Prayer

Meghan's prayer yesterday morning as she looked up at the ceiling was, "God, I bad awful day.  Better.  Amen."  


Yes, it really was a bad, awful day...at 7 a.m.  We have been praying a lot recently for these bad, awful days.  I had originally included some details in this post, but decided to focus on the positive.  Meghan is praying.  As we go through a challenging time of parenting, we are praying, too.

By the Box

Meghan likes things the way they are supposed to be.  When she noticed some blueberries on the box of our (generic) Chex, she felt she needed some blueberries for her own bowl.  When we didn't have any, she settled for raisins.  The next day, when we didn't have blueberries, she asked for cherries.  Cherries??  She has never had a cherry!  Once again, she settled for raisins.

I'm glad that she is sometimes satisfied in a simple way.  Only sometimes though.

Fun Words

This weekend we went to Virginia to visit with Derek's brother and his family.  Derek's parents had driven down (5 hours), so we thought we'd join in the family fun.

Before we even were on the highway, we were following a truck.  Meghan noticed and told us.  As it turned out, we also followed that same truck and passed it once we were on the highway.  I told Meghan she could wave, and she did.  Meghan then told us, "Man not see me."  There was a bit of sadness in her voice.

In a short time we crossed the Susquehanna River.  Meghan said, "River.  Huge river.  It's giant."  (FYI, Derek and I grew up where the Susquehanna is tiny...but now Derek crosses it daily on his way to work where it is "giant," and it flows into the Chesapeake Bay.  I couldn't believe it was the same river the first time I saw it!)

As it turns out, it was a great opportunity to hear Meghan say some other fun things.  The drive was about 2 1/2 hours, and we had to drive right by Baltimore.  I already knew I wanted to point out the city to Meghan.  Instead, she pointed it out to us!  Before we really saw too many buildings, she said, "Hey Mom, cities!"  I love that she has been able to relate books and television to life!  Any suggestions for some city crafts?

We were able to see a boat or two in Balitmore's port, but the next really exciting thing was going through the tunnel.  (The Ft. McHenry Tunnel takes drivers under water so the big boats can continue on their way without interruptions.)  We quickly thought about the book Freight Train by Donald Crews.  (Click to see our project from last spring.)  We were like the train-going by cities and going through tunnels.  She can now tell you she went through a tunnel.

We enjoyed the time visiting with family, but the funniest thing happened on the way home.  We were on the dirt road by Brandon and Steph's.  Some very large potholes made us slow down to an almost stop.  Meghan, the encourager, pipes up from the backseat, "You do it, Dad.  Come on.  Come on."  We cracked up.  She was very proud of her dad when he made it out of the potholes, too!  We were never stuck, but it must have seemed like we were.

Sharing

So we (mostly Annette) are pretty conservative when it comes to sweets for the kids.  I give Evan crumbs of my cookie and say that's plenty.  Derek gives pieces.  I think Meghan was at least two when she got her first whole cookie from me.

Imagine my surprise when Meghan decided to share.  Not a toy or a carrot, but a lollipop from a Valentine's Day card from a friend at school!  She shared quite a bit, too!  (Apparently she didn't tell Evan the rule about having to sit at the table to eat the lollipop.)  I'm proud to say that it took Meghan several hours to finish the lollipop.  

Evan's Hair

A couple weeks ago Evan was in need of a haircut.

At least it wasn't as bad as last spring.

What?  You don't think it was that bad?  Then try this view.

Above was right before his first BIG haircut.  He had had several trims around the perimeter before it.  Doesn't he look like a different boy?  

So from May 2009 to today.  Our boy is growing and has changed!

Day 7 at Home with a View

Due to last week's storm and today's flurries little bit of snow, really just a dusting on the roads, it has been a week since Meghan has been in school.  (Yesterday was Presidents Day, so it was a vacation day.)  The public school is on a two hour delay, but when that happens, she does not have preschool.

I have not been out of the house since last Tuesday evening when the (second) storm began.  I wasn't feeling so great Sunday morning (after going to bed before 8 pm), so I stayed home from church.  Derek went out for groceries Sunday afternoon, so it's been a long time since I've left my driveway.

At least the view has been pretty.

I took this before 6 a.m. Wednesday when I was shoveling snow.  Notice that it is raining along with some snow.  That snow was heavy to shovel!

I know the contrast isn't so great, but I still like this picture of our front door's light.  I took it in the evening.  Maybe I should have waited for true night.

These pretty drifts are in our backyard.

The food has also been good.  Cinnamon rolls.  Caramel apple dip.  French onion soup.  Chicken noodle soup (link to my cousin's blog).  Today I think I'm making cookies.  I have two sticks of butter softening on the counter.

Normalcy

After being gone since Sunday afternoon, Derek arrived home on Friday afternoon.  He didn't have much trouble getting home despite the snow.

It is wonderful to have him back.  The children greeted him with great fanfare.  Meghan was overly tired and cried for the first half-hour that she saw him.  Evan had two incredibly messy diapers.  His wife didn't have any ideas for dinner and made grilled cheese.  (Actually, she suggested pancakes first, but he had those for breakfast.)

I will say that Meghan colored a "Welcome Home Daddy" sign for him Friday morning.  Before crying, she immediately showed him where it was hanging and said, "Welcome home, Dad."  (New vocabulary words!)

Derek even brought me FLOWERS!  This is a big deal!  He has only given me flowers a handful of times, but never for Valentine's Day.  :)  Honestly, we don't really celebrate ♥ Day other than cards.  To see the owl valentine I made for him, click the link.   

Before going to sleep his first night home, I asked him what the best part of being home was.  He basically replied, "Normalcy."  I'm glad he likes the life of crying, stinky diapers, and bad meals (but not burned).

Oh, if you are curious as to how I helped the kids get along with Derek, you can check out Live, Learn, Love today.  I shared there.

Plow STUCK!

Sorry, but I just think this is funny, even if I feel badly for the driver!  He can't help it that our road hasn't been plowed recently.  Thankfully only three houses are past us, but we all need to get out at some point.

(The pictures were taken from an upstairs window.  Sorry I'm so short and could only take it through the lower part of the screened window.  Somehow the first picture ignored the screen better.)

I don't know how much new snow we have.  18-24 inches was predicted.  Much more than 2 feet (as you can see) is in some parts, but it has drifted.  Yesterday the winds were incredible, and we had blizzard conditions for most of the day.

I wouldn't even have known he was stuck, except I tried to go to the mailbox to send out some Valentines.  I need to shovel the mailbox before I can get to it though.  :)  

Just Three~ Part 2

We're doing just fine.  I didn't think I'd be saying that, but it is only Tuesday.  We are expecting 18+ inches of snow tonight and tomorrow.  Today will be Meghan's only day of school this week, I'm sure.

I'm tired, so I'm just going to post some pictures.  Maybe Derek will enjoy them while he's away.

First, did you know that Meghan can zip her own coat?  And do you know what happens if her hair gets in the zipper?  (It's on a napkin.)  The zipper cut/ripped it.  I didn't need to get out the scissors.

Evan enjoying the water.

Evan found out the Penn State tub can be quite cozy.  He did this all on his own!!

Meghan knows how to wink now.

Evan has a thing for blankets.  And tags.  If a blanket has a tag, he claims it.  And drags it.

Have a great day!  Thanks for stopping by to see what we're doing these days!

Just Three~ Part 1

FYI- This is my second post today, so be sure to check out the tunnel Derek made in the other post.  Last night I did not have phone or internet!!  (I actually typed this post into a Word document so that I could "preserve" my thoughts while they were still fresh.  
I couldn't believe how much I rely on both.  Let me tell you, it was torture watching Philadelphia news this morning to find out that Meghan didn't have school!  There are many closings/delays around this area...but especially in Philly, Delaware, and New Jersey...and our news covers it all!

Part 1~ Sorry for the length.  

We prepared Meghan Saturday night that Derek would be going out of town for a couple of days.  Well, we tried to.  I introduced her to the mailbox I made and explained that we could get notes from Daddy while he was away.  She seemed so excited about the mailbox that she didn’t seem to care about Derek being gone. 

Derek left during Sunday’s afternoon nap.  I was amazed that Meghan was willing to sleep since she knew he’d be leaving. 

The kids had their naps, thankfully.  When Meghan woke up, as usual, she called for Daddy.  She was okay that he wasn’t here.  Evan was not phased. 

During dinner, I broke the first rule.  Meghan wanted breakfast.  I told her if she ate her pasta she could have some.  So she got her Chex for dinner. 

After dinner I talked to Meghan about being my helper while Daddy was gone.  Specifically, I asked her if she could help me put Evan to bed each night.  She loved this idea.

In fact, she embraces the idea of being my helper (today).  While I went upstairs to get a needed diaper, she helped feed Evan the rest of his dinner-the yogurt he didn’t eat.  She did a great job feeding Evan and from what I could see, only gagged him a little by forcing the spoon halfway down his throat.  I praised her up and down for being my helper despite the yogurt on her dress, the kitchen floor, the couch, and the carpet.  

We made it upstairs by 7 pm.  Both kids were tucked in by 7:30.  I broke the second rule of the day, for my sanity, and let Meghan wear her dress to bed.   I only had to go to Meghan’s room once after that.  I remembered to feed Lucy (our cat) her dinner.  Derek takes good care of Lucy, so I don't usually need to.

Then I got an email from Derek that the phone line was busy.  Glad to hear that he made it to the hotel, I quickly rounded up the phones, found the one that Evan had left on, and learned our phone service was out.  Again.

In the end, Derek and I talked on our cell phones, something we don’t prefer to do.  Thankfully I had tried to call him before I realized the phone line was dead since at some point I lost the internet, too.

Oh, at 8:30 I stopped patting myself on the back for a smooth evening.  Since we were upstairs at 7 pm when the alarm goes off to remind us to give Evan his medicine…I forgot.  I had to wake Evan up to give it to him.  Bad Mommy!

Tunnel!

Derek made a tunnel this Sunday morning when he finished shoveling out the snow.  (We have a snowblower on a tractor, but we have learned that the driveway is a bit steep for it, even with chains.)

All four of us went outside to play today.  This tunnel is impressive, though it may be hard to tell in photographs.

This shows you the height of it.

Meghan is standing at the entrance, and Derek just picked Evan up at the exit!

Meghan went through it a few times, but she liked playing with ice (without a mitten!!) best.

We played until it looked like Evan's ankles were broken.  Really, he had just crawled out of his boots.  I am so proud of Derek for making such a great tunnel for the kids to enjoy.  I hope you had fun looking at the pictures!

Plowed Out

We finally got plowed out just before 2:30 today. It's been snowing for nearly 24 hours since it started snowing yesterday.

We have maybe 1 foot or two of snow. It drifts so much here, that it is too hard to tell.  Edited: Ashley left a comment...she lives in our town and says at least 2 feet!

A Milestone

See the clean plate?  Evan actually ate all of his sandwich (half of a PB&J) without throwing any on the floor! The two "ears" on the plate had raisin in them, and he only lost two to his lap.  Impressive.  We usually have a floor filled with food after a meal.

This was Evan's first meal that he truly finished.  I wish it were a new trend, but I don't think so.

A Regular Event

This little video shows Meghan removing some of Evan's clothes (I got a late start). She does this several times a week, often dragging Evan around by the ankles beforehand.

I post this because I think it's funny, and I think our relatives (and maybe friends?) will enjoy it too. It also shows some of Meghan's typical speech. The speech in this video is quite clear, though it is not always. I also know that some of my readers have children with apraxia, too. Something for everyone to keep in mind is that a year ago Meghan couldn't even say Mama or Dada (or any name for us.)

The clutter...is typical. Also, I will just tell you that we do have a video camera, but I like using the setting on the regular camera to do this. I hope you don't mind.

Twins?

At the doctor's office on Friday the nurse was leading Meghan, Evan, and I to the exam room.  Meghan was walking, and Evan was in the stroller.  The nurse asked me how far apart they are or if they were twins.

Okay, I know Meghan is small.  I know Evan was sitting.  BUT REALLY?  I don't think Evan looks nearly as old as Meghan, though he may look older than other 15 month olds due to a thick head of hair.  Meghan's hair reaches way down her back.  I don't think many young children have hair like hers.

Just thought you might be amused like I was.  At least I wasn't asked when the next one is due or if I was their grandmother.

Stinky?

Evan must think that this lotion was smelly.  Despite cleaning the toilet the day before and a mostly full bottle of lotion, I opted to not use it again.

I put it in the spare bathroom for our guests to use.  Just joking!  I threw it away.  Do you like my sense of humor today?