If you can't beat it, eat it

Sneaking bites and licks of snow seems is one of the boys' favorite outdoor activities. I really don't know what makes it so irresistible, but they manage to gobble down mouthfuls everytime we play outside!

And here's a cute video of Jack giving Peter a ride in the sled:

Extreme Grocery Shopping

As I was grocery shopping with these 3 adorable boys this morning, it occurred to me that I've become acquainted with what I like to think of as "extreme shopping" :). Let me preface this by saying that they are generally good kids, and there are only three of them, but taking them out on big errands (and grocery shopping for our household definitely qualifies!) makes me feel like I'm going on a difficult and dangerous mission. Now, I realize that I don't have to take the kids grocery shopping. I could go out after they go to bed, or maybe on Saturday morning (and once in a while I do), but I really don't like spending our evening/family time out at the store. Also, I figure that if I never took the kids grocery shopping, how would they learn how to behave correctly or, as they're older, how to shop smartly?

So, the prep work for my mission usually begins the night before with making my shopping list as efficiently as possibly -- grouping like items together and all that. Then I go through my coupon collection and stick the relevant ones in my bag. On the morning of, I try and get us out of the house first thing after breakfast because the store is less crowded. We get to the store, and Jack and Thomas walk while Peter rides in the seat. Jack and Thomas are generally pretty good about helping me pick out produce or grab cans off the shelves when I ask them to, but eventually they get a little bored and they start to wander farther and farther from the cart. As I'm wrangling them back toward the cart, I notice Peter poking at the glass jam jars that I've unwittingly parked him next to (there's not much choice, since the only safe place is the dead center of the aisle!). So I dash back in time to grab the jar, and by then Jack and Thomas are milling around, asking for whatever cereal or granola bar has cartoon characters on the front, and generally obstructing the aisles for other people who are trying to get their cart through.

We push on, and as the cart gets fuller, Peter is able to reach back and grab items and either squish them or throw them onto the ground. Jack's and Thomas's radius from the cart gets larger, bit by bit. I search for something mildly entertaining to amuse Peter while we finish up, and the only thing I come up with is my bag full of colorful coupons. He flaps them around, tries to open the bag, and he's occupied for a few minutes. Jack and Thomas hop on the sides of the cart, which solves the problem of them wandering around too much, but then they start fighting over which side of the cart is best, and inevitably one of them ends up in front of the cart, dragging his feet so the "brakes" are on :). I have them walk next to me again, and they start reminding me of fast-moving crabs, meandering around, reaching out to pinch each other or poke at items on the shelves. Then I look at Peter and notice that my coupon bag is nowhere to be found! It's not in the cart, and nowhere in the immediate vicinity. I spent time cutting and organizing those coupons, but the thought of retracing my last 45-minutes worth of steps to find that silly bag makes my heart sink. No, it's just not worth it for those few dollars of savings. Note to self: don't let Peter have the coupon bag, even in times of desperation.

I double check my list, and may or may not go back for something I've forgotten. By this time, I've got my eye on the prize -- the exit door! Peter is in full whine mode because he lost the coupons and I won't let him squeeze the mushrooms. The boys roam around in little circles or poke around in the neighboring checkstands as I shell out entirely too much money for our groceries, and then we pack up and get home and part two of Operation Shop begins: Unload -- doh!

I am very grateful that we have money to buy plenty of good food, and I'm grateful that the boys don't throw big tantrums over things they want but I've said "No" to. And ... I'm also grateful that I only plan 1 shopping trip per week. We survived today's outing, and now there are six days until Operation Grocery Shop commences again. Woo hoo!

Snow angel

I can't decide...

whether Peter reminds me more of a tiny astronaut or the Michelin Man. :). In any case, something about a bundled-up toddler wandering around in the snow is too cute!

Sunday Best

Thomas passed his peanut test

We let Thomas have a little bit of peanut butter the last 2 days, and he had no reaction whatsoever. Hooray! We haven't tried tree nuts yet, but I'm guessing he's probably not allergic to those either.

So, it's definitely a relief to know that not all 3 kids are allergic to nuts, but at the same time, I don't really plan to change the way I cook or serve meals out of concern for cross-contamination. Watching Thomas eat his peanut butter, I can imagine what a headache would be to serve him PB&Js on a regular basis, for example, and to have to be really on top of him to make sure he didn't smear peanut butter on any toys, doorknobs, faucets, etc. on his way to wash his hands after lunch. I don't think I have the mental energy to decontaminate everything in sight on a regular basis!

My main source of relief is knowing that it's safe for him to have nuts, that we don't need to order an epi-pen for him, and we don't have to worry about what he might be served when he's not under our watchful eye. Whew!

Cabin Fever

I know, I know ... I just wrote a post last week about how cheerfully we were surviving the winter, but I may have been premature in my confidence about our ability to survive a Buffalo winter. Cabin fever struck the Campbell household big time this past weekend, and we're trying to figure out the best remedy before we lose our minds!

It's been coming on bit by bit, but this past weekend it was really evident that the boys have a major case of the crazies. They're bouncing around the apartment, playing too roughly, and generally sounding like a small herd of elephants. We try to corrall them into their room and playroom when they get too wild, but then they just end up causing trouble in there. On Saturday, for example, they were playing in their room when all of a sudden we heard very loud thumping sounds and we caught Jack using Peter's crib as a trampoline!

I thought I've been doing a good job about getting them out of the house for walks, playing in the snow, field trips, etc. but I think what they really need is to be able to run around and burn off energy. Walks are OK, but some of the sidewalks are crusted up with chunks of ice (which makes using a stroller difficult), and if we go at Peter's pace then the boys don't use up nearly enough energy. We've gone on a couple of outings to the science museum, which is a lot of fun (and it even has an indoor play area), but once again, the no running allowed thing really doesn't let them burn off steam. We have a lovely grassy area in our apartment complex, but even with the warmer temperatures recently (30s), the snow and ice is deep enough that running around out there just doesn't work so well. Jack can manage OK, but Thomas and Peter's shorter legs make them miserable pretty fast. And, to be honest, many times the weather is cold enough or windy enough that none of us really want to be out there anyway. It's great playing in fresh snow, but when the snow is gray and slushy, and there's an icy wind, it's not nearly as much fun.

So, the boys are spending more time in the house than they would like, and they can't really burn off energy in the house because any physical activity quickly escalates to lots of thumping and bouncing. They're frustrated, we're frustrated, and it seems like everyone's attitude has been suffering.

Last night David and I both came up with ways to improve behavior. David's incentive plan for the boys is that after 5 days of good attitudes and behavior, they'll get to go on a date with just David to do something fun. I think this is a great idea!

My idea was to turn our garage into a play space. We usually park our van in our one-car garage, but I'm going to try parking our car in our driveway (except for super snowy days) so the boys have an empty space (with no neighbors under it!) to bounce, jump, run around in circles, etc. a couple of times a day. I picked up some kid jump ropes, one of those bop bag things that you punch and it pops right back up, some sidewalk chalk, and a bouncing ball. We had fun this morning in our "basement" as the boys call it, although they got really impatient with learning how to jump rope. This afternoon, I think I'll take one of our portable speakers down there so we can have a dance party. The boys love dancing, but when they do their dance moves upstairs (i.e. "the shopping cart", "the weed whacker", "the chainsaw"), it can get pretty boisterous!.

So, we shall see how our plans work. Prayers for patience, cheerfulness, and creative ways to burn off 3 little boys' energy would be appreciated! People around here keep telling us that everyone gets really squirrely in February because it's been cold, dark, and gloomy for too long. I think the boys are starting a couple of weeks early -- ack! Here's hoping that the groundhog doesn't see his shadow!