Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Last Sunday night we had some new snow and a strong wind.  So when Jim tried to leave for work the next morning he high centered on a snow drift.  We tried to dig and push the car out, but to no avail.  The wind and snow were still strong, so we decided to try again when the weather calmed.

 A couple of hours later I looked out the window to see that the new snow had piled in a drift around his car. 

When it finally stopped, we headed out to start digging.

It turns out my pictures didn't really show how deep it was, but I tried.  We were dealing with over a foot all around, and even higher in some places.

Literally minutes after we started digging, our neighbor arrived to plow us out!  Jim dug while he cleared the rest of our driveway, and then our neighbor helped us push the car out.  We were so grateful!

The next day we had the warmest temperatures we've seen in months.  It was 45 degrees outside!  I actually went outside barefoot (on the dry porch and driveway) and in short sleeves and wasn't cold.  The kids spent hours outside that day.  Alex built his very first snowman.

I love how each snowman got bigger with each kid.

Because the snow was melting so fast (we had a small lake on part of our driveway) the kids were completely SOAKED when they finally came inside.  I'd love to say that the snow completely melted that day or the next (which was also quite warm) but two nice days were no match for months of accumulation.

Meanwhile, Abby was content to play inside.  I mentioned previously that she's finally crawling; she learned how to pull herself up the same day she crawled.  (Annie did the same thing.)

Valentine's Day

 We had a low key, but fun Valentine's Day this year.

Here's my pretty baby valentine.

 During the morning, Annie and Logan read.  (I guess that's not so surprising.)

For lunch I made them something special.  I'm sharing all three pictures because I think the progression on Logan's face is funny.  He didn't want to leave his books to take the picture or to eat lunch, and he was letting me know it.

I said, "Logan, you need to smile or you'll be in trouble."  So we got a pretend smile, and Annie's evil eyes.

So I teased him and he finally gave me a real smile. 

That afternoon we made no-bake cookies (which I've decided really should be named oatmeal fudge) and had a rather exciting moment.  At the exact moment the mixture began to boil (and needed to be watched) our washing machine started pumping water all over the laundry room (which triples as our mud room and pantry).  The hose that goes into the drain had somehow come free!  We had a rather frenzied moment, and then a good laugh about it afterward (after saving the cookies and mopping up the water).  Later that evening we went to dinner and a game night with friends.  All in all, we had a rather good day. 

More Hair

Yet again, I have some more hair pictures.

I was trying something new with my hair one morning that involved a ribbon, so Annie wanted to know if she could have a ribbon in her hair.  She is so feminine...just in case I haven't mentioned that a thousand times already.

She took the picture of my new 'do'.  I just tucked my hair into an elastic headband...easy.

That night after everyone was in bed, I took my hair down expecting a royal mess.  It had been wet when I fixed it that morning.  So I was pretty surprised to have awesome bouncy curls!  As you can tell, I haven't mastered the art of 'selfies'.  Every time I had a decent expression on my face, the curls weren't showing!  You'd think I could keep my eyes open when I take my own picture.  Ha ha!

Every time I try something new in Annie's hair she wants a picture, and lately I've been trying something new almost every Sunday.  I didn't realize this picture was blurry until I loaded it; that's what I get for continuing to use my phone for pictures.  These were twists that I combined with her pony tails.

Play Time

I love watching my kids play.  It really helps me FEEL my love for them to just quietly watch.  Then of course I notice the amazing light in their eyes and how unbelievably cute they are and I need pictures.  So this was play time one day last week.

Abby has caught our love of books already.  She even has a favorite shelf to unload.  After unloading it several times every day, we finally filled it with books she couldn't rip.  LOL

 I love those blue eyes.

Oh, and she's finally crawling so there's no keeping her out of anything.  She does a funny one foot/ one knee crawl.  

I moved on to Alex next.  He was picking his nose while Annie read to him.  I sat in position with the camera for a full FIVE MINUTES while he dug and dug.  I know I should have stopped him, but it was sort of fascinating.

Finally, he must have felt cleared out.

Annie is turning into such a beautiful girl.

Logan was busy with Legos.  I earned a good mom award this week because I FINALLY unpacked all the Legos.  Not only did I unpack them, but I bought the kids a special cart with drawers JUST for Legos.  And have I mentioned that they have their very own table now JUST for Legos IN our main living area?  Yep.  Good mom award.  Oh, and Logan is one handsome kid.

Sewing Dress-ups

Annie was invited to a birthday party this past weekend and she had her heart set on giving her friend something fancy to play dress-up in.  I'm not a fan of the price tag of store bought dress-ups, though, so we came up with a fun compromise.  I let Annie choose some fabric and ribbon (Total: $6) and then turned it into a mommy/ daughter project.

We were both excited, but I was praying it would go smoothly.  It seems like I always have crazy or frustrating things happen when I sit down to sew.

Here she is pinning pieces together.

 She did all the ironing.

We did hand over hand to operate the sewing machine.  She basically guided all the stitching through, and I controlled the machine and was there to keep the fabric from going too far out of line.  Then she fed the elastic through the waistband.

Voila!  She was quite proud of herself and I had her model it for me.

It actually turned out a lot better than I'd anticipated.  If it weren't for the very basic way we did the waist, it would have been a nice skirt for a taller girl.  

I took a close up of the fabric to show how pretty it was.  It was double layered with a basic cotton/ poly blend underneath, and a sheer sparkly material on top.

She gave it to her friend yesterday and I'm told that her friend wore it all day.  I'm glad it was a hit!  Little does Annie know she also chose a birthday present for herself.  I purchased twice the fabric I needed and am going to make her one for her birthday next month.

Kids Say

Logan, "Is Detroit a pretty good place to be kidnapped?"

Overheard at dinner, "This is awesome!"  "This is the best meal!"  Plus several more similar exclamations.  What did we have for dinner?  A salad bar.  Funny kids.

 As Abby crawled around the living room, Logan said, "I don't think Abby can steer yet!"

Alex, "I just like Dad.  Not you Mom."  Pause.  "Actually, I don't like Dad, I like you Mom."  Me, "You can like both of us."  Alex, "I don't want to."

Alex was telling me about his socks, "They was in my drawer when I was a wittle boy."

The kids were discussing how a small portion of our dining room isn't set over a permanent foundation.  Logan said that we needed to build a foundation for that part.  So Annie suggested we use the metal from the old silo on our property to do it.  Logan said that wasn't a good idea because we are going to turn the silo into a swimming pool!  Ha ha ha!  Jim's dad had jokingly suggested that, and Logan thought we were serious about it.  I had to burst his bubble.

Posing For Pictures

We've been taking a lot of pictures just for the fun of it lately.  I love some of these fun shots.

My cute girls, complete with a photo bombing brother.

This time we had the photo bombing dog, but Abby's precious face makes up for it.

The kids were playing dress up with the clean laundry pile.  Annie came downstairs telling me that she was a boy scout.

I think Logan was the laundry monster.

He is wearing Abby's pants and Annie's shirt.  Wow.

Alex was so funny.  None of his outfits were very unusual, but he thought he was hilarious.  One time he came downstairs with one of his own shirts on over his clothes.  He said, "I'm just me right now!"

Meanwhile, Abby was just cute as can be.

They particularly enjoyed dressing up in Jim's clothes.

Annie was pretty cute in my church outfit.

More baby cuteness.

I love this goofy kid.

About the time they quit playing dress up, I decided to pull out my 'real' camera for once.  So we took some shots of these wonderful face.

Abby wasn't a very willing participant, but I was happy to get some pictures that weren't blurry for once.

'Mr. Photo Resistant' required chocolate chip bribery to let me take his picture.

Annie is always willing for a picture.  (I just noticed the boy in the background.  Apparently he was fresh out of the bath; I'm glad he has a towel on.)