Winter Time and Cold Weather

 

Luckily we had a break in the weather this past weekend because we were FREEZING!!  Freezing equals many days inside and school closings.  We had a full two weeks off for Christmas break and then two snow days!  That's a lot of time together and I loved it, but some days got a little overwhelming while Mark was working all the time.

Mommy tried to be creative.  We had tea parties with Avery's new china tea set.

We did get out one afternoon to go see Frozen.  They seemed to really enjoy the movie.  I had a great time-minus Avery running out of the bathroom saying she knew where she was going and then seconds (literally seconds) coming out of the bathroom with her no where in sight!!!  I have never been that scared in a public place.  Finally, after Aunt Heidi and myself running around (me in tears) we saw a man at the end of the hallway asking if we were missing a little girl.  Sure enough she was sitting in the theater outside the bathrooms.  Not crying.  Just sitting there.  What better way to get over it?  Have her snuggle on my lap to finish the movie!  Whew scary mommy moment!

 

Before the storm, we were able to jump into our workout outfits and spend some time outside.

 

Avery has been begging to run.  I thought the best way to start was to run a mile.  She did it!  We walked and ran until she finished.  I'm so proud of her to want to do this.

When we came home Mark had hooked their sleds to the Polaris.  This was the best way to go sledding.

Then when we were stuck in the house we painted the bathtub and brought the snow inside!

We also watched a lot of movies and played with our new toys.

 

Later in the week we finally got to meet Kalen!  He will be joining our little ones during the day-not for a while, but we are thrilled to have him with our kids!

 

It is going to get cold again, but hopefully heat up this weekend!  I'm ready for nice weather because life is fun outside!

One of Our Top Days

I have a tendency to over book us-which leaves us on the go a lot.  Everyone seems to enjoy our activities outside of the house, but I will start to notice them getting tired.  They also start to miss the time with just the three of them.  They entertain themselves and are so sweet when playing.

 

 I'm really enjoying this summer-mostly because I'm not pregnant or breast feeding (it's the first time in 4 years!).  It leaves me with much more energy and time to think only about the three cuties I have in my life. 

 

Although today was spent at home with just the four of us, it was our BEST day yet!  They have been watching the birds out the window and talking about the different birds.  This lead me to our Bird Watching Window.  I used a piece of poster board and cut out the middle-this gave it a special feel.  When they woke up there were bird feeders ready to paint (Mack helped himself while we were all asleep), sketch pads, brand new crayons, and room for lots of creativity. 

 

While I was cleaning up from breakfast, Avery and Mack sat in the big chairs and started to draw what they saw out the window.

 

 

 

 

Then we moved to the table to paint their feeders (or for Mack to add some detail).

 

Then we "painted" toilet paper rolls with peanut butter and coated them in seed.  Unfortunately it was raining all day so we will have to put them on the trees tomorrow.  The toilet paper rolls just slide on a branch.

 

This day was one of my favorite days because they were engaged in what we were doing, they played together, and they were full of questions and creativity!  It's fun to be out socializing, but I love days at home being a family!

And I Thought the Worse!

It snowed here.  Normally I would be excited, but it was New Years Eve and that meant Mark had to work. 

The night before I was feeling really sad about being alone with the kids on a holiday.  It's not like we go out or have a huge party anymore, but with Mack not being able to get out as much we try hard to have fun together and that's what I was counting on.  Then I woke up pretty much hating the day.  All three were very needy and wanting to be held-this makes for a hard morning.  I love the snuggles, but when it's just you with three babies...sometimes it's overwhelming.

Then for some reason I changed the way I thought.  If I was going to be alone on this holiday it was up to me to create some memories.  I checked online for some ideas and decided we could make some fun toast, noise makers, and cut shapes out of Jell-o.  My mom thought I was being a bit ambitious and I agreed, but knew it would make the day fun.  Of course we only got to one thing "planned" and the rest of the morning was spent outside playing in the snow.

The one "planned" activity was painting toast.  I mixed food coloring with milk and gave them some paint brushes.

This guy loves to watch and jumps around like a crazy man.  Once I let him out he was free and this is what he did:

After that clean up:) we painted our morning toast.  They seemed to enjoy it.  I added some butter and Cinnamon and put them in the oven.

They must of liked them because they ate them up!

After we put Lincoln down for his morning nap (and I did a fast workout (that helped make me feel even better), we bundled up-that takes FOREVER!!! It was well worth it.  We dug in the snow with kitchen utensils, ran around, and went for rides on the sled-talk about a even better workout for me!  My camera died after these two shots.  I took some with my phone, but realized I was waisting the time with them trying to take pictures.  After a long time and two wet kids, I lured them into the house with hot chocolate and of course more coffee for me. 

 

So after all my "feeling sorry for myself" attitude, it ended up being a fun day!  Attitude determines everything.  Guess what?  Mark made it home by 3:00 and we had a News Years PARTY!!!! 

Sprouts!

Every year since we have moved into our house we have attempted a garden. We have only had luck for one of those years! Last year it wasn't good because we left for Italy for two weeks and it was really hot. This year we are trying a new approach to get the kids involved.  On one of our outings we picked up seeds, planting soil and containers to grow the seeds in.  Here is what it all looked like... 

Not only is this a great activity for the kids, but we are hoping to save a ton of money!

Avery knew when the table cloth came out there was going to be an activity-I found her ready to go in her chair.

We started by letting them decorate the planters-it took awhile to get Mack involved...

but he got there!

It was nice and messy and I loved seeing their little hands get into the dirt.  Some might have a lot of seeds in one container, but it's all worth it.

Since I hate clutter I was worried about where to put the seeds while they grow.  We decided to use the big window upstairs right outside their rooms.  Mark got out our card table and we (my mom) found this table cloth for a dollar at Target.

Within two days we had a few sprouts!  I couldn't believe it and the kids love to show people when they come over.

Through pictures Avery and Mack can see how this process works.  Now we will water and care for our garden and hope to have produce to plant come May. 

I have to remember we are only in March because this weather makes you want to get things going outside, but I don't want to plant too early and have it fail.  Getting them involved has been a fun learning experience this week and the weeks to come.

Dinner Time Blues

Evidently when I need to cook dinner my children decide that is the time they need me most ;)  I guess it's because I have something to do that doesn't always involve them. 

It's usually a time they begin to fight or become just moody.  I remember my mom telling me how hard that time of day was with me and I didn't realize it until there were two.  I try to include my children as much as I can, but sometimes I just need this time.

 So now, after reading a post from the Kid Friendly blog, I realized they needed a little more structure during this time.  So this night was coloring in an egg cartoon-who knew huh?

 A daily activity is pulling the pots out.  Fine with me!  I even fill them with some water!

This time has been filled with whatever is on our craft shelf (that I showed before)!  It has worked and we are all a little happier.  Thank you for the idea.

Our First Day with Snow

From living in the north most of my life snow days were pretty rare.  When we lived in Minnesota the only time we would get out of school was because of the cold!  So when the weather people called for snow yesterday I figured it would be light and we would go along with our business (minus my husband who has to be out in it-he owns a snow pushing company).  Not today!  I woke up early and turned on the T.V. to see that we had no school.  Since I don't work full time this year-missing a day is a little different now.  There is so much to do!  I put that aside and figured I could make it up tomorrow, so today was a day to play!

They loved looking outside and seeing all the snow:

Then we made a feast!  Scambled eggs, pancakes, and turkey sausage.

After a major explosion of bathroom issue,s I decided to throw them into the bath and play with some new toys-this required new PJ's.  The wind is really cold today making it about 4 degrees outside, so I figured we would have more fun with the snow inside...

They loved it! 

Such an explorer.

To end our morning we had snow slushies.

We hope others were able to have some fun on this random snow day.