2 New Recipes

I added 2 new Crockpot recipes on my recipe blog. Check them out! Let me know if you add any new recipes.

But MOM I said I want my BINKY NOW!!!!

Well, we made it through the first night. It involved 2 hours of crying, 2 rounds of vomit because he was soooo mad and cried so hard he puked, a poopy diaper, 2 rounds of sheet and pj changes, and a bath.
He woke up once in the middle of the night looking for his binky, but only cried for a few minutes. I wish I could find a gradual way to get rid of it, but since he chews on it more than he sucks on it, it is messing up his teeth. Cold turkey is the best route. I did cut the tips off, but only to prevent myself from giving in and giving it to him!
I just laid him down for his nap and he cried for 15 minutes, but now he is out. Whew!
Hopefully we make it through tonight!
I feel bad for him. Getting something that you have used for 19 months taken away. I feel bad messing with his comfort items. I guess he will just need to find a new way to comfort himself. Hopefully it isn't thumb sucking!

Bye Bye Binky!

So today is the day that I decided to wean Hayden from the binky. Any prayers and positive vibes you want to send this way would be appreciated! He has yet to fall asleep today (or this evening) without one!

Date Night

Woo Hoo! My friend Teresa insisted that she come over and play with Hayden so Joey and I can enjoy an evening out. How could we say no!
Hopefully I can sit down sometime this weekend and get my blog updated. We are enjoying the warmer weather, and hope the 2 inches of snow they are predicting stays at that. I think we are about 3-4 inches away from the record for the most snowfall ever!

Happy Birthday Joey!

Joey is into taking self portraits and strange shots, so in honor of him I figured I would post some of his pics.
Joey celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday! We had a fun family day. We went to a make-up kindermusik class in the morning. Hayden was soooo happy his daddy was at his class. Then we headed to Coralville to go to the mall. Ok, ok neither of those things were on top of Joey's birthday wish list of things to do, but we had to do them.
Then we came home and Joey and Hayden took a nap. In the evening our friend TeresaAnn came over bearing freshly baked cookies and raspberry pina coladas. They were yummy! We had a great time chatting.
All in all it was a pretty low key birthday. Hopefully we can do something fun and exciting for both of our birthdays, since mine is coming up as well.
Today we are staying inside. Joey and I have each been outside once shoveling. We are trying to keep ahead of the snow! It is VERY heavy snow!!!! It has been snowing soooo hard since 8 am. The unofficial measurement on our mailbox is 4.5 inches, but the wind has really started picking up and the snow is still falling hard. We can barely see across the street! The forecast calls for about 6 more inches this afternoon/evening. We will have to see what happens!
Stay warm!

Happy Valentine's Day

What is this thing?
Does it work like this?
Mom seriously.....do you have to shoot the bubbles in my face....let me show you how to do it
See.....like this
This is how you make bubbles!!!!

We had a relaxing Valentine's Day. Joey came home at lunch and surprised me with some tulips and a balloon and sucker for Hayden. Hayden and I were surprised! Joey didn't even eat, he just came home to drop our gifts off. How sweet!
Hayden got a bubble maker for Valentine's Day. Once he figured it out he didn't want to put it down. I am not sure what kind of bubbles came in that thing but they are non destructible bubbles. Hayden had a blast making huge bubble piles on the floor. Hmmmm maybe this would be a better outside toy!
We went out for dinner at Haciedna. We went early to beat the crowds. We were laughing because everyone in the restaurant had children or were retired. Oh what our life had become! WE wouldn't change a thing!!!

Fun with friends

We had a great weekend. Friday we met up with Matt and Stacy to meet Elaina. She is such a little peanut and adorable!!!! It was great to meet up with them even if it was for a short while! Looking forward to visiting them sometime in the next couple of months.
Saturday Joey's mom and I shopped around. It has been a long time since we have shopped together and we had a great time!
Saturday night Grandma and Grandpa Paricka watched Hayden while we went out to the hockey game with some friends. We had a blast! We are soooo thankful Hayden has such wonderful grandparents that like to watch him so we can go out for some alone time! Thanks again Joe and Bev!!!!!!!
We had a busy week and were able to get out of the house actually and go to some of our activities. Amazingly nothing was canceled due to the weather, even though we got another 6 inches of snow on Monday. Monday Hayden had PDO. Tuesday I had MOPS, and Wednesday Hayden had music class. He graduated to the big kids class and it sure is a lot different then the class he is used to. I think it will take a few classes for him to get warmed up.
Tuesday Hayden and I went to Kari's house for dinner and play time with Charlie and Will. It had been forever since we have seen each other! Kari made yummy meatloaf for dinner. They boys had a great time playing together. They even all got baths and dressed in their pj's before we headed home. Hayden was a little hesitant about jumping in the tub with the 2 boys, but once he was in he had a great time. After the bath we had a dance party. The boys had a blast dancing around stark naked! It was soooo funny! We had an awesome time!!! Thanks Kari!
We are going to hang around home this weekend. Joey's birthday is tomorrow, so I am sure we will find something fun to do.

Digging out

Hayden loves getting in Daddy's boots

Chocolate from Aunt Ingrid makes me feel better. In this pic he is saying uh-oh because I busted him. Somehow he got the package open and had most of it gone by the time I found him.


MMMMMMM Chocolate


You can't even see our street



Our neighbor


Our official snowfall total is 14.5 inches. Whew! It is so beautiful. I seem to be the only one in Iowa enjoying the snow! Joey even got to come home at 1:00 because his work let everyone go. It was nice. Of course he couldn't just come home and sit, so he picked Hayden up and they ran some errands. That gave me a great opportunity to get the floors moped and the kitchen scrubbed down!
Classes were canceled again today, and I know my friends with school aged children are ready for the kids to go back. They have been out of school for 3 days this week.
Hayden and I are trying to stay busy inside. If anyone has any activity ideas please feel free to share. We have been keeping busy coloring, playing, singing, and dancing.
Tonight I have dinner with my MOPS table. I am excited to see everyone. Then tomorrow we are heading up to Waterloo to see Matt and Stacy's new baby Elaina. Saturday night we are going to the hockey game with our friends for old times sake! We are looking forward to that. Grandma and Grandpa P are going to watch Hayden for us. I am so excited!!! Looking forward to a little adult time!!!!