MINIVAN!

We finally did it!  We now own a minivan!  I honestly didn't think that I would be this excited about it, but I can't tell you how much we have NEEDED and wanted this car.  Though it's not brand new ('08), it's new to us!  I wasn't crazy about the 'ocean mist' blue color of the van, but when the sales guy said he would throw in the DVD player, we were sold!  We've had it for just a few days now and it has already changed our lives.  Seriously.  Our car payments went down significantly as well as our insurance (who knew mini vans were so safe?).  I love that.....the doors open with a push of a button (on the key!); the back windows have built-in sun shades; above the rear-view mirror is a bubble mirror in which I can see the entire car; the dvd player came with cordless headphones; it has an auxiliary plug so I can listen to Pandora in the car (!!); that it seats 8 people and it has an outside temperature gage on the dash (it's the simple things).  We are going to put a lot of miles on this car.  Can't tell you how good it feels knowing that we can comfortably go on a family road trip any time now!  Woo hoo!

Valentine's Day

The day before Valentine's Day, Dr. M and I were like "is Valentine's Day tomorrow or the next day?"  Needless to say we've been busy lately and perhaps needed a little holiday to focus on the love we all share.  V Day was on a Thursday this year...it started out like any other week.  The kids and I ran by the grocery store to grab some snacks on our way to the La Leche League meeting where we played and chatted with our friends and got home just in time for lunch.  As I was preparing lunch, I realized that I didn't have my phone!  Moment of panic.  I grabbed some snacks, loaded the kids back into the car and we re-traced our steps...first the LLL meeting (no phone) and then the grocery store...   Apparently I had left it in the cart, in the parking lot and a (very nice!) store employee found it and turned it into customer service.  I was SO thankful!  While everyone napped, I started dinner...homemade corn chowder (a surprise for Dr. M).  I told him that I would cook dinner if he took care of dessert.  He surprised me with homemade bread pudding and whisky sauce.  Ah-mazing!  We exchanged cards and spent the evening snuggled on the couch...eating, relaxing and talking....simple.

The kids enjoying a care package from Grandma K (and Grandma M)!  E used the stickers to make a Valentine for school.

Sibling love on Valentine's Day morning (still in our Jammies).

20 Months!

Little H is 20 months now.  What a sweet little thing she is.  I love this little girl so much.  I know she's growing up so fast and I really want to cherish and remember all the little details of her 'babyhood'.  Seems like I don't remember her as an infant.  I'm lucky if I remember where I left my car keys.  The weeks seem to fly by and with each one, my baby is growing up.  I LOVE:  her blonde curls; her beautiful blue eyes; the sweet little gap between her front teeth; her mischievous smile; how she watches her brother's every move; how hard she tries to communicate; the way she says "yeah" when she really wants something; the way she plops down on her beanbag to watch TV; how she sucks on her two middle fingers while simultaneously sticking playing with her bellybutton; her wild bed head in the morning; her soft little giggle; how she hugs and kisses the dogs; her sweet eskimo kisses; her fearlessness and willingness to try anything and go down the slide all by her little self; her obsession with shoes, purses and mardi gras beads; I love how she brings a smile to strangers faces.  I could go on and on...I love this little girl.  She's truly amazing a such a light in our lives!

Sick of being SICK!

This season has been a doozie!  In the past two weeks, we have been to the pediatrician's office three times.  In the past 6 weeks we have all been sick, sick, sick.  And I'm sick of it!  We started off the year in the ER with little H and the stomach flu that we all ended up catching.  Once we got over that, the kids cam down with a fever (and more puking) a week later.  Then we all came down with a serious cold (green snot, cough, sinus pressure) that hung around for weeks.  Even the two little girls I've been watching caught it!  The cold finally turned into croup for for little H.  It was so hard listening to her 'bark' and gasp for air all night.  She was so congested, which finally turned into a terrible double ear infection (her first ever), so the doc prescribed amoxicillin.  Yesterday was day 7 on the medication and she woke up with an itchy, red rash all over her body.  Turns out she's allergic to the antibiotics.  Good news is that just a couple doses of Benedryl and she's back to her spunky self.  Actually, we're all starting to feel 'normal' again, which feels good...but I'm also keeping my fingers crossed (and lots of hand sanitizer in the diaper bag).