Winter Blues

Pretty much right after our fun day sledding, winter took a sharp turn downhill. You may wonder why it's taken me nearly three months to finish my Christmas posts. Well, I'll tell you. It has been a rough couple of months around here.

It started on New Year's Eve. We were supposed to attend a party at a friend's house, but it was canceled last minute, so we decided to make a bunch of party food and let the kids stay up late. We had a great time, but unfortunately, later that night Callan came down with a fever and then Brad woke up with an icky tummy in the middle of the night. The next morning, he was still feeling pretty awful. I was determined to get my New Year's Day meal prepped and made, so I got to work in the kitchen preparing my chicken and black eyed peas. Then I played a few board games with the kids and we just hung out. By mid-afternoon, I knew that whatever was ailing Brad was ailing me, too. I ended up in bed by 6, feeling extremely nauseaus and just gross. Brad got stuck with the kids and preparing the rest of the dinner. Needless to say, I didn't consume a single black eyed pea on New Year's Day, leaving me with not an ounce of good luck for the whole year. I try not to think about it, but I do worry about my fate during the remainder of 2013.

these guys ate at least one bean, so they're good to go!

Over the next two months, we were hit twice with the dreaded stomach bug. I don't know how that is even possible, but it happened to us. I was the only one who escaped it, thank heavens, but Brad cleaned up more barf messes than he will ever care to remember. I am starting my kids on a grape juice for breakfast every morning regimen in the hopes that this doesn't happen to us again. (Or maybe I should just be sure to eat my black eyed peas on New Year's!)

Despite the sickly winter, these cuties made the most of it, always eager to perform...

I spent much of February on the couch or in my bed. February is always a very hard month for me because of the frigid cold temperatures here in Minnesota mixed with the gray days. I always spend much more time indoors than out, and I start feeling really lonely. This February was particularly dismal. I will elaborate more on that in a future post. In the following clip, you will see my kids being crazy while I veg on the couch watching mindless TV. This is how pretty much every evening in February went. It was awful.

Finally...March is here! And although it has averaged 20 degrees cooler than normal every day so far, I am thinking positively. The sun is shining, the days are longer, and I know that the snow will be gone sooner rather than later. We are almost there! And getting Leyton all decked out for Beach Day at preschool helped to get me in the mindset for warm weather and flip flops. I cannot wait to feel warmth again!

berry patch beach day 2013