REAL Snow This Time

My kids were so sad when the snow we had a few weeks ago lasted barely 30 minutes. So imagine their unbridled joy when I opened the blinds to show them this yesterday. We got a solid 2 inches! Their screams woke up the 2 remaining sleepy people in the house & I could barely find hats, mittens, & boots fast enough. Jack actually ended up outside in his socks before I could stop him. Who wants to wait for shoes when there's all this SNOW stuff to do?

They gave me a running commentary:

Snow Angel

Snow Swings

Snow Dog

Snow Ball (pun intended)You get the picture. There were also snow bikes & a snow tractor.

What can I say? My kids LOVE snow!

Maybe a little too much?Our dog house.As we played outside, I watched this fog roll down from the Santa Rita Mountains near our house. It was beautiful!We played & played, until it was time to go inside & warm up with some hot chocolate.Until next time, snow!

Shhh- It's a Surprise!

Gentlemen, start your engines!

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Don't tell the boys, but we have a BIG surprise for them this weekend.

I'm going to be getting them ready all week long- without them even knowing it!

This is today's activity.

FHE's game just might be Monster Truck racing around the living room for everyone in attendance.

I can't wait, & I'm not even going!

What's That?

No, seriously, what is this wonderous structure that you 2 have built?OK. I think I'm starting to get the picture now.

And there it is! Hello baby James! Emma said that this was his cave.
He must've liked it- he stayed in there for 30 minutes.
Until he realized he was in a cave & babies aren't supposed to live in caves.
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Babies are supposed to be snuggly & adorable in their cute little cribs.
Don't you just want to eat him up?

More Critical Thinking

This is what I heard while in the other room:
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"Frank, hold my stool so I don't fall & break my head."
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Needless to say, Mommy had to investigate right away.
At least she had some sort of safety in place, right?

Virtual Valentine

Because I can't send you ALL a valentine today, here's some virtual valentine cookies to let you know that I love you & hope that your V-day is awesome.

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(The polka-dot one was made special just for you, Shannon!)

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Deep Dish Delight!

In my never-ending quest to not feel like a culinary loser when compared to my husband, I've been trying new recipes again. And boy howdy, is this one a winner!!!
I found it over on Pennies on a Platter- one of my favorite new websites.
The best thing about this pizza is the sauce- I'm drooling just thinking about it. We'll be making this recipe again this week for sure. Yum! .
I can't wait to try the Buffalo Chicken Bites and the Ham and Cheese Pretzel Bites.
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Too bad I didn't get them done in time for the Super Bowl today!

Critical Thinking Skills

What do you do if your last bullet from your dart gun is stuck to a light 10 feet from the ground & you're only 3 1/2 feet tall?

"Snow Day"

Apparently us Southern Arizonans are not prepared to handle 10-15 degree weather.

Shocker.

Emma's school & 2 others in the district were completely out of water yesterday & were using a 5-gallon bucket brigade to refill essential potties & such. Numerous other schools are completely without heat & were unable to get it back on in time for classes today. All in weather where the high was in the low 30s yesterday.

What is this all about? This is Arizona! It was 80 degrees here last week!

So because we are such weenies with an infastructure that absolutely can't handle cold, Emma's school is out today. Emma yelled "Snow Day!" when she found out last night. So here we are, trying to entertain the kids when it's too cold to go outside & having already been housebound for almost 2 weeks.

Every form of entertainment in our house has been yanked from the game cabinet today. I think it's hilarious that we literally scoff at temps of 110 or higher, but our whole world falls apart if it hits 20.

Arizona- gotta love it!

What RSV Looks Like

Oh, yes. After a very prolonged ER visit, we found out that James has been infected with RSV. Poor baby is a mess, but getting better every day.

It really is a blessing that we have kids with asthma & know which signs spell breathing trouble. The ER staff was glad that we brought him in when we did. Also, since we have all the equipment & a 6 month supply of medication, there was no need to get new prescriptions filled at 8:30 on a Sunday night. Yay for preparation, right?This video was taken a couple of days after the ER visit, so he was WAY worse.

Luckily he seems to be doing a lot better this week, & supposedly isn't contagious anymore. Somehow I don't think I'll be testing out that theory anytime soon. We won't be passing this on to anyone else if we can help it!

The pediatrician says that since James had it, all of the kids did. Awesome. But it is true that it's worst for the very young. Jack has been pretty sick, but nothing like the baby. And the older 2 have no symptoms at all, thank goodness.

So I can check yet another crazy illness off the "yeah, we had that" list

I'm feeling like quite the veteran parent these days!