Victory Pig

Phil found that you can order his favorite pizza to be shipped direct!

Pip/Mom frustration chart

February was a hard month for me and Pip.  Homework was a struggle.  Lots of pulling and pushing and more misery than productivity.  I hate getting mad, I am not sure how to motivate and at the end of it all we were both spent, depressed, and frustrated.

Time for change.  The \never give up mantra does not mean you can't change tactics and take breaks.  After some research and soul searching, I came up with this plan.  Hung the trick words all day and woke around 2am with my plan of attack.  I came down in the middle of the night and drew it up on the board.  

The strategy, for now is working.  The idea is frustration doesn't have to be an enemy.  If you can work thorugh it calmly, you are golden.  Notice when that happens.  When getting angry, notice that too and make it easier.  Try to build the confidence and get back to a calm state.  If you get to frustrated and sad, take a break and come back later.  This is common sense gold in action.

Grady love

We had a wonderful week with Grady this February.  He's such a love.  Dogs really do bring out a gentle side in kids.

Conked

What happens when Meggie takes a nap and then watches videos at 7pm  Those little greens are indeed peas she was snacking on.

Frogs with fur coats?

Phil took Pip and Ever on a hike to the frog pond to see what happens to the frogs in the winter.

But first, some sledding.

All smiles as they head out!

Watch out!

They found a fort.

Finally made it to the pond.

Ever needed a lift back to the car.

Slapstick snowman

This snowman also came to life, and hit Pip with a snowball.

Day 2 on the slopes

Day two was nearly 50 degrees and PACKED.  I think we waited 45 minutes for chair lifts!  Lots of time to snag some pictures!

The girls took a break for hot chocolate with Daddy.

Tang Dynasty

The BEST restaurant on Leominster!!

Animal adventures, take 2

This time with the Pattersons!

The bunnies were their favorites!

First day on the slopes!

We hit Wachusett for our first family day on the slopes.  It's a lot of work getting there, getting geared up, and footing the bill.  But the kids did awesome in lessons!!  

Here they are about to head out!

Pip with Dan, his awesome instructor.  Pip has teetering on frustration and Dan worked patiently.  I think they took 5 hot chocolate and munchkin breaks to get through the morning.

But the result was well worth it!

Meggie had the tiniest skis and she was great at keeping them pointed straight.  She would hold on to my pole and follow me down!  The only hard part with her was the flats.  That was a workout!

Viv on the polar kids sled, heading to her mountain!

We found Daniel Parsons there!

Meanwhile, we bowled

Meanwhile, as Daddy and Vivie were on their date, me, Pip, and Meggie hit the lanes.  

Valentine's Sleepover

Pip had his first sleepover with Duncan.  On Valentine's Day.  How things have changed for Phil and I!!

The boys didn't conl out until around 11:30.  Here are they are pretending to sleep so I could text a pic to Alexis.

Math with Meggie

Pip and Vivie love teaching Meggie stuff.  Here's a cute moment with Pip working on her math just before bed.

Grump Vivian

Vivie can get Grumpy too and it's not easy to dissuade her.  The video technique worked wonders on her as well.

Attack of the lizard tape dispenser

Vivie made an unfortunate decision to jump off the ottoman directly on to the lizard tape dispenser.  Just as we were about to head to bed on a Sunday night.  The howl she made was incredible.  The lizard was silent, but also took a beating.

The slide ran vertically along the underside of her ring toe.  It was quite a bleeder and we weren't sure if stitches were in order.  So we bandaged her up and hit the road to the ER.

Pip wrote her a note of concern and love while we were gone.

The ordeal took about 4 hours, no stitches needed.  She never cried at the ER even once with all the poking, prodding, and new bleeding.  Brave one.

Amalrylis

My birthday gift from Tasha.  It's in full bloom now, a few months later as I am writing this in March.  But back in February it was full of promise.

Meggie tacking some spaghetti

Snow bunnies

It's not often, but it does happen.  Vivie wants to play outside in the cold, snowy winter.  And Pip's not that up for it.  So out she goes.  Even found Bridget willing to join her!

Sink Pedicure

I am really not sure what was going on here.  It's a lot like the "If you give a mouse a cookie" book series.

If you give Pip and Connor legos, they are gonna want to make boats.  If they make lego boats, they are going to want to see if they float.  If they want to see if they float they will fill up your sink with water.  If they fill up your sink with water they are going to put the legos in.  Once the legos go in, they roll up their sleeves to play with them in the water.  The water will splash so they will have to take their shirts off.  Once they take their shirts off, they will want to take their socks off too.  Once their socks are off they will want to get their feet wet.  To get their feet wet they will sit up on your island.

Pip's basketball team

This was a learning year for Pip.  Some os the kids on his team were quite good and he was on the younger side of the age bracket.  So we worked our skills and did our best not to get discouraged.  I was very proud of my man for never giving up and always trying his best.  Here's a picture from the last day.