Snow day

We had our first snow of the season overnight and the few inches mixed with whipping winds canceled the last day of school for the year. The kids had been bugging me since before they went to bed last night to go play in the snow today. So once the wind chill warmed to 12 (yes, 12), we bundled up and headed outside.

At first the kids were great at helping shovel the driveway. 

(Note to self: the next house needs a SMALLER driveway)

They remembered to take all union mandated breaks.

And they stayed out till OSHA reps came in and said the working conditions 

were just too unsafe to stay out any longer.

Here's to the beginning of Christmas vacation and hopefully a white Christmas!

Only you...

Warning: This post may get a bit touchy-feely. No worries, it's a one time thing.

Anyone who's met Tucker will understand when I say that parenting can be a challenge. But lately I've been fortunate that my kids have been such good friends. They've been playing well together and following each other around the house. In fact, when Grace refused Tucker's request to play upstairs with him, he told her, "Come with me, you're the only Grace I have." Awww shucks!

Grace and Tucker snuggling on the couch

And with the arrival of their cousin Sawyer, the kids have learned to share Grandma and Papa's attention and are incredibly gentle and loving.

Tucker and Sawyer

Grace and Sawyer

What can I say, I'm one lucky gal! Let's hope this good fortune lasts thru Christmas break!

Harvest time

I spent the morning (ok, well more like 15 minutes this morning) digging up carrots in my sister's garden. And then this afternoon, I blanched them for the freezer.

Our bounty this year was 8 bags of cut up carrots and enough "baby" ones for a meal later this week. With rising food prices, Christmas coming and our car tags due next month, I couldn't be happier to stock my freezer with homegrown, organic veggies that cost a mere $2.50 this spring.

And much love to Katelyn for doing all the watering!

Bon appetit!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go....

Tucker has had a language explosion lately... You know, the kind where he's talking in full-on sentences. One after another. The kind that require and/or demand an answer. The kind in which logic is involved.

On a side note, we've been having some bedtime issues with T lately, and have been giving an exorbitant amount of praise if he spends the whole night in his own bed.

So, combining the two the other day, Tucker came up with this little ditty:

T: Where's Daddy?
Me: At work.
T: Because he's done sleeping? Because he slept all night?

Too cute! If only...


And on another job note, Grace was studying the letter "c" this week and had to dress up as a cowgirl (see below). She asked me the next morning what I thought she should be when she grew up. I told her that I wanted her to be whatever she was happy doing. She replied that she'd be happy being a cowgirl, except that cowgirls only eat beans, and she wasn't so sure she could do that. Guess she has a little of her Aunt Katelyn in her!

(not too bad for using what we had on hand!)

Here's wishing you a great day at work!

School bells

Tucker started preschool today. We took a few pictures to mark the big day, and this was a totally candid shot that I can't help but smile about.  It's as if he's praying that I'll be OK while he's gone all morning.

There was a bit of confusion as to why he wasn't going on the school bus and why I didn't pack him a lunch, but Mrs. B told me that he had a wonderful day with his new friends.

Here's to a great year for the both of us!

Happy Little Trees

It appears Bob Ross paid a visit to our playroom this evening. Thank goodness Crayola makes washable crayons.

Logic

A word of advice from Grace:

"Mommy, sometimes I don't want to take a bath. But I just have to do it. So that's why you should clean the bathrooms."

HA!

Poor dog

It's been a hard week for Tucker's dog around here.

T had a series of nosebleeds Tuesday, and the only thing he'd let me use to stop them was dog.

After inconclusive trips to the ER and the pediatrician, we are off to ENT tomorrow to see what's going on. (More on that tomorrow)

But it doesn't end there. I went out to water the lettuce Thursday morning, only to find that poor dog had spent the night outside.

Don't worry. He's had plenty of love since "roughing" it last week. Both of them for that matter!

Gender (re)assignment

We were sitting at the kitchen table when out of the blue, Grace gave her aunt and I a lesson in babies:

G: Some babies are born without hair and then even the girls look like boys.
Me: So how do you tell the boys from the girls?
G: They use a computer to tell you before the baby's born. That is, if you don't forget by the time the baby comes.

I swear....

Our resident engineer

My family is full of engineers; people who like to build, discover, take apart and question, "what will happen if I do this?"

Apparently Tucker has the engineering gene, too. After taking apart our XBOX 360 to see why it kept ejecting the disc we put in, this is what we discovered:

There were 3 cards in all. Oh, the mischief that child creates!

Taste of home

Well, after a few bumps and bruises (and a new tattoo on the van), we moved into our new house. And did I mention that our new house has a great big pantry. Perfect for the little man to hide out.

Looks like someone has made himself right at home in the new place!

It's a hard-knock life

A peek into our evening:

Me: "G, please feed Bolt."
G: "You make me do this every night, like it's a chore or something."
Me: "Yes, that's right. Welcome to the real world."
G: "Mom, I've been in the real world since, like, the day I was born."
Me: Sigh. At least she looks cute doing it!

Gourmet chef

Tucker and I were playing play-doh right before lunch today, and we decided to make a sandwich. When I asked Tucker what kind of sandwich he made, without hesitation he told me it was a "panda bear sandwich" and it was "de-licious."

Yum, yum!

P.S. If Tucker is willing to share his recipe, I'll let y'all know so you can "pin it."

Catching up with Tucker

It's been a while since I posted about Tucker. Hard to believe my little boy is turning into a little man. Lately, he's been obsessed with all things "Toy Story." Case in point, tonight I found this in my sink.

Poor Woody. I can't tell if he's getting ready for a bath or if he's had too much to drink!

Tucker's other favorite habit is repeating everything I say, voice inflections and all. My favorite came last week: "Grace Addison, you're not listening to me!" Time for Momma to watch her mouth.

And since Christmas, Tucker's been constantly asking: "What's that's name?" and often replying with "Nice to meet you, I'm Tucker." I'd like to say it's because during Christmas he was around all six of his cousins (and this is probably the first time he was aware of them). He had a hard time remembering all of their names. In fact, at one point he just started calling them all Alex.

Here's to my little man!

Happy 2012

The annual family picture. Hope 2012 brings all the craziness you can handle. It certainly will in this house.

From our family to yours....