It's a sickness

OK, so I have a confession to make- I'm a strollerholic.
I started out as any other first time mom- I had a travel system given to me by my parents before Nate was born. There was a lovely stroller that came with it, and I used it and loved it. However, the time came when I thought it would be nice to have a more compact stroller, so I was given an umbrella stroller (also from my parents) for Christmas when Nate was 6 months old. My life was perfect, I had a big stroller when I needed it, and I had a little stroller when I needed it.
But then Graham came along. My nice travel system stroller went by the wayside. I needed something that I could put a car seat in, and that Nate could also ride in. I needed a double stroller. So I got a Sit-N-Stand. I used that one quite a bit when Graham was tiny. It was a lovely stroller, but a little hard to steer sometimes. In the midst of this, some oil spilled in my trunk, and the umbrella stroller got all oily. I tried to clean it, but I never was able to. I was worried about it getting all of my kids' clothes oily. So I got a new umbrella stroller a while ago. It was kind of a nicer kind of umbrella stroller. It has a basket to hold things in, and it can recline a little. I LOVE it. It is my second favorite stroller.
But then I wanted to start running, and I looked into jogging strollers. So I guess 2 years ago or so, I used our tax return and got myself a double jogging stroller. This is my favorite stroller for most cases. It handles SO easily, and I just love it. The only problem is, it is wide. It does not fit through a standard door. Blah.
OK, so there you have enough strollers to seat 6 kids. I used all of them when the time was right for each. But then I one day got to the point where I was annoyed by how bulky double strollers are when you plan to take public transportation. It was such a pain to take either double on the metro when we were going anywhere, and it was near impossible to take it on the Light Rail into Baltimore. So..... along came stroller seat number 7- a cheap little umbrella stroller. That way we can have the two seats, without a bulky double stroller. Only works when there are two adults. And my life has been complete. I never use my first stroller anymore, and am planning on selling it in the next few months.
But then I went to Toys R Us tonight. When I went, I had no intention of coming away with another stroller. I in fact was avoiding that very thing. But then the infant car seat that I wanted was not available for order into the store, so I could not get it with my 25% trade in discount. And I could either order in this other car seat that I didn't like as well, and was more expensive than the one I wanted, or..... or...... I could get a travel system with a car seat that I liked and plan on selling the stroller right away. I ended up doing it, since I was getting a 15% discount and then a 25% discount, and I can probably sell the stroller, and end up paying less for the seat that I would have for the other seat that I didn't like as well.
So now I am the proud owner of strollers to sit 8.
I have 2 kids in case anyone forgot.
It's a sickness.
The good news is that at this point, (well, at a point after the cheap umbrella) I am totally satisfied with my stroller situation. So I'm done with intentionally buying strollers. I'm now onto my selling stroller phase of life. Wish me luck.

Adventure Park USA

On Monday we went to a local activity place called Adventure Park USA. They have a roller coaster, mini-golf, go carts, laser tag, a ropes course, climbing wall, arcade, carousel, etc, etc. We went with Cammi, Meckenzie and Grammy, and enjoyed some time out of the house. Everyone had a really good time.

There were a few climbing areas for the under 8 set. This is the toddler shack where Graham spent most of his time while not in the arcade. He couldn't make it up the initial climbing part of the big part. Nate had a ton of fun playing up in that bigger play area.

The bounce house was out for repair, so the teacups were moved inside. The kids loved riding this, and went on it 3 times.

Graham enjoyed the car arcade games.

We spent a lot of time playing on the little rides that move up and down and back and forth. That was the prime attraction for much of the time.

Graham and Mecknezie.

The fighter plane.

Ahhh you got me!

Nate and Graham both LOVED this helicopter.

V-Day cookies

This year, after being snowed in for a week, we didn't really do much for valentines day. Plus, it's a little difficult to get a babysitter around these parts. Our normal sitter, Jesse's wonderful sister has been watching her other nieces this week since Jesse's sister in law broke her leg on the eve of the first snow storm. I just didn't feel right asking her to babysit last weekend :) But her time will come soon......

So anyway, we really just kind of sat around all weekend. I made Chicken Parmesan for dinner that night, and for dessert we made Valentine sugar cookies. The whole family came together to decorate. Nate and Graham helped a little with the cutting them out, but were eventually banished when it was going too slow. So we just had a quiet little Valentine's day around here.

It was a bit of a mess.

Graham was more interested in eating the conversation hearts.

That's a lot of sprinkles!

Some of the works of art.

moan....

So being pregnant is not all that fun to begin with.
Add to that being sick.
Add to that being woken up every few hours last night by a two year old who shall remain nameless. (it wasn't really his fault though, he was feverish all night.)
Add to that a husband and four year old who are also sick and a little grumpy. (I think that the cat's just fine though.)
Add to that the consideration that I have left my house about twice in the past 5 days.
Add to that the 15 inches of snow expected in the next two days, and the thought of being snowed in until Saturday.

moan...... I need a vacation!

A Wee Bit of Snow

So we got a little more snow this weekend. Just a little more though. This is what we woke up to on Saturday. (and it kept on snowing until like 4pm) There's really not that much.

No big deal.

The roads are totally fine too. No need to stay home.

No one could possibly get stuck in the middle of the snow. (Especially if you are pregnant, and helping a 2 year old, piece of cake!)

There was enough to create a few good perches.

Keep an eye on Nate, so he doesn't get lost in it.

Or do something silly like jump off of a 6 ft mound of snow.

He was able to walk a little better when there was already a path cut.

We made ourselves a couch.

So it's been fun playing in the snow. We're supposed to get another 5 or 6 inches in 2 more days. Oh goody. Then we'll finally have enough to play in! Of course, we're all sick over here, so that puts a damper on it. If I were a really good mom, I'd keep everyone inside so that the cold air doesn't aggravate our coughs, but really, when it's the biggest snow storm in like, 50 years or something, how can you not go out and experience it? We're really hoping that Jesse's work is closed tomorrow. Most places are closing, including the federal gov't, but we'll see. I think we need to get out, even if it is walking to the store. The roads are a little better since the plow has been through again, but they're still not good. Like, I doubt we'll go for a joy ride. But I may need to get to the store before we get more snow on Tuesday.

It's a...

Girl!

Well, we're off on another adventure over here. It appears that we'll have to start thinking pink, and figure out how to do this little girl thing. Do you think she'll mind if we just put her in boy clothes because that's what we have?