everything is white!

Today's forecast snow, snow and more snow! Tomorrow: the same thing, and the next day and the day after! I love the white fluffy stuff, but not when it prevents me from getting out of the house to do simple chores like grocery shopping. Good thing I have lots of cans in the pantry. The expected accumulation is 8 inches....not so much for you northerners, but me? I am losing my mind! What do people do when they can't get out? Now I understand why my husband didn't want to live where there's snow and I'm beginning to miss Texas. I now laugh when family tell me that it's cold at 50 degrees....I would more than welcome warm 50 degrees! They have no idea how crazy cold it is up here.

I would brave the weather with the toddler, but it is just too cold to take the itty bitty baby out. Plus she hates to be bundled up. Last night Jimmy took us to the book store, so at least we have new books and magazines to entertain us. Yes, my husband has to drive us...I'm not used to driving in the snow and prefer not too. I prefer nice clear sunny days for driving, no rain or snow driving for me.

Today I went bonkers and cleaned everything. I started throwing things away without a second thought. I should do it more often that way we wouldn't have so much "what is this" laying around the house. I also pitched a few of the kids toys that were in my way, I hope Kai won't be asking for them back because they are gone! Now I understand how my mother felt when she kept telling me that if I didn't clean my room she would go in with a trash bag and clean it for me! I can't believe that I'm using the same line with my kids! Hey, it works! No kid wants their things tossed in the bin. I used to just shove everything under my bed or closet, good thing Kai hasn't figured that out yet.

Baby food and Menu for February

It was crazy cold and wintry last night. I sat on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa watching the snow get blown around the street. I'm a southerner so snow was a treat, it's so pretty! Today is gorgeous sunny, but 7 degrees...yea I'm not going to subject my kids to that sort of cold just because I need to get out of the house. Hopefully the weekend will be a little warmer so we can get out.

Cassia is almost six months old!!! I gave her some rice cereal a couple of weeks ago and again last week, but think that I should try again at six months after talking to her pediatrician. She got a little red after each try so, I stopped trying to give it to her because I'm afraid that she possibly could be allergic to rice. How could that be??? I thought rice was safe, isn't it always the first food after milk? She can sit up with assistance, but not by herself yet.

I just read a blog about baby led weaning and the babies on that blog were eating normal non-pureed foods at six months, I kinda want to give it a try, but Bella doesn't have any teeth yet. Hmmm....I wonder if those babies had any teeth. Kai was sorta baby led I guess, but he got the pureed foods. I also made my own baby food for him, that could probably be one of the reasons why he's such an adventurous eater. People are always shocked that my two year old can handle some flavorful and spiced up foods. I think he prefers it over the bland foods most people think children should eat. Our kids eat what we eat. Seriously, I'm not running a restaurant in my kitchen and probably would have pulled out all of my hair if I were.

I did get the menu for February done, only with the help of writing it grade school style. Monday is called 'Mystery Monday', so that we can order take out on that day, have leftovers, or whatever suits my fancy. Tuesday is 'Taco Tuesday', name was invented by Jimmy because that is the night that our neighborhood taco joint is open late. Wednesday is chicken night, sorry no catchy name there. Thursday is our 'Tofu Thursday' or any other vegetarian delight. Friday is 'Fish Friday', it just worked 'f' in both words. Saturday is 'Pizza/pasta' night and Sunday is 'Burger Sunday'. This works great because it is posted on the fridge and gets rid of "what's for dinner?", for a whole month. I think I'll keep this format for the rest of the year, maybe varying it a little month to month, but we get a pretty balanced diet this way.

Grandma's house and T.T.

Winter vacation is over and now we are trying to get back into our daily routine. Nic and Tiff are gone and we miss them. Visit to the grandparents was a blast! The boys got along wonderfully! Very little screaming on the trip, only when they were tired, but not the usual sibling annoyances. They had a great time playing together and talking and taking turns with the Leapster. I was so proud.

Grandma always knows how to surprise the kids. She has a talent for picking out the perfect gifts for each kid! The children really love their daily surprises and every time they play with them they say that they got it from 'grandma grampa house'. Even baby Bella won't let go of her toy! She loves, loves her rattle that she got. It's perfect for her to hold and chew on. Thanks Mom!

Every time we visit Michigan, we go to Joe's produce for snacks for the drive. They have the biggest and sweetest grapes! We also bought a bag of their butter pretzels....mmmmm....buttery. They have a nice little specialty store filled with lots yummy goodies. I forgot to get more maple syrup :-(

Nic is growing so fast! We haven't seen him in a few months and at a glance he looks older than he really is. He is so tall and articulate. He would make a fine lawyer someday because of his charm and persuasion. He can have you wrapped around his finger with just a smile. I just wish that he was closer to us. Both Kai and Cassia have so much fun playing with him and he is so good with the baby.

My niece Tiffany is such a sweet young lady, I'm glad that she has finally found a route she wanted to follow. She loves animals and it has always been a dream of hers to work with them. In March she will start going to school to become a vet tech. I had so much fun with her. We went to the Chocolate Bar at the Peninsula Hotel....that was so yummy, but I don't know how anyone could eat more than two plates of dessert it's so rich! We barely made a chip on shopping on Michigan Avenue...with three hours I think we only stayed on one block...so many shops so little time! While Jimmy stayed home with the kids Tiff and I got to do more girly things like getting haircuts and brow shaping (not that painful). I can't wait for her to visit in the summer!

Thanks for watching the babies honey...I feel so pretty now.

It's back to work and menu planning. I was terrible at planning it for the week, so I'm going to try planning it for a month. It doesn't make sense, I know, but you'll never know if you don't try...right?

Happy New Year!

I am so behind on the blogging. Jimmy's current project is to update our computer system, so we are working with the basics here. I will post more photos when the new system gets going.

I am so bad, I had cheese on my sandwich last night...weak, so weak. I thought I could do it as a new years resolution, but it's so hard because we always have a variety of cheese in the fridge. I must be crazy because that means no ice cream or any other dairy products!!! But for you baby Bella I will try (I think dairy in my diet makes the little one gassy and smelly!).

Everyone in the family is so excited. Nicholas will be staying with us for a week starting Thursday. Kai talks about it everyday and he's also excited that we will be visiting Grandma and Grandpa again! Yay, I hope Nic has fun with Kai on this trip. He always complained that Kai was too little to play with and that he couldn't understand him, but Kai is so playful now and he can even talk!

Parlez vous francaise? Mais oui! Yep, I'm trying to teach the kids French and doing a little bit of reviewing for myself. I have taught Kai how to count to ten and say a few key phrases like, bonjour, merci, fromage, and chocolate, but he says, "No mommy, me no say 'bonjour'". Little does he know that he is saying it...too cute! We bought a kid friendly French book, but Cassia is more interested in it then Kai. I guess it's not as interactive as he would like.

My niece Tiffy will also be visiting us for a week towards the end of Nic's visit, it will be a full house. So much fun, I can't wait. She just turned 20! I can't believe that I have a niece who's 20! I know that freaks Jimmy out as much as me. For him he imagines nieces and nephews to be ten or younger, for me it means I'm getting older! I remember changing her diapers and now she will be changing my kids' diapers!

Tiff and I are ten years apart so I will be turning 30 this year! I never imagined being 30 or being in my 30's...so weird. Where did my twenties go? But you know what? I am glad they are over, early twenties were tough and struggling. I am so glad that is all over and I have a happy and wonderful family. Thanks for sweeping me off my feet Jimmy.

This year is going to be a busy year for us, so I have no idea what we are going to do for my big day in July.