Versatility

We had some sick days this week, which means I spent a lot of time cleaning. (Not sure why, but I tend to take on the deep-cleaning projects when my kids are sick. Maybe it's being stuck at home, no interruptions to drop off, pick up, or run errands. It's probably a good thing they get sick from time to time.) My children, who are seriously vacuum-shy--I usually have to be one floor away with closed doors in between me and them to avoid complaints about the noise--begged me to finish up with it this afternoon so they could make ice cream. They alternated between pretending to clean the kitchen floor and hooking the hose up to a phone jack to load the ice cream maker with ingredients. They assured me that the floor dirt does not mix with the ice cream ingredients. At times, they resembled some sort of ghostbusting squad, creeping through the hallway carrying hoses and canister, pointing the upholstery brush out front. Evidently everyone is feeling better!

Tea time

One tradition we have developed for our visits with Grandmerr and Grandpa is tea parties. We have one per visit, with varying levels of fanciness. Our last tea party was fairly simple in refreshments (gingerbread cookies and tea) but very fancy with dishes and attire--hats were required. We had a really lovely time.



Even Daddy, who spent most of the tea party cooking dinner, wore a hat.

Guess who had the camera?

Snow fun

The last snow picture I posted was of just Rachel, who played out in the first snowfall while sicko Nathan and I made dinner. Since then, we've had more snow and more opportunities to play. Busy schedules while that first snow was still fresh kept us from going to the sledding hill, so we improvised a (very) little one in our yard--and it still impressed our flatlander children!



Then it snowed again, and this time, we hit the sled hill and had a great time!

On Sunday, Rachel heard that her cousin Aiddan was making a snow fort and wanted to follow suit. Daddy proved an excellent contractor.

And then it started raining--the fort is just about all we have left. Crazy weather! We're still optimistic for more snow this winter!

Food notes

Today I fed my children egg salad for dessert. Yes, you read that correctly. I made egg salad for my lunch, and it wasn't ready until Rachel and Nathan had finished their lunches. They wanted some, and it was their own idea that it would be their dessert. (I was fully prepared to give them egg salad and then a fruit leather, since I'd promised they could have dessert today, but don't tell them that!) I was amused. They pretty much licked the bowl. Evidently, I make awesome egg salad! (To my Ab___ relatives--I always think of Grammy when I use pickle relish and call it "pickle-lilly." Do you?)

And my children have been feeding me (and anyone else they catch in our living room) quite a bit lately--playing restaurant has been a big-time favorite. Here they take advantage of a weekend morning to serve up some pancakes.

Projects

We've been going a little batty with projects lately. It is making these long, cold afternoons much more fun and peaceable. Today we painted a birdhouse. (Thanks GM and GP, for the materials--our yard will be so merry when it's in the tree!) Nathan, who generally likes to color and paint all over whatever he is presented with, was really respectful of the pictures Rachel painted, and she was tolerant of his painting all around them. It was lovely. And it is lovely--check it out!



Next project: valentines. Wait until you see Rachel's cool idea!

Baggage

Rachel and Nathan are sleeping over at Nana's and Papa's tonight, and they are EXCITED! Within 15 minutes of getting out of bed, they were all packed and ready for anything. They have pj's and toothbrushes, yes, but they also have magazines, extra socks, and snowpants. (Get ready for fun, Nana and Papa!) They even packed their own tissues. Then Nathan came into the kitchen and announced, "I put my penguin tissues in my N-A-T-H-A-N bag, and if I ever have to blow any boogers out, I will just take a penguin tissue out of my bag and blow it out in the penguin tissue!" Nathan is not a boy of few words. His philosophy goes something like, why say it in five words if you can use thirty?

As a side note, many thanks to GrandMerr and Grandpa for the decorated tissues. Nathan has actually begun blowing his nose, finally!

Yesterday and Today

This was yesterday...


This is today...


Santa brought us a sled for Christmas, so we are VERY excited to have snow at last! (But we did have an awfully good time in the sandbox yesterday, too, truth be told.)