The Sled

It snowed Tuesday and it was supposed to turn to a mixed mess that night, so I decided to give Ryan part of his Valentines Day present early. It was a sled. When I gave it to him he was so excited. He shouted, "Wow! A sled!" He ran around the dining room table saying, "I can't wait to go sledding!" [repeat 20 times] I asked if he wanted to go sledding now. The whole house practically echoed with his giddy laughter. He shot out of the room like a rocket. This is not unusual, so I just started blowing up the sled. It's one of those snow tube things. Before I had 1/4 of it blown up he reappeared with his socks, shoes and mittens on saying, "I'm ready to go sledding." After I finished blowing up the sled(my cheeks may never be the same) I helped him get his snow pants and coat on. He put on his hat and was out the door. He had to share with Zach because we couldn't find Zach's sled in the garage. When I told him that he was fine with it. He even told Zach he was going to share with him. He talked about the sharing a lot before he went outside. After about 5 trips down the hill he actually let Zach have a turn. Hey, you can't blame a 3 year old for wanting to use his brand new sled a few times before giving it up, right? After a few single trips I suggested that they could ride together and that's pretty much how they spent the rest of their time. They had so much fun. I watched through the sliding glass door because Lily takes after me, she does not like to be cold. They were laughing and enjoying each other. It was great. I even got some video. I stuck my arm through a crack in the door so I could stay with Lily. It worked rather nicely once I put a glove on. If I ever get my video camera to play nicely with my computer I'll post some of the video.

See how happy he looks?!

Money

Zach's new job is to empty the trash every night. Tonight he came downstairs and said, "Daddy, I found this dollar in the trash." Jay, understandably frustrated with Ryan, said, "RYAN! Why did you put a dollar in the trash?!" Ryan replied with a bit of sadness in his voice, "Because it was wrinkled." I start laughing immediately. Jay's stern demeanor softened as he let out a quiet chuckle, then Zach joined in and finally Ryan. Then Ryan said, "Why am I funny?" I couldn't explain to a three year old why his three year old logic was so sweet and innocent, but I could tell him why throwing money away isn't a good idea. I explained that dollars are still good even if they are wrinkled they can still buy things. I told him we should never throw money away. I hope he learns that lesson literally and figuratively before he has to manage more than a few dollars at a time. I know some grown ups who still throw money away. All in all another valuable lesson learned here in the Periwinkle house.

Valentines/ Snow Day

Yesterday was fun. I had anticipated the snow day and armed myself with crafts for the kids to keep the bickering to a minimum. We started the day with some play. We moved on to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while mommy blogged. Then I busted out the paints and magnets that I bought.

Right after that was finger painting for the little ones. You see Zach took much longer to paint his two magnets than Ryan. When Zach did finish his painting we were about to wrap up our 10 minutes of finger painting, so he went down to play computer games. Seriously, finger painting, totally not worth all the prep and mess for the 10 minutes of fun for Ryan and the 10 seconds of fun before Lily found out that finger paint does not taste good. She recovered a little bit and with much coaxing did put some paint on paper. Mostly she just painted herself. I have cute pictures, but since she is only wearing a diaper I'm not going to post them. All you get to see is her cute little hands:-)

And Ryan's hand too:-)

By the time we finished all the painting and the immediate bath that followed for Ryan and Lily it was lunch time. Then Lily went down for her nap and we called Grandma to say Happy Valentines Day.

When Jay came home(early) he had these beautiful and probably very overpriced roses. They are pretty though, aren't they. He also had a box of chocolate covered strawberries(YUM) and a nice card. Yes we were totally a part of the florists and card companies getting richer, but it's nice to feel loved on Valentines Day:-)




And doesn't Lily look adorable on her little outfit?! Even with all her bruises.

Now? two and a half snow days later? not so much fun.

Random Thoughts of the Day

-My stupid laptop just shut off without telling me the battery was low and I lost my whole post.

-Oh yeah, Happy Valentines Day!

-It's another snow day, but for once I agree. The roads are slick and gross. Last night it snowed and now there is freezing rain, so that does not make for an easy drive. I wish Jay hadn't had to go to work. **Update- Jay got to work, but he said the roads were awful**

-Do people really think they are clever when they use normal names, but spell them wrong? To me it's kind of like thinking you are especially clever for pronouncing all the letters in vehicle.

-I love Mickey Mouse Club House for giving me this little blogging break...it entertains ALL my kids. Even Lily loves it. 8years-3 years and 11 months that is quite an age range for one show!

-Lily is my little dancing girl. She dances to any music she hears, even the music from her toys or commercials. It's so sweet.

-I was going to add a bullet about Ryan getting his sled yesterday, but it turned out to be too long. I'm going to have to do a separate post because his reaction is something I don't ever want to forget.

-I finally found a dentist. I had an appointment yesterday. Sadly it's been 4 years since my last one. Several of those months I was unable to brush my teeth at night because it would bring on "morning sickness." So it is by God's grace that I didn't have any cavities. ::Phew:: I was really worried especially because I've had sensitivity to cold foods lately.

-I think it's really cute that my mom-mom still puts $2 in my Valentines Day card because everyone has to get the same amount. Ryan, Zach and Lily all get their own cards with $2 as well. It's really fun to watch them get so excited to get the money.

-I think it's time to bust out the crafts I got a couple of days ago in anticipation of snow days. MMCH is over and the kids have all scattered, well, except Zach- he is still watching the tv.

Yummy

Anyone who has been to our house for more than about 5 minutes probably knows one of Jay's favorite games to play with the kids involves chasing and "biting" the kids. The kids love every minute of it. They run, laughing, through the house until he catches them and mouths their little tummies, arms, legs or whatever he feels like at the moment. They laugh and when they get away they run to a "hiding place" and call for him to come get them. Jay told Ryan the other day that he bought a "new Ryan" while he was at work so he could chomp him. Ryan, with furrowed brow, very seriously replied, "No, Daddy. You should chomp the old Ryan." Ryan has always taken his fun seriously. Since Ryan wants to be just like Daddy of course he has started "biting" people too. Really only me and Jay, sometimes Lily. It's pretty funny when he does it. He tells you he is going to bite you, makes a big dramatic chomping noise and takes a big "bite" with his lips. It usually tickles and he loves when you laugh or yelp. Lily has just recently gotten old enough to play the bite game. She laughs and giggles just as much s the boys when daddy picks her up and "bites" her. Recently she has started "eating" Jay too. This is how I know she actually gets the game. She doesn't put her mouth on Jay the way he does with the kids. She takes her hand and pretends to grab a handful of Jay and then brings her hand to her mouth and pretends to eat it. It's just the way she eats food. So cute. I'm going to try to get video of it if I can, but she does it at random times; whenever she's in the mood I guess. It is really cool to realize your baby is able to use her imagination.