Sandbox Serenade

The weather is starting to warm up here, and we are SO happy. We have been suffering from the worst case of cabin-fever ever!

The weather this weekend actually got above sixty degrees. Needless to say, we were outside in the sandbox most of the day and Jonah had a blast!

Here is Jonah looking over his little kingdom.


And for all of you who felt bad for little Eli in the post below, here is proof from the same day that I actually got him to smile... while wearing the scary shoes.



Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Scary Shoes

We had the most beautiful day on Saturday. The sun was shining and it was actually over 50 degrees! Needless to say, we spent most of the day outdoors.

It may be sunny, but the ground outside is still a bit soggy. So we just planned to put shoes on the boys and let them both walk around outside.

We didn't realize that this would NOT be acceptable to little Eli.

In the past month Eli has learned to walk. Since it was still winter, he learned inside on the carpet... most of the time with little socks on his feet.

Saturday while I was out, Honey Daddy attempted to put a little pair of sandal-type shoes on over Eli's socks so he could walk around outside. Apparently Eli started wailing as soon as they were on his feet!

Honey Daddy even tried putting the shoes on a little while later when Eli was in his high chair, and even though he couldn't see them Eli started to cry. Apparently shoes are scary!

I tried to put the shoes on him again today, after we let him "play" with them and get familiar with them this weekend. The picture above was the result! He still doesn't like the shoes.

The poor little guy stopped crying after a minute or so, but he froze in place. I tried to hold his hands and guide him forward, but he was as stiff as a board. There was no way he was moving an inch with those shoes on!


I know wearing sandals with socks on is a fashion faux pas, but they're not really THAT bad... are they buddy?

See who else is feeling Wordful

Get What You Want by Asking the Other Parent

Isn't it amazing how quickly kids learn to work things to their advantage?

This morning before church Honey Daddy was attending a meeting and I was home with the boys. Eli was taking his morning nap, so Jonah was downstairs with me as I was getting ready. After a while Jonah asked me if he could have a fruit snack.

Fruit snacks are a bit of a treat at our house, since we don't buy them very often. Jonah was being a good boy, so I gave him a fruit snack.

When Honey Daddy came home, I left to go to choir practice.

When I got back we were hurriedly getting lunch and getting everything ready to go. I asked Honey Daddy, "Were the boys good while I was gone?"

He said, "Yeah, Jonah had me read some stories to him out of that big story book."

Me: "Let me guess, the boat story and stone soup?"

HD: "Yep. Then he asked me if he could have a fruit snack. He even showed me where they were in the pantry."

Me: "So you gave him a fruit snack?"

HD: "Yes, but I told him that he wouldn't get to have one during church today."

Me: "Well I hope not, because now he has had two packages already today!"

HD: "Oh. You gave him one earlier?"

Me: "Yep. I gave him one while you were gone."

We both had a good laugh about that. Can you believe our two-year-old has already figured out how to take advantage of his parents? We're doomed!

Pale Purple Pipes

Last summer we experienced the joy of the city installing a secondary water system. You know, the kind that you are required to hook up to within so many days or you get a huge fine. Nice, huh?

Anyway, a little ways from our house is a pipe factory, and they chose the streets adjacent to the factory for dumping stacking all the purple pipes until they used them. So they should be gone by now, right?

Think again. I took these photos this afternoon. Welcome to purple pipe lane.

I do have to say that there are a lot less pipes than there used to be. They are a lot less purple too. Months of rain and sunshine will do that to ya!

I wonder when (if ever) the pipes will disappear.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Look Mommy! No Hands!

This year for Valentine's Day we made some cupcakes with pink frosting. Since there is no way the four of us would eat an entire batch of cupcakes, we gave some away to Jonah's friends. He had a great time taking his homemade Valentines to his friends and giving them cupcakes.

But most of all I think he enjoyed eating the cupcakes. We gave him one and apparently he thought the proper way to eat it was without using his hands.

I cracked up when my husband told me to come look at what he was doing. What a silly boy!

Yum, Yum!

This next picture is here solely to make me feel better about the fact that it has been snowing outside all day today.

Look! Crocuses and daffodils growing in my flower beds!

Spring is coming, I tell you!

When the Recession Hits Home

It's been a bit of a rough weekend at the Honey House. On Thursday morning my supervisor called to tell me that due to the budget crisis in higher education and the current economic climate, as of April 30th I will no longer have a job. My perfect, part-time (two evenings a week), decent-paying job as a librarian will be gone.

I am being laid off.

For some reason it still stings a little. I guess I was hoping that they valued my contributions enough to keep me and that the recession would not hit quite this close to home.

We are very grateful that it was me and not my husband that is losing a job. We are thankful that we still have two months to figure out what we are going to do to make this work. I have time to see if there is some other way I can earn some money to help my family.

Can I just tell you that I am a little bit scared? Right now I don't know how we are going to adjust our budget so that our income will meet our expenses. We are working on it... trying to figure out what can get cut and where we can spend less. We have even discussed refinancing our mortgage. This kind of decision-making is hard, especially when you feel like there wasn't much excess in the first place.

I am also starting to look into other job options, and I am hoping this is where you guys (my blogging buddies!) can help me out. I would like to find a way to do some work from home... during the afternoon while the boys are napping... in the evenings when my husband is home or the boys are in bed.

I need your help and advice. After doing some searching this weekend I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Do any of you work from home or know someone who does? What kind of work is it? How well does it pay?

I am not really looking to get into selling via parties (MaryKay, Pampered Chef, etc.) because I know that type of job is not for me. There seem to be a lot of scams out there and I am definitely not interested in any get-rich-quick schemes. What I want is legitimate work. The kind where you put in the hours and you get paid for them. Any ideas?

I am fairly well-educated. I have a Master's degree in Library Science, so I am pretty good at doing research and working on a computer. I should be able to find something, right?

So help me out here. What do you do to try to earn a little extra money? What kind of work from home have you done? Did you like it, or was it awful? How have you been cutting costs at your house?

Happy Valentines Day!

From the bottom of my fluffy little heart.

Who's Been Walking Across My Lawn?

This week it seems that the elements have been having a bit of a battle, while the boys and I watch from inside our warm house. In the morning it will be snowing, windy and miserable-- only to have all the snow melt a few hours later while the sun tries to break through the clouds.

Regardless of the weather, we still occasionally have to go on a quick walk to look at the construction equipment where they are building a church near our house. After all, what little boy doesn't like BIG tractors?


Earlier this week we woke up to find a layer of slushy snow covering everything. When I went outside to assess whether the driveway needed to be shoveled (or if it would all just melt later), I discovered some interesting tracks across our lawn.

After staring at them for a minute, I decided that they definitely were NOT dog or cat paw prints.


I'm not a boy scout, so I didn't know what kind of prints they were. There seemed to be only one thing to do... I grabbed my camera and snapped a couple of photos. After doing some research online (I am a librarian after all), I think they could be raccoon tracks.


I could be wrong though because I know I haven't seen any raccoons here in the suburbs. What do you think?



Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Is it Spring Yet?

Yesterday was a cold, blustery day. The kind of day where it wouldn't really be that cold, but the wind just cuts right through you.

So in the afternoon while the boys were napping I found myself on the computer, looking at photos from our vacation in Tucson over Christmas to warm myself up.

Can't you just feel the heat?

This next photo is one of my favorites. I can't even remember what kind of tree it is, but I think it's lovely. Could the sky be more blue?


Anyone else ready for Spring and a little bit of warmth and sunshine?!

Eleven Months...

Dear Eli-

I can't believe that in one more month my little baby will be a year old! It is amazing how much life can change in just eleven months! It seems like only a few months ago that you became a part of our little family.

You were such a beautiful boy! Honey Daddy, Jonah and I were so excited to welcome you into the world, our home and our hearts.

I admit that I was a bit nervous about being responsible for two little people instead of just one. Luckily for me you made it seem easy. You have always been a calm, good-natured baby. You mostly only cried when you were hungry, wet or tired. I can't tell you how much I appreciated that and what that did for my sanity!

I loved watching you become more aware of your surroundings and start to interact with us. Then when your personality started to show I fell in love with you all over again.

You are so happy and inquisitive. We all love your dimpled little smile, and I was impressed with how patient you were with your brother's attentions. From the beginning it was obvious that you adored him. As soon as you could move your head you watched his every move. Maybe that's why you starting moving around before I was expecting it. You just wanted to be where your brother was.

You started getting so big so quickly!

Before I knew it you were sitting up and crawling all over the house. Boy were you fast!


Then within the span of a couple of months you grew seven teeth, several inches, and quite a few pounds. Now at 11 months old you are already walking around, babbling up a storm, and loving table foods.

You are learning so much! I love watching you play and I can already tell that you and your brother are going to be great friends.

You bring so much joy to our home. We love you tons and bunches!


Love,
Mommy


Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.

Library Laughs

Earlier this week we went to our local library for their toddler reading program called "Wee Read". Jonah loves going and listening to the stories each week, and afterward we go upstairs to check out new books from the library.

Right now going to look at books in the library can be a bit of a challenge for me, with an inquisitive two-year-old and a ten-month old who is taking his first steps and wants to be anywhere besides in your arms. So I am holding Eli in one arm and trying to pick out books for the boys with the other, when Jonah starts to walk away.

I say, "Jonah come back. Where are you going?"
To which he replies (not exactly quietly), "I'm just going to check my website."

He then climbs up on one of the chairs by the catalog computers and starts to furiously type on the keyboard and move the mouse around. It was pretty hilarious. My two-year-old thinks he has a website, huh?

I asked him to come back here please, to which he said, "In a minute, Mommy, I'm checking my website!" while typing a bit more. I think by then nearly everyone in the library was silently chuckling at my silly son. I know the librarians were giving me amused smiles!

I almost felt the need to explain that Jonah doesn't actually have a website, and I really only spend time on the computer when the boys are napping in the afternoon. Instead I just laughed it off as I left the library carrying one boy, a diaper bag, a bag of books and a funny little boy in tow.

When Ice Looks Nice

Undoubtedly my neighbors think I am a little crazy. This afternoon I was out in my front yard, raking the snow around. I could almost feel the questions flying through the air in my general direction.

What is she doing?
Is she raking... the snow? Why?
Is it some kind of snow Zen garden?

Nope. If you must know I was raking the mounds of snow onto the dry spots on my lawn so that all the snow would melt off my lawn more quickly. It has actually been pretty decent the past few days and my snow is starting to melt. Hooray!

So maybe I am a little crazy. Either that or extremely ready for Spring.

There is one thing that I will miss once we finally stay above freezing for more than a few days at a time... the HUGE ice castle not far from our house. The boys want me to drive by it every time we go anywhere in the car.

Can you blame them?

Standing near the base, looking way up.

Check out the intricate shapes.

Watch your step!

They light up the ice castle at night, so I had to drive by on my way home from work one night to snap a picture. Pretty, huh?

To give you some idea of the size of this thing, these smaller columns are taller than I am! The entire castle is actually taller than the creator's house!

So although we will not miss winter or the snow, I think my boys will miss watching the ice castle and how it grows and changes.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Fit to be Tied!

Sunday we were getting ready for church and I asked Honey Daddy if he wouldn't mind helping Jonah get his shoes on. A few moments later my hubby came up to me laughing and showed me one of the shoes. Apparently the little guy had been working on the laces and told his daddy "I tied them up good!"

You got that right!

Wordful Wednesday

Don't Let the Weather Stop You!

So, what do you do on the weekends when the weather starts to get warm? Oh, I guess I should explain that right now at our house "warm" means at or above 35 degrees.

What?! You don't think that's very warm? You would probably stay inside? (You pansy!)

I guess Honey Daddy must be made of sterner stuff. When he got home from work Friday afternoon and it was still warm, this is what he did:

He had just gotten his bike back from the shop after getting brand new shifters because his were malfunctioning. So he had to take it out for a spin, right?

Of course he has the proper gear for cold-weather riding. Doesn't everyone?

Then on Saturday it was sunny and the temperature got above freezing again. So Honey Daddy decided it would be a good time to go out and wash our cars. Especially since it is not supposed to rain or snow for at least a week around here.


Jonah is such a little outdoors-boy, that there was no way I could keep him from going outside to help his daddy. Just look at how excited he is!

Aren't I lucky that no matter what the weather I get to have a nice, clean car?

So here's to the stalwart that don't let the weather get them down or get in the way! Who cares if some silly, over-sized rodent says we will have six more weeks of winter (isn't that what he ALWAYS says?)? I say go outside and enjoy the (very) fresh air!


Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.

Go check out what Jay is doing to support children's cancer research,
so none of us has to lose a precious child like Tuesday Whitt.