A little more white stuff

Well, the snow has melted. There are still some squishy piles of dirty slush on the roadsides and on the less-traveled streets, but most of the snow is reduced to large, murky puddles. It’s very wet here now. Instead of a sled, we almost need a boat now when I take my kids out a run. But I have faith that the power of the stroller will return again soon. I do have one more snow adventure to relate before I can officially let the snow go.

On Saturday, we went over to the White house to play in the snow  with our fun family. The snow had started softening in the sun, so it was conveniently compactable. We built some super sculptures.

This is the snow fort that the missionaries built in the front yard. It was quite spacious inside, but for some reason snow creations really awaken a claustrophobic side in me that I wasn’t aware existed. So I crawled out and went out back to build…

First we had a snow fight. Not really a snowball fight—Jeff was armed with a SHOVEL.

Beware flying snowchunks! Jeff enjoyed being the only one with a shovel FAR too much. We pelted him with wimpy little snowballs, but he heaved snowhunks at us, and we were defeated.

Then I built a snow elephant.

He was pretty cute.

Meanwhile, Jeff had dug up a 6+ foot tall pile of snow. Then he proceeded to dig a long, narrow tunnel through it.

Jay bravely slid down the steep heap.

 

Rose took a turn too.

Zooming out for a second—here’s The Scene. The Whites live right behind the high school, so there was a large, untouched field of snow for us to play in.

The tunnel progressed…

Finally, a breakthrough!

I love this guy.

Eeeek, I briefly conquered my snow-claustrophobia to wriggle through the tunnel once. I really don’t know why I feel so “eeek!” about going into snow forts/tunnels. I’m not really abnormally claustrophobic normally. Wow, I just used abnormal and normal in the same sentence. See if you can unravel that one.

 

If Rose could crawl in all of her bundles, she may have made it through the tunnel. Jay crawled through it so fast we didn’t get a picture of him.

Dan (Jeff’s padre) took all of these pictures—he did a nice job of getting the occasional zoom-out. Jasen decorated the outside of the tunnel with snow-blocks, and he even put a flight of stairs in on one side so Jay could climb up all by himself and slide down.

Wee! It really was too steep to make a good slide, but it was still fun.

Cute.

Cuter. [Rose’s windpants turned out NOT to be quite as waterproof as they looked, so we had to get creative to keep her from freezing.

When we were done with building, it was time for some sledding! Dan dug out his slick old Flexible Flyer sled and of course we also had to use our not-so-flexible roped box too. Jay and Rose loved it. Let the record show that the girls beat the boys in a small foot race. Once.

Goodbye, Snow! Thanks for visiting for a whole entire week. We’ll miss you…until it’s time to load up the stroller, that is…

Rose’s new joy

Two weeks from today, my baby will turn ONE year old! She’s getting all ready:

I’m not sure if I’m ready, though!

Snow Run

If you know me, you know that I can’t stand being cooped up without a run for very long. With this snow, I lasted two days before I neeeeeded to get my heart pumping and my feet pounding in the way that only running can do.

Snow Adventure #3 has no pictures. It may be more enjoyable without pictures, since it involved a crazymama, a jogging stroller, and an angry old man. So. On Friday, I laboriously wrestled extra-grippy BMX tires onto my double jogging stroller (it took 45 minutes). Then I bundled my patient children and set out in the snow for a little trot.

On a clear, flat, paved road, my loaded double stroller weighs at least 85 pounds. It felt like at least 200 pounds while I pushed it through the snow. Why were there so many cars out? On normal days, most cars/people stare me down when I’m out jogging with the double stroller. But it was worse in the snow. I felt kind of self-conscious under their scrutiny. What were they thinking? What was I thinking, even attempting this? I found out what one of them thought soon enough… at one point, an old man yelled out his car window “You’re pretty dumb, lady! You’re going to get hit!” I was too busy maneuvering the bulky stroller through some soft deep snow to answer, but believe me—by  now I’ve come up with a few pretty good replies for him.

I managed to trudge-run for 31 minutes with the stroller in the snow. My arms were tireder than my legs!

Oh the things I do for endorphins.

Snowy Day

For our second snowy adventure, we did some scampering around in the streets pulling Jay in the sled. Jeff had a snow day off of school on Thursday, so we all played outside while Rose napped again (babies just get too cold too fast in the snow).

I get the biggest kick out of these sledding pictures. Jay  had so much fun! And he looked so funny and cute curled up in that box.

Joy. Jeff and I got pretty sore and tired from pulling Jay up and down the street at high speeds.

After Jeff went inside, Jay and I walked the 2 blocks over to a park to play in a big snowdrift. We also went down the icy slide on the playground, shot off the end, and landed in a heap in the snow. It was a rush—we went SO fast down that slick frozen slide. [it was also kind of painful—I don’t think slides are made for adults who are 6 feet tall]

My camera fogged up when we came in to our warm home, but Jay was so cute in his puffy snowsuit that I took a picture anyway.

We all drank hot chocolate with our lunch. Well, Jay bathed in his. Thus ended snow adventure #2.

Snow days are great, and snow days covered in chocolate are even better.

SNOW!!!!!

Early this week, rumors of white stuff came filtering over from the west side of Washington. On Wednesday it finally arrived in our part of the state: SNOW! Lots of snow! Hoorah! We had a great time out in the wintry weather. Snow + kids = picturama!

Ok, first adventure: on Wednesday afternoon, a nice amount of snow had piled up outside. Jay, Rose, and I decided to go play in it with Steph at the Whites’ house, which is half a mile away. Jeff had the car. The stroller seemed like the wrong vehicle. So we bundled up and walked.  I thought “half a mile is SO short.” HA. Half a mile on a clean sidewalk with the stroller is short. Half a mile through 6 inches of snow with a well-bundled (aka extra-clumsy) 2 year old  and a baby turned out to be quite long. And strenuous.

Did I mention that I decided to bring a bag of laundry too? So I had Rose on my back in the basket, I was pulling the heavy laundry bag in our makeshift box-with-a-rope-tied-to-it sled, and Jay was walking. It was more like trudging.

Jay kept sitting down every few feet and playing in/chowing down on the snow. After about half a block, I realized that we’d NEVER get there if I didn’t speed things up a bit.

So I had Jay sit in the “sled,” and I carried the bag of laundry (it was heavy, rank cloth diaper laundry by the way). Rose stayed on my back. In fact, she had fallen asleep by this time. She was all crunched up in the bottom of the basket, snoozing away. I could hear her little snuffly snores every now and then.

We cut across Euclid park’s field. That was exhausting—the snow was soft and deep, and I was pulling 30 pounds in a box by a thin sharp rope with one hand, and lugging a smelly bag of diaper laundry with the other hand. I was sweating like crazy and kind of trembly by the time we were half way across the field (that’s our long deep trail stretching away in the picture). Jay just reclined in the box and tried to catch snowflakes in his mouth. It really was a hilarious situation. I kept handicapping my strength even more by laughing hard every few minutes.

Well, when we were just a few blocks from the Whites’ house, an angel named Steph appeared and pulled Jay in the rest of the way. Rose woke up briefly when I took her out of the basket and laid her down for a nap. Then I started a load of laundry and went out to PLAY!

Jay loves making snow creatures together. This snow was pretty powdery, so I managed a snow pile for the body. Since I couldn’t get a snowball big enough for a head, I made a snow monster instead with big eyeballs and four arms.

He was double-sided: eyeballs on both sides.

We had hot chocolate and lunch with Steph and then she gave us a ride home. That was snow adventure #1.

Snow is FUN.

“Sledding”

Of course I have plenty of cute pictures and goofy stories about our recent snowfall, but this video deserves its own post.

Hills—who needs them?  

I hope you aren’t too jealous of our sweet sled.

Paper Mache Jay

Jay and I have been feeling a little cooped up in this itty bity livingspace. So we built a rocket ship and flew it to the moon one day while Rose was asleep.

We made our rocket out of paper mache and a juice bottle. I bought a bottle of V8 Splash especially for this project, because it was the perfect ROCKETish shape.

While I slimed and plastered the bottle with old newspaper ads, Jay slimed and plastered himself with the goop. Even though it was gross, I was ok with him bathing in (and eating) the stuff because it was only flour and water mixed together.

The wet macheed bottle. I got creative and even added fins—cool, huh?

Jay seriously could not keep his hands out of this stuff.

Who knew that flour, water, and newspaper could be so tiring? When we were done, I stripped Jay down to his diaper and cleaned him off as best I could. Before I could get him more clothes, he had passed out on the couch. Looks like I missed one smear of dried flour-water-goop on his cheek.

Well, our rocket took TWO DAYS to dry, so we had to get creative while we were anxiously waiting:

1. We had a few indoor lunch picnics—eat lunch on a cardboard tray while watching Bones. Jay has been running around saying “Doctor Brennan, Doctor Brennan!” Heh, I should’ve put on Sesame Street or something. Maybe next time. That’s Rose way back there in the kitchen. She isn’t quite to the point where I’ll let her eat on the carpet yet. I mean don’t get me wrong, a peanut butter-covered couch would be nice, but…I’m not sure if anyone else would appreciate it.

2. Rose climbed around a lot. She has been pulling herself up on everything in sight lately—couches, chairs, her crib, my pant legs, etc. She’s turning into quite the little cruiser.

3. Burrito Boy!

4. This is what Rose looks like when she “sings.” Her facial expressions crack me up when she’s shrieking for joy.

 

5. I tortured my kids through another group picture bonanza. I love these guys.

At last, our rocket ship was dry!

So we painted it. And named it the U.S.S. V8 Machete. It slices through space. Well, I thought that was a pretty sweet name.

Blast off! That’s Rose peeking out of the rocket’s window. And do you like the fire on the bottom?

The paper mache dried up nice and firm—the fins are quite sturdy. Jay loved it.

ZZZZOOOOOOM!!!!!

We’re eradicating the January doldrums one project at a time.

A Little List

I love lists. They help me organize my thoughts. They remind me of what I’ve DONE. They help me remember what I need to DO. They keep me sane. So here’s a little list of happy things from this week.

1. Rose is such a squishy little cutie.

2. At lunch today, I gave Jay an apple and a spoonful of peanut butter. After a while, he said “this is bee-you-tiful, Mommy.” I asked him what was beautiful and he said “My peanut butter is so beautiful!” That’s my son.

3. This morning, I woke up to the sound of giggling and laughter coming from Jay’s and Rose’s room. That was the best alarm clock ever, even if it did “ring” about 45 minutes too early. Jay and Rose have started playing together more lately. Bed time has turned into party time for these two buddies. I have to go in and turn off the light and break up the fun at least twice each night before they go to sleep, and sometimes they fall asleep with the light on, mid-fiesta. [See picture]

4. Rose is officially a little wean-ee. Don’t tell the American Academy of Pediatrics, but her last mamamilk was yesterday, and she is now drinking COW milk from a CUP full-time! Sweet freedom for both of us. I know it’s a whole month before THEY say she should stop with the b-milk, butttt every baby is different and she kind of self-weaned. For about 2 months, she has barely been drinking anything at all unless it was in a cup. Not enough fluids equals not enough diapers. So over the past few weeks, I gradually dropped mamafeedings and added moomoofeedings. Rose is doing just fine!

5. As for me, it’s been more than 3 years since I’ve been JUST ME, not pregnant or lactating. So I’ll be enjoying this…lull between stormsImeanbabies.

6a. Jay and I have been enjoying his new blocks, cars, and train tracks. One of my goals is to spend more time just playing with my kids, and it’s been great! We’ve built mansions, fences, roadways, race tracks, tunnels, bridges, mountains, towers, and even a zoo. It’s cute when he gets his blocks out and tries to re-build our most recent creation on his own. This picture has our zoo in it.

6b. This is Noah’s mansion. We have this Noah’s Ark set of animals that came with Noah and his wife (Jeff named her Joan—Joan of Ark, get it? My witty husband). So We often build a house for Noah, Joan and all their critters. This one was my masterpiece. I love playing with blocks. And Jay. While we build, I have to use one hand and often both of my legs to defend our buildings from Hurricane Rose, the Rose monster, Rosasaurous, etc.

7. This week I discovered the secret to almost eliminating the drudgery and doom of LAUNDRY DAY: wait till the evening! Since Jeff drives the car to work now that it’s cold, my only vehicle is my beloved double jogging stroller. That thing can do a lot, but it’s just TOO hard to cram all of our laundry into it, (and into a bag and a backpack that I have to carry while pushing the 100lb stroller), and walk over to do laundry at the Whites’ house. It takes all day long. Dante forgot to include eternal laundry in his Inferno. Even though I don’t like putting things off and I’m most productive in the mornings, doing laundry at night after Jeff comes home WORKS.

8. I recently (finally) got the Mo-Tab’s best CD ever, Called to Serve.  Why do they even have women in the choir? The songs with only the men are SO GOOD! When I listen to them I feel so joyful and inspired. I love basking in those deep, rich harmonies. And it makes me think of my dear far away brother, Elder Kyle Brown.

9. A few weeks ago, I indulged in a Kindle. So we have a Kindle Fire and a normal Kindle now. Yikes—easy on the electronics! I adore my Kindle reader. It’s easy to read from, it’s small and light, and best of all, books published before 1923 are FREE. Since our local library doesn’t even have a complete set of The Classics, I am particularly stoked about my easy, gratis access to them. I can also play Scrabble on my Kindle. I think I love this little device so much because it makes my somewhat nerdy activities (like Scrabble and the Brontes) so EASY and FUN.

10. So many books to read, so little time! I have a big stack of books by my chair. I intend to read all of them…eventually. I’m afraid the pile is growing faster than I can finish books in it. Bones is partly to blame—a few nights I’ve chosen to WATCH A SHOW rather than read before bed. What has happened to me?  The two things I’ll blame for my lack of reading time are: my Kindle and my children. They are both worthy causes, though, so I’ve learned to find joy in just looking at my stack o books. I indulge in a few pages when I can.

January is usually such a flat, long, dull month. We’re doing our best to change that around here, and I think it’s working.

Music to my ears

Happy 2012! We had a pleasant, relaxing last few days of 2011, reading books (Shaina), playing video games (Jeff), watching lots of Netflix episodes (all of us), and eating away at that 4lb bag of peanut butter M&Ms that Santa gave us.

While Jeff rang in the new year in the family room and a movie, Jay, Rose, and I snoozed in the new year in our beds. This year is already SUPER for at least 3 reasons:

1. Church is now at 9am instead of 1pm (Jay went to nursery all by himself again at last on Sunday!!)
2. We got a shiny new car stereo unit and it even has a jack for our mp3 player built in! Our musical possibilities on the road have expanded considerably. *see postscript for details 
3. And best of all, Rose sprouted a special new consonant-vowel combo that has me dancing for joy. It may be just babbling, but it may be more. I choose to believe the latter.

Of course, Rose has already been saying Dada for a few weeks now. She can point to each family member when we ask her, “where’s ____?” She also has an opinion about everything, and squeals her disapproval if others don’t share her feelings.

My little baby is suddenly sentient!

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P.S. One of the last things that happened in 2011 made us glad to say adios to that year: on the only night all year that we accidentally left our car unlocked, our 7-year-old car stereo was swiped! They left a gaping hole in its place, and another empty spot where my old CD case lived.

Who steals ancient technology and outdated CDs? It was done out of pure malice. Grumble. If someone steals something valuable, I can convince myself that they really needed the money. But when everything stolen is worth about $25 or less, I just get cranky. I also really don’t like the idea of thieves prowling around our street. The thing I’m actually most sad about is that we had disc 9 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the CD player when it was stolen, so now we’re missing a piece of the story!