Day 3 -- Now it's gone

This morning, snowed in yet again, we didn't have to go to church. For those of you keeping track, I think this is the 6th or 7th time we've missed church since November. Our ward should use this as a missionary tool -- be a Mormon, only go to church every other week!

Because we didn't have church, we slept in and ate a very indulgent breakfast -- chocolate filled aebleskivers with chocolate syrup. In case you aren't familiar with these little gems, they are a traditional Danish pancake cooked in a pan with wells to make them round.

While eating her breakfast, Maddie started to get upset because her VERY loose tooth was hurting when she ate. Jared asked if he could take a look. He said he simply "lifted" the tooth out of her mouth. That tooth was clinging for dear lift right up until it met the breakfast of indulgence.

Maddie is so excited! She has been wanting to loose that tooth for so long! It's been wiggly since November, it just took it's own sweet time. So, here is today's picture for 365:

Day 2 -- The Tooth

It's still stuck there. It's been holding on for months and months and months. But soon.....

365 -- a photo a day -- Day 1

So, I saw a post about 365 -- taking a photo a day for a year. I'm terrible about writing in my journal since having the kids. This would be a great way to keep a record of our lives, hopefully without too much time involvement. So, in an oh, so wishy-washy way, I think I'm going to do it.

Here's today's pict:

John has refused to nap this week. He's cranky, tired and unhappy all day. I decided today he was staying in the crib because I needed a break, even if he didn't need a nap. After two hours of hoping he would fall asleep, this is how I found him, happy as could be.

Helping with Housework

Little John is not famous right now for helping to do the housework. In fact, he actually generates most of it. He's into pulling all the pots and pans out of the drawer. Moving all the snacks -- fruit leather, pudding, raisins, spoons, etc. out of the snack drawer. His favorite is to pull out a drawer full of kids dishes until it snaps out of the railings, then he'll just walk off to a new task. I'm sure most of you know a toddler with similar fascinations.

His curiosity and new found "dump and fill" skills bring much more work for the rest of us. Throughout the day, I'm picking up toys constantly. It's vital to move these items out of the way before one of us does a 'banana peel' type fall over a toy car. But, at the end of the day when we're ready to clean, John does do his part -- he checks the vacuum hose to make sure it still tastes the same:

Jewlery designers????

I'm terribly allergic to most jewelry on the market. It's disgusting when I wear it -- my skin gets itchy, red, slimy and then starts to peel off. YUCK!

But, I recently bought some hand made jewelry and it seems to be OK. I don't really want to keep paying someone else to make something I think I can do myself. I know what to buy for supplies so that I won't start to itch, but now I just need some advice on how to get started. And maybe a tutorial or two.

Anybody?????

Why is work always HARD work?

I have a friend who asks me to do odd jobs every once in a while for extra cash. I'd really like a new TV and entertainment center, so when he called a couple of weeks ago I jumped at the chance to do a little work on the side.

Last night, after working about 8 hours to make three signs, I begged Jared to help me finish. He noted, "Why do Dirk's projects always sound so great in the beginning?"

We both agree that in the end, they turn out to be a huge pain in the *$&%^(%. I'm still not finished with the job -- four more signs to go. I have to say I'm grateful for the chance to earn a little money, it always comes in handy. It's also a great teaching tool for my kids -- Maddie keeps asking if I've done enough work to earn what I want to buy. She's even offered some of her money to help :). I think in the long run that might be the best benefit of my taking odd jobs.....

But someday, when I've saved up enough $$ from my blood(yes blood -- you obviously don't sew if you don't believe I bleed when I work), sweat and tears, hopefully I won't have to work too much in front of our new TV.

Who knows when we'll get the TV, but I'm still hoping! And working.

Christmas at our House

Maddie got her bed for Christmas -- it was a big hit!

We had a terrific Christmas week. We spent most of it in pajamas, stinky and as happy as pigs in the muck!

Here's some picts:

I love her bright "Christmas" eyes.

The boys.

John didn't really understand much of what was going on, but he did enjoy dumping out his stocking and eating the baby treats inside.

Breadsticks

Growing up, my family had a unique but wonderful Christmas tradition -- warm breadsticks. My dad is the master of making breadsticks. He would make pan after pan of these tasty, buttery treats.

My brother, sister and I would hand deliver them to our neighbors as soon as they popped out of the oven. They were carefully prepared on holiday paper plates, the long breadsticks hanging over the edge. Each plate was counted out for the assigned household -- two breadsticks per person.

All of the circle waited anxiously for the breadsticks. They'd be notified ahead of time which day we would be making our special delivery. Every house would leave their front porch lights on so that we knew they were home and they wouldn't miss out on their family's allotment that year.

I wish I was home now, waiting to eat the slightly over cooked breadsticks from the end of each batch, sopping up the extra butter and cheese left in the pan. But, my dad is in Iowa this year and I'm in Connecticut -- I'll have to make my own tasty breadsticks. So, here it goes:

To my neighbors who are lucky enough to share in the tradition, you're welcome. I know it is not in any way a normal Christmas treat, but you're not required to reciprocate in any way.

To my circle neighbors that missed out this year, I'm truly sorry, but we'll eat your share!

Ready for Christmas

We've painted our faces,

Trimmed up the tree,

Sent things to far away places,

And let 'the Jesus people' free.We tasted the cookies,

played in the snow,

opened up a couple of goodies,

and sang carols we know.

We're ready for Santa,

we'll send up three cheers --

come Santa, come Santa,

come to our house right here!

Favorite Photo

We went with our friends one Sunday afternoon in October -- that's how far behind I am in my blog posts -- to various sites around town to take family pictures for Christmas cards.

Our little town is beautiful. It's a great place for pictures, painting and beautiful scenery.

I'll keep the picture on the Christmas card to myself(until you get it in the mail), but here is my favorite of the family:

Here are some of the others:

Florence Griswold Museum

About a mile down the street from my house, there is a famous art museum known as the Florence Griswold. It has a few formal viewing rooms with travelling art exhibits that trade out about every three months. Our town is actually well known in the art world. About 100 years ago, an artist set up a summer camp at the Florence Griswold home, and other artists would rent rooms there. The would travel all over the area painting local landscapes. Mrs. Griswold also allowed her favorite artists to paint on the doors and walls of the house. So, it's got a very interesting flair.

We took my parents there to see all the sights. They had a great Christmas decoration -- local artists had each painted a pallet with a design of their choosing. All the pallets are hung on a giant Christmas tree. Maddie loved playing "Where's this?" with little flip cards trying to find snippets of each painted piece.

Here are some pictures of the landscape behind the house:

A Boy & His Grandpa

From the instant my dad walked through the door on November 25th for their Thanksgiving visit, little John was constantly looking for his grandpa.

Little John would run as soon as my dad started to speak to find him and give him a gigantic hug. Sometimes he would hug grandpa, run to play, and run back again to share a little more love. He just wanted to be near his grandpa as much as possible.

It was so sweet to see the little boy's love for his grandpa. Little John is pretty giving with love for others, but it was really interesting to see how much he recognized a special connection with his grandpa.

There really is something to families being forever. Even my one-year-old recognizes it.

Cleaning House

So, it's time to get rid of some things clutering my house. I've put a bunch up on Craigslist. Let me know if you are interested in anything.
Nov 12 - Bouncing Buddies Cradling Bouncer Seat Bouncy Seat - $10 -
Nov 12 - Victoria’s Farmhouse Unfinished Doll House -- $90 OBO - $90 -
Nov 12 - End Table -- $20 OBO - $20 -
Nov 12 - Sewing Table -- $40 OBO - $40 -
Nov 12 - Stuffed Bear Chair Toy $35 OBO - $35 -
Nov 12 - Havana Joe/Hush Puppie and other shoes - $30 -
Nov 12 - Cuisinart Smart Power 7 speed blender--$35 - $35 -
Nov 12 - Cowboy boots brown leather -- $30 OBO - $30 -
Nov 12 - In-Step 10K single jogging stroller -- $50 OBO - $50 -
Nov 12 - KitchenAid Mixer with paddle & hook -- $75 OBO - $75 -
Nov 12 - Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat – like new - $40 -
Nov 12 - BabyBjorn – Infant Carrier Navy Blue - $10 -
Nov 12 - Antique Vintage Dresser -- $300 OBO - $300 -
Nov 12 - Antique Vintage Rocking Chair -- $300 OBO - $300 -
Nov 12 - Pottery Barn Girls Rug - $50 -

Birthday Bash!

We had Maddie's birthday party on Saturday. It went so great! I can't believe we invited about 25 kids. I think we had about 20 party goers between the ages of 4 and 8, and about 10 parents and siblings that joined in. All in all, it was a great event.

I have to thank a few people that helped make the event a success. For pictures, I need to thank Emily's brother and Adrian who took the photos here. Click on their names to check out their blogs. Also, Emily really pitched in and painted faces for over an hour. One of the kids in Maddie's class at school brought their moon bounce -- what a bonus!

We luckily had fantastic weather, so we had all the kids stay in the backyard as much as possible. We had coloring, pizza, games, cake and party favors. I'm extremely proud of Maddie's shirt and crown. I put those together myself. I also made all the carnival games for the kids to play. Maddie and I made the castle cake.

Here's the photo festival: