It finally warmed up here. YESTERDAY. Sunny, clear skies, warm enough for shorts and bare feet. I’ve been digging up my gardens, making grand plans to move things and rearrange and start some things over and begin some things for the first time. I need a crew of maybe three guys, though, to do the heavy grunt work. Anybody know of three heavy grunts? 🙂 Anyways, it looked like this:
We even got some time in at the park!
Someone is getting SO big! And so fun. . .it’s going to really smart to let him go for good in a short two or three weeks. What an experience though! I love this boy.
This boy is just happy to play with his Thomas Bubble Blower. It even makes a train whistle sound! Can life GET any better?
I am still nursing my wounds from my tumble down the stairs, and now a nasty, achy cold is trying to take over my body from the inside. I am fighting it all, though, and the hope of spring buoys me along. I have Siberian irises blooming in my front beds, and the garlic is getting taller every day.
Where to begin? Sometimes I just stop blogging because I’m overwhelmed by the sheer number of things I want to share! I can start with today and go backwards, I guess. Today we have a lot of snow and I’m sore from falling down the stairs yesterday. The snow is pretty; my elbows are not. They look like scraped up bruised peaches. And they hurt too. And there is a huge bruise on my booty. I have to sit very carefully and keep my elbows off the tables.
Aiden is ours now legally and forever! That happened on Monday, and it’s so huge that it seems silly to try to blog about it. I have a son.
You know that feeling after something you’ve been waiting for forever finally happens? That “what do I do now?” feeling? I have that. It’s not a let-down, but I do feel kind of deflated. We had a lovely day on Monday and a fantastic party that evening. So many wonderful people worked very hard to give us that gift! Especially Karen and Heidi. They are awesome!
I ordered seed potatoes the other day. That will be my experiment for 2011. Can I grow potatoes in containers in MY garden? We will see. The garlic I planted in November has pushed its brave little shoots up above the snow, so I’m happy that experiment looks promising so far!
I’ve also delved into the world of digital scrapbooking, after paper scrapping for nearly 10 years. I LOVE it! I thought I would never make the switch, but now I’m so hooked I don’t know if I can ever go back! Here are some of my latest:
And our girl scout cookies have arrived. So I need to hit the gym again, because I apparently have NO restraint when it comes to cookies. Like that is news for anyone.
Plllbbbt!
Sunday was our first full day in Texas. We went to church with everyone, then had lunch at their regular lunch spot, Mazatlan (YUM!). After this:
we went to Uncle Kam and Aunt Kymi’s for books and music and food and playtime and running around chasing and making faces and catching up and hanging out and remembering why we love each other so much.
With very little notice and little fanfare, Kymi threw together an elaborate and scrumptious dinner. She had many willing helpers, though. I was not one of them, however. I was taking pictures. 🙂
That pasta sauce was SO good! Here is what my plate looked like before I demolished it:
I want to giggle just thinking about it.
Last week, we took a much-anticipated trip down to Texas to visit Chad’s family. This was Little A’s first trip on a plane, and while we tried to explain the whole idea to him, he really had no concept of what he was about to experience. His reactions were all we were hoping for–awe, excitement, joy, delight.
Notice the piles of snow?
He turned into a monster when we boarded.
Kitty came too, of course. She liked looking out the window.
Kitty and Little A both did very well on the flights. We had one plane change and one connecting flight, so it ended up being a longish day. The novelty hadn’t worn off by the time we arrived at Dallas’ Love Field and met Grandpa Doug, though! The adventure was just beginning.
So yesterday afternoon, I went to The Melt for a girls’ “night” with Linda, Laura, and Sarabeth. I hesitate to call it a night, since we met at the restaurant at 3, thinking that would get us in and out well before evening. Of course, we had no idea that a normal wait at this particular place is two hours. Yep. TWO HOURS. This only confused us for a few seconds though, and then we realized that 1. we already had child care, 2. we could easily talk for 2 hours, and 3. NO KIDS WITH US. So we waited. And I am here to tell you, that waiting two hours is absolutely worth it! I would wait two hours for that sandwich ANYTIME! I am still doing little happy dances about it now, the next morning!
Shock and sorrow upon learning of the two hour wait.
In the midst of the two hour wait, talking, talking, talking.
Fun but creepy decor.
Blurry and horrible-flashed shot of the girls with their menus. After a mere 1.5 hour wait!
Me, a bit pained, after filling my stomach with my entire Sweet and Smokey Steak sandwich and almost all of my fries. This is part bliss, part regret. I’m such a glutton.
We’re going back again. Soon. We’re taking the guys with us next time. And now the dilemma: do I get the same thing as last time? or branch out into unchartered waters?
I have been following the news updates from New Zealand ever since I heard of the earthquake this week. I have extremely fond memories of the city–so beautiful, such lovely, friendly people. It breaks my heart to see the devastation, to hear of the many who are trapped, of those who have lost their lives. Here are some photos from my trip in 2007.
I don’t have as many photos of Christchurch as I should have. I blame it on extreme jet lag, as we began our trip with a few days in the city before driving all over the South Island. I was basically a zombie for three days before I got myself sorted out. Meredith may have more.
Anyways, I am praying for the people of Christchurch and surrounding areas.
He loves to look through the albums. He sees the layouts and remembers doing this, doing that. He gets upset when he sees a page from before-his-time. “Where was I?” he wants to know. Those explanations get a bit tricky, sometimes. When I think I’m too busy to make a page, I remember how much he loves to see these memories. They cement things in his little mind. He can practice names of people (“This girl and that boy!” he’ll say. “That’s Kylie and Cade,” I’ll remind him. “They’re your cousins!”), and re-live fun things, like the Air Show, the natural history museum, and trips to great places. I look at the albums and marvel at how much he’s grown, though I hardly notice during the everyday grind of life.
We have a super-old house. 170+ years-old. Dirt basement, slate roof, plaster walls, leaks, drips, cracks, creaks, and lots of character about which my dad likes to say, “You pay for that character!” He’s so right, but nobody tell him I said so!
Yesterday, I noticed our big picture window dripping water all over the place. Again.
There was at least 1.5 inches of solid ice between the window panes and the storm window, and it was leaking water through the window trim onto the aforementioned plaster walls and hardwood floors. At the top of the window, water was coming through the frame and bouncing off the grills onto every surface around–the magazines on the table, the chairs, and, most alarmingly, my tea.
Chad took the morning off and went for the chisel-type tools, the ladder, and the shovel.
He did this:
The storm window was ice-glued to the frame, so he had to chisel away at the ice and pry the window off using screwdrivers and paint scrapers. Good times.
Some tips on having an old house:
1. Do not buy an old house, no matter how adorable it is. My house is super-adorable. It is also a big pain in the butt.
2. Do NOT buy a house that has a flat roof. ANYWHERE! Flat roofs are from the devil!
3. Get used to patchy ceilings and holes in the wall, because you will have them.
4. Duck your head while navigating the basement. Those cast-iron sewer pipes really hurt when you smack your face on them. I know this for sure.
5. Listen to your father when he tells you that when you buy a house for its character, you are really PAYING for that character!
I do love my house. I do. I love my house. I love my house. I love my house. . . . .
This winter has been a killer. We have been stuck at home so much, it’s unbelievable. Normally, I don’t mind, but with two little boys chattering and/or crying/ squawking/ singing Mary Poppins songs non -stop/ etc, I’ve been going a LITTLE bit crazy. I decided to put up some Valentine’s decorations, watch Groundhog Day during naptime (it WAS Groundhog Day, after all), and make silly food for the boy.
A new costume for the Captain of the Dope Squad:
Not forgetting the First Officer:
Today, the big excitement is LEAKY WINDOWS! YAY!
It’s a few days past, but I love these shots from our Saturday. A slow, lazy morning with pancakes and bacon, lots of hanging out by the fire, making s’mores, reading books, doing nothing.
Bebe checking out the coffee. He gets his hands into everything these days!
And it’s all been very relaxing and good.
But I’m ready for some action! Spring! Outside! Picnics! Garden! Bikes! Fun!
Ok. Back to winter and a million feet of snow and ice and shivering in the car.
Since the beginning of the month, we’ve been doing “school.” It’s really just fun activities and games, but as we plan to eventually homeschool, I thought it was a good idea to establish a model for what school is going to be. Aiden LOVES it. He asks me for more and more, every day. As Kristen says, the first rule for teaching is to overplan. I love overplanning. Anyways, here is a look at a few of our fun school things.
Sometimes, Leah is here too. She loves doing our activities with us.
He loves sensory activities. I’ve gotten either very brave or very stupid in my old age and have given him an indoor sandbox. Crazy, I know.
It is very popular. Needless to say, the vacuum is continuously on call.
And this guy just loves to watch!
Eyedrops.
Tummy Time.
C is for cookie!
And there are piles and piles of snow, and it’s still coming down, but I don’t have any pictures of that. Someday, I will leave this house again! Someday, I will see someone other than my immediate family and the mail man! Someday!
Here he is, all five months of him:
Cute as a button and smiley! He makes a sound like a crow when he’s trying to be funny, and his favorite thing in the whole wide world is scratching me with his little sharp fingernails while he’s eating. I can’t believe it’s been five months already!
Basically, we’re a big germy mess around here.
It started with a cold the Thursday before Christmas for me. Then Chad came home with pink eye the following Monday. Then he got my cold. Then I got his pink eye. Then we both went to the doctor and got meds for the sinus infections. Yesterday, Aiden woke up with pink eye. Hello, urgent care!
So we’ve been house-bound and boogery, bleary-eyed and contagious. Kind of down and discouraged. Cabin fever abounds. We’ve watched a lot of Mary Poppins, which is Aiden’s latest obsession. He walks around the house singing all the songs, asking us to sing along. Baby L has so far escaped the sickness, but I’m not all that optimistic about his long-term resistance. He turned five-months-old today! He laughed big and loud yesterday when I blew raspberries on his belly. We love him to pieces.
Here are some poorly-lit, unedited, uninspired pictures.
How do you beat the sickie-blues?
