Snow Fun

The Peanuts both made it outside to play in the snow today. This was Christopher's first time in the snow and the jury is still out on whether he enjoyed it:



Forget about making snowballs or building a snowman. It's time for "Snow Golf"!

Daddy home from work + temperature in the 20s = perfect day to play in the snow!

School time!

Alison wanted to go to school on Monday. She got her backpack out, took a paper sack and packed her "lunch", and was ready to go. So, during Christopher's morning nap, we played school.

Alison put her backpack on, held my hand, and we walked to her "desk" at the kitchen table. I assured her that when the day comes that I actually am walking her to her desk at school for the first time, I would be much more teary-eyed than I was on Monday. We got out some fun books she got from her Aunt Mary, Uncle Mark and cousins Jake and Mariah for her birthday. She practiced her letters and numbers:

It was all fun and games until she found out that there was homework:

Then we made some yummy homemade peanut butter granola for a school-time snack. It turned out really well and both kids love it. Here is the link to the recipe if you'd like to give it a try: http://clayinhishands-sarah.blogspot.com/2009/05/favorite-food-friday-peanut-butter.html (although beware on the baknig time...I found that 30 minutes was too long in my oven. Probably should've baked only 23-25 minutes, tops).

Snowed In

A blizzard. Negative windchill temps. Seven inches of snow. Thankfully, we had no where we had to be today. I'm sure the trusty Tahoe could have gotten us where we needed to go, but I did not want to bundle up my little Peanuts and take them out in the freezing cold and wind today. That meant a housebound day for me and the Peanuts. A stay-at-home mom's first thought: what in the world am I going to do with the kids all day without leaving the house? Well, Alison and I occupied ourselves quite nicely during Christopher's morning nap.

First, since it was just too cold to go outside and play in the snow, we decided to make some of our own indoor snowflakes and decorate them with pretty colors. (Notice the drift of snow by our back window? Now you know why I didn't take them outside.)

Next, we decided we were chilly and really needed to warm up. What better way to do that than with hot chocolate? Alison and I enjoyed a nice warm cup of hot chocolate together. It got a lip-smacking smile of approval from the little Peanut:

Although I had planned to make pork salad sandwiches (from leftover pork chops) and pasta salad for supper, it just seemed too cold and blustery to have sandwiches for supper. So Alison helped me throw together a big pot of slow cooker chili for supper. She took her job as Official Onion Skin Peeler quite seriously:

Then it was time for Christopher to wake up from his nap and head downstairs for a little relaxation and play time. Alison was super excited to find out that Dora's A Christmas Carol was on TV. She snuggled up with her blanket and settled in to find out what that sneaky fox Swiper was up to now:

Then it was time for lunch. Alison's been asking to go on a picnic lately, and given the fact that it was -11 degrees windchill outside, I figured today was a perfect day for a picnic...on the kitchen floor. I thought the kids would get a kick out of their lunch being served to them in a muffin tin, which they did:

They sat nicely on the blankets on the kitchen floor and waited. Spongebob paper plates in hand...finally, time for our picnic lunch! (Notice how it's lunchtime and the kids are still in their PJs? Why get dressed when you know you aren't going anywhere?)

More play time and then naptime. Too short of a naptime...Christopher just woke up crying. Hmmm, now how do I entertain them for another 2 1/2 hours till their Daddy gets home??

Running out of things to do on a cold day.

It's only early December and the Peanuts are already starting to get cabin fever. They have lots of fun toys, but I guess after playing with them all morning they get a little bored by lunchtime.

Christopher discovered the joy of playing peek-a-boo by the kitchen table. He thinks it's pretty cool that he's tall enough to look over the table now (and his mom can't believe her little baby boy is that tall already!):

Today, Alison brought a handful of dried leaves inside. We put them in a Tupperware bowl and there you have it - instant fun for her one-year-old brother. It made a terrible mess to sweep up but kept the kids occupied for a few minutes.

Back after Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the farm in Luverne. Thank goodness for the DVD player in the car, as that makes the trip somewhat manageable with the two little Peanuts in the backseat. We ate too much, laid around too much, visited with the great-grandmas, and enjoyed four days away from the city.

Back to reality this week and back to routines. The kids are great and still having fun playing with random things they find around the house. I'm trying to get the energy to dig out a few Christmas decorations, but so far I haven't consumed enough caffeine to quite get there. All in all, I enjoy being home. I enjoy our simple life and day-to-day routines. I wish our families lived closer, or we lived closer to them, but we do truly love our little home in St. Paul.

The kids are still cute. Examples:

Lunchtime Peek-A-Boo:

Christopher modeling the crown he made in ECFE.

And Alison wearing her crown.

Alison loving her other new "hat".