Our Snow Days in Pictures

For two days we have been trapped in an ice storm. Because Dallas is the home of this year's Super Bowl on Sunday, that in conjunction with the ice storm, it is ALL the news has talked about for the past 48 hours. To say that we are over BOTH would be an understatement.

Our roads are solid ice and we are on day 2 of no school, with some predicting tomorrow will be day 3. That would truly be a record around these parts!

I thought you might want to see what we have been up to for 2 days at home (minus a trip to the store for more firewood, lightbulbs, and pullups...you know the necessities!)

Some of us ventured out for a VERY short time.

You can see it is more like frozen sand then snow.

We have baked.

The kids have played hard and look pretty proud of themselves!

We have played lots of games.

Napped....

Constructed things.

And taken stock of our winter hats and accessories.

The kids also did playdough and played lots of Pacman.

Billy and I will enjoy having our evening together, as he usually teaches guitar on Wed. and I am at Awana with the kids. We are SO ready for it to end, though. I don't mind chilly weather, but being stuck at home with no school is not too much fun after the first day.

Goodbye Ice Storm, you can melt now. It was nice knowing ya.

It's February...Our Valentine's Decorations Are Up!

I made some cookies to get in the spirit of things!
I will be writing a different verse every few days that has to do with the LOVE theme.
This one is especially meaningful to me.

I bought these mailbox chair backs for the kids years ago.

When I went to order J his, of course PBKids online was sold out!

So you can imagine my surprise when I walked into our local PBKids store and saw a basket full!

His will have to wait until next year when I can take it to an embroidery shop, but atleast he won't feel left out! I stuff all Valentines that are mailed to the kids from friends and family into their boxes and they will open them up on Valentine's Day morning before school. If you google these, you will find patterns to make them yourself if you know how to sew.

The little kids had fun sticking these window clings on.

And YES it is snowing today!! Actually sleeting is more like it.

Vivi lasted less than 5 minutes out there.

I printed free vintage Valentines online and glued them to red paper that I cut with pattern scissors, then put them in placecard holders on the fireplace.

You could also string them on a clothesline.

I set out photos that depict love, and my Willow Tree figurine.

The kids and I decorated my topiary that I have had since we first got married,

with foam heart stickers that easily peal right off.

And here are a few more decorations around the house

that I have collected over the years!

Happy February 1st!

If you don't have Valentines decor for your house this year, no worries! Make your own and/or buy it on clearance like I do, Feb. 15th for next year!

Happy Birthday, Judson!

Yesterday (Jan. 30th) one of my best friends gave birth to her 3rd child.(a BOY after two girls!) We are all so excited for them and baby

Judson David, 6lbs. 13 oz. born in Dubai, UAE.

Look how sweet these big sisters look holding their brother. Awwww....

Gloria was my college roomate, bridesmaid, and a dear sister to me for the past eleven years! Her oldest daughter is just 3 weeks younger than Vivi. Gloria called me this morning and told me everything is going so well. He is feeding better than his sisters did and pees everywhere!! I said welcome to the land of having a boy! LOL!! You can check out an awesome photo of her husband, Dave holding the baby, HERE. His arms have been disabled for many years now so to see this miracle moment is amazing. I will be bringing adorable tiny blue clothes to his mother this week because she and Dave's Dad are headed across the ocean next week to visit their very first grandson. What a special time for the whole family!!!

Congratulations Dave, Gloria, Aliza, and Norah...for the addition of your newest family member!

And Happy Birthday, Baby Judson!

Fun With Pink Blocks

Vivi has these pastel colored blocks that she LOVES and plays with everyday.
Last week we combined some Little People and Toy Story characters to create
Sunnyside Daycare.

It even had Lotso.

And evil Dr. Porkchop.

She loved it!

J's Sleep Study

We were both able to take J to his sleep study thanks to our friends Jen and Jay who kept the older two. I laid out all his stuff to make his hospital bed look familiar.
He wanted to put his suitcase in the closet!

Then we trotted down to the lounge for a drink.

He sucked down an orange juice.

Then the sleep study tech told us to really get him active and tired, so we ran up and down the halls for about 20 minutes. There were 3 other toddlers on that floor participating in sleep studies...but none of them came out to run.

Playing chase with Daddy.

Then we went back and watched TV for about 30 minutes while he had a snack and began to look droppy eyed. That is when we paged the techs to come in and hook him up!

It took over an hour for all of the wires to be taped on.

He sat perfectly still while the TV played Despicable Me in Spanish!

He didn't seem to mind any of it. They said they see few patients this young that take to it so well. We found that out quickly because when they moved on to the next room we had to endure blood curdling screams for about 30 minutes while they got another kid hooked up.

That's our boy!!!
We were very proud.

then it was time to lay down and shut off the tv and lights.

I laid with Billy for about a half an hour waiting for J to fall asleep. The screaming kid and other hospital noises kept him up so I kissed him and headed home.

Billy told me that two times in the night the tech came in and was concerned about how much congestion he had. He called a Dr. to see if he should proceed with the sleep study despite his trouble breathing. They had oxygen in his nose, so we are glad they kept going with the study. They released him around 6 this morning. We should know the results in about 2 weeks.

Sleep Study

I have spent the entire week trying to get the ENT for J to call me back because he was supposed to have a sleep study scheduled for this month. He has had a runny nose practically non stop since he came home and his cousins have bad asthma...so I really feel agitated that we have not been able to get exactly the medical treatment that J needs. He snores like a bear and lately I have found him sleeping with his eyes open!! He is also a constant mouth breather, his mouth is always open because he can't breathe through his nose. So, getting this sleep study is the next step to see if he has sleep apnea or anything related to that. The ENT finally called me back yesterday and said they put the order in, but when I called the sleep clinic, they said it was not in their system! So frustrating! She said that their first available is mid March...lovely. Then after looking through her books she noticed that she had a cancelation for tonight! I of course snatched it right up. We have asked our friends if they can keep the older two so Billy and I can both take him to the hospital to get settled. Then I will come home while Billy stays the night in the room. If our friends can't keep Isaac and Vivi, looks like Billy will be heading off on his own. He will get better rest on a hospital room couch than I would, so it is the best plan. I have all of J's items packed and ready to go. I will feed him dinner, bathe him, and send him off in his pj's and pull-up. Let's hope for some results!!!