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!

Then and Now

Laura and Odin then...

Laura and Odin now...

Wii

The Wii has actually been a great addition to our household.

It encourages us to cheer for each other and interact with each other.

It gets us up and moving.

It hasn't had any of the negatives that I anticipate with a traditional gaming system. We don't have any violent games; Laura is able to play a few of the games; we have to move our bodies instead of just pushing buttons; we actually play it on a regular basis; we don't play it ALL the time.

Lately, we have been playing one game of bowling in the evenings after dinner. Laura's high score is 166, I think. She has definitely improved her sportsmanship lately and its a really fun activity that we all look forward to.

Recovery

Now that Adam is sleeping and not nursing, I...

Sleep

Finish my sentences and thoughts

Separate the laundry into darks and lights

Cook food besides spaghetti

Hand wash the hand-wash dishes instead of putting them in the dishwasher and hoping for the best

Wash the dishes in a timely manner

Make better decisions

Feel glad that I have kids and get to stay home with them

Fight back when Jim gets ornery (he doesn't like that part so much)

Reviewed our budget and am making an effort to stick with it

Drink as much or as little caffeine as I want

Go to the monthly evening meetings at the hospital that I have been skipping for about 6 months

Can contemplate making an effort to lose weight

Wish it were summer so we could play outside more

Make an effort to find a sunny window at some point during the day

Read

Have improved my personal hygiene, i.e. showers, brushing hair and teeth, washing face, etc (I'm just being honest here)

Am very satisfied with the number of kids we have right now

Sibling fun

When you live in Minnesota, you get to do things like ride tricycles and little cars in the house in the winter. (at least in our house).

Latest knitting and "curly" hair

Here's my most recent knitting project. It is not as warm as I was hoping, but I still like it. I used a technique that is new to me called twinning. It took forever, but that's what made the color changes and I like to try new stuff. Also, check out my "curly" hair. I know that its barely wavy, but its a big deal to someone who has had straight hair her whole life.