Getting buried

We are in a winter wonderland.  In the past 24 hours we have had anywhere from 14-20 inches of snow.  Dave went out last night and didn't make it home yet, so I braved the snow,wind and cold and spent 5 1/2 hours outside shoving and I still didn't get the driveway done.  I was very lucky that a neighbor down on the end of block came over and plowed the rest out for me and then replowed what I had shoveled earlier.  The three younger girls came out and helped me a little bit, but they kept running into problems, the snowbanks were to high that they couldn't throw the snow over.  

Jenny and Monika helping mom, they worked hard.

Monika checking to make sure Jenny is shoveling still

I fallen and I can't get up.

Enough shoveling, lets go sledding.  When we got our wet snow a couple of weeks ago, My neice Casie and her boyfriend Koudai made a mountain with Jenny in it.  The girls used that mountain to slide down.

Monika crashing at the bottom

Katie came out for some fun, she didn't help to shovel until after she was all done playing

Loving the snow.



Erin chose not to do the snow thing, she said she doesn't like it and it is to cold.  Don't worry girly girl, you will get out in the snow before it melts and you will have fun with it.  An update with her.  Things went from bad on Thursday night to worse Friday after she got home from school.  I was very grateful that my sister in law got to my house shortly after Erin started throwing her tanturm.  She took the 3 younger girls and went out to eat with them and so forth.  I really didn't want the girls to witness what Erin was doing.  Among things, Erin learned a swear word.  To me it is the worse one of all, she never has used it before.  So along with being destructive, saying a lot of mean things, she now had a powerful swear word, and was using it on me, I finally told here that when you talk like that, you will get your mouth washed out with soap, she said no I will not and proceed to swear more at me, so she got a mouth washed out.  She was very upset with me.  She fought hard not to give in, she was so determine not to give in or to accept that this is the way it will be.  After about a half an hour sitting on the kitchen floor stewing at me, she finally stop fighting, I was able to sit in front of her and talk to her, she remained quiet and focused on me, she didn't turned her head away or roll the eyes or anything.  I explained to her that I know this is hard on her, went thru everything, then proceeded to tell her slamming doors (she lost her door on Thursday night), writing on the walls, ripping papers, trying to break anything she could in her room, talking the ways she was, trying to hit me, bite me and so forth was all unacceptable behavior.  I told her again, she can be mad at me and that is fine, but she can't do what she is doing.  I also said if she continues to act that way, then I will start treating her like a 2 year old because that is the way she was being.  I told her it was ok that she didn't love me, but I am allow to say I love her.  I explained to her that I don't trust her right now because of the way she was acting and that she has to earn my trust back and that when she acts appropriate, she will start getting some things back.  I didn't tell her how she would get her door back.  She really doesn't like not having a door.  I have decided she would get the door back when she decides to wash what she wrote on the wall.  I had Jade translate it since it was in Chinese.  Erin knows that Jade translated it and it isn't nice at all.  There was a lull in me signing to her, she all of sudden said "I'm sorry".  I was so shocked by that, she never said sorry the last time she had her huge blowout and she usually doesn't say sorry on emotional things.  I told her that her apolgy was accepted, she then asked if she could go clean her room,  I said that was fine.  I gave back her pillows, and blankets (she threw those at me too) and one of her prize procession and told her that was for her saying sorry.  I still have all of her other things.  She was very mellow the rest of Friday night.  My sister had come over right after Erin said sorry.  I had called her towards the end of her tanturm because I didn't know what else to do.  My sister, Erin and I sat and talked a little bit and played the Wii.  Erin was told that she lost the computer until Sunday, she asked why and I explained, she didn't fight me on it this time.  Saturday she slept in got up, asked me if she needed to wait until Sunday for the computer and I said yes.  She then asked if she could watch movies upstairs in the playroom, and I said that was fine.  She interact with the girls a little bit.  She also on her own, loaded up the dishwasher twice and empty it once.  She has remained very calm and mellow, she is smiling a little more.  I am hoping I got something thru her, I know we still have a long ways to go, but hoping the next time she needs to be angry and vent, that she doesn't need to be destructive.  So far she only done her room and hoping that is where it stays.  She did say I was boring, and I told her that was fine for her to think that way, but also explained that it is her decision to be mad or happy, to enjoy things we do or pout about it.  I chose to be happy, therefore I have more fun, if you chose to be mad, you have less fun.  I don't think she totally got that.