Wrote Mid to Late February...Now it's March!

It's February 2011. A new year has already begun and another winter is slowly coming to a close. Spring has graced us with her presence a few times, but she hasn't come to stay as of yet. Old Man Winter is not quite done spreading his shimmery frost, and thank goodness for that. Ms. Spring has sunshine and beauty, but I could really do without her pollen. It's just disgusting and reeks havoc on the family and my home.

So, anyway, I thought I'd give an update on us and let you know what we've been up to lately.

Long post ahead! I want to remember these things about my family.

Let's start with the big man on campus, A. He has been diligently climbing the ladder of success in his career.His boss continues to mold and shape him for the future by giving him new and challenging tasks to accomplish. This is both exciting and frustrating. A has been promoted to Director of Administration and oversees several departments in the county, as well as projects, such as the animal shelter. He is still over the budget and performance measures, and yes, it's budget season. He is part of the Umpire Association, and just like Ms. Spring, baseball is knocking on our door. He is still the Young Men President at church, works with Scouts, co-coaches the YM basketball team, plays basketball himself, and is the master planner, planter, and reaper of his garden. I can't wait for fresh salsa! He's also into reading lately and is working on the Alchemist Series and the Peter and the Starcatcher Series (great series!).

I'm home running things around here; however, lately, I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water. It's been CRA-ZY. I have joined MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) after years of persuasion from a friend. I love it. E loves it. The boys...not so much. They have a hard time letting me go. Who can blame them, right?  ;) I participate with the PAT program (Parents As Teachers). We meet twice a month, discuss the development/nurturing/education of our kids, and have activities for them. I take the kids to Story Time almost weekly, Zumba once a week, and babysit a little boy twice a week. I take the kids to the Resource Center to play while I check out their books, games, and dvds. Then there's all the other stuff: play dates, doctor visits, grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning that fill our days. (Cleaning...oh, the cleaning will never end. Some days I just want to give up and let the kids go at it because if I have to sweep the kitchen floor for the bazillionth time today I'm going to blow a gasket!) I try to stay active with Goodreads (the closest thing to a book club and I love the books I've been reading. Fablehaven Series...Awesome). From August to nearly December, I took a water aerobics class, which was one of my goals and I loved it. I'm hoping to get back to something like that again. Since January, I've been working as a volunteer for a children's consignment sale coming up. I jumped into it blind, not knowing the full extent of what I would be doing. I just wanted to shop an hour early and I've been helping for two months! I don't think I'll repeat the same mistake next time around. At church, I was the Activities Chair for a couple years and now I just help out when they ask me. (I've got a gig in May!) I am also the Nursery Leader, as if I need any more time with my boys. It's fun though. I've had as many as 13 kids, which was a really weird day with a lot of visitors, but starting this year, I usually have 4 boys.

W is almost three and I can hardly believe it. It doesn't help things when he's still wearing 18 month clothes. He's a cutie, especially with those long eyelashes. He can't sit still, does not watch tv, and doesn't want to read books longer than a few pages. He is constantly thinking, planning and doing, which often leads to trouble at this age. He has mastered the whine just like his big sister, can empty a hand sanitizer bottle in less than a minute, and thinks that all keys, batteries, paper clips or flashlights belongs to him. W can clearly talk in sentences, apologize nicely, and tell someone to please stop doing something. He loves his bed full of stuffed animals and blankets, which is the complete opposite from a year ago. Another change from a year ago would be that he has become much more social, and at times, asks to be held albeit briefly (I love it!). He has taken an interest in what I cook and wants to help. He likes to sing and bob his head to music. W loves Nursery, playing instruments, and helping O and the young men collect trash throughout the church. He's starting to recognize letters, colors, numbers, and how to unlock the car with the correct key....there are some things you just don't have to teach this kid. I think he has taken a total of two naps in the past year, which makes him (and me) really tired by the end of the day. I'll write more on W when his birthday rolls around.

O is in over half of W's plans to either use his height and strength or pin the blame on him if they get caught. O will go along with pretty much everything. He is very friendly, but can also be very shy. He'll ditch me in a heartbeat at a church activity or the library, but scream and grab handfuls of flesh if I try to leave him in Nursery. He wears his heart on his sleeve, but tries to be such a tough guy. O really is big and much too strong for a 2 year old. He wears 4T clothing and a 9 1/2 W shoe to fit his chunky Flinstone feet. He is so adorable when playing with E because they have similar imaginations where anything is possible. O loves to sing. He has always been extremely quick to pick up on a tune and sing himself to sleep. He loves to dance. He's all over the place...jumping, twirling...and then someone gets hurt. Reading is a great love of his and he enjoys settling in your lap for a good story. O can get frustrated quickly and will refuse my help. He's in a Daddy phase right now so he wants Daddy to put on his shoes, get him more food, or shut his door at night. He has mastered the scowl look on is face, but can't keep it if you tickle him. He is extremely ticklish all over his baby soft skin. O used to like his bed full of stuffed animals and wrap himself with his blankets, but now it has dwindled to his green striped "bacon" (blanket) and a couple friends. Surprisingly, O is our neatest eater and for some crazy reason, he doesn't eat meat. He'll have chicken occasionally, but otherwise, he doesn't touch it. He's a fabulous napper. My big tough guy snores away while cuddling his blanket and bunny.

I updated you a little on E a few posts back. It was about homeschool, so it wasn't a complete update. There's sooo much more to E...like the fact that she has such a dynamic imagination. She has the ability to create her own world and stay there to play for hours. Everything and everyone has a different voice when she's pretending and it can be quite amusing to hear. She resists sleeping these days and we all pay the price. Though, when she conks out,  she's out cold. She wants to be an independent big kid, but I love the fact that she still wants me to be nearby. She is just at the point where she wants to walk to her church class all by herself, yet she wants me to come with her. She trots ahead of me going down the hall, waving goodbye, but makes sure I'm following. She's so cute! She loves all kinds of music and instruments. She has a talent for keeping a beat and loves to hum a tune, beatbox for additional sound, all while clapping or playing an instrument. Since she was a baby, she has clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth to make a tremendous sound and the boys are dying to know how she does it. She's tried to teach them a few times, but they just can't even come close. E dances everywhere and likes to perform for whomever will watch. Not too long ago, she watched Riverdance on Ice on PBS and she was in heaven. It took a few days for her to stop bopping around and kicking her legs as if she were a riverdancer moving from one room to the next. Very funny. E is the boys' second mom, which proves to be helpful at times, but usually she annoys the boys. She loves to watch sports with the boys, even watch Daddy play sports. She cheers along with the crowd and asks a million questions. She still loves building and cooking shows on PBS. For a long time now, she has stated that she wants to be a builder when she grows up. After her latest dentist appointment, she said she also wants to be a dentist.