lovely March snow in our new house

Snow cream, potty training, and losing teeth

Potty training Jack is hilarious...he's doing pretty well, but he is a bit bashful and will not tell you if he's already used his pull ups. He runs and hides, and eventually you "catch the drift" quite literally. He will ask for "pribacy" and more "terwit paper" when in the bathroom, and he flushes over and over. Now if I can just get him to tell me before he goes in his pull ups-- he's great at the pot! Oh, the day of no more diapers and wipes!!!
Madison had lost her first tooth at the age of five shortly after kindergarten had started in the fall last year. This was a wiggly tooth that got knocked out during a trip sliding down the stairs when her "magic carpet" her pillow- came to an abrupt stop! This ended with blood, tears, and Mommy on her knees looking high and low for a teeniny tooth...I found it! Had to have it because I had passed along to her my special pillow that is a white heart shaped pillow with a pocket for your tooth and the words "for the tooth fairy" stitched on it that my Mom had given me as a little girl. I have waited YEARS to give this to her! And so, joyously at 2 am after shooting straight out of bed realizing I had almost forgotten, the tooth fairy came and claimed her little one's first teeth. I could have cried... now, several months later in March, we had several loose teeth, and we lost three in one weekend! The next one was removed by my best friend who is a dental hygenist. We coaxed Madi onto the counter and talked to her while Shannon popped it out with a q- tip and some orajel, and this left Madison distraught..for a few seconds! Then she knocked out the other tooth the next day playing with Jack-- she said she was a puppy and had his shirt in her mouth...ouch. Then the next day she was taking off her sweatshirt which somehow poopped out the last tooth when it went over her head. And each time was no less traumatic than the first. And oh, it's a good thing the tooth fairy is rich! :) What does she want with all those teeth anyways? Well, Madison says she cleans them up and uses them to make necklaces!

Backtracking in the snow

I'm just now unloading my camera onto the computer and was backtracking through my photos and into sweet memories! March first had come, and I was saying if spring wasn't going to arrive any sooner then I still wanted a REAL snow! A real one. After all, it's been several years since we've had a real snow. Madison was a baby, and Jack has never seen a real snow. When I was a kid my mom would bundle up my brother and I for the snow, and we'd go play for hours until we were frozen. I wanted the same for Madison and Jack, frozen hands and noses and snow cream and sleds, but the first week of March proved to be unusually warm. We had reached a record high, in the 70's...but then it came. By the start of the next week, it fell and it fell and it fell. I was in my robe at midnight taking pictures outside-- freezing!!! Ahhh, the clean air out here in the "country". The huge flakes falling faster and faster. I knew there would be no school tomorrow, and I could smell the hot chocolate already. so I ran upstairs and scooped Madison up out of bed wrapped in her princess fleece and carried her out onto the porch where she could see the beautiful snow coming down and covering our rose bushes. After just a few minutes, she said "that's enough, Mommy, it's COLD" and I took her back to bed excited for the morning. Still I sat in the kitchen and watched out the window with wonder waiting for it to arrive. So we were up bright and early, since the school calls at 6:30 to tell you school is cancelled for the day...and we had a warm breakfast...and at 8 am I was layering the kids and i mean layering them up. It must've taken me thirty minutes to dress them in layers and layers. After all, why would I have real snow suits? Hmmm, well maybe I will next year. So me, Madison and Jack trekked outside all in the neighborhood...the empty, sleepy, quiet, gorgeous snow covered neighborhood and marveled at the snow. Those rose bushes in the back yard were covered, and so was everything else. We got over 4 inches! Yay!! We sledded down the hill in our front yard fifty times before we walked up the hill on our road and then sled down the road...a great work out for Mommy since I was pulling the kids back up the hill on the sled each time!! burning quads! :) We made snow balls, and Jack thought this was hilarious, especially since he could hit Mommy right in the face and not get into trouble!!! I tried to make a Frosty (as Jack calls snow men). I had my collection of mismatched scarves and gloves and a few pieces of charcoal and even some carrots, but I decided since I was the only one building it and an hour later I barely had a mound...maybe next time. The kids didn't care. Jack was pushing his rubber Thomas the train around in the street in the snow and Madison was making snow angles on the ground and eating as much as she could. Soon after they were wet and frozen...well, those layers held up pretty well, but now they were cold and getting tired. So we journeyed back in to warm baths and blankets by the fire---- hot chocolate with marsh mellows!! but not before I could get a bowl of snow for the snow cream. After baths and soup and a never ending flow of hot chocolate and fuzzy warm socks for everyone, Madison and I made the snow cream I had told her so much about...which she declared to taste weird, but it was fun! And I got a morning of wonderful memories with my precious snow angels...now Mommy was tired, and the kids were ready to bundle up and go back out--- maybe later, angels!

balancing it all

So I still have not quite figured out the blogging, or should I say I have not tried?! How do you find the time? Some of you guys seem like PROFESSIONAL bloggers and scrapbookers and facebookers, while I am feeling a bit outdone by the technology and the unbalancing of time to do these things! I manage to get Madison's day started at school, my devotions, time with Jack, work, and then work out (ugh!), dinner, cleaning, kid's baths and bed routines, kiss Jason off to work at 9:30 pm-- or sometimes I don't even get to see him!...then I am pooped, then Jack is out of bed for the 4th time and Madi has had a nightmare!, back to bed, finally a quick shower for Mommy but I am oh so tired and the day is long over!! Somewhere in there I try to squeeze in some here and there's like couponing, occassional facebooking, friends, reading....and the rest is lost in the shuffle....when can I clean or volunteer, organize or paint my toes or just breathe? And why do crappy babysitters charge so much? I may just prefer life on the prarie if given the chance! Although hard work, I am sure it had to be a slower pace--without cell phones and blogs and facebook. And doctors still made house calls! I do like to put in some hard work but oh, calgon take me away...and can someone tell me how to style up my blog! So sad when my BROTHERS in law are quite the decorated bloggers and I'm asking for help!!! LOL :) One day I may get it together.

Behind blogger

Ok, Kirk...so I am not a good blogger :) How do you guys all have time for home, kid, work, school, facebook, blogging and all the rest?! I can't keep up...I haven't even had the time to sit down to figure out how to edit it and get cool backgrounds and all that stuff.... I stink! but we are all doing ok down here, enjoyed some snow the first of March...4 inches...the most we've had in about 5 yrs! The kids had fun playing in it and making snow cream, then we all got some yucky colds and are trying to recover. Work is a bit slow, this economy is no good. But we have faith in God-- he is in control! and we love each other and are hanging tight! Will try to be a better blogger and post new pix soon....love you guys!

finally joining the blogworld!

Well after a little nudging by my so far away sister, Tiffany, and after seeing all the wonderful pix and posts on hers and the other girl's pages I thought "what the hey, I'll give it a try". After all, I use to really love to keep journals and write down everything. And you know I love love love pictures. And since I have gotten pretty bad at sending cards and letters or even photos to my loved ones, maybe the blog is the way to go. Thanks, Tiff!!! :) So here goes my whirl....
We are just wrapping up Christmas, and I am totally dreading going back to work tomorrow. I am always so sad to see Christmas go. It really is the very most wonderful time of the year! We have been scrambling (or Jason has mostly) the last few weeks to get the sheet rock mudded and the cabinets stained in our kitchen. It is so difficult to live in the middle of any kind of construction, and so many times we moved all our dishes in and out of different cabinets and just stared at sheet rock for a few weeks. It's so hard to do this kind of work and balance family, sleeping, and kids!! I know I had to make Madi's lunch for school on paper towels on the floor for lack of counters a few times, but when you are all done with your work, it really is a good feeling...or in our case, almost done! Hang in there, Kirk and Missy! And kudos to my hubby who really is the master mind behind all the remodeling here. I can paint and clean up, but that's about as far as he will let me go!! I think he is scared of what I might do....tehehehehee!! Plus, somebody has to watch the kids....
So the early a.m. hours of Christmas eve I hopped into bed smelling the last coat of paint from my kitchen, and all my family came that night to celebrate our Lord's birth together...I don't think anyone had a clue what the place had looked like only hours before. It was wonderful, and although we miss family in Fla. and Utah tons, we really are grateful to be in our new home this Christmas and to just be here and enjoy all the many blessings we have.
We celebrated Jack's 3rd birthday last weekend. I simply cannot bear to think how quickly my babies are growing up. Just cannot believe it. Well since Jack is pretty much obsessed with trains, and both the kids love the Polar Express movie-- they watch it year round...I got golden tickets and we all went to ride the Polar Express on Dec. 21 for little man's bday. It was COLD in those Great Smoky Mountains, let me tell you. We waited in 12 degree weather for that locomotive, and I loved every minute of it. I knew once that train pulled up and we were able to board and the kids stopped crying and snotting...I just knew that we would have a blast. And we did! It was wonderful, drinking hot chocolate with marshmellows and singing carols and visiting with Santa on the train...the smiles on those kids faces was priceless and something I'll never forget. Don't underestimate Miss Madison though...although she is totally thrilled, she is very skeptical of the truth about Mr. C, and I am holding out as long as I can!!! So the kids had a wonderful holiday season, and we did too. We were all spoiled and blessed, and I am just so grateful for Jesus, and love, and family, and health!!! May God continue to bless us, and may we live only for Him in this new year to come!