February update- kind of a bummer blog post

What to say about February? Well, we had one. I guess that's really all I can say about it! Nothing bad happened but I have diagnosed myself with a mild case of Seasonal Affective Disorder (I pretty much self-diagnose every winter!). It really has been mild but every weekday I go to the Y, work out, shower, and then rack my brain to find something to do to fill the hours until nap time. I know that sounds bad but I'm just being honest. The winter is always a harder time for us, financially, so I haven't been able to help my plight with any pay activities, like the indoor play areas that are a good way to whittle away the hours. It's mostly been too cold to go to the park, although on the few nice days we've spent as much time outdoors as possible. So we have been spending lots of time at Whole Foods, where, for the price of some bananas, dried beans, and a cup of coffee, the kids and I can walk around, check out the fish, expensive cheese, taste a sample, and let Finn drive one of the kid-sized carts they have. It's a good way to pass an hour. We love the library but my kids would rather walk around the story room, opening and closing doors and pulling books off of shelves. What the heck?!

The kids have also had back-to-back colds so we've been spending lots of time at the dr's office. I love their pediatrician but as far as a place to hang out, it's not so great. We discovered Carolina has an allergy to penicillin, so she got a crazy rash over her entire body.

Finn had his first dentist appointment, in which it was discovered that he needs 11 fillings and two crowns. Yes, you read that correctly. No, I've never heard of an almost-three-year-old having crowns. The general consensus is that he has some enamel malformations (I don't think this is related to his Isovaleric Acidemia) and that plus his low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet and strong love of raisins contributed to the decay. We have brushed his teeth just like we did with Maggie and she's never had a single cavity! And yet I still feel guilty about it, like I should have done something differently. He has his first (of two) sedation dentistry appointments scheduled for March 6.

There have been a few other events in February though, like Valentine's Day. This was our first Valentine's Day where Maggie was in a class with more than four other children, so it was fun making her Valentines. I will probably hate myself one day for saying this but I hope my kids will always give out homemade Valentines. I'm not putting down store-bought ones but it's really fun to make them. I got a great idea from Pinterest (that's a phrase I find myself saying every day!) and we made these fun ones for Maggie.
We took this photo of her (it took about 4 photos before we got the right one) and then I made little slashes on her hand with my X-acto knife and threaded the lollipop through them.
The lollipop was in there tight enough that I didn't even have to use tape. Her teacher said they were the hit of the class! They were so easy, too, and took about thirty minutes to take the photo, cut the slashes, put the pops in, and let her address them.

Another hard (but good) thing was the departure of our good friends, the Robinsons. We have known JP and Jill since Grant and I were first dating and their daughter, Riley, and Maggie, have been best friends since they were in preschool together, almost three years ago. They are two peas in a pod. They're moving to Uganda for missionary work and will be there at least two years. We had Riley over for one last sleepover four days before they left and after we said goodbye Maggie basically cried off and on for two days. If we talk about it now, almost a week later, she will start crying again. It's been so hard to watch. On the one hand, having the perspective of a 32-year-old, I know she will be okay and have other best friends. But on the other hand, it just makes me so sad to remember how helpless it feels to be a little kid and have big changes that you have no control over. She said to me, "The next time Riley sleeps over we will be EIGHT!" and then dissolved into sobs.This is random but we played outside that morning and Riley and Maggie harvested the last of our carrots. My favorite is the purple one hidden on the bottom.I feel bad writing such a downer of a post. I really try to be encouraging and positive (in life and on the blog) but I felt the need to be honest about our blah February. Let me leave you with something a little humorous to make up for it.
On Sunday I went to Trader Joe's for our week's groceries. Everything was unloaded onto the table from the bags, and just as I was putting the last box of cereal away I remembered I had purchased a bag of flour but didn't recall putting it away. I spent 30 seconds looking for it and realized quickly that the door to Finn's room was closed. Immediately I knew where I could find that bag of flour.Yes, that is my hand in the lower left corner, holding an empty five pound bag of flour. As soon as I saw what happened I yelled for Grant to come with his camera. I know this may not be great parenting, but it makes me less angry if I can document the crazy messes that they make. It helps me realize the humor in it. Here is exhibit B, Carolina in the flour. She was an innocent bystander but she enjoyed the fun texture nonetheless.All right, I don't know about you, but I for one will be glad to welcome March! Until then you can find me at Whole Foods, turning $5 and an hour into a pretty fun outing.