We headed back inside where I got the twins up from their nap and started dinner...a little late. I let the twins have some Cheezits to keep them happy while I was trying to cook and I made the mistake of leaving the pantry door open while I was trying to cut up my chicken. Miles got the box out of the pantry and decided to poor himself some and I couldn't do much because my hands had chicken yuk all over them. At least it wasn't too much of a mess. So I got dinner going and Andrew showed up and took the kids downstairs while I finished up. I was joking that I actually made a dinner instead of it being some casserole or crock pot meal. I used to cook more detailed meals (nothing too fancy though) when we only had the three kids and maybe someday I will get back to that.
After dinner and baths, we finally watched Cool Runnings. We had been planning on watching it for a few days and finally got around to it. It was a late night for the kids but they didn't have school on Wednesday either so that was fine. The kids enjoyed the movie and it was kind of refreshing to watch a movie that wasn't animated with them that didn't have sexual content, violence, was funny, and the only bad word was as* that was said maybe three times. And it was fun to watch it as the Winter Olympics are starting up soon. Miles and Bennett didn't watch much of it though. They spent their time riding around in circles on their Pillow Racers making racing noises. They also laid out one of our throw blankets that is a cable knit pattern and used the lines as tracks for their trains. They would get frustrated when it would get wrinkled and they would have to straighten it out.
The snow finally quit early Wednesday morning. I'm not sure how much we got, but there was a lot of drifting and our driveway and sidewalk are covered again. I will just keep the attitude that my previous shoveling did help in some way :-). At least it was a good arm workout for me. We decided to go ahead and cancel small group but I still did my weekly deep house cleaning while the kids slept in. It needed to be done anyways even if we weren't having people over. I didn't get it done as quickly as I had hoped since I also decided to clean out some of kids' closets. So the twins were up by the time I got around to riding the bike. So I put the bar stools in the laundry room and locked the door, locked all the bathroom doors, and used a ratchet strap to tie up the dining room chairs.
They ended up spending most of the time in the bedroom with me while I rode. Andrew went out to cut ice that afternoon and sent me this picture. The drifts were pretty tall out there. This winter has been rough but he is such a hard worker!
When he was done and came home and stayed with Miles and Bennett while I took the older three to the movies. We met Tiffany and her kids and Leah and her kids there along with Faith and Bryce and went to see the sing-along version of Frozen. Even though the theater was open, they didn't bother clearing out the parking lot, so it was either park in a snow drift or on the street. I figured the Yukon could take the snow drift and we had our boots, so we parked in the parking lot. The kids didn't sing along too much. I thought they would belt it out to "Let It Go" but the one they got the loudest on was "In Summer". As soon as we got out, we started receiving the texts that there was no school on Thursday either. The kids were pretty excited (Lincoln didn't want to participate in this picture).
In the middle of the night, Ellie came down to tell me her stomach hurt. She decided to lay out on the couch for a bit and I could hear her moaning out there. I told her to get her blanket or whatever else she wanted and we could set up a sleeping area for her outside of my bathroom. She was upstairs for a while and then I could hear her stomping on the floor which means she wanted me to come up there. She was in the bathroom and had thrown up. Thankfully, she made it to the toilet. She had to do a little more and then she felt a little better. So she came downstairs and we got her situated. She finally went to sleep. I didn't fall asleep for a while as I figured she would be waking up again soon, but she never did. She was perfectly okay the next morning. Just her sensitive stomach. I had planned to run that morning but didn't get around to it early in the morning since I had been up during the night. So I got the twins breakfast ready and put it in the playroom. Then I looked all the doors that I thought needed to be locked, did a better job tying up the dining room chairs and put the bar stools in the laundry room. All in attempt to keep disasters at bay while I ran with the twins awake. They stayed downstairs most of the time but did eventually make it upstairs. I thought I was good though. But I came upstairs to find they got one of the chairs loose and over to the kitchen sink. Miles was using a little cup to pour water from the sink onto the counter and floor. It definitely could have been worse though. I was feeling kind of good about my run though. I did four miles-four miles with the kids awake :-). But then I saw on Facebook where one of my friends that is training for the TriFAHL too (she is actually wanting to transition from just running 1/2 marathons/marathons to doing more triathlons) said she was excited to get her workout done in the morning. She is a teacher and was out for the snow day. Well she did a 45 minute swim and then did a 10k on the treadmill. So I guess having 5 kids kind of hinders my training a bit :-). I even had to step off the treadmill a couple times to put some trains together for a couple of demanding 2 year-olds. I wouldn't change it even though we are in a sometimes overwhelming season of life. My ears are trained to the sounds of two-year-olds getting into trouble. Like just now I heard the sound of a stool scooting across the floor. Someone left the bathroom door open and Miles was just getting ready to play in the sink. I was just telling Andrew that no one else seems to understand how vital it is to close any door after you leave a room (I need to get more of the door knob covers) and put away and food or drinks you had out or else the twins will be into all of it. And I know this will all be over someday-the screaming, temper tantrums, getting into stuff, throwing stuff, and even the screaming they have started when I put them to bed (they used to be so good at going to bed and have now decided they don't like it), and constantly having to be on my guard-and I will miss my sweet little boys. So for now I need to cherish the little special moments I see between them, soak in their hugs, kisses, and fist bumps :-), enjoy their giggles and playfulness, and try to take some deep breaths when the ear-piercing screams (times two) occur throughout the day.
Thursday afternoon we headed over to my parents. I picked up a late lunch from McDonalds for the kids on our way. My mom found some old movies she thought they would like to watch and Ellie did some more sewing. Jackson and Lincoln watched Where the Red Fern Grows and it renewed their interest in getting a dog-still not going to happen. I think Ellie worked on a sleeping bag for one of her dolls. I finished up some office work and was going to go the bank and store but Miles and Bennett were not going down for their naps very well. Miles eventually fell asleep but I finally just got Bennett out of bed. My mom said it was still okay if I ran to the store so I got that done, had to skip the bank because their computer system was down, and ran by home to unload the groceries. Then we had dinner at my parents and back to home to get ready for just the second day of school that week. Lincoln didn't go to school at all since he only goes Tuesday-Thursday. I got a swim in before they went to school Friday. It was so cold outside. Friday night we had Parents Night Out and ended up having some couples from our small group over for a carry-in dinner. So we dropped the kids off at the church and enjoyed a night of adult conversation. The time went by quickly and before I knew it, it was time to pick up the kids again.
Andrew went to the office Saturday morning and got back in time to go to Jackson's game. Ellie had a game at the same time, but she went to Gracie's birthday party instead. She had a hard time deciding between the two though-she hated to miss her game. But she had a lot of fun at the party. And Jackson had a great game. He and the rest of his team just keep improving every game. Miles and Bennett were still insistent on running their trains on the boundary lines. We only have one more Saturday left, but I am thinking of bringing some tape to make tracks on the floor for the next time instead of having to drag them off the court all of the time. Andrew went out to the ranch to put out hay after the game while the rest of us just stayed home. It was a pretty lazy afternoon for the kids. I was able to get a few things knocked out while the twins were napping and then got my bike/run done for the day. I had told the kids that I would maybe take them to see The Lego Movie this weekend, but Jackson ended up going with a friend. So Ellie convinced me to take her to Pizza Hut to use her Book-it coupon. So she helped me with some quick grocery shopping and then we got our pizza. I think they twins just had Cheez-its and bananas for dinner :-). After dinner, Andrew worked on putting the clipless pedals on his bike. He also put my cleats on my new cycling shoes. They were a great deal on Woot, so I went ahead and got some. So we each tried it out a bit just to see how it feels. I am not very good at clipping in and out yet and have a feeling that once I get outside and try doing it without the bike being held in place, I will probably fall down.
Andrew and the three oldest went out to the ranch to cut ice and see his parents Sunday morning. Then he headed to the office after church. I did fun stuff like wiping down the kitchen cabinets and dining room chairs. Ellie learned to make a new loom bracelet after a few tries. She did keep trying though and was excited when she learned how to do it. She then made one for Jackson and mine is up next. Jackson spent some time watching ski jumping and it really kept his interest.
I also emptied out our TV armoire and moved it so I could replace it with a card table for our TV :-). Our new TV cabinet should be done next week so I am just trying to get everything ready to go. I decided to go ahead and sell the armoire and had it sold within a few minutes of putting it on swap shop. Andrew and I moved it out to the garage when he got home that night and it was heavy. As we were moving it into the garage, we noticed that the ceiling in the garage was leaking again. We have had it worked on several times before so they will have to come back again now.
Jackson was excited that I moved our TV from upstairs to the basement. We had been using a little old school one since we moved in. He thinks the little bigger flat screen is awesome for his games :-). And I kept watching the price on a TV on Amazon that I almost bought on Cyber Monday but it sold out before I could check out. I was able to get a "used" one in very good condition from Amazon Warehouse for a great price when prices went down after the Super Bowl. The only thing that was wrong with it was the packaging had been opened. So since I was trying to get that all set up, dinner was running late. And it ended up not being much of a dinner-crock-pot Maid Rites and that is about it. So we all just ate at random times but I did get the TV set up and we watched some of the Olympics.
So now we are starting another week-a week with only a slight chance of snow in the forecast which is great. It would be nice to have a warm up too. It was 8 below this morning when I got in my car after my swim-chilly. Today the twins, Lincoln, and I had a little dance party. I love watching all of their different moves. A slow song came on so I told them I would teach them some ballet but it didn't last too long. Lincoln did a few turns and was done. It was onto climbing the stairs after that.
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| Bennett checking on his brother |
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| Lincoln wanted me to take his picture and this is the pose he came up with |
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