oh how the weather changes

Tuesday we awoke to a nice soft snow that was great to play in. Temps were cold in the morning, but by nightfall they had begun to warm up.

Wednesday and now today temps are in the 50's. All the snow melted away. The river was frozen over but now gushes full of water. The boys have spent many hours excavating rocks and throwing sticks in to see where they may go. The winds are howling.

It feels good to get the fresh air in my face. We spent time working on some activities but are taking advantage of this warmer weather, as tomorrow the temps will fall back down.

The discovery of the week was a huge fox's den. Thanks to some tracks in the snow and Jaxson's nose. I love the excitement in the boys' eyes when we we find things like this in our woods. This had been one of the best things of moving here. Being able to be free in the woods and all the signs of wildlife we have  seen. We are keeping track of it all in  our nature journals.

It is a peaceful day and I am well rested. What more can I ask for?

off the needles

A sweet and simple blanket came off my needles recently. It is a gift for our recently born niece. Hope that it keeps her nice and warm these cold months of winter.

Oatmeal Muffins

We eat a lot of oatmeal around here during the Winter months. We usually have leftovers. Thanks to Amanda we have been making these muffins every week. I love how each time they are just a little bit different depending on what we have on hand to put in them.

Sunday Smiles

the boys' room

 the loft

 Landon's side

Landon's decorations

 William's side

 William's decorations

Yesterday I spent the entire day in the boys' room cleaning, organizing and de-cluttering. The boys did a great job at helping and we got rid of quite a few things. They needed more room on the floor to just hang out. I moved many of their toys out of the room and put them on a shelf in the hallway. Plus I keep telling them if they can't put away their own things then they have way too much stuff. It felt so good to go through it all. We also spent time hanging things up on the walls. William told me he actually liked cleaning. He says the room looks so different. It looks empty. Things are just put away.  We all need to try harder to do just that every day.

sweetness

The boys each have their own way of preparing for the baby.

Landon is more of a snuggle guy and will feel my belly when the baby kicks and moves around. He talks to my belly and tells the baby that he can't wait to meet him and hope that he is doing OK in there. He also has this idea that when Jaxson lays right next to my belly he can come out of his body (as a spirit) and go visit the baby. Landon thinks Jaxson goes to see how much hair the baby has. And then there is my belly button that Landon loves to push.

William has not wanted to touch my belly but he has given me plenty of the stare down. He is unsure of how my body has changed so much.  He is getting ready by helping with all the preparations. He organized all of his old board books just right for the baby. He loves looking at all the little clothes and has asked if he can help dress the baby. Making things for the baby's room is one of his favorite things of all. There is many beautiful pieces hung up to decorate.

We are all getting excited for his arrival.  3 1/2 more weeks!  I know that these two boys of mine are going to be great has big brothers with all their sweet love to give.

Wednesday

We awoke to a -14 degree temp today. Everyone was slow to get out of bed. We needed to head into Burlington today for the boys' theater practice. I found a local yarn and fabric store to browse my time away. Then headed back to watch the boys for the last few minutes.

Once we were home we all decided a good snuggle in bed was appropriate. Dog and all.

Then the boys played the rest of the afternoon away while I made soup and bread for dinner. The perfect meal to warm our tummies on such a wintry day.

Hoping  for a little bit warmer temps as the week goes on.

a dog's life

fragments

odds and ends

thoughts that have crossed my mind

each one not enough for its own post

but giving you a small glimpse 

 into the daily life of ours

* The weather had warmed up a bit but now the cold temps are back- 8* and suppose to be getting lower as the week goes on.*

* Found that taking Jaxson for a walk right after breakfast is the best thing for all of us. He runs around like a crazy dog, then we come in and he crashes and is a pretty well behaved dog for the rest of the day.*

* It takes me almost 15 minutes just to get everyone dressed and ready to head out into the cold these days. We have to bundle up tight. I especially seem to have a hard time. My belly gets in the way while trying to put on snow pants and boots.*

* Been finding lots of neat tracks while out in woods. Love learning about what is living around us.*

* The boys have been building a blacksmith camp under the pine tree grove.* 

* Finding that I need to do all my active things in the morning, by mid-afternoon I am really tired.*

* Back to my knitting. Working hard on a few things for baby and finished up a few baby gifts recently.*

* Been baking almost every day. William made apple crisp yesterday by himself.*

* Everyone is getting excited for Grammy and Grampy's visit in a few weeks. They are coming to help when the baby is born. Yeah!*

* Been getting up earlier since the light is coming back and it has made a huge difference in my days.*

* Love listening to my boys play and create make believe worlds together.*

* Wishing you a  lovely week, wherever it may take you. *

one of the best things we do

Our Circle Journals to Grammy and Grampy.  We started them over a year and half ago. They still adore doing them. They come up with some pretty neat ideas to fill the pages with. What started as sharing news of our days has turned into games, riddles and puzzles.  This time they are making mazes for G & G to figure out. They create and write every time.  At least an hour is spent working on them.

The boys love looking through the past pages. It is a great record of what we were doing and what Grammy and Grampy were up to at the time.

I hope this tradition continues for quite awhile. We may have to move into bigger books once we finish this one. The boys say they need more room on the pages.

I just love it!

Sunday Smiles

Landon Creates

Unfortunately, Landon had a fever this morning with a bit of  a cough. He was not able to go to ski club today. He was a bit disappointed but then got over it as we talked what simple and quiet activities we could do at home.

We snuggled and read lots of books, rested in bed, took a hot bath, played quietly and created! Lots.
Perler beads, painting and inventing cars. He probably could have kept on going but the art area is in the basement and we were getting a bit cold. No heat down there. This is the point when he went up to take a hot bath. It was a quiet day. Just what he needed to begin to feel better. He went to bed easily and with the cough still, but hoping he has a quick recovery.

The Secret Garden

William and I had read The Secret Garden during the month of December. Someone posted about a theater class for homeschoolers so I checked it out. It just so happened that there was a 6 week class starting during January to perform The Secret Garden.

I asked the boys if they would be interested. They have never done anything like this before. They each gave it some thought and then agreed to give it a try. They love it!

They have lines to memorize and songs to sing. In only a few short weeks. I am so excited to see the whole thing come together. The performances are  February 12th and 13th.  Only a few days before the baby is due. I am hoping he holds out so I can see the boys perform.

William is Colin- who is a pretty dominant character. Landon has two parts- one of an officer and the other as the Fox. He has some silly lines to say. It is so cute. We are trying to rehearse every day. William goes about the house singing the songs. He is really very excited about this.

I am so glad they are trying out new things!

making cookies

The boys love to mix and bake cookies. Of course one of their favorite things to do is lick the bowl and spoons at the end.

35 weeks

Yep, only 5 more weeks to go. It has gone by way too quickly and I am a little sad about it. I do enjoy being pregnant, although the last few weeks I seem to have gotten HUGE and am having trouble sleeping. The boys have been busy helping organize the room. It's not really a baby's room since he won't be sleeping in there, but that is where his clothes and a few toys and books are. There is also a nice big chair that if we need some quiet time to nurse we can head there.

I am anxious to meet this new little man. It has been almost 7 years since we had such a tiny one in the house. There are going to be so many changes and I am hoping that everyone will adjust OK.  There are still a few things we need to get and I still haven't finished all the knitting that I wanted to do for him. And then there is the fact that he is breech at the moment and we are hoping for a big turn around soon. The next 5 weeks seem to be the busiest for the boys since we have moved here. Skiing, chess and a theater class now. Once the baby is here we are going to be at home a lot so it is good that we get all this business out of our systems. I am looking forward to the days of where we just nurse, sleep and stare at this sweet little man.
Soon, soon, soon!

in action

A picture from William's competition day. He looks awesome, if I do say so myself!

maple sugar snow

After reading Little House in the Big Woods we have been wanting to try this little sweet. We warmed up some maple syrup, poured if over untouched snow and gave it a go. The boys thought it was great. It was kinda like a hard slushy that tasted like maple syrup. Yum!

Sunday Smiles

competition

My sweet William has his first ski competition today. Eric is traveling with him as it is a couple hours away and Landon still has his day with the ski club to go to. I am bummed that I cannot be there. I  pray that he is safe and has a super great time. He was really excited about it all week.  I can't wait to hear all about it when he arrives home tonight.


Update: They made it home safe and sound. William placed 7th out of 12 boys. Not bad for his very first competition. He had a great day of skiing and lots of fun, which is what we want most.

drawing books

We found some neat drawing books at the library the other day. I have always tried to encourage the boys to create in their own way and not have them follow a set example. However, they were really interested in these books so I thought we would give them a try.

Landon is using one that shows how to draw castles and knight. He is making scenes with the the knights battling and guarding the castles.

William has an Ed Emberly drawing book. He worked for a long time on making a haunted house.Although he was following a step by step guide he still added his own details.

They were not only working on their drawing skills, but attention spans as well. Plus Landon was telling a story to go along with his picture, therefore exercising his creative storytelling/writing skills.

I love how I am able to give them the time they needed to work on these projects of theirs. There was no clock telling us it was now time to stop and move onto the next academic subject.  It was a good reminder to me that we learn from everything we do.  Most especially when it interests us.

hearts are everywhere

As I went to put a piece of wood into the fire this knot caught my eye. I looked closer and it totally resembled a heart to me. It made me pause and reflect that if we take the time we can truly find greatness everywhere we look.  To be more appreciative of the world around us and in the little every day tasks, such as burning wood to keep us warm, there is something to smile about.

Hope you find  a smile today!

making snowmen

The weather has warmed up a bit so the snow as started to melt. As a result, the boys discovered it is great packing snow.  They have been working on these snowmen the past two days. It was a cooperative effort as the balls they made were very heavy and needed the three of us to pick them up to so there could be a middle and head. They were very excited when they had finished them.