Itsy Bisty over and over

I caught a cute few minutes between the kids. Adam is really into "Itsy Bitsy Spider" right now. I love that he tries to sing along and do the motions.

I need to learn to keep my thumb off of the microphone.

Pelican

When we lived in San Diego, I discovered that I really like pelicans. I know they don't have the majestic image of an eagle or falcon, or cuteness of a penguin, or make pretty music like a songbird. But its very impressive to watch a flock of pelicans glide just over the tops of the ocean waves. They are so big and graceful in the air. And their pouch is just hilarious. Anyway, when I saw a super cheap pelican toy holder at IKEA, I decided I needed it.

Happy Birthday to me. I'm using it to hold mittens and hats for the kids since they can't reach the baskets I was using.

He even has a tongue. (Yes, real pelicans have tongues, I checked.)

He makes me smile when I look in that corner of the room. Now I need a name!

Sleepy kitty

Laura's dress

I finished Laura's dress. It turned out even better than I had hoped.

It is supposed to have a shirt under it, but she wasn't interested in that this time.

We had a heck of a time agreeing on buttons, but I think we are both happy with these. They are fun, but don't take over the whole dress.

I think she likes it too.

Hardworking Woman

We went to St Paul's Home and Patio Show this weekend to get some ideas for our deck remodel this summer. Between Home Depot's kid project and the guy selling playgrounds, I think Laura enjoyed the day the most.

Adam got an apron too...

Double fisted

suspicious characters

Grillin' in February

What, besides the fuzzy snowflake window sticker, catches your eye in this photo?

Here's what I see:

The thermometer reads 50 degrees.

Man in short sleeves and no coat.

Small child with no hat.

BBQ grill is uncovered and about to cook a feast of steak, grilled carrots (don't knock it till you've tried it) and grilled pineapple. Also on the menu, potato salad! In February!

That is what I see when I look at this picture. The mounds of snow and leafless trees in the background are irrelevant when you can cook your food on the grill.

Hungry month

I read something about February being the "hungry month" for people living off the land, past and present.

Well, we're far from living off the land, but I've made more of an effort this year than ever before. I'm starting to understand the term "hungry month".

I'm raiding the freezer for frozen berries that we picked this summer.

I'm running out of applesauce from the tree in our neighbor's yard.

I recently used my last onion and garlic head from the farmers market last summer.

And I'm losing interest in buying seasonally.

Guess I'm ready for spring.

Come on asparagus and rhubarb and sugar snap peas.

More snow pictures

Remember the drift on the BBQ grill?

Well, it lost some of its umph in the sun.

I love that it looks like an ocean wave. I'm imagining I'm back in San Diego, it's sunny and 75...

And check out the snow slipping off our neighbor's roof. It looks like a solid curtain draping downward.

My man

He makes it look easy:

It should be noted that he was actually cleaning up my mess from when I shoveled last. Guess I'm just not good at shoveling. Darn.

WInter morning

Last Saturday was one of those mornings that every single branch and twig was covered in ice. It was so beautiful. When I see trees like this, I always imagine trying to recreate this effect by hand. It would be impossible to cover every single little twig and bump with a layer of ice. I just love that there are still so many things man (or woman) can't do alone.

As I drove down the road, I kept seeing beautiful forests here and there. I ended up snapping a shot of a tree in a Walgreens parking lot. But it was as pretty as the ones in the forest, I promise! My camera phone doesn't do it justice.

Sledding

hot chocolate

Adam's not really big enough to have a lot of fun in the snow yet.

But, he's a big fan of the warmup hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Unappetizing

I am a big fan of bread puddings. My favorite recipe is a Pumpkin Bread Pudding from Smitten Kitchen and it has note on the top that I wrote that says "not too sweet. Perfect!!" Well, this time it was even less sweet. I must have been trying to do too many things at once, and I completely forgot to add any sugar. Ummm, yuck. I've discovered that maple syrup drizzled over the top is fantastic, however! And Adam likes it just fine plain. He's a strange kid.

On an even more disgusting note, Adam likes green bean flavored hummus. Sorry, I should have prepared you more for that. I had runny pureed green beans, and since he insists on running the spoon himself, I needed to thicken it a bit. So I tried some super thick homemade hummus on a whim. He devoured it. It almost turns my stomach to make it, but I guess its worth it to get at least one veggie down this carb-ivore.

Minnesota Girl

You live in Minnesota, kid. You gotta pull your own sled!

Atta girl!

Combo holiday

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Chinese New Year!

We celebrated with Strawberry Cheesecake Eggrolls. Yum, fried cheesecake!

Adam's first word

The boy is obsessed.

Hills in China

Our mini version of the limestone hills in China:

I've always wanted to see the real thing:

Let it snow

We've had a lot of snow this winter. The pile next to the driveway is up to my shoulder. Its like driving through a tunnel to get to the garage.

The front walk is also pretty deep. (Stupid snow plow ruining the end of the walk. Jim worked hard on that!)

And a crazy snow drift on our barbecue grill:

Sweet sleeping boy

About 1/3 of the days that Laura is in preschool, I end up having to wake up Adam to pick her up. I really hate doing this, since we have worked so hard to get him to sleep nicely and he's doing such a good job. And then I go and wake up the poor kid. It is one of the many reasons we have decided to send Laura to a shorter day preschool next year. But the one perk of this situation is that I get to see this sweet image sometimes:

a week's worth of deep thoughts

-I discovered that the french place on the way home from Adam's ECFE class has a drive thru. Oh dear. I haven't been going because he's usually not on restaurant behavior after class, but now I can have my yummy food and eat it in peace too! I think I'll save my one lunch a week out for ECFE days now. Among other things, this week I got the mini spinach goat cheese quiche. I couldn't choke down the spinach, so I pawned it off on Adam. He devoured it, and I loved the goat cheese quiche-y part. A match made in heaven.

-Adam is wearing the socks Laura wore when she was 2 years old.

-I think Adam was trying to say "baby" when we were looking at a book today, but its a tough call.

-I caught the kids conspiring against me yesterday while we were baking something. I had asked them not to eat whatever it was quite yet, but as my back was turned, I heard giggling. I sneaked a peek and they were shoveling it in their mouths quickly. OK, there's the obvious disobedience that had to be dealt with. But I must say that I much prefer this to Laura's tattling or Adam's screaming. Its fun to see them bond, even if its against me. I'm tough, I can handle it (for now).

-Laura's been voluntarily setting the table for dinner lately. That's great and genuinely helpful. But the best part is that she has made up a game where each person ends up being either the "popcorn", the "frozen goat" or the "rotten egg". I don't know where those names came from, but its exciting to see who will end up being each one. Sometimes, there's even a "popcorn for the spoons" and a "popcorn for the plates". My life is one thrill after another!

-Our last storm might be a good argument for a snow blower. or a smaller driveway. or moving to Dallas.

-There should be a special name for that snow left at the end of your driveway by the snow plow. Like "chiropractor's friend" or "heart attack maker" or "rocky, icy, heavy crap that didn't actually fall from the sky onto my property, so why do I have to shovel it???".

I'm not sure how she made her hair do this.

But I'm pretty sure she was channeling Helena Bonham Carter.

Making Cookies

I love that Adam is old enough to participate in cookie making now:

I wouldn't say he contributed much to the final product, but he was certainly involved in the process. I had the flour on my floor to prove it!