New Favorite Song

“ Happy Birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Daddy, Happy Birthday to Mysols, Happy Birthday to Avery”

Imagine this sung over and over again. Any word can be substituted after Happy birthday to...

PS - We got the car out on Sat, just in time for another foot of snow!

It's Still Winter

It’s still winter in Butte. We keep getting little glimpses of spring but the couple of inches of snow we got yesterday reminds me that it is in fact still winter in Butte.

Last week I had five glorious days off in a row. It was spring break and Jeff and I had lots of plans to get moving on the kitchen remodel and to potty train the small one. Unfortunately I was getting over a cold and Jeff came down with a wicked sore throat. Basically we just hung out for the first few days and did a lot of resting. On the bright side, I was able to get caught up on my cleaning and laundry.

Potty training is starting off slow. We had multiple accidents, I had about given up and then on Sunday the little monkey asked to go potty twice and actually went! Then last night she pooped on the floor. I’m thinking this potty training stuff is going to take awhile.

We spent three whole days trying to get our car out of the ice. No kidding. Our house is on a corner that has drainage issues. Every year in late winter we get a lake of ice in front of our house. Last year the blazer got stuck and we told ourselves that we’d stay on top of it this year. We didn’t move the car for one day and it was long enough for it to get frozen in the lake of ice. After the first freeze we knew we were in trouble because the way late winter works in Butte is everything thaws during the day and freezes at night causing more water to accumulate in our lake. By last week our car was about a foot deep in ice. Since the weather was getting into the 50s during the day we figured we could chip away enough ice to then pull the car out with the truck. No such luck. After two days of chipping, and I mean for like two hours each day, we discovered that the bottom of the car was frozen to the ice lake underneath it. Then yesterday it snowed again. I’m hoping to have the stupid thing out soon but according to the weather reports that’s not very likely.



We got the tires out at one point the ice was 1/2 way up the tires. It is still touching and attached to the underside of the car. Nice huh.

If you look under the front you can see the holes we've made. We used water from our hose to eat away at the ice but it's still stuck.

5 for Friday

1. St Patrick’s Day in Butte really is crazy. It’s funny how many people ask me if I am going to join in the festivities. I actually stay as far away from them as possible. You can’t believe the number of tickets the police give out today!

2. Avery has been getting into trouble at daycare lately for pushing a one year old down and taking his toys. In her defense the one year old is as big as she is but she is still the bigger girl. I have had a talk with her about how pushing hurts his feelings but since she did it for the second day yesterday I feel my talks aren’t working. I’m hoping it’s a phase that will just pass.

3. As a side note to the pushing at day care she is also refusing to tell the one year old that she is sorry. She is super stubborn. I know she knows what saying sorry is because Friday night, after the first day of pushing, her Daddy did something she didn’t like and she said, “Daddy say sorry.”

4. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to start potty training the small one. I plan to let her run around in undies all day which most likely means messes around the house. I have a feeling I’ll be running after her with a mop. Either she’ll get it right away or the more likely scenario is that she’ll get stubborn about it and we’ll have to take a break and try again. I can’t believe I’ll actually be spending vacation days cheering poopy and pee pee down the toilet!

5. Jeff’s birthday is tomorrow and he’s sick. All you wives out there know how men are when they’re sick. So I am going to try my hardest to be the dutiful wife and put up with all his whiney requests. It is his birthday after all.

This too will pass - I hope!

I am desperately fighting to stay away from the clutches of yet another cold. The small one already has it and I’ll be damned if mine is going to become full blown. Airborne followed by Xicam every four hours, lots of water and vitamins. This is my life this winter. I remember longingly the year that I was pregnant and I did not get sick even once. Then the small one came and I discovered that my immune system is not as strong as I once thought.

Last night I worked desperately to tidy up the house. Three weeks of Mommy feeling sick takes a toll and that little cough that hung around all Monday singled yet another bout with an unknown bug. Dishes and random crap piled all over the counter, hair balls taking vacation in our corners, cat litter that hasn’t been changed for two weeks and the laundry, oh the laundry. When I signed on to be a Mom I never expected months of feeling like crap as one of the side effects. Nor did I realize how twenty minutes a night of picking up really did keep the house looking presentable.

I try to remember when my Mom first started working at a daycare and was sick for months during the first couple of winters before her immune system built some muscle. I try to remember that the small one will eventually develop an immune system and will get the average couple of colds a year. In the meantime I try to remember that this too will pass and spring is right around the corner. If only it would peak its damn head out a little sooner!

Avery's Second Birthday!

My baby turns two today. I can hardly believe that a years gone by since her first birthday. Where does the time go? She's not a baby anymore. It's crazy how each day she learns something new. She's talking like crazy and even saying full sentences. The other day I caught her scolding one of her tub toys by saying, "one two three, do not do that." I'd love to know what the tub toy did. Her imagination is developing every day. She loves to play Mommy to her dolls and I often catch her rubbing their hair and asking them if they are "ok". She makes her Dad and I laugh every day and I can't believe how much she's added to our lives.
Avery had a great birthday party back in Great Falls with all the relatives. She is such a lucky little girl to have so many people in her life that love her.
This is Sunday morning before the big party. She found my slippers and had to try them on.

AOpening a tinker belle doll at the party. Cousin Ryley helped Avery with all her gifts.


HHer Dora cake that Nanna made. Thanks Mom.

Update

Hadyn is home and doing well! Grandma Lynn is visiting him right now so I thought I’d post this cute picture.

Here’s a couple pictures I stole from Jill’s facebook. This is from Stephanie’s reception at the end of the night. Can you tell it’s at the end of the night. I really don’t look fully functioning. Could be the reason I broke my pinkie toe later. It was worth it though J

A Little Scare

Last Friday, Mandy decided to take Hadyn to the Dr because he had been violently spitting up after each feeding. Come to find out the poor little guy has Pyloric Stenosis and his stomach wasn't allowing any food to go through to the small intestine. Hadyn was pretty dehydrated so they checked him into the hospital Friday and started him on an IV. On Sat he had surgery. He is still in the hospital and is doing well. If he can keep food down today he'll get discharged tonight. The Dr said that this shouldn't cause any long term problems. Mandy was so brave and I'm very proud of how she handled everything. It's scary anytime your baby gets sick but when your two week old has to have surgery that's another story all together. Luckily Grandma Lynn just happened to be flying down and got to San Diego on Sat. Here's a picture of her with Hadyn in the hospital. This was the first day that she met her new grandbaby and I absolutely love this picture! Please keep Hadyn in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.