Theme Thursday and a Mini Disaster

This morning I saw that Cari's Theme for Theme Thursday was "Grow" and I thought, "here's one that I can totally do!" and raced to get my camera and then raced down the stairs to the basement to snap pictures.  I cheerfully found that the chives had sprouted and actually looked like chives (see them there in the top row, looking so cute and tasty):

And here's the tray that I actually managed to plant in mid-March, which is a little further along:

Then I thought... the thing that's really been growing down here is the laundry pile (it's taller than me... and although it is on a table... that's still not a good thing.).

Then I slipped.  And that slipping stopped me.  I looked down.  And horror (you might want to stop here and click away if you're particularly bothered by whining).

No, my basement floors aren't naturally shiny.  I don't wax them.  That's a layer of water.  Standing.  Streaming slowly from one side of the room to the other at times.  Seeping up into the boxes of books that were on the floor.

At first I thought that it was coming from the window, with the insulation and towel stuffed into it.  I've never looked too closely at that window, but I've assumed that it's not the most weather proof of places.

Once I worked my way through the boxes to the window, and swept some of the water towards the drain (two rooms away) I found that the area around the window was in fact dry:

It was neat... before Patrick... but somehow we were right back to messy.

So I started moving boxes and unpacking them and combining the contents of the boxes on the shelves (which happened to be behind more boxes and were also covered by boxes).  Did I mention that I have the flu?  And that all three of the little ones have the flu?  And that this wasn't how I was planning on spending my day?

What was my plan? (okay, I know you didn't ask, but I'll share anyways).  I was planning on curling up on the couch during Patrick's naps and letting the girls climb on me while closing my eyes and trying to wrestle some sort of rest out of the day while being asked 50 times every minute why my eyes were closed.

However, I gathered my strength and moved boxes and I discovered the source of the problem, right under a switch that said that it was the main water shut off:

The water wasn't very deep, but it quickly seeped up cardboard soaking boxes.  Thankfully, as I hurriedly unpacked books I managed to save every single book (the Harry Potter books were just damp at the bottom!).  The U-haul boxes were impressively tough, since I wasn't the fasted unpacker in the world and I have no idea when the leak started.

I found box of wooden train tracks that I dumped on the living room floor, which kept the girls distracted while I worked.

And I'm closer to that goal of organizing the "box room."  Kind of.

Now at the very least, after reading this, you probably feel better about how your basement looks, right?  Because even if it's not squeaky clean, there's hopefully not a layer of water over everything either!

Head over to Clan Donaldson to see the much prettier pictures in the link up!

And I'm going to spend the evening hoping we hear back from our land lord very, very soon...

Baby Fever and the Bump Watchers

They spotted Patrick early on...

Oh Patrick.  You're cute and all.  But I have to tell you, you're sisters think you're not little enough to be "the baby" anymore.

Their impatience is growing by the day.  Earlier in the week I saw Sadie evaluating my tummy when I was wearing an empire waist dress (apparently I shouldn't do this, even though "it's comfortable" unless I want to evoke speculation from the preschooler and toddler set).  She then asked if there was "a baby in there,"  (actually, I think it was said in statement form) with a crazy/bright/hopeful look in her eye, and then asked if I was sure that there wasn't (yes, yes I am).

Yesterday I was reading to her on the couch and she leaned back and put her head against my hip.  "Here," I said.  "Scoot up and put your head on my tummy.  It's softer."  She sat up like a bolt and began to grin.  "Because there are babies in there?"  she asked gleefully (and what?  Babies?  Plural?  The kid doesn't just hope for a sibling, but for multiples?)  "No." I replied.

Later in the day I caught Sadie and Mae evaluating my tummy while I worked in the kitchen.  "Are there babies yet?"  Sadie asked.  Mae came over and pulled up my shirt and stared hard at my stomach for a minute while Sadie saw the mark that the elastic band of my skirt had made and said:  "I see it!  I see the scar where they took Patrick out!" in an excited voice.

He was so much more holdable when he was tiny...

Oh children.  Even God gives Mommy a little longer between babies than you are, with exclusively nursing a 19 lb not-so-little-brother (who I should note, just hit the five months this week).

But there's baby fever in the house and it's apparently spreading among those under four feet tall.

Sure the little guy is cute, but he's too big to be held easily now.  And he squirms to get down and play on the floor.  Besides, Sadie lets me know.  We want a sister.

"What do you think Patrick wants?" I ask.

"A brother."  She says after a moment, and then looks slyly at me as if she's found a new chink in the armor of my answer.  "And Patrick wants a brother Mommy."

But now that he's a "big" boy...

Whoever said that kids freak out about the idea of a new baby haven't visited our house, where the reaction definitely goes in another direction...  the gleeful anticipation and lobbying prayers for another tiny baby, that holds still and doesn't have an opinion on being held by the four year old, have begun.  

I'll try to avoid the suggestively high waisted clothing (that make up much of my closet after four pregnancies) so that we don't have daily hopeful false alarms from the bump watchers.

Is this how the Duchess of Cambridge felt for the year before they announced their big news?  Because the little wanna-be investigative reporters in our house have begun speculating... and appear to be making daily (incorrect) announcements about the size of our family.

Yup... I'll be searching for my most slimming dress today...

And Patrick, if you could help Mommy out by letting your sister hold you for five seconds without fussing to get down and practice pushing yourself up to crawl (so you escape your sisters) that would be great!

Five Favorites

I decided to join in the Five Favorite's fun!

1.

I just sent Paul an email telling him that if he happened to be stopping off at the store when he was done pouring over books in the library I wouldn't be against him bringing home a bag or two of these:

from Gimbal's Website.

They became my favorite treat during the elimination diet.  Now they are my favorite treat post elimination diet.  They're dairy, egg, fish, gluten, peanut, shell fish, soy and tree nut free.  They're made in the US.  And they're oh, so good.  

See, this is what I miss about not being pregnant.  My cravings text messages about licorice dogs aren't taken seriously (or seen as life and death matters).  And so I have little licorice scotty dogs on the brain, but not in my hand...

2.

If you don't sew you might look at this little bobbin tower and wonder how useful it could possibly be.... but let me tell you, it is high up on my list of "most useful things" at the moment.  I got it when I had some super coupons, and was tired of chasing after my tangled bag of bobbins that quickly turned into a jumbled mass of thread.  The bobbins just snap in and stop trailing thread everywhere.  It is a must if you do a lot of sewing and are constantly switching out different colored threads.

Picture from the Joann's Website

It's saving me quite a bit of time and thread (and I am nerd-ily excited about it)!

3.

Oh my.  Yes, that's what you think it is:

from Crunch Daddy website

Maple and Bacon popcorn.  Need I say more?

4.

I had the opportunity to pick out a dress at Old Navy recently.  I saw this one and thought... maybe...

From Old Navy

And then I tried it on.  Now let's be clear.  It looks pretty different on me.  I'm not 6' tall so it's knee length, which is just perfect!  But I love the stripes.  I don't think this picture quite does it justice, because the model is already perfect, so it doesn't show how flattering the dress actually is!  The stripes are surprisingly slimming, especially for being practically horizontal.  I am a fan!

5.

This might be my very, very favorite item in the house at the moment:

Photo from Target

You see, someone doesn't think they need to wear clothes anymore.  And now even sleepers aren't slowing her down.  The solution, after I found this particular toddler prancing around in a diaper (apparently she can now escape from her sleepers), is a backwards sleeper.  Now to see if it's still on in the morning...

Head over to Moxie Wife for more favorites!

7 Quick Takes: Super Late Edition

--- 1 ---

We start our family rosary out each night with an act of contrition.  Sadie was cuddled up beside me as I said the prayer aloud when suddenly, mid prayer, I heard her say in the funniest little voice:  "I fear the pains of hell too!"  I had to stifle a laugh because she said it in the same way you might say, "I love that band too!" or "That's my favorite movie too!" and not at all in a way that actually expressed fear.  

--- 2 ---

Patrick has reached that age where he really, really doesn't want to go to sleep.  Once he's asleep he sleeps for around 9 hours... but going to sleep?  He thinks he should be aloud to stay up all night long.

The conversation goes something like this (and the disclaimer before I start is that no, he's not sleeping in that little bassinet... I snapped these pictures when we were sitting around waiting for Daddy to get home with his prescription last night, but since they sum up our night time conversation so well I thought I'd use them to demonstrate what happens when I put Patrick down.

Me:  "Patrick.  It's bed time.  Your sisters went to sleep an hour ago.  Go to sleep."
Patrick:

Me: (leaving the room... returning to the room at the sound of a scream) "Buddy.  You need to go to sleep.  It's night time!"
Patrick:

Me: (returning again, after a particularly loud yell) "Honey, Mommy needs to work.  I have orders that I have to send out tomorrow.  You've got to go to sleep."
Patrick:

Me:  (after being called back again)  "Patrick we already did our story and our song and you've eaten and been changed.  It's time to sleep."
Patrick:

Yes, he's mastered the art of crying to get me to come upstairs to check on him, and then grinning when I walk into his room...

--- 3 ---

Keeping Quick Take 2 in mind you can imagine the momentary glee that flitted through my mind when the doctor said, in a worried tone:  "Now there's a medication that I really want you to give him every night.  It's very safe and I believe it will help him a lot. But there is one side effect. It will make him very sleepy.  So you'll give it to him at bedtime."

And in an equally serious tone I managed to agree that it sounded like a good idea while internally doing a little happy dance because maybe the newly lengthened bedtime routine won't take up two hours of the time when I really, really, really need to be sewing orders.

Last night Patrick took his new prescription allergy medicine... and went straight to sleep the first time I put him down.  And he woke up with happily clear skin this morning!

--- 4 ---

I mentioned Sadie's horrible car seat flame retardant allergy to the allergist and he wasn't surprised at all.  Apparently it's not that strange a reaction to have to the chemicals they use on those things.

--- 5 ---

I'm anticipating my power bill with ever increasing dread.  It's doubled since we arrived here, which is odd since our house is heated with gas (and the gas bill hasn't been nearly as horrible as I expected it to be).  So I inspected to bill to find out where all the increases were being made.  Our power use had gone up slightly (I imagine since we've been inside a lot since it was so cold) but not by much.  Our water portion had stayed the same.  And the sewer portion?  It had skyrocketed.  There was a little note that said something along the lines of: "your sewer contributions help keep the sewer system working." Apparently roughly $80 of "working," alongside a $20 water bill (the water fee, at least, seems reasonable).

Then I saw on the news that the city is no longer going to be paying for fire hydrants or lamp posts.  Those are also going to be added onto our electricity bill, which will save the city over 5 million dollars a year, tacked onto our electricity bills.

Oh and if you're in an accident and the fire department responds you'll be getting a bill for $250 and if they have to pull you out of your car it will be $500.

I'm not sure I should watch the local news any longer (I try to turn it on for the weather report)... every night they seem to announce a new city fee.

--- 6 ---

Since I've been sewing so many fluffy fabrics I've come to the realization that even bi-monthly sewing machine cleanings are not enough... because I believe I cleaned my machine about two weeks ago and yet day before yesterday I broke it open to find this:

In desperate need of being cleaned out again.  I guess it makes sense.  I'd say I'm averaging five hours of sewing a day, seven days a week...  She is a good little sewing machine to stand up to that type of use for over a year now.

I think it may be time for weekly cleanings to keep her running though!

--- 7 ---

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

The Boy and his Giraffe...

Patrick wasn't too exited about getting out of his sleeper and putting on real clothes to go to his doctor's appointment today... and then I handed him back his giraffe...

And the world became a happier place:

He just can't be sad when Mr. Giraffe is in the picture...

And yes, Mr. Giraffe did accompany us to the doctor's appointment!

The Unexpected Allergy (or how I completely failed at the elimination diet)

What a day and what a doctor's appointment!

First off, the boy hit his five month "birthday" today and weighed in at 19 lbs and 27 1/2 inches (when I first brought him in I was asked if he could stand on the scale!  He's that big!).

I learned that my attempts at an elimination diet have, it seems, completely failed.  The one thing that I thought Patrick wasn't allergic to was the thing that he is very allergic to and the things that I thought he was very allergic to came back negative on the skin prick test.

It makes me a little nervous, so I'm going to slowly start reintroducing the other foods, once we have the allergy under control again.

And the culprit?

Milk.  And pretty severe eczema.

I have no idea how I missed it (the milk that is).  He certainly didn't seem to be having a reaction when I reintroduced it.  But the large red welt on his back where the milk scratch was, was most definitely reacting as all the other faded away to nothing.

And then we met with the doctor again(with everyone commenting on how smiley Patrick was after just having the tests) and discussed our plan of attack in a step by step list.  First off we eliminate all dairy from my diet.  Then we apply "barrier protection" which means lathering him in a 50/50 mix of vaseline and crisco every morning and every night.  If that doesn't work I'm supposed to use "wet wraps" and wrap him in two layers of gauze every day (oh please let the vaseline and crisco work!!!).  I'm also not supposed to use soap (I hardly do now, just an oatmeal wash).   The next step is "anti-inflammation".  I need to continue to apply cortisone cream in the morning and at night for two weeks and then continue it as needed.  And he's supposed to take 1/2 tsp of hydroxyzine every night before bed to eliminate the itchiness.

Lastly they took us into a room where we watched a movie and went over epi-pen use and then were prescribed two epi-pens.

I asked if the doctor was sure and he said he was.  But of course, our pediatrician had a talk with me at the end of our last appointment and said that sometimes the allergists don't find anything, but the child will still have a reaction and so it's not like you can give them the food in question... so we're proceeding with caution.

I'm really hoping he's right though.  A single dairy allergy would be so much easier to work around (although we've decided as a family to stay gluten free since the girls and Paul feel so much better and my asthma went from every day inhaler use to once a month inhaler use).

And that's what we've learned so far!  I'm excited and cautiously optimistic!

Thank you all for all of the prayers!

It's Finally Here...

The day that we waited two months for is finally here!

I just wrote a two page description of all of his allergies so that I wouldn't leave anything out.  The list, as it stands right now is:

Eggs

Coconut

Tree Nuts

Peanuts

Wheat

Corn

Potatoes

Bananas

Incense

Latex (?)

Please pray for a good allergist appointment for our little guy this morning.

Thank you!

Sunday Randomness

I don't have a What I Wore Sunday post, or really any post of substance at all, because, after two days of a migraine my brain is mush.  I am still in my pajamas.  Paul took Sadie to Mass at the Church around the corner.  And I did something really, really dumb, not realizing how dumb it was in my migraine haze.

I woke up this morning and took a dose of Tylenol Sleep.  Diphenhydramine makes my migraines go away like that.  Okay, it takes a couple hours but still... when your on Day 2 of a horrible, horrible headache that feels like a tiny miracle.

Then I went downstairs and nursed Patrick and realized why I hadn't taken a diphenhydramine pill up until that point.  Patrick's allergy appointment is tomorrow.  The appointment that they called to confirm twice, to remind me not to give him any sort of allergy medication this week.  The appointment I've been obsessing over.

And that sent me into a panic.  Will the diphenhydramine from nursing mean that the appointment tomorrow is a loss, and we'll have to reschedule and wait another two months for an opening?  I'm praying that's not the case.  I'm hoping that when I tell them they assure me that it's a tiny amount that doesn't matter.  But yeah.  I'm feeling pretty dumb right now.

Sadie did try on the dress that I designed today.  I made the pattern up myself and made the dress from it.  I'm planning on selling them at the craft fair and in my store (along with the quilts) eventually (once they're made up).

So here's my first pattern design!  I was going for something little girl appropriate, since Sadie has apparently crossed the threshold of sizes where little girls are expected to dress like grown women out for a night on the town.  It wasn't easy to get a good picture though... She was feeling silly:

The auto red eye correct didn't do the greatest job here...

And that is our day...

Here's hoping the allergy appointment isn't a disaster because of this mornings mistake...

Our Home Altar

Back when we lived in Florida I created this little home altar space on my favorite little dresser.

It was great while it lasted... but on one unfortunate day I found that the height wasn't idea when Mae yanked the piece of cloth under the statue off the table and brought the statue crashing down... in about a hundred piece (did you know they're filled with pebbles sometimes?).  I carefully super glued the statue back together, matching the edges as perfectly as possible until you could hardly see the breaks and kept it away from the "Mae Monster."

And when we moved I found a most out of reach place for our home altar...

The mantle above the fireplace.  And after tinkering with it and rearranging it, I like the arrangement of the moment enough to take pictures... So without further ado, here it is:

The candles are a big deal to the little girls.  We light them for the family rosary and if they aren't lit, like because the wicks are so far down they can't be reached with a normal match, there are huge protests...

See, you can hardly tell that statue was in a hundred pieces.

It's a good thing I liked puzzles when I was a kid.

And that is our home altar.  I had to assure Paul when he got home that there was no hidden sacrilegious meaning in putting the Pope pictures above the other pictures.  It was simply that the 40 lb last super can't really be hung on our wall (by someone with my non-picture hanging talents at least) and so it's supported by the mantle, and there was room for three pictures above, and I happened to have three pictures of our last three pontiffs that I wanted to hang in close proximity to the altar that fit perfectly.  My plan was to make the picture of Jesus the focal point and have everything fan out from there.

And that is my latest version of our home altar!

{phfr} Blue Sky Edition

{pretty}

The children and I ventured outside for the first time (for any considerable length of time) in what felt like ages.  And we were greeted by a beautiful sight.  Blue sky:

In this picture I believe Mae is shocked... What's that glowy burny thing in the sky?  Who stole the flat monotonous grey?

So, everything is still dead and wintery, but still!  Blue sky!

{happy}

This was the first time Patrick had gotten to go outside to just hang out.  Sure he'd been out on walks and trips to the zoo, but I never took him out to lay on a blanket and enjoy the months of 20 degree awesomeness.  Which is probably a good thing because, despite being quite bundled, he acted like he was freezing after five minutes of 50 degrees (and being in the sun, which felt downright balmy to the rest of us) and spent the rest of the time snuggling under my coat... and of course, Mr. Giraffe was there to take a nap with him:

She did this for roughly two hours:

...before collapsing into this chair:

And then Daddy arrived home from class and it was time for something that made me extremely happy.

My belated birthday dinner.  The first meal, I pointed out, that I hadn't made myself, in 50 days, since Fat Tuesday (Paul objected and said "remember that time I put that gluten free rice pizza in the oven").  Thanks to Nani and Grumpa for the birthday girt card to Chilis (one of the few places where I can eat and Patrick is okay).

And 50 days of meals from scratch?  I have to admit.  I'm kind of proud of that achievement!

{funny}

Sadie was really, really busy.  She threw all the sticks into the back part of our yard, outside the play area, and collected pine cones.  She told me she was working with "Laura and Mary" to show them what a good worker she was.  Then one of neighbors got home with his daughter and came over to say hi and meet Patrick.

And Sadie launched into this:  

Sadie:  "Hi.  I want to be a saint."

Kindly Neighbor:  (thinking he misheard): "You want to be what?

Sadie:  "I want to be a saint."

KN: (strained uncomfortable pause):  "Oh, that's nice."

Sadie:  "I want to marry God.  And that" she points to a statue of Saint Francis then trots over, lifts it up and carries it across the yard, "is our new Pope.  I want to grow up and be a saint and go to heaven to be with God.  The old Pope went away from the world and is praying for me to be a nun."

At which point I tried to re-guide the conversation towards something that didn't cause anyone to look like they were hearing something totally crazy.

Oh... and the dress?  It was my "Little House on the Prairie" dress when I was little and she insists on wearing it because "some people have never seen a prairie girl before and I need to show them what a prairie girl is like."

{real}

Oh yes.  There is work to be done.

And sometimes that work involves giving your sister a good hard shove while Ma yells not to push, because she went after your pile of pine cones...

And of course, I'm linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter a day late!  So go over and check out the other {phfr} posts!

A Bedtime Conversation

Tonight after bedtime I peeked in to check on the girls and found Mae Bae with her feet towards her pillow and her head towards the bottom of the bed fast asleep... and Sadie, with the covers pulled up to her chin, looking at me.

Me:  "Hi honey.  I was just checking on you and closing the door so Patrick doesn't wake you up" (Mae had opened the door on the other side of the baby gate).  "Go to sleep and have sweet dreams."
Sadie:  "Mommy, when I grow up and marry Jesus, what will my dress look like?"
Me:  "I don't know sweetie."
Sadie:  "But what will it look like Mommy?  When I marry God?"
Me:  "Different orders have different habits.  Now it's time for sleep."
Sadie:  "Habits?"
Me:  "The outfits nuns wear.  Did you know there's even an order that wears pink?  If you want I can show you the picture on my computer in the morning."
Sadie:  "No.  Mine is going to be a brown dress.  With a black veil and a white cape."
Me:  "Okay.  Now go to sleep.  I love you."
Sadie:  "Goodnight Mommy."

This is what stalling to not go to sleep looks like in the little girls room...

"Ouchies" in the Air...

Yesterday was one of those crazy, crazy, crazy days where you wonder how these little people sprint and sliding around the living room got to be so wild (I think it was the sunny icy blue weather outside, that looked like spring, while being frozen all at the same time).

Anyways, I learned a lot yesterday... like that Ring-Around-the-Rosy can in fact be turned into a full contact sport, especially if you hold hands, sprint in a circle and then just let go, so that you and your sister (who's also agreed to take part in the craziness) go smashing onto the  hard wood floor at remarkable speeds.  When Mom says: "Hey girls, let's settle down a little bit." You look at her with wide, guilty looking eyes, and wait until she goes into the kitchen to make lunch to do it again.

Going into the kitchen to make lunch, where my very first batch of homemade yogurt was sitting in their little capsule waiting to be done, brought about the next fun surprise of the day.  I heard a I-didn't-listen-to-you-and-now-I-went-and-got-myself-hurt sort of scream and raced to get into the living room.  And what did I find.  Sadie had tripped over an apple that her sister had eaten and tossed onto the floor... and had managed to hit the ground face first.  

My first attempt at yogurt making.  It looked good!
Now to go downstairs to try it!

Her hands were over her face, but I could see blood (although thankfully nothing like the Water Park Tongue Incident of 2012).  It turns out that she bit through her lip, and managed to get a bruise on her cheek (you can see it forming in the picture above) which matches the one below her eye that I'd commented on earlier in the morning, while asking if her sister had hit or pinched her (I suspect pinched, because Mae thinks pinching cheeks is really hilarious, despite my repeated attempts at discouraging this painful habit).  Sadie had assured me that she was fine and "Mae didn't do anything." which I believe is her first attempt at covering for her little sister.

I asked if I could see the ouchie.  The answer was no.  Could I hold her?  Nope.  Could she tell me what hurt?  Another firm no.  Her hands were firmly over her mouth in an attempt to keep me from seeing anything.  Would she hold some ice on it if I got it for her?  Absolutely not.  Did she want a blanket so I could bundle her up on the couch?  That question finally got a yes.  I had called Paul at the first site of blood (he was home sick yesterday with some sort of horrible flu/migraine combo) and she told him she didn't even want him sitting on the couch (although that request was ignored).

At lunch time half an hour later, I asked her how she was, and she replied in a rather glum voice:  "Great!" 

And at dinner, the topic came up again and this time she explained why she hadn't wanted anyone to touch her.  "Well."  She said with a rather swollen looking smile.  "I didn't want anyone to catch the ouchie from me.  That's why I didn't want you to touch me Mommy."

I might have melted a little at these words, because she sounded so serious and concerned.

I think our talks about covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze may have gone a bit too far.  And I found myself racking my brain later on, because I think I might have made a joke, that was apparently taken literally, earlier in the week when she and her sister both did something and hurt themselves, about "ouchies going around."  

So we had another talk about how "ouchies aren't something you catch like a germ..." which she hopefully believes.

And hopefully today will be a little less eventful... although I can't say I'm counting on it!

One Snow Flake... And My Crazy Birthday Wish!

Yesterday I woke up and squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them and made a point not to look out the window.  Then I said a little prayer.  "Dear God, if I can have one thing for my thirty first birthday can it be no snow?"  I peeked outside and was greeted by dreary gray.  Okay, I thought, I can handle dreary gray.  I can handle a high of 37.  It's above freezing.  "No snow though!"  I found myself repeating.  "Not today."

It's not that I'm totally done with the cold weather.  It's that I'm done with one day of almost 50 and then 4 days of 20s that barely creep up into the 30s.  It's the up and down that's driving me crazy.  On the almost-50 day I have spring fever and wear three quarter sleeves and am ready to get outside and work in the yard.  And then I wake up the next day to solidly frozen ground.

Don't get me wrong. I remember complaining bitterly last year because it was 80 degrees in December in Florida.  I do prefer cold winters to hot ones.  But I'm also really, really ready to get out in the garden and get these kids out of the house!

The weather man cheerfully told us last week that it had been over 120-something days since the temperature had hit 70 and that that day was unseasonably warm.  Basically for the whole of Patrick's life it has been below 70.  Way, way below 70.  Like 40-50 degrees below 70.  And in case we needed any further reason to resent winter:  "Last year on this day it was 60 degrees warmer than the high today" (that was earlier this week).  "Don't pack up those winter clothes yet!" I've heard several times on the local news.  "This weather is here to stay!"

Here to stay?  Like forever and ever?

Alright.  I know it's not.  It just feels that way.

And the drought updates alongside the cold alerts?  That drives me up the wall.  Not only is it cold, but it's cold and dry.

So I went upstairs to see why Patrick was fussing last night.  He'd already been asleep for about half an hour and I found him, in his crib, wide awake, staring out the window crying.  And I imagined he was crying for the same reason that I then felt like crying (okay, not really... that may be a teensy bit dramatic).  The sky was full of whirling white snow.

After hushing Patrick I raced back downstairs and announced, in a maniacal tone that instantly had Paul looking at me like I was crazy: "I asked God for one thing, one little thing for my birthday!"  I threw open the curtains.  And there was... nothing.  It apparently wasn't snowing on the north side of the house.  "Wait, you'll see!" I said, while Paul really wondered if 31 was the age that I just crack at.  I raced over to the downstairs windows on the west side of the house.  The side with a whirling blizzard (slight exaggeration... but really... the snow was "swirling!!!") going on upstairs.  A single snowflake drifted down in front of us.  "It's... It's... It's..."

"Is this about that snow flake?"  Paul asked.  "That one snow flake?"

"It's really, really snowing upstairs!!!" I insisted, while Paul looked at me like I'd confirmed that I'd lost my mind.

Whatever.  It was snowing.  At least it was upstairs.

I did successfully make a gluten free egg free pizza (with olives, mushrooms and onions, which happens to be my favorite pizza in the world!) and a gluten free egg free carrot cake.  It was a half fail though, because I was hoping that our xanthan gum was okay (denial, I know), since I'd been eating it before and Patrick had been fine for an entire month... so I was deluding myself into hoping that maybe this particular xanthan gum was corn free... only to have an allergic baby night last night (probably the real reason for the crying).  So xanthan gum is officially out and I will be mastering arrow root starch and eventually guar gum, when I finally find some (hopefully before I blow through the shopping money for the month... that is shopping goal #1 for April).  I'd just gotten used to the xanthan gum and had gotten down exactly how much to use.  Oh well.  This has been quite the baking adventure!

Now to go make sure the babies haven't overwhelmed Daddy while I was typing this post... And in case you were wondering (I know, you're not, but I'll share anyways), I woke up to a frosty winter wonderland outside (not snow, just solid frost!).