Winter Be Gone...

This was our winter in a nutshell: RSV, Strep Throat, one nasty cold, the Flu, and Pneumonia! Pretty sure you don't want to see pictures of any of that...not pleasant. However, there are a few fun things to report, like Emily started walking in January! Yay Emily!! Also in January, I turned 29, Jason started a fabulous new job at a place called Flagship Financial Group(don't worry, he still has his website), and David MASTERED the potty - like in every way! I'm so proud of him! No more poo in the pants, no more kiddie potty (he's moved to the real toilet!), and no more diapers at night! Wa- hoo!!! In February Emily had a case of the "bad-luck Fridays" where every Friday something horrible happened with her. The first Friday she chipped her front tooth (so sad, but she's still COMPLETELY adorable!), second Friday she managed to get a bottle of Red nail polish open and then went on to spill it ALL OVER my bedroom - the carpet (Windex works wonders), the furniture, and herself. WHAT A MESS!!! It looked like a massacre! I had to call Poison Control to find out how to safely remove it from her skin (since she was covered from head to toe). Turns out they recommend nothing but a good ole' soak in the tub and a good dose of time to let it wear off. I would have taken a picture but believe me, it would have looked terrifying! Third Friday - I took her outside to explore for the first time since learning to walk and apparently she should have had a bit more practice because after about 10 minutes she took a face dive right into the gravel. A rock cut into her forehead and it was the deepest cut either one of my kids have ever had. I panicked and called a neighbor friend who is a nurse (shout out to Amy P.!!). She took a good look, flushed and cleaned it, and then applied SteriStrips. It worked perfectly! After 5 days the strips came off and there was barely even a mark. Thanks for your handy work Amy! Then the month was finally finished off with the forth Friday when she had the worst case of diarrhea from her antibiotics due to her diagnosis of Strep Throat. (Part of "bad luck Friday" came early that week starting on Thursday when Emily started throwing up ALL OVER THE PLACE at Macey's in the Diner where we were eating lunch. Every one who was also trying to eat their lunch started coughing...oh my gosh...I thought I was going to DIE! Those of you who have seen Goonies know exactly what I'm talking about!) Anyway, thank goodness there are only 4 Fridays in a month cause I was DONE!! Oh, and last, but not least, the honorable mention for February goes to Jason for turning the BIG 3-0!!!! Yup! 30 and sexier than ever!! Finally, March brings us to a MASSIVE milestone for me... ... ...I actually left my kids for 5 DAYS and didn't freak, panic, or hyperventilate!! Honestly, I really didn't think it was possible but I - and the kids did GREAT!! Thank you James and Mary!!! I never could have done it without you!! Thanks for loving them and keeping them safe. Only problem is - I think they love you more than us now (stories to come later)! The reason we left the kids is so that Jason and I could go to Texas to see his beautiful cousin Valerie get married. Let me just say IT WAS AN AWESOME VACATION!!!! I LOVED IT!!! The weather was PERFECT, the food was delicious (BBQ, of course), the wedding was lovely,and the company was SOOOO MUCH FUN!! (We love and miss you Rory and Jackie!) I have daydreamed every day since getting home of just jumping on the next flight out to go back! Also this month, Emily woke up one morning and she had turned into this grown up (little) girl over night! Seriously! All of a sudden she looks so big, she's feeding herself, she leads me by the hand and points to what she wants, she says lots of words like NO!, kitty, meow, NO!, Daddy, eew!(she's such a princess!), and NO! Yeah, she says NO a lot - and with quite the little attitude, I might add! Well, that's the complete Skinrood update for you! Overall we are well, happy, and grateful for our blessings. We're just living life, watching our kids grow so fast every day, and waiting for the warm weather to get here!

Here's some recent pictures:

Living his best life in boots and underoos!

...and then he decided it was time to get the patio cleaned up?! Oh, I just love him!

Priceless!

A girl after my own heart! Yup- it's DDP! Don't worry, it's all but empty. She dug it out of the trash actually. Gross, I know, but she knows that's the only way she's gonna get any!

Jason dressed Emily up this way one night while he was watching the kids. She's wearing David's snow clothes and she thinks she's hot stuff!

My gorgeous "big" girl! She's not super happy in this picture, but still gorgeous!

She melts my heart!

A Few Funny David Stories...

When David stayed at James' and Mary's house while we were in Texas he slept in his cousin Andrew's room. Andrew has a set of bunk beds in his room and David slept on the bottom bunk- complete with Thomas the Train bedding. He thought it was sooo cool! Well, the other night when I was putting him to bed all of a sudden and out of the blue he says to me with a gasp "Somebody needs to live in Andrew's Thomas bed!! ... ... ...like me!" Hmm, guess that's the breaks. Jason and I loose to the Thomas bed!

David had been misbehaving all day. Jason and I had about had it with him so I took him in his room to have a serious conversation. I said "David, you are making mommy and daddy feel sad. Why are you making bad choices? You have not been a good boy today." He got really angry and animated and he said very sternly; "Yes! (Aunt) Mary said I WAS a good boy...at her house!" Well, Mar- that was lucky for you!

I was in the kitchen and David was close by. I heard him make a strange noise so I turned to him and said "Are you okay, David? Did you burp?" He replied "No, it wasn't a burp- it was a bless you(sneeze) that I talked!"

David has always been a "gassy" child. Sad but true! He toots so often that he looses track of himself! Lately he'll come up to me with a puzzled look on his face and say "Mommy, something is smelly...was it you...or was it me?!" Oh my gosh- I laugh so hard every time!