Let It Snow, Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Well if you didn't immediately CLOSE your browser after seeing this first picture, welcome to winter wonderland! Several of my online friends have been e-mailing me or posting comments that they want to see how big my belly is. Under normal circumstances I'd be completely flabbergasted at this request, but given that I am 25 weeks pregnant...well here it is folks. Very flattering. This is me trying to get on my girls size XL snow pants. I think a woman's size XL would be appropriate. My ski jacket, which does still manage to zip, is a Youth size 18/20. I'm not planning on being able to put this lovely ensemble together in February.

Although Little M is deathly afraid of our dogs, Chester did get to make an appearance because he has been begging to play outside with the boys. Our dogs are 1/2 husky and they love the snow. They love to run, and jump, and eat, and wrestle in it. They love that they can get a big lick in and the boys can barely walk let alone get them away. Chester is extremely obedient and he left Little M alone, so he had no need to be scared. He's mostly into his own boys anyway. Our other dog, Lucy, would have been at the local elementary school by the time I had the camera out, so I didn't bother letting her in the front yard to frolic.

The snow is yet another opportunity to wrestle with daddy, and everyone piled on him and laughed when he threw them off. I think Chester was his biggest competition actually.

In these pictures you can still see grass, but we've received at least two more inches since the kids were out and you won't be seeing the grass anymore! Little Monkey managed to figure out how to get up after falling down. When I took these pictures the other day, he'd fall and then grunt and fuss until we picked him up. I guess we didn't rescue him fast enough today because he managed to get himself picked up.

#1 decided to shovel the driveway and sidewalk. All the kids decided to take the shovel and use it in the yard. It really didn't matter that he never finished, because what little bit he did manage to do is completely buried.

Snug was very serious about his shoveling. He never complained about being cold even though his face was beet red by the time we got done. (Why beet red? Aren't beets purple? Shouldn't it be like radish red?)

Chester took a time out with Little Monkey Man. He was very nice not to lick at him while he was down. What a good dog. Actually, it used to be that he rarely would lick their faces at all but both boys encourage it and I've decided to quit punishing the dog for something his "other owners" are rewarding him for.

School let out 2 hours early to ensure that the kids got home safe. I'm sure my Minnesota and Northern Michigan friends think that is pretty funny, but we are far enough south in Ohio that when we get more than 3 inches the road crews don't do a great job at clearing it. Along with that, it has been snowing for 7 hours and supposed to go at least another 5. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

ECHO

My wonderful sister-in-law works for a special place called ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization). I'd like to tell you a little bit about it (I really don't know tons) and ask you to pray for them. They are located in SW Florida, and have been having freezing temperatures at night.

Since part of their ministry is running a farm and a seed bank to help those working with impoverished countries, a freeze that damages their plants is not good. Here is an excerpt from their web page that explains some about the seed bank:

"Welcome to the seed bank ministry of ECHO. Our goal is to serve as a resource for development workers who wish to experiment with underutilized crops as they work to improve the lives of the poor. We maintain a collection of hard-to-find seeds that thrive under the often difficult growing conditions of the tropics and sub-tropics.
As a seed bank we provide small sample packets of seed to those working on behalf of the poor, particularly in developing countries. It is our hope that these seeds will be used to evaluate new species that may help alleviate hunger, improve the soil, and produce income in areas where agriculture is difficult."

I've personally been to ECHO, and it is beautiful. Unfortunately we did not have a digital camera when I went and so I don't have firsthand pictures to share with you. I feel that I copied enough from their site for this post...don't want to delve too deeply into copyright infringements! My SIL got the moringa that my kids eat and I shared about here from there. My parents are actually on their way there to volunteer for a couple of months this winter. I know, I know, suffering for Jesus in Florida :o)

If you would, please pray for ECHO, and click on their web page to learn more about them!

Snow Much Fun

So we didn't get tons, but enough to have another 2 hour delay today. This time it was because the city didn't clear the roads...ours still hasn't been plowed. Now, with a little over an inch it isn't usually a big deal, but #1 worked last night and I guess the roads were awful.

I took the kids outside to get some fresh air. I was surprised at how much Little Monkey Man liked it. When Snug was this age he wasn't a huge fan of walking around in a snow suit and big boots. Until he would fall over though, Monkey was very happy. After being set back on his feet, he was good to go.

I haven't been posting pictures of my Draycare kids because more and more people read this and I want to protect their privacy, but I don't think Little M could be readily recognized in all his winter attire!

Snug and friends played tag, made snow angels, and ran around until Little Miss E got cold and needed to go inside. Taking off your mittens to better feel the snow will do that to you every time! The boys were pretty upset to be going back in so soon, but since my snow pants did NOT zip, and my ski jacket barely went on I was also ready to go back in-I was feeling a bit pinched.

We just had snow much fun!

We had our house inspection today. I was kinda nervous because although we didn't know of any problems, that doesn't always mean there aren't any.

Three people came.

Man #1 walked in the door and asked who went to Cedarville University because his dad teaches there and he used to teach there. Then he wanted to know who the Michigan fan was. I was guilty on all counts :o) He was happy I had gone to Cedarville, not so thrilled with the Michigan bit! Anyway, we knew lots of the same people etc, etc.

Man #2 walked in and asked who was in law enforcement. I guess these guys know their stuff because they knew that much about US from our van in the driveway. They are what you call observant. Anyway, man #2 used to work for the county and knew my husband.

Man #3 walked in and is the realtor for the family who will be buying our house. I'm sure he was super happy to see we were already chummy with the inspectors who were working for him. He was a very nice man though, and knew the former owners of our house (he did the paper work in fact because we didn't use a realtor that time) and everyone else on the block. He says a really nice family is moving in which made me happy because we love our current neighbors and want nothing less for them.

In the end they found no problems and it was only an hour long. Would have been shorter if we hadn't chatted. The kids slept through the entire thing. It looks like we're just one more step towards moving out in 15 or so days!

Hair

I am supposed to be getting ready for an inspection. Some inspector person is coming to look at our house and decide if it is livable for the next family. He is coming at 1pm and supposedly staying till 4pm. He doesn't want us home, but really, I have a home daycare so we told him he is more than welcome to come, inspect, pick apart, and report back, but we will not be leaving. That just isn't an option. Instead of getting ready for said inspection (really, how do you get ready? Either the plumbing and electric are to code or they are not. I suppose washing the kitchen floor would be a good start) I had to post some pictures.
Our youngest son has great hair. It is very soft and workable, and we are so hoping that Hannah has the same hair. Yes, #1 knows I took these pictures, he assisted in fact. We were laughing so hard. We will have to see how much he and his new little sister look the same in 21 months!

When Snug saw these pictures he said "Why is Little Monkey a gay-url now? Why is hims wearing lady hair?" I busted up laughing. I told him it was just to be funny. He didn't think it was funny. Little Monkey thought it was hilarious. We'll see how he feels when he is 10.

Ok, this is his hair in his new ball pit he got from #1's parents for Christmas. It makes his hair stick up in all directions. It is so cute.

Look very carefully at the top of his head. See? Hilarious.

And then there is bath time. If you have a little one who has to keep earplugs in while doing water activities, I would highly recommend this "Ear Band-it". You can search it online, I'm not going to take the time to find the link.

Yep, this boy has some awesome hair. And quite the grin to go along with it!

Ramblings

Oh so much on my mind. I don't even know where to start, but maybe just getting it written out will help.

I had to laugh yesterday. Little Monkey has a diaper rash (more about that later) and last night as I was getting him ready for bed Snug says "Aren't you going to put sour cream on him's bottom? It's still red!" I don't use sour cream, but I guess rash cream does look like it :o)

Speaking of "hims", my brother jokingly said something the wrong way to Snug this weekend, and Snug promptly corrected his grammar. My brother said "Oh, right, this coming from the boy with perfect pronouns!" Snug's pronouns are indeed in need of some work.

The diaper rash came after I let Little Monkey have some ice cream the other night. We have recently discovered that he is lactose intolerant, but we're not sure to what degree. Cheese seems to be fine, but milk and ice cream are out. When he has milk (or ice cream) he gets very foul diapers that you don't want me to describe and a blistery raw diaper rash.

We'd been having a problem with it since probably the end of September, but based on the number of children we've had in our home, know that diapers are prone to be weird/extra stinky/change periodically. I hadn't linked it to milk because when he was hospitalized last year they ran all kinds of food allergy tests and none of them came back positive. Milk was a go at that point. However, being allergic, and being intolerant are two different things.

I am allergic to horseradish. I break out in the face, have some trouble breathing, and get really hot. I am lactose intolerant. I have bowel trouble and stomach pain. Evidently Little Monkey Man has inherited the latter trait from me.

We found out what the problem was after our family doctor had us stop milk for a few days with both boys before Christmas when they had bronchitis. He just wanted us to lay off of it until the coughs loosened up. During that time, Little Monkey's diapers magically were "normal". As soon as I put him back on whole milk, they were back to gag-city. Organic Soy milk is available at ALDI, and we are making use of it for the time being, and testing out other dairy products to see which ones bother him. Since we've made the switch, I almost don't even need the diaper sprayer that I got for Christmas. It doesn't really work well anyway!

I am having trouble sleeping at night, but I think that it is due to both pregnancy and lots on my mind. One good thing about it is that I eventually get up and have time alone in The Word. Sometimes it is 2am, but I don't think God minds! Not sure my family loves how tired I am. We had a nice weekend with my parents and brother/sister-in-law. It was nice to visit with them and to have help with the boys and packing.

We are 16 days away from our house officially being "sold". So we are somewhere around 18 days from moving. I am about 1/10 of the way packed. There is so much of it I can't even physically do. The rest I just can't even seem to wrap my mind around. Moving wasn't part of my growing up, I think I need to seek out some military wife's advice!

The schools had a 2 hour delay here today because the heat in several of the schools didn't work. That means Draycare was delayed also, giving me time to rest a bit (although I did have one non-teacher's son here anyway) before we get back into the swing of things. The kids are all playing quietly so I am taking the time to blog. Naptime will be packing time from here on out I'm afraid.

Where are we moving? Um, that is a fantastic question. Right now there is a chance we might get to rent a 3 bedroom house for a couple of months until something we like/fits our needs opens up. #1 is very much hoping that option stays available. We went and visited the 2 bedroom apartment that we were going to end up, and he was NOT happy. He's used to his space away from the daycare and there just isn't anywhere to go in an apartment.

I have several cute pink and purple things that people have given me in the past couple of weeks. I have a tote packed with newborn essentials that will not go into storage when we move. Just in case we are still renting somewhere when Hannah comes along. I don't want #1 to have to leave the hospital and dig through storage to find things. I don't want anyone to have to dig through storage for anything! I'm trying to plan/mark/organize so that doesn't happen.

We are in the process of switching from paper napkins to cloth ones. I've wanted to do it for forever, but getting several sets for Christmas is making it happen! I hate throwing away all those napkins, and then spending money on more. We use them for 2-3 meals (keeping track of which one belongs to each) and then wash them. They really don't add that much to our laundry load.

Well, those are some happenings here. I'll post pictures in the next post, promise! My kids are much more fun to look at than just reading my ramblings!