snow quinzee

Yesterday Elsie came inside after about an hour of playing out with Ivar in the snow. I got her settled with hot chocolate and Ivar came in to tell me, "it's no fun with no one out there. will you come out mom?" Hattie was sleeping, I had been reading, but he was sweet enough that I decided to gear up. We went out and dug a tunnel in one snow bank and then a snow quinzee in this snow bank.

He was in awe with my shovel skills and I got to tell him about the week I went winter camping in the boundary waters for a winter survival class during my senior year of high school. Each night we slept in a snow qunizee or a tarp shelter. And as I told him my stories I was amazed at myself. We dug out the scrapbook I had made from that adventure and every picture was incredible to me. That was some hard core living. I was tough. Now I'm glad for my cozy house.

But now there is a little boy in our house who is DYING to sleep outside in a snow quinzee this winter. I suppose it would likely only last a few minutes, but I have a feeling this just might happen this year. At least his mom has a dream to build the thing, whether we sleep there or not...

this and that

+ The Peanut Butter Boys were trying to take a nap, but Hattie did not respect their wishes.

+ Well, I got the flu again this week. Thankfully I was the only one who got it, which makes us wonder if it was pregnancy stuff, but it's hard to say. Either way it was 48 hours of terrible. Which means that in the month of December, I've had the flu twice! And I got the vaccine this year! So I'm done. Influenza, back off.

+ I have made a list of what I wanted to get people for Christmas all month long. I feel pretty organized on paper. We are doing a whole lot of DIY projects, but there are books and a few gifts I need to order. So last night I got on Amazon Prime to pound out my list of things to order and EVERYTHING was out of stock! I didn't know this was possible! Each book, each funny gift, each and every thing... out of stock. I told Rory, "I put my trust in Amazon, and that was a big mistake."

+ Ivar is reading and it is so fun. To have a new reader means every sign is being sounded out, each package and container, even a coat at church was hanging up and he said, "It says Gary on it! Do you think it's Gary's?!!" Probably, I told him. At lunch he was reading the cottage cheese, "Ollllddd Hoomme. Mom! Don't eat it! It says it's old!"

+ It's brutal cold today. Last night had a forecast windchill of -39. I don't know if it got that cold, but does it really matter if it got that cold?  (Quick shout out for Electric Blankets. If you don't have one, you need to consider how a warm bed might change your life. Christmas is still coming...) I was amused at church today because everyone was wearing their "We mean Business" hats. I've never seen so many huge hats with fur and ear covers and chin buckles and thick knit pom poms. Usually these hats are kept at home for snow blowing and shoveling, but not today. And I laughed out loud when I walked through our lobby after the service because every hat screamed, "I'm going to survive this."

+ While recovering from the flu I started to feel terrible about the lack of cookies, and basically anything Christmas-y in our house. I even postponed Santa Lucia day until I could participate. So on Tuesday I texted Rory, "can you grab a christmas tree on your way home?"  He walked in the door and said, "Well, I got one. And it was fifteen bucks." I laughed and held my breath as he chain sawed the bottom before I could see the Charlie Brown tree about to enter our Christmas. But you know, it is darling. I love this tree. the kids made ornaments before I could get the real ones from the garage and I really love it. Plus I felt really good about rescuing this tree from the cold outdoors and giving it a warm home in a room with a fire place. It's a cozy tree.

+ I asked Rory recently if he ever gets tired of morning and evening chores. He has four sheep and two goats and three cats and 13 chickens to care for each day, and this is brutal weather. He said, "Oh no. I love our animals so much, I'm ready to check on them when it's time." And this week he's been checking on them in the afternoons too. He's a good farmer and our animals are well cared for.

2016 Christmas Card

My dad has this thing about Christmas card pictures. He wants the picture close up and cropped so he can see the actual kid, how they've grown. His pet-peeve is pictures that are too zoomed out. "I want to see your family! Not the whole lake!" he'll say. So I tried to crop this picture that we took on Thanksgiving, with Dad in mind. But when Rory saw it he said, "but it's so fun to see how tall the kids have grown." So we have a zoomed out picture. Sorry Dad.

We went with Tiny Prints again this year because they are awesome and generous and simply want me to help them spread the word about their gorgeous cards. I'm happy to do so. Christmas cards have been flooding our mailbox this month and I love it so much. There is no other time of the year when we get such fun mail! And I still believe that a card sent in January or February is perfectly welcome. In fact, they probably get a bit more attention. Rory and I sent out valentine-christmas cards one year. And I'm still glad we did.

So if you're looking to join in the fun mail train, you can click over to this link at Tiny Prints to see what deals, specials and beautiful cards they are offering this year. Super awesome: EVERYTHING is up to 40% off thru December 15th (the end of the day!)

And this year I ordered a self-inking return address stamp!I love it so, so much! I'd show it, except that it's our home address. Ha! But you can see all those options right here.

This is my third collaboration with Tiny Prints and I really do love their products. Remember my Christmas Light Thank You's? It's still in my top 5 of most hilarious awkward moments.

the third week of Advent

The first week of December our whole family had the flu. We each got it a different night, which I suppose was the best way for five of us to get the flu, but it made for a really long week of laying low and laundry. And I got it last, which meant all the apple sauce, bananas and saltines had been consumed the days prior. But I made up for it in cinnamon toast and sprite.

The second week of December we took our very first family road trip to Kentucky! Three weeks ago Rory handed me a piece of paper with a map and day-by-day itinerary and told me we were going to take the kids on a trip. I was thrilled as road trips are basically my love language. We visited my Aunt Connie and Uncle Paul and cousins Jessica and Isaac and it was so awesome. I will blog about the whole trip at length...the whole thing was so good. And the kids did incredible and super fun memories were made.

And now we're onto the third week of Advent and we're back home but recovering from week one and two and it hardly feels like Christmastime to me. Has this happened to you? Some Decembers I jump in with both feet and others it takes me a while to find my Christmas spirit. Today Rory put the star up in the barn along with a candle in each upstairs window. It's really lovely and feels like a step in the right direction.

Other than that, I have been prepping the kids for Santa Lucia Day on Tuesday morning. They are excited, except that I just heard Elsie threaten Ivar, "If you keep being mean to me, I will not bring you cookies in bed because I'm Lucia!"

So we've got a ways to go to find our Christmas Spirit! But we'll get a tree this week and play in the foot of new snow we got overnight. And tomorrow I hope to make cookies and try to explain the generous and giving heart of Lucia which should keep us moving towards the true meaning of holy time of preparing for Jesus' birth.

this pregnancy so far...

Basically each day around 4:00 I get a wave of nausea that hangs around until bedtime. I feel crummy, but need to eat, and only odd things sound good to me. This is quite peculiar to Rory who will hear me talk about how sick I feel, and moments later find me in the kitchen heating salami, and wrapping a pickle with cream cheese in the middle. He'll say things like, "I thought you weren't feeling well." Even on the forth time around, pregnancy is still mystifying.

Other than that, I can't complain. I truly can't. I know the spectrum of sick from my pregnancy with Elsie, and this is nothing to complain about. I'm carrying a little life in me. I'm fine. Just don't say anything about my warm salami roll ups.