Wisconsin has its own groundhog...his name is Jimmy and he's from Sun Prairie, WI. Apparently, Sun Prairie, WI is the official GROUNDHOG CAPITAL OF THE WORLD! I guess Jimmy DID NOT see his shadow, which means Wisconsin is going to have an early spring. I'm also told that Jimmy's predictions are accurate 80% of the time. Look HERE! THIS is his biography (of sorts!). He even has his own SONG AND TOAST!

So I got curious.

Yes, indeed...there are MORE groundhogs! Check THIS out!

I am totally amused by Groundhog Day this year...I don't know why.

Phil says "Six more weeks of winter"

So I was curious about the groundhog thing today...if you ever have a few extra minutes, visit HERE and HERE. I guess I didn't realize they planned a whole weekend around this! I guess...nothing like some good ol' fashioned groundhog day/weekend fun. So here's what I found:

Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/08 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Here Ye! Here Ye! Here Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob on this fabulous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008
Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators,
Rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers,
Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.

After casting a weathered eye toward thousands of his faithful followers,
Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll,
which proclaimed:

"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me.
Six more weeks of winter it will be!"

Wonderful...

But even despite my disappointment in this proclamation, I found a reason to smile. As I browsed this website further, I found the FAQ section:

Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the holiday:

Yes! Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.

How often is Phil's prediction correct? 100% of the time, of course!

How many "Phils" have there been over the years? There has only been one
Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 120 years!

Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the "elixir of life," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

On February 2, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter.

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

No! Phil's forecasts are not made in advance by the Inner Circle. After Phil emerges from his burrow on February 2, he speaks to the Groundhog Club president in "Groundhogese"(a language only understood by the current president of the Inner Circle). His proclamation is then translated for the world.

The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..."

Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was made on February 2, 1887.

So the story goes, Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip. Prior to being called Phil, he was called Br'er Groundhog.

OH MY GOSH! Who got paid to think of that? Better yet, what sort of substance aided in the brainstorming? Maybe it was Phil's "Elixir of Life"!

Seriously, check out the website. It has everything...even GPS coordinates to the stump located on the stage at Gobbler's Knob! I enjoyed my visit...and it helped with my blogger's block!

I think I have blogger's block...

Brrrr...

I am cold....

**Edit**
No, I am freezing. My toes are numb under the two pairs of socks and shoes I'm wearing (only one pair of shoes!). My right fingers are so cold. Adam said I am now officially a Clark. I wasn't informed that this was part of the deal!

Seriously, there is very little left for us to do to weather-proof our house. I found one more window in the kitchen that is allowing some air to get in from under the molding. Adam said he'll caulk it when he comes home. There is plastic on every window...we even keep rolled up towels by the outside door bottoms to (try to) keep air from coming in. It's just too stinking cold today. I woke up this morning to four cats laying practically on top of me. Finnegan was halfway under the covers! My nose was pretty numb, too. I just piled on my clothes and went in the basement for my morning appointment with the treadmill...and it was COLDER down there. That was okay though because when I came back upstairs, it felt warm for a little bit. When Elijah woke up and when I went in his room, it was SO warm! Thank goodness at least one room in the house stays pretty warm...and thank goodness it's Elijah's room.

Spring can start any day now...what's that groundhog's name? Poindexter? I know it's a P...anyway, if that crazy varmint sees his shadow and starts running for his hole in the ground again, someone needs to stop him and tell him he's wrong. I can't tolerate winter too much longer.

And now my rant shall end...


for now!

ugh...day 3

It's just not getting better over here...

I talked to Adam on the phone last night between 12:30 and 1am (he's driving a truck, for those who don't know). He was super tired and needed a little company to help him stay awake. My throat had been hurting since dinner time and finally I told Adam I was going to take some Advil Cold and go to sleep.

Once I got comfortable in bed, whadda ya know? Eli starts wailing...the bad kind again. Poor little guy...so I stayed up with him until almost 2am, trying to rock him back to sleep. I go back to bed. When I wake up again, I heard him whimpering...not the bad kind, but enough to wake a mama! I laid there for a little bit, listening to make sure he went back to sleep. It was about 5:30am. As I laid there, I became VERY aware that I was running a fever. I contemplated getting up to take more medicine and decided against it (stupid ) because I was really warm in bed with all the kitties sleeping with me! So I just let myself fall back asleep.

7am...who's awake and singing in his room? Yup...I laid there for a minute to hear if MAYBE I could lay there and let him just hang out for 15 minutes or so. Nah, he wanted up. So we got up.

And I hurt...sore throat, (the kind where it hurts to swallow ANYTHING), headache, body aches, fever of about 101.5 (which of course means the chills), and WAY too much saliva in my mouth! (It hurts to swallow so I'm trying I'm trying to do it as little as possible). This bites...I haven't been sick like this since before Elijah was born. It was bad enough that at the beginning of the month, I had that flu, but at least Adam was home then. Now he's in Ohio, and that means even though I'm sick and want to sleep, I am up and trying to be as active as possible. Elijah seems to understand...it's weird. I told him when he got up that mommy wasn't feeling very well and we needed to play today without freaking out so much! He smiled. He's had a couple moments, but I've been able to divert his attention to other stuff from my place on the couch: "Where's frog-toad? Bring it here!" or "Where is your truck? Show mommy how it works!" and even "Where's a kitty? Go find a kitty!" That last one is kind of mean...he takes off down the hall looking for a kitty that I know FULL well he can't bring back to me. But it keeps him occupied for about 5 minutes before he comes back in the living room and plays some more with his toys.

So yeah, I'm eagerly awaiting to see the first signs that he's ready for a nap...should be VERY soon! Then at 11:30am I can take more medicine and take a nap. I'm not even going to pick up his toys first! (I'm such a rebel, huh?)

It's super cold today...again...wind chills around 20 below still...I really loathe winter weather. I am ready for spring...whenever it wants to come around, I'll be here, ready to throw a party for it!

So that is "ugh...day 3"...we're going to nap soon and hopefully we'll both be in good shape when we wake up.

ugh

Last night made me remember what it was like to have a newborn again. Elijah didn't fall asleep until midnight, and I went to bed. At 3:13am, I was awakened to a shrill scream...that didn't stop. I have NO idea what was wrong but Elijah was sitting straight up in his crib, eyes closed, screaming. He wasn't even fully awake. To get him to stop screaming, I had to wake him up! He woke up and I had to sit with him in the rocker while he calmed down. About 4:00am, he fell asleep again. I went back to bed. 6:00am...I woke up and heard him "talking to himself" in his crib. Then I heard him throw his paci across the room (I can hear when it hits the hard wood floor!). I know what follows...blankets and stuffed animals get thrown next...then he cries. Yup. So I went in there and picked up his stuff, gave him his paci and told him it was definitely not time to get up yet. He sat looking at me so innocently, laid down and appeared to be going back to sleep. 7:15am...no kidding...he was loudly announcing that he was awake. So I basically slept in 1-3 hour increments last night, after he decided it was time to go to sleep! Just like when he was a little guy. He is gonna be tired today when he goes down for a nap...and since we got 8 inches of snow yesterday, I have to take care of that before I can nap. Actually, I went out last night and took care of the first 3 or 4 inches so it won't take too long to clear the rest. It's very light, fluffy snow...the pretty kind that sparkles in the sun. Hopefully Elijah will nap for at least 2 hours; I think I could squeeze 30 minutes in there to nap.

That's my update for today. I need to get the chili started in the slow cooker for tonight. I think as long as I stay busy, I won't fall asleep. Here's hoping...

pictures

Still here...just been busy with various other things (job interviews, etc!)...here are some pictures to hold everyone over until the next batch!


Elijah regressed a little...we had his swing out for cousin Olivia while my sister and her husband were visiting. Elijah decided he wanted to use his swing again! HOWEVER, he's going to be too big for it soon, and all he wanted to do the past week was be in his swing. So Adam and I put it away last night. So far today, he hasn't seemed to miss it too much!


Elijah enjoying some oreo-cream pie...he has a serious sweet tooth.


He also likes to eat his rubber ducks...or at least suck on their heads like a paci!


...pushing his truck around...pretty soon he'll be big enough that we can put that seat down and he'll ride it!


This was a Christmas present from the Kollers (my older sister's family)..we call it Yoga Monkey because you can position him in some crazy ways!


And finally, Elijah's new favorite toy. Yes, that is a snot sucker...it has never been used for nasal secretion removal, however, so it is clean. Still pretty yucky though, hey? Crazy monkey!

That's all for now...will update again when I can!