Catch My Breath and Remembering Names

I think I start a majority of my posts like this... so sorry!

It's been a crazy couple days...  Let's see if I can condense it.

I called Robb by our son's name the other day and Meri was called Maddy.  I just used the good old excuse of "I am so tired!"  and that is partially true.  My MIL asked why am I so tired?  

It's my nature...

I guess my mind is pulled in so many directions lately.  Trying to stay on top of things as best I can.

My MIL gave Meri her old fish tank and fish.  One of the fish used to be Meri's and has lived at least two years!  It's one less cumbersome chore for Grandma M and a new possibility of problems at Meri's house.

I went over yesterday with my drills and made a hole in the back of that bookshelf for electrical cords.  The back end of the shelves is in a closet that has a plug in and safe from prying child fingers.  The kids were enthralled with the fish in an ice cream bucket yesterday and then later, Meri's cat, Ranch, was also intrigued.  All of Meri's daycare kids cried yesterday because she wouldn't let them touch the fish.

What a meanie! :)

Robb and I made it to Bible study last night and since the weather was turning nasty and only one other person besides our pastor showed up, it was cancelled.  Usually if less than half the usuals show, the remainder of us go out for ice cream.  But last night, we just weren't in the mood.  

TOO cold!  We'll bring ice cream next week and only the people who showed yesterday get to eat any.

;)

This morning, school was a 2 hour delay, then after a bit, cancelled entirely.  Leon is trying to remember all the kids in his class today so he can get his Harry Potter valentines written out.  For some reason he's missing four of the boys in his list, but he remembered ALL the girls...

We've gotten a chance to DUO with Maddy several times over this week and loved every minute.

Six hour distance melts away when you can see their faces and laugh about everything.

Meri is plotting out a trip to India this summer to meet Shub's family.  He's going too.

While she HAS met them on DUO already, it will be different seeing them face to face for a month.

I got a letter in the mail from our mortgage company that they didn't have record of home owners insurance for two months this past year.  Um,mmm  yeah you do...  They want to bill us to have them cover those two months.  sigh...  I just sent them my policy again and will call them on Monday to make sure they have it this time.  Cripes.  This has been going on since November and my insurance agent is a gem, sending the policies off herself a few times as well as my submissions.  

They WILL get this resolved...  Make no mistake!

It is wicked cold today...  -6 for a temp and -33 for a "feels like" wind chill. 

Who dreamed that up?

Yeah - it's -6 but wow it feels like minus a gazillion!

We brought all pop that had been resting in the cars in last night.  Don't want to risk having anything explode... It's happened before.  But it is easy to clean up if you catch it while it's still frozen.  You just break or push/scrape it off the surfaces.

I did sew a sweatshirt that I'll be wearing to Saturday's sewing meeting and I still need to hem and put the elastic waist in on the leggings to go with it.  Maybe over lunch today.

It's February and I STILL haven't made one of those bras yet!  hmmm   I will.  It's just not a priority right now.

Leon's birthday is coming up.  I want to make him something but what....  He says that Youtube Merch that he wears doesn't make him a popular kid and he wants to be popular so he's been picking just plain shirts.  How times have changed...  

He wanted a Hermit crab in the worst way and suddenly this morning he changed to a bearded dragon.  I'll wait until the morning OF his birthday and see what he's settled on then.

Out of the freezer meals that Meri and I made last weekend, I've cooked and enjoyed 3 of them.  

The cube steak and gravy over mashed potatoes - Pretty good...  I'll make it again.

The Cilantro and lime Chicken  over rice - DELISH! Will def make it again.

The Loaded Potato Soup - DELISH! Will def make again but only if I have some heavy whipping cream to add to it instead of just milk.

I've got a crockpot of chili in right now for supper, because what Polar Vortex is complete with chili?

AND I've got some yogurt incubating also.  

Anyway - back to work.  STAY WARM!!!!

It's cold. DANG cold.

The weather took a turn from the mild winter we've been having and this morning was a brisk -4 degrees when taking the kid to the bus.  

"And THAT's why you should have worn snowpants!"

Oh well, it was a quick walk for him to the bus.  He'll be fine.

The snowpants are in his bag for recess.

The van doors creak due to the cold.  seriously... I think it's just the cold...

Meri is having a dinner party for her family (myself included) this weekend.  Shub and her want to make us curry like his mom makes.  I'm looking forward to it!

Plus I've got an ASG sewing meeting this weekend. :)  Can't wait!

Finally had a chance to try the striped sweatshirt on Meri this morning and know what I need to do to complete it.

Would love to sew something for myself and that time will come.  Unfortunately not before this weekend's meeting.  Will wear something old to that.   unless...  As I sit here and type, I see a shirt that I've made out of one of Robb's old shirts last spring.  It just needs hemming...  hmmm...  

It looks like it needs an ironing too and a little wishful thinking.

I think I know what I want to do over lunch...

Have a good one!

Glorious weather and shoe drops

 Yesterday morning, we awoke to snow!!!  

This is still October... right??

But it happened before when Ryan was a tot about 27 years ago.  We had to put his winter coat over his costume to trick or treat.  

So nothing new for Iowa... If you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes.

Nothing sticking on the pavement but the grass and my roses got a beautiful layering.

As well as the trees.

and lilacs.

It was glorious winter fall wonderland!!!  A bit chill, but Christmas music was definitely in my mind while we prepped for the day.

Then as Leon and I climbed in the car to head to the bus, we saw this...

That's our apple tree and our fence being munched on...

UGGGGG...

So guess what I spent my free time on yesterday!

While I WAS productive with my spare time, I really felt like I hadn't done much at all at the end of the day.

BUT the branch has been cut down to size and mostly removed and I got Ryan and Jen to pull the rest of the trunk that my little chainsaw couldn't handle off the poor fence and back into our yard.  The fence has been repaired too.

If only 2 ounces of snow can do this, just what other surprises does this winter have in store?...

The cold suck of winter

The night before last was freezing.  And I mean, -5 with a windchill of -25 or more...  It was bad.  The kids boiled some water and tried the steam thing.  I'm thinking she should have tossed it a little higher, because there were some droplets that hit the snow.

 And yes, those are still Christmas lights outside.  

Don't judge me.

But what cool droplets!

As I was getting done with work, my sister, Tammy, organized a Skype call with whomever could make it so we could see Dad & Mom.  Three sisters, a brother and myself joined the call besides my parents.  Dad is so much more alert now and doing much better.  We're working on plans for a nursing home/assisted living type arrangement for the next few months for them both.  He's supposed to stay off his leg for 3 months...  YUCK.

We had to make two calls and the second one made my voice sound like Darth Vader.  I didn't know this until I wondered why everyone was talking over me and no one even chuckled at any of my witty remarks.  How rude.

Most of the time, it was Dad, so I figured he couldn't hear me.  He's forgiven.  

 

So I spoke louder and then got mocked by the others.

I'll get even...

 Check out this bouquet my brouther made for my Dad!

What's the saying?  Fall from a train, climb right back on??

Last night was a blizzard.  Blowing snow creating white outs that prevented me from even seeing the house across the street for LONG periods of time.  And we found mail from a neighbor in our driveway when Robb got home last night.  It makes me wonder what we'll find when the snow melts...

I was planning on cutting out a sample Sweetheart dress for Meri last night, but Leon was being a stinker.  The only way to get him to stay off the computer was to get more involved, so we all took ornaments off the tree, mantle and piano, packing them away.  Leon pitched a fit halfway through because I wouldn't let him jump at the tree from the ottoman to grab a snowman ornament that was up higher.  I'm so mean!  It proved he was tired and ready for bed, so Ryan wisked him upstairs to get ready. 

I took down all the breakables and left one little section of ornaments for him to finish today.  If he doesn't by the time I take lunch, tough noogies to him.

Have a wonderful weekend!  I can't believe it's Friday already, but I'll TAKE it!  

Planning to go see Dad tomorrow!

and of course, read Sonya's book in the car.

I'm McVal and I like warm hugs!

Bees will buzz,

Kids will blow dandelion fuzz

And I’ll be doing whatever snow does in summer

A drink in my hand,

My snow up against the burning sand

Prob'ly getting gorgeously tanned in summer

I’ll finally see a summer breeze blow away a winter storm

And find out what happens to solid water when it gets warm

And I can’t wait to see

What my buddies all think of me

Just imagine how much cooler I’ll be in summer

Dah-dah, da-doo, a-bah-bah-bah bah-bah-boo

The hot and the cold are both so intense,

Put 'em together, it just makes sense!

Rrr-raht da-daht dah-dah-dah dah-dah-dah dah dah doo

Winter’s a good time to stay in and cuddle,

But put me in summer and I’ll be a...happy snowman!

When life gets rough, I like to hold on to my dream

Of relaxing in the summer sun, just lettin’ off steam

Oh, the sky will be blue,

And you guys will be there too

When I finally do what frozen things do in summer!

Slosh, Slush, Sleesh, Honk!

As I was dragging myself out of bed this morning, we suddenly heard some honking from the front of the house.

Geese?A Panic alarm on a car??

Is that coming from OUR house???

Is someone breaking into one of our cars????

Criminy... I think maybe! So I pulled on a bathrobe and my slip-on tennis shoes and went down to the front door which was unlocked. I found my mother-in-law outside in the dark! She was holding some keys. She said that she couldn't turn it off and that it was my daughter's car making the racket.

I turned back to get my daughter's keys but she held them up and said that she had them. She had been trying to move Maddy's car out of the way because Maddy had blocked her in the driveway last night. Who knew Grandma had a new job and had to leave at 6:30am?

So I took the keys and sloshed my way out to the car. It snowed last night!! Slosh is the appropriate word. It's slushy... Slosh, slush, sleesh. As soon as I hit the unlock button, the alarm stopped.

But I'm sure all the neighbors were looking from their cozy windows at me in my robe that gapes...

Underwear?... Really?...

YES! Underwear! Some of the standard gifts I give my kids is new undies and socks for Christmas. It's not the ONLY thing we give them! But look how happy it makes them! It's not like they only get an orange in their Christmas stocking or anything like that... Or a lump of coal even if they deserve it...

When I was a kid, my sister got underwear and I remember a picture of her showing them off after unwrapping them and stretching them for the camera. So I tell my kids to pose with them. We're corny that way...They got some fun stuff too... Gift cards to a shoe store, ear buds. Meri got a camera that she'd been asking for, Ryan got a Fallout 3 lunch box with bobble head and Maddy got cash to shop with. As well as a few other things. There was some confusion when Meri accidentally got to open an SD card from her aunt the day BEFORE she got the camera... Yeah... Meri was happily suspicious. Awesome knitted slippers for us girls from Kshotz!! I've got to get a pic of those... and the mugs the guys got... Thank you Kim! They all fit great and we love them! *thank you card will be sent soon*

Well, the girls are off to go swimming with some friends and the house is quiet again. The trees are frosted over nicely and my frosted cupcake scented candle is filling the room, making me hungry actually...I've got tons to do work wise, so I bid you adieu... have a great day!

It's .... Warm...

Remember the movie Better Off Dead? If you were alive in the 80s and loved John Cusack as much as I did, of COURSE you do! There's that scene where the mother got her husband and herself special hooded coats for Christmas. His is an ardvark. He puts it on and says "It's... warm..."

Cracks me up! Anyway this sets the scene for this post, believe it or don't.

I made mittens last night. I started off with arm warmer samples over the weekend. Forgot to tell you about those, I guess subconsciously for fear I'd tire you out even more and you'd never come back... I worry like that. :\

I didn't take pics of the arm warmers and Meri wore them to school today. But they're basically fleecy fingerless, thumbless gloves that go up almost to your elbows. According to Maddy, they're perfect for playing piano out in the snow. How we're going to get the piano out there when it snows is a different post altogether and I doubt it will happen.
The above picture is the second time I emptied the lint trap out of the dryer when I washed the heavy brown blanket in hot hot water to felt it a bit more. Wow. The nublets that fell off the blanket when I pulled it out of the dryer are in the garbage and look like someone did some clipping on my son's roommates dreadlocks or something you have to clean up in the yard... It looks gross so I won't show you that.

Did some hunting online and found a pattern to make mittens. I'd been looking for something to make those blankets that I showed you yesterday into. After making a sample pair out of some scrap fleece, I figured I was ready to dig into the heavy stuff. However I'd need to make the pattern a little bigger as the blanket fabric is kind of thick. Here is my fleece sample pair.

Meri took them to school too.

Anyway... back to the blankets. My mind tends to wander. I cut into them and only then discovered that two layers of them were too thick to fit under the foot on my sewing machine. *great* *rolling my eyes with sarcasm* So I started stitching by hand. Took 20 minutes to sew around the whole thing and the thumb area. Turned it inside out and it looked pathetic! Every uneven and even stitch was visible. AND it looked like a pot holder. A poorly made one.

So I did something I'd never done before. I took the foot part off the sewing machine and just pulled the fabric through and stitched. The little post that the foot attaches to is the only thing that held it in place. Worked pretty slick actually! You can still see the stitches a little when you turn it right side out, but they're much more uniform and the glove WILL hold together much better.

Here's one of them.

I accidentally turned the brown underside finger area backwards when I did the first one, so left it as if it were intentional.

Using my family as guinea pigs, I broke up their card game and made Robb and Meri both try them on. Meri said they were itchy and I WILL line them with flannel... Just haven't yet. Hubby said they made his hands sweat. Um Honey... It's ... warm...

So I guess I'll be the only one out in the snow blowing out of the drive this winter as I'll be the only one who can wear these blanket mittens. *darn*

OH! Robb also said they're look better with eyes on them. Can you see it?

Yep! I just made wool puppets.

Need help with a cleaning issue...

The kids were home from school for two straight days in a row. The blizzard on Monday struck us homebound for sure! They could have gone yesterday but the wind was still blowing pretty good and the snowplows hadn't made all their rounds yet.

Don't get me wrong! I loved having them home! It was nice having someone to have lunch and joke around with over my lunch break.

But when I went back to work, they mostly hung out in the house on the computer and paid no attention to the chores I gave them or the dogs who meandered thru the house leaving gifts everywhere they went... (mainly due to the fact that their 3pm bathroom break outside had been skipped...)

So, the kids are back to school today and I just dropped the last off at the bus stop. WOOHOO!

So my question is...

How do you clean red lipstick off a yellow/orange schoolbus?

Living in the past...

Ok - I'm sick of this snow and ice... I just scooped a ton of ice off our front walk last night that has been there for the past 3 weeks. The salt finally penetrated...

I want to go back to last summer.

It was warm.

It was sunny.

The yard looked good.

The evenings had sun til at least 9 - 9:30.

Flowers were in bloom.

Trees were lush.

Dogs frolicked outside.


Creeks babbled.

The kids played outside.

Did this take you back with me?

Neat - o!

Ok - here's a trick now.

Quick! Look out the window!
EEEK!!! I guess we've got to live in the now...

Wiiiiii - it's "another" snow day!!!

Neighbor kids came over and I didn't want them in my bedroom, so the Wii came down to the kitchen while I went to work. Girls at the counter playing Rampage, girls walking down the street with my camera... If they don't get back to school soon, we won't get a summer vacation!
Scenes of the day thru the eyes of my kids....

Putting winter in a box...

It started raining last night and today is a huge ice rink everywhere outside... Last night after work, before it got bad, the girls and I headed out to my friends house in the country and Meri saw this creek as we crossed over it. I stopped on the bridge and Meri grabbed the camera. As she climbed out of the car, she muttered, "I'm going to put winter in a box!"

Not sure what she means. But if she can control it... more power to her!!!

A Room With A View

The first picture here was taken on Tuesday. We'd had a bit of snow the previous night, but nothing too bad yet. You can still see the trunk of the tree in the middle of the pic.
Now in this one, taken this morning from my office window, the trunk is gone. Snow has drifted up to the base of the branches! So about 3.5 feet on my front patio...
I spent 1.5 hours in the dark last night running the snowblower. I'm SOOO glad it started! The wind had been blowing all day in the blizzard and made a lot of it rock hard. But my trusty snow blower chopped up those drifts! The pics of our cars is on a different camera, so I'll get those sometime. One huge drift covered the front hoods of all three cars as they were parked in the driveway. I plowed out behind them, had someone back them up, and then noticed that my car in particular had so much snow blown under it, that it was almost high centered on snow! Ouch!

Just to get our mind off the cold... Enjoy these!