In Which Mommy's Computer is STILL NOT FIXED

Yep - again... last night I came home and sat down at my computer and the monitor wouldn't turn on - the computer still sounded like it was running, but nothing would show up on the screen - and the computer wouldn't turn off to restart... So it's looking like twice now we have sent my computer in to be fixed and twice now they have fixed the result of the problem, but not the cause of it.   Sigh..... So I will try and add pictures later, but for now I'm typing this on my tablet....

Dan got back into town on Monday morning, we picked him up from the airport then since the kids had the day off school for MLK Jr. Day we all went to the Museum of Nature and Science. We all had a great time - The kids always want to see more than we have time for when we go there - so it's nice to be able to say - we have a season pass - we'll come back soon (THANK YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA JONES!!!!!). I got some fun pictures, but I will have to add them later...

James' birthday was this week - it was on Thursday, but we celebrated on Friday.  Dwayne and Nicole and family came over and we had dinner and cupcakes.  James had a blast opening presents and reading his new books, but he had a bit of a fever and was kinda tired.  Friday night I went out to pick up a wedding present and when I came home (when he should have been asleep) he was up screaming - so I picked him and and snuggled him for a bit and he just lay on my shoulder and at one point he started rubbing his ear, so Saturday morning we took him in to the doctor and sure enough he had a double ear infection.  So he is now on antibiotics - still running a bit of a fever and really tired and out of it - but he slept a lot better last night, so hopefully the pain is going away.  He and daddy stayed home from church so mommy could do singing time and choir - but when we got him up for dinner and medicine, he was acting a lot more normal.  Poor James got to spend his birthday weekend sick though :(

Saturday we were invited to a wedding, we didn't want to leave a sick baby with a babysitter though, so I took Anna as my date and we went.  The wedding was lovely and we had a great time chatting with friends.  I think Anna also had a blast being out with just Mommy :).  Mommy kept her out too late though cuz she was tired and cranky today :)

Otherwise our week was pretty normal - school, preschool, laundry, errands, piano lessons, library, work, etc.  Poor Dan has been worked to near exhaustion (especially with a crank baby waking us up at night) thankfully he won't be traveling again for a month. 

Mommy Becomes A Zombie Part 2

Dan stayed home on Monday, though he had to spend most of it working anyway - but it gave me a chance to get the grocery shopping done.  Monday night for FHE, we went to the Nickel-a-Play - a fun little place near by.  The kids had a blast (except James who couldn't care less about the games - he only wanted candy....)  The kids had a ton of fun playing games and winning tickets - then they had a blast picking out their prizes at the end.  We found that a nickelcade is a great place to take cute little kids, because everyone wants to give them tickets and candy and coins.... the hard part was cutting it off when we were trying to get them home and to bed.  :)

One of the best parts about it was that a lot of the arcade games there were free - games that gave tickets and some "big" games still cost coins, but there were a lot of games the kids could play even after they had used their allotment of coins.

Mommy's favorite is Skee Ball - Eileen proved to be quite good at it - winning herself a good sized chunk of tickets.  Evie had a lot of fun trying it out, but had a hard time getting to go past the metal cover since she was close to throwing it than rolling it.

Oddly enough, this little merry-go-round was a huge hit with the kids....

Our week since has mostly included the usual insanity and lack of sleep.  Dwayne and Nicole came and watched the kids so I could go to choir.  

Evie has preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays and she just LOVES it - and she loves being able to talk about 'when i was at school' when her older siblings are talking about their days at school too.  

Saturday morning we went to a baptism - it was wonderful!  James was rather beastly during the whole thing though, so we went home after and I put him down for a nap and he slept all afternoon.  The weather outside has been GORGEOUS the last couple days and so we spent Saturday afternoon outside enjoying the weather. 

Aaron lost his first tooth on Saturday - the only problem is that he lost his lost tooth - he didn't even remember losing it - he just realized that it was gone.  

When we got home from church, the same wonderful weather prevailed, so we spent the time between church and dinner outside enjoying it!  We played tag and James made a muddy mess of himself going down the slide.  

Now we are all eagerly awaiting Dan's homecoming tomorrow - though he may need 2 days sleep to recover from his week...

Mommy Becomes A Zombie - Part 1

Dan was out of town through late Friday this week - and weeks are always much more exhausting when he's out of town.  It always feels like I can't seem to get anywhere near enough sleep.

Monday, my friend Heather came over to hang out in the afternoon and to get my help with doing the primary bulletin board.  After getting stuff together and heading over, we decided we needed a few more things - but it was too late that night.  So she came over again on Tuesday and we got more stuff together.  LOL - I spent 8 months as Primary President meaning to get that done - and we finally manage to get it done 2 weeks after I have been released.  :)

Wednesday was the normal insanity - we went to the library in the morning - it was really good to see Nicole and the kids again - we haven't seen them much since the holidays started.  It was also nice to get back to normal routines.  Dwayne came and watched the kids on Wednesday night so I could go to Choir.

Thursday was Preschool for Evie and Piano lessons in the evening - by this point in the week, I was worried about making the drive across town and falling asleep at the wheel - but a good audio book kept me awake and us safe.   Then we quickly grabbed some dinner and I bundled the kids up to go to the Relief Society Activity.

Dan finally got home on Friday, but it was pretty late at night - after the kids were in bed.  Friday was also Aaron's birthday - I can't believe he is 6 already!!  He is getting so big and so smart!

Saturday morning we spent the day cleaning house (and car) and getting ready for Aaron's birthday party.  I've been feeling kinda guilty about never really doing much for his birthdays - they are close enough to the holidays, that I'm usually to tired to contemplate doing anything but a little family party with cake and ice cream.  So this year we let him invite some friends over for a birthday party.  Dan blew up balloons and made swords and we made pizza and had spider web cupcakes

If you notice Eileen isn't in any of the pictures, it's because she went to hide out someplace quiet while the party was in full ear-splitting swing!  LOL - she's already starting to act like the big sister :P

Happy New Year!!

We have had a mostly quiet week - Dan worked every day but New Year's Day, trying to get a big project done before he left on his trip Sunday. Dan and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve watching a movie, doing a puzzle and drinking some sparkling cider.  After the bustle of the holidays, it always feels nice to do a quiet New Year's Eve at home. 

Friday, we met up with Heather and Chasity and Jonah and her boys at the museum of Nature and Science.  We got a family membership with the money Grandma and Grandpa Jones sent for Christmas and had a fun time checking out some of the exhibits. 

One of the kids favorite was in the Health area - lots of fun interactive exhibits about our bodies and how they work and how to take care of them.  It also had a great little kid area to keep James contained which was a lifesaver since it was insanely busy!!

Their other favorite part was climbing on the statues outside....

 

Weather turned cold and snowy yesterday - we've been shoveling snow and bundling up to keep warm and staying inside when we can - which means the kids are all going a bit stir crazy and are looking forward to starting school again!

Newell and Becky and family stopped by to have dinner with us - then Becky took the guys to the airport.  It was a lot of fun and a great dinner - but as usual, Dan and I overcooked.... lol - lots of leftovers!  Dan's going to be in Vegas until Friday - back just in time for Aaron's birthday.