Check In

Hey, Blogger World.  I'm in VT with three of the four kids.  We survived the Christmas rush.  Not entirely unscathed.  Too much to get into at the moment, but let's just leave it that I can't wait for the freshness of the New Year.  I'm ready to be done with the heartbreaking losses that have surrounded so many during these last two weeks.  Sadness and mourning isn't the best way to enjoy Christmas.

Here's to a HAPPY and JOYOUS New Year.

Merry Christmas!

A very, merry Christmas to everyone!  May your day be filled with joy, love, and peace as you celebrate with friends and family.

Art Gallery

Eleanor has discovered a love of drawing.  She's constantly drawing pictures.  Her favorite thing to draw is people.  I often find her masterpieces hanging all over the house....here are a few that are hanging around right now:

On the back slider:

On the pantry door (I believe one of her big sisters drew the blue and orange flower):

On the living room floor (please excuse the nasty linoleum...one of these days we'll be removing it!):

Also on the floor:

Great Job, Gordon!

Last week, the company Gordon works for had their annual Holiday Party.  This year, they started a new tradition.  They have begun honoring one employee for their exemplary work.  

Guess who was bestowed with the honor of being nominated Employee of the Year???

Gordon was given this beautiful plaque:

He also was given a gift certificate for the furniture store that Hendel's owns.  It is good for a brand new living room set.  We can literally pick out any living room set we want.

It figures, right?  Not a month and a half after we purchase new couches for the living room, Gordon is awarded a new set!

We're all so very proud of Gordon.  I'm pleased that his hard work has been noticed and celebrated.  It's nice to see others honor him like this.

a Christmas craft

We've had a huge bucket of broken crayons that's been getting more and more full as time has gone on.  A long while ago, I came across a really cool craft that utilizes all of those broken crayon bits.  First, you tear the paper off the crayons and then put them in a heat-safe mold.  Put the mold(s) in the oven, pre-heated to a low heat (I set it at 275 degrees).

Nora had a lot of fun helping!

So now we've got 24 snowflakes and 24 snowmen like these:

I'm planning on putting them in cellophane bags and tying them up with pretty ribbons.  Dianna and William will be able to pass these out to their friends at school.  So much better than candy, in my opinion.

Sick for the Holiday Weekend?

We've been battling germs at the Crazy House for a couple of weeks now. First it was Nora, then William, then Nora again, then Grace & Gordon both, then Nora AGAIN, and now me. Dianna's the lucky one, so far.

I pray that we're all over this nasty head cold before Christmas. If that's not possible, I pray that we'll at least be able to celebrate without feeling completely yucky. No matter how fun Christmas can be, it's not fun to be feeling yucky while opening presents.

Cold Walk

This weekend, I've been feeling rather beat. Tired. Blah.

It's really cold outside. Not the kind of weather that beckons one to enjoy the out-of-doors. It's the kind of weather that makes me think of snuggling up with a hot cup of tea or cocoa, snuggled in a blanket or two, reading a book.

What did I do this afternoon?

I took Lexi for a walk!

I pulled on long underwear under my jeans. I pulled a fleece sweatshirt over my tee and then wrapped my scarf around my neck. I tugged on my gloves and knit hat. I topped it all off with my winter jacket. I was SET.

Lexi was excited to get to walk. As soon as I said the words, she was wagging her tail and trailing me all around the house. Once I let her into the garage, she made a beeline for the Subaru. Such a smart girl -- she already knows the drill!

Once we got to the trail and actually got out into the cold, I began to have second thoughts. It was COLD out there! Lexi wouldn't have been a very happy doggy though, so I decided to give it a shot. Luckily I started to warm up in no time.

We walked a total of 30 minutes. It was a nice, bright, sunny, COLD walk. I'm glad I didn't talk myself out of it. I bet Lexi's very happy too.

Dentist Visit

Yesterday afternoon, I took all four kidlets to the dentist. It was time for their twice-annual visit to get their teeth cleaned and checked. In the last few days, I began to wonder just WHAT I was thinking -- I'd scheduled four appointments one right after the other. The kids were bound to get tired/bored/cranky/crazy!

I'm proud to say that not only did the kids all have fabulous reports from the hygienist and dentist, but they were all really really really well behaved. Better yet, I hadn't threatened or bribed them! They were really good just because!

Think this was my early Christmas present from the kids?

Even if it was just an early Christmas present, I'll take it!

Doggie Diet

Lexi is getting fat.

I remember when she finally tipped the vet's scale at 50lbs. The vet and I both cheered. She'd been weighing in in the mid 40's forever. I didn't think she'd ever reach the 50lb milestone. That was just a couple of years ago. Now, she's over 70lbs.

Part of the problem is that we've always used the 'free-feed' method. We always made sure she had plenty of food and water in her dishes. Plus, she has always gotten little snacks of human food -- mostly the kids' unfinished foods.

Another part of the problem is that she's too sedentary. Lexi doesn't spend much time outside. She prefers to be wherever I am, which is usually inside. When I'm outside with the kids, I don't like to have her on her cable. I'm afraid she'll 'clothesline' them, knocking them over with the cable. I've always wished I could trust that she wouldn't run off, because I'd love to let her roam our backyard freely. The first moment a squirrel or other animal caught her eye, though, she's off and running.

So we've sort of put her on a diet. I've cut back on her food. She now gets fed about 1 1/2 cu. of food twice a day. I'll probably cut that down to 1 cu. twice a day in a few weeks.

We've also started walking her. We didn't often walk her before because she was never good on the leash. She could and would tug your arm right out of socket, trying to lead the way. We tried using a Gentle Leader on her, which is a harness thingie that is supposed to help for dogs who do what she did on the leash. The Gentle Leader kept her from pulling us all right. Instead, she would try to claw the thing off from her face and not want to walk. I was always afraid she'd hurt herself.

Last week, Gordon took her for the first walk she's had in a very long time. I don't know if it's because of her old age, her tired (sore?) body, or what, but she's like a completely different dog on a leash now! She doesn't tug. She doesn't drag. I'm even able to hold her leash in one hand, and hold Nora's hand in the other!

Hopefully we'll see a marked improvement in Lexi's health and physique in a few months.

Child (slave) Labor

Normally this time of year, I'm baking up a frenzy. For some reason I am not this year. At least, I'm not YET.

Before bedtime last night, Nora asked if she had school tomorrow. I reminded her that her school is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tomorrow (now today) would be Monday. No school for Nora.

Knowing Nora wouldn't be happy with this declaration, I quickly changed the subject. I asked Nora if she would like to help Momma get started on baking Christmas Cookies. She instantly brightened and nodded her head enthusiastically. I kissed her goodnight and told her she'd need a good night's sleep so we could bake in the morning.

Fast forward to this morning.

I didn't forget about baking today, but I've been too busy with laundry and dishes and exercising and a myriad of other tasks. Nora hadn't said anything yet, so I hoped I was off the hook. Not so. About 20 minutes ago, Eleanor reminded me that I "forgot to bake cookies today".

So now we're baking. Well, not quite yet. I've tasked Eleanor with removing the wrappers from a bag full of Hershey Kisses. Once she's all done, we'll start putting together the rest of the ingredients to make Peanut Butter Blossoms.

Goodbye baby utensils

Now that Nora is getting bigger, it is time to pass on all of the baby utensils. A big part of me wants to hold on to them, to let the Littles' baby-like innocence to linger. Reality is that we need the space these utensils occupy in our silverware drawer.

Here is a picture of the drawer, as it looks right now: (Please note that the open space should be occupied by our teaspoons -- it's time to empty the dishwasher again!)

See how there is a section for the knives, one for the forks, the empty one for teaspoons, one for soup spoons, and I've used the front section for the baby utensils. This has worked relatively well all of these years. Except there is one thing missing. Steak knives.

We currently have one set of steak knives. It is a set of four. I bought it from Pampered Chef almost a decade ago, when Gordon and I were the only ones to use such a utensil.

Now that the big girls are getting bigger, they have begun to use our steak knives too. Still, we have enough. But just that. If/when we have friends or family over for dinner, we end up having to share steak knives.

Right now, Pampered Chef knives are stored in the dining room hutch, in their black storage box. It works, but it's not ideal. Especially when it comes time to empty the dishwasher. Even though the dining room is only a few steps away, it's still a few steps away.

On the agenda for this afternoon is a major overhaul of the silverware drawer. I am going to completely empty it, clean it thoroughly, and then reorganize it. I will be removing all of the baby utensils, to pass on to someone else (except a few 'heirloom' ones that I absolutely love and don't think I can part with). I will place the new (8 piece!) set of steak knives that I bought the other day in the drawer where our butter knives are currently residing. The forks and butter knives will each move over one space, and the teaspoons will be moved to the front section.

I have such a range of emotions over this task. It's similar to when I weeded out all of the spill-proof sippy cups. On the one hand, I'm excited to re-organize our silverware drawer. I'm proud of how big and responsible my kidlets are growing up to be. But, on the other hand, this is another sign that we are now a toddler- and baby-free house.

Adventures in Scouting

This past Sunday, after the town's annual tree lighting, our Girl Scout troop were at the Historical Society. The Historical Society was open late that evening, for townsfolk to drop in after the tree lighting. They had planned an art project and needed help with it, so our troop volunteered to assist. Our troop really loves getting to help others like this.

Here is a picture of Grace, helping a 2.5yo little girl make a "God's Eye" project. The girl's dad was super impressed with Grace's patience and gentleness. I explained that she's used to helping Littles, that she's the oldest of four and gets to help out at home on a regular basis.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

....especially if your idea of Christmas is a dusty punch bowl filled with colorful glass ornaments.

Guess I'll have to empty the bowl & wash it. I didn't realize how dusty it truly was until I looked at this picture. I suppose that's what happens when you grab an item from that cabinet that gets used maybe once a year.

Wax cleanup

I bet some of you are wondering just HOW I could clean up the waxy mess left from my 'candle incident'.

Oh. You weren't? You might want to stop reading this post right now then. I'm going to talk about just that topic.

Trust me. I won't be offended if you walk away from your computer right now. Go ahead, close out this window.

So. Is anyone still out there? Did ANYONE wonder how I'd clean up all that wax? Oh, goody. I'm glad you stayed to read my ramblings. Even if you don't really care what the outcome is.

First I called Mom. I figured she'd have some idea how to handle this mess. She did offer the advice that I should scrape up all of the big hunks of wax that I could. And then she wished me luck.

My sister, Rachel, said she'd read/heard/seen something one time about using an old towel and an iron. But she couldn't tell me EXACTLY how to do it. I wasn't confident enough to figure it out on my own.

Next I consulted Google. My good friend, Google. Ahhhh, how I love thee.

Google shared with me a youTube how-to video, amongst other things. I watched a gentleman clean up red wax off an off-white shag carpet using a paper bag and a hot iron. He made it look easy peasy.

I finally got up the nerve to try the wax cleanup yesterday morning. First I scraped the rug with a butter knife. I vacuumed up all the little bits. Then I grabbed my iron and a paper bag. I was amazed at how quickly the wax soaked up onto the bag. I was quite proud of myself.

My smug grin got wiped off pretty quick.

I lost all of my joy and pride the moment I realized that the paper bag was sticking to the rug in one spot. Apparently if you hold the iron on the same spot for too long, you overheat the rug fibers. (I truly new this...I just didn't realize that I'd held the iron in the same spot for too long) The bad news is that I melted the rug a little. The good news is that I was able to 'fix' my problem and make it barely noticeable. Also, I'd like to point out that it only happened in one teeny-tiny spot -- not the WHOLE area I was trying to clean.

I ended up trying the paper bag/hot iron technique on the wax that was spread all over the hearth too. I found that it softened the wax enough that I could scrub it with my old scrub brush rather easily. The hearth isn't perfect just yet, but it's looking far better than it had been!

And the rug is done -- no need to rotate it & hide the spot under the couch!

PSA: Dusting and candles

Last weekend, as I was trying to dust in the living room, I attempted to dust AROUND a burning jar candle. Normally I'd pick the candle up and move it out of the way, but the candle was burning pretty low in the jar. The glass would have been hot to touch. Since the only other alternative was to not dust at all, I opted to take the not-the-smartest-move-in-the-world and tried to dust around the burning candle.

Everything was going well, right up until it didn't.

Not only was I dusting the mantel, but also all of the picture frames that are hung and standing on and around the mantel. It was as I was dusting the frame around the big race car portrait (which is the focal point, hanging directly over the mantel) that all hell broke loose.

It was a domino effect, really.

I have an 8X10 portrait of the kids standing on the mantel. It leans up against the edge of the framed race car. The jar candle was sitting on the mantel directly in front of the 8X10 frame.

Are you beginning to picture it all?

As I dusted, the race car portrait's frame bumped out, knocking the the kids' portrait down, which took the burning jar candle down with it.

And this is what it looked like on the hearth. I don't even want to discuss what the area rug looked like. Nor how far the glass traveled after it shattered. Let's just say that it was a big mess. And I'm thanking God that noone got hurt!

So. The moral of the story? DO NOT, under any circumstances, attempt to dust around a burning candle. It's simply not worth the risk of causing a great big mess. Live with the dust for another day (or more) if you must. But do NOT dust around a candle!

Will's 6th Birthday

Not only was today Will's sixth Birthday, but it was also his sixth Birthday PARTY.

We had an Angry Bird themed party. Are you surprised? ;)

Here is a picture of the cake. I make the pig fortress using sugar wafers and white chocolate.

Then I gave each of the kids one Angry Bird figurine. The kids each took turns tossing their bird at the cake, trying to knock the fortresses down. Will was so excited to start that I missed out on getting an action shot!

Here is an action shot of Michael, our friends, Dave & Heather's son.

Angry Bird

The other day, my niece Amanda stopped by. She had an early birthday gift for William. It is an Angry Birds hat! William absolutely loves Angry Birds, so Amanda knew he'd be absolutely gonzo for an Angry Birds hat. She was right!

Here is a pic of William modeling his new hat:

Since he got the hat (just this past Wednesday evening), William has worn it whenever/wherever he could. He wore it to school yesterday, and then back home. I'm assuming he had it on when they went outside for recess. He wore it most of the evening last night. He even wore it to bed last night!

Here is a picture of William during reading time last night:

Gordon and I just chuckle over all of this. Gordon tells me that when he was little he had his dad's fireman's helmet liner that he wore all the time too. What can I say? Like Father, Like Son.

I'm just hoping Red Angry Bird washes well. I imagine he'll get all kinds of dirty in no time flat.