Shower

Colder temps are back, but fortunately we are not seeing the heavy snow that other parts of the country are experiencing.
I have been busy getting things organized. We are in the process of moving the bunk beds, double bed and dresser into one room and then one room is empty with nothing but toys. The boys have such a hard time cleaning up and I, of late, have not been very diligent and making them do it. So, the hope is that one room is strictly for sleeping and dressing and the other room is all play. This will mean no tripping over toys in the middle of the night, no toys stuffed under beds, hopefully with lots of floor space to play no toys strung all over the house, etc. We will see how it works.
We have also put B on a reward system as far as the tv and computer. Seems like he is getting lazy and that is all he wants to do, not get outside and play. I bought some popsicle sticks and each one is 5 minutes. He gets them for a few chores around the house and for whenever we feel like he deserves one, obeys well, etc. (The other day him and some friends were playing and one little boy was not being nice to the girls and B stuck up for them, so I took the opportunity to praise him and reward him with minutes for standing up for the underdog) So far the last 3 days he has only had about 15-20 minutes a day but he does not seem too bothered by it. Hopefully he will learn about saving up his 'minutes' and having to make choices as to whether he would rather play a computer game or watch cartoons/movie. Again, we will see how it goes but at least the last couple of days it has taken away from falling into too much tv, particularly with nice weather around the corner.
We all seem to be at the tail end of a cold that keeps lingering. I think just about everyone here has dealt with it for weeks. I am confident that mine will not go away until after the baby is born. Oh well, if that is the worst of my pregnancy, I can handle it. I have my 20 week appt next week. Half way through!!!
With J being sick, his cold has settled into his eyes and he looks pitiful. He did not get a nap today, so guess what happened today during their shower. He fell asleep. At 5:30. We decided to let him sleep and hopefully he will go all night!

Cleaning

On a spring cleaning kick here! (Although I woke up to a little bit of snow today.) Got all of the 18 mo and 4 T stuff put away!
Last Thursday the boys and I headed over the pass about 45 minutes away to a friends house and spent the night. Her boys are very close in age to ours and they had a great time playing outside!

2nd Birthday

What a blessing the last two years have been. God has given us a wonderful gift in J. We thought the first was going to be strong willed and independent, boy were we wrong! Such determination but those curls and smile just melt your heart! He has a great laugh and is all boy! Most of the ones we invited to his birthday were either sick or had other stuff going on but had a great time with a few friends. Now we just have to teach the 2 boys how to share! Just a few pics to enjoy

1 accident

J had one accident today, otherwise he made it to the bathroom every other time! Woo hoo. He even initiated a few times! He has the routine down. He goes into the bathroom, gets undressed, gets himself situated and then calls us in there to tell us he needs his treat. He does his business then sits there and eats his treat (Pez candy).
B has started using a new word the last week or so....'embarrasing'. So funny to hear him use it and I can only wait until he says 'Mom, you are embarrasing me'. Today he was trying to talk to JR about something and I answered the question instead of waiting for dad to answer it. B looked at me and said "Mom, I was talking to Dad and I do not want to hear from you right now." Not sure who he has picked this phrase up from, but I have heard it several times too.
Got outside today in a short sleeve shirt. Seems like we have not seen much of the sun the last few days. Sure does wonders for you to get some sun.
Having a few people over for J's second birthday tomorrow. Will try to post some pictures.

Coyote

Two posts in two days!! (people are starting to comment on my lack of posts...)
JR was so excited about his coyote hunt yesterday. He finally saw one and was able to shoot it. He brought it home and B was so excited. He was trying to get J to come look at it. J was whining and kept saying 'no'. Finally B said "it is okay, J, it will not hurt you. It is dead, daddy shot it." I don't think J ever went out there. Glad to know B does not shy away from it all like I do!
Here is a recent pic of the boys, out of the shower and JR with his kill.

March

They say March tends to come in like a lamb and leave like a lion. It is proving thus far to be true. The last couple of nights we have been below zero.
The fever, cold, cough continues to make its rounds at the house so probably just as well that we are not missing out on nice weather.
JR will take his next book test on Friday. His boss told me he wanted to talk with him further about his program and getting his next book ordered. (This is good news and a sign that the boss is going to persevere through this slump and wants to keep JR on board). He is having some minor surgery next week on his hand. Seems he has what I would call a free floating tendon that locks up and makes it difficult to work. The orthopeadic said there is an easy and hard surgery. The easy surgery is doing it in his office all by feel and the hard way is actually having the camera and doing it all by sight. So, hopefully the recovery process won't be too long, but if it has to be done, which there appears no other fix, now is the time with him being out of work a few more weeks.
The potty training with J is still there. We have not been real consistent with it. However, we were out somewhere the other day and I was not totally paying attention to him. He obviously needed to go or had just gone because I found him wandering around without clothes on and had peed on the floor.
Next week is J's second birthday and spring break. I think it is suppose to warm up so hoping to do something fun.

Hum Drum

We are just in a quiet season right now, not much going on. We got a couple of inches of snow yesterday with more expected tonight. I love looking at the white stuff but sure miss the sunshine. With daylight savings time coming up, at least the days are going to be longer.
I have been fighting a cold for about 10 days now. The boys have both had fever on and off for a couple of days. JR is hunkering down at home for the month of March. Hopefully the construction business will start picking up again in April. He is studying for another book test. He is just over 1/2 way through his apprenticeship and continues to do well with his books!
Just wanted to touch base.