Blizzard 2011: Day 3

Last night a new record low temperature was set - 6 degrees below 0! AJ woke up feeling fine and had a normal day besides feeling a little tired this afternoon. He reminded me after lunch that he needed to make a collection box for his Valentines Day party next Thursday. So we started a project that soon lost steam. At least we made progress & have plenty of time at home with nothing else to do.

We called my mom today so the boys could wish her a Happy (belated) Birthday. Since they had fallen asleep so early last night they didn't get the opportunity to talk to her. JJ, who is not usually talkative on the phone, actually sang Happy Birthday to her :) She loved it!

The boys and I have not ventured outdoors for three days now. I literally have not even stepped out on the front porch! I really don't like the cold! And we probably won't get out until Saturday when Jimmie will have a day off and can finally have some daylight to shovel the driveway. I hope by then our van can manage the neighborhood streets and we can get to the store and buy a loaf of bread and a few other things we are running low on.

The boys don't seem to mind that the snow is keeping us from our normal activities. They have actually been getting along pretty well. Jimmie will cringe at that statement when he reads it - he is always telling me not to jinks things by making positive comments!

We got to have Pizza Hut tonight which was the highlight of the day. Jimmie & his chauffeur (ha!) stopped to pick it up on their way home from work. Jimmie has been very fortunate to have such great co-workers (with big pick-ups) to bring him to and from work. It's so nice to not worry about driving in the snow and ice when you MUST get to work - the patients are counting on you!

Of course school has been cancelled for the 4th and final day this week. AJ's Saturday basketball game has also been called off. I hope we can make it to church on Sunday before another snow shower moves in. Next week will be interesting!

Blizzard 2011: Day 2

Today was a quiet day. The boys and I played games, watched Fly Me To The Moon and made cinnamon & sugar snowflakes from tortillas. JJ stayed in his pajamas all day (as you can tell in the picture below). I did some laundry, paid bills and cleaned out some files.


Jimmie was dropped off after work by yet another generous co-worker & we were glad to see him. While I was cleaning up after dinner I looked over and saw all three of my boys cuddled up on the sofa. It was there that both AJ & JJ fell asleep by 7pm. So it has also been a quiet evening.


AJ was not feeling like himself tonight and by the time he fell asleep his temperature was reaching 100 degrees. Hopefully he won't spend the rest of these "snow days" being "under the weather".

Blizzard 2011: Day 1

Snowfall records have been set in what is being called the blizzard of the century here in Oklahoma. I heard the sleet begin tapping on the bedroom windows shortly after midnight. Snow started falling around 4am. There was about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground when Jimmie's co-worker picked him up in his 4 wheel drive truck at 6:30am. They made it to the hospital safely. By noon the snowfall in our backyard was around 9 inches. The wind blew it sideways all afternoon. When it quit falling from the sky at 4pm, we had about a foot with drifts of 3+ feet. Jimmie and his friend returned to the neighborhood after work, but an abandoned vehicle in the entrance gave them doubt that they would be able to reach our house tonight or return to the hospital in the morning. Since sick people need medicine, blizzard or not, Jimmie is spending the night close to work. He was prepared for this possibility with an overnight bag. Hopefully he can get home tomorrow evening. If not, Jimmie will have to turn his underwear inside out and wear them a second time!

The boys and I spent the day cozy warm watching the snow pile up outside. They were not interested in going out to play in it - which was fine with me! We played with legos, colored pictures, baked chocolate chip cookies and watched a movie I had picked up at the library on Monday - the title, Bob the Builder: Snowed Under!

The next couple days are supposed to be frigid. I have the faucets dripping and extra blankets on the beds. I love the artwork JJ brought home from preschool last week. It is a good reminder that God is in control, even in a blizzard.

Cracking Peanuts

What do you do when you need some peace and quiet and the FedEx man just dropped off a box full of Styrofoam peanuts? You ask your four year old to break all the "S's" into little pieces and be prepared to clean up a mess when quiet time is over :)

Words from AJ

We have noticed recently that AJ is eating more - and that's a good thing :)

While having dinner one evening, AJ asked for more food than what was on his plate.

He said, "I need more food because my appetite has changed - to BIG!!"

We gladly gave him a second helping. Maybe he will break the 10th percentile on the growth chart by his next birthday.

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

Do you remember last year's Preschool Thanksgiving Pow Wow?

I was hoping we would not have a repeat performance this year. Especially when I was informed by JJ & his carpool buddy that their class would AGAIN be pilgrims. I was careful to ask the more easy going friend what he thought of the pilgrim costumes before I got JJ's opinion :) He was eager to be a pilgrim because the pilgrims shoot the turkeys and eat them for dinner! JJ agreed that pilgrims were pretty cool - whew!

As you can see, the Pow Wow was a success!

Our Thanksgiving weekend was fun. JJ loved the olives from the relish tray, eating them off each finger like Mama Fern taught him to :) AJ's dinner plate looked much like it did last year with the addition of a few carrots. I thought JJ would try my apple pie, but he decided instead to have a slice of the pumpkin pie cookie cake I made for the kids.

When the boys were asked what they were thankful for,
AJ said "God - because He made us."
JJ's response was "My boogers!"
Got to love my boys!

We finished the weekend with decorating our home for Christmas. JJ enjoyed putting ornaments on the tree getting excited about each one he remembered from last year. AJ preferred watching the football game on TV.

Hope your holiday was great!

AJ's First Day of First Grade

It's hard to believe that summer is over and a new school year has begun. AJ is officially a 1st grader! He was so excited for the first day of school. He woke up at the crack of dawn, got dressed and made his bed (which he hadn't been very disciplined about over the summer).
Daddy took the day off from work so we could all walk AJ into school that morning and wait in the FOREVER long row of cars at pick up time (I don't think anyone is riding the bus this year :)

AJ really likes his teacher, Mrs. H. And he is excited to sit at a real desk this year. It makes me think of the school desks in my 1st grade class. I recall a certain glue-eating classmate with such a messy desk that he once lost his shoe inside somewhere. Hopefully AJ will keep his space neat and clean and not eat glue anytime soon :)