Ice Storm

We're "in the middle" of the worst ice storm we've had since we've  been here. Usually it hits and is gone by mid day the next day. Tomorrow will be day 3 of public schools closed because of ice. I was a little surprised they closed tomorrow because while there are still patches of ice on the road and you need to be careful, the roads are drivable. One friend in our ward said she's lived here her whole life and it's the first time they've ever been closed 3 days in a row that she knows of. I am so, so, so grateful that we are able to park both of our cars in our garage. Most people here use their garages for storage and park in their driveways or on the street.

Here's a video of Matt ice skating on our street! We don't even own gloves for him (or real coats for the boys...at least I was able to find hats and mittens for them when it snowed a few weeks back). It was 19* and close to 0 with windchill. By the time he was done, his fingers were nearly frostbitten. But he had fun. He said it made him want to move somewhere where he lived close to a pond that could freeze over for skating in the winter. Dean has been asking for "shoes with blades".

Untitled from Celia Brasfield on Vimeo.

I was super grateful that some of this ice melted today and we were able to drive to the store. We were out of milk (the boys got powdered + isagenix today. Thank heavens for food storage) and some other stuff, plus we were getting STIR CRAZY (or maybe just plain crazy). 

It was really a horrible day today. The boys had a number of yelling matches. (Walt's now a very good parrot. When Dean screams "NO!", Walt shrilly screams back "NO!!!!!" and they go back and forth until I break it up.)

Dean is on day 5 of underwear during the day He's done really well with it, though he's had 1-2 pee accidents every day. But today he just plain refused to go unless I carried him in there and made him go on the potty. He pooped in his underwear and peed twice in his underwear, never telling me of any of it. I had to discover all three by coming in and seeing him STILL PLAYING the computer or wii in his sorry state. I was feeling pretty livid. Needless to say, he will not be playing either until he demonstrates that he will stop doing whatever he's doing, even if it's fun, to go to the bathroom immediately. I just have to remind myself that he's little. But boy does it make me so angry sometimes.

Dean also spun a paint roller in the bathroom that I stupidly left within reaching distance. It was on one of those cleaning things that makes it spin really fast. I had started cleaning it out last night when I decided to just throw it away since it was getting pretty grungy. I couldn't get it off the stupid cleaner, so I left it there until I could get it off today.  But he got to it first. It spun yellow paint everywhere. All over the blue walls, brown cabinets, the white toilet, etc. I screamed so loudly that it made Dean cover his ears and cry. It was horrible. I was able to clean it all up, but boy, was I not proud of how I handled it. I still lectured him afterward too, which I probably shouldn't have done.

To cap things off, right as the boys were getting ready for bed, I went to throw Walt's dirty diaper away and I heard a bloody scream emitted from Walt's mouth. Matt and I ran into their room. Dean was sitting up on their shelves guarding his stop light alarm clock and Walt was wallowing on the bed. I thought Dean had just pushed him down onto the bed and Walt was being dramatic because he had such a horribly short nap today (because Dean woke him up while I was getting him new underwear after he peed himself).  But no, as we were reading scriptures and books, a new huge raised bruise was showing up on Walt's forehead. Apparently Dean pushed him from the shelves (really an old changing table) and Walt's head broke his fall on the metal railing on the rocking ottoman below. Poor kid. He looks like an abuse victim. He has a black eye from climbing over the arm of the couch and face planting into a wooden chair as well as a cut on his lower cheek from running and tripping in the garage and lodging himself between Matt's car and the jogging stroller.

There was one cute moment, however, that I must mention. After Walt's shoddy nap I was in my room and Dean was trying to be nice to Walt because he was crying from not having enough sleep and wanting to play with everything restricted to him in my bathroom (make up, Matt's razors, etc). Dean kept saying, "Don't worry. Dean's here. Would you like to jump on the bed Walt? Would you like to go play computer?" and at one point they ended up giving each other the cutest hug ever, totally unprompted by me. It was a nice little ray of sunshine on this cold and icy day.