January 31

It's already the last day of January! Where'd this month go!?! I hope February and March go by fast too. Bring on Spring! I am READY!

Yesterday we woke up with a few inches of snow.

It was below 20 degrees outside during the morning hours, so we stayed inside and made the best of it. I do much better fighting the winter blahs if I stay busy. Friday I sat around all day and I started going crazy. Plus, the girls aren't as whiny if you keep them busy - bonus!

First the girls and I decorated their room for a tea party with some of their animal and baby doll friends (Clay joined in too).

After his morning nap, Elliott got to join us (dont' worry, I was sitting right beside him to keep him from falling).

After that, I brought snow inside. The girls had fun playing with it in the sink. Since the kids have runny noses and bad coughs, I decided to keep them inside.

Julia can kung fu fight and play with snow

After lunch I cleaned the house. Clay shoveled the driveway, went for a swim, and road his bike. Have I mentioned on here that he signed up to do the Ironman in August? That's a 2.2 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a 26 mile marathon. Yes, he's nuts! He's going to be spending a lot of time between now and then training.

Last night we had a movie night. I made my friend Jill's recipe for caramel corn - yum!

Caramel Corn

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 t baking soda

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Over medium heat, combine 1st 4 ingredients and boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Stir well. Pour over 8 qts popped corn. Stir well to coat. Bake in large pan 1 hour; stir every 15 minutes. Spread on wax paper to dry.


This morning I think we're going to stay home from church since all the kids have a cough and their noses are dripping like faucets. I think we're going to try to make snow cream. If anyone else has any ideas for fun winter indoor activities, please share them with me... I am running out of ideas!

January 30

My plans for last night got canceled because of the weather - we were expecting snow. It arrived, but not until late last night. I wish I had gone out. I have cabin fever from being cooped up in the house. We had a wild Friday night at our house...

Clay gave Spidey a "bath" to soak off some of his shed skin. He also cleaned out his aquarium and gave him new wood chips. Next time you come Nonna, we'll let you give Spidey his bath!

The girls and I did some Family Walk exercise that we got On Demand... it was fun while the girls lasted (maybe 10 minutes). I have lost 8 pounds in the last month. I have 3 or 4 more pregnancy pounds left and then I'd like to lose an additional 10 to get to my pre-children weight.

January 29

Julia woke up from her nap yesterday complaining that her ears itched. They went downhill quickly. 30 minutes later she was crying that they hurt. Mamaw Pat came to our house to watch Elliott and Kat so I could take Julia to the doctor (thanks Mamaw - again!). Julia has an ear infection in both ears. She had trouble getting comfortable enough to go to sleep last night, so she and I slept out in the family room on the couch together. She woke up this morning and said she felt better and she's been acting normal.

Elliott loves his Exersaucer. He will sometimes spend up to an hour playing in it!

We're working on sitting up. He falls forward usually like a weeble wobble.

Man, I need to get my teeth whitened!

He still hasn't rolled over. I think he's so laid back, he doesn't care. He's fine to just lay on his back or stay on his belly. Hasn't figure out he can go from one to the other! The girls didn't roll over until they were about 5 1/2 months, so it looks like he might be the same.

This morning the girls and I built a "town fort" for them to play in in the family room. I am starting to run out of ideas for keeping them entertained in the winter months! Hurry up Spring!

Elliott rarely cries. Instead, he does this whiny thing you can see in the video. Sometimes I am not sure which is worse! It is like he tries to tell you what is wrong instead of just crying. He was tired this time... I laid him down and he fell right to sleep.

January 28

Yesterday we had dentist appointments. It was Kat's first trip to the dentist and she did great! Julia couldn't go because she was running a fever. She stayed home with Mamaw Pat.

Elliott is 5 months old today! I can't believe how fast the time is flying by!

Here are some pictures of the girls at 5 months old:

Julia's serious pose

Silly Julia

Sweet Kat

January 27

We woke up to a dusting of snow yesterday. I saw several cars in ditches on the way to the girls' school.

We got alot of things accomplished:

• picked up the girls' immunizations records for preschool/Kindergarten next year and scheduled Elliott's 6 month checkup.
• went to the bank
  
• got the oil changed in the van
  
• came home, washed all the bed sheets, shopped online (childrensplace.com) and got great deals on some fleece and winter coats for the kids for the next couple of years!
  
• picked the girls up from school and got them milkshakes for their afternoon snack (healthy, I know)
  
• took all three kids to the eye doctor for Julia's pre-Kindergarten exam. She has 20/20 vision - for now (Clay had glasses starting in 2nd grade).

Elliott loves talking to the animals in his mobile

Last night Clay had to go into work to reset an alarm, so he took the girls with him. He stopped at a drive thru on the way home at 7:30ish to grab some dinner. The girls were asking for food too. A few minutes later when he got the food, he asked them if they wanted a fry. Nobody responded. When he turned around to look, this is how he found them. Zonked!

January 26

Sunday night after Kat, Elliott, and I got home from the grocery store, Kat managed to get her shoes off before laying down on the floor and falling asleep (it was about 7:20pm) while I was bringing in the groceries. I think the weekend wore her out!

About 10 minutes later, Clay and Julia got home from a birthday party and Julia crashed too.

Since the weekend was so busy (and apparently tiring), the kids and I stayed home yesterday and played and watched a couple of movies. The girls asked to do a craft, so I found a couple of things on Family Fun's website.

First we made Color-My Bath & Body Paint:

The recipe was really simple and fun (we plan to do this again sometime but will probably double or triple the recipe):

• 1/2 cup clear liquid hand soap
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Mix together. We put ours in a cupcake tin and then added the food coloring.

After that, we made Cornstarch Clay:

• 2/3 cup salt
• 1/3 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup cornstarch

Mix salt and soda with 1/3 cup water and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; stir. When salt boils, remove from heat and add cornstarch mixture. Stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Spoon onto wax paper to cool. After it cools, make whatever you want to out of it and set it on wax paper until it hardens (1-2 days).

A few of our Cornstarch critters. I gave the girls some googly eyes, pipe cleaners, craft sticks, and beads to add to their critters. They had a lot of fun with this one too.

January 25

Yesterday after church we went to the reptile show.

Then we went to Mamaw and Bapaw's house to celebrate Mamaw G's 83rd birthday.

Elliott found out that Uncle Bob's beard is perfect for grabbing!

Helping Mamaw blow out her candles

Julia had a birthday party last night for one of the boys in her class, so Clay took her to that. Elliott, Kat, and I went to the grocery store.

There's nothing on the agenda for today, and after our busy weekend, I am thinking we're going to stay in our pajamas and lay low (at least that's my plan!).

January 24

Yesterday we went to the zoo. It was nice to get some exercise and some fresh air.

After the zoo, Clay took Kat to a swim & dive meet, while I took Elliott and Julia to a sock hop at the library.

Born to hand jive baby!

January 23

Happy Birthday Mamaw G!

Yesterday the kids and I left the house at 9:30am and didn't get home until 4pm. We ran some errands and then met Tracy, Jonathan, and Matthew at Chick-fil-A for lunch to let the kids play and burn off some energy. Then we all went across the street to the mall to let the kids walk some more and burn off some more energy. Last night we had a family movie night. We watched Pippi Longstocking - I don't think the girls have ever sat so still for a movie!

Run girls run!


Tracy holding a tired little Elliott

January 22

Here are some pictures from last night:

Kat likes to read to herself

Julia wanted Elliott to play Geo Trax too

Last night I trimmed both girls hair. Kat wants long hair, so I just trimmed her hair a little. Julia wanted short hair, so she got several inches cut off. I think Kat's hair may be longer than Julia's now!

January 21

After dropping the girls off at school, Elliott and I visited with Natalie, Aunt Dale, and Parker.

Elliott (4 1/2 months) and Parker (2 weeks)

January 20

We've had a busy morning!

• The girls gathered some of their toys and books to donate to charity. I think this year I am going to have them do this again before Christmas so they know that it isn't just about receiving, but also about giving.
• Toured a preschool for Kat for next year.
  
• Story time at the library.
  

I was surprised at how generous they were with donating their toys- Kat especially! Julia was a little more hesitant to give up her stuff.

Tonight we have AWANA at church.

January 19

Busy day!

• Dropped Julia off at school
• Took Kat to the doctor (she was complaining that it hurt to go potty)
• Took Kat to school and visited with Peggy
• Cleaned the house (mopped, dusted, vacuumed, and laundry)
• Picked the girls up from school
• Cleaned up the garage and van while the girls played outside for a couple of hours
• Visited our neighbor Evelyn
• Made banana bread.
  

Clay is at Bible Study right now and I am getting ready to take a bubble bath!

Collecting sticks and leaves. It felt good to get some fresh air today!

Elliott has eaten peas, applesauce, and now carrots in addition to the rice cereal and oatmeal

The chunky Monkey still loves bath time!

Funny Kat Story: Kat had to pee in a cup at the doctor's office today so they could do a urine culture (everything turned out fine). That was all sorts of messy. When I went to pick her up from school today, her teacher said that Kat explained she got a sucker for "going pee on Mommy's hand because it hurt when I peed. But I'm okay now, don't worry about it."