I LOVE having a girly girl!

She's into hair ribbons and bows and now headbands. Her favorite thing to say to me in the morning after she's dressed, "Look mommy, I so pretty!" Yes, she's a little vain, but I love it!

A rambling post, no pity please!

It's been one of those days today. It hasn't been horribly bad, but the illnesses my family suffers on a constant basis is driving me insane. My kids get colds, get better, and a few days later have colds again. That's been going on since about January with them. But hopefully with the weather changing, it'll all stop. I've got another bout of tonsilitis and a migraine. Ugh! I remember back in June last year getting a cold that just never seemed to go away. I'm sure it did at one point, but I wouldn't know since I just got sick right after getting better. It's been going on longer than that, but June is when I last remember getting sick. And now I've got surgery scheduled for April 28th. Several times a day I am tempted to call and cancel, but Sam won't let me. He thinks it's important that this be done. I've been assured over and over again that once my tonsils are out, I won't get as sick, as often. That would be nice, but it is hard to imagine. My Doctor feels that my immune system is all out of whack since it's been fighting the infection in my tonsils for who knows how long, so that is why I'm always getting colds...low immunity.

Anyway, since I'm spending the day in bed trying to get better for the week, I've been looking at old pictures and reminiscing about the "easier" days that really weren't so easy. :) Can you believe that my two little ones have gone from this



to this?



They are my joy! I love that they get along so well with each other. They hate being apart and are so protective over each other. It just melts my heart to watch them get along so well. Sure they have their moments of fights and such, but they are quick to apologize (due to me making them) and then they are right back to playing with each other like nothing happened. I can't wait for the summer to get here. Hopefully no one will be sick, the weather will cooperate, and we can go to parks and beaches and just explore what nature has to offer.

FIVE

It's been five wonderful years of marriage today! Since we already celebrated by going to Hawaii earlier this year, we're keeping things pretty low key. We're planning on going out tonight to eat, exciting I know. But it's something.

These past 5 years have been something else. We have moved 3 times and have 2 wonderful kids. I think our only challenge we've really had to face (besides a 3 year old ;) ) has been that I've been sick for nearly a year with off and on colds. Now I get to have my tonsils and adenoids taken out next month. It's going to be brutal, but it'll help in the long run. Maybe I'll actually be healthy enough so that we can get out more as a family. That's something I really want.

We didn't do gifts this year, but I thought it was funny that Wood is the traditional gift. What's funny about it, is that I saw a wooden sand box at Costco the other day and thought that would be a perfect gift. It would give me the gift of my kids playing outside for hours on end. Logan has been asking for a sandbox for quite sometime. As I'm thinking this, Sam thought the same thing...get me a sandbox for our wedding anniversary, that way the kids can play for hours. We didn't get it, at least not for an anniversary gift. But we will most likely get it for the kids anyway.

I love that after 5 years of marriage, Sam and I think the same way.

Imagine!

We spent Saturday morning at the Imagine Children's Museum in Everett. It was a blast! We easily spent over 2 hours there and the kids didn't even want to leave, even though it was lunchtime. It was so successful that we even bought a membership for the year. It'll easily pay for itself so long as we go even just 4 times this year. There were so many things to do, so there are a lot of pictures.

For starters, Olivia had to make her grand entrance on stage and sing us a song. Logan is in the background, directing and managing lights. :)



After performing, the kids had to build some things with blocks and other misc. stuff.



There was an airport area complete with airplane cockpit. The control tower had this neat thing where it would shoot up ping pong balls through tubes and they would race around the ceiling. We spent a lot of time here.







There was a fun water area where the kids played and played. It was a little too much fun. Even Sam got in on the action.




Logan also got to milk a cow, Olivia served us some of her delicious pizza, and I was able to teach Logan the fine art of hopscotch...on the roof!




It was such a wonderful morning. There was so much to do and I can't wait to go back and explore some more. When we got in the car Olivia said "I had fun" and Logan told us all that he did and all the fun that he had. I love watching my kids get excited over things.

Changing attitudes

It's been a quiet few weeks around here. Quiet as in nothing is going on. We've all been sick off and on so it makes getting out and doing things a bit difficult. I think we may be starting to feel a bit better. I'm still battling sore throats, migraines, and fatigue, but I try to ignore it all and try to make each day fun for my kids. Am I succeeding? I'm not sure. I think things have been better this week than they have in a long time. Logan's refusal to nap has subsided and his bedtime tantrums have ceased. I don't know what happened to him, but for a few weeks he was a bit of a monster. But now that he's getting the sleep he needs, he's been much more pleasant to be around.

I finally came to the conclusion that I was putting too much on myself and expecting the impossible. (Actually, Sam so lovingly pointed it out to me. ;) ) Seriously, I was becoming a maniac, always expecting the house to be clean, the kids to be on their best behavior all the time, dinners to be perfect...now that I'm back to reality I often wonder "What in the world was I thinking?!" I'm not perfect, my house is not perfect, my kids are not perfect. Accepting that has made things almost perfect. It's a lot less stressful around here. There is more laughter in the house than there are tantrums and that is always a blessing.

I've come up with things to do with the kids on a daily basis so that we can get out of the house at least once a day. That helps tremendously! Changing the way I view things has really helped. Sure the kids can be monsters every now and then, but they're kids. And let's face it, as an adult, I have my moments too. But changing the way I react or think about things has really helped get through each day. I think the main thing for me is to keep the kids busy. The day goes by so much better when we're busy. Now, if spring/summer would just make its appearance so we can go to parks and play outdoors, the kids and I would be extremely happy.

New rules, new routines

I think we've finally overcome Logan's fear at bedtime. He now sleeps with the door open and primary music playing quietly in the background. It took us awhile to figure it out, but it works and I'm one happy mom. Naptime is another issue. He has started taking naps again, but they are usually on Logan's terms and not mine, sadly. Oh well, at least he gets rest every now and then.



A rule that has been (or least will be) established in this house is that if it's nice outside, meaning not freezing or raining, the kids will play in the backyard for at least 45 minutes. If it's cold, I'll be lenient and give it 30 minutes. It gives me a much needed break, and it gives them some fresh air. The kids love being outside, so I don't think this rule will be too hard to enforce.




There's nothing like playing basketball with a bouncy ball and soccer ball.



Another new rule in the house has become something along the lines of less TV during the day. I'll admit, I had it on all day long when we first moved. It kept the kids entertained while I unpacked. And then it was just habit to have it on all day. It's actually become quite a nuisance. So now, I try to have it off as much as possible. The kids do have their favorite TV shows that they can watch (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and Yo Gabba Gabba) but other than that, we have been trying to find other things to do. It's not easy, but we're working on it and I have noticed a difference in my children's behavior.
Art projects have become a favorite. Logan loves to cut paper with his scissors. He can do it for hours if I let him. Olivia on the other hand, loves to color. I'm still working with her on making sure her colors are only on paper. One day she'll get it. I hope.