Flashback

I felt like I had regressed to my own school days when I discovered that school was cancelled today. In fact, I was excited and happy and Micah struggled not to cry! I started thinking about what we did growing up when school was cancelled. I remember mom making playdo and Seth and I happily occupying ourselves for hours.

Playdo

2 CP All-Purpose Flour

1 CP Salt

2 TB Cream of Tartar

1/4 CP Oil

2 CP Water with choice of food coloring

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix liquid ingredients together.

Mix all together in a pan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms and comes away from side.

Not yet playdo.

Playdo!

I have made playdo before, but they don't remember.

They are fascinated and all fighting has ceased for the time being. Yes! Mission accomplished. Oh, and it smells and feels just like I remember it!

You Know It's Cold Outside

When you walk into your deliciously warm house, check the thermostat and discover it's actually only 63 degrees inside.

Pint-Sized Referee

So, last night we were all in the van driving to a friends house. We (the parents) were having a heated discussion. It went on for some time. Finally the daughter (who's not yet 4) threw her hands in the air and shouted, "Everyone, just settle down!" There was a beat of surprised silence and then laughter all around. Thanks for diffusing the situation, oh wise daughter of ours!

Someday

Micah will have this bed in his room.

We ordered it December 17th and they assured us we'd have it in 3 or 4 weeks. They finally called yesterday to tell me it would ship next week. It will ship next week, but it will take an additional week to get here. That'll be about 7 weeks total since we ordered it. I'm trying to be patient, but it's getting harder every day.

When It's 15 Below Zero Day After Day......

Everyone gets sick.

Ayla and I were knocked flat Tuesday and Wednesday. Today I woke up feeling well enough to drink coffee! I was excitedly making a grocery list and thinking about the day we were going to have. Take Micah to school, do 2 classes at the Y while Ayla is in tumbling, go to Trader Joe's. Tonight, go to Micah's school for an event in the gym. And then I heard a horrible cough coming from poor Micah as he was walking down the stairs. I got my cell phone and called the school. There was nary a protest which means he feels really bad. Usually this kid will pretend he's fine, because he doesn't want to miss school ever. Now, who can I call on to go get my holds from the library?

Their Last Trip Home

And we love you guys. It's so hard to believe that February 11th means goodbye.

This Might Warm You Up

Hot Chocolate

1 cup raw milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar or stevia to taste
5 oz good dark chocolate, chopped

Simmer the milk, cream and sweetener until just boiling. Stir in the chocolate until melted. Don't let it boil. Curl up with a cup of this, a good book and a snugly blanket. Actually, make that a snugly child. There, don't you feel warmer already?

Can You Tell That School Is Out?

Hmmmm......I think our after school routine needs a bit of work.

My Name Isn't Somebody Nobody

My daughter doesn't seem to realize this. Every day the two of us are at home alone & I hear, "Can Somebody wipe my butt?" If I ever dare to correct her about anything I also hear tearful shouts of, "Somebody is being mean!" or a sing-song version of "Somebody is yelling at me." and "Nobody doesn't love me at all!" Does everyone else have one kid that they just don't understand? One kid that is quite embarrassing a lot of the time? Or is it just me?

Trouble

This is our new family obsession. I bought this game last Saturday and I can't tell you how many times we've played it since then. Craig is sick of it to say the least, but Micah wants to play it a couple times a day. I loved this game as a kid, so I've been happy to oblige him. However, it is a bit trying to play with Ayla. Luckily she usually loses interest at some point during every game and we all breathe a sigh of relief!

Snack Of The Year

Ayla's allergies are bothering her again which means she's back on her strict diet. She can't have dairy, sugar, chocolate, dried fruit, bread or crackers with bleached flour or malt products, cantaloupe, bananas, canned tomato products, peanut products or citrus juice from concentrate. There, I think that's everything. It's all the main things anyway. Luckily she is so good about it. There is not much whining at all. If we're having brownies for dessert she might ask for one, but once she's reminded they make her sick she's fine. In fact, one time she jumped for joy when I told her she couldn't have a brownie, but she could have some applesauce. What a sweetheart! So, back to the point of this post. Once a week I have to buy a jar of cashew macadamia nut butter and a bag of granny smith apples, because it is the snack of the year. I'd say she eats a least two apples a day this way. Hopefully she won't grow tired of it anytime soon. If anyone has other snack ideas for her I'd love to hear them.

Our Snow Is Melting!

I can't stop thinking about the weather today. Maybe because everyone else is talking about it on their blogs. Probably no one cares, but I'm going to tell you all what I think of winter. I'm sad that our snow is melting. It's supposed to rain and/or snow tonight and that makes me very happy. I'm hoping it gets really bad out and that school is cancelled and that Craig decides to stay home. If that happened I would laze around in bed and let Micah sleep in. Ayla would still be up early and so would Craig. Craig would be outside playing with his new snow plow, I mean plowing the driveway. I would try to entice Ayla to snuggle in bed with me. Craig would finish plowing, make coffee and bring it to me in bed. Then he would make omelets for us (he's really good at that.) We would stay in our jammies all day long just putting our snow clothes on over them to go outside. I would make homemade play dough for the kids. I'd probably make bread or muffins or brownies too, maybe all three. I'd make Parisian Hot Chocolate which is divine! We'd spend the day alternately playing outside and warming up with good food and family games. Hmmmm, I think I'm going to be really disappointed if it doesn't snow tonight.

New Year's Eve 2007

I was looking at photos from our get-together last year & I can't believe how the kids have grown. It was only one year ago & look how much more baby fat Ayla & Sydney had. Boo-hoo, they are growing up way too fast!

Third Annual New Year's Eve Party

Ted & Sherilyn were brave enough to continue with their annual New Year's Eve weekend. I say brave, because they have added two children to their own household & still they invited three other couples over for the weekend. We had a grand total of 12 children aged 8 & under!!

Ayla & Sydney wearing their corduroy skirts from Children's Place.

Micah & Elijah playing air hockey at the Hopkins firehouse where we were able to celebrate the new year with lots of room for lots of people.

Sherilyn in her fire hat.

We were missing one child in this photo. 20 month old Owen must have been running around somewhere. Thanks Ted & Sherilyn, we all had lots of fun!