It's a snow day!

We got a ton of snow the end of February and first day of March... I think total we got about 12-14 inches.. Craziness... It has also been SO COLD! It was below zero for a few days and made me realize how glad I am to not be in ND. :) Also made me realize how excited I am for spring and to be able to play in our back yard. Here are some pics of the frigidness and the snow. 

Just an update on how big Roxy is getting

She was helping Brian shovel and would shovel a scoop and then try and lick the rest of the snow off.

This one doesn't mind the snow at all, or the cold... In fact I think she was loving life!

A little romp for the big dog!

And this is where Mason and I stayed... nice and warm inside. :)

Not as brave as Madi and Brian... We stayed inside where it was nice and warm.
Mason's birthday bash pics are coming up shortly! Stay tuned! :)

Blast from the past...

Madi told this story a long time.... I was still pregnant with Mason, but I never got around to posting it. It is one of our favorites of her story telling... Just wanted to post it to share it. :)

A Saturday afternoon

Saturday Brian was working so we took off to go visit him at work and enjoy the awesome weather. It was a beautiful 40 something degrees and the sun was shining. Felt so good and made lots of great puddles for the madi. :) and roxy. :)

Mason tried out madi's car seat. Maybe you think I'm a horrible mother for putting my 20lb kid in a forward facing car seat...

I have my reasons... And they are much to long to explain. Just know there were reasons that I justified it. Right or wrong....

Anyways I thought he looked so grown up! Can't believe he will be one in a few short weeks. 

This girl has always loved puddles. I don't know if she has ever passed them up. She went through 2 pairs of boots and 3 pairs of socks. We need to find some water boots quick! She grew out of her ones from last year. 

Roxy looks skinny and tall here. She really is growing so fast. It's hard to believe. 

I love this pic. Too cute!

Saturdays like this make weekends awesome. Glad we had such nice weather and it made me hungry for some spring!! Can't wait to see when it come here in the banana belt of MT. It's been awhile since I could feel like spring would arrive before June. :)

Valentines!

Being a mom of a preschooler brought a whole new meaning to valentines day. We got to make valentines for all her classmates. Super fun..... Thanks to Pinterest. People are so creative that I don't have to be. It's magical. :)

We made heart shaped crayons for her classmates. Super fun and she loved them and sounded like her class did too. I was just happy to have something besides dye filled candy to hand out. :) being dye sensitive has brought a whole new meaning to holidays too. 

But over all it was fun. Here are some pics from making them. 

She painted a lot. Like 50 pictures. Then decided it was time to help with the crayons. 

She wrote all of her classmates names. 

That's them cooling.... It was super fast becUse it was like -20 outside. 

I also signed up to take cookies. I knew there would be a lot of dye... So I made special pink cookies with sprinkles that were dye free. :) so glad people are so crafty and post their creations online so I can find anything I need. :)

Mason is growing growing growing. :) he is really cruising and getting into everything. He knows the "no-no's" and crawls super fast if a door or cupboard opens to one of the forbidden items. His favorite right now.... The toilet. Yup nasty... But he knows the sound of the door opening and wherever he is, when we are downstairs he will take off carling as fast as he can to head towards the throne. Maybe he likes it so muh because he never really gets a chance to check it out? I don't know. Gross all the same. 

Also he took his first steps on Tuesday 2/11. That was fun! He will stand on his own all the time now, and can even squat down and pop right back up without holding on to anything. He is eating tons of food... But a favorite is black beans and ritz crackers. He will mow down on those as if he hasn't been fed in days! So funny. 

This is something he does a lot but I'm having a very hard time capturing it. He will put an object in his mouth and take off with it still in there and get to his destination and then start playing with whatever toy he packed. So funny!! But so hard to get a picture. Madi's markers are favorites....

Valentines day was Friday, so no work or preschool so we got to start the day out right with pink pancakes!!!( Dye free) beets are magical for coloring things. :)

Oh and some sprinkles on top. Because everything tastes better with sprinkles right? :)

Here is the big boy standing for a pic!

Another attempt to catch the packing off a toy... Not so successful. 

We love that roxy is a gentle giant... Just like we read about... Happy that she lets mason crawl all over her and she barely moves. 

I was trying to get their attention I thought this was a good pic to show roxy's growth. 

That's our February so far! 

Roxy.... Oh my roxy...

We got a dog. I've mentioned this before... Not new news. Pretty sure I also mentioned I thought we were out of our minds to do it. Well I still think we mad a mistake..... That being said, she's pretty awesome and as much as I struggle fighting her and her 60 lbs. I love her and I'm glad we bought her. :)

Madi and roxy napping together. 

Mason and roxy have a pretty sweet relationship worked out. He gets to toss his food overboard, roxy gets a treat and I don't have to mop up any food! A win for everyone. :)

But we don't let this happen very often... Don't judge, or stop judging. Ha ha

This is the only one in the house that roxy always listens too. Panda rules the dog. Quite well actually. Roxy would like to play with panda so badly you can feel the energy burning off her... Panda would like to scratch roxy's eyeballs out and her emotion is so strong you can hear it from the opposite corner of the house. But panda keeps roxy in check and roxy burns off a lot of energy trying to get panda to play with her. Win win :)

Some people have dog beds.... We just have a lovesac. :) Roxy decided to make this her resting place and it makes me giggle. It's perfect, like they were made for each other. Roxy will be ginormous and in the way and our lovesac is ginormous and in the way. So I let it happen. :)

In case you've been in withdrawal for madi-isms here is a good one for you. 

Madi had a fun sparkly dress on, and it was new so she was twirling and carrying on and on about how pretty she was. Then she said, "this is just like my dress to get married in! Is this my wedding dress??" I told her no because there were a lot of things that had to happen before she got married. Like grow older, go to school go to college, go on... Then I get cut off and madi says, "ok you can quit talking now. I'm done listening"

Alrighty then.... Good chat. 

They are crazy! It was so cold outside!!! Like -15 and they decided to go hot tubbing. But they had fun!

It's a good day. :)

We have lost our minds :)

There are times I believe I have lost it... Today is one of those days. About 4:30 mason wakes up needing an early morning breakfast. After he eats I promptly go back to sleep until about 6:30 when a 4 yr old decides sleeping is for the birds and there is a small face in my face trying to wake me up. Notice I say trying. :) well I somehow halfway coherently tell her to go play in her room. She does (this has just started and I love it!) and then about 15 min later she is back dressed like a garage sale find with lime green tights, a black/ purple Halloween skirt, a dressy black, pink and white flower top with a brown and pink beanie. Oh and red sunglasses. :) she proceeds to see I'm still in bed, sleeping, which is not what she wants so she turns on my light and says, "it's morning time!! You have to get up mom! And make me my breakfast!" So I finally get up, I'm not going to lie, it's kind of embarrassing that my 4 yr old gets me up like this. Pretty sure this is a flash back to when I was 15/ 16 and my mom had to do the same thing. :( apparently I still like my sleep. :)

Then the day begins... Roxy needs to pee and eat breakfast and she's so excited to see moving bodies her tail swings hard back and forth and I'm sure something will break. Mason wakes up due to all the racket and it becomes a mad dash to get everyone fed before they start eating each other. :) oh wait roxy has already had a taste of both the children. (We are still working on that) madi gets grumpy quick and mason's patience has shortened into none at all. So roxy is whining to get out, madi is whining to get fed and mason is letting out shrieks at the top of his lungs. * this is where we cue the song, "just another day in paradise" * 

Eventually everyone gets fed and goes potty or gets changed into a clean diaper.  :) and I call that a successful morning. And now it's 8:00... 

I'm trying to be good about taking roxy for a walk and training her on a leash and then playing with her to get some puppy energy out. It makes the day a lot easier if she is tuckered out. But to actually make it outside to play.... Ugh.... Such a battle sometimes. Like today.... Mason takes a morning nap after he fills up on second breakfast.... Then madi is usually a little calmer as well and can sit and color while I go outside or she will come with roxy and I. Today she couldn't decide.... So I informed her I would be in the back yard playing if she needed me she could come get me. Well it's cold today and snowing.... And blowing... And I've become acclimated to nicer less snowy/blowing weather so I'm not as excited to be outside. Quick trip I tell roxy. After playing outside and cleaning up the large bombs she leaves :) I'm heading back in when madi decides she needed to come outside. So back out we go because she had gotten dressed all by herself... (That's another story in itself) but then roxy is so excited to see a little eye level human in poofy clothes just right for the chewing. Madi takes off running for her swing set and roxy is nipping at her heels. I'm trying to call roxy so she will come back to me and play with a ball instead. Ha! Such a joke. Sometimes I feel like I'm actually training her and she is doing so good... Then you add a small human and everything  I thought she had learned is out the window. :( this is where in my mind I'm wondering what were we thinking getting a dog. Roxy gets a glove and takes off with it, madi begins screaming/crying and I'm calling roxy trying to get her to come and all she does is play keep away..... And she does it very effectively. So I try to herd madi in the garage and then roxy come flying through the doggy door and licks madi and helps me take off her poofy snow clothes. I try to get madi inside and keep roxy in the garage and then before I know it I'm the only one in the garage. Eventually roxy is in the garage and madi and I are inside. And now it's 9:30. 

Hopefully I can learn how to train all the creatures that live in my house. :) I have a dog training book, a difficult child discipline book, and what to expect in the first year all sitting on my night stand. Not that I ever get around to reading more than a page at a time. Once I finally make it to bed and I pick up the book to read, brian usually wakes me up to put the book back on the nightstand and I'm out like a light in less than 30 seconds. :)

Anyways the picture that started this whole rant is this one:

And 

And all I want is to be like...

And now that I've used my free 30 mins that I had to document... Everyone is a little more wild and ready to start the whole process over.... Oh yup and there is mason waking up. :)

I'm off to another day in paradise. :)

Madi'ism of the day

We read a lot of labels due to madi's sensitivity to artificial dyes. This has been going on for about 2 years. Anyways today madi was lookin at the ketchup bottle and "reading" the label. "Oh well this has cheese, hot dogs, and pepperoni in it" and then lookin at the mustard bottle, "uh oh this one has gum, rice and chicken in it"

Funny girl. Cracks me up with her stories. 

Today she feel asleep like this. 

Cute boy

11 months old today! Can't believe we will be celebrating his 1st birthday in a month! 

And she already needs a new kennel. Oh my. She will be 5 months old tomorrow. :)