Broken Rules

Seems we have broken a lot of rules in the last year. Broken bones. Stitches. And now the worst of all...puking. You have to be kidding me. We have a steadfast rule of no puking in this household. And if you have to puke, do it once in the toilet or bathtub and be done. Apparently these rules were not made clear enough.

Molly woke us up at 4:00 AM. When I pulled her out of her crib, I realized she was wet. Thankfully it was dark so I couldn't see anything and move straight into sympathy puking. As soon as I took a second, I realized the smell in the room was unlike that of a wet diaper. Instantly Dan was called and I vacated the area. Molly was a mess. The chunks were in her hair. So, at 4 AM we took a shower. She cried.

After redressing and changing sheets we were good to go. Molly wanted to "nuggle" (snuggle) and Katie went back to bed. While snuggling Molly gave the sign (saying "yucky") and heaved a few times into a blanket. After that she seemed to be better off.

Dan took the boys to Sunday School and I stayed home with both girls who were running fevers. Molly came over and grabbed her neck and immediately puked all over the slipcover on the couch. After she was cleaned up and the couch was taken care of we did a little more snuggling. She then again grabbed her neck and said, "yucky" and puked all over my Sunday paper. At that point I called Dan and put him on stand-by to return home.

After a bath and some new pajamas, the girls were good to go again. We managed the rest of the day without puke. I cannot believe I survived it without puking myself. A miracle. Or a sign I'm getting older. Either way I'd like to call this the end of the rule breaking. From now on we are a rule-following family.

**Sorry no pictures to accompany this post. I was too busy cleaning up puke and washing loads and loads of laundry. Plus, you don't want those pictures to be taken!

Skating 2011

Thomas is really enjoying ice skating lessons. Cuncle Johnnie (cousin/uncle) works at the rink and Thomas is so excited to be on the ice with him every week! Slowly but surely Thomas is making progress. He impresses me every week. He is so determined to be a good skater, even though it's surprisingly difficult and trying for him. This week was exceptionally difficult as we went to a Jump&Bounce birthday party beforehand. So he ran and jumped for a full hour and went right into skating. The poor kid fell one last time after an hour on the ice and just could  not pull himself up. It was the saddest thing I've ever seen. He finally got off the ice and said, "Mama, I am exhausted!"

Oh Snowy Day!

Lately we have been spoiled with some beautiful weather. The reality check was given last night. Snow. About 10 inches. So grateful I went grocery shopping a couple days ago and am pretty stocked up. We did however get in snowsuits and head outside to enjoy this weather. Did I say enjoy? I meant enjoy the snow once we got outside.

Getting four children in proper attire and out the door in a reasonable amount of time using only nice words is sometimes (always) a challenge. The boys are pretty good but still need help zipping their jackets and getting gloves tucked in. The girls, however, are always a challenge.

And, the snow is so deep they can hardly walk without falling. The Domrese rule (apparently) is to run into the yard as far as you can and faceplant so that mommy has to run in her regular shoes, sans socks, and save the poor child. Katie wins the award for this in 2011. Molly loves the snow. Molly loves to be outside. And the boys are just plain happy to be moving!

Pizza Playdate

Today we met up with some old friends and had a pizza playdate. We toured the pizza facility and then ate the pizza the kids made. The boys (and girls) had a blast.

We started by spreading sauce.

 

Then, while the pizza were in the oven, the kids got to explore the walk-in cooler. This was by far my favorite part of the day. We all went in the cooler (the girls were so excited) and the owner asked if we wanted the lights off. He then commented that the group was a little young for something that could be scary. As we were exiting the cooler the boys commented that they were letting the "younger kids go out" so they could stay with the lights off. How funny! They were the oldest in the group, but it was funny they felt the need to do something the "older kids" would do. :)

The kids then helped make dough and then got to play with the dough. The boys loved this. (We took the dough home, let it rise, and are going to use it to make homeade pizzas for dinner!).

 
After the dough, we sat down, had drinks and pizza. So much fun! Molly

Molly decided to DIG IN! Do you see she's wearing her hair in a pony-tail? She insisted! Her first one ever!

Thanks for the invite Kelly. We had so much fun and it was so great to see you guys again!



Happy Valentine's Day 2011

I felt like this: AWFUL! I explained to the doctor that I felt like "poop." I had the first headache (what I would classify to be a migraine) in about 10 years. We Richards' don't get headaches. The nausea, etc that followed was awful. To the point where midway through the morning I had all shoes accounted for and wondered if I had sent Thomas to school shoeless (I hadn't). Luckily the headache subsided. My bloodwork came back normal and if I'm good for a couple days I get to move on with life. Because of some other unlisted symptoms, if I'm still feeling "poopy" in a few days I get to have a brain scan.

I did manage to get our Valentine's Day pictures though! When the kids were little (I'll have to add pictures later), I would put them on my quilt from grandma with hearts as a tradition. They are on this quilt, there are just too many big kids now!

Ice Skating Class

Thomas is taking an ice skating class and is loving it. So far he's done two drop-in classes and next week starts his weekly lessons. He is actually doing really well! It's so fun to watch. I was expecting him to get frustrated, but he doesn't. His hopes is that he will then move into hockey. I'm not really a hockey/football mom so we'll see where we go from here!

Tom

Joshua has started calling Thomas "Tom" about 50% of the time. It's a new development. Super cute. Mostly when they are playing and it's just between them. I've never heard him say it with other people around (only when Dan and I are in another room or the background). It's adorable. Their relationship is adorable. Watching them grow together is one of the neatest things I've ever witnessed.

A Warm Weather Day

Last week we had a glorious day of warm weather. Sunshine. High 40's. Glorious. We went outside at 10:00 AM and didn't come in until naptime at 2:00 PM with the exception of running in to grab lunch. The kids had an absolute blast. I pulled out all the outside toys from the shed and while they played, I worked on adding some garden space. Yeah!!! Look at these kids! Aren't they adorable?

The boys dressed themselves and matched themselves. They were so proud. Here they are being paleontologists on a dinosaur hunt.

We pulled out the "baby strollers." Molly is quite the mommy lately. And is was bright, so she required sunglasses.

Katie also required shades, but only so she could look older. Seriously, how old is she?

Everybody Sing it Y-M-C-A!!!!

We love the YMCA! It's a great family outing on night's when the kids have too much energy. Plus, the boys are training for a triathalon, so this is a great place to practice swimming! In the past, the visit to the Y has been too much for our family. With the girls crawling or barely walking, changing in a family changing room, or even splitting up the kids, was too stressful. The fear of germs, cracked heads, and lost children, was just too much. Now that the girls are older, it's soooooo much easier! And all the kids LOVE it! Look at the faces of glee! (On a side note- There WOULD be pictures of the boys, but they immediately run off and play on the play structure and not only does my camera not take great pictures from far away in low-lighting, but they SPLASH me!!!!!). :)