23 Months

We are officially a no-milk-to-sleep household! After I posted last month, Henry was a week or so more, and he was done. YAY! It’s so much easier for ME to go to bed now; no searching for cooler bags and ice packs and sippies of milk to prepare.

Henry
*All of his teeth are in, still working on molars though.
*Lots of talking.
*Never wants to be in the living room. Pretty much unless he’s in the kitchen running around, he’s not happy. Which makes for a ton of fun!
*Getting a bit adventurous and starting to climb, but not much.








James
*A few more words!
*Just waiting on one last tooth to poke through, except the molars.
*Still climbing everywhere, and has now taking to moving the furniture to help him.
*Such a lovie boy…he loves snuggling and hugs.









Elanor
*Very talkative, and you can understand most of it!
*All of her teeth are in, working on molars.
*Right there with Jamie getting in to trouble.
*Seems to be growing closer with Ave, which is just precious to watch.

Let it snow!

I’ve missed blogging…the whole just sitting down and sharing with you {or over-sharing as the case may sometimes be}. This post will be chock full of all the fun things we’ve been up to!

Yesterday we drove to NJ to visit Ikea {one of my FAVORITE stores!} We’re still planning to go ahead with our big house repair/renovation for next spring and wanted to start looking at cabinetry and all those other things we’re going to need for the new kitchen. I LOVE doing this! I don’t love the prices though…why is everything so expensive?!

We picked out two finishes that we really liked on the cabinetry, and then lucked out with getting doors in those finishes in the As-Is section for $15. At least we’ll have them on hand when we look at other cabinets online or locally. They’re 2 completely different looks, but both lend themselves to a more traditional country/cottage feel.

Then this morning was a big surprise…we got snow last night. And not only did it snow, but at 3:15 this afternoon, there was still snow on the ground! Avelyn was outside promptly this morning to play in the snow, unfortunately it’s not the best packing snow, but she had fun. {You can visit my friend Natasha’s post for 25 things to do on snowy days}.

When I brought the trio downstairs, we were sure to have them look outside…

they didn’t quite know what to make of it. They made even less of it when I took them outside for a few minutes…

they lasted about a half hour before everyone had enough, besides Avelyn, and wanted to come in. Hopefully we get a good snow soon…there’s nothing quite as depressing, for me, as getting ones Christmas tree in mud.

What things are you looking forward to this time of year?

Halloween 2013 {Ha…that rhymes}

This was Ave’s 4th Halloween, having just missed her first by mere hours. The weather was terrible, again; we can’t seem to catch a break. Despite the rain Avelyn and I went Trick or Treating, with a bit of assistance from Oma. We only went to a few houses, but Ave thought it was fantastic! The trio stayed home with Daddy…maybe next year, we’ll all be able to go.

22 Months

Just a bit longer until 2 years old…This isn’t going to be a lengthy list of milestones, as there hasn’t been too many changes in the past month.

 

Henry
*Starting to string a few words together in sentences.
*Has 16 teeth, all the way in…we’re now dealing with 2 year molars.
*Weighing 33.5 lbs, measures 34” tall.
*Only gets a sippie of milk at night time and occasionally one during the night. The molar teething has been hard for his sleeping.

 

 

 

James
*Still not many words, but he will say Mama when prompted.
*Has 16 teeth, the last 4 are just the tiniest bit through.
*Weighing 33.5 lbs, measures 37” tall.
*No more sippies of milk at nap or bed time, just water now!
*Still climbing absolutely everywhere….I’ve resigned myself to VERY limited Christmas decorations this year….no village pieces on the piano, that’s for sure. Not sure what to do about the tree…

 

 

Elanor
*Some words…lots of what she thinks are words.
*Has 16 teeth, the last 4 are about halfway in.
*Weighing 24.5 lbs, measures 33” tall.
*No more sippies of milk at nap or bed time, just water now!
*Has developed quite the affinity for her baby dolls.

21 Months

Henry
*Has 16 teeth now
*Isn’t signing too much anymore, since he’s speaking a lot more. No sentences yet, but lots of words.
*Loves saying, “Mommy, Mommy! Mommy! Hi.”
*Weighing 35lbs {I think}
*Wearing 3T and size 8 shoes
*Has the most nibblest ears EVER!
*Very sensitive: He was walking around with a dolly the other day, hugging it and patting it’s back say “Ahhh, ahhh”.
*Lights up a room with his laugh, or ends the party with his cry.
*Loves sitting quietly and reading.
*Has his own little waddle, that’s just too awesome to watch!
*Has some wicked dance moves!



James
*Has 12 teeth now, with 2 more on the way
*Still not speaking too much. I ask him to say “Mommy”, but he won’t. I’m not worried though, I figure his brain is going faster than his mouth. Good thing it’s not the other way around, like his Mama.
*Weighing around 34lbs
*Solidly in 3T and size 9 shoes…I honestly think he and Ave wear the same size shoe {she wears a 10}
*Still my sweet cuddle boy.
*Still climbing like a monkey. He gave himself a noise bleed from falling, but it didn’t phase him.







Elanor
*Has 13 teeth with 2 more on the way
*Doing lots of signing, loves signing
*Weighing 26lbs
*FINALLY in 24 Months…and some 2T. The 2T are rather huge, but that’s what we have from Ave’s clothes…seasonally they’re not matching up, so Elle’s clothes are a bit too big and too small.
*She knows what she wants, and don’t try to tell her otherwise. I can tell you this one is going to give us a run for our money.
*Loves music and shaking her groove thing.
*She won’t be left behind by her brothers, in anything.
*Her hair is always in her face, thus the constant whale spout.

20 Months

I completely forgot about the babies turning 20 months, but here it is, only a day late.

Henry
*Weighing in at 33 lbs
*Figured out “y” sounds..now we have Puppy, Thank You, Mommy, Daddy, Bye, Hi, and Baby
*Loves running
*Has 12 teeth with 4 more {canines} poking through












James
*Weighing in at 32.5 lbs
*No words beyond the usual babble, but boy that mind is going. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts talking in complete sentences
*Has 11 teeth…that last molar just does NOT want to come in
*Was a mountain goat in a former life









Elanor
*Weighing in at 25.5lbs
*Following suit with Henry’s words…also says “go”
*Has 12 teeth, canines are right there, but not through yet
*HAS to do whatever James is doing…even tap dancing on the piano

My biggest struggle is the disobedience. One kid is hard enough when it comes to them doing the same thing over and over again that they’re not supposed to….times three….Oy!
Still waking up at night sometimes. At least Henry is. We’re down to one nap a day…they usually wake up after 2 hours, which is not enough to get them to bed time. By 5pm we’re all about done.
These kids are amazing though. They’re personalities are crazy-fun!

Tales from Behind the Stroller

As you can imagine we get our “fair” share of looks and comments when we’re out and about with the quad stroller. Some are heartening and positive ones, the genuine smiles accompanied by “God bless you.” Some are a bit odd and creepy. And some are downright nasty and negative.

With fair week safely behind us, you can imagine we heard them all, and a few new ones. Which got me thinking about the various comments. Namely, why people say or act as they do. For all the comments, my question is the same: How were they raised? Were they raised to believe that children were a blessing or a burden? Were they raised to know that if you can’t say something nice you shouldn’t say anything?

The newest one I got was, “Is that legal?!” Huh? I didn’t know if they meant the stroller or the kids, either way, it was dumb. Then we had several women who would freak out every time they saw us and have some odd exclamations or have all of their kids run up and say “hi”. And there was always my favorite, those who commented negatively and seemed to think that you were somehow deaf to what they were saying.

But all of it, fades away when Avie reaches over and gives her little sister a hug: Both girls head to head, giggling. Or when one of the boys gets upset and the other reaches over to him, pulling his brother’s head to his shoulder. Those moments are beyond worth all of the hurtful comments that people make.

19 Months

The last of the teens for a while :-( Not much has changed in the past month, but we have had a few more teeth poking through.

Henry
* Weighing in at 32.2 lbs {according to 18 month check up} and 32 1/2” tall
*Loves to chase you, run in circles around you, loves to spin himself around and around, until he’s falling down dizzy.
*Lots of Mama, Dada, Baba, Bubble, PopPaul, Do {dog}, Da-du {thank you} and AMEN! after we say grace
*Doing really well in swimming lessons: He doesn’t LOVE the water, but he’s willing to tolerate it and be happy splashing for a while.

 

 

 

 

James
*Weighing in at 32 lbs and 36 1/2” tall
*Loves to wrestle with his siblings, even if they don’t like it at all. He does exactly what his Daddy did in wrestling…gets them down and then stretches himself out on them.
*Sticking with Mama, Dada, Baba….and a variation of amen.
*Has lots of teeth working
*LOVES, LOVES swimming lessons. He much prefers to have his swimmies on though and be able to go about on his own. He doesn’t care too much for being held.

 

 

 

 

Elanor
*Weighing in at 24 lbs and 31 3/4” tall
*More and more she’s following Jamie’s lead…usually getting herself into trouble {standing on top of the piano for one}, but it also makes her a bit more adventurous to try things.
*A few words here and there…Mama, Dada, Baba, Amen. I always think of Ellie as the quiet one. Then we had just her and Avie for a few hours and boy was she a chatterbox!
*Loves swimming, not quite as much as James, but pretty close. She’s content to have her swimmies on and go about her own thing in the pool.

 

 

 

 

All 3 Kids
*We’re officially a bottle free household! It went a lot smoother than I thought it would. Now we’re working on having no milk at bed times.

*We had our first long road trip, since the babies were 8 months and they all did well….6 straight hours in the car. We’ve discovered the cure to Henry’s car sickness: Putting him in the middle with Ave, which means all the seats are up and there isn’t as much room to move around. We realized though, that there is no way we could have 5 kids in the van on a daily basis.

Routines in the White House {Part 5} Bottles No More

You can find this post on my new site, JessicaMWhite.com: Click HERE.

18 Months

 

  Henry
*Wearing size 7 shoe and Carter’s 2T/Jumping Beans’ 3T clothes

*Running

*Has 13 teeth

*A few more words:

*Is now willing to do the stairs on his own, and climbing up on low things {boxes and such}

*Walks around giving hugs to everyone.

 

 

 

 

James
*Wears a size 8 shoe and Carter’s 2T/Jumping Beans’ 3T clothes

*Has 11 teeth

*Definitely mimicking sentences and words: He may not have the pronunciations correct, but if you listen to the sounds he’s making, he knows exactly what he’s saying. The one day, as clear as a bell, he looked at Matt and I and said “What did you say?” He’s also kind of said “Avie” and “sister”. He’ll answer questions with yes.

*He’s always sharing with the rest of the kids and making sure they’re ok.

 

Elanor
*Wears a size 6 shoe and fitting in to 18-24 months clothes, as well as some 12 months still.

*Has 13 teeth

*Still won’t eat unless it’s something SHE wants, but pretends that she’s miserable so you put her down for a nap with her bottle.

*Climbs the stairs with ease.

*Much more comfortable with walking and running.

*Picks up her dollies and will say “aahhaa”, which is what I say when I tell them they need to be gentle.

 

All 3 Kiddos
*We’ve been moving toward 1 nap a day. I figure with swimming lessons starting this coming week, we’ll be 1 nap a day from here on out. Which will be nice, since Ave still naps and that will {hopefully} give mommy some time to get things done around the house.

*They still get a bottle at bed time and nap time, but I’m thinking that’s going to end soon. Once we have a weekend to do it in. I think Ellie’s not wanting to eat is because she knows she’ll get a bottle {she’ll go on a crying jag mid-morning, so that I put them in their beds with their bottles…I caught on to that trick pretty quick}.

*Someone had asked me if the kids have their own language between themselves: Not that I’ve really noticed. They certainly have their own language, but not one that they communicate to each other with. I think part of it is because of Ave.

*We had our first day of swimming lessons of the year {June 24, 2013}: Jamie loved it! Ellie liked it! Henry tolerated it {but barely}!

17 Months

One more month and we’re closer to 2 than to 1 :-(

Henry
*Weighing in at 32lbs
*Wearing 3T bottoms {clothe diapers will do that to ya’}
*Wearing a size 7 shoe {needs it in the width}
*Has 11 teeth, although 11 isn’t all the way up. 12 and 13 are hot on it’s heels.
*In addition to Mama, Dada, Baba, Do {dog}, his new favorite word is bub-bo {bubble}, which he loves when I blow bubbles.
*Can do the stairs, but doesn’t like to…I think the few times he’s fallen has made him nervous.
*Will not sit in the tub. He’ll squat, but he won’t sit on his bottom. I’m not sure why, but I’m curious to see how swimming lessons go.
*Doing a bit better with eating, but he’s still having issues keeping food down sometimes. It goes away, but comes back when he has a cold or is coughing.

James
*Weighing in at 29.5lbs
*Still fitting into 2T bottoms, but they’re getting a bit tight.
*Wearing a size 8 shoe {although he still can fit comfortable in a 7, depending on what brand/style
*Has 7 3/4 teeth in the front…that front-right-bottom one just does NOT want to come up. He’s working molars…I think he has 1 up, maybe 2.
*No longer climbing out of his crib. Found the idea online to put him in a sleep sack, so that he can’t get his legs up. It’s been working for the past 3 weeks now.
*Does the stairs like a pro! He doesn’t even crawl up them, he most of the times walks up, holding the railing.
*Still climbing everywhere.
*He’s my cudddler…oh my. I love it! He’ll just come up to you, climb in your lap, putting his head on your shoulder and sit there.
*Not too many words, but he will answer questions with a “yesth”. Babbles like he’s having a full on conversation.
*Will eat almost anything, but does take to throwing his food on the floor for no reason.

Elanor
*Weighing in at a whopping 24 lbs!
*18-24 month clothes are starting to get a bit tight, if they’re one piece or a onesie. We might just hit 2T before she turns two! Although she’s going to fit into Avie’s 6-9month bathing suit this summer…go figure!
*Wearing a size 5 or 6, depending on the brand/style.
*Has 9 1/2 teeth. 8 in front, 1 molar and a partial molar. She’s working on 2 or 3 more teeth, so she hasn’t been too happy lately.
*Climbs up the stairs
*Running like a champ…she’ll still crawl if she doesn’t feel safe where she is.
*Loves, loves, LOVES! the water!
*Eating a bit more, but still very fussy and picky.
*Turned her car seat around, because she kept having screaming fits when you would put her in. She’s much happier now.

*All 3 of the kids had their first bottle-less bed time last night.
*They love being outside.
*James sleeps through the night and loves sleep. Ellie is doing a lot better and rarely wakes up. Henry has been good the past few nights, but still is up sometimes, usually only once.
*In the afternoon, if the dogs bark…all 3 of them immediately look at the back door and start saying “Dada”. It’s awesome!

And just because I couldn’t leave Avie out: Miss officially 3 1/2 now!

She’s certainly something. The things that she comes out with are dumbfounding. We’re driving with the windows down the other day and she informs me, “This is the life! A girl could get used to this!”
*She’s weighing in at 33lbs, wearing size 9 shoes, and 4T/5T clothes.

16 Months

I’ll spare you my exasperations and thoughts on their being almost a year and a half old.

Henry

*Has 10 teeth with 2 more molars making their way in {it’s been Hell…seriously}
*Weighing in at 33lbs {that’s what Avelyn weighs}
*Is running now
*Lots of Mama, Dada, Baba, Do {dog}
*Gets rather frustrated
*Had his first solo sleep over at Oma and Opa’s

James

*8 teeth {7 in the front and 1 of his molars…which you wouldn’t even have known was coming in}
*Weighing 29lbs
*Running, climbing…being a complete and total BOY!
*Still babbling away, not too much in the way of “words”, more just sounds
*Points at things he wants
*Loves watching you and doing EXACTLY what you do: I was raking the yard and using a snow shovel to pick the leaves up. He went and got the kids snow shovel and tried to do the same.

Elanor

*DRUM ROLL PLEASE……ELANOR IS WALKING! Not a ton, but she’s definitely walking. I think within a week or two, it’ll be the preferred mode of transportation.
*8 teeth in front and 1 molar
*Loves swinging outside {we never had a swing for her to be in before and she loves it}
*Still rather a picky eater. You can try to feed it to her, she won’t eat it, but put it down on her plate after trying and she’ll probably eat it.
*Definitely talking more than James, but not as much as Henry.

Routines in the White House {Part 4}Transportation: Part 2

I posted before how we had our minivan setup with 4 car seats. Well, Ellie grew out of her infant car seat….it was a sad, SAD day. Fortunately, our tax return arrived just in time to purchase the new car seat.

So, I set about figuring how to have 3 car seats in the back row and 1 in the middle captain’s chair. And again, after much knuckle-ripping and head-bashing I had figured it out. Only to have it last about a week.

Yea.

See I had it all figured out, but then we discovered something: Avelyn get’s car sick any time we drive for more than 20-30 minutes, since she was in the back of the van. Since she’s the one who actually goes places with me, that are further than 30 minutes away, we had to reconfigure them again….fun right?



A few more choice words and bloodied knuckles and I had it figured out, again. I’m not keen on the boys being forward facing, despite their being well beyond the 20lbs and 30” recommendations, and a year old; however, it really was the only option given Avelyn’s propensity for vomiting in the car and that you could not fit any child over the backs of the wall of car seats in the back row. We felt ok with the decision to turn them, given that we never go anywhere…seriously…the only time the kids go more than 10 minutes in the car is for their well baby appointments. Elanor is still rear facing, due to her peanut stature and weight.

Soon after this set up was installed we discovered that now Henry, likes to vomit all over himself while in the car. Even while he is sound asleep. I really can sympathize with these kids, because frankly, being in the back seat of a van makes me want tear my hair out…l feel Iike I’m in a straight jacket and being held under water back there, just a slight panic attack, and I’m always the one driving because I get car sick.

We’ll probably stay in this configuration for a while, since I don’t see us turning Ellie before she’s 2 {the goal for every parent…I think a few states have actually mandated that now}. Of course, the boys just had another growth spurt and I will soon have to unstrap their seats in order to adjust their shoulder height. Please pray for me.

We figure we have about another 2 years in this vehicle and then we’ll be looking for another. There is seriously no room in it. Once we put the stroller in the trunk, you’re done. You can’t shove another thing back there. There is the roof, but you I’m paranoid of the clamshell flying off in the middle of the night while driving down the interstate {it’s really a good thing we don’t travel}. We know that once the kids are a bit older we will be travelling places more often, so we’ll definitely need the space.

We figure we could maybe get 1 more kid out of this car and then we’re looking at getting this bad boy….
Do these come in a color other than white? Beige or Silver or Tan perhaps?
By the way…did I mention, pray for me.

Where Does Our Food Come From?{and other random things}

A farm.

Fortunately for us, we are friends with the farmer. Our Mom to Mom group had a play date last week and the kids had a blast! It was the first nice day in a.g.e.s. and it was great being out in the sun!
*Yes, that is me wearing both Ellie and James at the same time.
*Henry was not feeling well and fell asleep on the couch when we got home.

We were even blessed with a SECOND day of nice weather, on which we headed to the playground at the elementary school.
There was even a THIRD day of nice weather, on which we stayed home.  
There wasn’t a fourth day…it’s been kind of blah again. But it was fun while it lasted!

Just WRONG!

I saw this article on facebook this morning, about the use of aborted baby girls’ eggs in IVF. I started writing a response to it and realized it was way too long; best to leave these words for my blog.
I am so ANGRY about this.

I am angry about what science is doing {raping aborted baby girls’ for their eggs—and yes it is rape}.
I am angry about how the article presented infertility and perpetuated common misconceptions.

I am an infertile. Have been, always will be. Infertility had a PROFOUND affect on both my life and Matt’s; in more ways than most people could ever know. I am also the mother of multiples.

The use of the eggs of aborted babies is just…there are no words for how absolutely disgusting and despicable this act is. It is worse than the rape of children. It is the rape of children who were deemed unfit, for whatever reason, to live, but they are some how good enough to become mothers. Because YES, those body parts in a medical waste contain, that were pilfered for their eggs, are mothers.

I had not even ever imagined, not in my wildest, most horrible thoughts, that anyone could ever even conceive of using babies in this manner. I cannot even fathom the depravity of the mind of the individual who came up with such a thought. IT IS WRONG.

The article itself, not the topic, but the article is trash.


IVF does not exclusively equate the use of donor eggs {or sperm}. It does not equate men and women so desperate to be parents that they would be OK with using the eggs of aborted girls. It does not equate parents deciding to murder their children, when they deem that they’ve become pregnant with too many of them. Which is what the article would have you believe.

There are egg {and sperm} donors, adults who are willing to give of themselves in order to provide other couples with the chance of being parents. And honestly, I can’t imagine anyone I know, who has gone through infertility and IVF, who would knowingly or willingly be using such eggs.

I was given the choice to “selectively reduce” my pregnancy, to abort, to kill one of my children. We had families members and friends who honestly asked us whether we would be doing that {obviously, we didn’t}. Yes, it unfortunately does happen, but not as often as you would think.

The article not only misleads people to believe that anyone going through IVF is knowingly using the eggs of aborted babies, but that they are then killing the babies conceived themselves, that they did not want to get pregnant with in the event of multiples.

There is enough hurt and misconceptions about infertility, that there is no need for another such article to paint it in a horrible light.

Back to the topic of discussion:

There is absolutely NO NEED for this to be occurring. There is NO REASON for this to be happening.
THERE IS NO WORLD IN WHICH THIS IS RIGHT!

{and yes, that picture right there, is a 3D ultrasound picture of my triplets at 10 weeks—very much alive and very much human}
{and yes, I am pro-life and pro-infertility treatment}

Easter 2013

We hope that you all had a wonderful day, rejoicing in the resurrection of our Lord!

I figured I’d share a few pictures from our day. More and more I’m realizing that a good family picture is not something that’s going to happen, particularly when I have no one to take the picture but me.

This was our very sad attempt at getting a picture of the kids :-)

15 Months

Henry
*Weighing in at 28lbs 15 ounces and 31.5” tall
*Has 10 teeth (8, front top/bottom) and 2 molars on his right
*Not only walking, but running and dancing…it’s hysterical to watch
*Still loving his avocados…it’s actually his preferred food
* Saying “Nana” {banana}, “Dada”, “Mama”
*Blows kisses and gives them
*Waves hello and goodbye

James
*Weighing in at 28lbs 12 ounces and 34” tall
*Has 7 teeth
*Walking, a bit of running, more climbing up things than anything else
*Eating just about everything in sight
*Signing “Please”, “Thank you”, “More”
*Saying “Da-du”, “Nana” {banana}, “Dada”, “Mama”
*Gives the sweetest hugs and kisses
*Blows kisses and gives them
*Waves hello and goodbye

Elanor
*Weighing in at 22lbs 3 ounces and 30” tall
*Has 8 teeth
*Crawling all over, pulling herself up on things, cruising, occasionally standing on her own: She will walk, when you hold both her hands, but only then….I’d like to say I’m not worried, but I am a little. I know she can do it.
*What she’ll eat depends on her mood…sometimes she’ll wolf her food down, and then other times she’s more interested in tucking it in her pants.
*Saying “Mama” and “Dada”
*Blows lots of kisses and gives sloppy wet ones
*Waves hello and goodbye

I had held off on posting this, since they had their Well Baby visits this morning.

Thirteen Years

Thirteen years ago today, this guy and I went on our first date, my first-ever date, to see Mission to Mars. We even held hands…after half the movie spent with our arms awkwardly on the arm rests, just in case the other was willing to go first. Once safely deposited back in my parents driveway, we made it official….and were boyfriend and girlfriend.

I expected it to last a few weeks before this guy realized I was my own brand of Crazy and went running for the hills…..

Thirteen years later, I’m still waiting for that.

Thirteen years ago, if you had told me all that the past thirteen years would have entailed I know I wouldn’t have  believe you, but I’m not sure if I would have laughed, cried, denied it or went running, in the opposite direction.

As you can imagine 5 1/2 years of dating, while living 300 miles apart for 8 months out of the year, with 2 months out of the year being without communication with each other, isn’t for the faint of heart. Particularly after you throw in some good family/sibling dramas.

Top it off with a fun filled wedding, a dash of house renovations, a good dollop of major back issues {resulting in Matt not being able to work or move from our couch for over a year, and seeing a variety of doctors throughout the North East for two years, before we had a solution}, add in a hefty helping of infertility, resulting in 2 pregnancies and 4 children…and that’s been our life together for the past 13 years.

That said. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It has been an incredible ride and I honestly can’t wait to see what the next 13 years bring, because if nothing else God has shown up every single time, every single day.

What makes us work? {Besides God} We’re both stubborn and flat out REFUSE to quit. While other couples were constantly taking a break and getting back together, we both agreed if that was the case, we were done. If it wasn’t working, then it wasn’t ever going to work. But we do, work….it is a lot of work, our friendship, our marriage, our kids, our house, our life…it’s all work, but we work well together.

And, yea, I would NEVER have believed any of it, the crazy that is my-life-in-the-White-house, but it has been SO, SO worth it.

March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb

In my experience, it’s usually the reverse that’s true. March teases us, letting us think that maybe, just maybe spring is around the corner…and then lambasts us with snow and horrible weather as the month wears on.

Last week (March 10th) we were outside for most of the afternoon, inspecting the “grounds” to see how things were coming along and what needed to be done, now that the nicer weather was coming.

The bees were out, the dilly-daffols were beginning to poke up their heads, the sun was shining and the weather was beautiful.

A couple days later it was gray and rainy, everything turning to icky-sticky mud.

If my Oma were still alive, she would be freaking out over this child not only playing, but sitting in the mud :-)

And this is what it looks like outside, right now….

Yea….more snow. We’re supposed to be getting another 5-9”.