Printable Valentines... and More SNOW!!

Morning! We made it through the weekend! It was a snowy, snowy weekend!! Mr. Bitsy works for the government so he had off work yesterday and today because of the snow! We had to take Bitsy #2 to the doctor yesterday and I could not believe some of the roads! All the main roads were clear (and dry, by some miracle), but there were no turning lanes and there were still a few inches of slush on the back roads.

What a mess!! And guess what! They're calling for another 10 - 20 inches today through tomorrow. What will we do?! I love looking out and seeing all the snow, but we're running out of muscle to shovel all this snow!

On a fun note, my printable valentines are doing well!! Hop on over to bitsysgreetings.etsy.com to grab some up! Purchase once and print as many times as you'd like!

Snowy, Snowy Day!

It's a very snowy day today!! All the snow they were calling for is definitely here! It started yesterday afternoon & was very heavy through the night. With the wind, there are snow drifts everywhere and it's hard to tell just how much there is, but you can see it's A LOT!

We already tried to get the tractor/plow out of the barn & it just wouldn't budge... we dug out as much as we could and it still wouldn't budge! I can't wait to be back in the city! Of course, then I'll worry about my parents out here...

Bitsy #1 came out for a few minutes! She didn't last long in snow up to her shoulders!!
It'll be a miracle if we get out for school on Monday!

More Snow

(Check out this really wonderful photo from Flickr--Go read about it. LOVE it! http://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/2959326615/)

I feel like such a child. I can't concentrate on anything this morning because I'm waiting for the snow to begin! They're calling for up to 24 inches! Eeee!!

I'm not nuts about getting stuck inside, but we're all set. The kids & I went out yesterday just to get out of the house. We have flashlights, candles, wood, a generator. Oh yes, and toilet paper.

Let the snowing begin!

The things we do as parents...

As soon as I became a parent, I was amazed at the things I did without even thinking twice--Things I never thought I'd do, let alone enjoy doing. Things that just became part of our routine.

I'll admit, after being a parent for 5 years, I definitely see signs of parental burn-out in my life! There are some days I just can't stand looking for that special stuffy anymore, days I want to throw all the little pieces of toys out the window so we don't spend so much time picking up, days I'm thoroughly ready for a vacation from my life.

I think everyone has days like that. No matter how much you love what you do (parenting or otherwise), there are times you need a break.

Well, do you know what Monday brought? One of those days! Bitsy #1 was such a sweet and calm baby. She rarely threw fits. So when it came time to give up the pacifier, we did it pretty easily. Yes, there were a few tear-filled days, but she used it only for nap and bed time pretty early on.

Bitsy #2, however, has really tested our patience! He is absolutely the sweetest little man... when he wants to be. I've never met such a cranky baby, though, and I've met a lot of babies! So the pacifier has stuck around for much longer than we would have liked. It is definitely the 'silencer' for him.

But they've been disappearing. One by one, they must be growing feet and crawling out the door. Or maybe the little man himself is hiding them somewhere. Either way, they're gone. He lost his last one Monday morning while we were heading out the door to take big sister to preschool.

I looked EVERYWHERE for any of them. Nothing. So we dropped Bitsy #1 off at school and #2 screamed the entire 20 minutes to the nearest town with a store with pacifiers. No joke. He was happy once we got there, had a nice distraction. We found the aisle, grabbed the right brand (yes, he's particular) and guess what!

The missing pacifier dropped onto the floor of the store. Yup, there it was. I still have no idea where it came from. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of miracle I left the store with any brown hair left. Talk about your early greying...

Gates Foundation Pledges $10 Billion For Vaccines

I knew I liked Bill Gates. And now the fact that he understands how important vaccines are... wow, just makes him that much better. Yes, I laugh at all the Bill Gates jokes--Especially the Simpsons episodes with him--but this makes me warm & fuzzy inside.

You can read the full article here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123101119

This is my favorite part:
The foundation said up to 7.6 million children under 5 could be saved through 2019 as a result of the donation. It also estimates that an additional 1.1 million kids would be saved if a malaria vaccine can be introduced by 2014. A tuberculosis vaccine would prevent even more deaths.

Disappeared...

(Photo above from allysonhill.etsy.com We LOVE our Auto Trash from her--This is her Auto Sneeze. Adorable.)

Yes, I've officially disappeared this week. There are two big reasons!
#1, we're all sick. Yes, all of us. Turns out the little man has a really bad ear infection on one side & his other ear was on the way. Poor kid has been miserable for more than a week. Just when he's starting to come out of it, the rest of us started feeling awful. Not just sick--miserably sick.
Hubby put it well--He said with the other three of us sick, it's going to take all three of us to keep the well boy in check! Yup, I know he's feeling better. Want to know how I know?
He just stole the camera and tried to plug the usb into the computer. What a smart little rascal.

The #2 reason I disappeared is hopefully exciting. I have my fingers crossed, but am trying not to get too excited! We found out about a 'loan' through the county. I say 'loan' because it's more of a grant. They received stimulus money and have set up a loan for those who purchase a foreclosed home. 0% interest and we don't have to pay it back if we stay in the home for 15 years. So it COULD be good, but oddly enough, there aren't many foreclosed homes available. I keep hearing about how many there are, but my list of possibilities includes only about 7... 4 of which require me really looking into the neighborhood first. So cross your fingers for us--It would mean us buying our first home by the summer! Woohoo!

Date Night

So on Monday night, I got to go out on a date with this ridiculously handsome nerd. :) (Don't worry--he's a self-professed nerd! I'm not name-calling!) I'm so lucky. We really need to go out on more dates. We keep thinking we will and then for one reason or another, we don't. We're too tired, it's hard to get a sitter, I feel bad asking my parents, I hate how it feels when the kids cry or tell me they're sad when we leave...

But it's so important. I got to feel like I had no responsibilities for a few hours. I didn't have to share Joshua with anyone. I ate all of my dinner. By myself. Little mouths were not there stealing my food!

And most importantly, we talked. It wasn't about anything special or earth-shattering. We actually talk a lot, but it's somehow different when you're all by yourselves on the elusive date-night.

(Really old photo of Mr. Bitsy... but he's still that handsome...probably just has more bags under his eyes from the kids!!)