Weekend Highlights

Last week was, for a variety of reasons, not the best. Both girls came down with an upper respiratory bug that was not quite the flu, but seemed far worse than an ordinary cold. Ellie had it worse, waking up several nights in a row with a fever and crying most pathetically, "I need medicine. I need honey." All of us were sleep-deprived, neither girl was eating well, and Ellie's fuse was thislong. Meanwhile, Josh is facing some extraordinarily stressful (re: unreasonable, at least in my opinion) demands at work, and everything bubbled over to the point that he was discouraged, frustrated, and overwhelmed. I felt helpless, because I can't do anything to improve his situation, or make the girls' illnesses subside faster; all I could do was hope the weekend would be better.

Thankfully, it was.

The highlights: 

The girls slept in to the unheard of hour of 7:30 on Saturday morning (Younger Amanda is mocking me for considering that sleeping in, especially since I was already up...). Ellie woke up happy. Elaina woke up like a teenager, which, because she's only 5 and not 15, was endlessly amusing to me.

We had a successful shopping outing, which included a large haul of fresh fruit at Costco, several new dress shirts for Josh at the mall (a Year of Yes thing, especially because he needed them quite badly), a new coffee company to try from Fresh Market (since 30/30 raised their prices and we can't/won't justify $16.99 for 12oz of beans), and cookies for the girls.

I made homemade horchata. I love getting horchata at Mexican restaurants, but I always assumed it would be too complicated to make at home. Au contraire. Easy-peasy and delicious. Meanwhile, Josh made steak tacos, beans, and guacamole. And I basically died and went to Heaven.

Tbone steak tacos with grilled onion and "Mexican butter", black beans, and horchata

While Josh was making dinner, I gave the girls makeovers with some of their Christmas makeup. They both wanted dress up clothes, and Ellie decided she wanted to be a princess when she grows up. They look pretty adorable to me. (And when did Elaina turn 15?)

After dinner, we Skyped with my parents. Ellie wants to know when she can talk to Gramma and Pampah on the iPad again.

On Sunday, Josh and Ellie went and bought all of us breakfast, and I steam mopped the floor and made soft batch chocolate chip cookies. In the afternoon, Josh took Elaina to a school friend's birthday party, and I took Ellie out for a little one on one time with me. (This is something I've decided I need to do more of--just have one on one time with Ellie or Elaina. I want them to know they are individually important to me, and that Mommy is more than just the rules she sets down, that they are loved deeply and always, always treasured.) She barely said 3 words while we were at the ice cream parlor because she was singularly focused on the task at hand: turning her entire mouth blue.

Ellie and I came home and I put a movie on for her, and Elaina and Josh got home just in time to see the end.  The girls went to bed without incident, and our weekend concluded with a good episode of The Walking Dead. And we have already survived the first day of the week. Things are looking up so far.

Weekending in Rockford

This weekend we made a long overdue trip to Rockford for no reason other than spending time with family. After packing up and heading out, we arrived around 11:30. We had lunch and the kids played, and then Nehemiah went down for his nap. (Josh and I joked about what it must be like to have a child over 2 who still naps on a regular basis, while Elaina and Ellie watched Max and Ruby and shout-whispered to us how well they were doing playing quietly.) When Nehemiah woke up, we headed to the mall, and Rachel and I got to do some adult shopping sans kids, which was good and bad for the soul--good, because, well, it was good, and bad, because sometimes it just really stinks they don't live closer.

When we left the mall to go to dinner, this is what greeted us:

We went to Burrito Bravo (formerly El Burrito Loco), which is a place Josh and I enjoyed when we lived in Rockford. I was most excited about having horchata, and it did not disappoint. Also not disappointing: Elaina's effervescent personality, which was on full display as she shouted to one of the waitresses, "I LOVE THIS PLACE!! YOUR FOOD IS AWESOME!!!"

The girls had a bath when we got home, and before long they were asleep, so Rachel and I did the only reasonable thing we could do around 9:00 at night: run to the grocery store to get ingredients for cookies. She made cookies and I supervised and we talked and talked and talked, and in the other room, Lips and Josh talked and talked and talked. So much fun.

Yesterday morning, since Yuna was so kind as to start howling in her crate around 6:00, Josh and I went out to get donuts and coffee for everyone. This was a decision celebrated by one and all:

Is there anything better than sprinkles? I think no.

My family loves my insistence on taking pictures.

Elaina and Nehemiah decided to get a little reading done before we left.

And I took a couple pictures of Rachel and Zechariah, who will be joining our family in May. (She had told me she didn't have any bump shots, and I know too well what that's like--I have so few with Ellie. So I won't be opening my own photography studio anytime soon, but at least now she has one or two to show him when he's older.

Josh was a good sport with his bump, too.

Then it was time for a couple family portraits:

And then we were on our way home. We drove by our old neighborhood and showed the girls where we used to live, and my heart was just so full of love for my family and memories of those sweet early years with my husband.

It was such a nice, nice weekend. I am so glad we said yes to making this trip, to staying overnight, to  spending quality time with family, to making time instead of excuses. And even better--they will be down for a Selah concert in a few weeks. The Year of Yes is off to a great start!

Snow Day

Yesterday, we played in the snow. We threw snowballs and licked snowflakes and made snowmen PowerPuff girls with carrot noses and Cap'n Crunch crunch berry eyes. And it was magic.

"warm" chokwatt