had Some Serious Lazy Days

The last few days have been completely uneventful so there isn't much to share? This past weekend was full of cold rain. We spent a good portion of the weekend lazing around in our pj's just watching movies, doing crafts and reading books. ...told you it was boring.

Izzy made a puppet that Omi sent.


We also spent an obscene amount of time playing with pipe cleaners. Who knew those could be so much fun? One of Izzy's favorite creations was her "charm necklace".


Once her necklace was complete we moved on to some painting. ...notice she is wearing her necklace.

One thing Izzy is just discovering is color combinations. In this particular set of paints she was able to figure out that if she added white to each color it made a lighter version of the color. She also combined a couple colors and then added white to come up with some interesting shades.

We needed to take a break from playing to get some cleaning done. No child labor laws here...Izzy cleans mirrors/windows and Drew vacuums.




After our chores were done it was back to playing. Gimpy Girl can't walk around the train table so we just built a track around her.


And perhaps the newest and coolest activity is the new equipment Daddy ordered so the kids could play the Cool School on the tv. How fun is that? Thanks to Aunt Jaclyn (she is getting major props these days) for helping out with this. The kids used to use my computer screen to play...but the tv is SO MUCH BETTER! How cool is our daddy?


For anyone of you that have considered purchasing the Cool School...do it! I can't say enough about how kid friendly it is! Izzy and Drew both love it and it has educational value. Izzy loves to use the writing tablet to draw her letters. She doesn't even trace them anymore - just tries to draw them on her own. I know Walmart has been putting random things on clearance and a couple of my friends were able to score these for $30.


Come Sunday night a winter storm was a brewing! Some of our friends lost power, so we invited them over to play for a bit. Imagine our surprise when it was time to get the kids ready for bed and we found all four had matching pj's!

I removed the faces of our friends because I can't recall if I ever asked the mom if I could post their pictures. ...but how cute do all the kids look in matching pj's?

Next up: winter storm pictures!

Random Boring Stuff

Not too much has been going on here since my dad left on Monday. Yesterday we hung out at home until 2 and then headed to the mall to return some stuff. While there I bought myself a pair of shoes that were 70% off at Dillard's. ...only to then be told as I was leaving the store that today everything already marked down would be an additional 40% off. So, the shoes I bought yesterday for $28 were returned and rebought today for $17. I have no idea where I will wear the cute little patten leather wedge shoes, but for $17 who cares?

After we left the mall we went to Stephanie's for some playtime fun - they had met us at the mall and Stephanie got two pairs of shoes for $34...which today she rebought for $20!

Today, Wednesday, Izzy had school, lunch bunch and then jingle jam. She agreed to stay for jingle jam if her friend Sarah was staying. Thankfully Sarah was staying cause I had lots to do! It is not easy to run errands with Izzy in a cast - no place to put her?

Once back home, Izzy was surprised to find 3 packages and two letters waiting for her. This broken leg sure brings out the nice in people ;) She has been SO happy receiving so many well wishes, cards and packages.

Opening some of her loot from today


Working on a really cool crystal bead mirror craft that Aunt Jaclyn and Uncle Mike send (Uncle Mike, your wife rocks and sent some really great stuff! She totally went overboard and we love her for it. Thanks guys!)

I will need to post a picture of her finished mirror once it dries. She worked on it for nearly an hour because it involved lots of gluing and tiny little beads. It took every once of self control for me not to pick out the mismatched beads. By the end so many colors were intermingled that I just had to look away. All that matters is that she had fun, right ;)

Here is one of the sweetest pictures ever. Drew is trying to give up his nap. In fact he only takes 2-3 a week lately. Part of me is hoping it is because we have not been nearly as active as we usually are since Izzy got her cast, but the other part knows he may just be trying to give it up. Unfortunately he won't sit still for quiet time like Izzy. Anyway, one afternoon when Drew wouldn't nap, I left to run some errands. When I came home, I found Drew snuggled up next to Pete asleep. A piece of me was SO sad because he never just snuggles up and falls asleep while watching tv with me. Still a sweet picture nonetheless.



Look at this face. I just love him!

Okay, so maybe it isn't the best sleeping picture...looking up his nose and all, but he is still cute ;)

And perhaps one of my most favorite moments from this past weekend was me walking in and seeing this site.



Almost two years ago we bought a Shrek movie that came with a Shrek 3-D movie included. Well, they busted it out and it was a huge hit!

Positive Reinforcement

There are certain times that I think I am actually doing a pretty decent job raising my kiddos :)

I was just upstairs getting ready for the day and I heard Izzy say to Drew, "Drew, just try the egg. You might like it, or you might not, but you won't know until you take a taste. If you don't like it then you don't need to eat it. It will make Mommy really happy if you take a taste. Mommy will be so proud of you for trying it, Drew."

I came downstairs to find a couple of bites of egg on the floor. Drew told me, "I taste Izzy's egg and I spit it on the floor! I not yike eggs!"

Bless the child for trying and for his great sister for encouraging him to try a bite. I just love them to pieces!

On a side note: Drew ate a TON of salmon the other night for dinner, while Izzy chowed down on half a ribeye steak. I don't know if Drew liked the salmon or the big deal we were making out of him eating it? Regardless I was over the moon he was eating something so very good for him! Slowly we keep trying new foods and some days they like them, and other days they don't. Heck, some days they don't even like the foods that are my surefire goto foods.

A Visit From Grandpa Dave

Grandpa Dave came to visit us this past weekend.



We were very excited because it was his first trip to our abode in NC. Truth be told, my poor dad doesn't really get to spend as much time with his grandkids as the other grandparents. It seems that whenever we visit Cleveland he only gets a couple hours here and there. Poor guy. So, we were sooooooo happy he was able to come and hang with us for a weekend.

Due to Izzy's limited mobility we really didn't do much of anything. That's okay, Grandpa Dave was just happy to hang and play with the kids. He brought some great gifts for all of us. Izzy's shapes and color Bingo was a hit with the whole crew. Many many bingo games were played over the course of his visit.



Drew proved to be in rare form and kept us all thoroughly entertained the entire weekend. My dad had trouble keeping up with all of Drew's many character roles.



Grandpa Dave left today, but not before he took Izzy to school with me. Izzy was super excited for GD to see her school and meet her teachers and some of her friends. Check out her fun striped sock over her cast. The kids at school were so funny when they saw Izzy today thinking she had a new striped cast. Izzy just giggled this silly little giggle and told them "it is just a sock guys" ;)

Booger

Last night as I was sitting on the couch, Drew turns to me and asks, "Mama, can I eat my booger?"

With a chuckle of disgust I say, "Oooh, no. We don't eat boogers. That's just gross Drew. Gross! "

Drew opens his mouth, sticks out his tongue which clearly has a booger on it, and says, "puh-lease Mom! I just eat this one booger. PUH-LEASE!" It was if he was simply asking for me to please just say yes so he could shut his mouth and swallow.

I've said it lots lately...he's gross!

So once Pete got home and I was retelling him the story Drew chimed in that we don't eat boogers because it is "gross. gross, gross, gross!" Exactly kid, so why did you even ask the first time?

Cast Update

Today began with Izzy going to school. Hooray! I took her in her stroller and apparently she stayed in it all day (3 hours). When I dropped her off I told both Izzy and the teachers that if she wanted to leave to just call me and I would pick her up. I had a feeling once she got into the swing of things she would be fine. Today was also Show and Share and she LOVES show and share day. She was not able to stay for Lunch Bunch and Jingle Jam however because she had a doctor's appointment.

The doctor ordered another set of x-rays to see how she was healing. Report: Looks wonderful! Izzy will have another set of x-rays taken on March 11th and if all looks good then the cast will be removed. 1 week down and 3 weeks to go.

While we were there the doctor made a comment that Izzy has the cleanest white cast he has ever seen on a 4 year old. He also commented that he expects he will be seeing Drew for a cast in the near future. Once I turned Drew loose out of his stroller he was a madman! He wasn't misbehaving, he just would not stop moving. He is a climber, a risk taker, and not smart enough to recognize danger. Yup, he will be fit for a cast soon.

When we got home Izzy had received a fun letter from our friend Lauri Lyn and her son Tyler. They made her a card and sent her a gazillion stickers! Thanks guys, as you can see Izzy LOVED decorating herself.

Look...we now have a PINK cast!




This picture I had to save because I think her "good" leg looks so long - which is so not how I see Izzy. Do you think it could have anything to do with the fact that her other leg is bent and I haven't seen her stand upright in a week?