All I want is a diet pepsi and some warm weather

Is it Spring yet?

I think the last time I left you, we had been playing outside in the decent weather. If that's not right, forgive me. Sometimes my memory gets away.

Well, a few days after the nice weather we had, we got another little mini snow storm with freezing rain. And school was cancelled, yet again, last Friday. With all the days we've missed, we are scheduled to go until like June 11 or something like that. Talk about not much of a summer. The kids and I are ready to get outside. We're ready to go swimming at my dad & Rhonda's. We're ready to ride our bikes. We're ready to go out in shorts (well, them anyway...this girl doesn't usually wear shorts) and flip flops.

In other news, Jonah has been sick. I took him to the doctor yesterday after he had been running a fever of 102-103 degrees for two days. The verdict? An ear infection. I really didn't even think of that. He hasn't complained about his ear. He's been pretty lethargic & has given Nate & I a few scares. I'm happy to report, he is doing much better today. He's had no fever & is on day 2 of antibiotics. When Jonah is sick, Jonah is sick. He has a cough that does not go away...period! I'm not going to lie...it gets annoying. And sometimes, he will make himself gag. The other night he scared us because he kept gagging...and gagging...and gagging. It was like 2 minutes straight of gagging.

He hasn't eaten hardly anything. And, he is bad about not drinking when he is sick. I push & push him to drink. However, if I lay out a diet Pepsi, he is all over it. My kids like pop. Yes, we call it pop. Call me a hillbilly, it's okay. When we go to a restaurant, they ask the waiter/waitress for "pop". I will get them Sprite, but they want mama's pop. Seriously, I can't ever have a whole drink to myself. So yesterday, when Jonah came in the computer room and saw my diet Pepsi, he said, "Can I have little drink of pop?" Of course I let him. And then I saw the strand of slobber/spit as he took his lips off the can. I love my kids & share everything with them. But when I think about him being sick and the snot & everything else, it made me a bit queasy. Needless to say, I went ahead & let him have the rest of the can.

A picture of Jonah at the doctor. His poor eyes were seeping all day yesterday. But he loved this tiger gown he got to wear.

I kept him home from school again today. He was feeling better, but I wanted to give him one more day of rest. We went to the grocery to get a few things while Isabel & Jasper were at school. I only had to get a couple of items, so I let him push the little kid cart. He loved it! And I don't think he wants to go back to school. He loves having me to himself. And he likes going places by himself. I'm making a note to start taking them places individually. That is one disadvantage of being a multiple. I noticed Isabel did a fake cough this morning & looked at me & said, "I think I'm sick".

It was a good few days

We had 2 decent days last week! It was nice while it lasted.

I believe we reached the upper 40's, lower 50's. Remnants of the snow & ice from the storm a few weeks back, still remained. But the kids broke out their bikes & enjoyed some fresh air outside. Spring fever definitely hit us, but winter, once again reared its ugly head. It is back in the 20's & we had some freezing rain & snow today. You want to talk about confusing kids. I'm use to it because I've grown up here. It's nothing for it to be 60 degrees one day & 20 the next. But the kids don't understand. They get home from school & say, "Can we ride our bikes again?" Not today kids, not today.

Here are the pictures to remind us of the good times :)

My neighbors yard takes the brunt of flooding.

The broken limbs & branches from the storm still linger....

The last bit of ice....

Jasper still knows his tricks from last fall

The trees are starting to get little buds!

We did see the blue sky for a day...oh, it was nice!

He is his father's son....Part 2

This post isn't about Jasper and his Star Wars obsession, but about Jonah and his guitar case obsession. Nate has let him use one of his guitar cases. He puts Isabel's little pink acoustic guitar in it. I bet he asked me 30 times yesterday if I saw his new guitar case & if I liked it. It's pretty cute. He has been hauling it around everywhere.

This afternoon I had to take some pictures, so I wasn't home when Nate put them down for a nap. When I got home, they were still napping...including Nate. The house was quiet & the boys' door was halfway open. That is unusual, but I just left it like that. About a 1/2 hour after I got home; Jasper, Nate & Iz got up. I walked in to the boys' room & found Jonah asleep on the bed with that big guitar case in bed with him. I told Nate to go in to the bedroom to look at Jonah. He said he didn't let him take it to bed with him. So, Jonah must have gotten up after he knew Nate was asleep (hence the door being half open) & took it to bed with him.

Happy 6th Birthday, Elijah & Olivia

I can't believe it has been 6 years since Elijah & Olivia were born and died. It is hard to wrap my head around it. As we visited the grave today, Nate said, "They would have been in first grade." That is hard to think about.

I remember the day we left the hospital...without them. It was on a Sunday, just like today. The weather had been cold and snowy. But that isn't anything new around here. We left the hospital around lunch time & drove home, almost in silence. We didn't know what to say or think. We just knew it wasn't right. That Sunday evening, several family members & friends came to our house with food. It was comforting. I was ready to sleep in my own bed and just be home.

That following Wednesday, we would bury our kids. As I stated before, it had been cold and snowy. But on that Wednesday, it was beautiful & almost warm. The sun was shining & I wore a long sleeve shirt without a coat. That was very rare for our February weather. I really felt like it was God shining his light on us. He was waiting for these two beautiful babies & wanted to give them a beautiful welcome. That, he did.

So another year has passed and I know we will feel the same each year after. The hurt doesn't go away. But with Isabel, Jasper & Jonah, we feel love again & know that they will always have a special brother and sister who watches over them.

Each year, we make sure to put two "Happy Birthday" balloons on their grave. We leave enough slack to let them blow like crazy in the wind. I want the whole world to see them & remember how much these two precious children impacted our lives.

Lets talk about moving

I've been doing a lot of hair out of the house lately. Therefore, I've been making a ton more trips to the beauty supply house. Unfortunately, I live in a small town & the nearest one is a half hour away. My only time to go is when the kids go to preschool. So, as soon as the bus picks them up a little before 8, I hop thru the shower & get on my way. I usually have about 45 minutes to do what I need to do before I have to head home.


This morning, as I was making my way to get some things, I noticed the bright sun blaring through my front windshield. It was a glorious feeling & my sunglasses could barely hold out the light. My goodness, it had to have been, what....at least...

-1 STINKIN DEGREE OUTSIDE!

And as I looked across the ice rink parking lot, I thought to myself, "Is this really all going to be melted by the time summer comes around?" That and, oh, "We need to move!"

So here is my question, friends & family. Would you all be willing to relocate to say, Arizona? It really is beautiful. And no humidity. We wouldn't have these harsh winters & in the summer time, it would be blazing hot, but without the humidity. Nate's dad would probably oppose as he is an avid snowmobiler. Crazy, I know. :) My dad would pack his trunks, beer and suntan oil & be the first one on the plane.

So, my fine friends...as the weekend approaches, sit back & let your mind wander about the endless possibilities. I will be happy to research jobs & homes for everyone, as well.

Birthday's Birthday's!

We celebrated 3 birthday's at my inlaws a few weeks ago. Rachel's (Nate's sis) is Jan. 17, Nate's is Jan. 19 & Matt's (Rachel's husband) is the 20th. That previous Spring must have been busy :)

This is Nate's cake we had on his actual birthday, here at home. The kiddos picked it out.

I had the kids each pick out a balloon for him. They did a pretty good job.

At my inlaws: Jonah checking out Grandpa's mustache with a magnifying glass.

Nate and a Rooster

Jonah & Grandpa

Cousin Kellie drew Isabel a picture.

Jasper

Isabel

Nate making egg rolls! Those egg rolls are heaven I tell you! Nate's mom has the best recipe.

Rachel rolling the egg roll

Rachel's step-daughter, Kellie

Kellie & Matt

Jonah playing in the kitchen sink

Hannah, Isabel & Jonah

I let Hannah & Kellie take some pics with my camera. This is one of Hannah's of Rachel & I

Jonah bugging Gage

Hannah, Iz & Gage

Hannah & her American Girl doll

Kellie took this of Hannah & I

Ryan

Rachel & Nate

The Wright's - These are the usual smiles I get from them. I always give them a hard time because they never show their pearly whites! It's not like they have Billy Bob teeth. I'm use to my family where we show every tooth (even missing ones) in our mouths.

After I complained & told them to give me happy smiles.

I had Rach & Nate stand like this in order to get a cheesy late 70's early 80's pose

Matt was squatting

And then I told them to look at each other all cheesy & mushy

Jasper in his "Emperor" get up

A few days earlier, we had gotten some Star Wars books from the library. Jasper was in heaven. Then, Nate's mom broke out the vintage Star Wars books that were Nate's when he was little. Needless to say, Jas is over the moon.