Fantastic Four: Snow Day.

Well, we got about 3 more inches of snow from this past snow storm than we did the Blizzard of 2015.
But, at 12 degrees, it's just too cold to go out to play.
So it's inside for us today.

We've played pet store and airplanes, put away laundry, cleaned rooms, ate, played legos, worked on the Social Studies Fair project, played more legos, napped and now we're learning about dinosaurs. Tonight is the Fat Tuesday Pancake Supper at church, too. I'm glad we got a day off!

Yesterday we had President's Day off. We went to the Udvar-Hazy Museum on Sunday so Sam could take some pictures of his beloved F6F Hellcat and B26 Marauder. The boys saved up their money and bought themselves toy P38 Lightening planes. They were so darn proud of themselves. They played with these planes like they were their babies. And within 18 hours, BOTH were broken.
GRRRRRR.
If the boys had been abusing the planes, it would have been understandable. However, they were not. In fact, I would argue they were playing with them MUCH more gently that most children would. And they STILL broke. On Monday morning I called the museum gift shop to see what they could do for us.
This was their solution: They would only accept an exchange for the same plane if we showed up with the broken planes and the receipts that day. We would have to pay $15 to park, but IF we were able to get the return taken care of in 30 minutes or less, the money we paid for parking would be refunded.
It's an hour and a half each way to get there and back. The gas alone cost more than the silly planes.
With the boys being really upset about their broken treasures, the stupid limitations they put on the return and the sneaking suspicion that the gift shop staff really didn't expect me to show up, I sensed a challenge. Not being smart enough to let it go, we girded up for adventure.
I shoved everyone in the car with the necessary materials and drove to Dulles. The kids were great. Seriously. They behaved beautifully. We parked the car, with the timers on our watches going, raced into the museum, got through security and marched all five of us into the gift shop. They were aghast that we actually showed up. They gave the boys no problem about the exchange and we were able to get to the bathroom and get back to the parking office on time for our fee to be refunded. But still. That was a lot of hoops to jump through.
Turns out my energy expenditure may have been misplaced. The boys have been playing so well with their airplanes and just a few minutes ago, the landing gear on Nate's broke off. Nate cried hysterically.
I was able to convince him that his pilot was highly skilled because he could land the plane with only rear gear. He bought it hook, line and sinker - but I'm dreading when the planes break and I can't come up with a story.
It's disappointing. We don't expect crap stuff from the Smithsonian.
Live and learn.

February has been a tough month. I've learned a lot about streamlining and managing when Jim travels. It's not easy - but we're making it through, with a little help from friends. The winter is welcome down-time. Before we know it, there will be soccer and t-ball and dance to contend with. I'm enjoying the relative calm.
Who am I kidding?
Calm?
Here?
Ha!

We've made some changes in our diet and have seen some positive behavior changes - especially in Sam. We're doing our best to eliminate all artificial colors and flavors. After reading research about the impact of those additives on the behavior of some kids with ADD, we figured it would be worth a shot to try for a while. We saw it as a win-win scenario, leading us to healthier eating, even if we didn't see significant change. The good news is that, after 6 weeks, we've seen some positive changes in Sam's ability to pay attention. He's freaking out less and seems to be having an easier time in school. Sam says school is still boring and he doesn't like it, but it's easier to behave and listen. The changes for Sam have been significant enough that he's self regulating and monitoring his diet very well. It's by no means a cure all, but there is improvement. The colors and flavors are everywhere. I'd be lying if I said we didn't miss M&Ms, Skittles and Rice Crispies - but in this case the drawbacks are outweighing the benefits.
We'll try to keep this up as long as we see it's worth it.
So far it has been.

Benjamin is becoming an articulate little bugger. Eight and 9 word sentences are common. He knows his airplanes, dinosaurs, trains and Legos. He also knows he gets a wide berth because he is the baby and he uses that to his advantage.
He is in his own bed now and will attempt to migrate into our bed a few times each night. He knows Mama is much less likely to get up and put his butt back in his bed - so he heads straight for me at night. ;)
Nate is all signed up for another year of Pre-K next year. He is doing well and loves school, but we just don't feel the need to push him into it - especially with his birthday being right at the cut-off. I'm excited to have him around for another year. :) He is getting better with his sight words and is happy to be learning to read. Once it's warm enough that we can be outdoors comfortably, we're all looking forward to resuming our adventures. We learned about some hot springs in WV that we want to check out and have some studying to do before the VE Day Flyover. It will be more than enough to keep us busy. Being bored never seems to be a problem here. Thank goodness.
Caroline is enjoying her dance classes and tapping her way through the house much of the time. It can be exasperating to remind her that the Dairy Aisle in Wegmans is not the place for interpretive dance performances, but we're glad to see her like it so much. We saw a color guard show last week and she was enthralled. to the point where she is contriving to transfer high schools to get to the only Frederick County school with a winter guard program. She is reading Greek Mythology and studying up on her saints for Little Flowers. The girl reads more than any human I've ever met. It's amazing. She's a cool kid.
Heck - they all are.