A New Baby In The House

Areyna and Zeke's imaginations have been running wild this week.  Zeke has been crawling around and pretending to fuss like a baby.  Then he crawls over to Rainy and says "Hold you Rainy" which means, "I want you to hold me".  Areyna then proceeds to act like his mommy.  It is hilarious to watch them.  They had been playing this ALL morning today so it shouldn't have surprised me to find this when I walked in to get them after room-time...

Zeke was in his "bathtub" with his baby bib on=)

Areyna was feeding him (yes, that IS a penny)

Now she's giving him a drink

What will they think of next=)

***Thank you all for your advice to help Zeke.  He is acting MUCH better today.  I must say that the picture at the top of yesterday's post was taken last year to show how bad his snotty nose was.  That is why he is so attached to his "bubby" (blanket) now.  We carried one around with him the whole first year and a half of his life to wipe that runny nose!  So, it isn't actually that bad right now, Thank Goodness!

Prevention

There are a few signs that we consistently see Zeke develop when he is beginning to get sick.  Way before the signs of a cough or vomiting we begin to see...

1- Whining - you know, the kind that continues to crescendo throughout the day until you want to pull your hair out.

2- Lack Of Appetite - he normally eats enough for all of us in the house so when he turns down his favorites like broccoli, cookies or peanut butter then we know we have a problem

3- The Return Of The Runny Nose - before we came across the wonderful invention of the humidifier Zeke was plagued with one of the worst runny noses I've ever seen.  So, when he starts wiping his nose again, we know a big sickness is coming on.

4 - Did I mention he just won't eat?!

Anyway, he has all the simptoms of pre-sickness.  Is there anything we can do to help prevent him from getting sick?  He is 2 1/2, gets a daily multi-vitamin, and plenty of exercise and veggies.  We hate to just sit around and wait for the bug to hit.  Any suggestions?

I Think It's Safe To Say...

...that I am getting older=)  I am still recovering from the LATE nights and early mornings from last weekends retreat.  It doesn't help that I'm already exhausted from being pregnant=)  I started getting that feeling you get when you have to eat right away or you'll get sick.  Well, this one was, I have got to sleep right away or I'm REALLY gonna get sick!  Not fun.  It was a GREAT weekend though!!!  I know that I was challenged in several areas for sure.  I'm sure Josh will give a recap soon, we're just waiting for some pictures.

Today has been full of successes!  I was thankful for a little motivation from the snow yesterday to get me going=)

I got a shower and got dressed before lunch, I got a grocery list together, went to the store, rang up, remembered all my coupons (I got all the way to the checkout with my buggy full of food last week before I realized that I had forgotten ALL my coupons, ugh), put the groceries away AND have a menu planned for the rest of the week.  None of these things have happened in a very long time=)

Checking things off my list sure feels good=)  What do you have to check off your list this week?

Snow Day - Part 2

The Preparation

Rainy kept eating snow=)

We made a sled out of the top of our sandbox

I busted it! But the kids had fun...

Josh decided to body ski

Then he took the kids with him!

After we got in and warmed up while we watched the inauguration 

we ate lunch and made snow ice cream!

I LOVE snow days...

Snow Day - Part 1

It snowed...and it's STILL coming down!!!

Here is the view of our backyard

Here is the view out the kid's playroom window.

Areyna woke up giddy just like I did. We've already played outside in the snow. Pictures later to come=)

Don't Tease Me

It is predicted to snow ALL day tomorrow!  If you know me at all you know that I am most definitely going to be setting my alarm for 3am when it is supposed to start and won't be able to sleep much after that waiting in sheer anticipation for my favorite weather ever.  Josh always laughs at me because 90% of the time that snow is predicted we get a couple of flurries and you're lucky if you even see those.

So, I beg you weather man, do not tease me.  Don't toy with these sensitive emotions of mine=)

Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend = Winter Conferences

Almost every year since Josh and I have been married this extended weekend has been spent at some youth winter conference or another.  This year is no different.  We are headed up to Camp Bethel in Fincastle, VA for a weekend of leading worship for a couple of churches joining together for this camp.

This weekend also happens to be my birthday weekend and I'll be 30!!!  I feel like I'm still a teenager sometimes=)  Josh's mom graciously offered to keep the kids so Josh and I can have a day-long date.  That is the best birthday present EVER, a day spent alone with my favorite person, my best friend!!!

So, have a good weekend everyone...

He's 2 - #17

We've had lots of cold, rainy days lately but we HAD to get outside.

Here's just one of the mud pits in our backyard.

Zeke & Rainy WERE sliding down the slide and then Zeke got a better idea...

The belly slide, and then the knee slide down our muddy hills=)

We did have a GREAT time though=)

Don't you just love how Areyna interprets

 "Rainy, go get WARM clothes on, because it's VERY cold outside"=)

Oh Yeah, I Was Browning The Meat For Dinner!!!

My kids should have been fast asleep by the time I got back in from my walk but apparently neither of them were very interested in sleeping, even though Zeke, especially, NEEDED a nap.  I ended up putting both of them in the playroom for a little bit of time because I had some work to get done.  Zeke was constantly fussing about something though.  I was in the middle of browning stew meat for dinner when I heard a "ruckus" and needed to go intervene.  After I solved the issue I went to go check my e-mail and that lead to reading a few blogs and...oh yeah, the memory of being in the middle of something...hmmmm...

OH YEAH I was browning meat...and now it was BURNED!!!  As if the smoke-filled living room weren't enough of a reminder, ha!

Then, I went to go switch some laundry and pushed over my over-flowing basket of clean clothes that I have yet to fold so I could put my wet clothes in the dryer to find the dryer FULL of MORE CLEAN CLOTHES!  

I cannot keep up!  My pregnant brain IS NOT functioning properly, or maybe it is!;)

My mom says I'm being too hard on myself so I'm trying to laugh about all the meat I just burned, the wet clothes in the washer that now smell like mildew, the OB appointed that I completely forgot about this week and all the other half-done projects around the house that I keep forgetting I'm in the middle of=)

Now, what was I just doing?