Journal: Goodbye January!

Out my window: Some fresh snow fell yesterday, but it is already at freezing and supposed to get up to 41 today, so I suppose some of it will melt. It was beautiful, though.

Clothing myself in: Brown Jackson Hole long sleeved T-shirt, tan sweater, tan trouser pants. Wool socks- my feet are cold!

Around the house: Well, Joe was sick several days last week and then busy trying to catch up on some work over the weekend, so not much forward progress, but he write a post and includes an up-to-date picture of the basement on his blog a few days ago.

The toddler: Random high fever a couple of days last week, not that you would be able to tell.  Current pesty thing he likes to do: open drawers that are above his head, hang on the drawer with one hand and pull things out of it with the other. Like my garlic press, or cheese slicer (!) or pizza cutter (!!). Oh, this child. Current really cute thing: he likes to try to jump up and down like the big kids, only it ends up being more like a stationary gallop. Cuuuute.

The kiddos: It is Catholic School's Week, so my big ones were excited about that.  Today was mix and match dress day/ wear your clothes backwards day. Coming up- pajama day, superhero or princess day, wacky hat day. Oh, and they also get report cards this week. Isaac had a little something last week, but he seems better now.

Crafting: I have a couple of people I need to make baby gifts for. Soon.

In the kitchen: Black bean burritos, pork and sweet potato stew, egg casserole. Going to bake brownies today so we can have a (slightly belated) Anniversary of Joe Accepting His Job party.

Bringing me joy: Joe feeling better, going bowling with some friends, the older three getting excited about making 100 Lego guys, Adelle's robot dance, giving George nomming kisses and having him squeal in happiness.

Thinking about: Confession: I still wildly miss Idaho. I miss mountains, I miss lots of snow, I miss our little Church there, I miss the yarn store, I miss mild summers, mountain streams, visits to Yellowstone, the non-plague level of bugs. Then I have guilt for missing it because I really love it here and I know this is where we are supposed to be right now. I love our parish, our new friends, our house, our woods, the fact that it is just a day's drive from Kansas. I need to accept the missing for what it is.

Picture to share: This fella gave us a scare on Saturday,. He was limping on his back paw and when we laid him down to look at it he was all shakey. We were concerned it was something serious- he is a pretty old doggie.  Took him to the vet and it was just a sprained paw- he is fine now :)  Silly boy.

Journal: Brrrrrrrrrr January

Out my window: Sunny but soooo cold. -5 degrees out. Not planning on going anywhere except pick up the littles from school today.

Clothing myself in: Pink yoga pants, brown long sleeve T-shirt, brown cardigan. It is laundry day.

Around the house: Joe finished drywalling around the duct. Mudding, lots of mudding in store.

The toddler: So many new words! Isaac, more, all done, boo, and my favorite- please.  Only it sounds like "weeeeeze". So he crawls in my lap when he wants to nurse and says, "Boo, weeeeeeeze." I find toddlers to be a challenging stage (particularly this wild one) but I love it when they start to talk.  He has also started to gesticulate- nodding when he says "uh huh", signing "more", putting his hands up when he says "all done" clasping his hands together when he says please.  Love, love, love it.

The kiddos: Isaac is receiving the Sacrament of Penance in February, so we are doing our last preparation for it and making sure he is comfortable with everything.  His First Communion is the first Sunday in May.  Can't believe everything is coming up so soon!

Crafting: Nope, no crafting.  I think about knitting, but it just hasn't happened.

In the kitchen: Need to come up with an easy, healthy, delicious, relatively cheap meal plan.  Bah, that isn't too much to ask, is it? :P

Bringing me joy: Getting to go to confession with my Issy, Adelle's cute little braids, Joe playing Legos with Isaac and Liam, hearing George's voice, our family slideshow- it helps me put in perspective our blessings and how beautiful our year was.

Thinking about: The book The 'One Thing' Is Three by Fr. Michael Gaitley.  Most of the time, I have a hard time getting into theology books, but this one is different- heavy concepts broken down in understandable language.  It has also made me want to delve deeper into St Faustina and message of Divine Mercy.

Picture to share:

A Christmas show

Grammie bought the kids some wooden masks and brought them up at Thanksgiving.  One cold day on Christmas break, we got to paint them.

Then they put on a show, featuring Liam as Snowball, Isaac as Frosty, Issy as Jenny the Elf and Delle as Lucy the Elf.  George also had a mask that Liam painted for him, but he didn't participate in the show.  Nor would he pose for a picture with it. Thanks, Grammie!

I am currently working on a year-end slideshow, so that is kind of time consuming, but I wanted to give you just a short post today :)

Evolving Breakfast Nook/ Office/ Now Reading Nook

This is one of my favorite areas of our house.  It was built as a breakfast nook, with a more formal dining room on the other side of the kitchen, but I liked it so much, I wanted to try to squeeze our table in.  It was possible, but not ideal.  So we put the table into the formal dining area, which was a much better fit.

 Since the formal dining area had been functioning as our "office" we put the computer in the nook area.

But George is who he is and he kept turning off  the computer, so we moved it up on the desk, but then he could reach the printer and shoved a toy in it that caused a paper jam.  He would get up on the desk and one time I found him squatting on the desk, a pencil in one hand and a pen in the other. Yet, we continued on. But then a morning a couple of weeks ago, he pulled the V key off, which was apparently the last straw because Joe promptly rearranged furniture and took the his computer downstairs into the guestroom/ office.

So now we have a reading nook.  This is my favorite use of the space yet :)

Journal: Happy New Year!

Out my window: 28. Snow on the ground.  It is supposed to get above freezing the next several days, which makes me crabby. I don't want my snow to melt!

Clothing myself in: Black Army sweatshirt. Navy blue sweatpants. You are all jealous of my fantastic wardrobe, I am sure.

Around the house: We finished the bathroom.  Joe is plugging along on the basement- almost done drywalling around the duct- then onto mudding and sanding.

For Christmas Joe bought me a ceiling fan for the master bedroom to replace the one in this post.  The new one is a gazillion time prettier. And quieter:

The toddler: So many teeth coming in! All four molars are through and I can now see one of his incisors.  Let's just get this done, shall we?  New word: hallelujah.  It sounds like hal u yah.  But cute, nonetheless.  He also got his first big boy haircut and his been acting like more of a big boy ever since. Sniff.

The kiddos: The big guys are back to school this week after two weeks off.  Issy seemed ready, Isaac wasn't too thrilled about having to learn again, ha!  Back to homeschool, settling into winter days with my three smalls.

Crafting: For Christmas, Joe built Issy a bunk bed for her dolls.  I had bought some fabric (that Issy picked out but didn't know what it was for) the day after Thanksgiving to make mattresses, pillows and blankets for them.  Issy took this one:

In the kitchen: Italian sausage soup, chicken noodle soup, rotini and sausage.

Bringing me joy: Spending days and days with Joe and not having to worry about him being "on call", seeing him working so hard on our basement, imagining the space it will become, hanging out at Home Depot with the family (never imagined that would bring me joy!), the chance to go skiing and have some time to myself.

Thinking about: Two years ago today.  It is funny how this date really sticks with me.  It was just such a game changer.  All the other big things that have happened in our life together were either planned or we saw them coming.  What a beautiful little surprise.

Pictures to share: Blizzard right before Christmas:

 Christmas picture 2012:

 The peg dolls were a hit with everyone, even the big guys!

What My BABY Wore Today 3

Linking up with Erika to show George's cuteness today:

Tan Pants: Children's Place- hand-me-downs from cousin Zane, I think
Choo Choo Train Sweater: Carter's- a present from Grammie (edited to add: actually Osh Kosh B' gosh.  In fairness, they are owned by the same company.)
Beatles T-shirt: Target awesomeness.

Apologies for the blurry second picture, he is terribly fast.

Master bathroom makeover

Joe's sister and brother-in-law came to visit mid- December and they were nice enough to help us (well, really demonstrate how to) rip out all the linoleum and tile in our bathroom and  put down new tile.  I love the way it turned out! Thanks so much, Gina and Dave!!

It is dark, but this was the best "Before" picture I had.  The tub tile was fine, but not too exciting. It was the linoleum that was not-so-good.  It had scroll-y things. And pink flowers.  

Demo shot. We (Dave) had to replace the sheetrock because it was pretty weak in that spot.

She is a Master Tile Layer.

Ready to caulk.

 I finished painting, we reinstalled the toilet, and sealed the grout.

Here it is, all finished!

 Detailed in the corner:

 Pretty glass tile:

Skiing!

Hi all :)

Joe has been off work since the 22nd, so we have been decking the halls, wrapping presents, making bierocks, playing games, watching movies, playing in the snow, going on a date and generally just enjoying the break.  I might update on some of those things later, but Joe has already documented a bit of that on his blog, Wonderfield, so you can mosey on over there if you would like.

So. Waaaay back for Christmas of 2008, Mom and Dad Marney bought me some cross country skis.  I found my happy place. Alta, Wyoming. Teton Canyon.  It was a great way to work out, have some peaceful time, enjoy winter.  The next winter, we found ourselves back in Kansas, which is decidedly not cross-country skiing friendly, since skiing requires, you know, snow.  So they collected dust for the next three winters.

See the dust?

I took them for a spin out at the wildlife refuge and it was just as great as I remembered.

Snow makes winter good.

What My Baby Wore Today 2

For my 500th post (!) I am linking up with Erika's What My Baby Wore Today:

Here the little Critter is sporting an Old Navy knit long sleeve T-shirt and corduroy pants combo that his Grammie and Grandpa bought his brother Liam for Christmas in 2007:

 He is trying to see things on the cabinet and figure out how to get to them.

Problem solved! Just scale the cabinet!!

Journal: Need to get my littles better

Out my window: 24 degrees. Overcast.  Unfortunately (at least unfortunately for us snow lovers) it got warm at the end of the week last week and most of the snow melted.  It actually got up to 40 and rained on Saturday. I live in Wisconsin- it isn't supposed to rain in December, it is supposed to snow! Luckily (at least luckily for us snow lovers :) my forecast says it is supposed to snow Thursday. I hope so- I really want a white Christmas.

Clothing myself in: Black sweatpants, blue long-sleeved shirt.  On a side note, I must share my excitement- I got a new outfit this weekend. I got a pair of jeans (that fits!) and a shirt that is not at all my normal "mom" uniform.  The best part is, it was relatively cheap. When we were moving last winter, i actually went through a big pile of birthday cards and divided them up into whose they were (it is my one thing that I kind of hoard- old cards and letters).  And I came across a birthday card of mine from 2006 that had a $20 gift card to Maurice's.  So I got to spend it- finally.

Wow, that was a really long paragraph considering I really only wearing black sweatpants and a blue long-sleeved shirt :)

Around the house: The short story is that we retiled the master bathroom. But the long story would be titled: When You Give a Mouse Some Floor Tile.  A few months back, Joe bought some cheap ceramic tile at Lowe's.  Enough to redo our bathroom floor, which had early 90's-style linoleum.  His sister Gina has tiled a bunch of things in their house and she does beautiful work, so we were going to ask her to help us with the floor when she visited.  Somehow, as house projects sometimes do, just the floor became also redoing the tile up the front and around the big bathtub since it was also 90's-style fabulous.  And since I had her expertise, she choose a coordinating paint color.  I still need to paint, re-grout a spot on the floor that got messed up, seal the grout and we need to re-install the toilet.  I can't wait to share a post about it when it is all done!

Also, when we started decorating for Christmas, we realized there was no good place to hang our stockings.   Joe's dad loves a good project, so Joe emailed him an idea.  He sent it with Gina and Dave and it is so lovely. Thanks, Dad Marney!

The toddler: Sick.  He has had a runny nose and goopy eyes for about a week now. Also, other bottom molar is making his gums really swollen.  So we went from 1 nightwaking back to like 3 or 4.  And he is kind of unpleasant during the day.  But really cute.  New word: Uppy and a sound that imitates a toy gun we have.

The kiddos: Most of them are also sick. Except Isabelle.

Crafting: Need to work on sewing part of Issy's Christmas gift.

In the kitchen: Jambalaya, Chili, Homemade Pizza.

Bringing me joy: Hanging out with family, a beautiful bathroom, how kind and caring my children are, seeing Issy and Isaac in their Christmas program.

Thinking about: Mostly I am just worried about my babies being sick. I hate this part of parenting- the worrying. If you could keep them in your prayers, I would appreciate it.

Pictures to share: She was helping me make dinner. And eating raw green onions.

 Issy was Tanga the kangaroo in their "Christmas Down Under" program.  Isaac was St. Joseph.

Journal: There we go

Out my window: A picture is worth a thousand words. I took this off the back deck a few minutes ago:

Out the front door:

Clothing myself in: Grey fleece pants that I got the Christmas before Issy was born (wow, I have had them almost ten years!) brown Jackson Hole long sleeved T-shirt and a red and black plaid fleece button down that was my Mom's.

Around the house: Joe's sister Patty and her family visited for a couple of days this last week and his sister Gina and her family are visiting this week, so we are trying to respiff up the house between visitors.  My brother-in-law Paul worked on our basement on Friday to keep busy while Joe was at work and really made some good progress.  We love our family- thanks again, Paul!

The toddler: Runny nose :-/ He has been in remarkably good health for several months (other than the brief bout with stomach flu) so I suppose it had to happen eventually.  Nose + teething + normal George orneriness = "fun" times with the Critter.

His new word this week was nana for banana and he really started waving a lot.  He has also gotten worse with his biting. And pinching. And hitting. And throwing toys.  Yeah, I have "that" kid.

The kiddos: Delle had a slight fever last night and Isaac had a cough this morning. Tis the season, I suppose.  The kids had a fun time with their cousins and are looking forward to more fun this week.

Crafting: I found out last week that a good friend was having her third little one and upon hearing the news, I promptly went and picked out some yarn for a hat for a little guy next winter.  And then I will knit a little girl hat for next winter for just in case :)

In the kitchen: Enchiladas, bierock casserole, black bean burritos.

Bringing me joy: Snow! I love snow- the cool, crisp whiteness, playing with my littles, the coming into a warm house, drinking hot cocoa, and a refreshing nap while it snows outside.  Awesome.

Thinking about: I told Joe yesterday when we were outside in the woods, playing with our five beauties in this magnificent place, that is ours, "Just when I think Wisconsin couldn't get any more beautiful or I could love it here more, I do".  We also got to go to Joe's work Christmas party on Friday night.  I am just so grateful- for his job, for him, for our children, our house and land.  Life isn't perfect, but it is perfect for us.

Picture to share:

Journal: December

Out my window: 39. Supposed to get up to 50 today.  The internet tells me that the average high this time of year is 29. Weirdness.  As I mentioned last week, I want snow. Please.

Clothing myself in: Black yoga pants, blue stripey shirt with a green sweater over it.

Around the house: We cleaned and then decked the halls this last weekend.  I miss having a fireplace, there is nowhere to hang the stockings.  And I also just miss having a fire.  In the list of home improvements, I want a wood burning stove. We have perfectly good central heating and air, I just love the feeling of a nice, warm fire.  This isn't really necessary right now and not terribly practical since then we would have to figure out how to keep George away from it. It would be good to also have a non-electricity dependent heat source, as a backup. Someday.

The baby toddler: The second bottom molar is bulging and he is back to waking up pretty early.  Bummer. I do have hope that we will go back to normal wakeups after this one is through. Hopefully.  His new trick is getting up on the desk chair and pounding on the keys. Charming.  If a butt isn't in it, I have had to lock the chair in the laundry room.  The Advent wreath will not be residing on our table during non-dinner time so that he doesn't destroy it.  Whenever we let him loose in the mornings, we go through a checklist of things that must be shut, put away, put up or otherwise out of reach of George.  And we still must be ever vigilant since he always is discovering new things.  This feels ridiculous at times, but I know it won't always be like this.

He has started to hug while patting me on the back, which I always love and think is adorable.  He has also been taking an interest in actually playing with toys, particularly cars/trains and things that roll.

The kiddos: Delle has been less ornery/more whiny again.  I have been working on that with her.  The kids had school off on Friday and it was nice to have them around.  I think we might end up sending Liam next year.  He is doing really well here, but I think he would like more kid interaction.  He has grown so much in knowledge and maturity the last 3 months.

Crafting: Fixed the neckline on the sweater, as it was too loose.  I think I am going to do 3/4 length sleeves.  Need to decide on decreases.  I have been working on the diaper cover I started knitting George last January?  February?  even though we are not currently cloth diapering.  Oh, did I mention we aren't currently cloth diapering?  I made the decision sometime this fall after a particularly harrowing diaper change.  He just would not lay still. He would scream and flail and try to escape and as much as I love cloth diapering (cheap! cute! environment friendly! cheap!) it just wasn't worth the distress that every diaper change would cause both him and me.  It made me think of this:

Which brings us to: parent the child you have, not the child you wish you had.  Perhaps we can get back to cloth diapering at some point. Or better yet, maybe he could potty train early :D

Anyways, I have been working on the diaper cover. I might gift/sell it at some point.

In the kitchen:  Chicken Noodle soup, Beef stew. After 26 dozen cookies last week, I am good on cookie baking for a while.

Bringing me joy: Fresh, cool piney air, George's back pat hugs, Delle singing Jingle Bells, cinnamon scented potpourri, golden hashbrowns made by my favorite guy, painting my girl's toesies, Isaac putting on his "work shirt" and boots every Saturday.

Thinking about: The things I need to do that I have been putting off and that keep me awake at night.  Does anyone else do this or is it just me? Like stuff that is just a moderately big deal, but not huge and not particularly difficult.  Sometimes, I irritate myself with my procrastination.

Picture to share: My cookie making buddy doing some schoolwork while I baked.

What My BABY Wore Today

Since I am never going to be trendy enough to share what I wear, you get to see what Georgie wore today.  Thanks, Erika!

I had a rather unenthusiastic participant when I tried to take his picture at first....

 .... so I nursed him and made things all better:

These fancy duds are actually new, not a hand-me-downs.  Aunt Dana got him this outfit for his birthday.  They are a size 24 month, so a bit on the big side but he grows so fast, it would have been silly to get anything smaller.

Shirt: Carter's
Pants: Carter's
Feet: Au Natural

Journal: Feels a bit like Winter is coming

Out my window: 10 degrees. Yes, 10. Sunny and (obviously) cold.  It isn't supposed to stick around, or at least that is what the forecast says- we are supposed to be in the 50s again by the weekend.  We will see.  I would like snow, personally.

Clothing myself in: Flannel snowman pajama pants, Rocky Mountain National Park long sleeve shirt and a brown cardigan.  Classy.

Around the house: The house was nice and clean for our guests last week, and now... well, not so much.  Laundry is the word of the day around here.

The baby: His bottom right molar has been through for a week? two? now.  I think his top one might be poking through too, but I am reluctant to get my fingers into his mouth for too long (he also doesn't particularly care for it). Ahhhh, teeth.  He started waving this week. And the kids have been teaching him how to howl.  Which is kind of weird, but you know.

The kiddos: Had an awesome time with Grammie and Grandpa and Uncle John during our visit.  Issy said that Black Friday shopping was everything she hoped it would be :)  We celebrated our Christmas with the Marneys (they brought their gifts so that they could watch them open them) which they loved- lots of stuff for playing in the snow: snow saucers, boots, a coat for Isaac. The kids loved goofing off with Grandpa and Uncle John and snuggling with Grammie.

Adelle has entered another, erm, mischievous phase.  She drew on the wall last week (prompting the painting), she drew on her toybox on Friday, cut her hair yesterday, got a hold of my Kindle and bought on audiobook.  Yeah. Hope this is short lived.

Crafting:  Finished the rest of the Patricks yesterday and my friend is mailing them out tomorrow.  Fun!  I ripped back the sweater sleeve and it wasn't horrible.  Now I just need to get it back on the needles and make a plan.

In the kitchen: Cookies!  The kids have a school Christmas Bazaar and all the families have to make 20 dozen cookies for a cookie walk.  I am about 4 1/2 dozen into it, hoping to make another 6 1/2 today.  Have to have them at school by Friday.

Bringing me joy: Getting to spend time with my extended family, Issy getting all excited about knitting herself a scarf, stroking Delle's hair while she is going to sleep, the way Isaac loves to help me in the kitchen, Isaac singing Liam to sleep at night, Liam chattering to me while I bake.

Thinking about: Advent. I have really grown to love Advent as it's own time.  Trying to decide what Advent customs and traditions to incorporate into our home this year.

Pictures to share: Marney Christmas at Thanksgiving

 Tea time with Grammie and Uncle John

Journal: Giving thanks

Out my window: 43 and cloudy. Might rain today.

Clothing myself in: Black sweatpants, black shirt, grey sweatshirt.

Around the house: Busy weekend! As mentioned in my last journal post, we had decided that Joe would refinish our table again.  He hadn't finished the benches from the last time we refinished it, so we have been using folding chairs the last couple of years.  He finished the table and the benches in just a couple of weeks! We had been toying with the idea of painting our dining room recently, but had decided not to try to do it before Thanksgiving.  Then on Friday, Adelle created a little masterpiece on the wall in there and we decided to just go ahead and paint it.

 Before: taken last May.  I was never overly fond of this shade of yellow.  I like yellow, just not this shade. The stain on the table was also red/ more orange than Joe had intended. And the folding chairs.

After: Natural color stain/sealant on the table and benchtops. White supports.  The walls are now a slate blue, actually really similar one of the colors in the master bedroom.

Also bringing me nerdy domestic joy: a new dryer. That actually dries things in a timely manner, thank goodness.  Also, I found a way to destinkify my towels, which has been a battle for, I kid you not, years.  Years, people.  And Pinterest helped me find a solution that is both cheap and easy peasy.

The baby: Been sleeping better, particularly with not getting up ridiculously early. Thank goodness. I feel like I can handle his shenanigans when I am not dead tired.  Words this week: "um yeah", alternating with "oh, no".  Whacking himself on the head and laughing while saying "ow". If you ask him where his honk is, he grabs his nose and says nose. Also, growling- need to get a video.

The kiddos: They are on break this week.  We are going to be cleaning some more to get ready for our guests and I think we will try to squeeze in a unit on the first Thanksgiving.

Going with Issy and Mom shopping on Friday.  Issy cannot. stop. talking. about it.  It is adorable. She got to go with me, my sisters and nieces last year and loved it.  She talks about it once every waking hour, literally, and usually more often than that.  I hope it lives up to her expectations.

Crafting: Still need to work on my Patricks. Got three more drawn on.

In the kitchen: Making my list for our feast: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, joe's brown sugar, walnutty sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream. Yum.

Bringing me joy: Clothes fresh from the dryer, a beautiful table to sit at, a bright dining room, anticipation of seeing Joe's parents and brother, George's sweet little baby curls, the way he put his arms around my neck in  Church yesterday, Adelle's facial expressions, a long-awaited sweet little baby girl born to my friend yesterday afternoon.

Thinking about: Gratitude.

Pictures to share:

The aftermath of the aforementioned whacking himself on the head and saying "ow". Only, this time, it was during dinner. Spaghetti.  He was not pleased with the amount of scrubbing it took to get all the sauce out of his hair.

Journal: Thanksgiving preparations

Out my window: Grey. Cold- about 23 degrees.  Some flurries earlier this morning, maybe some more later. It was 65 on Saturday.  I thought the weather was going to be more predictable when I moved to Wisconsin.  Guess not?

Clothing myself in: Fleece Tinkerbell pajama pants and a pink Garden of the Gods hoodie.

Around the house: Productive weekend, though that is really more of Joe's triumph than mine.  He cleared most of the rest of the oak branches to our limb pile in the woods, and finished the table top.  Oh, I don't think I have mentioned the table?  Yeah, he is refinishing it. Again.  This will be the fourth time since Spring of 2007.  This time: natural color table and bench tops, white supports.  The table and bench tops are beeeeautiful.  We are trying to get it done for Thanksgiving.

Got the Rubbermaid Reveal mop.  Amazing!  It is everything I wanted the Swiffer to be, but wasn't.  Easy to use, reuseable pad (that is super easy to attach), make your own solution.  Thanks, friends.  My yucky floor thanks you, too.  Question: for those with wood laminate, what is your favorite cleaning solution?

The baby: Has been "sleeping in" until after six the last few days. He has also been napping well again. Please, please, please, let it continue.  I moved the books from the shelf and he decided that I made him a nice ladder to climb :-/

The kiddos: Report cards and conferences went really well.  Issy and Isaac's teachers had a lot of good things to say about them.  Again, so grateful to have found such a compatible school.

The kids are off of school this Friday and all of Thanksgiving week (is Thanksgiving really next week?!).  Need to plan some things out to do with them, so we don't all get on each other's nerves.  Also, clean. Lots of cleaning. And recleaning.

Crafting: The Kateris are all Mod Podged.  I started on the St. Patricks this weekend.  Two done, ten to go. Also, I gives me a chance to legitimately avoid working on my sweater.

In the kitchen: Nothing terribly exciting- keeping it simple this week as we gear up for the holidays.

Bringing me joy: First snow, clean floors, laying George down awake and having him just fall asleep on his own, my husband, random 65 degree November days, smashing (our own, old) pumpkins with the kids, beautiful and soft refinished wood, the silly and random conversations that facebook allows me to have with my friends in Kansas.

Thinking about: The kids growing up. They all so sincerely love to hang out with me and Joe.  I realize that there will come a day when they do not want to hang around us all the time.  I need to make the most of this time, even if it feels overwhelming sometimes.  This is the only now I am ever going to get.  No redos.

Pictures to share: Woke up to it snowing on Tuesday.  Joe snapped this one with this camera phone.

 My sweet little Liam love.