Stuck Inside

It has been snowing and raining for several days here and since our house is surrounded by mud, we don't get out very much. Jackson didn't have school today because of the snow, so we've been pretty lazy around here. I've been trying to take care of the kids, clean, do some work for the office, finish stuff around the house, and prepare stuff for our taxes. So much fun. Jackson has been playing with his trains and watching cartoons. He also has a new found love for "Thriller." Every now and then we turn on the music and all dance and his favorite song to dance to is "the scary song". I'll post a video of it at the end of the blog. Ellie danced a little bit, but then she kept wanting to sit on my lap. When Andrew is around, he and the kids like to go to the "wrestle room" (our bonus room) and they wrestle around. Ellie waits until they are both on the floor, then she will sit on them. We also have been playing the game "Cariboo." Jackson thinks it is pretty fun and he is learning his numbers, letters, colors, and shapes in the process. He thinks Grover should play with us too.

Ellie spends her days "cleaning" too. She loves to empty out things- my purse, the tupperware, bookcases, her diapers, her wipes, her sock basket, the shirts hanging in her closet, etc. And all of this has just happened in the last 24 hours. She didn't just do this today, it has been her favorite thing to do since we moved into the house. I decided I needed to get pictures but I didn't get any of the really good messes- I got to her too early and she hadn't done enough destruction.

Here is a final picture of Jackson and Ellie at the bottom of the basement stairs. I had called down to them to let them know it was time for baths. They love bathtime so I expected them to come up right away, but they didn't and this is how I found them.

**Update- Jackson and I did finally get to go outside. I was going to shovel the driveway while he went sledding down the driveway and played. He went down a couple of times, then he decided he needed to throw snowballs at me. He got some snow on his face in the process and decided it was time to go in. When I came in after getting my work done I was very impressed by what I saw. Jackson had taken his boots off at the door and hung his coat and snowsuit on the door knob. I am so happy our son can be clean sometimes. I guess he did get some of my genes because cleanliness is not a big concern for his dad. :)