Lots of words and no pictures

Yes, I still remember this blog (sometimes). I think about writing quite often. This winter has been tiring. Someone was sick in our family for about 2 months. It went a little like this.... stomach bug, cold, pink eye, fevers, cold, coughs, stomach bug, colds, teething, fevers. Pick and choose who had what. Each one of us had something at some point. Quinn won the award for most puking incidents. I won the award for longest sore throat and Reese won for slowest teether ever. Hopefully, we caught every virus this year, so the rest of the Winter we should feel great!

Just to catch you up on what is going on in the Richard house, I will try to summarize the past month.

~ Reese is almost a year old. I don't believe it. I am sad, however it is always exciting to watch your kids grow and become more independent.

~ It is cold outside. We have had our share of pj days lately. Why not? Some days I put normal clothes on when Mark gets home so I look more put together. He then puts his pj's on when he gets home. Thankful for a husband who gets it.

~ Quinn asked me what God's middle name was.

~ Reese is getting 4 teeth right now. Her gums have been swollen for a month and only 1 tooth has popped through. Poor girl.

~ I made some homemade chocolate cake. While eating it Riley says, "Mom, can I have the ingredients for this cake so when I am a mommy I can make it?". Quinn follows her statement by saying, "Mommy, when I am a daddy I am going to come to your house to eat your cake then go home". So typical of their personalities.

~ Quinn has informed me several times in the last couple of weeks that he does not like people and does not want friends. I think Mark has told me that before. No wonder they are such good buddies.

~ I love the show "Downton Abbey". I look forward to watching it all week long. Too bad they only show 6 episodes a year. What is that about?

~ We painted our kitchen, living room, and hallways. It took about 18 hours. I can't believe people choose to do that as a job.

~ Reese has been standing on her own the past couple of days. I am thinking she will be walking in about a month.

~ Nap time has been hard. We are trying to figure out when the older 2 should wake in the morning and go to bed at night so that they will still take a nap.

~ Last week, I decided to be productive. I made a ton of cinnamon rolls and homemade chicken broth. The kids watched movies from 8:00am to 1:00pm. I gave them giant carrots to eat all morning. Great way to get your kids to eat veggies. Neither of them are huge fans of carrots.

~ Our good friend Marc came over one night to change the brakes in our van. He asked Quinn to help. At first, he was too shy to go in the garage, then I told him he could use tools. He ran to get his shoes. Marc was so patient with him. I am pretty sure Quinn asked a million questions. It made his day and he still talks about all the screwdrivers Mr. Marc had!

~ I came to the realization that the shopping carts with the built in bench are a bad idea for our family. Riley and Quinn fought on the bench the entire time while I had the toughest time steering it through the aisles. Oh, and Reese was not a fan of being so far from me. Just picture us. It was a mess.

~ I turned on music today and Reese literally laughed so hard out of excitement she snorted. I swear that girl is going to be a musician.

I am so thankful for this little family of ours despite these long winter days!

Blueberry Sucker

Nap time has been rough in our house lately. I remember the good old days (like 3 months ago) when all 3 children were safely snug in their beds in the afternoon and this momma took a nap and drank hot cocoa. Recently nap time has become a battle of the wills for an hour and a half. I have daily been spending that much needed quiet time putting a little boy back in his bed over and over.

I have tried so many discipline methods and have been consistent to the point of exhaustion. Today I needed rest. He needed rest. I said, "Quinn, if you stay in your bed and rest today, I will give you candy." He said, "Mom, I want a blueberry sucker". I said, "ok".

Quinn stayed in bed and slept for an hour and a half. I didn't hear a peep. I did not have to get up one time to put him back to bed. When he woke up he asked immediately where his sucker was. I let him eat it in the living room.

Soon we will go back to the grind of sleeping without a candy incentive, but for today (and maybe tomorrow),an hour an a half of rest was totally worth bribing my child. I'm cool with that.

Right now my 11-month-old is playing with a plastic bag. I guess I am  cool with that too. Totally deserve the "parent of the day" award.