No posts for a while, guess why?

DEATHLY ILL, THAT'S WHY!

Grr, so annoyed. First Nina got sick--totally miserable, fever up to 104.5, runny nose, sore throat, cough, you name it, she had it. Then Maggie got it. No fever, but a nasty cough. Then I got it. Pretty much like Nina, fever wasn't so high. But I just can't kick it! All 3 of us are still coughing, I'm utterly exhausted, nose is still running, but finally, after a week, the fever appears to be gone (knock on wood). I think I'm even feeling better.

Last weekend was the worst for Nina. Poor kid was just so sick and so miserable. Then what happens? Moxie makes everything even more fun by throwing up in the living room. Twice. Tell me again what need these dogs fulfill?

But knock on wood, we're over the hump. Tomorrow's supposed to be a decent day, too. I mean, snow of course in the morning, but then hopefully it'll change over to rain and hit 40. Highs in the low 20s again on Wednesday, maybe 30 on Thursday. I spent some time today looking for jobs in Texas. Austin sounds nice, don't you think?

One more winter of this and I mean it. I'm leaving.

A spring day!!

It's finally happened! We're at least in the mid-50s today, maybe even 60! It feels wonderful!! Definitely 10 degrees warmer than they'd forecast, perhaps the tide is turning. There's so much melting going on, it sounds like it's raining.

Look at the glacial retreat we've experienced:

 Why, it's the patio furniture! Safe and sound!

Look at these happy kids, bouncing away. This, right here, is why I shovel that damn thing all winter long. :-)

It may not look like it, but these snow banks are shrinking. The rest of the week is in the 40s and 30s, but I don't even care. Maybe they'll be off by 10 degrees every day from now on.

Here's the forecast for this weekend. I think the vagueness is perfect Maine:

You've got to read "track" and "temps" in a Maine accent. This pic was headlined "snowfall amounts" on the WCSH 6 website, FYI. I see no amounts posted...

(weather.com is calling for 1-3 inches but no 40 degree days in their 10 day forecast. What do they know?)

One sick pumpkin

and another that might be getting sick.

Poor Nina's been feeling miserable since Friday. High fever, runny nose, sore throat, and general misery. I'm giving her ibuprofen every 6 hours, and for that hour or so when it's at peak concentration in her bloodstream, she tends to feel ok and manages to eat a little. Other than that, it's just rest and the occasional sip of gatorade.

Maggie woke up this morning with a cough and a froggy voice. Hopefully this is the worst of it for her as she hasn't really tanked yet, but we'll see.

I've made some chicken soup for the both of them. I'm a good mom, that's why.

Not according to Maggie. This afternoon she told me that sometimes I'm a jerk. I forgot why, I'll ask her.

Oh yes, she says "they're both sick (not true, Maggie's nowhere NEAR as sick as Nina), and I'm asking Maggie to do things that I'm not asking Nina to do (like, put her dirty dishes in the sink, zomg)." So, yeah, big jerky stuff. I'm a monster.

Dinner tonight was a hit!

It was a good week overall. Tacos on Monday (homemade guacamole on the side, of course), homemade orange chicken over rice on Tuesday (with a few thighs tossed in the oven for a juicy oven roast because I thawed too much chicken), leftover tacos with butter lemon carrots on the side Wednesday... all really yum. But today was Nina's favorite meal of all. She ate so much that she feels sick! No way can she fit in dessert.

What did I make? What could top every other recipe in my mouth-watering repertoire?

Frozen fish sticks, frozen french fries, and frozen mixed veggies. All heated to perfection, of course!

Can I thaw this mouth-watering feast for dinner every day?! She asks with excitement and joy.

Why do I even bother!!

Yes, February was a cold one...

Average daily high for the month was 22.5 degrees, average low was 3. That's more than TEN DEGREES below normal monthly averages.

Fortunately, things are slowly beginning to turn around. I mean, of course we're forecast to get 2-4 inches of snow tonight, but that's a mere dusting for this winter. It might time out to hit at an awkward enough time that we have a late start, but that's such a narrow window for the snow to hit that it's just gonna be a wait and see. I like late starts, though. We usually just trim a few minutes off each period at school and cut their study hall (they can study during those 2 hours at home!), so we get pretty much everything in, plus some extra time to do stuff at home in the morning. Win-win. Anyway, the part of the forecast that's a turn around is that we have quite a few days above 30 in the near forecast, one predicted to hit over 40, and nothing lower than the 20s (daytime highs of course). PLUS, the 10 day forecast contains NO nights below zero and just 2 in the single digits. Woot! Summer here we come!!

Sad. So sad that this is good. The girls and I baked 2 dozen cinnamon rolls and chocolate cinnamon rolls yesterday, so we're drowning our sorrows in those.