It's Been Awhile

It's been 4 months since last updated...not much new is really going on.  Just been very busy with the kids and Jim has had a busy schedule as well. 
November - Nicholas turned 1!  He was just starting to walk and now he is a seasoned pro and is running around like crazy!  The kids and I drove to Chicago for Thanksgiving because Jim worked that entire weekend.  We had a great time with both families and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house with Jim's family.  We headed out to Julie's house and did all of our shopping out by her!  It was so much fun!  Samantha continued with school and continued to do very well.  Jim and I went to Las Vegas for a quick trip.  Jim had an EM conference so he flew out from Detroit and a few days later I flew out of Chicago.  We had a great time enjoying some alone time.
December - This was a rough month.  It seemed like the kids were sick the entire month.  Samantha ended up with croup and then Nicholas got it really bad!  We spent Christmas in Michigan.  It was very different.  This was the first time we woke up on Christmas morning with just our family.  It was nice to have the kids open up their presents and play with them all day.  The Wagners', our neighbors, had invited us to spend Christmas dinner with them, but Nicholas was still sick and had a low grade fever.  As the day went on Nicholas had gotten worse.  The 26 was Jim's birthday.  It was the first time ever that he had to work on his birthday!  He got an unexpected visit from Nicholas and I that night.  Nicholas ended up in the ER with a 104 fever.  Poor little guy was so sick.  Luckily they just had to give him a breathing treatment.   We ended up the next day at the peditrican's office for another breathing treatment and was sent home with a nebulizer.  A couple days later we went to Chicago to celebrate Christmas with both families.  The kids and I ended up staying longer so we could have some extra family time while Jim started his ICU shifts.
January - January was a crazy, busy month!  Jim started in the ICU and most of his shifts were night shifts, so it was the kids & I all day everyday.  We had a lot of snow and spent time playing in the snow, building snowmen and building forts.  
February - Was much of the same as January although Jim was home more and he played out in the snow alot with Samantha while Nicholas and I watched from the warm house! 
March -  March was a fun month.  The kids and I drove to Chicago and they stayed at my parents while I went to Panama City Beach with my girlfriends for our annual roadtrip!  The kids had a ton of fun with family and I was able to get a bit of a "mommy" break and refresh myself.  I always think this is good.  I need to be rested to be able to have a good relationship with my kids.  We also were back in Chicago for Easter.  It was great to see extended family and see all of the cousin play together and hunt for Easter eggs together.
Thankfully it has all been pretty uneventful, but we have had a great winter.  Ready for spring and warmer weather to be able to be outside and play, go for walks, water & chalk!