More Snow Fun

Gabe got to try the skis after naptime.

And the rest of the kids decided to go sledding.

New Skis

I've been watching these skis for quite a while waiting for the price to come down. It finally did and I managed to get the skis and poles for $17. Granted, that was with a couple Amazon.com gift cards from Swagbucks but I do believe while the price is still low, we will order a second pair for next year. So far Abby and Robert have been able to test them out. They both had a blast.

Lego Time

Grandma sent a bunch of neat Lego parts last week.  Lots of wheels and gadgets and such.  The kids have been using them to make some rather neat Lego creations.  Even Gabe and Robert are getting in on the fun.

What You Discover when Uploading Pictures from the Camera

I swear she was happy when I pulled the camera out.

Ellie meeting her Great Grandma. 

A super cool Lego creation.

When big brother has the camera.

My attempts at catching a smile.

Deer in the backyard.

Baby Smiles

The baby is finally starting to give us some real smiles on a regular basis.  Finally, the long awaited reward for 2 plus months of sleepless nights is here.  Of course, she is also apparently incapable of sharing these smiles on camera so you'll just have to take my word for it. Trust me, they are beautiful.

Truly Sad

I read an article this morning that said in the US and similar cultures, babies often are only held for 2.5 to 3 hours a day because their parents are so darn busy using baby gadgets and containers to hold them.  Seems we've become a hands-off society.  Sorry but I find this to be incredibly sad.  I wish I could say it was shocking but from watching many main stream parents, I'd say the article was right on the money.  As of yet, our little lady honestly spends maybe 2.5 hrs a day when she's not being held by someone.  No, I'm not complaining about it.  Folks comment about how she is such a happy baby and you never hear her crying. Then they ask if it bugs me that she wants to be held all the time.  Um, no.  She's happy because her needs are being met.  She's a child who needs to be held.  I have a feeling most babies are hard wired this way but in our society learn quickly to give up on their fussing when they want to be held because it is ignored.  Yup, that sounds kind of harsh and mean.  I can't imagine what that must feel like for the poor kids.  I'm truly hoping now that babywearing is starting to become more of a popular thing that babies will be held more often.  Just maybe they'll be happier that way.

Sigh. . .I Can So Relate

I have felt like this many a time.

Baby Snuggles

I'm snuggling a sleeping baby right now which means not much else is getting done.  Miss Ellie seems to only like sleeping while being held, mostly by me.  I know this time will pass much too quickly for my liking so I am trying to soak it all up while I can.  So if the floors are cluttered, the dishes aren't done and the laundry is behind, just remember I'm busy tending to a baby and trying to catch that elusive sleep folks talk about whenever I can.  Yup, Ellie seems to like baby carriers but the sling leaves with only one hand, the current wrap I have is a bit too small to be comfy for a long time, she's too young for the Ergo and the Mei Tai  is missing somewhere.  So I use the sling when we are out of the house and wrap when I absolutely must do something else and mostly just snuggle with her.  Hopefully soon I can either find the Mei Tai or make a slightly larger wrap.

It feels lately like just about every time I turn around, something is going wrong. So I am trying to focus on the positive instead.  Somehow that seems not so easy. I have ahead of me a crazy week with a baby who rightly thinks it is her right to eat all the time.  Ok, I don't really mind that.  Babies are little for such a small time frame. Might as well enjoy it.  It does get a bit frustrating though when it seems like you can't ever do anything else because your baby needs you to sit and take care of her first.  Then again, maybe we've been selling women a flawed view of life over the past few generations when we've told them that there was anything more important for them to do in those first few months of their child's life other than sit and take care of them.

I am starting to think we will never again catch up on laundry.  Alan is convinced that since the Duggars have 4 washers and dryers and a family twice our size, that means we need 2 of each at least.  I'm sure it would help but biggest issue seems to be putting the clothes away after they are clean.  But we are incredibly lucky to have so many clothes that we have this issue in the first place.

Our state tax return has been "flagged for review."  What exactly this means, I don't know.  I only know that I have been told this could delay things by 60 days and I should respond immediately to any correspondence they send.  Something tells me I'd better dig up all of the kids' birth certificates so we can prove they are all our kids.  Maybe I should not have put off ordering a copy of Abby's because of the money the State of Missouri was demanding. 

We have a rather stressful weekend ahead of us.  I'm not exactly looking forward to spending time with folks who have told me that none of them like me or want to spend time with me.  Oh, but we like your kids and we'd love to see them.  Hm, why don't folks ever understand that it just does not work that way?  Then again, the function is not for my assorted relatives and I can easily focus on the reason for the gathering instead.  Besides, I will have my baby shield with me and you are never talking to yourself if you are holding a baby.  At least I can use that excuse while muttering to myself every now and again.

The yard looks rather beautiful covered in snow.  Although we have now had several cars get stuck in the driveway.  We were doing so well this year.  Then the pizza delivery guy hit a drift and went into the yard.  Took at least 10 minutes to help get him out.  Then Alan hit a drift and got stuck.  Again took at least 10 minutes to free his car. Van almost got stuck yesterday but I was able to back out of the driveway and take a "running start" at getting back up again.  The mail carrier abandoned all efforts at getting up the driveway this morning and decided to just walk the box to the house.  Funny thing is the driveway was just plowed out this morning.  But I'm thankful that we have shovels and able bodied young men to help get us out of these situations. 

Dinner is actually going in the crockpot at the moment.  Somehow a breaker got tripped and the plugs in the kitchen shut off this morning so it was almost noon before I realized that dinner was not in fact actually cooking.  But at least now I have figured what one more of the unlabeled switches in the breaker box actually belongs to.  Small steps, maybe by the time we move out of this house we'll have figured out what they are all for.  Likely not since the wiring in this house is very screwy.  I've lost count of the number of light switches we have that do not actually have anything connected to them.

Enough random babbling.  Focus on the positive. That is my hope and goal for the rest of the week.  Seriously, wish me luck.

Just the Girls

Snow Fun

The kids are enjoying the snow this year. I think having a working snowblower this year has helped the older kids enjoy the snow a bit more than last year.  Heck, makes me much happier. So far the van hasn't gotten stuck in the driveway once.  Of course, now it will probably get stuck tomorrow.

The kids have decided to try building a quinzhee in the backyard.  This means they are spending a lot of time outside digging and hauling snow.   Something tells me they are hoping for a bit more snow later this week.  Now I just need to convince them to break out the snow shoes and skis a bit this year.