Stir crazy!

I am so tired of winter!
Yesterday was a beautiful day though... about 4o degrees, blue skies, sunshine. The anniversary of the day Ken first told me he loved me. A simply beautiful, special, life changing day. Then and now.
But back to winter... blech! It doesnt help that at least one of us has been sick for the last week and a half. Fevers. Coughs. Sleepiness. Some days I feel like I am on house arrest because I cant take the kids anywhere to play. We have gone to the grocery store and CVS a few times for necessities, but I try to make those trips as quick and painless as I can (for myself ;) and for other shoppers...) and we have driven to take lunch to Ken a few times to simply get out of the house. In fact one day we took him lunch AND dinner. Yes, its about a 45-50 minute drive one way but I needed some sanity! Ken has been super busy at work preparing for an audit, so his days and nights have been long, which leaves me going even stir crazier (I dont care if thats not the correct way of saying that....it came to my head and I liked it!) He has drill this weekend, and a class next weekend. And lets face it, I LOVE my children, but mommy needs a break! ;)
What I wouldnt do for a tropical beach vacation with nothing other than my husband, a good book, and a bathing suit. I am eating tropical Sunburst jelly beans right now though, so I guess I will have to settle for those!
This weather and being cooped up at home though has had some benefits! My house is CLEAN! I love it! Today though I am somewhat on a cleaning strike. Its saturday, I deserve a break!
Lets see...what have the kids been up to... other than coughing and being sick...
Joey is finally adjusting into his new kindergarten class. His program is full day here, which has been a big change for him, and he seems to be making some new friends now, which I think helps a lot. It has been so sad for me to hear him tell me he doesnt want to go to school every day. He is starting to read, and getting better at writing his letters and sounding out words to write on paper. He is also off the charts in math, which doesnt surprise me one bit. I'm pretty sure I know where he gets that from! But his one true love right now is Mario Kart. And that boy can drive!
I am looking forward to enrolling Ava in preschool next year. It has been hard for her to not see her daycare friends everyday, she is such a social little thing! I am also considering enrolling her in a dance class. She loves to sing and dance, and is just so funny! We have entered the stage though where getting her to eat meals is a CHORE. There are some things she will eat and eat and eat (like broccoli!, apples, and french fries) and others she will just simply refuse. (like just about everything else, especially meat) She is a good snacker though, so I try to make sure we have healthy snack choices, string cheese, fruit, vegetables, and let her load up on those as she gets hungry throughout the day.
Jacob is still potty training. He has lost some interest in it :( but I think that might be my fault, because I am a little lazy about it. We keep working on it, and he does go on the potty at least once or twice a day, but I think we are going to have a few months like this. So much for my diaper-less days coming any time soon! He is becoming more and more vocal, which has been great and not-so-great. I love when he says things like "thats so funny" or "will you lay down with me?" but am not so much loving the comments like "you're stupid" We are working on what is ok to say to people, and what is not ok to say at all. I'm thinking about enrolling him in preschool next year too at least for a couple days a week.
Kayla will be turning 8 in just a few weeks (8!!!! I seriousely have NO idea where the time has gone...she wasnt even a year old when Ken and I started dating!) and then should be coming to stay for her spring break about a week or so after that. Life sounds busy for her in Las Vegas, dance classes, and Girl Scouts, and such... hopefully she will get a chance to relax a little when she comes to visit! We dont have much planned for those weeks, other than hanging out as a family!
It seems my break from cleaning has abruptly come to an end.. someone has taken off all of the couch cushions and has decided its now time to sweep, mop, and vacumn the floor. Which would be awesome if him doing those things consisted of more than him swinging around the mop and broom and leaving my cleaning things scattered throughout the living room. I dont think I would have to worry about this at the beach! Gotta go!