More family visits

I would have been back sooner, but first I got sick with the boys' tummy bug and then Tim came down with it. We have not been a healthy house this last week.

For New Years Eve, Tim had to work so we still had Alli babysit, but grandma, grandpa, and I went to dinner. It was so nice to not have to worry about what kid was throwing what, noise making, and trying to get them to sit still. I enjoyed it very much! I was supposed to work that night, but got canceled since we are so slow. I worked the next night and then got canceled again. I enjoy the extra time at home, but I hate that I don't get paid when I'm off. Fortunately my time off kicks in in a few days and I can start using that to supplement my paychecks.

So, this weekend Tim's sister in law visited with the kids. She was driving through on her way home from Nebraska and wanted to see the new house. I know how Max and Splendid love to play together and it was perfect timing since I was off the weekend. They got here Friday afternoon and stayed until Saturday morning. Probably would have stayed alot longer but they had to get home for Katherine's surprise birthday party. She almost missed it thanks to me inviting her to stay. OOOPS!!

Anyway, the kids had a blast and Max had his first real sleepover. He slept in his trundle drawer and Splendid slept in his bed. They were up until 10 laughing and giggling and causing trouble, but they had fun and that's all that matters. However, I don't know that Tim was too happy when they woke him up at 5 the next morning! He got them set up in front of the TV though and he headed back to work so it's not like they interrupted sleep. He was busy and needed to get back anyway.

Alex seems to be communicating alot more lately. He says a handful of words, but he's good at letting you know what he needs even when he can't say it. If he wants to go to bed, he'll say "night night" but he also points up the stairs and can say "upstairs" and "downstairs" though probably no one else would understand that's what he's saying. It amazes me because he still seems so little, but I think he's pretty much on track with alot of things that Max was doing at the same age. He only knows "eye" on the face though and will point to mouth and nose, but doesn't say them. I am pretty sure Max was doing that by this age. There are definitely differences because I had more time to spend one on one with Max.

Anyway, enough rambling. I'm cranky today so I'm thinking I should take a nap. I do want to leave you with a few pictures though. From this weekend with the cousins, of course!

Max as Sportacus from LazyTown

Splendid and the babies playing!

Ayanna and Alex

Hana and Max

In this one you can see Alex's two new teeth if you look really really hard at his bottom gums.

Hope you enjoyed! Oh, that reminds me, we enjoyed our snow, but now it's almost gone. The warm weather has come and scared it all away. I know 50* isn't normal this time of year, but I already miss the snow and can't wait until it comes again. How crazy am I??? I think I lived in the south for too long ;)

Snow pictures and another Alex video

Here is Alex on his new 4-wheeler! He definitely takes after his uncle Bill!!


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And here he is feeding puppy Max. This is a dog who does NOT like small children and usually growls at Alex

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And pictures of the snow around our house

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That's all I've got for now, but if I take the boys outside tonight I'll be sure to get some more!

The difference 700 miles can make

We got about 18" of snow last night. Maybe a little more. I know more is expected today too. In VA, this would have shut the entire area down for a whole week. Here, people are out on the roads this morning traveling almost the speed limit. The roads are clear and everyone has already got out the snowblowers to clear the driveways. It is sooo beautiful to look at as well. I am hoping to get outside later to take some pictures before it all goes away. Monday and Tuesday next week are supposed to be 50 degrees.

Right now it looks like a tornado hit inside the house. Toys and junk everywhere and the kitchen is a disaster too. Tim had to take care of the boys yesterday because I came down with their tummy bug. He made chicken noodle soup last night, but didn't get to clean up because he was taking care of the kids. I'm feeling better today, but now he seems to be sick. He's still in bed so I took the kids to school. I need to get cleaned up today though. Robyn (our house cleaner) is coming tomorrow and there is no way she could even begin to clean around this mess. I just need to find some motivation. I am still weak from losing everything in me and not eating yesterday but the coffee has already started to help a little. I can't believe I didn't have any yesterday.

I also need to take down the Christmas decorations. I can't believe they are still up, but between people being sick and company this weekend I just didn't get a chance. It's time though. I put them up the day after Thanksgiving so it has been well over a month.

Not sure if Uncle Bill reads here or not, but I have a video that he must see!! I'll get it on later today when I take snow pictures. Alex likes to stand on his 4-wheeler seat and drive it that way. What a little daredevil. Not only is Uncle Bill's gift his favorite, but he takes right after his uncle in being a crazy boy!

Anyway, I need to get moving, but I'll probably be back later today.

Alex is a little nutty!

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This was him on Christmas evening. He has decided that he can walk up and down the stairs just like big people. He's not so good at it, but he is good at making us laugh!!!

On a side note, the kids are both sick today. Alex started just after midnight. He came downstairs, but was very quiet and acted like he wanted to go back to sleep. We headed to bed where he continued to look sleepy, but wouldn't let himself. I decided to try a bottle and he tossed his cookies while it was warming up. I let him have a small amount of the bottle thinking it was a fluke. Nope, he threw up until his stomach was empty and had the dry heaves after that for awhile. I was up with him most of the night.

Max woke up this morning and said he didn't feel good. Ended up having the big D. While sitting on the toilet he announced that his mouth hurt. Not sure what that means, but he proceeded to jump off the toilet and turn around to throw up. Sorry for all the visuals, but if I had to deal with it, so do the rest of you ;). Anyway, Alex seems to be much better this morning. He's keeping water down now and has eaten a few crackers and cheerios. He has also been napping for almost 2 hours. Max on the other hand has been dry heaving most of the morning since I won't let him eat or drink anything. His few sips of water came back up. He just announced a little bit ago that he feels better so I let him have half a cup of water and one cheerio. That was all he wanted. He hasn't been sick since. He is currently drinking a small amount of apple juice so we'll see how that goes. I heard from my friend Debbie that her kids had it and it was short lived. My fingers are crossed that it will be for us too. I had a ton of clothes to wash, but now I have additional towels and sheets from Alex. I do not want to have to do more.

Especially with grandma and grandpa coming this afternoon. They decided to brave the sickness, but that means lots of work for me before they get here. I changed the sheets on two beds and I have two loads of laundry done. So not how I wanted to spend my day off, but hopefully I can enjoy tomorrow.

Oh, speaking of work, I have some news on that front to. Working the 11pm to 11:30am shift has been killing me. Especially when I work 3 in a row. By the time I pick the boys up and feed them, it's time for Alex to go to bed. I'm not seeing enough of them and I'm cranky because I'm not getting enough sleep. The few mornings that I was sent home at 7am due to it being slow were awesome! I got plenty of sleep and was still able to pick them up by 4. Tim and I talked it over and decided that the only downside to me switching to the 8 hour shift was having to be at work an extra 3 nights out of 14. He can deal with it and I know I can. I talked to my boss yesterday and she said no problem! She's actually hired quite a few 11-11 people lately and now seems to have too many people on from 7am -11am so this helps her out too. Instead of having me wait until February, which I thought she would do because January's schedule is already done, she changed January's schedule for me. I had to pick up a few shifts here and there, but now I'm out at 7:30am everyday! Woohoo!! It also means that when they ask me to stay over it won't be such a big deal because I can work 12s, just not all the time! Much better than being asked to work 16!

Ok, enough rambling out of me for the morning. I changed my page again and I'm planning on changing the picture too. Just not sure what I want to do yet. Probably something simple until I get the right pictures. I'm looking for some excitement with the kids in the new year so I want my blog to reflect that. Have a great weekend and I'm sure I'll be back soon!

Edited to add a picture of my sickos!! They both took early naps and seem to be much better now. No one has thrown up in a few hours.

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Mark this date on your calendars!!

Alex at 14 months and 1 day finally has a tooth!!!! He was "kissing" me earlier and I thought I felt something sharp so I stuck my finger in there. Sure enough on the bottom there is one sharp tooth just barely poking through. I can't see it because he won't open his mouth, but it's there alright. Hopefully the rest will follow suit quickly. I want it get them all over with.

Just had to share our news. Since I posted earlier I don't have much to talk about right now and Max wants me to play Candy Land Castle with him.

Talk to you soon!