Big Sisters

What are all of these children doing wandering around a hospital lobby? Geesh, isn't anybody watching them--instead of, you know, snapping their pictures?


I guess that would be my job, but I was too busy snapping their pics. Luckily daddy was there to keep a watchful eye out.


We were the first (and quite possibly the most eager) to arrive at our birthing hospital for the Big Sibling (what we call the Big Sister) class. We got to pick out name tags!


And we smooched on mama's belly... like a lot! But really that's nothing new!



Then it was time to make a visit to the nursery.



We were able to peek in the window and see two newborns. One looked about the size of my second born (9lbs) and one looked about the size of the rest of my babies (7-ish lbs). They were both incredibly cute, though!

Then we made our way into a room where the mommy has the baby. Of course my children have visited these rooms a number of times--and my eldest can actually remember being in there for our last birth (she was 3.5 yrs old at the time).

After seeing the rooms, we were able to do some listening. There was a short video and a beautiful story. Bug and I were all ears!


And we participated in several hands-on activities with the baby dolls.



And thank goodness the teacher saw our need for more than the one baby doll that typically suffices each family. We ended up with four by the time all was said and done.




Each girl left a little more proud for all of her hard work in helping to take care of her baby. And they each received a certificate to prove they can handle the duties the come with big sister territory. We have official entertainers, diaper-changing supply grabbers, and baby holders.





No, we couldn't be more proud!

Our Snow Day!

~~~~~SNOW DAY~~~~~

Today is the first snow day of the year-- well, that'd be of the school year and of the new year I suppose.



We woke up to a winter wonderland of sorts, right here in our own backyard--literally. See



And in our front yard, too, of course. Here's a few good inches of snow covering our mailbox.

We saw it starting to snow around bath time last night (say 7ish), and it hasn't stopped since. We love snow days--mainly because we (I) romanticize them. But still, we love them!

We just don't always love the preparations it takes to get ourselves outdoors.

First, I will say that I am 8 months pregnant and fighting a little chest congestion problem. So the multiple trips up the stairs to search for winter gear was nowhere near fun. I was just hoping it would be worth it.

I was most certainly picturing lots of this action!

It took us 3o minutes to get everyone dressed in snow boots, snow suits, hats, gloves and coats. It is quite the workout to get four littles dressed in all this winter wear--especially since they can't do a lick of it themselves. Again though, I was just hoping it'd be worth it.

I imagined that once we won the battle of (getting) the bulge (on), we'd run into our snowy driveway and play the morning away. I was even more excited than normal because I was taking along my new camera for the ride.

So eventually we made it outdoors and onto the drive. The kids immediately took to the snow.

All but her.

It snowed a ton last winter, but it was always so cold that we never managed to make it out in the snow--plus one of our littles wasn't walking and we all know that complicates things further! So really, this was her first snow experience.

The poor thing could hardly walk. She kept reminding me of the "tic about to pop" from Christmas Story. So I tried pulling her on the sled, but that was a no go!

But my other 3 littles enjoyed a few minutes of snow play, and I more than enjoyed watching them.

They tried to catch snowflakes on their tongues.

They sled down our little hill of a drive.

They smiled when I said look at mama!

And of course there was a (just one) snow angel made.




And then the phone rang. It was the doctor (and we were waiting on her return call) so I had to take it. Of course this is the same time that my eldest runs inside screaming that her hands are stinging they're so cold. I gently ask her to run inside and wrap them in a towel--though I was still dumbfounded on how her hands were cold since she was wearing water-proof mittens.

I continue with the doctor, explaining symptoms and what not until my second-born decides it's potty time. Like, I potty now whether it be in my clothes or in the potty.

Oh, and then my "tic," who can hardly walk has slipped on our garage floor and is now crying.

I wrapped things up as quickly as I could with the doctor; and then I was sent on a mission to conquer the chaos that ensued in the 3 minutes it took for me to speak with our physician.

Seriously! This all happened. And then it was all over.

My one, lone little Bug managed to escape the chaos. Nonetheless, she was ready to come in.

So in we came. Luckily, Brownie made it to the potty and somehow managed to get out of her winter clothes in time.

Peach reported that she had taken her mittens off and that's how her hands got stingy. She was mostly calmed down at this point.

Boushka had no serious damage---nothing a little hug and kiss couldn't fix.

We all managed to make it out of our snow suits, boots, hats, coats and gloves before my floors were too soaked. I guess it helped that they only walked on the tile and not on any carpet. Phew!

I set the wet boots out in the garage, hung our coats and snow suits, and pitched the gloves and hats back into the bins. And then I plopped on the couch and thought, Yeah, never doing that again!

I feel bad about my attitude towards the fun I pictured that turned into chaos, but I can only be hopeful and assume that

1) Had I not been pregnant,

2) Had I not been fighting some chest congestion,

3) Had the phone call not happened,

AND

4) Had there been another adult with me

things just may have gone a bit better. The pregnancy/sickness combo, in case you don't know, makes it a bit tougher to breath and just generally move around. And the phone call... pretty sure it took too much of my attention for those few minutes that in turn allowed the CHAOS to ENSUE-- especially since no other adult was around!

So, lesson learned. Or maybe not. Because I am still picturing the fun times to be had in the snow--but I think I'll wait until Daddy is home to enjoy the fun with us!

Preparations

Here we are in lovely (sarcasm) January about to expect our first real snow of the year. We've had spits of it here and there, but certainly nothing to write home a blog post about. Well, apparently that is all about to change.

Sometime soon, we are supposed to get 7.4 inches (the last I heard); We're not used to large amounts (yes this is a decent size for our area) of snow dropping frequently throughout winter, so around these parts that calls for some planning.

I'm talking trips to the store, winter gear(shovels, sleds, etc.) ready to go in the garage, and plenty of wood for a fire. And I like to throw my own little preparations in there-- a clean house and good food. Because if I'm going to be stuck indoors, I'm going to want peaceful surroundings and yummy food.

So this week I plan on making plenty of
-granola bars (but they're more like hunks) to start our mornings off right

- homemade chicken strips--buffalo style for the adults in the house

- Vermont white cheddar mac 'n cheese soup (which was not tried and true until we tried it today and decided it's true)

- lentil sloppy joes (which we have not tried, but I'm hoping we can add it to our true list)

-turkey meatballs-- though I don't know if we'll pair it with spaghetti and tomato sauce or turn them into a sandwich...

-apple crisp

-Tomato Chicken and veggies over rice---this is a slow cooker recipe that simmers all day

-Jambalaya- for my husband

I think there's more on here than we'll actually get made, but these are all in the plans. The ingredients we needed have been bought and I'm ready to heat up the house tonight with the Chicken strips, mashed potatoes and green beans. Also perfect game day food according to my sweet husband.

I actually need to finish the one half of my personal preparations--clean house. We have finally put all Christmas decor away (tree is officially down), vacuumed, done the dishes (several times, I might add), and emptied trash cans--- so now it's on to continue with the laundry (still about 5 more loads to do) and cleaning of the master bath!

And if I'm lucky, I'll get some more work done on the V-day shirts for the girls.

No Rhyme or Reason...

What happens when you stay up until 3 am and then proceed to rise out of bed at 7am? Well, if you're me you end up with nothing to write about.


My brain seems to be slowing down a bit as my wee ones are sleeping peacefully in their beds. I was full of energy and running around all day today, I decided to sit down and write a post during naps today. Well, I've been sitting here for quite some time, and I ain't got nothin'! Oh, except writers block.


And contractions. They're kind of regular at the present. I think this means I need to go do something else, right? On that note, I'm going to leave you with some cute pictures (I know, you're welcome) while I go about cleaning and drinking water. That oughtta take care of these pesky little contractions.

Crafting

My crafting for the week, or should I say post-Christmas, has been lacking a little. I've made a few bows here and there and 2 bow holders (that I have yet to snap photos of but are hanging in the girls' bathroom), but the only other things I've done are this

and this.

The little dinosaur onezie is for a sweet friend of mine who just had her 4th baby the day after Christmas. He's a cutie and has lots of love from his big sister and brothers--not to mention, I believe his mommy is quite in love!

I was really wanting to make this little guy something, and as soon as I saw that polka-dot fabric I instantly saw a dinosaur. When I got him done, the shirt looked a little plain. So I threw in the tree for a little decoration.

And the tree (the one with heart on it seen below, not the one on the onezie)---well, what can I say? I went out and bought my first fake tree a few days ago. Target had two 4ft, pre-lit trees left after the new year and I purchased one of them. They were 75% off, so I got it well under $20.

Once I got it loaded in the van, I was in no mood to go home and pack it away. Yes, you could say I was a bit excited. So following after the mother of one of my friends, I decided to keep it up and decorate it for different holidays.

You'll see here, that we decorated our first Valentine's tree.

I found a few little things at Joann's to put on it, but I plan to decorate more with items my babes bring home from school. Having three in preschool helps me to keep my house rather...., hmmmm how should I put this.... decorated! So I hope that the tree will hold many of these treasures from my girls.

We'll see if I keep it up for other holidays. I think it will stay up for St. Patrick's Day because I do have one small tub of decorations. And most of it would look great hanging from my new tree! Did I mention that I love this idea because it keeps most of the holiday clutter off of my shelves, tables and mantles and on a tree instead. Still festive, but it doesn't feel like overkill!

I hope to get back into my crafting obsession as soon as I finish up grading. Classes end next Monday, and all of my grades have to be turned in by Thursday. Then, we let the crafting begin.

-I have a few little onezies in mind for my newest babe. The fabric is all picked out, I just need to design it.

-There will be bows to go with them, of course.

-I have one of four "XO"s cut out for the older girls' V-day shirts. They asked for them, so I obliged. It's kinda hard to resist these little faces, don't ya think?

And something that I don't plan on doing myself---

I'm on the hunt for somebody else to do a little quilting for me. I know exactly what I want for my baby's bedding, but I can't find it anywhere. Really, it's pretty simple. A bunch of bright green fabric and just a little black--that's all I want. I can find a sheet somewhere and I'm not really into bumpers, so those don't need to be part of the package. But I would love a skirt to go with the pretty quilt I have pictured. I wish I had that kind of talent!

I also have an entire nursery to put together. I've made a few items for each girl for their rooms, so I can't let this one go without. So I'm sure there will be a few little things I make for her room---I just don't know what they are yet!

Well, I guess I've sent all of these lofty ideas into the universe so I suppose I need to get off of here and get a little head-start to the crafting before the grading commences this weekend!