I never mean to take so much time off from blogging, but life really gets in the way. But aside from Carmine and I both dealing with a horrible cold, we're mostly doing well.
Construction on the addition is moving along much quicker than I expected. Along with the new room, we also got all new windows put in throughout the whole house, and they look fabulous - and the house feels warmer already! I'm going to take some pictures, because I don't know if they'll ever be this clean again. As a matter of fact, several of them have already been graced with finger- and nose-prints.
Next up is A/C, which will be happening this week, then insulation, then sheetrock. And we have to choose carpeting and a paint color, too - that's the fun stuff : ) We're hoping the boys can be moved in by Easter. If things continue to proceed as they have been, I think that's a very realistic timeframe - and a very exciting one, too, especially since we're all a bit topsy-turvy right now. Since Carmine's old room is now a work area, he's bunking in our room. We moved his crib in there, and tried to sleep in there with him, but with us in the room, he was waking up roughly every two hours.
So we gave up on that idea and moved into the guest bedroom. Luckily we have a pretty nice guest bed, so it's not that big a deal, but it will be nice to have everyone back in their own rooms. And it'll also be nice to NOT have sawdust and sand and mud being tracked all over the house all day long. And it will be really nice to not have to leave the house at 8:30am and stay out all day, as we've been doing quite a bit lately, due to the noise and mess.
It's not like that every day - most days we're able to at least come home for lunch, and sometimes even for part of the afternoon - but there are some days where it just isn't possible for us to be here. So we've been doing lots and lots of errands, and spending lots and lots of time at the library, and going out for lots of afternoon snacks at the coffee shop. It would be easier if the weather was nice and we could just go hang out at the park, but if we were doing all this when the weather was nice, we wouldn't be able to be out in the yard, since it's littered with nails, wood, and shingles. So in the long run, I think it's good we're getting it all done now, and we'll have our yard back by the time the weather's nice enough to enjoy it.
In other news, we're gearing up for February vacation week, and I'm checking the forecast and making plans based on what the weather's going to be. I have lots of ideas to keep us busy - just need to decide what we'll do when. I'm still not a fan of February vacation, but this year will be nicer than last year, since I won't feel trapped at home all week with a 3-week-old baby who needs to be nursed around the clock.
That little baby, who is now almost 13 months old, does have a huge appetite, but is now only nursing about three times a day. And the other day, he actually only nursed once in the morning. It was one of those days where we were forced out and about for the entire day, and I was feeling so sick that I decided to go to the walk-in clinic, so wasn't home to nurse him before bed, and then at 8pm, I realized that I hadn't fed him at all since 7:30 that morning. On the one hand, it's nice to not have to schedule my day around feedings, but on the other hand, it makes me sad that he doesn't need me for that anymore.
I'll still keep up the morning and bedtime feedings, and as often as possible will nurse him at least once during the day, and hopefully we've got a while longer before he weans completely. I'm not quite ready to let go of it entirely.
He really is growing up fast, though. Still no real words, but he's definitely trying to communicate, and he loves to get a laugh and have a laugh, and has SO much fun playing with his big brothers. They entertain him so well, and he does a pretty good job as entertainer, too. We have a lot of laughs at the dinner table. And if we're out to eat at a restaurant, Carmine will dance along (in his highchair) to the music that's playing. It's one of the cutest things I've ever seen. He's a dancin' fool!
He's also obsessed with climbing, and is getting way too good at it. It makes me so nervous, but there really isn't a whole lot I can do about it. He's determined, and when he finds something to climb, he climbs it. We keep him away from the stairs, but I don't think it's going to be long before he's able to climb up onto the kitchen chairs, which are on the tile floor. Ugh.
Winter continues to drag on, but we have been lucky enough to have a bit of a respite from the ridiculously frigid temperatures and the snow/ice storms every two days. The kids actually had two full weeks of school in a row! And this past week we were treated to some really nice temperatures. I was happy when it got up to 37 (Dante proclaimed it to be "like summer!"), but even happier when it was up near 60 yesterday! We took advantage of the warm weather and a half-price admission special, and spent the afternoon at the zoo. So nice to walk around outside and not be cold. And even nicer to not have to put on gloves or hats or even coats!
It's back to cold and windy today, but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, which is nice. And despite how awful the weather has been this winter, it has seemed to go by fast. I'll be happy when February is over, even though March can still be a rough month.
Dante and Gabe are doing well, too. Dante is such a good companion as we roam around when we're forced out of the house. He never stops talking. Seriously. Never. But it's ok - we have some fun conversations as we're driving around, or shopping, or eating. We had to buy him new sneakers this week because he outgrew his, and he insisted that he wasn't getting bigger - his shoes and clothes were just getting smaller.
Gabe has been doing really well at school, and we're continuing to educate ourselves about the ADHD and work on our responses to his behavior at home. We still struggle with some stuff, but I have seen some improvements, and we'll continue to work on it.
His birthday is coming up, and I have no idea what on earth to get him. All he wants is video games, and we're not going there yet, so I've got to come up with some ideas of my own. What do 7-year-old boys like besides video games? He's already got so many toys and games, I'm at a loss here, and better start doing some brainstorming, because I do want to get him at least one or two presents. I think I may just get some outdoor toys, since those never seem to last more than a season or two, and we could use some new stuff.
Running continues to go well, too. (knocking on wood furiously) Next major race is the half-marathon in Providence on May 1st. I'm doing a 5K at the end of March, too, and probably a 5k in April. But the big thing now is to see if I can finally start to increase my mileage without any ill effects. I'm now running 3 times a week, but decreased the length of each run so that I was still holding steady at just about 12 miles a week. But my physical therapist agreed that it's time to test this out a bit, and see how the leg will respond if I start to increase mileage again.
So this week will see me running 13 miles. Not a lot, by any means, but a big milestone for me, as I've been at the 12-mile mark for so long. Fingers crossed that it goes well.......
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