I'm going to try this!

 I was checking out one of the crafty blogs this morning and found this: Hot Chocolate on a Stick
I've got to go to the store this morning and think I'll have to give this a try.  I'll let you know what I think of it when I get it done.

Late Fall 2011

Titus wanted to mow. Looks like he has a new job come spring.


Isabele refused to put her shoes on, so she had to stay on the deck. I think she's singing "Happy Birthday", one of her favorite songs.

Cooking?

The kids decided to make cookies and birthday cake. I knew what they were doing, and decided it was rather harmless. They played for a good 45 minutes, rearranging pasta, and whatever else they found in the pantry.




I love this one of Isabele - scratching her head, like she's trying to decide something important. I don't think there's anything left to take out of the pantry, so I'm not sure what she's deciding.

Dressed up.

Here we are, dressed up and headed out to a Christmas Party.

December 2, 2011 Snow Play

Titus and Isabele in the snow fort that Brian made for them.

Titus and the snowman.

Titus and Isabele and the Snowman. I think the table is awaiting his snack that the kids were going to make for him. They frequently make food for anyone who will eat it.

Thanks-giving 2011

I'm behind, yet again on posts.

Thanks-giving was enjoyable this year.  One of the highlights was going out to the cabin and shooting.  Everyone went, except Grandma (who elected to stay home).   There was lots of shooting of pumpkins, and even a couple of attempts (one successful) of exploding a pumpkin.  Titus and Alex worked on chopping some logs.  We had a nice fire to keep warm.
I need to remember to make sure we have some activities planned for next year.

November 29, 2011 Snowfall

The kids have been telling me for weeks that they really like to eat snow. Here they are, eating snow, and apparently enjoying it.

The Birthday Girl and her Cake

Note to self (and anyone with pre-schoolers)- figure out what day the party is going to be, and that is the day of their birthday, at least until they are old enough to know the dates/calendar without help.

I made the mistake of telling Isabele her birthday was Sunday. Then realized Brian had to be in Texas over the weekend. We decided to have her birthday party on Friday evening. I didn't tell her. I didn't manage to get the cake decorated the night before, when she was asleep. So, when the kids asked what the cake was for, I told them it was Havoc's birthday (the dog), and that I was going to put the cake in her food bowl. They didn't quite believe me, but they weren't exactly sure I would do it.

So, this first picture is Isabele when we told her that Bia, Grandpa, Great Grandma Bolinger, Nana and Grandpa were here for her birthday part. Micah and Chuma (Kimber) also were there.


Here's the cake - made from 2 round cakepans. Found the idea online. And the funky shaped sparkles are gumdrops rolled with the rolling pin. She didn't see the finished product until she was presented with candles to extinguish.
3 years old! However, when asked, after someone saying that she was three now, she said, "No, I'm not 3, I'm still only 2." We couldn't convince her otherwise. So she had her 3 year old birthday cake when she was only 2.












She needed some encouragement to open her presents - at least at the begining.

Now she's got the hang of it.












After the cake and ice cream and upstairs gifts we headed downstairs to put her stuff away in her new room - that she hadn't seen. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of her looking at her new room. She certainly appeared to like it, though.

So - successful party - 50 minutes start to finish.

We had a normal Saturday...Brian went to Texas. I got the kids up Sunday morning and in getting ready for church, Isabele said, "it's my birthday! Are you going to make me a cake?" I tried to explain that we already had her birthday party and cake on Friday. She said, "yes, but I was only 2 then. Now I am three." So I suggested that maybe we could eat lunch at Bia's and make some desert over there. She was happy with that plan. So, after church, we had lunch, followed by mini brownie muffins with chocolate chip frosting (melted chocolate chips). Isabele got 3, and 3 candles to blow out - and some icecream.

And now, she is really 3.

Happy Birthday Isabele!

Here are some pictures of Isabele's new room. This was her main birthday present. We managed to keep her out for all the decorating. She had only seen the bed frame and the dresser, nothing else.

In the far corner in this first pictures is a vanity I made for her out of an old steamer trunk lid. The hinges completely failed on a trunk that Brian's Grandma Damico gave to me. So, I repurposed it into a vanity. I collected (and am still hunting down a few more) pictures of myself and Isabele's grandmothers, great grandmothers and great, great grandmothers. I decoupaged them onto the inside of the trunk. Brian hung the trunk from the joists. The height is adjustable (since she won't always be 3).



Here's her spot for hanging clothes and the window. Fabric is draped randomly to make it a little softer in appearance. If it gets too cold, then I'll make "drapes" for the walls for winter - but one way or another - lots of options to change the way her room looks over time.

A little desk I found for $25.00 at a resale shop in town. Just perfect for her. I added some Christmas ornament balls in pink, purple and green - just to make it look pretty. This is the first she has had a room all to herself and I wanted it to be welcoming and a fun place to be.

The red lines at the bottom of the pictures are LED ropelights - great nightlight!

Happy Birthday Excitement

Isabele will be 3 on Sunday.  She has been looking forward to her birthday for months.  Monday night I happened to mention that we had Mom's Group on Tuesday and that she could go to the 2 year old class, or she could go to the 3 year old class, since she would be 3 on Sunday.  Well, that was the best news to her.  She laughed and squirmed and carried on for a good 5 minutes.  She doesn't have a great grasp of time past yesterday, today and tomorrow, so it's been hard to try to explain to her how far away Sunday is.

She told me, while laying in bed Monday evening, "Mommy, I'm going to lay in my bed with my eyes open and not sleep.  I have enough energy for tomorrow."  She did make it awake a few extra minutes, and outlasted Titus.
Tuesday evening, she told me she was going to watch Titus go to sleep.  That didn't work - she was asleep a good 10 minutes before Titus.

Now, with all her excitement, I guess I'd better get in gear and decide when we are having her cake.

And Hot Water Is Flowing Through the System

We have hot water flowing through our radiant floor heat system!  The new basement walls are painted!

Still need to second coat Isabele's new room and a couple of short block walls.  And repaint the floors.  Then I can really decorate!

Flowers from my 2011 Summer Garden

Black-eyed Susans - I loved this middle one with it's narrow mutiple rowed petals.

I'm pretty sure the white flowers in the background are a weed - but I liked the white. The fore-ground is pastel yarrow.

Old-fashion Hollyhocks.

Sunflower - a little bug-eaten, but still pretty.

Day lilly - I love these - so intricate to only last a day.

Purple bachelor button.

Titus

Titus and Isabele - presentable.

End of August 2011

Gotta love that Humidity! Isabele's got mega curls!

Pink cheeks from a day on the lake!