Christmas on any given day

on Friday we had Christmas. We watched classic Rudolph and Grinch (abominable snowman still in the queue) and decorated cookies: We also put on our Christmas jammies and took a picture:
Saturday we had Christmas again. My dad always gets the best trees:B enjoyed helping hand out and unwrap presents:We skyped with Tim, cuddled with Emily (and everyone else!), and were ridiculously excited about our gifts.
On Sunday, we had Christmas with the other side of the family. And guess what? We get to do it again on Monday with just us. Pics from those two events forthcoming...after we take naps and play outside, that is.

Been awhile...

I couldn't even remember my password! Rather than trying to recap everything that's happened in our lives since March, I think I'll just jump right in with today and see who even notices that I've posted. Too bad, because there are about 500 pictures on my camera you'll probably never see... eh well, such is life.

P and C are ridiculously happy about the (little bit of) snow we've had this winter. To celebrate, I made white playdough with glitter this morning. My table has never been so festive, and I'm pretty sure there will be sparkle in our food for the rest of the season.

While they created in the dining room, I was in the kitchen working on a couple of stocking stuffers: popsicle stick puzzles. C especially has become VERY interested in our puzzles lately, so I have a feeling he'll appreciate these. And yes, the snowman is sitting in the grass. What can I say, it's been that kind of winter. Anyone have ideas of how to package these? I'll probably make little drawstring bags eventually, but for now they're probably getting rubberbanded. Oh, and for those of you who haven't seen B lately, here is the little booger: He's fully in that funny toddler stage of wearing coats in the house, carrying kittens upside down, and generally causing a nuisance inspiring laughs and cuddles every minute or two.

pretty little things

first up: super cute jewelry that I find myself wearing just about every single day. magnetic clasp on the necklace so when babies grab it there is no fear of breaking, and I can reattach with one hand. Earrings are lever-back style, which means they won't fall out and be lost. LOVE! I got the necklace for Christmas from my mom's cousin (I think?) Susie, and had to order the matching earrings almost immediately. She does good work, yes? her shop is on Etsy HERE.next up: the handsomest little things around.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Today I wore a skirt

*because two days ago I didn't have to wear a coat outside.
*because I have a wonderful husband who takes care of the boys so that I can have time to craft.
*because I happened to find the perfect shade of turquoise binding in my Grandma's stash to go with this tablecloth skirt.
*because it matches my pretty necklace.
*and because it makes me feel just a little bit more girly in this house full of super boys.

how, exactly, dinner is assembled whilst the H is gone.

reason: H is on a(nother) ride-along with a Catt county sheriff as part of his college internship. Usually this means leftovers for us, but I knew this was a good chance to try a new recipe I'd been eyeballing.
method: new activity for the olders and a s.p.o.c. for the youngest (yes, it's ok that his head is sagging like that. No, I did not know he was going to fall asleep in the 15 or so minutes he was back there, otherwise I would have planned a bit better for head boppage).
recipe: Rockin' Moroccan Wrap. Originally from the back of a can of garbanzo beans (found online here). I added a big bunch of spinach, ground up the garbanzo beans a bit, used regular onions instead of green, added some chopped tomato and toasted wheat germ, and served it all in a whole wheat tortilla instead of pitas. delicious!

baby blue eyes (and why I rarely make time to exercise)

a few notes:
1)the quilt that my mom's cousin Susie asked about is in the background here. When I finish repairing it, I'll post a better pic.
2)I LOVE these hats. so quick to make (3 pieces plus binding and only 4 lines of stitching) and really do an amazing job of keeping boy3's head warm in this old house.
3)the boys thought perhaps I needed a little extra resistance while doing crunches recently. you can see how well that is working out for me.
4)I'm really going to miss my camera until we can get to a repair shop. It was knocked off a shelf (not by me, surprisingly) and the threads on the lens were snapped off, rendering the entire camera useless. Anyone know if this means I have to replace the entire lens?

home!

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter in addition to the offer submitted to purchase your property located at 410 Court Street in Little Valley. I thought it might aid your decision to let you know why we are looking at this particular house and what we intend to do with it.

My husband and I are high-school sweethearts. We were engaged while I was in college, right after my husband joined the Navy. During our tours here and overseas we agreed that a life in the military was not conducive to the type of family life that we were hoping for, and so when his enlistment was over we moved back from Italy with 2 children and a very small house fund. We have been in the states for about a year and a half now, living out of that fund while Daniel finishes his Associates in Criminal Justice in preparation for the Sheriff’s Academy next year.. His ultimate goal is to work for the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department, hopefully out of Little Valley. With 2 little boys running around, a newborn 3^rd boy, two cats and a dog, we were very excited to look at this house. After our initial tour, we decided it would be worth every bit of labor and cost involved to invest in this old house to make it into a home for our family.

H will be sworn into the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department this spring, and we must be living within the County limit before that (we are currently in Allegany County). If you accept our offer for this house, it is our intent to put a lot of sweat equity into restoring the flooring, woodwork, windows, and walls of the downstairs portion of the house during the summer. We will tackle the upstairs, insulation, and put a new roof on as soon as H is done with school and the Academy and working full-time again. We are excited about the potential that a double lot brings for a sandbox, garden, and plenty of grass for the kids and dog, and the fact that the county seat, local elementary school, and library are all just down the road is an extra bonus. When the upstairs is complete, it will boast a larger bathroom, sewing room, and playroom/schoolroom in addition to bedrooms.

Purchasing our first home is something that we have been praying about for years now, and we are excited that we might be only days away from making that dream a reality! Thank you for considering our offer.

Sincerely,

ps: we got it!

home?

still praying about it (a LOT). join me, won't you?

more pics

sometimes I knit

my first two boys rarely wore socks. (or clothes, for that matter)...boy3 is rarely out of them. These ones used up almost all of the same skein used to knit socks for both older boys. I think I have just enough to do one more pair a little bigger if I stripe it with something else, but we'll see. Turns out most of the baby clothing I have is red, white, and blue, so these have gotten a lot of use already. The best part about this pattern? They stay on! and as a special bonus, baby socks take mere hours to complete! just my kind of knitting: fast and practical.
and yes, that is a prefold he's wearing, with little else. some things stay the same no matter where we live ;-p

reflections

(no, not reflections on the past year. I only wish I had that kind of memory or time!)

boy1 wanted me to take the following picture for him so people could see it on their computers. He specifically requested one of "me and tree looking in the mirror with my arm around him and both of us smiling" and this is the result... enjoy :)