Cabin Fever

Cabin fever set in hard core at the O'Connell house this week. After some nice weather over the past couple of weeks, we were treated to pretty much every kind of weather that Iowa has to offer with the exception of sunshine and mild temperatures. With very few opportunities to play outside, both girls went stir crazy. For some reason, both girls were extra tired all week as well, which as all parents know, makes life a little extra crazy.

Sadly, I don't have much exciting to write about this week so I'll give you a random list of happenings.

1. Bridget's new favorite thing to say is "Yup!" She pretty much answers every question that way. I find this a drastic improvement of being told no all of the time.
2. Abigail, along with all of the other girls in her dance class, were so tired on Wednesday that they were sitting down and refusing to dance. Her teacher made a point to tell all of the parents to get them extra sleep before next week.
3. Bridget is NOT a morning person. I have learned that it is better to make a bunch of racket prior to entering her room in hopes of her being awake when I open the door. If she is still sleeping when we go in, she acts like a teenager and pulls the covers over her head. Then she proceeds to throw a fit. 
4. Today, we met my uncle Mike and aunt Sara for lunch (along with my brother and his family) as they were passing through town. Both girls did great at lunch and as always it was great to see family.

Maybe next week I will have more things to write about.

Spring Break Craziness

From snow and wind to bright sunshine and warm, the weather for spring break was all over the board. Like the weather, we did a lot of interesting things as well. After having a sick kid at home the entire first weekend, we had a lot of fun the remainder of the week. On Wednesday I picked the girls up from daycare and we went to the car wash. This may sound silly, but the girls love going through the car wash so I usually try to take them with me. Bridget was funny to watch as she covered her eyes each time the sprayer went by her window.

Bridget hiding her eyes at the car wash

On Thursday afternoon we headed to my parents house for the weekend. We did a lot of things during the trip including getting our taxes done, visiting my grandparents in Waukon, and attending a memorial service to support a couple of friends from high school. When we arrived in Evansdale there was several inches of snow on the ground, so we headed outside Friday morning to do some sledding. One of my old sleds allowed Bridget, Abigail and I to go down all together. We all had a blast! By the time we got back from Waukon on Friday evening, nearly all of the snow was gone.

Bridget pulling her sled back up the hill

As usual, both girls had a great time visiting Great Grandma and Grandpa Zobeck. I think grandma and grandpa enjoyed it as well. 

Posing for a picture before we leave

A surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa Weiler, along with Great Grandma Engelmann this morning was a lot of fun for Bridget and I. Sadly, Erin and Abigail were at church and just missed them. We capped off the weekend playing outside and enjoying the nice weather. 

Fever And Sledding

Last Thursday I got a call from daycare that Bridget was refusing to eat and was running a fever. I picked her up and brought her home. That fever came and went all weekend and didn't fully disappear until Monday. In true Bridget fashion she was still acting her normal silly self for the most part.

On Sunday night we got a few inches of snow. When I picked up Abigail after work she asked if we could play in the snow. After we got home we got all bundled up and headed out to play in the yard. After playing for a bit I decided to load up the sled in search of a hill. Now Grimes is fairly flat so we settled for a small hill near Abigail's school. That hill is all we needed as we spent the next hour having a blast sledding down the hill. That was most likely the last time we will get to play in the snow this year and was a great way to end it.

This week we are preparing for a trip to Evansdale to see my parents as well as to Waukon to see my grandparents. The girls love visiting their grandparents and I know that my grandparents love seeing them.

Lent Begins

This past Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent has been my favorite church season for years, there is something about inward reflection and focusing on improvement that drives and excites me. On Wednesday evening, Abigail's faith formation class was cancelled in favor of Ash Wednesday mass so we headed to church after her dance class was over. She was very full of questions throughout the mass and I was very impressed at the observations that she was making. I hope that she continues to show curiosity at church and ask questions.

On Friday evening I returned to church with Abigail and Bridget to attend the Knight's fish dinner while Erin went out after work with the teachers from her school. Baked tilapia, oven potatoes, mac and cheese, and green beans made a very enjoyable meal for all. The girls were very well behaved and ate well also.

Now that I have you thinking my kids are perfect and adorable all of the time, I'll throw in some additional reality from the week. Last night, Abigail and I were planning to attend a daddy-daughter dance, but Abigail lost her chance to attend after getting in trouble at school on Thursday. I guess the incentive of spending an evening with an amazing daddy like myself just wasn't enough.

We have been keeping "Caught you being good!" sticker sheets for both girls. After receiving a certain number of stickers they earn a prize. The current prize was a date night with either mommy or daddy. For some unknown and suspicious reason, Bridget chose to go with me. Since my Saturday evening was freed up, I planed to take her to Pizza Ranch as she wanted to eat pizza. When it was time to get ready and leave, her little brain decided to start interpreting requests and commands backwards. In a span of about 15 minutes while just trying to get her shoes on, she did pretty much every naughty thing that she knows how to do. In the end, I gave up and decided it wasn't worth it and thought we would try again another time. 

Warm Weather And Party Time

Last week we had unseasonably warm temperatures, in fact it felt more like May then it did February. It was nice to actually enjoy some time outside and for the girls to be able to burn off some extra energy at school and daycare. The weather snapped back to normal this weekend, but with March starting this week spring is just around the corner. Every year I am convinced that January - March is the worst part of the year. The holidays have ended, the hours of daylight are reduced, and we are stuck inside day after day. Both kids and parents have extra energy and cabin fever sets in really bad. Anytime we get a few nice days it brings up everyone's spirits, even if only for a short time.

This past weekend we were planning to head up to my parent's house on Friday to attend a surprise birthday party for my uncle Mike and aunt Janet. I'm very blessed to have large families on both my mother and father's side that includes many aunts and uncles and a nearly countless number of cousins. It isn't often that we are able to attend family gatherings, so I was very excited when this party was planned. It seems that all winter long, every time we plan to travel, a snow storm hits. Snow and high winds on Friday forced us to cancel our plans. Luckily, we woke up to clear skies and sunshine on Saturday morning, so I decided to head up for a day trip and I took Abigail with me.

It was great to visit and catch up with several of my aunts and uncles. It was even more fun to see the excitement on the face of my aunt and uncle as they opened the door to the hall and saw all of the familiar faces (they were very much surprised). Even though it doesn't happen often, and is even more difficult with young kids, spending time with family is my most favorite thing to do and saying good bye and the end is always hard. I often wish that my kids had the chance to be as close to my aunts and uncles as I was as a child, but life never seems to be that simple. For now, I will try to cherish the opportunities we do get.

Valentine's Day And Hair Twirling

On Monday, Erin and I got to attend a Valentine's party at Abigail's school. We started with breakfast in the cafeteria and then went back to her classroom for a short program and talent show. I'm pretty sure it was the cutest thing that I have ever seen. A bunch of kindergartners singing songs is a great way to start the day. Abigail was so proud and excited to have Erin and I at school with her and we are equally as proud at how well she is doing in Kindergarten.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we have been dealing with trying to break a hair twirling habit that Bridget has had for quite some time. She twirls her hair in combination with sucking her thumb. Over the past year we have tried everything that we can think of to keep her from sucking her thumb.  We have used thumb guards, taped on mittens at nap and at night (those seem to be the worse times), and most recently tried some of the bitter nail polish. Everything worked for awhile, but nothing got the job done and it kept getting worse and worse. Finally, I talked Erin into letting me get Bridget's hair cut short enough that she couldn't twirl it. Tonight I took her to Great Clips and got it done. Of course, Bridget is 2, so even a really short hair cut looks cute on her. We are hoping for the best.

Lastly, it isn't often that we get temperatures in the 50s and 60s during February. We have taken advantage of the weather and have done some playing outside. I think getting out of the house has done us all some good.

Five And Two

I have been thinking about reviving this blog for awhile now but have struggled with where to start. Instead of reliving the past 5 years, I have decided to just pick up from where we are right now.

As I write this Abigail is 5, of course she would be mad if she knew I told you that because according to her she is "5 and a half". She is in kindergarten this year and doing VERY well there. She is also taking pre-ballet dance class every week on Wednesday and also is in faith formation classes at our church, St. Theresa's on the same night. Wednesday's are busy.

Abigail just finished up her first season of basketball and she had a lot of fun. She had really great coaches and improved a lot from start to finish. I was very glad that she enjoyed basketball and not so secretly hope that she doesn't lose her passion for it anytime soon.

Abigail playing some good defense

Bridget is 2 and oh my goodness is she a busy body. She has a fantastic vocabulary for her age and loves to read books (or should I say have them read to her). She is also very fast and very daring, which is often not a good combination. She was given the nick name "Dozer", short for bulldozer, at daycare when she was quite young because she runs over anything that gets in her way.

Coming off of a year that involved taking a picture of Bridget every day for a Picture-a-day scrap book that my wife is making, we have been taking it easy on pictures for the last month. Just last week she finally started showing interest in smiling for the camera again.

We made a snowman without getting cold

Our life is far from perfect, and I am certainly not the best dad in the world, but this is our life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Many days, it feels like success to just get everyone through alive and in one piece, but there are so many great and happy moments mixed in.

If you are still with me, my guarantee to you is that I won't sugar coat any of it. I will share the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows as they happen. Enjoy!