walkin' in a winter....oh, you know....

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of snow days. We would bundle up and sled down the Atwood's backyard hill, drink endless amounts of hot chocolate, put fresh-from-the-dryer hats and gloves back on, and go out again and again. When it snows, I still get excited, even though it is Saturday and I won't have a "real" snowday. I was very nostalgic today watching the boys and Todd play in the snow. What a great day.

Poor Char could only watch through her lovely pink eye:

lets see if this works....

things that have happened in the past 2 months when the husband is out of town.

1. Owen fell and cut his gum open.
2. Charlotte got sick.
3. Calvin and Jamison ate an ornament I have had since I was a child.
4. Henry had a serious stomach/poop problem that kept us up all night.

Oh, wait! AND....
5. The mouse that has been enjoying our crumbs was alive and writhing on the sticky trap this morning. Say goodbye to the salad tongs. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

par-tay

i know you want birthday party pictures but i'm lazy and the boys have made me mad enough that i want to delete the whole memory card.

Oh my goodness! Is it Friday yet?

Charlotte got her first fever yesterday and she has been demanding a cuddle all day long. Poor baby. I think she might have turned a corner, though. No fever since her last tylenol about 5 hours ago....

The boys.....sheesh.....tonight consisted of ear piercing screams, a bite on the cheek, another Christmas de-ornamenting by Henry, Owen feeding the dogs 99% of his dinner, and a door slam on my finger. Wah.

Sigh.

They are worth it.

Things a three year old might say on their birthday.....

"What dat lady doin over there, MomMom? She has red fingers like you." - Owen
"What dat guy walking a dog for? And he going fishing." - Owen
"Hey Ms. Daddy, I wanna show you somepin'" - Owen
"HooWah!" - both, when we see Christmas lights
"No, Mommy, dis is my trumpet!" - Henry, about his new saxaphone
"Dis is my matching game, Daddy. You can play with it, though." - Henry
"SCOOTERS!" - both
"I got a ticket from the policeman" - Owen
"Goddammit, goddammit, goddammit, goddammit, goddammit" - Owen

All in all, a good goddamn birthday.

3 years old!

Miss C, workin' it.

i love diapers. why would anyone want to be potty trained???

See? Charlotte agrees with me!

We began potty training yesterday. Made a big deal about the awesome big boy undies. Both boys were IN to it. Put on their big boy undies, and BAM! 2 seconds later, Owen had peed all over the floor. Okay, okay....we remained calm and put on the next pair. BAM! 10 minutes later, more pee. Owen lasted about an hour until he asked for his diaper. He's just not ready. Henry did a great job and had an accident or two, but peed in the potty for the most part!

This morning, we got up, Henry put his big boy undies on, and went the entire morning with no accidents!!! He was so excited and we were, too!

After nap time, Henry peed his pants approximately 327 times and the last time I said to him, "Do you need to pee pee?" and he looked at me, turned around and peed. We were at a friends house, and that was it. Diapers back on.

It was a huge relief when I put that damn diaper back on, I gotta tell ya. It's so much easier. Who wants to chase their kids around and ask them if they have to pee every 2 seconds and then run their asses to the bathroom if they look at you funny? Who wants to peel urine-soaked underwear and pants (and socks, ugh) off their whiny child every 30 minutes? And really, who wants to be trapped in their homes because their kid can't hold his pee long enough to go grab a bite to eat? Finally, who wants to do all this with a smile on their faces because all the psychological damage we could possibly do to our children when we get pissed off they pissed in their pants?

Not I, folks. Not. I.

So in the interim of running to the bathroom this morning, we decorated the tree. Our theme this year is "All ornaments that won't break." And the boys were very serious about decorating, as you can see from the pictures. They enjoyed putting "ormamems on our tree from homebepoh."

Things I am thankful for this year

1. Owen and Henry's ability to turn even the most routine task into an adventure.
2. Charlotte's ability to melt my heart with a single giggle.
3. The way Charlotte looks at her older brothers.
4. The way Owen and Henry have been talking to each other when they don't know we are listening.
5. How Todd does the laundry, unloads the dishwasher, puts the boys to bed, makes coffee, and does crazy dances for us all.
6. Everything bagels and cream cheese.
7. My Mom who understands that my lack of communication is a direct result of my crazy kids and busy life and isn't an indication of how much I enjoy talking with her.
8. All the people in our life that we can count on for anything.
9. Our wonderful caregivers that treat our children like their very own.
10. My beautiful kids and all the joy and humor they bring me (which far outweighs the whining, screaming, peeing, pooping, biting, hitting, frustration, ANGER, EATYOURDINNERNOW, STOPSLAMMINGTHEDOOR moments).

Happy Thanksgiving, friends and family!!

too bad they aren't in matching sweaters or this would seriously be our holiday card.