Done with January.

Wow. What a month for us. Pneumonia times 2, high fevers times 2, coughing, ear infection, missing days of work, exhaustion and then bronchitis for me. I think Dante, Carina and I kept the antibiotic manufacturers in business. But that's all in the past now and we've been feeling great.

Except that the oak pollen has begun that lovely fuzzy layer in our yard, which means it's Chris's turn...

We also spent that month of illness stressing out about picking an elementary program for Dante. We'd love for him to get into the arts magnet, but I think we have a better chance of winning lotto. There are some other good programs, so it's very tough to decide. We have to sit around and wait now until March to hear.

We've all become addicted to the Snack Time album by the Barenaked Ladies. Dante wants to read the lyrics the whole time as he rocks out, Carina bops her head along and sings, and even Chris joins in...I highly recommend it - even for non-parents. Very contagious.

Valentine's Day was fun for the kids. They made their own valentines cards. I basically laid out paper, drew a grid, gave them some markers and stickers and said "Go for it!" Dante wanted his cards to have Buzz Lightyear on them, of course, so Chris drew an outline on everyone's cards and Dante colored them. Carina put a special set of googly eyes on Ms. Dorota's card. When they had their parties at school, both kids were very excited. Still not quite sure why people give toddlers loads of candy...my teeth hurt just looking into the bag they brought home.

Valentine's week brought us a surprise - Grandpa came to visit! The kids were super excited to play with Grandpa and show them all their stuff. They really enjoyed having him here to read and hang out with. Hope we get to see him again soon!