Two Little Sickies...

I really don't know how they do it! My kids manage to stay healthy through two weeks of Winter Break and 7 snow days! And then the second day back to school they are sick!

Savannah even gave me the pleasure of letting me get her ready for school and literally walking towards the door before she threw up all over the floor!

So it's another home day! The nice thing about it is that Mike is travelling so at least we can stay in bed today!

Mercy!

Ok, that's it! I cry Mercy!!! I went to bed Friday night thinking about how glad I was that the week was over and was so looking forward to Monday when we could get back to our normal routine. The kids really overall haven't been bad but just keeping them entertained has exhausted me. So when I woke up Saturday morning to a fresh covering of snow and huge snowflakes pouring out of the sky I called Mercy!!! I am done!

The roads are worse than ever and the weather channel is talking about an Artic Assault!! Tuesday is supposed to be a high of 8 degrees! My kids are NEVER going back to school! Just what am I going to do with them next week?

Check out the view from our porch!

It's a total white wash!

To be honest, other than our family, there isn't a whole lot about Florida that I miss. We were ready for a change, but I do miss the blue skies. And today would have been a great day to see one! :)

So we've been doing a lot of this -

Because our house gets warm upstairs and stays rather cold downstairs I find myself operating more and more from here...I am here now as I type! The kids filter in and out and occasionally I come out to find them but for the most part when I am at home and it's cold this is where I will be! BTW - Owen took this pic! :)

On one of my trips down, I found this! They had gone out for a few mins to go sledding and apparently wore themselves out! It makes me laugh that he fell asleep with his hood still on!

Will we survive?

Ok, my kids have been out of school for a week now! Normally I wouldn't mind a day or two off unexpectedly but both times we've had snow days they have all been in a row and they have been on the back of other school breaks! The kids have only been to school 9 days this entire month so far! I told Mike that these girls don't go back to school Monday I am moving back to Florida! :)

Couple that with the fact that Mike now works from home and literally cannot function when there is noise, we are struggling here! These last four days he has basically given me a blank check to go out and have fun with the kiddos so he can work.


Check out our adventures -

Winter Wonderland!

Explorium has a new exhibit with large legos and the kids LOVE it....we went there both Tuesday and Wednesday!

Napping on the horse

Owen's mad because I made him share :)

Wednesday we did some shopping at Target and Old Navy

they love the balloons

Then we went to the movies and saw The Nut Job

Thursday I was running out of ideas so I asked a friend and she suggested I take the kids to Bounce U. We've never been there before but it is very much like a Monkey Joe's on steroids. Lots of fun!

Taking a swing

Savannah happily squishing Owen

Getting out some aggression

in the boxing ring

I am not sure whose baby this was but Savannah sort of adopted her!

By the end of the day they were pooped!
 

Overall we've had a lot of fun running around town and they are lucky enough to get to come with me when I go into work and play in the children's wing so boredom hasn't been an issue this week. We may need the entire weekend though to recover and be ready for school on Monday! I just hope the weather cooperates! 

Another Snow Day!

After a solid week in school the kids had MLK day off and then we got more snow....and another snow day! I used to LOVE getting an unexpected day off when I was teaching, but after 3 previous snow days I am just dying to be back into our routine!

This is the most snow we've gotten at once so far!

This is how Owen and I feel about being home again with the girls!

Boredom!

Even Hogan is feeling a little wintry!

And poor Mike is miserable too! His meetings with schools and teachers have gotten cancelled a few times now and it's starting to irritate him! Here's to hoping for school the rest of the week!

Back Into the Swing of Things

So after two weeks off for winter break and then 3 snow days over the course of a week and a half finally this week we started to get back in the swing of things.

Mike had to travel to DC for 4 days during the snow days and the first couple days back. He was very wise for bringing these home for me! Can't remember the last time I got flowers!  

Happy Girls watching TV after school

Donuts for A's...Kate earned enough to get these! Go Kate!!!



Owen has taken to not wanting to wear a pajama shirt anymore

Another change we have had is that I got a little promotion at my two day a week preschool job. The director got another job so they asked if I would take her place. It's a perfect fit for me as far as intensity goes right now but I am no longer teaching kids in a classroom. I see Owen less but I really like the business end of things!

Some things however, never change! Have a mentioned lately how much laundry is a burden right now?!?!?!

Snow Days

After the kids had their first day back to school on Thursday school was closed Fri, Mon, and Tues due to snow and really cold temperatures. At first we were really excited for Snow Days. Friday the kids were able to sled a little and the snow actually melted over the weekend. But Monday morning we woke up to single digits and ice!

We tried to sled but in the 1 or 2 degree weather coupled with the wind chill we only made it about 5 mins before we called it quits!

The snow was so cold and crunchy with ice that they couldn't really even sled!

By Tuesday morning, we were all a little stir crazy!

Breakfast in a box!

Our house was cold downstairs but warm upstairs so we hung out in my bed most of the morning! Then we took off and went to the movies in the afternoon. We needed to get out!!!

 

Wednesday the kids had a 2 hour delay from school so we had a little more time in the morning for breakfast! We celebrated by making festive pancakes!!! I really enjoyed having the kids home for a few more days but I was happy to send them back off to school! I need to get back into my routine :)

First Day Back to School in 2014

On the 2nd of January the kids headed back to school and Owen and I back to pre-school. In Florida we normally had a few more days of break, but honestly we were pretty ready to get back to our normal routine! Here are the kids on their first morning back.

She couldn't wait to show her teacher all the stuff she made from her science kit!

First day as a bus rider - ever! It took me a long time to get comfortable with her riding the school bus, but it was really nice not having to drive her back and forth!

He was really sad when Kate walked to the bus stop....we sat and watched her from the window until she got on the bus

Much happier now that we're headed to preschool!

When the kids got home they were in for a real treat! It had started to snow and they begged me to let them test out their sleds. I wasn't sure they would work because the snow was really just beginning to stick, but I was wrong!

 

 

I only let them stay outside for about 10 minutes because it was really cold and I was pooped from my first day back at preschool. But the good news is it is finally looking like it is going to get cold enough for the snow to stick around so we should have more opportunities soon!

Owen's First Trip to the Dentist!

While we were on break from school, I decided to go ahead and schedule us all into the dentist...on the same day! We took up an entire two hour block of time but it got it all done quickly and no one would have to miss school for an appointment :)

And this was Owen's first cleaning!

He did great! He was very chill about the whole things and actually giggled as she polished his teeth!

All 5 of us got a great report and it didn't feel like a huge burden to have us all one after the other. We rescheduled to do the same in July!

And just for fun, here are the kids before church on Sunday in their new clothes from Christmas. They are so cute!

Kate got a new dress, Owen got a new shirt and shoes, and Savannah got the shirt, skirt, and tights! She is also too busy doodling to look at the camera! :)

Dixie Stampede

A couple days after Christmas the kids and I drove to Pigeon Forge, TN and met up with Papa T and Aunt Carrie and Chase to go to the Dixie Stampede.

The cousins were so excited to see each other and Papa T!

The Dixie Stampede was super fun and afterwards we were able to exchange Christmas presents with Papa T!

Owen got a cool basketball hoop for the door, and the girls got gift cards to Target!

These boys held hands almost the whole time!

After the show, we all headed over to the Outlet stores to let out a little energy!

Papa T got the boys these matching Superman shirts! So cute!

Ice cream truck fun!

Thanks for the fun day in Gatlinburg Papa T! We loved our little Dixie Christmas :)