Snow???

Come on its lovely weather...
Earlier this week the weather was warming up, the snow had melted, it was nice! Carlyn said, "Where's my baby stroller?" I was about to say that I didn't want her to use it in the house when I realized happily that it was nice enough to go for a walk outside! I got their doll strollers (loaded with loveys) and Darren in his stroller and we walked around the block. Half way around Carlyn said, "Mom, I need to slow down. I'm tired." I was energized. It was so lovely. We got most of the way around and stopped to say hi to a neighbor working in her yard. We were shortly joined by another neighbor, then 2 more showed up and a couple dropped by quickly on their way home from picking up kids from school. The kids were all running around and moms were chatting. I loved it. It could be just warmer than that all year for me and I'd be perfect. Ah, almost spring. I didn't want to go back in.

A Gray Day
Today was a good day-my cousin got baptized and I enjoyed being with family, but outside was very gray. It was so windy and chilly until after lunch and then the rain started. A few hours later it was snow :( Yuck. I'm done with snow. I'm going to run away Texas or California with my sister or sister-in-law. Maybe I'll come back in the spring.

Quiet, maybe too quiet

Carlyn and Anneliese went to Moroni with my sister, Carisa and her family on Friday afternoon. I cried for awhile and then caught up on housework that has been let go while I've had sick kids. It is now Sunday night and its been so quiet around here! I have Darren still, who cries of course, but is most often a happy baby. Now I'm wondering: What did I ever do with just 1 kid? Darren keeps looking around for them and I'm sure he's missing them due to his cranky temperment when he can't find them. Rick and I have enjoyed it, but we are missing them terribly. Its made me a little sad when I've talked to them on the phone because they are doing great. Annie didn't even let me tell her I loved her before she said, "K. See you Later. Bye." We called too close to bedtime tonight and they were wanting us and Annie was crying. What's worse? I think I'm going to get them tomorrow, but who knows what time? I need to go to the doctor because I think I have pink eye. Its infected and red.

My brother Mathew got engaged to his girlfriend Lindsay last night and we just couldn't be more excited. They are so fun and cute together. We are also waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for my sister Emily's baby. I'd root for her to be born on my birthday next Sunday, but that would just been mean to Emily since she was due on the 8th!

At least its warming up a little bit. That's a plus.

Winter in full swing

I'd love winter if it weren't for the cold, sick kids, short daylight hours, and did I mention sick kids? All this snow would be wonderful (and isn't it a lot of snow?) if we weren't cooped up inside due to one thing or the other! My girls have the cutest snowsuits which have hardly had any use this winter (though their coats and boots have gotten plenty) because poor Darren can't go outside without getting a cough. We are finally all getting better. The kids all had colds which led to ear infections and Carlyn and Darren's turned into asthma too. Darren especially. He really hates the nebulizer and I hate holding the mask on his screaming little head, but it really helps so I do it anyway. We had a few scary nights. The worst part is that I'm just not sleeping well. Last night, for example, I got to bed late (at about 1, thanks to my mom babysitting so Rick and I could go on a date! Thanks SO much) and Anneliese would wake up every 20 minutes or less to scream. Finally on the 5th time I gave her some medicine and she calmed down. Darren woke up every 1 or 2 hours crying and of course wouldn't go to sleep without nursing to sleep.

I don't mean to complain though. This has been my life for the last 2 or 3 months. I'm just really grumpy from being sleep deprived. I really love the beautiful white coat the snow gives everything. I really do wish I could go out and play with the girls. It would be good for us all. Last week we were all sick and I couldn't take being home anymore and we walked around the mall window shopping. Carlyn wondered if we were really buying a window and didn't get that whole phrase. She asked to go into each store. She loves looking at stuff and asking questions. Millions of questions! Anneliese pointed everything out to me. It was cute how excited she would get over a manequin display in a store window. Darren was happy to be out of the house too and just grinned the whole time. We haven't dared to go anywhere like the library because I was afraid the kids were contagious.

As I said, my mom stayed over night last night and babysat while Rick and I had our first without baby date. We had dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Yum! Everything was fabulous. I'm not sure if it was because I actually got to realize what I was eating and not helping kids the whole time or because I didn't have to cook it! We did have to take a break from our date to come home so I could feed Darren, but he went to sleep well and we went to see National Treasure 2. We even held hands and snuggled.

My children may drive me crazy sometimes, but I sure love them. They are so funny. I love to watch them grow. After lunch today I was playing peek-a-boo with Darren's bib and he would pull it down and we all would laugh our heads off. It was so much fun. I hear him crying as he's waking up from his nap. That's my cue to be done.

Love to our family and friends,
Bonny