I did more stuff this week than I’ve done in ages. I might die. Luckily (hahahahahahahaha NO NOT LUCKILY) we’re supposed to have a snowstorm this week so we’ll probably get a weather-related vacation in the middle of the week. I would rather we have gorgeous, amazing weather and I just take a day off to lie on the couch and let my hips recover, but it looks like instead we’ll be trapped in an eternal winter. I blame Frozen.

Sunday:

This is all we did Sunday. Alllllll day.

Monday:

REALLY EXCITED ABOUT SOMETHING

Yo ho let’s go

Father-son computer game bonding. Or something.

Tuesday:

Solo shopping with a coffee is like vacation.

Now they can stop asking when it will come!!

Hello baby face

Wednesday:

The last patch of snow (until #$%&*@# Tuesday)

Caroline is wearing a bathing suit, I don’t let her go out without pants on a regular basis.

Where did Evan go????

Thursday:

It’s spring, time for butterflies! (says Caroline)

I made the closet a fort, which means I’m her hero

Dr. Seuss & jammies night at Evan’s school

Friday:

If he REALLY minded, he would just move

360 freeze frame camera fun

Evan’s favorite part of the science center

Saturday:

Newborn session!

Watching Frozen extras and editing photos. My Saturdays are EXCITING.

I am going to actually write works and things on my blog this week. Stay tuned for much excitement.

Today’s surprising news: I’m not dead! I was certain I was about to be dead most of the weekend, thanks to the fountain of snot both coming out of my head and totally blocking my sinuses. If you’ve ever tried to use a netti pot and had the water come out your eye balls, you know why I was convinced of certain death. Today I am both not dead and well enough to be both hungry and bored, which is my normal state.

Sunday:

The most amusing game of duck, duck, goose I’ve ever witnessed.

Dinosaur heaven

Princess Anna give epic side-eye on House of Lies

Monday:

Totally obsessed with her veggiesaurus

My internet girlfriend/wife/best friend sent me a present. I did not share.

Signing his own valentine’s is HARD

Tuesday:

OMG THEY ACTUALLY HAD A SCHOOL DAY

This is the laundry chair, where I put the clean laundry. PLEASE NOTICE THE LACK OF LAUNDRY SITTING ON THE CHAIR.

In my next house, there will be separate tubs for children and relaxing

Wednesday:

Looking for Neverland

It’s the moooost wonderful tiiiiiiime of the yeeeeeear!!!

E finally got to eat his birthday cake

Thursday:

That iPad has totally paid for itself is mornings they did this instead of wake me up

The only family member still excited about snow

Snow days are exhausting

Friday:

The inmates are running the asylum.

CABIN FEVER

3 year old bath toes are cuter than mine

Saturday;

Trying to remember what a day WITHOUT snow looks like

If I HAD to be sick and unable to get off the couch, at least I picked the weekend House of Cards was released to do it.

Blushes judges me, but I finished season 2!

Today my goal is a) brush my hair and b) leave the house. I got (a) done at noon and I’m hoping to get (b) accomplished by going to see The Lego Movie later. Then maybe I can tackle harder things like “make dinner” or “unload the dishwasher”. I’m not pushing myself.

I didn’t want to jinx it before now, my it looks like E is really truly on vacation. The kids are ALMOST getting used to having him around, although every time they wake up and he’s still here they freak out again.

Sunday:

FTR as of today (a week later) this balloon is still floating

Playing with her favorite baby friend

They are excellent babysitters

Monday:

De-icing the steps

This is clean now, or I’d be too ashamed to share the mess

The view from my new couch is pretty good

Tuesday:

This hat is the best purchase of the winter so far

IT’S COOOOOOOOLD

They sent the kids home early because THIS.

Wednesday:

Doing snow karate in his pajamas

Sledding is 100 more fun when there is someone to help pull the sleds

Decorating all the cookies for her school celebration in the morning

Thursday:

Three

Twinkle lights on the train

She had a super great time

Friday:

Princess Caroline is pleased with her new gown

Chilis serves blue slurpees to children

A pile of gingers and pillows

Saturday:

This is how I get to sleep in on Saturdays

Two serious movie watchers

This is why having my husband home is AWESOME.

We’re watching The Walking Dead from the beginning (we’d only seen the first couple of episodes) so I’m not really sleeping. I CANNOT HANDLE ZOMBIES and yet I can’t stop watching this show. If E wasn’t home there is no way I could handle it, so we have to get through all of it before he goes back to working insane hours. I’m just so happy it looks like he’ll be home for Christmas.

I stopped doing Caroline’s monthly updates because it seemed so unnecessary – she had reached all her milestones and it was sort of boring (and braggy) to repeat over and over that my toddler was a genius. But then suddenly I realized it was November and we were only a few weeks away from 36 months old and I was going NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE.

But it’s definitely true. She may actually have been 3 for the last 6 months and I was just counting wrong. It seemed ridiculous to call her 2 when she never uses her a stroller, goes to a real preschool class, has no fear of new things or people, dresses herself, can order her own food at restaurants, sits through a full-length movie in a theater, and can sled down big giant hills without freaking out even a little bit.

(FTR, there’s a chain link fence at the bottom of that hill so they couldn’t go out into the road. It’s a perfect sledding hill.)

I think she acts so grown up because I treat her like she’s grown up. I expect the same things from her that I expect from her 4 1/2 year old brother, which might not always been fair for her but she handles incredibly well. It also makes my life easier, since they’re able to play together, share together and help take care of each other (and me – let’s be honest, being able to fetch things for you is a major reason to have kids). She is so kind and helpful and sweet and full of cuddles I sort of dread the 3’s. And the 4’s. And everything between 10 and 21. Right now when she gets super mad at me she mostly cries and says “I need a huuuuuuuuuuug!” I imagine that won’t last forever, so I’m trying to appreciate it now, even when it happens 14 times a day.

She had a dentist appointment and her flu mist spray on the same day last week and handled both without any crying or running away or fighting. She understands the concept of “Do this now and then it’s over and we can go home and have a cuddle”, although stickers or ice cream make very effective bribes. Sometimes there is a little bedtime stalling – especially if she thinks we’re having fun without her – but sleeps through the night 99% of the time. She finally grew a little bit (I’ll get stats at her check-up in January), but she’s wearing actual 3T sizes in shirts and 2T in pants, although yesterday she wore a pair of 18 month snow pants.

Caroline loves princesses and pink and sparkly things. She also loves running and screaming and playing in the dirt and jumping in muddy puddles and throwing snowballs. Right now she has absolutely no sense of girl things vs boy things or “acting like a lady” and the first time I hear anyone try to explain it to her I will LOUDLY tell them they are wrong. I hope she makes all her own decisions about her likes and dislikes forever, be it wearing gowns to the grocery store or running around the house in boots, underpants and a pirate hat.

Her likes include talking, animals, repeating everything I’ve ever said, pink, cookies, helping, hugs, her brother, Daddy, the iPad, princesses, dress up, snow, sledding, drawing, eating, talking some more, Christmas, sleeping, balloons, school, jumping, running, even more talking, books, singing songs she made up, What Does The Fox Say?, quesadillas, the aquarium, talking to people she doesn’t know at the store, Santa, movies, her stuffed ducky, her stuffed doggy, and her stuffed kitty.

Dislikes include being really tired, being really hungry, when Mommy says no, when Daddy goes to work, wearing the appropriate amount of clothing for winter in Connecticut, and “when Blushes [our cat] gets angwy and goes ‘HAAAAAACH'”.

I did a birthday questionnaire for Evan in writing, but Caroline is better at answering questions (although sort of hard to understand on video) so I broke out the record function on my DSLR for the first time ever and asked her about her favorite things:

Happy 3rd birthday to my Christmas Girl, Caroline Noelle! You are amazing and I love you bunches and bunches forever.

I survived party week! Now I have 10 days to clean up before Santa comes, takes one look at this disaster, and leaves with our gifts because I’m disgusting. I wouldn’t blame him.

Sunday:

Off to church

The Christmas tree farm has an adorable quaint tractor-pulled wagon to take you up the hill to the trees…or a heated mini bus. DUH.

Caroline Claus

Monday:

Trying to climb out the window at the pediatrician (wusses, it’s not even a flu SHOT)

Tree decorating

I’m the big one with the crown, the scribble on the left is E

Tuesday:

Snow day = cookies

They LOVE eating snow

Self portrait(s)

Wednesday:

Pretty

More snow eating

Thursday:

Sent him off to school in my slippers. I LOVE THE BUS.

My house really needs some Christmas lights. Maybe next year.

SO HAPPY her Mormor is visiting

Friday:

Bumpas are too tough to need coats

She was in a crazy bad mood considering we were shopping for her birthday

Storytime!

Saturday:

Castles for the Princess

World’s Tackiest Cake? The castle turns into a purse for carrying around the princesses. World’s BEST Cake!

Grandpas are awesome, because they read your new book 6 times in a row without complaining. Mommies don’t do that.

Besides the party and beating several levels of Candy Crush, I did NOTHING useful this weekend. It’s a good thing both kids love Caroline’s presents because it’s buying me a few days of recovery/time to get my photos together so I can share. Although Her Highness might be so spoiled at this point I never actually get a day off again. BRB, writing hate mail to the Navy.