Snowy days

 After a rough start this week, Oliver is finally getting better. I'm not sure what all was wrong with him, but I do know he was so congested that he couldn't breathe through his nose--at all--from Saturday until Wednesday. It was sad. I took him to the doctors on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday--Monday for a follow-up to our ER visit, Tuesday to get him suctioned out (again--seriously, we had them use the machine suction three days running and it didn't even make a difference to his ability to breathe), and Wednesday because, well, whatever he had turned into croup. He's not yet 100%, but he is definitely feeling better, which I think tops my list of all the things I'm grateful for today.

Oliver, looking lovely in a headband my friend Erin made (you can find her on etsy @ hazel and company).

I think Evelyn picked up something of what Oliver had. She was very sad on Wednesday after school (I forget why), and wandered into the other room. It occurred to me I hadn't heard anything from her for a while (Oliver and I were making dinner).

I went into the other room, and this is what I found.

Also, because Oliver wasn't feeling well this week, he was particularly clingy. It's hard to cook when you've got a twenty-plus-pound limpet attached to your side. I finally figured out a solution. I put him on a chair next to me while I chopped and prepped everything (I stood just beside the chair so my body kept him from falling off) and I gave him his own little pan with a little bit of water, some spice, and some very soggy cereal. He thought he was pretty awesome--he stirred everything and measured stuff and didn't ask to be picked up once.

We had our first major snowfall Thursday night/Friday morning. Evelyn and Oliver got out in the snow while Andrew was in school. Oliver was so heavily bundled in his snowsuit that he could hardly walk, but he loved being outside. Except, of course, for face-planting in the snow, which he did a couple of times when he tried to crawl through the stuff.

 Andrew insisted on going out again when he came home from school. We broke out the sleds for the tiny hill in our backyard and Andrew graciously towed the baby around the yard and down the hill.

Yesterday, I had big plans to go to SG (I've been wanting to go for over a month), but in light of the snow and slick roads we opted to stay home. Instead, we deep-cleaned the kids room and wound up with a big box of stuff to donate to DI--just in time for Christmas! I was particularly proud of Evelyn for being willing to give up several of her toys that she no longer plays with (in the past, she's been kind of a pack rat).

In the afternoon, I took the kids sledding on a real hill and Oliver and Dan cooked dinner (a win for everyone, I think, except Oliver).

I think I'm done with winter now. Oh, wait . . .

in the trenches

I don't have a lot to say today. Mostly, I'm just tired. Oliver has been sick (still is), so most of my weekend has involved a tired, cranky, feverish baby who's having a hard time eating because he's so congested. We've done what we can to bring the fever down and deal with congestion, but we haven't been as successful as I'd like. And a late-night ER visit last night didn't help with the breathing issues--although we did get a diagnosis for an ear infection that will help (I hope) when the antibiotics kick in.

Anyway, I'm not trying to complain. I just feel a little helpless. And tired. Did I mention tired?

On the positive side, the kids had their primary program today and both did pretty well. Andrew had his part memorized and Evelyn at least knew hers, and they both sang with gusto.

Novembering

We've hit that momentary lull between Halloween and Thanksgiving, before everything goes crazy in the rush to finish the semester and get ready for Christmas.

Maybe that's why I can't remember anything from this week.

Or maybe we really didn't do much out of the ordinary.

School, work, writer's group. Check.

We have been enjoying some lovely mild weather, though. Oliver loves it--the second any door opens he's there, begging to be let out. So sometimes we do, even though that means constantly watching him (otherwise he tries to eat grass, sticks, small rocks, etc.).

On Monday, we went to visit a sweet neighbor who was in the hospital after a fall. The kids like her because she always gives them suckers when we visit; I like her because she's an interesting old lady (she's 90). We didn't stay long because Oliver was ready for bed, but I was glad we went because she seemed so pleased to see us, especially the kids.

Saturday I helped the youth in the ward host their annual meal for the older folks in our ward (I think 70 and older? And yes, our ward has enough old people to do that. I think there were 70+ people on the invitation list). The kids helped Bubby and Poppy take some of our old garden trash to the dump. And in the afternoon, Andrew and Dan went on what we hope becomes a tradition of parent-child "dates" (one-on-one time). They went bowling. Dan won, but Andrew insists that he was close (and he was, the first game).

So, no big events. Just little things to remember, like:

Oliver's newest words: dok (sock), ni-ni (night-night). He also finally figured out clapping (see video below).

Andrew decided *not* to do Reflections this year (hallelujah! Formatting last year's entries were a pain). Evelyn did enter a picture of a princess with a heart-shaped head who wants to be a peacock princess (her new favorite animal).

Oliver has begun attempting eating with a spoon (here, with some pudding). It's not going so hot, but he loves it.

Evelyn got invited to a party on Friday. She came home so excited and told me, "I'm going to a party tomorrow!" She was so positive that I assumed the little girl who invited her told her the day--and I never even checked. I just looked at the time.

So all day yesterday, Evelyn was looking forward to this party. And then 4 o' clock rolled around and Dan and Andrew left and we walked Evelyn to her party.

Only no one answered. Their neighbor told us he thought they were out of town.

We went back home and read the invitation more closely--the party is on Wednesday. But poor Evelyn was crushed--after waiting all day, no party. So I let her watch Aladdin. And Oliver tried to help her.

This is what happens when Dan isn't home. We turn on ABBA and the kids get it on to "Dancing Queen."

 

More dancing--and Oliver clapping.

 

Halloween

Somehow it doesn't seem right to post about Halloween week without pictures--unfortunately, our camera is acting up and I can't figure out how to fix it.

So instead, imagine if you will three young Star Wars characters. Oliver, as befits his sometimes nickname, was Obi-wan. I tried to give him a goatee with my eyeliner pencil, but he kept trying to eat the pencil so we stopped with only a partial goatee (looked more like a Fu Manchu style mustache). Evelyn, of course, was princess Leia (with a shout-out to Sarah about the sponge hair-things we found at Sally's to wrap her hair around). And Andrew was a Jedi--not any one in particular. My mom made Leia's dress and cloaks for Andrew and Evelyn to wear and they looked fantastic.

This year, we decided to try trick-or-treating at the student dorms, and it was actually pretty pleasant. You're inside the whole time, the kids started out with a couple of activities (bowling and donut eating on a string) and most of the students handing out candy were in costumes.

Oliver didn't last much longer than that, so we split up after the dorms. Oliver and I went home and Oliver went to bed; the older kids went around our neighborhood a little longer with their Dad.

We've had a lovely weekend, so far. After a bitterly cold start to the week (and lots of wind--so much wind that at least 10 trees blew over on campus), things have warmed up nicely. We were able to get the leaves raked up off the front and back yards--and still find time for lunch at the Ninja, which Evelyn tells me is her favorite restaurant, ever. Oliver was a little rowdy at the restaurant--after assuaging his initial hunger, he did not want to stay in his high chair and kept trying to climb out and grab my food and dip his fingers into any sauce he could reach. Good thing he's so cute.

Daylight Savings Time, in its old, honorable tradition, has messed up our sleeping habits, so I'm home right now with a sleeping Oliver while the others are already at church (we'll join them as soon as Oliver wakes up, but it was pretty clear he wasn't going to make it today without a nap).