It smells beautiful

After getting out of the car on the way into school, Zoe says, "Hmmm....it smells....it smells like March out here. It smells beautiful."

And indeed it does. We are having a beautiful "spring" day today. Too bad, most of the family is sick & can't really enjoy it.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Zoe helped her friend, Emma, celebrate her birthday at Pump It Up tonight.

Fat Tuesday

Shrimp Jambalaya

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

King Cake

Today, we celebrated Fat Tuesday by making masks & decorations & having a New Orleans style dinner. Zoe had a great time making her mask & even liked the food - especially the king cake.

A Wii Day

Since we were all still tired from the water park, we had a PJ day today. I let Zoe play way too much Wii & watch way too much TV, but she enjoyed it.

Splash Universe

This weekend, we met Mom, Dave, Ben, Aunt Kathy, Tom, Joella, Randy, Carson & Ava at Splash Universe in Dundee, MI. We all had a great, but exhausting time. Zoe rode all of the slides, even the big ones.

A New Way to Sleep

We've been struggling with Nate and his sleeping for about a week now (a very long week). It started last Thursday night when he screamed for hours & hours - even while you were holding him, nothing would comfort his. I ended up holding him for four hours while he slept & then Tony took over & he did sleep in his crib for a couple of hours. We are not sure what this was about, but he did have a little bit of a cold. Teething, maybe, no teeth yet. (He had night like this when he was a few weeks old.) Since that day getting him to sleep has been quite a chore, especially now that he can roll to his tummy. He doesn't stay swaddled anymore, but he can't comfort himself if he isn't swaddled. His hands are out of control & pull his binky out. Last night, we decided he has to learn to fall asleep on his own, not swaddled. After about 4 hours of crying last night, he finally fell asleep. Today, he fell asleep pretty quickly for his morning nap, but it took him an hour of crying to fall asleep for his afternoon nap. Both times, he has fallen asleep on his tummy. Hopefully, he will quickly adjust to sleeping without being swaddled.

"Why did we get rid of our housekeeper?"

This is the question Tony asked last Friday while "cleaning" the main stairs in our house. He was hosting poker that night & I was sick & tired (from being up with Nate the whole night before - because he was sick too), so it was up to him to make the house *poker worthy clean* - a relatively low standard for cleanliness. Anyway, I again asked myself this same question this week as I was cleaning the stairs that lead to our basement. They are by far the dirtiest part of our house (truly, even under the fridge is cleaner). They only get cleaned a few times a year & as a result the cleaning takes a significant amount of time due to the buildup of sawdust, drywall dust, cat fur, cat food & just plain old dirt that collects here. So, to all who have noticed my dirty steps - notice my now clean ones. They are sure not to last...2 kids, 2 cats & a basement still being finished are sure to messy them shortly. I will enjoy them while I can.

Nate Rolling Over - Part Two

Nate has learned to roll over from his back to his front. At the moment, he can only roll over to his right though & he hasn't quite figured out why that doesn't always get him where he wants to go.

Zoe's Nails...

Surprise!

Happy 40th Nancy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Yummy 1!

Yummy 2!

We had a pretty low key Valentine's Day this year. I slept most of the day & Tony ended up going to Nancy Fulcher's 4oth birthday party alone while I stayed home with the kids. Nate & Zoe enjoyed their presents.

Zoe's Valentine Bag

At preschool today, Zoe exchanged valentines with her classmates. This is a photo of the bag she made to hold them.

I hate returnables...

Yes, I must admit that ever since moving to Michigan, I have detested the fact that I have to return pop cans to get the deposit back. I rinse them as best I can, but it still is a dirty stinky, sticky chore. This is about 1 week worth of cans & I haven't returned them since before Christmas. One of these days, I will load them all up in our to take back to Meijer.

Ahhhh......

Zoe was feeling at little under the weather today & actually fell asleep on the couch. A miracle - both kids sleeping during the day at the same time. I got to enjoy my book in complete silence for a little while...

Zoe's Recital Costumes

Zoe got her costumes for her recital today at ballet & tap class. She definitely has the attitude for the tap costume - that pose was all her own.

Nate in Car Seat

This weekend, we transitioned Nate from his infant seat to his new car seat (Zoe's old one & of course she is quick to mention this fact). Nate really enjoys his new seat. He loves that he can see out the window & watch Zoe. No more hissy fits when you put him in (at least for now). If you look closely, you can see his reflection in the not-so-clean mirror.

Dominoes

This afternoon we played a game of Dominoes which, as usual, Zoe won.

Happy Birthday Ava!

Today, we helped Ava celebrate her 3rd birthday.

A Little People Line-Up

Zoe lined up all of her little people today so they could watch the king & queen have a race. I know it's hard to tell, but each animal has a little person standing behind them. She is nothing if not organized.

A clean kitchen

I spent quite a bit of time today cleaning the kitchen, including cleaning all of the appliances and such. It is nice to enjoy while it lasts - which won't be long.