Not Feeling Well...Still Back In February

W had a runny nose, but O was the first one to look sick and the high temperatures, coughing, sneezing and major irritability quickly followed...for all three kids...and Mommy.

Oh no...we're sick.

Mommy catching Z's between cushion and blanket forts with Daddy.

A few more inches of snow from another storm rolling through. We thought this would be the last one, but a few days later we got a couple inches during the night. What a great winter!!

Good Manners

Since the second he could feed himself, W has been a particular eater. He uses his spoon, likes to wipe up with a napkin, and prefers his food in a certain place. Good manners? Yes...to a certain point.

Eating one Cheerio at a time.

O, on the other hand, can't stuff his face fast enough. He picks up as much as possible with both fists and shoves them both in his mouth. It took him quite awhile to grasp a utensil. Even now, he may eat with a spoon, but there's a good chance he still has a fist full of food to go with it. He's always been a good eater. Good manners? Um...no.

Sometimes W just looks at him...in amazement? in disgust?
"Dude...slow down."

He's sure proud of himself though.

So is W...and so are we.
Good manners are coming. They don't throw their food and drink nearly as much when they want something else or when they're done.

Daddy thought it was bad manners to have my son's hair like this...too long, scruffy and poofy. It made his head look about twice the size it should be. Haircut time for my boys.

More Fun in February

There's always a surprise in our home!
O decided to pull up his two crib sheets. The same two sheets I put on there to make it nice and snug. He then pulled back his waterproof mattress pad. Oh, and the fun didn't stop there. He decided to rip apart his actual mattress with his bare hands.

And then...he thought it would be hilarious to rip out a fist full of foam.
HAHAHA!! Isn't that GREAT?!

We then housed a little mermaid who refused to walk like a human. Getting to the breakfast table was a tad tricky.

W is obsessed with all tools and feels it is his right to seize all that come into sight.

O is now wanting to be like big sis and work on her computer when he thinks she's not around. With this brings shouts of pure joy and sudden frolicking through the house. If you listen, S, I'm sure you can hear them in Virginia...I love it.

This actually was really funny. We had a night of bubble blowing and all the kids went wild. Daddy was helping O vigorously kung fu all the bubbles...bubbles you can barely see in the picture.

Wild I tell ya.

I Don't Like Crayons in The Laundry

In the past, I have washed several crayons, but there was no damage due to cold water and the great discovery of them before the dryer. Well, my luck ran out. Somewhere in the massive load of fairly new children's clothing and a pinch of daddy's work clothes, there were two crayons hidden within a pocket enclosed with velcro. I opened the dryer door and just about fainted.

CRAYON!! EVERYWHERE!!

BLUE AND MAGENTA!

The entire dryer drum was covered with melted crayon.

Smeared all over the doors.

Sucked into the vent holes and plastered all over the fuzzy drum lining.

Not pretty. I rummaged through the magenta stained clothing in total disbelief and searched for the crayons. All the clothes were ruined! Not only did they turn pink, but they had huge melted crayon streaks everywhere.

The culprits.

We had to find a way to clean our dryer. The first idea that was presented by the internet was WD-40. Spray it on a rag and rub away, then wash down the dryer when done. But that's flammable and I was hesitant to wipe it all over the DRYER. My dad said it would be ok because the dryer is ventilated and I would wash it down. So, I did it. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. But after 15 minutes of hard elbow grease, I realized not much crayon was coming off.
Time to wash down the drum. I used dish soap and scrubbed away. I was surprised to see my rag appear pink with each scrub down. Hours were passing and I was exhausted. It's extremely awkward and difficult to wash inside a dryer.
The next idea was toothpaste. Yes, toothpaste. Heat the dryer for 5-10 minutes. Slather the crayon spots, or in my case, the entire drum with toothpaste. Run the dryer again for about 10 minutes to allow the toothpaste to dry. Then scrape it off with a flat tool. I used a plastic putty knife, or was it a paint scraper? I don't know. It was hot and still awkward and difficult to scrape off the toothpaste, but the crayon was actually coming off! Hooray!

A white door!

Look how clean that is!!

There is just a tiny hint of pink now....great improvement.

The blue didn't quite come off as well as the magenta, but wow, what a difference.

It took a VERY long time to get it looking like this. We're very pleased.

As far as the clothes, I tried washing them again, but there was no change. So I bought a bleach for colors and that did the trick...for the most part. Some clothes still have pink stains and crayon streaks, but they're salvageable. Phew!
Laundry is hard work. This one load took me almost a week to finish!!