Piles and Purls of Fun

As expected, we got lots more snow this past weekend. Also as expected, it drifted and piled up everywhere. Then our nice neighbor came by with his huge tractor and plowed out our driveway, leaving behind nice big snow piles perfect for climbing and sliding down. Kaylee had a blast.

The dogs seemed to enjoy it as well.

Peaches was king (or queen?) of the hill when all's said and done. Notice how short the birdhouse post looks? It's in the middle of a 3 foot snowdrift.


Snow piles may be fun to play on, but they're not exactly my idea of a good time. I'd rather be knitting in the nice warm house! We're hoping for better weather this week, hopefully tomorrow so Kaylee and I can get to town for our lunch/knitting/shopping/girl time plans. It will be so good to get out of the house and do something fun.

Speaking of knitting, I need more yarn! I'm almost finished with the class project, a booga bag. Here's mine, just 6 rounds, an I-cord, and felting away from completion. The lighting is pretty bad, but maybe you can make out the purple/teal blend stripes. I like it, anyway.

Hopefully it looks as good felted. Maybe I can use it to carry/store my future knitting projects. Some of those projects? Well, let's see. In no particular order, here's my project list for the winter.

1. A hat for Rich. He only has 1 warm hat.

2. A scarf for my baby sis, who we're going to see this weekend....think I can get it done by then?

3. Hat and matching mittens each for Kaylee and Miles.

4. Wool soaker (diaper cover) for Miles.

5. Matching hats for my other sister's new baby (expected in the next couple of weeks) and his 2 big brothers.

6. Scarf and hat for myself, to go with my wool winter coat.

7. "Longies" for Miles. These are wool pants that can be partially felted, lanolized, and used over cloth diapers as both pants and a waterproof cover. How cool is that? If I can make these, I can make anything.

It's very unlikely that I"ll actually get all of these things made, but luckily, most of them are small and won't take a ton of yarn. I'm hoping to purchase most of what I"ll need for everything tomorrow and then I'll have a good sized stash to work with the next time we're snowed in. Wish me luck.

Settling In

I guess it's time to settle in for the winter. We've got blizzard conditions predicted for the next 3 days, so it looks like we, or at least me and the kids, will be sitting tight for a while again. Makes me feel like making soup and bread and muffins and cupcakes. Oh, and starting a new knitting project. I"m really getting into the knitting thing. I downloaded some easy patterns from the web for hats, plus I've got lots of yarn on hand, so we'll see what happens. I've got all sorts of projects I'd like to start, and I definitely need the practice! As of right now I only have circular needles, so that does limit things a bit. Anyway, maybe I can keep myself busy. Now if only I had something to keep the KIDS busy!

It's been so nice to have Rich home from work the past week. I got a new phone today (for free!) and he's playing with the downloadable ringtones on it tonight.....he's having more fun than I would with it anyway. It's nice just to sit in the same room after the kids go to bed, just enjoying the companionship, even though we're each involved in something different. There's definitely something to be said for regular daytime work hours. Sigh. Maybe someday.

Cabin Fever

We've been confined to the house for over a week due to sickness and snowstorms. Turns out Rich got the bug worse than any of us. He lost 7 pounds in 3 days and ended up in the ER on Monday with an IV for dehydration. Fun stuff. His doctor told him yesterday that he has to be off work and rest until at least Friday. In spite of the circumstances, it's kind of nice to have him around the house for a change!

Trying to keep the kids entertained has become a bit of a challenge. They're both feeling better now, but the temps and wind chills outside make outdoor play impossible. Kaylee's become interested in talking on the phone lately, so that helps. That's what I do when I'm bored! Here she is in her pj's talking to "the new Grandma" in Missouri.


Ever since Rich got out the trackball mouse again Miles has been enthralled by the "ball". Yep, he's a boy! It does make computer work a little difficult =)


We got about 5 inches of light, fluffy snow yesterday, and up to 6 more inches are expected tomorrow. So if anyone's going to town for groceries, it'll have to be today. Maybe I'll get out of the house yet!

When the Cold Winds Blow

Ok, I thought it was cold before, but yesterday and today have been OUTRAGEOUSLY cold. I mean cold enough to cause all sorts of problems. My outside thermometer reads -15 degrees right now.


The furnace has been running nonstop and cannot keep the house at a constant temperature above 69 degrees. The upstairs bathroom tub water supply is frozen up. Seriously. When I got up this morning, there was a layer of ice in the tub. The drain trap is frozen. There's snow INSIDE my basement windows.



Yes, our house is old. In spite of all our remodeling efforts, its not very well insulated. And we had 35 MPH winds yesterday with wind chills at -30 as well. But this is ridiculous. I had to take a hair dryer to the RO water supply line just to get water to make coffee this morning. Is it too late to move south for the winter?

Favorites

So, another tag. This one courtesy of my knitting partner! :-)

What Are Your Favorites?

1. Favorite book? "The Secret Garden"
2. Food? Something Italian
3. Item of clothing? Comfy, cute pajamas
4. Hairstyle? Up off my neck
5. Beverage? Milk
6. Facial tissue? Uh...Kleenex, I guess
7. Place to sit? My old pink recliner with a good book.
8. Person? Do I have to pick one? Rich, Kaylee, & Miles :-)
9. Animal? Cats
10. House? Big farmhouse with wraparound covered porch, enormous kitchen, and tons of closet space!
11. Smell? Baby after a bath
12. Activity? Cooking and gardening
13. Color? Blue or purple
14. Day of the week? Saturday
15. Time of day? Sunrise
16. Hot thing? A fireplace
17. Cold thing? Kaylee's nose after she comes in from playing in the snow
18. Game? Rook
19. Hobby? Gardening, definitely
20. Season? Fall

What Goes Around

It's officially made the rounds: Rich now has the stomach bug. He's in bed. That makes everyone but Miles. We're quarantined for a few more days.

Tightzers

Kaylee has recently decided that she doesn't like tights. The seams on the toes always bother her, and the first chance she gets, the tights come off. Then she complains about being cold. So I decided to find some other options to keep her legs warm.

My first purchase were some legwarmers (yes, they really do still make them, and they're CUTE!!) from Kelly's Closet, one of my frequented online diaper shops. They are similar to BabyLegs, but for toddlers. They fit good, but seemed to have a problem with falling down after wearing them for a while. She was pretty pleased with the primary stripe ones.

Then I ordered some ankle tights from Hanna Andersson online. (By the way, I highly recommend hanna.andersson.com to anyone who wants good quality, comfy kids clothes. Plus they're earth friendly to boot!) These tights are wonderful. They're the good quality, cotton Hanna tights, but with no feet! I also got her some slippers from the same site: Swedish moccasins, to be exact. Kaylee's in love. Her new "tightzers" have pretty patterns with no feet to bug her. Mommy's happy to, because she's warm.

Back in the Game

I'm finally feeling more like myself again. Whew. Kaylee did come down with the bug this morning, but she seemed to handle it much better than I did. She was only sick a few times and was asking for food by 3 PM. I gingerly allowed her a little chicken and rice for supper, which she promptly ate as if she'd never been sick today. Then she wanted a bath. Oh, to have her resilience. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all the "milky" Miles has been so interested in lately will at least have provided him some antibodies to fight off the virus. So far so good. One more perk for nursing toddlers!

I did discover a few things during/after my absence from housework this week.

1. If you select the "soak and scour" option plus a sani rinse on my dishwasher it will take over 5 hours for the cycle to complete. But the dishes are beautifully clean!

2. There is only a finite amount of dirty clothes/towels that will fit on the bathroom floor. After that it spills out into the hallway. And then down the stairs.

3. If you do not sweep your kitchen floor for nearly a week, you will have more to sweep up than one dustpan can hold. This is worsened by the fact that your toddler absolutely abhors dog food IN the dog bowl. It must be dumped on the kitchen floor, along with the poor dog's water, walked on until it consists of small mushy granules, and then allowed to dry. Ew.

4. Cloth diapers smell unbelievably nasty after being left in the diaper pail for 5 days. And it takes 3 very hot wash cycles to get the stench out. Double EW.

5. Bleach is a very good thing.

6. Even if you love cooking from scratch, keep a few "ready to eat" or at least "easy to fix" dinner options in the freezer. Just for times like this. At least you (or your hubby) can feed them to your kids when the need arises.

And now that I"ve shared all those not so pleasant observations, I think I'd better get to bed. Tomorrow I'll tackle the living room.

Sick

It has NOT been a fun week. I've been sick for 3 days. Not just generally sick, or a cold sick, but throwing up, running to the bathroom every half hour, can't get out of bed sick. YUCK. I'm only just beginning to feel better. Now if only the kids don't get it. Not much chance of that happening, since they were all over me the whole time. Sigh.

Rich has been awesome with helping out, doing the dishes, and tidying up the house, picking up toys, and staying up to feed the kids breakfast in the mornings. If it weren't for him they would have probably starved! Still, laundry is piling up, there's nothing to eat in the fridge, and the floor has forgotten what a vacuum is. It all needs done, but not today. I'll be lucky if I get the cats fed, the diapers washed, and a load of pajamas done so that we have some clean ones to wear tonight.

On the plus side, food is sounding better. I put a chicken in the oven this morning, and it's actually smelling kind of good. Maybe I'll get over this yet.

4 Tagged

Since I have no news to post today, I thought I"d respond to a tag, thanks to a certain "English-woman" I know!

Rules: Go to your 4th pictures folder, pick the 4th picture, and tell 4 things about it.


1. This picture was taken a year ago in October.
2. Kaylee and her friend Darren were driving trucks during one of our weekly playdates.
3. In their game the trucks could fly.
4. That's my foot on the left side: I was sitting in the chair nursing Miles watching the show.

OK, now anyone else who reads this, you're TAGGED too!

Brisk!

It's brisk outside today! Kaylee and I went out for a bit after the boys went down for naps. We didn't stay out long! Here we are just after sweeping/scraping the sidewalk. That northwest wind sure makes for some pink cheeks!


On a warmer note, here are the kids last night, just before bed, enjoying a snack of blueberries dipped in milk in their toasty pjs. "Buuu-bewwies" says Miles, "Mmmmm, buuu-bewwies" in the exact tone of voice as the narrator from "Big Bad Bruce" - the book we loved to listen to when we were kids.

Aren't Kaylee's new pajamas cute? She wants to wear them all the time. I'd like some just like them!

Brr, I'm cold. I'm off to make some cocoa.

Knittin' Days

My fall work is done. It's cold and there's snow on the ground. To quote the fictional Ma Graham from one of my favorite books, "Nice to have things all cleaned up fer the longs days an' nights ahead when a body can't be out much. Them's quiltin' an' knittin' days."

Quilting and knitting are two things that I'd like to learn, so this winter I'm determined to get started. With knitting, that is. Quilting may have to wait until next winter. A few weeks ago, when all my outside work was done and I was wondering how I was going to keep busy this winter, I looked into knitting classes in the area. I found beginning knitting for only $10, and I even found someone to go with me! The first of 3 sessions starts on Saturday.

I'm really looking forward to getting started. The evenings get a little long in the winter, as the kids go to bed early and Rich is always working, so I need something to keep my hands busy. Plus maybe I can make some cool stuff. We are supposed to make a bag at the class, for a first project. I'm hoping to learn how to make some things for the kids soon. Maybe something like this, for starters.

Hopefully once I get the hang of it, I will actually FINISH some pieces. I have 3 or 4 crochet projects sitting in my craft box, partly finished (or barely started, in some cases) from when I taught myself to crochet a few years ago. I was doing great with it until kids came along. Oh well, that's the breaks I guess. I'm hoping that with knitting I can create some things that are more useful, such as hats, mittens, scarves, sweaters, as opposed to little blankets or afghans. We'll see how this new venture goes... :-)

Imagination Station

There's no lack of imagination around here. Today I walked into the living room to find a disaster area. Cushions off the couch and stuffed between the couch and the coffee table. Empty couch, cushions, and coffee table all covered with blankets and pillows. Building blocks scattered all around the couch, making it impossible to walk through the living room. At my "WHAT are you doing???" Kaylee calmly explained:

"We're going camping! See, here's our beds in the tent, and we're diving into the ocean to catch all these fish to have for supper. So you have to swim, Mommy." What could I say?


Sometimes Kaylee's imagination gets her into trouble. Late this afternoon, she and Ian were looking out the window into the falling darkness, talking about seeing eyes in the dark. Somehow, she convinced herself and Ian that there were coyotes out there in the dark, and they could see two big eyes! She was actually crying about it. It took a good 15 minutes to get things settled down. Then we closed the curtains!

When Miles leads the entertainment, it's a little more tame. Here he is finding ears. (And noses, and mouths, etc). Luckily, the older kids usually play along.

Odds & Ends

Here are a few odds and ends from last week that I finally got uploaded from my camera.

After living with a bare bulb for almost 2 years, we finally got a new light fixture in our living/dining/computer area. I like it!


Crazy kids after eating blue lolly pops. Miles thought the blue tongues were hilarious!


Mocha is growing like crazy. Here she is asking for attention at the back door.

And sleeping with Peaches. They tire each other out.


The cloth diaper experiment is a success so far. I think it may turn out to be something we will do for the long haul, and for any future children. I ordered a few Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers (expensive, but very trim fitting) and I like them, but I think I'll stick with prefolds for everyday use. I do like the snaps on the others though. Maybe I'll order some covers with snaps: I need a few more covers anyway.

And finally, story time. The kids' favorite!

I'm Still Here

Thanksgiving was wonderful: mountains of delicious food, a crowded house full of relatives, chatter, games, love, and laughter. The official start of the "holiday season". Yep, Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite holiday, and this year was everything I anticipated. Hope yours was great as well.

Sorry it's been so long since I posted. It's been a full, busy week. I'll try to get some pics up later today, now that everything has slowed down and we're taking a day at home to catch up on laundry and sleep!

Popcorn Tradition

It's become tradition around here to have popcorn for supper on Sunday night. Kaylee looks forward to it all week. Every Sunday afternoon around 3 PM she starts asking when we can have popcorn. So at suppertime, Daddy gets out the old old Stir-Crazy popper and makes popcorn, and she "helps".


Kaylee's favorite popcorn seasoning recipe? Butter and Parmesan cheese, of course. Miles thinks it's pretty tasty too.

Going Crazy With Cloth

Yesterday morning my when I got up my husband looked at me and said "You've lost your mind. You've completely lost your mind." That's his initial assessment of my new venture at giving cloth diapers a try.

I've had some old flat diapers and covers around for some time, but could never get them to fit right. Then, thanks to Jenni's post last week, I purchased some Cloth-eez prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers (www.greenmountaindiapers.com).

I mainly did it to have a backup around when we run out of disposables, since we are 20 miles from the nearest place to buy diapers, and it's just not practical to run to town if you suddenly realize that you've put the last diaper on the baby and there are none in any cupboard or diaper bag. But since trying them out on Miles, I may just have to switch completely. These diaper service quality prefolds are made wider and shorter than the traditional prefold cloth diapers, and much thicker, softer, and more absorbent than my old cheap flat ones. They can be pinned, snappied, or just folded and put inside a diaper wrap.

I used a Bummis wrap with the diaper folded inside, and I couldn't believe how well they worked together. No leaks!

Washing was no big deal, and the diapers came out super soft and fresh-smelling. Plus, Miles came and wanted changed when he was wet. How cool is that?!?! Cloth diapers may be my new potty training secret (maybe I should put them on Ian!!).

The only drawback was that the size I got was too large for Miles: I had to fold them under to get them to fit in the wrap, and that makes some extra bulk in the front. But he'll grow into them. So I ordered a second dozen in a smaller size for everyday use now, and maybe we can try the big ones at night. I may just become an avid cloth user yet!

I did some web research, and was amazed at all the cloth diaper options out there. I haven't tried all the types, but I really like these prefolds with wraps, and it turns out they are one of the most economical ways to diaper. They cost about $30 a dozen, depending on what size you buy, and the wraps are about $10 each - plus they come in cute patterns and colors! I figure I'll need about 3 dozen diapers and 5 wraps, which brings the total cost to around $140, plus tax and shipping. That's 6 boxes of disposable diapers. We buy one box (Huggies 88 count , size 4, about $25 at Walmart) about every 2 weeks. In 3 months, the cloth diapers will pay for themselves, and after that, they'll save us $50 a month. That's $600 a year! If we have another baby, we'll be able to use them for him/her too. Of course, we'd have to invest in the newborn size at that point, but in the long run it would still be much cheaper. I'm also going to try cloth wipes, using my terry baby washcloths, washing them with the diapers, and making my own wipes solution (Lavender Chamomile, smells wonderful and works great!). That saves another $10 a month or so.

Of course, I had tons of questions regarding switching to cloth. Here are a few of my observations.

Aren't disposables more convenient? Yes, a little.

Don't they leak? Not if they fit right - I have yet to have a leak on Miles!

Is the extra laundry a hassle? No, not really. I do laundry all the time anyway. What's another load every other day?

Does the diaper pail smell nasty? No - I'm using the "dry pail" method, rinsing poopy diapers off first, and sprinkling with baking soda - no odors yet!

Will it work for us? I'll never know until I've really tried it! My plan at present is to use cloth at home, but keep a few disposables around for trips and such. I'm currently still using disposables at night, but as soon as the smaller size comes I hope to switch at night too. I figure if I spend the money, I'm obligated to at least use the diapers until they pay for themselves. After that, I'm saving money. In the meantime, I'm not filling up landfills with diapers. I"m putting only 100% soft cotton (no chemicals) against my baby's bottom, and he's learning to recognize when he's wet.

Is it worth the extra effort? Have I lost my mind? What will we do with the $700 I'm saving a year? I"ll keep you updated.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

I did some searching this morning for a tasty recipe to use up my cooked pumpkin, and I found this. It sounded like the best of both my cheesecake and bar cravings so I tried it. YUMMY!! The only thing I would change is the nuts: mine weren't very finely chopped. Next time I"ll use the food processor.

Here it is, for your enjoyment:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons cold butter
1 cup finely chopped pecans

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground allspice

1. In a bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans; set aside 3/4 cup for topping. Press remaining crumb mixtures into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Cool slightly.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar. Beat in the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.

Punkins

For those of you who need their daily picture fix, here's a picture I took last Friday of my 3 little punkins. It's the only one out of about 15 where all 3 are looking at the camera and not making silly faces. They were clapping - notice Ian and Kaylee's hands. Anyway, I think it's pretty cute.


Super smiles!


Speaking of punkins, yesterday I cooked a pumpkin to make pie, and I have all this extra pumpkin that I need to use. Anyone have any great recipes for pumpkin bars? My sister has one, but she says it's not very good. Or pumpkin cheesecake? Both those things sound pretty good about now! Actually making anything will have to wait until tomorrow though. I spent the whole day cooking and doing laundry for my sister. I"m tired. I think I"ll go to bed.

Busy Bees

Life is getting busier around here. (Is busier a word? More busy? Can't decide!)

Mom leaves tomorrow for Houston to be with my brother-in-law during his high-dose IV chemotherapy treatment for the next 5 days. My sister has school, so she can't go. He seems to have responded very well to the whole-brain radiation, so now they are going after the other spots in the lungs and lymph system. This type of chemo has had good results, so they're quite hopeful about it. I can't imagine what this has been like for my baby sis, to have her new husband so sick, but things are starting to look up. They are always in our prayers...

Starting tomorrow, I will be going into town to watch Ian at my other sister's place 2 days a week. She is getting near the end of her pregnancy (33 weeks) and has had some trouble with preterm contractions so I decided to give her a bit of a break. I'll try to get some laundry and housework done while the kids are napping, and maybe even cook up some things that she can just pop in the oven for easy dinners and such. If she can make it one more month, she'll have Christmas break, and the baby can come any day! Hopefully this will help.

And here I was thinking that I needed a project to keep me busy!

Yes Man

I took this video of Kaylee asking Miles questions this morning. He's showing off his newfound ability to nod. Notice how there's only one thing that he doesn't say yes to...no ego problem here!

Dream Big

I've been wasting way more time that I should be lately looking at house plans online. No, we're not planning to build a house any time soon. However, SOMEDAY, we'd like to build our dream home, on an acreage, set down a long driveway off a paved road.

So, in the interests of someday, I've been looking at floor plans when I should be doing laundry or sleeping. After much thought, here's what I've decided.

I have some very definite ideas when it comes to the perfect house plan. First, and most important, it should all be on one floor. When my rheumatoid arthritis flares up, stairs are a big problem for me. Plus, we want something we can stay in until we're REALLY old and gray. So no stairs. Living area, bedrooms, laundry, etc all need to be on the main floor. This causes a bit of a problem cost wise, because you have to pay for all that foundation and all that roof.

Next, and nearly as important, is the kitchen. A large, open, well-planned kitchen is a must. I'm talking at least 12x12, or something similar. Even when it's just family around, everyone always ends up in the kitchen. I need room to cook, and can, and entertain. Lots of cupboards and counter space, double ovens, an island, and a peninsula with an eating bar are big pluses.

Finally, we need 4 bedrooms. We already have 1 boy and 1 girl, plus the master bedroom, and then we need a guest room. If we have more children, we'll need larger rooms for the kids, so the boys can share one and the girls another. With lots of closets for all those kids' stuff. That takes some space!

I absolutely love the farmhouse look, with the big wraparound porch. If at all possible, I want that type of plan. And an attached garage, preferably with a mudroom. We do want a basement, (I know, you need stairs for a basement, but I wouldn't have to go down there all the time) mostly for storage. A walk-out would be the best, but not totally necessary. A fireplace would be good. An office or study would be nice. But all those things are just extra perks, mostly.

So, based on all that, I found my dream home. The only thing missing is the study, but there is a sitting room off the master bedroom that could double as either a study, nursery, or craft room. The porch doesn't wrap around, but there is one on 2 sides. Yes, it's enormous. 3500 square feet, to be exact. But hey, why not dream big?
If the plan looks fuzzy, click on the image for a clearer view. And check out those walk-in closets! And the kitchen, and the pantry! I could go on and on. Here's the front view.



Now if we could ever afford to build it... sigh. Maybe someday.

Baby Fever

Here is our newest nephew, Malachi, born Nov 6. Just look at all that hair! We hear that he's a great baby....good eater and sleeper and sweet as can be. Wish I could meet him. Don't you think he looks a bit like Miles at the same age?
Malachi


Miles

Every time I see or hold a new baby lately, it gives me just the tiniest bit of baby fever again. You know, that little twinge you get when you look at your toddler and preschooler and think, wow, how did they go from helpless infant to little independent people in such a short time? It seems like just days ago that they looked like this!


And then, for just a second, I think, "maybe we should have another one." But just for a second. I'm definitely not ready to start planning another baby yet. Maybe in a year or so. Luckily, my sister is expecting her second son in January. After her maternity leave, I"ll be babysitting him 5 days a week. To be honest, I am looking forward to having a newborn around again. But the best part about it is, he will go home to Mommy and Daddy every afternoon and I will still get a good night's sleep! So you see, another baby can wait for a while. I'll just do my best to ignore the twinges.

Miles Milestones

*ALERT* Mommy brag post ahead. OK, now that you're clearly warned....

Miles is at such a cute age. He seems to be learning something every day. Just today he learned how to nod. He wanted to get out of his high chair after lunch today, and I was busy clearing the table. After saying "a-dun" several times, he finally shouted "Down!" That's a new word too. I turned around and asked, "You want to get down? "Uh huh" he says, vigorously nodding his head. Then he gave me that little grin that says: Hey, I'm so smart!

I'm constantly amazed at his vocabulary. He probably has 30 words that he says well, and a dozen more that he uses consistently but aren't real clear. He can tell you what most farm animals say, and has even put 2 words together on occasion. He can also point out and identify most body parts. At this age Kaylee said about 5 words, and one of them was uh oh!

Another thing Miles has learned recently is the concept of taking turns. He'll be getting horsey rides on my foot, and Kaylee will come over and want one too. So Miles will hop right off and wait patiently until she gets her turn. Then he wants back on. He's very sweet about it, until someone doesn 't give him a fair turn. Then you'll hear about it!

OK, I guess I've done enough bragging about my baby for tonight. I'd better stop and get to bed. But isn't he cute? :-)

Mommy's Helper

Kaylee's my helper. As the oldest kid, I'll admit that she gets her share of requests for help, but she usually loves to help. Especially if there's a project involved, such as pitting cherries, cutting apples for applesauce, or canning tomatoes.

She helps in the garden too. My mom says that Kaylee knows more about gardening than some adults. I find myself hoping that she just knows which ones are weeds and which are not! This photo is from last fall. (Did we use all those pumpkins? Um....no. They got rotten in the basement. This year we didn't plant so many!)


Today I asked the kids what they wanted for lunch. Kaylee's reply? "Homemade bread." So I made some. And sure enough, she helped. "Turn, fold, push, right Mommy?" she asked when I gave her a piece to knead. Thank goodness for little girls.

Winter has Come

"Winter has come to our house," Kaylee stated this morning, staring out the window at the huge snowflakes falling on top of 1/4 inch of ice.

She then proceeded to beg and plead to go out, so as soon as it stopped snowing so hard I bundled her up and let her go. It started melting as soon as the snow stopped, making perfect snowman-making conditions. Kaylee spent the morning rolling snowballs and making snowmen. I had to bribe her with hot cocoa just to get her to come in for lunch!


I took Miles out for a little while too. The first thing he did was grab a mitten full of snow and taste it. I wish I could have captured the look of surprise on his face but I was a couple seconds too late.


We tried sledding, but the snow was very wet and it didn't work very well. They liked being pulled around by Mommy, but that got tiring very quickly!

Miles isn't crazy about mittens. He must feel like he can't do anything with them on, because he spends most of his time trying to take them off. After Kaylee's frostbitten fingers episode last winter, I'm almost ridiculously strict about keeping mittens on. Needless to say, Miles was back inside within 20 minutes. It didn't seem to bother him much. He got Mommy's mostly undivided attention while Kaylee played happily outside the window.

While Miles was napping I went back outside with Kaylee and we made a snow house. Not a fort, mind you. A house. Then she made very wet snow angels until she was soaked through her snow pants. Tonight we have an entryway full of wet winter clothes and one very tired, happy girl. Winter has come.