4 am  Buddy cries. He’s been off since we have been sick for the last week. He goes back to sleep. I cannot. Why!? Why can’t I go back to sleep like a normal person?

5 am  I start to drift off and Buddy wakes up again. Blah. We’ve got to get him sleeping til at least 6 again. We head downstairs for some breakfast. Buddy wakes up saying, “Boo bar!” (Cereal bar) He doesn’t stop until you give him one. We keep Aldi open just with our cereal bar purchases. Buddy gets to pick a video to watch while he eats. He picks a truck video. When he’s done eating he plays with trucks and balls while the video plays. He only watches about 10 minutes of it.
I sit on the couch. I am frustrated that he’s up early and that I didn’t get enough sleep last night. I peruse Pinterest for a little while to get rid of the grouchiness hanging over me.

Once I get over the grumpiness I love spending this time with Buddy. He’s funny, talkative, goofy. This morning he’s singing The Wheels on the Bus. I love it!

6 am   Reading through some of our new library books

6:30 am  More truck play

7 am   Baby Girl is up, and I need to change her sheets. I get frustrated. She doesn’t have this problem often, but today it bothered me more than usual. Writing this a day later I’m realizing how much I exaggerated the issue (I know, not me, right?).
While I’m in bed making mode, I go make my bed, too. Having a made bed calms me down every time I walk in my room.

7:30 am While my man is with the kids I decide to mop the floors downstairs. Because mornings aren’t already crazy. I think I need to do something “active” to release some of the frustration.

7:45 am  Pack Baby Girl’s snack for school. I pack oranges and a granola bar. She won’t eat the oranges at home but she eats the whole thing at school. Peer pressure? Who cares; she eats them!

7:50 am   Teach Baby Girl how to make her oatmeal. I have visions of preparing it the night before and having her make it in the morning. Then I realize she can’t get a hot bowl out of the microwave that’s just a little to high for her. Maybe in a few months.

8 am   She eats and Buddy decides it’s time for breakfast part two. I agree! 5 am was a while ago. Yogurt for all!

8:15 am  I shower, hoping the whole time that the kids are playing nicely. I only have to turn the water off once to see what the yelling is about.     Get ready for the day. We’re going to meet a friend for a walk, so I wear a t-shirt, workout capris and sneakers. Then decide that it’s a hat day…fantastic!

8:45 Remember that Baby Girl had homework for school. Eh. We’ve been sick for a week. I’m gonna just let this one go. It’s preschool after all.
Out the door.

Showing our Boston love, as usual!

9  am  Drop off Baby Girl. Totally forgot to take pictures.

9:15 am   Stop at Goodwill and look around. I found like-new BearPaw boots for $12.99. But alas, they were too small. Boo hoo!

9:45 am   Leave Goodwill to meet my friend

10  am   Arrive at park, meet friend, get walking!

11:15 am   We walked to another park, played, walked back. Left for home.

11:30 am  Buddy needs another snack. Seriously, this kid eats all day long. When we get home from picking up Baby Girl he is usually almost ready for a nap, so it’s easier if I don’t have to feed him a full lunch when we get home.

11:45 am  Out the door

12 noon  Buddy watches some guys play basketball while we wait for Baby Girl to be done at school. Pick up Baby Girl from school.

12:15  Home. Check out the “special things” Baby Girl found on her nature walk today. I’m a lucky mama.

Pizza in the oven for lunch. Baby Girl uses the magnifying glass she got at school today. Coolest toy ever.

12:30 As predicted, Buddy doesn’t make it until lunchtime. He’s in bed early. After random naps two or three times a day over the last week of sickness, he’s still needing extra sleep at random times. Hopefully I still get some quiet time today.
Baby Girl and I eat some pizza and read through her new magazine she just started getting.

1 pm  Baby Girl begrudgingly goes upstairs so that I can rest. I read because I know she will constantly talk to me about her projects. I also had to have a Pepsi because 4 am was oh so long ago!

2:15  Buddy wakes up, but he sounds fairly happy.
We head outside with some snacks. The kids play, Baby Girl with her new rollerskates that I found at Goodwill for $2.75. Score!
Chatted with the neighbor while my kids pet his dogs. We watched the neighbor’s lawn service mow and the garbage truck came by. So much excitement today in the neighborhood!

3:30 Heading inside
Spent 10 minutes searching for a trailer Buddy had to have for his cars. Found it. He put it down within seconds, already on to something else. Silly boy.

4:00  My eyes are getting really heavy. How long ago was that Pepsi? I might not make it another 1  1/2 hours until my man gets home. And he may come home to a sleeping wife instead of a nice supper.

Time to wrestle! That might wake me up.

4:30 After laying on the couch for 10 minutes, I got up to do the dishes. I am loving my dish drying mat! I only wish I hadn’t taken back the XL size. Oh well.

5:00 Start dinner with Buddy’s help, also install paper towel holder that had fallen down. (Not gonna lie; I had to call my dad about this one.)
5:30 My man gets home. Get family sitting down for dinner. I run and get ready and then head to my hair appt. I love this girl, but she is EXPENSIVE! So instead of a cut every 6-8 weeks I try to go every 5-8 months. Eh. Well. It works.

6:00  Settle in while someone massages my scalp, washes my hair, and cuts my hair. Fantastic!
7:15 Head home. It’s shorter than I was wanting. 8 out of 10 of my haircuts end up shorter than I want. I must not explain myself well. Someday I’ll learn. Hopefully it will work in the humidity that is just around the corner!

7:30 Get home and FaceTime a family friend about how to alter a dress I found at Ross last week. She’s amazing! We’ll see if the dress gets altered correctly with my incredible sewing abilities.

7:40  Baby Girl makes my dinner (heats up a sloppy joe for me)…in her heels. Amazing child.

We hang out together until her bedtime. (watching the results of American Idol. I’ve seen one episode–a girl I know from CT made it to Hollywood. But one of the top 4 is from Boston, so I like her, of course.)
I read Baby Girl some stories and we pray and she goes to bed.
Hang out on the couch.

9:00 head upstairs for bed. So tired! Little reading to relax me.
10:00 lights out

Told you…so exciting! I really wanted to do another Day in the Life for the weekend, but it’s hard to have the camera out all day long!

Check out my other DITLs here.

I’m linking up to Laura’s Day in the Life. (She did a whole week…amazing!)

So, today, I’m posting in “stream of consciousness”. Why, yes, I was an English minor and took all literature classes to fulfill the requirement. That said, this probably isn’t true to the literary form, but it’s the best I’ve got.

First off, my heart has broken for Boston this week. If you’ve read this blog for more than a month, you know that I LOVE all things Boston…the accent, the teams, the city, the history. If it weren’t so expensive to live there, I think I could’ve convinced my man that we should live nearby. I want my kids to say “pahk” not “y’all”. Oh well. Anyway, to see such a huge day of celebration end in attack makes me sick. I’m sick for the injured, for the families of those lost, and for those who didn’t get to finish the race. I want to be there. I don’t think I could help in any way, but I want to be part of the solidarity that’s come in response. I felt the same way about Newton, CT. I wanted everyone to know that I am from Connecticut. That my heart is breaking. I hope that doesn’t sound wrong, that I want to be there. It’s just hard to have a breaking heart so far away. But I know that the race will be run next year, and it will again be a joyous occasion. In the meantime, I pray that they find who is responsible and that justice is served.
I’ve cried more since Monday than I did on Monday. The touching tributes and moving stories get me every time. The Yankees played “Sweet Caroline” I mean, given that rivalry, what a tribute! And if you’d really like to shed some tears, watch this video. Oh my.

As much as I complained about the weather in Texas last summer and fall, let me just say that winter and spring have been fantastic! I loved being outside this winter. We went to the zoo so much (the Texans hibernate, so it was empty). And spring has been beautiful. I realized this morning that there is something lacking, though. I didn’t see crocus popping up through the snow. There is no forsythia. But the days are gorgeous. I can even handle a thunderstorm now and then. The first tornado warning, though? I’m out of here!

When I was a freshman in college, we had this place called Rita’s across the street from campus. I didn’t have a car, so I walked there. I’ve dreamed of Rita’s ever since (it closed that summer). Guess what?! They have one here! My man and I got to go a few weeks ago. It’s just as good as I remembered! I got vanilla gelato and Swedish Fish italian ice. Oh my! Heavenly!

The kids and I are heading back to the land of my birth in a few weeks…otherwise known as Connecticut. I can’t wait! I keep telling myself, “It will be different. Your parents won’t be there. You’re just visiting.” But I can’t curb my enthusiasm. I just can’t wait!

We took away Buddy’s pacifier last week. Poor boy didn’t know what hit him. But it’s been 7 days and he’s finally settling in to a new normal. I miss it, especially when he’s really tired and wants to just whine. I know this is for the best, and I didn’t even cave and give it back to him. Go me!

My man turns 30 tomorrow. We threw a fun party last week. I had big plans; I was going to pick a theme, buy 30-inspired paper goods, have a meal catered. Then real life happened. So we had blue plates, pizza, wings, and soda. Know what? I think it was more fun that way. I enjoyed talking to friends. I didn’t stress. So great! I did create this wall art, though, made up of pics of my man. (I know, I know, the photography skills are out of this world!)

Okay, that’s all I’ve got for now. I need to go nap.

We’ve been crazy busy this month! At the end of February we drove to Colorado for a week of winter fun. Due to a blizzard in west Texas (for real..in Texas!) we left a day late and ended up with a 14 hour drive instead of an 11 hour drive. I’ll let you ask my man how much fun I am on road trips and leave the rest to your imagination. Boy, was I ready to get somewhere!

We skied, snowshoed, played in the snow, and hung out with friends and family. What a fun week! I was so sad to see it end and I think I cried all the way out of Colorado. We’re definitely going back, and I’m studying the real estate.

Somewhere in New Mexico…one of my favorite photos of the trip.

Garden of the Gods…first chance to play in the snow and wear winter hats!

Taking our girl up the gondola to ski!

A few weeks later we took off for Florida, for a visit with my parents in their ocean-front condo. My man couldn’t join us (someone had to stay home and pay for the trip, right?), so that was sad. The kids and I soaked up the sun, dug in the sand, and splashed in the pool. As wonderful as the trip was, sleeping in the same room as my kids and getting up early every morning with my starving toddler (ever had a toddler wake up screaming “cereal bar!”?) wore me out. But my parents were great, even treating me to an awesome massage. We came home ready to be home but so very sad to leave all at the same time.

Now we’re home, rushing around buying groceries and cleaning the house for my in-laws who arrive tomorrow night. I tell ya, April is gonna see mighty boring after our busy March!

Four weeks ago I woke up to find my closet rearranged. He moved all of my clothes so that I had a shelf devoted to Valentine’s Day. He had a gift for each day up until Valentine’s Day. Let me tell you, I’ve never been so excited to wake up as I have been this month! In fact, getting up has been much harder since I have no more gifts. He outdid himself, though. I got things like a Sonic gift card, a bag of gummy bears, a box of Nerds,  a Starbucks gift card. Fun stuff!

Here’s the kicker. Right after Christmas I found an idea on Pinterest to celebrate Valentine’s advent with a gift every day from February 1st through the 14th. I thought this would be awesome! Then my man outdid me with a gift for 4 weeks.

I wanted to share my gifts, not to brag, but because I thought these were some seriously great ideas and wanted to share. They were easy to find and cheap to buy. The blog where I found the ideas has the printables for you, but I wanted to make my own cards. It felt more personal that way.

Day 1: This could be any heart-shaped box or candy. My man loves these, so this was an easy pick.

Day 2: Now, if I were getting chocolate I loved, it would’ve been more chocolate and a lot less nut, but I was thinking of my man here.

Day 3: I loved this day! It was a Tuesday, so he has Bible study at 5:30 am. He forgot his lunch and his breakfast. I made his lunch and stuck two muffins in the box. Then the kids and I delivered them to his car while he was at Bible study. I love surprising him like that!

Day 4: Pretty self-explanatory

Day 5: I went cheap on this one and took our kids’ bouncy balls. You could also use Bounce laundry products, but that doesn’t sound as fun .

Day 6: Not gonna lie, making this card made me feel artistic. Mostly because I can’t draw anything better than a stick figure. But look at that cute little robin!

Day 7: This can be any treat, but these rank among the top 5 for my man.

Day 8: I’m looking forward to getting this out when the weather gets a little warmer!

Day 9: Of course I went with strawberry because it’s so festive!

Day 10: I used one of the Crush bottles for this one. It took a little work to sneak it out of his 6-pack, though.

Day 11: I found the take-out boxes at the dollar store. I had some red felt and sort of made my own version of Martha Stewart’s fortune cookies. My version did not include a trip to the store for supplies…hooray!

I threw in a few conversation hearts to help fill the box. I almost tossed in Whoppers, but then realized the irony of that paired with some “fortunes” might not be a good fit.

Day 12: He got pretty excited about the Pop Rocks.

Day 13: A jar with 10 things I love about my man.

Day 14: Today I gave him his gift and a sweet card.

All together now…awww!!! Seriously, it didn’t take much effort, but it was fun for both of us!

But all of that ended on Friday. I was supposed to have a day to myself. A friend offered to watch my angels while I got a much-needed eyebrow wax, ran some errands, and cleaned the house. Then Thursday night she told me her son was sick. Bummer! She said I could still bring the kids since it seemed to be a 24-hour thing. I declined.

Friday afternoon Buddy threw up all over my carpeted stairs. Fun times. He ended up being sick a few times before bed and then went to bed and slept all night. (I should’ve just brought him to my friend’s since he already caught the virus.) Saturday we went to the park and out to lunch since he seemed to be better. Sunday morning my man and Baby Girl joined the club. Buddy had problems on the other end. Fun times, again. When I got home from church (because I had to teach a class), Buddy seemed fine but the other two looked like they were dying. I cleaned up throw up, snuggled babies, washed laundry, and tried to keep myself sane. To reward myself for my efforts I put Buddy in the car and headed to treat myself at Chipotle. About 30 seconds into our trip he threw up all over the car. Fun times, yet again. At this point, while cleaning up a car seat (so not easy by the way), I just sat and sobbed. This was actually not fun, not at all.

So, today is Wednesday. Right? I’ve lost track. Baby Girl and Buddy continue to fight this lovely plague. Every time I think we’re in the clear someone proves me wrong. My man returned to work today. Meanwhile I cuddled my babies. And watched Netflix kids, lots of Netflix kids.

Hopefully this ends soon. Don’t get me wrong, I love my pajamas and my couch, but I could use a change of scenery. Boy, am I glad we’ve been relatively germ-free up until this week. If we hadn’t, my sanity would be long gone!