Au Revoir!

Good bye for now all.... we're off to Meet a Mouse! (and more importantly, reacquaint ourselves with a little thing we here call the SUN!!!!!!)

Poor Snowman

HEEELLLLP! Let me out of here!!! Someone! HELLLLPPPPP!!!!!

Rob's birthday party

So here's Rob's birthday party, a few days early.






I think the snowman cake was a hit, but... if I would've only thought through the implications of pre-schoolers and black frosting. UGH. Good bye freshly mopped kitchen floor, hello little sugar-hyped black handprints EVERYWHERE.





















Rob's present was a baby book. For his 38th birthday. But he has hinted about wanting one for awhile, as he apparently didn't have one as a youngster, so his mother and I conspired (she supplied pictures, I supplied man-power), and viola! Babybook. Suitable heirloom for future generations of Ahos. Oh yeah, and a pair of down-hill skis, too. :)










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SHHHHHH!

SHHHHHH! Here's Robbie's birthday cake, as we will be celebrating his birthday a few days early. If it looks a little (or a lot) like Addison's birthday cake that my sister made last week, that's because I shamelessly copied it. If the back has an excessive amount of "fill in" frosting, that would be because of (SHHHHHH again) little squirrel nibbles when I set it outside on the deck to freeze. Geez, it's alot easier to take a picture of a cake than of little boys. It didn't blink or squirm, and it smiled quite nicely!

Ode To The Insinkerator

OOOOHHHH lovely, round, shiny new garbage disposal. How I have waited and longed for you. For 10 years and more, I have mourned your absence. Now, wonders of wonders, there you are, at the bottom of my kitchen sink, to eat our garbage, to make my dishwashing light. Look how your mouth opens to feed on our leftovers. See how you yawn and groan and chomp. Welcome, my amazing new friend. Welcome to our home. May your stay be long, may our dishwashing together be brief.

My boys

I dread the day when the boys will be too big to sit on my lap, too "manly" to snuggle with their mom after a mid-day nap. So I hold them very tight, and breathe in every second, because I know it's fleeting. They're my little boys for such a short time. I miss them already, and they're still right here in my arms.

Not much to Report

It's a good thing our trip to Florida is coming soon, because I don't know how many more times I can blog about being "stuck inside because of cold weather". We do have swimming lessons once a week, which is a highlight of energy expenditure for little boys. But it's only 30 minutes. Not NEARLY long enough. Next week is our last session, and I'm hoping that we can connive someone un-wet to take pictures for us. The boys really do great!

Here's a picture of Quinn "making a cake" with Play-doh. We've been cutting back on sugar pretty dramatically lately, and so he has to "pretend" to get it. Poor kid.

Children's Museum

Today's adventure was a trip to the not-so-local Children's Museum. Two sets of twins, an infant, and two brave mothers ventured snowy roads in a loaded-down mini van, in an effort to "get out of Dodge" for the day. We had a great time, although crankiness raised it's head on several occasions, due to lack of naps. We EVEN got in a little shopping at Kohl's first, all 5 kids in tow. Now THAT'S bravery.

Snow bound... part 38

ANOTHER blizzard, another below-zero day stuck inside. WILL THIS WINTER NEVER END???
Today's challenge, apparently, was to see how many 3 year olds could fit into a single laundry hamper without tipping over. I admire their perseverance and teamwork in accomplishing this task. Why it had to be done nearly naked, I can't say. Must be some twin-law that requires Thomas the Tank Engine underwear to be forever unhindered by pesky pants and shirts. You'd think they'd be cold, but... NOOOOO. Keeping them dressed is a full-time job.

Ice Skating

While Mom was at work, Dad took the boys to the park to go ice skating for the first time. Except not on skates. Please notice the graceful turns, the "triple Aho Dumptruck axel", the "Pre-schooler Lutz". Overall, it was a Gold-Medal quality performance that brought tears to a mother's eyes. Bravo, Quinn! Bravo.

Winter Carnival

One of the highlights of our overly-long and overly-snowfilled winters is the Winter Carnival. Enormous, elaborate snow sculptures crop up, and it's quite a sight to behold! We spent the morning with our friends the Sommervilles. None of the four boys appreciated the cold much, and we kept having to make detours inside. Then, on the way home, after seeing all these amazing statues, Colby yells "LOOK MOM! A SNOWMAN!" Very impressive. Oh well. It was still fun, and we got to be outdoors!

Family Game Night

Candyland: a Christmas gift that was bought with thoughtful intentions of teaching turn-taking, color recognition, fine motor precision, improved attention span, and an attitude of "good sportsmanship".
The Reality: Strip, full-contact Candyland, which is inescapably reminiscent of orangutans.

Oh well.

HELP

WINTER....GETTING....LONG...

FAMILY....BECOMING....CRABBY...

SUN...PLEASE....COME...BACK....

DESPERATE....