A Dress-Up Day!

I lug along with me, crates of toys the kids do not already have in their house.

I hear the phrases, "I'm bored!" or "There's nothing to do!" less when I bring my own stuff. Most of my "collections" are in single crates, not too bad to lug around.

Dress-up is currently in 3, totally stuffed, crates!

Thanks B, for helping me get them into my car this morning!

Dress-up keeps all 3 kids happy. I have a wide selection of boy & girl outfits & accessories.

It is just hard to move 3 crates by myself so we don't do dress up often.

It is fun though!

Here, Kaya is showing off her best princess look!

She has requested that I find a wedding dress for my dress up collection & the boys want Spiderman gloves that shoot out silly string!

A Possible June Visit? Maybe!

C is going through Carlotta withdrawals!

She saw a photo of her today & got all sad!

It's been almost a year since Carlotta has been up to New England to visit.

I have been able to visit her twice this year, down in VA,

but B & C couldn't afford to take time off from work or school.

So... what to do?

I'm missing the little munchkin too. And T, yes, I am missing her too.

We have offered to fly T & family, up here, to visit, in early June.

M may have to work, so it might be Carlotta & T making the flight by themselves.

I hope they can make it.

Fingers crossed!

XOXOXOXO!

I wish that I could reach right through my computers screen & give this little grand-baby of mine, a return hug!

Loving her outfit too!

She is growing up so fast!

Mwah! & BIG hugs from Nonie!

Her Own Style

With the weather being warmer, on some days, I take the kids outside a bit more.

Kaya still clings to her Sleeping Beauty nightgown (going on year #2!). But more & more, she will insist on wearing regular clothes outside of the house.

Today was one of those days.

She went into her wardrobe & decided she was in a "skirt" mood.

Add a "frilly" shirt to match the "frilly" on the skirt, put on some warm tights & finish w/her light up princess shoes.

Voila!

An outfit completely chosen by a 4 year old!

Beautiful!

I love her pose, best of all!

They're Baaaaack!

Here in NH, we got another 2 inches. B even shoveled the walkway.

Down in Massachusetts, 23 miles from my house, they got a dusting, mixed with rain.

Snowflakes.

Falling on the 1st full day of Spring 2011.

Did you know it can take up to an hour for a snowflake to fall from the sky & land on Earth? I know this because of useless commuter trivia questions on the radio during my ride home from work this evening.

I like snow.

I also like Spring.

We enjoyed a few "spring-like" days last week so I no longer have the desire to see more snow!

Forecasters say there may be some more snow on Thursday too!

All the snow clothes & sleds & other "snow" paraphernalia was put away this weekend. If it snows some more, the kids & I will have nothing to play with outdoors!

Not the Same... but Still the Same

I attended the annual Lasagna Bake-Off tonight to support B & his entry, which didn't win.

(He has won 4 times in 25 years)

It's no longer a competition for only the men of the ward with a dessert bake-off for the youth. It is open to all members/non-members who wish to make a lasagna (or similar dish). Many more to choose from, and with the women being allowed to enter, many better tasting ones!

I couldn't taste all of them. That would have been waaay too many carbs for me!

Strangest one, in my opinion, was entered by a woman I would never have thought capable of making anything inedible. After all, her "from scratch" brownies are to die for! She advertised her lasagna as one with a "New England" taste. What made it taste like "New England"?

She used MAPLE flavored SAUSAGE!

She also added some spinach. It looked good, but when I saw B's face as he took a bite, I knew I would be passing on sampling that one! B eats any & everything even if he doesn't really like it. A funny sight watching him gag the serving down.

It was the same lame awards (though the main trophy is now called the "Golden Spoon" instead of the "Golden Noodle") and the whole dinner was over & done with... in just over an hour.

If you came later than we did (5:30pm), you missed it.

It was nice to chat w/Jen A. & her family as well as with Nicole C & her husband. Their kids are so grown up now! A few, quick "Hellos" to a few other friends & that's all time allowed. We were home by 7:30pm.

So, it was the same event, yet not the same. At least I didn't have to cook.

Spectacular!

I saw a sight this afternoon that can only be described as...

SPECTACULAR!

Upon returning home from picking up Connor @ school, we went outdoors to enjoy the last bit of warm, windy weather before it turns cold again tomorrow. The kids were running around the house playing an imaginary war/chasing game while I set up the soap bubble machine.

Then, we heard a loud, POP!

We turned in the direction of the noise and heard 3-4 more, POPS, as well as huge brilliant blue "fireballs" with each, POP, coming from the end of the street.

They were beautiful blue balls of color, with a border of yellow, orange & red! So brilliant!

It did scare us for a minute, then I asked the kids to see if the power was out.

It sure was!

A tree limb had been blown down by the strong winds. It knocked out an electrical transformer up high, on a telephone pole.

They were excited to have seen the HUGE balls of color, but are bummed out that they couldn't watch TV when they went back indoors!

I was able to go home a bit early since she can't work from home w/o power!

Yeah! Lucky me!

That was spectacular too!

&

My power was still on when I got there!

Even luckier me!

I can watch TV!

Those colors were awesome though!

I'm Melting!

Early February 2011!

Lots of snow!

A month later!

Less snow.

Today! St Pats Day 2011! It was over 60 degrees!

Yes, that is our well cover. The base is almost completely covered with 3 ft of snow in the middle of our yard!

A month later, halfway melted!

I can see greenish grass around the well cover today!

The hill in the background gets much more direct sunlight!

Our shed is buried in February 2011!

Early March 2011, the shed is showing more of itself.

Look at all the mud around the shed today!

Another 60 degree day expected tomorrow, with more wind!

Spring Fashions

This is the latest in jewelry for your 4 year old princess.

Each item was hand chosen by Princess Kaya, from her private collection!

She also happens to be the model!

She needs a new photographer!

She had changed outfits THREE TIMES before I remembered to take pictures!

So, YES, she was BACK, into her security dress, in both of these photos!

Get on the ball, Miss Jen!

In the background, you might see the hopscotch game I made, using blue painters tape.

Her co-ordination is improving & it gives the boys an outlet for their energy during the rainy afternoons!

Today was a nice, brisk, sunny afternoon. She finally got the "pedaling thing" down on her tricycle. In this video, she & her brother, Colin show off her new skill!

Yes, I am the loud, annoying cheerleader you hear in the audio.

She got a 2 wheel bike for Christmas, which I'm hopeful she'll be riding by summers end!

Wishful thinking, I know!

I've had the same goal for her 2 brothers, 3 summers straight & they still can't ride a 2 wheel bike w/o training wheels!

The Losing Streak Continues

It's 12:07 on Saturday morning, or do I call it Friday night still?

Whichever... I can't sleep.

No cold, no sickness, I AM tired, just can't sleep.

It may be due to the cats being snugly & keeping me from finding a comfy sleeping position.

I know... It's my fault for even allowing them to sleep on the bed w/me in the first place! They were such cute kittens! I hope for warmer evenings so I can leave windows open & the outdoor wildlife keeps them occupied.

So, I shall continue to blog about not being able to win at games lately. C has been home on spring break & since not all her friends have the same spring break week, she has been home most evenings. How does one keep a 19 year old happy @ night when she is "stuck" at home with the 'rents? Play a "Hand & Foot" card game!

3 nights, 3 games, 3 losses! C likes this game , a lot! No skill involved, mostly pure luck & she has lots of that! I'm going to miss C when she returns to college Sunday evening. Not liking the losing part, but loving her company.

Oh, yeah... I lost the Chutes & Ladders game tournament to Kaya today!

I am taking guesses on which day this spring, we will have "snow out" in our yard.

"Snow Out" is when we have NO MORE SNOW in our yard.

Last 2 springs, that day has fallen in mid April.

We have had lots of melting, with the rains recently, but there is still lots of snow in our yard.

I'm sticking with April 19th as my date! That's when it happened last year!

The Haircut!

This is the BEFORE look! C worked w/me 3 days this week to earn enough money for...

The AFTER look! I like it & she truly earned it! Thanks for your help C!

Tie-Dyed!

C & Kaya did a cooking project while the boys were in school.

Tie-dyed cupcakes!

Here is what some of the cupcakes looked like, fresh from the oven!

Mmmm, the kitchen smelled sooo good!

Kaya enjoyed frosting the little cakes!

The swirl frosting can be found in the cake decorating aisle @ your nearest Walmart.

Or you could follow the directions on the recipe & try to make your own swirled frosting!

Even C enjoyed the frosting part of the project!

C was not as patient as I would have been, but Kaya didn't seem to mind the occasional loud sigh or scrunched up face from C when something went wrong.

Another Senior Moment!

Yes, there was a senior moment today!

But it wasn't my moment

woohoo!

After watching Connor & the rest of the 2nd grade classes, ring in the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit, with a parade through the hallways of his school, we climbed back into Krista's 4x4 to head for home.

"Where are my keys?"

She began checking her pockets, the floor of the car and was about to head back into the school to look there.

That's when I noticed the keys... already in the ignition, where she had put them!

Finally, a senior moment that did not involve me!

YAY!

Now you can enjoy the noisy, short video of Connors 2nd grade parade!

Happy Year of the Rabbit to all!

Here is the same parade, taken earlier, from a different side of the hallway. Still just a noisy.

Bubbles

Temperature outdoors @ 1pm on 3/3/11? A balmy, 23 degrees! A great time to bring out the bubble machine & have some fun popping soap bubbles before they hit the ground! Yeah!

The bubble mixture stayed in liquid form for about 10 minutes. Then, ice crystals began forming on the wand part of the blower. We ended up bringing it back indoors to the kitchen. After the solution thawed, we filled the entire room w/bubbles! I figured the kitchen was the best, safest place for bubble popping. They have new hardwood floors & a new 50 inch HD TV & I wasn't going to damage those!

You Sunk My Battleship!

I continue to lose games as I teach Colin & Kaya how to play games that involve more than picking up a colored card & moving the pawn to that space.

I have taught Connor card & board games too, but he prefers winning, ALL THE TIME, so he sticks to the computer games where he can hit the "reset" when he begins to lose!

Matches against the kids in Uno, Connect Four, Trouble, Guess Who, Sorry, Memory (my age no longer gives me an advantage in this game!) and Perfection have me wondering...

"Will I ever win another game?"

Today, I began to teach Colin how to play Battleship. He's been in Kindergarden for 100 days, knows his ABCs and the sounds letters make. He recognizes numbers too, so I figured it was time. He knows those things, but combining what he knows with trying to work out a strategy... well, this became a very interesting game (which I lost). I am uncertain that I didn't hit more targets than he said I did. He thought M was N, I was L and the numbers were in a fancy print, so 9 was often mistaken for 6.

I don't mind losing, really. I am very happy that there are some kids in the world who still enjoy playing board & card games instead of using the electronics.

But I can't believe I lose so much...

to kids...

who are 6 & 4 yrs old!

I continue to destroy them when we play Scrabble!

Ha!