Hey Diddle Diddle...

Hey diddle diddle, the cat & the fiddle.

The cow jumped over the moon!

The little dog laughed to see such sport,

and the dish ran away with the spoon!

Last night, when I was thinking of all of the items I wanted to cover in my blog today, that funny little nursery rhyme came to mind. I have always thought it was the most randomly put together little song. But I think it fairly well sums up our life these past several days...
Hey diddle, diddle:
On Wednesday of this week, we had a fun night at Awana Grand Prix night. It is the club's annual Pinebox Derby races. Jack & Jeff entered a car for the third year & this was their best car yet (in terms of the racing.) Jack usually helps Jeff design the car, then Jeff works with the power tools to shape the car and then it is Jack's job to paint/decorate the car. In years past, we have had a Lightning McQueen car & a rainbow car with a fish on it (but not the Rainbow Fish.) This year the car was blue. Just blue. Jack determined this year that any efforts towards decorating the car might detract from the speed of the car & so he declared, "That competition for the most creative car, we don't need to mess with that!"

Here is the blue car!

Here is the race track

Here is Jack's car racing (in the middle)

Each car is guaranteed two races and if they come in 1st place in a race, then they may race more. Jack's car came in 2nd in the first race, 1st in the second race, 1st in the third race and then 2nd in his fourth race. The same car beat him in the first & fourth races & that car went on to the championship bracket. We've never had a car that raced more than twice, so Jack was super excited to win a couple of races. And Jeff was excited to be getting better each year!

Here is Jeff comparing notes with another dad

Proud sisters supporting Jack!

The cat & the fiddle:
On Thursday, Jack & Darcy both had their class Valentine celebrations. I was one of the moms helping to coordinate Darcy's party. One of the things I did was bring the table centerpieces. I painted six flowerpots, 3 red and 3 pink, filled them with chocolate kisses and the stuck a Valentine "flower" in each one. I thought they turned out really cute. If I had more time though, I might have decorated the pots with hearts or stickers. Or I may have written cute little sayings on the Valentines like "Love is in bloom!" or "Love blossoms here!"  I'm also excited to use the pots for other occasions, too...like filled with jellybeans & Easter egg "flowers" at Eastertime...

Here is our sweet Valentine!

Sweet treats! 

(I cut the strawberries into a heart shape.)

Drew enjoyed the party as well! 

Doesn't he look like such a big boy sitting in the chair!

The little dog laughed to see such sport:

In the midst of everything else going on here this week...the packing, the Valentine partying, the trip to the ER (keep reading)...we had a Snow Day! It started snowing on Friday evening, big fluffy flakes, which made for a very pretty snow! By Saturday morning, we had a good 4-5 inches of lovely white powdery snow...great for making a Snowman!! Jeff & the kids had fun making & decorating the biggest snowman we have been able to build to date. (Last year's snows were not as nice as this one!)

Everyone helping to decorate the snowman!

Fountain still going in the snow!

Zoe loves snow, too, but she wasn't loving the hat!

Hats for Frosty!

I brought out 3 hats for the kids to choose from for Frosty & of course Jack HAD to choose the one I had been wearing instead!

(It is now sitting all soggy in the yard, thanks!)

Snowball fight!

This was also a perfect snow for making snow cream! 

I added evaporated milk, sugar & vanilla to fresh, fluffy snow...

The kids ate at least 3 bowls EACH & I had to make another batch it was so yummy!

And then of course we made hot chocolate!

And in true North Carolina fashion...most of the snow had melted by Saturday afternoon. Jeff & I were able to go out Saturday evening to celebrate a friend's birthday & it was funny driving through neighborhoods seeing all of the remnants of snowmen & snow families sitting on green grass!

And the dish ran away with the spoon:
I WISH the dish would run off with the spoon...and take the glasses and the bowls, too...we have been packing up our house all weekend, getting ready for the BIG move! My SWEET friend, Terri, came over on Friday to share her moving & packing expertise with us...she packed away for most of the day & she even brought brownies for US! Now how's that for a great friend!
My parents were also a HUGE blessing this weekend, as they spent countless hours packing, carrying boxes, loading/unloading, and watching the kids for us! We could not have made such a big dent in the packing without them!

And thankfully my mom spent the night on Friday because around midnight Drew woke up coughing very badly & having trouble breathing. He had been coughing a little throughout the day & so I sat in the steamy bathroom with him for a while before bedtime & we had a humidifier going in his room...but it was not enough. We have had episodes of croup before, but in our 8 plus years of being parents we had never been this concerned...he went from being fussy to being very glazed...I had started steaming up the bathroom again & was holding him when he threw up all over me, and he still seemed to be struggling to breathe. So Jeff & I quickly got dressed & piled into the truck to drive to the ER...the roads were pretty snowy and it was still coming down, and I was thankful for Jeff's 4x4. He had left it at work to drive a box truck home for moving...but earlier in the afternoon I had to go pick up a couple of the kids from his parents's house, so with snow in the forecast I said I would drop him by his shop to pick up the truck just in case we should need it...God is SO good to provide for our EVERY need! Long story short, we got to the ER no problems, by the time we got there Drew was breathing a little better, but was still not feeling well & had a temp of 103.

They gave him a breathing treatment, did a chest x-ray & gave a steroid shot to help the inflammation in his upper airways. By the time they brought him a popsicle, he was happy enough to really enjoy it! Don't anyone tell Darcy that they give you popsicles at the ER...

God is good & Drew is doing much better & has not had any further episodes of croup at night. He still coughs a little during the day, but for the most part, he is back to his normal happy self!
Whew, needless to say we are tired & ready to MOVE! While we are finishing up our packing, they are still finishing up a few last things at the house...don't get me started on that...it's late & I need to get to bed...but I am hopeful that by this time next week I will be blogging from a different address! Goodnight y'all!