This farmer "played."
Rob took the kids up to Ohio Tuesday night through last night (Saturday night).
That left me with 4 full days of complete freedom.
I had taken 3 days off of work intending to travel with them but as the time drew nearer, I changed plans.
Things I accomplished:
• Sewed 2 buttons onto a used dressed we bought for Evie last week
• Fixed the hang tag on a towel (more sewing)
• Got out the Easter stuff (it actually never went farther than that)
• Raked up one large trash can's worth of leaves out back
• Cleaned up 2 flowers beds out back (removed weeds/grasses from bricks/cobble stone edging
• Rest cobble stones along flower bed in back of house
• Removed clumps of grass in empty bed near back of fence - planning to plant a raspberry bush and pumpkins after fence installed in a few weeks
• Dug out all the soil under downspout off brick patio - put old dirt out back (2 wheelbarrows full) and replaced with a few bags of new soil. Planted a new purple flower, bleeding heart bulbs and transplanted 2 ferns from front of house
• Cleaned up leaves/debris under the back patio steps
• Borrowed a tiller and dug out a new shrub bed behind house (off new addition).
• Replaced brick edging.
• Added 2 bags of manure, 6 bags of ultra topsoil, 1 bag of peat moss, 4 bags of garden/shrub soil, and a wheelbarrow full of last year's garden soil. Tilled and blended all.
• Topped off new bed with 7 bags of mulch
• Picked-up 2 freshly tuned adult bikes so we can bike ride with Evie this year
• Bought and brought home a new 8' x 12' rug for the dining room
• Pulled one brown grocery bag worth of donation clothes and dropped off
• Went through all the kid's clothes in the attic - pulled out clothes for Max to wear this summer. Separated his clothes into 2 attic bins for Winter (18mo and 2yr sizes)
• Went through all of Evie's old clothes and filled 2 boxes to ship to N in Chicago, 1 small bag to give to neighbor. She now has no more hand-me-downs!
• Did 3 loads of laundry (including rugs)
• Changed our bed - fresh sheets!
• Dusted and thoroughly vacuumed our bedroom
• Shopped! Went to 5 stores to stock-up on make-up supplies, moisturizers, summertime shirts and more!
• Finally painted the kitchen pantry entryway from when the walls were replastered a year ago. Did touch-up wall paint in the kitchen as well
• Bought Easter basket supplies for the kids
• Grocery shopped for the week ahead
• Vacuumed out the truck (from dirt & mulch debris... and kid debris!)
• One "date night" for wine and pizza with K
• Made myseld chicken piccata with salad for a stay-in night to watch "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" on DVD.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Twizzlers and Gum Balls at Bob's: Evie's Parent/Teacher Conference
At Evie's first parent/teacher conference today (pre-K) we found that Evie was not only can do everything on the testable requirements (things like counting, recognizing colors, shapes, letters, etc etc) but that she is also incredibly loving (not a trait from me!). Her teacher and the teacher assistant said she was constantly giving tight leg hugs and exclaiming her love for people, which, as a parent is nice to hear that not only is she a loving child but that people appreciate this quality of hers.
Evie does need to learn her address (beyond the city and state in which we live, which is all she knows) and also a contact phone number for her house/parents. It turns out everyone in the class didn't pass this section so, again, the teacher reiterated how Evie was more than ready for kindergarten .... Score! Great report!
Then they asked, "What's Bob's?"
I immediately laughed.
They continued, "Yeah, she's talking about how at Bob's there are Twizzlers and gum balls and a dog. It's a store? We tried Googling 'Bob's Store' but couldn't find it."
I filled the gap, "It's 'Once Upon A Vine' - a wine and beer store in our neighborhood. Bob is the owner. We all call it 'Bob's." Rob and I laugh.
The teachers laugh and asked where it was located, etc.
Once again, Evie reminds us that everything can and will be repeated (and generally w/o all the details). Nothing like explaining our family passtime spent at the local alcohol supply store...
Evie does need to learn her address (beyond the city and state in which we live, which is all she knows) and also a contact phone number for her house/parents. It turns out everyone in the class didn't pass this section so, again, the teacher reiterated how Evie was more than ready for kindergarten .... Score! Great report!
Then they asked, "What's Bob's?"
I immediately laughed.
They continued, "Yeah, she's talking about how at Bob's there are Twizzlers and gum balls and a dog. It's a store? We tried Googling 'Bob's Store' but couldn't find it."
I filled the gap, "It's 'Once Upon A Vine' - a wine and beer store in our neighborhood. Bob is the owner. We all call it 'Bob's." Rob and I laugh.
The teachers laugh and asked where it was located, etc.
Once again, Evie reminds us that everything can and will be repeated (and generally w/o all the details). Nothing like explaining our family passtime spent at the local alcohol supply store...
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Toe Jam: Evie's Activity of Choice
I am making dinner and call Evie into the kitchen, "Take your seat, we're going to eat soon!"
Evie grabs her usual seat and immediately spread eagles on the chair digging at her feet.
Me: "What are you doing (knowing the answer)!?"
Evie: "I'm picking this stuff out of my toes."
Me: "Ugh, Evie! Not at the table! Go somewhere else!"
Evie: "Ok, momma (backstory: she calls me 'Momma' only as a response to me telling her to do something, otherwise, I am called 'Mommy'."
Evie hops down from the chair and exits the kitchen.
I go back to getting things on the table and then walk into the pantry to get another item for dinner. Evie is in the pantry, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed, digging at her feet again.
Me: "Evie! can you go somewhere that doesn't involve food!?"
Evie: "Sorry momma."
Fast-forward a few days.
Max is on the floor and enjoying playing with his toes. It's recently been warm enough for him to be allowed around the house w/o socks and he's really enjoying it.
Evie notices the fuzz in his toes, "Ew, Max! Lookit his feet, mom! He has dirt on his feet."
I tell her, " Nah, it's just from his socks. " *pause* "Toe jam."
A few seconds later...
Evie: " I love toe jam."
A few seconds later...
Me: "I know."
Evie grabs her usual seat and immediately spread eagles on the chair digging at her feet.
Me: "What are you doing (knowing the answer)!?"
Evie: "I'm picking this stuff out of my toes."
Me: "Ugh, Evie! Not at the table! Go somewhere else!"
Evie: "Ok, momma (backstory: she calls me 'Momma' only as a response to me telling her to do something, otherwise, I am called 'Mommy'."
Evie hops down from the chair and exits the kitchen.
I go back to getting things on the table and then walk into the pantry to get another item for dinner. Evie is in the pantry, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed, digging at her feet again.
Me: "Evie! can you go somewhere that doesn't involve food!?"
Evie: "Sorry momma."
Fast-forward a few days.
Max is on the floor and enjoying playing with his toes. It's recently been warm enough for him to be allowed around the house w/o socks and he's really enjoying it.
Evie notices the fuzz in his toes, "Ew, Max! Lookit his feet, mom! He has dirt on his feet."
I tell her, " Nah, it's just from his socks. " *pause* "Toe jam."
A few seconds later...
Evie: " I love toe jam."
A few seconds later...
Me: "I know."
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Max - 10 Months Old
I'm 10 months old today!
On the very day you turned 9 months old, it snowed.
Finally, this winter... almost over, I might add... yielded some snow.
I quickly dressed you up and carried you out front.
This was your expression the entire time we were out there.
Your outdoor escapade lasted perhaps five full minutes since we hadn't any gloves for you and your fingers quickly felt like ice.
That was February 11th.
By the 23rd, you were in shorts. Yep, that's the South for you.
Cruisin'. You are in cruise mode these days. Well, maybe not full cruise mode. You pull-up on anything. I mean anything looking taller than the flat, flat floor. Tables, chairs, doll houses, baby carriages, trash cans, the TV stand, step stools and even a pair of shoes... all things you crawl to - stop - slowly pull up as high as you can go and then stand on your tippy-toes to be up even higher. You tend to stop there. Only a handful of times have I seen you reach from your plastic activity table to the coffee table or from my knee on the couch to the couch itself. You haven't quite caught on to the concept of taking steps or moving around objects. If you want to go anywhere you squat back down and quickly go into crawl mode.
Also noteworthy, you don't really go too wild with exploring. You dad would argue with me here, but compared to most kids... you tend to stay put unless there is something in particular that has caught your eye. You love to beeline for the open door to the laundry room ... this is still rather unchartered territory. You also beeline for the TV when a show is on that has caught your fancy (Bubble Guppies cartoons, in particular). You will take off for a new toy of Evie's left unattended and you will head right for any drink/rogue remote control left on the coffee table. Other than that... you pretty much are content to move about your immediate area & play with the things within the room you have chosen to occupy.
The days in your doorway jumper are drawing to a close. I think you are at the weight capacity if not beyond it. I will be sad to pack this up into your 11 month... but thankfully it is not nearly as bittersweet a moment as it was with Evie. She really loved it. You like it, too, but she performed acrobatics in it. You are just content to bounce as hard as you can while snorting and making this laugh/giggle sound (a sound you make while breathing inward).
Also on the soon-to-be-outgrown list is your bucket car seat. Although, technically, I think you already have outgrown it... we are hoping you won't throw a fit until after your first birthday when we can finally have you facing forward. With your dad taking Evie to school in a carpool... it's just so much easier on him with the great car seat switch-a-roo he has to perform each and everyday when dropping them off and picking you up.
Just a few days before you hit 10 months old we noticed you had your 7th tooth sprouting up. Dad and I are both relieved you just have 1 this time and not 4.
On the very day you turned 9 months old, it snowed.
Finally, this winter... almost over, I might add... yielded some snow.
I quickly dressed you up and carried you out front.
This was your expression the entire time we were out there.
Your outdoor escapade lasted perhaps five full minutes since we hadn't any gloves for you and your fingers quickly felt like ice.
That was February 11th.
By the 23rd, you were in shorts. Yep, that's the South for you.
Cruisin'. You are in cruise mode these days. Well, maybe not full cruise mode. You pull-up on anything. I mean anything looking taller than the flat, flat floor. Tables, chairs, doll houses, baby carriages, trash cans, the TV stand, step stools and even a pair of shoes... all things you crawl to - stop - slowly pull up as high as you can go and then stand on your tippy-toes to be up even higher. You tend to stop there. Only a handful of times have I seen you reach from your plastic activity table to the coffee table or from my knee on the couch to the couch itself. You haven't quite caught on to the concept of taking steps or moving around objects. If you want to go anywhere you squat back down and quickly go into crawl mode.
Also noteworthy, you don't really go too wild with exploring. You dad would argue with me here, but compared to most kids... you tend to stay put unless there is something in particular that has caught your eye. You love to beeline for the open door to the laundry room ... this is still rather unchartered territory. You also beeline for the TV when a show is on that has caught your fancy (Bubble Guppies cartoons, in particular). You will take off for a new toy of Evie's left unattended and you will head right for any drink/rogue remote control left on the coffee table. Other than that... you pretty much are content to move about your immediate area & play with the things within the room you have chosen to occupy.
The days in your doorway jumper are drawing to a close. I think you are at the weight capacity if not beyond it. I will be sad to pack this up into your 11 month... but thankfully it is not nearly as bittersweet a moment as it was with Evie. She really loved it. You like it, too, but she performed acrobatics in it. You are just content to bounce as hard as you can while snorting and making this laugh/giggle sound (a sound you make while breathing inward).
Also on the soon-to-be-outgrown list is your bucket car seat. Although, technically, I think you already have outgrown it... we are hoping you won't throw a fit until after your first birthday when we can finally have you facing forward. With your dad taking Evie to school in a carpool... it's just so much easier on him with the great car seat switch-a-roo he has to perform each and everyday when dropping them off and picking you up.
Just a few days before you hit 10 months old we noticed you had your 7th tooth sprouting up. Dad and I are both relieved you just have 1 this time and not 4.
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