Enough already

Let's just say it's been a terrible week. Ivan has pneumonia and Annie has an ear infection. I would really like for this all to be over so we can all sleep again. Not to mention returning to work.

Sleuthing

I walked into Annie's room the other day to find blue crayon on her dresser, walls and door. I yelled for the kids, pointed to the mess, and began my interrogation:

Me: WHO DID THIS?
Annie: Ivan did it!
Ivan: Mommy did it!

I quickly began to suspect one of them was lying. But who? I followed the crayon trail to the kids' trampoline, where I found this:



That's an "I," "V," and "A" in the same blue crayon. I quickly deduced that Mommy was not, in fact, behind the graffiti. But by then Annie already had most of the mess cleaned up (that little girl LOVES to clean), so my naughty boy got off a little easy.

Sickies

Now I have two sick kids. Ivan's fever hit 103.5 at about 4 a.m. He was upset, but all in all, he's a pretty stoic little guy who doesn't complain much. Compare that to Annie, who has sounded like this, non-stop, for the last three days:

Annie: Mommy!
Me: What?
Annie: I'm sick, Mommy!
Me: I know, I'm really sorry, Annie.
Annie: Mommy!
Me: What?
Annie: My head hurts, and my tummy hurts, and my legs hurt.
Me: That sounds terrible; I am sorry, Annie.
Annie: And my throat hurts. And my heartbeep hurts.
Me: Your "heartbeep"?
Annie [pointing to chest]: Yes, it's in here, and it beeps.

The good news is that they are pretty chipper once I dope them up on Tylenol. Hooray for that, at least.

Oh, hello

Has it been a while? In the interest of time, here is the bullet-point summary of the last four months:

Annie and Ivan Turned THREE!

• They had a bounce house.
• They had presents.
  
• They had two ice cream cakes.
  
• They are constantly begging me for more birthday.
  

Steve got a new job!

• It is down the street from our house.
  
• We are no longer planning a move to LA.
  
• He is very happy.
  

The kids had health issues.

• Ivan was diagnosed with celiac disease, which means we have to eliminate all gluten from his diet.
  
• I discovered that everything in my cupboard contains gluten.
  
• I emptied my cupboard and bought new gluten-free food, plus a bread machine with a gluten-free cycle.
  
• Ivan was maybe undiagnosed with celiac disease, which means we still probably should eliminate gluten from his diet, although no one really knows for sure.
  
• I became very frustrated.
• I consoled myself by looking at my bread machine. I have always wanted a bread machine.

There were more health issues!

• How many ear infections can one kid get, already?
• If it's not an earache, it is a fever. Over the past three days, Average Annie Temperature has been approximately 103 degrees.
  
• I have missed many, many days of work. I hope I do not get fired.
  
• On the other hand, if I do get fired I will have more time to spend with my bread machine.
  
• Maybe illness is not so bad.
  

We went to D.C. to visit the Zimmerpeople!

• Ivan still talks about going to the train with Great Grandpa.
  
• Ivan and Annie loved playing baseball with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Sara.
  
• One day I will try to post the photos. (Don't hold your breath, though.)
  
• We need to take more vacations.
  

Now you are all caught up and we can start fresh!

Bike ride

Annie has been begging for a ride in the bike trailer, and today we finally got a chance to do it. It was one of the coldest days of the year, but lucky for us, still in the 50s and 60s. We took a bike trail to a local playground, where Steve, Ivan and Newton would go by car to meet us.

Annie talked nonstop through the whole bike ride. "Momma! Why are you standing up on the bike? That's not safe! Can I do that too?" "Mommy! Two bikes went past!" "Momma! Momma! Look at the water! Are we going in there?" "Momma! Momma! My head hurts." "Mommy, umm, where's Daddy?" And on and on and on. Eventually we came to this:

Annie: Mommy!
Me: What, Annie?
Annie: Mommy, I am talking to myself. Because I LOOOOOOOVE to talk!
Me: Yes, that is pretty obvious.

Once we got to the park, I took Ivan for a little ride and found myself with the opposite problem:

Me: Ivan? Are you having fun?
Ivan:
Me: Ivan?
Ivan:
Me: Ivan? Ivan are you doing OK? Are you having fun?
Ivan: [whispers] Yes.

Ivan and Annie both wanted to ride home with me. I usually don't go for this, because they have to squish together and end up fighting and screaming the whole way. But today I couldn't bear to disappoint one of them, so after a stern lecture on the consequences of fighting (no more bike rides! EVER!), I labored home with 70 pounds of kid in tow. Miracles of miracles, they didn't have a single spat. Instead, they sang the ABCs, played with their stuffed animals, and reenacted scenes from Dora the Explorer. I wish they had been such good passengers when they were each about 15 pounds lighter.

Mountains

The whole family recently spent a long weekend at a mountain cabin (or cabinet, as Annie and Ivan would say). There wasn't much snow, but the kids were still excited to do a little sledding and build a (very) small snowman.








The next day had even less snow, so we took the kids for a walk by the lake.





There were a few impromptu games of ring-around-the-rosey along the way.



Our cabinet had a beautiful view, and we were treated to some pretty spectacular sunsets.



Minus our one trip to urgent care (Annie had yet another ear infection), it was a wonderful trip. Can't wait for next year.

Train

Ivan adores his trains, and this one, which "goes by hisself," totally rocked his world.