Lately....that is, after the Winter Storm!

We really have just begun getting out of the house! School was up in the air even Monday but they ended up going so we are somewhat back to normal here. A week is a long time to live like a hermit but it was also kind of nice just to mentally check out.

Dinners around here have been a little sketchy lately....I mean whoever invented the take home rotisserie chicken is genius! But I saw this little diddy on Facebook during the snow in and I knew I had to try it! Potato slices topped with cheese and bacon. Yummy! It's like cheese fries and a loaded baked potato in one! 

Savannah drew me this picture. When I said how much I loved that she always draws me hearts she asked why. I said that I felt that it proved that she was a normal happy kid who loved her family. She literally rolled her eyes, sighed, and said "you and I are on different pages Mom" and walked away!!! HA!!!! 

Owen drug out this photo album and said to me, "Mom, will you take me here please?" I asked him why and he said, "Because there is chocolate there." That kid has his priorities straight I tell you! 

Look inside the album! My sweet little baby girls!!!! :) 

This was Owen's favorite pic.....why? Because there is chocolate there....

I found this selfie on Kate's phone during one of my routine snoops....too cute! I just love those two :)  

Kate's Chuck E Cheese Progressive Album!

Chuck E Cheese really is fun for everyone! But for Kate it's got a more special meaning. The second time we ever met Kaitlyn during our adoption process was at a Chuck E Cheese in Ocala. Mike and I met her and her foster mom Kathy there for lunch. It was really the first time we got the play with her and they even let us take her from there and spend a little more time with her and then return her to daycare. I literally remember thinking, "What? They are just going to let us take her?? No one even checked our car to make sure we had a car seat!! They don't even know us!" I guess I was forgetting about all the background checks and ooddles of paperwork and home visits we had already completed :)


Anyways, at Chuck E Cheese, there is photo booth were you can get a little sketch made....and I made sure to do it the first time and we've been doing it pretty much every time we go and the Mama in me thought enough to save several of them over the years. When we went to Chuck E Cheese the other day during our snow in, Kate remembered to do one and she brought it to me. I was just thinking about how much she has changed over the last 8 years and I thought this would make a fun blog post!

Check out how she has changed!!!

Thankfully they have a little date stamp on them! This was 2006 

2007...what a sweetie! 

Getting a little crowded....Just look at my Savannie girl....2008 

2009....she is getting big! 

2010......I think that is me next to Savannah but I was pregnant with Owen so I probably didn't fit in the frame! :) 

2011...sweet sisters! 

I am not really sure what happen after 2011....we have definitely been to Chuck E Cheese since then but I must not have been diligent about keeping pictures. Boo....

Here is the current one! 2015.....wow! Time does fly and my girl keeps getting bigger and bigger!!!

I am so crazy proud of the young lady she is becoming! I am starting to have these little panic attacks about the fact that she will be 13 in about a month. It's like 13.....ok, that is not too bad,,,,,then 15, oh my..... then 16, driving, dating, yikes! Then 18.....graduation, college....I am so not ready for any of that!

Bad Luck!

This has to be one the craziest weeks I have had in a LONG time!


First we got snowed in....that was Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday!

10 inches!

I had noticed over the weekend that our heat wasn't working all that well so I e-mailed our maintenance department and Wednesday while we were still snowed in they came over to check it out. As our bad luck would have it, Savannah woke up that morning throwing up and refusing liquids of any kind.

See my sick girl back there??? She was feeling really rough! Her brother felt just fine thank you! 

She threw up 7 times in 7 hours and would not eat or drink, I was thinking about calling the Dr when the maintenance man informed me that my furnace was malfunctioning and unsafe to operate anymore......you know, probably leaking carbon monoxide and all!!

I even impressed myself at how fast I could pack us up! 

I just knew those cute bags would come in handy :)

Thankfully our maintenance guys drove a big van into and out of our driveway making an escape path for us. On our way to our overnight apartment I called the urgent care line for our pediatrician and he called in some anti-nausea meds for Savannah. She promised that she would drink some Gatorade for me so we could avoid the ER. Sometimes, that girl can be downright cooperative! :)

The apartment they set us up in had a huge garden tub and Owen was super excited for a big bubble bath

We managed to get settled and get Savannah feeling slightly better! Unfortunately for me, I caught her nasty stomach bug and spent the entire next 24 hrs feeling like death!!! Hence, no pics!

Thursday they were able to replace the furnace and we came home around 5:30 pm....only to find that our water was never turned back on! A few hours later and a few calls to maintenance and we had water....ahhh,,,,,time for sleep!

Friday morning I was feeling a lot better and a friend asked us to meet them at Chuck E Cheese for a little fun! Yes please!!! :)

Not sure what this face is trying to say! What a goof! But he was super happy to play with Riley :) 

Later that afternoon Kate was scheduled to leave to go on a middle school youth trip with our church to Cincinnati so after I dropped her off, we went to the store for some more provisions, and then grabbed an early dinner at Cracker Barrel.

This kid loves pancakes! And apparently the syrup as well!!

These two were happy to have a little quality time.....out of the house!

Saturday morning I woke up to a phone call from Kate in Cincy saying that they had gotten snow overnight, their conference had been canceled, and that they were snowed in at the hotel! Phewww....what a week! I am really hoping our bad luck streak is over soon!

Snowed In!

So we are snowed in here in Lex! It seems like the entire city has literally just shut down!

Seriously!?!?!? I had to look up what snow squalls were and trust me when I tell you, they aren't good! What a crazy week! 

The kids are making the best of it though :) 

I look over at one point and see this....he is completely still not moving not talking....I thought he might be praying

And then! Peek a Boo! 

This is what 10 inches of snow looks like.....seriously

This was the cutest Valentine that I received this year! And it was yummy too!!! 

I finally found a meal that all 3 of my kids will willingly eat! Banana Pancakes!! And in honor of Valentine's Day, we made them heart shaped :) 

After dinner, it was back out for another round of sledding! This snow is very powdery and fluffy which is nice but the next few days the temps are supposed to drop into the negative numbers which I am sure will make the snow stiff and crunchy :( 

Winter Storm Octavia

Otherwise known as Snow-Mageddon! We were literally snowed in!!! Forecasters said to expect the worst winter storm in about 16 years!! And we got it!

And these nut jobs wanted to go out and sled!

He's ready! 

Even Kate went out! 

It's a white wash everywhere! 

The Mama in me didn't really want them out there because it was so cold and the mess it would create but the kid in me knew how much fun they were having! So I kept myself busy prepping for their re-entry!

mugs

hot water....and lots of it! 

Massive amounts of hot chocolate....courtesy of Aunt Susan! 

Warm change of clothes ready! 

Looks like I get to do a load of laundry today! :) 

It's still snowing and is due to snow again Wed. It looks like we won't see temps above freezing until Saturday! We could very well be snowed in for a week! Pray for us! I will keep you posted!! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

So it's been Valentine's Day at our house for about a week now! I am not ashamed to say that I am kind of ready for it to be over!!!! 31 treat bags, about a million cards, cupcakes, cheese and cracker tray, candy, candy, and more candy!!!

Savannah was so excited about Valentine's Day that she insisted on dressing up in a dress for school! This was a real, true, genuine smile! 

This girl is bringing treats to her friends and teachers

And finally, little Owen! I got to join him at his preschool Valentine's party. He is such a cutie pie :)  

Owen and Lenox! BFF's 

And after all that.....this was all I needed! :)

Coco Key and IKEA

Back in January Mike found a nice little deal on Groupon for a day pass to Coco Key water park and he noticed that it was super close to IKEA in Cincinnati so he booked us a hotel and thought we'd make a weekend of it.


I will tell you though that we had such a busy week prior that no one bothered to book Hogan into the kennel! Nothing quite like calling and saying...."can I bring my dog over.....like right now?!?!?!?" Eventually we made it!!

They are excited! 

Owen on the water slide

Owen running back to the slide.....he went over and over again! The girls were off riding the bigger slides :) 

Savannie girl!! 

While Mike was getting the car, I let the kids play a few games in the very warm arcade! 

These kids can't get enough of each other! 

The next day at IKEA. These two got to go to the kids play area :) 

I think this is new!!! How is it I can get ooddles of batteries for super cheap but a pound of candy treats is $8?!?!?!?!

Owen's favorite IKEA purchase!!! A cute little concept carpet for all those hot wheels cars!! Now he can race them and line them up all neat like :)