Spring snow

The boys are out playing in our spring snow storm. Bear saw it was snowing and made sure he got his pants and shoes (sans socks) on so he could go play in the snow. I imagine his daycare has a heck of a time with him when it rains or snows. He loves to play in the rain and snow. It is all I can do to keep him inside on those days. He has even convinced Tom to go out in the snow this morning. The conversation was: Bear: Dad, come play snow. Dad: It is cold out there. Bear: Dad, put coat on. Take slippers off, get shoes on. Put coat on, come play snow. Dad: Can I drink a cup of coffee first? Bear: Yes. I think Tom got a cup of coffee and then Bear was pestering him to go outside again. Amelia is doing well. She is cooing and smiling like crazy. We've gotten a couple of almost giggles from her. I forgot how quickly they grow and change at this point in their life. She is very quickly growing out of clothes. Some of the outfits she is wearing now are in the 6 month size. Amazing. Of course a lot of that has to do with the fact that she is usually in cloth diapers which make her bum much bigger than disposable diapers do. I think we are going to take the kids to an international festival at the university today. They are supposed to have all sorts of food and games from all sorts of countries. I really want to try the African food. I have no idea what to expect or what part of Africa it is from. I think it will be fun. Also, if I can get ahold of the gal I might have found the stroller we want to replace the one we had with Bear. Bear's is holding up okay, but it doesn't steer worth a hoot with his weight. The one I found is one of the insanely priced ones, but the gal is asking next to nothing compared to what they go for. I suppose I should try to get the laundry finished up before we head to town. I didn't do anything yesterday other than lay on the couch and feel terrible. Of course yesterday was beautiful and sunny too. I wanted to be outside working on the garden but couldn't since I kept coughing and ended up with a fever. So frustrating on a beautiful spring day. At least I seem better today so I get to play catch up. Oh well. Maybe I'll even bake some bread so we can have fresh bread and cinnamon rolls this week.

Relatively early morning.

First thought: It certainly is spring. There are some very noisy birds out the front windows.

I just got kicked out of bed by Amelia. We were all snuggled up and she started to fuss. I thought she might be hungry. No. So I figured she needed a diaper, but I needed to do something first so I got up and she quit fussing. I can't believe it. My own bed and she's only 2 months. Not fair.

Well, crazy man Bear is up. Oh, speaking of... We were asking him what things say including Mom and Dad. He told us that Mom says, "Talk, talk, talk" and Dad says, "Excuse me." The kid cracks me up.

Simply Musings

Bear working on learning to pedal.

Playing computer games.

The kids and me. They make me happy.

The pictures are of our last week or so. The coat Bear is wearing is one my mom found for Amelia at a consignment shop that is a wool one made in Austria. The price was such that she couldn't turn it down. It is in such good shape. Bear can wear it for now and them Amelia can wear it when she gets big enough.

A few more days and I'm back at work part time. I'm still not sure about it but I'll make the best of it since we can't afford for me not to work. I am hoping by working part time for now I'll still be able to get my garden in. I'm not doing well with seedlings. I have a hard time remembering that they are started and need water. I think I'll be doing a few more purchased plants this year. I do hope it is a better year for tomatoes than last year. We have missed the canned tomatoes this winter. And the tomatoes around our stores right now have insane prices because of some of the weather elsewhere. So we are making do with other things.

I'm discovering I kinda like the planning and organizing of running the house. I was folding diapers yesterday and realized I even enjoy that. Funny since I've always been the kind of girl that wasn't going to do any of this kind of stuff. At least if I was going to do it I wasn't going to like doing it. Life sure can change a person's perspective.

Poor Dad and Amelia

I had to go into town today and renew some of my credentials for work. Amelia did not take kindly to being left without her momma. Tom says she cried for 3 plus hours. Oh boy going back to work isn't going to be fun for any of us.

Yep, she's a weed.

Doctor appointment day. 11 pounds 10 ounces and 24.5 inches long. Those numbers put her around the 75-80th percentile on weight and off the charts for height. She did pretty well getting her first round of shots too. She screamed well by the 3rd shot but I can't really blame her. Shots aren't fun. It didn't help that our appointment was in the late afternoon so it was at the same time she usually gets grumpy.

Things are going better than expected with Amelia as far as sleeping too. At this point she really only gets up once at night. Sometimes twice but if you believe everything you read we really shouldn't be doing this well yet. Of course I probably just jinxed us by saying that she is doing well. Between shots and this now we'll probably loose sleep big time. Oh well. At any rate we are slowly getting her to sleep by herself instead of in my arms. I do enjoy the cuddle time though.

I think it is off to bed with me. I've been trying to catch something and I'd like to avoid that since I need to go back to work soon.

Out of control buggy.

That is what I feel like I'm riding. At least that is how fast time is going. I can't believe that in just barely over a week I will be returning to work. It is only part time, but I'm going back. Oh I wish our pocket books could withstand my staying home. It just isn't going to work though. Shoot, the way things may shake out I'll have to go back to full time whether I want to or not.

There are certainly days when both kids are screaming, the dishes are piled high, the laundry is in a heap, and the dog keeps tripping me because he wants fed that I would love to be at work with adults (as adult as my co-workers get anyway). Most days though, I would much prefer to play with my kids in the midst of the heaps, piles, and furry obstacles.

Basically what I'm discovering with the birth of our second child is that I am really enjoying being a stay at home mom for the time being. Someday I will get to do it on a full time basis. I like working with my hands and all, but I see lots of ways to do that without having to answer to a boss. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that one of these days (before I know it I'm sure) my dear husband will be graduated, have a job offer he can't refuse, and I'll get to stay at home and do kooky projects of my own. I think I'm a natural born tinker-er. I love just puttering around doing little projects in the garden, around the house, and in the garage. A homestead someday. In the mean time I will occupy myself with enjoying the time I can with the kids and some random small projects I can do on weekends.

Oh, on the kids... Bear is getting closer and closer to being potty trained. Only one time did he actually need the diaper today in town. The other times he told me in time to get to a bathroom and actually use it. Amelia is growing like a weed. We'll find out this upcoming week just what kind of weed she is. She has a doctor appointment for her first set of shots and a basic checkup. I will guess she has grown a couple of inches in length and is in the neighborhood of 11 pounds.

We met with Amelia's new babysitter today. A fellow grad student of Tom's. She seems like she'll be a good match. Handy too that she'll be right on campus with Tom. I don't like having to have a baby sitter and daycare, but somehow I don't think work will let the kids fix airplanes.

I'd better get at least one thing done while the whole family naps. I can't believe they are all asleep. Every last one. Even the dog...