January Weather

Laura and I are super boring. One of our favorite topics of discussion is the weather. Specifically how it relates to our moods.

We do not do well in winter. Spokane was a rough place for us to live with all the dark, cold, cloudy/sunless days, and snow. Winters were LONG. There was a solid 5 months of very cold weather. We do not do well in the cold.

The Columbia Basin suits us better. It's just as dark. However, it's not as cold, there is much less snow, and I think there is more sun. Winter seems to go by faster here. Winter here only seems like it's 3 months and it's a tad (maybe) sunnier.

Supposedly, the Tri-Cities gets 300 days of sunshine a year. I'm not quite sure I believe this fact. That seems like a LOT. Sunny days definitely put me in a better mood though which is one of the reasons I like living here so much.

I've decided to track our weather this year to see how close we get to 300 days of sun.

January is always our worst month for sun. December isn't far behind.

Laura, here is my sun "scale." Tell me what you think and if I need to change/modify. This is how I will rate the days.

1. Sunny. A sunny day will be any day in which the sun is out all day. A few clouds might pass across the sun for a few moments of no sun, but that's it. Sunny days will include days in which there are literally no clouds and days in which there are puffy clouds all over or days where the sun is somehow shining all day in some way. As long as the sun is shining, it's sunny.

2. Some sun/Some Clouds. These are the days where there is some blue sky and sun during the day at some point. It may be half the day is sunny but half is completely cloudy. It may rain for part of the day, and then completely clear out.

3. Cloudy. This is pretty easy to define. These are days where it is cloudy all day long. There is not even a hint of sun. We most often get these days in December and January.


So here were the numbers for January:

Sunny: 9
Some sun/Some clouds: 7
Cloudy: 15

Conclusion: About half the month was completely cloudy. I noticed that for this year, the some sun/some cloud days were at the end of the month. The beginning of the month was when we had the long stretch of just cloudy days.

Also, it snowed 3 days. It was foggy 9 days (mostly the first half of the month). We saw some rain on 7 days.

Brown Chair Down

A few weeks ago, our brown chair died. It was just plain worn out! 

We got it almost 9 years ago when I was pregnant with Nathan. I had terrible heartburn the last few months of pregnancy and couldn't sleep laying down. We thought sleeping in a recliner might help. I'm not sure I slept great in the recliner but it made things a little better?

Then, the brown chair became a rocking chair. Nathan especially would not nap in his crib so I spent a good part of the first year of his life sitting in the brown chair rocking him while he napped on me. 

Over the years, the brown chair has really taken a beating! It's been spit all over (babies), food spilled, rocked in, knocked over, etc. 

A few weeks ago, Jeremy pulled back the handle to lean back and it just snapped! The frame in the back broke apart. 

We set it out for the garbage truck the next day and it got gobbled up! 

Interesting side note: I have not had any heartburn in the past 8 1/2 years. I never got it when pregnant with Elizabeth and haven't had it since. It was a weird phenomenon!

New shoes

New running shoes are always so pretty and smell so good! 

Box Bus

We got a big box in the mail. We had a bus driver and 2 passengers. They didn't get too far though. 

The Orthodontics Journey Begins

Nathan has gone to the orthodontist for the last four weeks in a row. 

He has a severe underbite and a crossbite. Our dentist told us he'd have to have some early orthodontic work done. Apparently, those things cannot be left alone or it will end up leading to teeth grinding (on permanent teeth) and eventual jaw surgery. 

When we went to the orthodontist for an opinion, they told us the same thing! It's best to fix underbites and crossbites at an early age when the roof of the mouth is still not completely fused together. 

Well, it may be the best thing to do, but it's certainly not easy or fun for Nathan or us. 

1. Week one they put rubber bands around Nathan's back teeth in preparation for putting in a permanent  expander on the top of his mouth. 

2. Week two was trying to get impressions done, but his teeth are shaped a funny way and they couldn't do it. So, they put rubber bands on different teeth. 

3. Week three was getting the impressions done. 

4. Week four (yesterday) was having the expander glued to his teeth. 

The expander fits around all of his top teeth. It is permanent. I have a special "key" I get to turn at night that helps move his upper teeth slowly forward. 

The problem with the expander is it is making it impossible for Nathan to talk normally or eat normally. For the past two days, he's mostly just eaten soft foods. Food gets terribly stuck up in the appliance. He's been crying and crying and saying he just can't eat. It is also making it so he can't talk normally. He always sounds like he's sucking spit. I'm told the spit sound will go away, but until this thing is removed (in 6-9 months) he will not be able to talk normally. I'm hoping he will get more used to eating and will figure out a way to use his tongue to get food out of the way. I bought him a Water Pik so we'll see how that goes. 

ALSO, along with the expander that's permanently in his mouth, he gets to wear this fun headgear to bed every night! Rubber bands hook onto the expander and then this device helps pull his upper teeth slowly forward. He will also have to wear this thing to bed every night for 6-9 months to move his jaw to the proper place. 

The first night, he would not wear it to bed. He went to sleep and came out an hour later crying and saying it hurt too much. 

Tonight, he wore it to bed and seemed to be happier about it. He's been in bed 2 hours now and hasn't come out so we're hoping he won't come out. Poor guy! Who would want to have to do this? 

Update: When I got up this morning, his headgear was on the counter. He said he woke up around midnight and it hurt too much so he took it off. Well, he made it 4 hours. Better then 1 hour! Maybe he can go longer tonight. 

*At this point, Elizabeth's bite is fine! So hopefully she will not have to go through this. 

January 16

It snowed just enough wet snow last night for the kids to spend all morning outside making snowmen. 

Elizabeth made herself. 

Nathan made Nearly Headless Nick. 

It warmed up though and the snow melted. 

The kids announced it was time for the spring mud pits that they adore. They both got out their shovels and started making rivers, lakes, and oceans. 

It's 2:00 and they've already had baths today....

Harry Potter Outfit

We've started reading Harry Potter to the kids since they are our favorite children's books! The kids are obsessed with playing "Harry Potter" all day. Jeremy just finished reading them the first book. 

Today, they watched the first movie with Jeremy. They thought it was pretty neat watching the story on TV! 

Elizabeth decided to make her own Harry Potter outfit. She made a robe out of brown paper. She also made a wand and a wizard's hat. It was cute and creative!

All the neighbor kids love to read Harry Potter too, so when the neighborhood kids play, they have been playing Harry Potter. 

Adventures in Law Enforcement

I'm expecting the Seahawks to call soon. Jeremy is apparently very good at tackling! 

Yesterday, he was aware that a guy on bicycle was trying to make a getaway from the police. Jeremy happened to be in the right area. He saw the other police car coming and a guy biking in front of them. Jeremy jumped out of his car, ran and then tackled the guy on the bike. 

He scraped up his leg pretty good and ripped his pants. He said his hand and another part of his leg hurts, but he said he'll get over it. 

I always get nervous when he sends me pictures of his injuries from the hospital. It seems to happen every year or so. 

Luckily, he got to come home safe and sound. The guy on the bike is now in jail. 

Jeremy said he has seen this tackling move on COPS. He had always wanted the opportunity to tackle a guy on a bike. It finally happened. 

2 Pippas

Elizabeth tried to pose just like Pippa! They're about the same size too! 

Sleeping like Pippa. I should have had her lay on my feet!

Last Day of Sledding at Papa and Grams

I took a few last photos of the kids sledding at Papa and Gram's last week. It was such a beautiful day with the blue sky and white snow! 

As I type this on the 3rd, it's snowing yet again here at home in Tri-Cities. We're tired of winter already! There's probably about 2 inches out there now...time to get the shovel! The kids think it's great! They don't have to shovel or drive though.