On winter & spring.

Last fall, for a hundred reasons, I didn't plant a single bulb, in fact I barely touched the gardens around our house; I'm not entirely certain I winterized anything out there.

I let the gardens fall under the weight of frost and then snow. All winter long, I ignored them, buried deep just beyond my window panes.  I watched the snowflakes pile one on top of the other until I could no longer see the markers at the end of the garden path or the tip top of the peony bushes that still stood tall in their metal cages because I didn't cut any of the dead branches back at the end of the season.  I sat by as the wind whipped snow into first ankle deep, then knee deep then, in spots, hip deep drifts.  Our back yard was a blanket of fluffy white, mostly quiet and tranquil except when the sun deigned to make an appearance.  Then it hurt my eyes to look outside, the glare bouncing on the razor sharp edges of snowflakes.

Slowly, though, as the winter wore on, I began to think about what was buried deep beneath the frigid mounds.  I began to plan for them again. A thought here, a note of something new to plant there. Sporadic, at best, but thoughts nonetheless.  

By Easter, I was ready to rake and pull and cut and make room for something new and lovely out of the fallow and silent.  I had my rain boots on and my rake and clippers in hand, the sun was warm on the top of my head and my expectations of this early forage into the gardens were low - very low. 

So you can imagine my surprise at the small shoots all over the place, carrying on as if I hadn't neglected them at all. Green leaves curling into the sun, reaching up. From the darkness of winter comes forth abundant spring.

The truth is, we all need that rest, the cold cover of a winter season.  And I found in those moments, as I stared in wonder at my garden's ability to persevere and press on, that I appreciated those fledgling green curls of leaf so much more than I ever have before.  In spite of all of that darkness - or perhaps because of it -  we still have the ability to bloom.

Last fall, for a hundred reasons, I didn't plant a single bulb, in fact I barely touched the gardens around our house; I'm not entirely certain I winterized anything out there.

I let the gardens fall under the weight of frost and then snow. All winter long, I ignored them, buried deep just beyond my window panes.  I watched the snowflakes pile one on top of the other until I could no longer see the markers at the end of the garden path or the tip top of the peony bushes that still stood tall in their metal cages because I didn't cut any of the dead branches back at the end of the season.  I sat by as the wind whipped snow into first ankle deep, then knee deep then, in spots, hip deep drifts.  Our back yard was a blanket of fluffy white, mostly quiet and tranquil except when the sun deigned to make an appearance.  Then it hurt my eyes to look outside, the glare bouncing on the razor sharp edges of snowflakes.

Slowly, though, as the winter wore on, I began to think about what was buried deep beneath the frigid mounds.  I began to plan for them again. A thought here, a note of something new to plant there. Sporadic, at best, but thoughts nonetheless.  

By Easter, I was ready to rake and pull and cut and make room for something new and lovely out of the fallow and silent.  I had my rain boots on and my rake and clippers in hand, the sun was warm on the top of my head and my expectations of this early forage into the gardens were low - very low. 

So you can imagine my surprise at the small shoots all over the place, carrying on as if I hadn't neglected them at all. Green leaves curling into the sun, reaching up. From the darkness of winter comes forth abundant spring.

The truth is, we all need that rest, the cold cover of a winter season.  And I found in those moments, as I stared in wonder at my garden's ability to persevere and press on, that I appreciated those fledgling green curls of leaf so much more than I ever have before.  In spite of all of that darkness - or perhaps because of it -  we still have the ability to bloom.

On granola and spring.

Winter is groaning on and on and on.  I am certainly envious of the pictures of spring break and spring I see on Facebook and Instagram.  I want spring.  I want tulips and the start of grass and pretty purple crocuses easing their way out of the ground, and in lieu of all of that in my own back yard, I'd take a vacation someplace warm and tropical.

My yard is still covered with feet and feet of snow, and probably will be for some time...long past the start of spring in a few weeks, maybe even right up until the first day of summer.  And so I'm breathing deeply this week, reminding myself that there is beauty in the snow sparkling in the sunshine.  There is something primitive about the icicles hanging sharply from the roof.  We can still snuggle up in the afternoon, under a blanket and with some hot cocoa and be content to hibernate a little bit longer.  Summer brings busyness and gardening and the lake and vacations.  Right now, we can move a little bit slower, simmer soup a little bit longer, enjoy the days with nothing to do...no running, no errands, no appointments...and instead we can read books and play games and build train tracks that use every ounce of our imagination and ingenuity.  We can spend an afternoon covered in flour, making cookies and singing and stopping for the occasional dance party.

I pulled out my granola recipe last week; actually, I pulled out two granola recipes and kind of married them into one beautiful, easy granola.  I feel sort of hippie when I make granola, and last week was no exception. Finn helped me mix it together using the bits and pieces that I found in our drawers and I had a little Minnesota honey left, so it smelled like spring as it was baking.  I kept it on the counter to cool and crisp up and I couldn't stop snacking on it.  It's delicious on yogurt and even more amazing in these cookies.  I've made these cookies before just the way the recipe reads, but this time I omitted the apricots and blueberries (because I didn't have any) and used the dried cherries and pomegranates that I also used in the granola instead.  I also added a half cup of chocolate chips (because I did have those!) and I used the granola we'd just made.  Finn helped me roll the cookies into balls, but next time I will flatten them a little bit.  These are seriously so good.  I might have given them the blessing to be breakfast cookies - because granola and dried fruit is totally breakfast food, right?

Spring is coming. The windows will open and the fresh air - cool, but not cold - will clean out the stale smell of winter.  Our days will be full of gardening and walking and just being outside.  Until then I've been motivated to dive into closets and cupboards and drawers; cleaning and organizing and purging.  We can't be outside right now, not really when the temperatures still plummet below zero, but when the ground thaws and the green peeks and the tulips reach up out of the dark, we will be there waiting and watching and sighing with relief.

Cherry Granola

• 2 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup dried pomegranates
• 1/2 cup dried dates, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Mix the oats, nuts and fruit in a large bowl.  On the stove top, bring the butter, honey and oil just to a boil; pour over the oat mixture and stir to coat completely.

Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and place in oven for 15 minutes.  Stir and bake another 5-10 minutes longer, just until brown.  Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack stirring occasionally and breaking up larger chunks.  Store in sealed container for up to 2 weeks. 

*Use whatever dried fruit you have/like: raisins, craisins, apricots, dried blueberries.  Same with the nuts: you can substitute walnuts or almonds, I've even done a mixture of nuts if I have some random quantities to use up.

Winter is groaning on and on and on.  I am certainly envious of the pictures of spring break and spring I see on Facebook and Instagram.  I want spring.  I want tulips and the start of grass and pretty purple crocuses easing their way out of the ground, and in lieu of all of that in my own back yard, I'd take a vacation someplace warm and tropical.

My yard is still covered with feet and feet of snow, and probably will be for some time...long past the start of spring in a few weeks, maybe even right up until the first day of summer.  And so I'm breathing deeply this week, reminding myself that there is beauty in the snow sparkling in the sunshine.  There is something primitive about the icicles hanging sharply from the roof.  We can still snuggle up in the afternoon, under a blanket and with some hot cocoa and be content to hibernate a little bit longer.  Summer brings busyness and gardening and the lake and vacations.  Right now, we can move a little bit slower, simmer soup a little bit longer, enjoy the days with nothing to do...no running, no errands, no appointments...and instead we can read books and play games and build train tracks that use every ounce of our imagination and ingenuity.  We can spend an afternoon covered in flour, making cookies and singing and stopping for the occasional dance party.

I pulled out my granola recipe last week; actually, I pulled out two granola recipes and kind of married them into one beautiful, easy granola.  I feel sort of hippie when I make granola, and last week was no exception. Finn helped me mix it together using the bits and pieces that I found in our drawers and I had a little Minnesota honey left, so it smelled like spring as it was baking.  I kept it on the counter to cool and crisp up and I couldn't stop snacking on it.  It's delicious on yogurt and even more amazing in these cookies.  I've made these cookies before just the way the recipe reads, but this time I omitted the apricots and blueberries (because I didn't have any) and used the dried cherries and pomegranates that I also used in the granola instead.  I also added a half cup of chocolate chips (because I did have those!) and I used the granola we'd just made.  Finn helped me roll the cookies into balls, but next time I will flatten them a little bit.  These are seriously so good.  I might have given them the blessing to be breakfast cookies - because granola and dried fruit is totally breakfast food, right?

Spring is coming. The windows will open and the fresh air - cool, but not cold - will clean out the stale smell of winter.  Our days will be full of gardening and walking and just being outside.  Until then I've been motivated to dive into closets and cupboards and drawers; cleaning and organizing and purging.  We can't be outside right now, not really when the temperatures still plummet below zero, but when the ground thaws and the green peeks and the tulips reach up out of the dark, we will be there waiting and watching and sighing with relief.

Cherry Granola

• 2 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup dried pomegranates
• 1/2 cup dried dates, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Mix the oats, nuts and fruit in a large bowl.  On the stove top, bring the butter, honey and oil just to a boil; pour over the oat mixture and stir to coat completely.

Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and place in oven for 15 minutes.  Stir and bake another 5-10 minutes longer, just until brown.  Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack stirring occasionally and breaking up larger chunks.  Store in sealed container for up to 2 weeks. 

*Use whatever dried fruit you have/like: raisins, craisins, apricots, dried blueberries.  Same with the nuts: you can substitute walnuts or almonds, I've even done a mixture of nuts if I have some random quantities to use up.

Let's Pretend It's Spring! (Psych! It's really just another winter storm!)

We played this little game last week called, "Let's Pretend It's Spring!"

The weather got up to 39 degrees two days in a row and it was like a little bit of heaven on our white, frozen tundra.  Uriah and I decided to fully embrace the warm weather by wearing only sweatshirts outside - we were bold: no hats, no mittens; although I did cheat and wear a scarf.  Finn obviously was not allowed to play outside without his full winter-gear, but we did forego his hood and scarf.  The sun was shining, the snow was melting, it totally felt like spring.  I stood in the sunshine, the warm, warm sunshine and I figured that stupid groundhog was full of shit about his shadow and spring and 6 more weeks of never-ending-winter, so we cleaned the snow off of the grill and used it 2 nights in a row!  I'd forgotten how good grilling is...the clean up is so minimal.  I love that.

The downside is that the warm-ish weather causes snow to get sloppy and that gets tracked into the house and I tried really hard not to care because...it was warm and spring-like!  I can handle a little melty, dirty snow on the kitchen floor if it means we can open windows (we did not, by the way, open any windows. Uriah was firm on that one.).  We came to the conclusion that everyone needs new rain boots before spring hits full-force; I really do hate having wet feet and wet pants legs and Finn wore holes in his boots last spring/summer/fall.  I'm not really sure why I didn't throw them away when I did fall cleaning.  The warmer weather also makes snow pants much wetter much sooner; and I resorted to putting his outside clothes in the dryer rather than on the radiator because Finn wanted to play outside often and dry clothes are necessary.

Then, you know...reality hit and we got 12 million feet of snow on Thursday night (actually is was more like 12 inches, but it all feels the same) and school was cancelled on Friday and our grill is once again a snow white mound in the back yard. No more grilling for awhile; back to coats and hats and mittens and boots. I plan to go to Home Depot next week to buy some grass seed.  I'm going to plant it and watch it grow and run my fingers though it because based on the height of the snow piles in my back yard, I will not see grass until at least June.  We might even be able to have a sledding party for Finn's birthday in July.

We played this little game last week called, "Let's Pretend It's Spring!"

The weather got up to 39 degrees two days in a row and it was like a little bit of heaven on our white, frozen tundra.  Uriah and I decided to fully embrace the warm weather by wearing only sweatshirts outside - we were bold: no hats, no mittens; although I did cheat and wear a scarf.  Finn obviously was not allowed to play outside without his full winter-gear, but we did forego his hood and scarf.  The sun was shining, the snow was melting, it totally felt like spring.  I stood in the sunshine, the warm, warm sunshine and I figured that stupid groundhog was full of shit about his shadow and spring and 6 more weeks of never-ending-winter, so we cleaned the snow off of the grill and used it 2 nights in a row!  I'd forgotten how good grilling is...the clean up is so minimal.  I love that.

The downside is that the warm-ish weather causes snow to get sloppy and that gets tracked into the house and I tried really hard not to care because...it was warm and spring-like!  I can handle a little melty, dirty snow on the kitchen floor if it means we can open windows (we did not, by the way, open any windows. Uriah was firm on that one.).  We came to the conclusion that everyone needs new rain boots before spring hits full-force; I really do hate having wet feet and wet pants legs and Finn wore holes in his boots last spring/summer/fall.  I'm not really sure why I didn't throw them away when I did fall cleaning.  The warmer weather also makes snow pants much wetter much sooner; and I resorted to putting his outside clothes in the dryer rather than on the radiator because Finn wanted to play outside often and dry clothes are necessary.

Then, you know...reality hit and we got 12 million feet of snow on Thursday night (actually is was more like 12 inches, but it all feels the same) and school was cancelled on Friday and our grill is once again a snow white mound in the back yard. No more grilling for awhile; back to coats and hats and mittens and boots. I plan to go to Home Depot next week to buy some grass seed.  I'm going to plant it and watch it grow and run my fingers though it because based on the height of the snow piles in my back yard, I will not see grass until at least June.  We might even be able to have a sledding party for Finn's birthday in July.

Tuesday, I feel as though you are the new Monday.

We are still in our pajamas.  The bells have already rang lunch and I can't believe this morning is gone.  The sun is high today but the wind is bitter.  All of my plants are reveling in some Vitamin D in the kitchen; I think I should join them, maybe curl up in a sunbeam on the kitchen floor and just forget the world.  It has finally warmed up to zero degrees and I am waiting once again for laundry pipes to thaw so I can do a load or 2 of laundry.  My camera will not connect to my computer and it is full of fun pictures from celebrating Abby last night (she turns 14 today and Uriah works late tonight, thus the celebration yesterday).  My frustration level is high - especially since I just dumped my camera on Sunday and it worked fine and today it decided to crap its pants.  It probably doesn't help that our computer is old and probably plotting to give up its ghost (which means I have to back everything up to the external hard drive today or risk an even bigger melt-down if it does die).  I guess I will have to write about having a 14 year old tomorrow, but in case you need a dose of the Birthday Girl today, you can find some stellar Abby posts here, here, and here.

Fourteen.  Does this somehow feel bigger than 13?  Yes, I believe it does.  Inching and ticking closer to complete independence.  College visits just around the corner.  Boy-girl parties on her radar.  I think we are all of us in this house aging quicker than I find comfortable.

Finn is whining because he has to clean up the mess that he made in the living room (game chips all over, Christmas books strewn from one end to the other, and every single cushion and pillow pulled off of the couch). Cabin fever has set in.  10 minutes outside might not be so bad, if it were just a few degrees warmer. His ploy to get me to help him when I use my firm voice: "You're scaring me.  Nobody wants to be my friend today."  I can assure you, the sad eyes and the pouty mouth do not work on me.  And if I have to repeat "You put the red chips in the red bag, the blue chips in the blue bag, the yellow chips in the yellow bag, and the green chips in the green bag," one more time, I may have to go out into the frigid back yard myself just to adequately cool off.

Maybe aging and preschool and college aren't such bad things after all...

We are still in our pajamas.  The bells have already rang lunch and I can't believe this morning is gone.  The sun is high today but the wind is bitter.  All of my plants are reveling in some Vitamin D in the kitchen; I think I should join them, maybe curl up in a sunbeam on the kitchen floor and just forget the world.  It has finally warmed up to zero degrees and I am waiting once again for laundry pipes to thaw so I can do a load or 2 of laundry.  My camera will not connect to my computer and it is full of fun pictures from celebrating Abby last night (she turns 14 today and Uriah works late tonight, thus the celebration yesterday).  My frustration level is high - especially since I just dumped my camera on Sunday and it worked fine and today it decided to crap its pants.  It probably doesn't help that our computer is old and probably plotting to give up its ghost (which means I have to back everything up to the external hard drive today or risk an even bigger melt-down if it does die).  I guess I will have to write about having a 14 year old tomorrow, but in case you need a dose of the Birthday Girl today, you can find some stellar Abby posts here, here, and here.

Fourteen.  Does this somehow feel bigger than 13?  Yes, I believe it does.  Inching and ticking closer to complete independence.  College visits just around the corner.  Boy-girl parties on her radar.  I think we are all of us in this house aging quicker than I find comfortable.

Finn is whining because he has to clean up the mess that he made in the living room (game chips all over, Christmas books strewn from one end to the other, and every single cushion and pillow pulled off of the couch). Cabin fever has set in.  10 minutes outside might not be so bad, if it were just a few degrees warmer. His ploy to get me to help him when I use my firm voice: "You're scaring me.  Nobody wants to be my friend today."  I can assure you, the sad eyes and the pouty mouth do not work on me.  And if I have to repeat "You put the red chips in the red bag, the blue chips in the blue bag, the yellow chips in the yellow bag, and the green chips in the green bag," one more time, I may have to go out into the frigid back yard myself just to adequately cool off.

Maybe aging and preschool and college aren't such bad things after all...

Cold & snow & turkey & elves

We hosted Thanksgiving again this year - the 2nd year in a row - and we continued with the Turducken theme of last year.  Another theme that was repeated?  Snow.  And lots of it.  We picked people up from and dropped them off at the airport in snow.  About 20+ inches of snow in a two-day period.  And our snow blower is broken (who has a broken snow blower in Minnesota in December?!).  So, yes - shoveling the old-fashioned way was necessary!

It's common knowledge that I revoke my own license when the snow starts falling in earnest and this year is no different.  I can toodle around town a little bit once the roads have been cleared, but I get major-highway and hill anxiety if I have to do more than run to the grocery store.  So what possessed us to live in an are that gets a million zillion snowflakes a year?  Well, it is beautiful (from the warm confines of my home!).  And I love the summers here - not too hot, not too cool.  I'm like Goldilocks of the north land - it's mostly just right.

Anyway, as I dig through my pictures of the past week with my family I will share.  It was...epic.  So much food, 19 people for Thanksgiving dinner, a round of illness (not in any way related to the dinner), more hooch than you can shake a stick (or a beer can) at, pies that didn't get eaten and now sit in my freezer, Jac's first steps, birthday cake, maple ice cream, loads and loads and loads of laundry.  I am equal parts happy and exhausted and still picking myself up from the week.

Our elf, Reginald VanWinkle, made his appearance this week.  In spite of my planning and calendar, he was a few days late.  Not that it mattered too much, Finn doesn't even know the days of the week yet.  It's a more laid back year for RVW this year.  Last year he had a lot to do, which you can check out here and here.  This year he's more into hiding and snowball fights and reading.

I had big plans for preparing my kids for Christmas this year, but every good intention got over-taken by planning for Thanksgiving and now my energy level is spent.  We do have an Advent wreath this year, and we light a candle and read a little prayer at dinner time each night.  I did not do 24 Days of Christmas Books this year, in spite of the treasure trove of new books I found that I bought at the end of the season last year.  Instead I have them spread all over the coffee table in the living room so we can read them and look at the pictures whenever we want.  And Finn does so, often!  We've been taking advantage of the Christmas movies on Netflix and hot cocoa with marshmallows.

Today Finn and I are going to make some sugar cookies for our religion kids tomorrow.  Abby's fighting a cold and stuffy nose, so she get's to stay far away from any food preparation/dishes because I do not want those germs spreading.  We've been listening the The Best Christmas song list ever (remember when mixed tapes/CDs were so cool to make?!).

I'm hopeful that some Santa cookies will put me in the Christmas spirit (and not the napping spirit!) because I still need to figure out some Christmas cards this afternoon and I found a paper mache ornament project that I think Finn would have fun with.  Honestly, though...the Christmas movies and couch are definitely calling my name...it is the weekend, after all!

We hosted Thanksgiving again this year - the 2nd year in a row - and we continued with the Turducken theme of last year.  Another theme that was repeated?  Snow.  And lots of it.  We picked people up from and dropped them off at the airport in snow.  About 20+ inches of snow in a two-day period.  And our snow blower is broken (who has a broken snow blower in Minnesota in December?!).  So, yes - shoveling the old-fashioned way was necessary!

It's common knowledge that I revoke my own license when the snow starts falling in earnest and this year is no different.  I can toodle around town a little bit once the roads have been cleared, but I get major-highway and hill anxiety if I have to do more than run to the grocery store.  So what possessed us to live in an are that gets a million zillion snowflakes a year?  Well, it is beautiful (from the warm confines of my home!).  And I love the summers here - not too hot, not too cool.  I'm like Goldilocks of the north land - it's mostly just right.

Anyway, as I dig through my pictures of the past week with my family I will share.  It was...epic.  So much food, 19 people for Thanksgiving dinner, a round of illness (not in any way related to the dinner), more hooch than you can shake a stick (or a beer can) at, pies that didn't get eaten and now sit in my freezer, Jac's first steps, birthday cake, maple ice cream, loads and loads and loads of laundry.  I am equal parts happy and exhausted and still picking myself up from the week.

Our elf, Reginald VanWinkle, made his appearance this week.  In spite of my planning and calendar, he was a few days late.  Not that it mattered too much, Finn doesn't even know the days of the week yet.  It's a more laid back year for RVW this year.  Last year he had a lot to do, which you can check out here and here.  This year he's more into hiding and snowball fights and reading.

I had big plans for preparing my kids for Christmas this year, but every good intention got over-taken by planning for Thanksgiving and now my energy level is spent.  We do have an Advent wreath this year, and we light a candle and read a little prayer at dinner time each night.  I did not do 24 Days of Christmas Books this year, in spite of the treasure trove of new books I found that I bought at the end of the season last year.  Instead I have them spread all over the coffee table in the living room so we can read them and look at the pictures whenever we want.  And Finn does so, often!  We've been taking advantage of the Christmas movies on Netflix and hot cocoa with marshmallows.

Today Finn and I are going to make some sugar cookies for our religion kids tomorrow.  Abby's fighting a cold and stuffy nose, so she get's to stay far away from any food preparation/dishes because I do not want those germs spreading.  We've been listening the The Best Christmas song list ever (remember when mixed tapes/CDs were so cool to make?!).

I'm hopeful that some Santa cookies will put me in the Christmas spirit (and not the napping spirit!) because I still need to figure out some Christmas cards this afternoon and I found a paper mache ornament project that I think Finn would have fun with.  Honestly, though...the Christmas movies and couch are definitely calling my name...it is the weekend, after all!

Winter Blues

Finn and I took a walk this morning.  The temperature said 25 degrees, but the wind was brutal.  Next time I will wear an extra shirt and bring a blanket for Finn in the stroller.  We didn't go far and I am, in fact, still trying to warm up.  I think a cup of tea is in my very near future (even though I'd love a cup of coffee; I'd also love to go to sleep tonight).

We are supposed to go to Iowa tomorrow, Finn and I, but the weather is being a spiteful hooker, and if it snows and blows like it's supposed to, we may be stuck here, missing out on all of the fun.  We have great plans to hang out in a hotel and play with Cousin Dane and watch Uncle Dan graduate from taxidermy school and look at all kinds of cool, stuffed critters, and maybe even stop at Ikea on our way home.  What is meant to be will be, and I don't drive in inclement weather (read: snow, rain, strong winds - basically anything that is not sunny and dry and safe!) but I am hopeful that we can make our trip as planned.

We are counting down the days to spring break...well, Finn is counting down the days.  He has zero concept of time and keeps asking me if it is next year yet, which, I guess in Finn time means later.  Anyway, he kept asking me if it was time to go to Mimi's house (Uriah's mom) and I finally had to tell him when we'd taken off all of the chains, then it would be time to go to Mimi's.  I probably shouldn't have told him we were going to the zoo or that we get to see absolutely all of our cousins (both hound and human).  He's pretty excited.  I'm pretty much sick of saying, not today fifteen zillion times an hour and then having him ask, "Please, Mama?  Please can we go to Mimi's house today?" in his very sweet little voice.  Next time we take a trip I am not telling him about until the day we leave.

Finn and I took a walk this morning.  The temperature said 25 degrees, but the wind was brutal.  Next time I will wear an extra shirt and bring a blanket for Finn in the stroller.  We didn't go far and I am, in fact, still trying to warm up.  I think a cup of tea is in my very near future (even though I'd love a cup of coffee; I'd also love to go to sleep tonight).

We are supposed to go to Iowa tomorrow, Finn and I, but the weather is being a spiteful hooker, and if it snows and blows like it's supposed to, we may be stuck here, missing out on all of the fun.  We have great plans to hang out in a hotel and play with Cousin Dane and watch Uncle Dan graduate from taxidermy school and look at all kinds of cool, stuffed critters, and maybe even stop at Ikea on our way home.  What is meant to be will be, and I don't drive in inclement weather (read: snow, rain, strong winds - basically anything that is not sunny and dry and safe!) but I am hopeful that we can make our trip as planned.

We are counting down the days to spring break...well, Finn is counting down the days.  He has zero concept of time and keeps asking me if it is next year yet, which, I guess in Finn time means later.  Anyway, he kept asking me if it was time to go to Mimi's house (Uriah's mom) and I finally had to tell him when we'd taken off all of the chains, then it would be time to go to Mimi's.  I probably shouldn't have told him we were going to the zoo or that we get to see absolutely all of our cousins (both hound and human).  He's pretty excited.  I'm pretty much sick of saying, not today fifteen zillion times an hour and then having him ask, "Please, Mama?  Please can we go to Mimi's house today?" in his very sweet little voice.  Next time we take a trip I am not telling him about until the day we leave.

Let's play catch up via Instagram, shall we?

This is what it looks like here:

Lots of snow.  Lots of cold.  Very, very cold.  Lots of grey.

Lots of clouds.  Lots of wind. Lots of shoveling. Lots of cold.

I love Minnesota.

Because of the lots of cold and lots of snow, 

we've been able to do this a few times:

Uriah got me a hiking back pack for Christmas to lug Finn around in.

I love it.  We only slipped once.  No one was injured.

As soon as it get's a little warmer - you know, 15 degrees sounds reasonable these days,

I told him we'd hike at Gooseberry and look at the frozen waterfalls.

We had our first successful outing yesterday in big boy undies,

and a semi-successful outing this morning.

We're getting there.  My confidence is growing.

My purse is growing, too.

It feels like a small suitcase with the change of pants, undies, and socks added to it.

I made a mini-cake over the weekend - two little 6-inch rounds.

Chocolate Chip Cake with Butterscotch Filling.

It satisfied my need to be creative and the small human's my sweet tooth.

Plus, such a tiny cake means very little in the way of leftovers.

To balance the cake, we eat lots of fruit.

It's keeping us all regular.

Finn has been requesting the yellow cup for his milk.

He looks like a little British tea drinker.

If only I could teach him to hold out his little finger.

I used to have this pink blanket on my couch so that I could snuggle up at night 

when it really gets cold in this old, radiator-heated house.  

Now it's in the back seat of my car so that Finn can snuggle up 

whenever we are forced to leave our old, radiator-heated house.

I don't mess around with frostbite and hypothermia warnings.

Evidently, when the temperature hits -24 degrees without the wind chill, pipes freeze.

Found that out this week.  Good times.  Good lessons.

A brief interlude of wishing we were back in Kansas City 

while I was sloshing around in cold, water-soggy socks

and trouble shooting with Uriah on the phone.

Finn took that moment to relieve himself.  In his pants.  In the worst way.

It was nothing a nap (for Finn) and a bath (for me) couldn't fix.

Except that we have a porcelain bath tub that never really stays warm. 

And an unheated bathroom.

Imagine that.

This is what it looks like here:

Lots of snow.  Lots of cold.  Very, very cold.  Lots of grey.

Lots of clouds.  Lots of wind. Lots of shoveling. Lots of cold.

I love Minnesota.

Because of the lots of cold and lots of snow, 

we've been able to do this a few times:

Uriah got me a hiking back pack for Christmas to lug Finn around in.

I love it.  We only slipped once.  No one was injured.

As soon as it get's a little warmer - you know, 15 degrees sounds reasonable these days,

I told him we'd hike at Gooseberry and look at the frozen waterfalls.

We had our first successful outing yesterday in big boy undies,

and a semi-successful outing this morning.

We're getting there.  My confidence is growing.

My purse is growing, too.

It feels like a small suitcase with the change of pants, undies, and socks added to it.

I made a mini-cake over the weekend - two little 6-inch rounds.

Chocolate Chip Cake with Butterscotch Filling.

It satisfied my need to be creative and the small human's my sweet tooth.

Plus, such a tiny cake means very little in the way of leftovers.

To balance the cake, we eat lots of fruit.

It's keeping us all regular.

Finn has been requesting the yellow cup for his milk.

He looks like a little British tea drinker.

If only I could teach him to hold out his little finger.

I used to have this pink blanket on my couch so that I could snuggle up at night 

when it really gets cold in this old, radiator-heated house.  

Now it's in the back seat of my car so that Finn can snuggle up 

whenever we are forced to leave our old, radiator-heated house.

I don't mess around with frostbite and hypothermia warnings.

Evidently, when the temperature hits -24 degrees without the wind chill, pipes freeze.

Found that out this week.  Good times.  Good lessons.

A brief interlude of wishing we were back in Kansas City 

while I was sloshing around in cold, water-soggy socks

and trouble shooting with Uriah on the phone.

Finn took that moment to relieve himself.  In his pants.  In the worst way.

It was nothing a nap (for Finn) and a bath (for me) couldn't fix.

Except that we have a porcelain bath tub that never really stays warm. 

And an unheated bathroom.

Imagine that.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...or not.

{ 2010 | 2011 | 2012 }

We finally got around to decorating our tree last night.  You know, 6 days before Christmas.  Better late than never?  I've decided that we'll leave it up at least until January 6th (Little Christmas, when the Magi visit Baby Jesus) and we'll celebrate with three little presents for the kids to help them remember Christmas all year long.  What those three little presents will be, I'm not sure yet.  I have some ideas, though, and they did not come from Pinterest this time!

Finn and I returned Monday from a whirl-wind trip to Kansas City where we spent time loving on the newest, teeny-tiniest member of our family.  We went with my youngest sister, and as she is gainfully employed, her time away is limited, so it was an incredibly fast weekend trip; I didn't get to do or see everyone and everything that I wanted to (next time, I promise!) but I did spend an inordinate amount of time holding that sweet smelling baby.  Finn travels like a champ (probably because we've been grooming him from week 2 of life to make the trip between Minnesota and Missouri).  I, however, am starting to feel the effects of 20 hours in the car in a 72-hour span.  And although I still have laundry galore all over my house and empty Christmas totes to take downstarirs and general straightening up to do, it was totally worth it.  I can confidently say that my new nephew is the cutest baby I have seen in two and a half years!  And my sister is amazing.  She is already an awesome mom and I feel really lucky to have been able to share that early time with her and her boys.

So now we have Christmas to prepare for.  A very small, quiet Christmas with just the 4 of us since Uriah has to work on Christmas day.  This is a novelty for us, we've had only one Christmas in our own house with just our little family in all the years that we've been together. The last time this happened was the Christmas before Finn was born; Kansas City had a huge snowstorm and we couldn't go anywhere.  It was awesome.  As much as I will miss my family this year (and I will! A bunch!) I'm very much looking forward to Christmas Eve mass at our church and dinner on our wedding china and staying up late with my husband to put together some awesome gifts and then waking up Christmas morning to find Santa has come!

Between now and then, though, we need to get rid of the laundry piles, go to the grocery store, finish making Christmas cookies and generally make our house less of a tornado and more of a welcoming Christmas retreat!  I'm going to get on that...pinkey swear.

Tomorrow I'm going to share with you the first 12 days of our Elf on the Shelf.  I did really good following my calendar at the beginning, but then we went to Kansas City and somehow I got a little lazy, so this last week has been a bit lame, but Finn still loves looking for Reginald every morning, even if he is only hanging from the chalk board with a naughty and nice list!

Happy Thursday, friends!
Only 5 days until Christmas!
Wishing for some snow here, but I'm quite certain we will have only a spotty-White Christmas!

And P.S. -  Can you even believe how big Finn has gotten in those Christmas tree pictures?  I can't (but then, I mostly live in denial!).  I think he should still be my teeny-tiny boy baby instead of the ball of energy that he has become!

And P.P.S - I just noticed that I never did finish/post Abby's Birthday Retrospective.  Saturday will be a day devoted to our teenager (my list of things to accomplish just got longer!).  I saw last night that she had the movie 13 Going on 30 in the DVD player and I had to smile!

{ 2010 | 2011 | 2012 }

We finally got around to decorating our tree last night.  You know, 6 days before Christmas.  Better late than never?  I've decided that we'll leave it up at least until January 6th (Little Christmas, when the Magi visit Baby Jesus) and we'll celebrate with three little presents for the kids to help them remember Christmas all year long.  What those three little presents will be, I'm not sure yet.  I have some ideas, though, and they did not come from Pinterest this time!

Finn and I returned Monday from a whirl-wind trip to Kansas City where we spent time loving on the newest, teeny-tiniest member of our family.  We went with my youngest sister, and as she is gainfully employed, her time away is limited, so it was an incredibly fast weekend trip; I didn't get to do or see everyone and everything that I wanted to (next time, I promise!) but I did spend an inordinate amount of time holding that sweet smelling baby.  Finn travels like a champ (probably because we've been grooming him from week 2 of life to make the trip between Minnesota and Missouri).  I, however, am starting to feel the effects of 20 hours in the car in a 72-hour span.  And although I still have laundry galore all over my house and empty Christmas totes to take downstarirs and general straightening up to do, it was totally worth it.  I can confidently say that my new nephew is the cutest baby I have seen in two and a half years!  And my sister is amazing.  She is already an awesome mom and I feel really lucky to have been able to share that early time with her and her boys.

So now we have Christmas to prepare for.  A very small, quiet Christmas with just the 4 of us since Uriah has to work on Christmas day.  This is a novelty for us, we've had only one Christmas in our own house with just our little family in all the years that we've been together. The last time this happened was the Christmas before Finn was born; Kansas City had a huge snowstorm and we couldn't go anywhere.  It was awesome.  As much as I will miss my family this year (and I will! A bunch!) I'm very much looking forward to Christmas Eve mass at our church and dinner on our wedding china and staying up late with my husband to put together some awesome gifts and then waking up Christmas morning to find Santa has come!

Between now and then, though, we need to get rid of the laundry piles, go to the grocery store, finish making Christmas cookies and generally make our house less of a tornado and more of a welcoming Christmas retreat!  I'm going to get on that...pinkey swear.

Tomorrow I'm going to share with you the first 12 days of our Elf on the Shelf.  I did really good following my calendar at the beginning, but then we went to Kansas City and somehow I got a little lazy, so this last week has been a bit lame, but Finn still loves looking for Reginald every morning, even if he is only hanging from the chalk board with a naughty and nice list!

Happy Thursday, friends!
Only 5 days until Christmas!
Wishing for some snow here, but I'm quite certain we will have only a spotty-White Christmas!

And P.S. -  Can you even believe how big Finn has gotten in those Christmas tree pictures?  I can't (but then, I mostly live in denial!).  I think he should still be my teeny-tiny boy baby instead of the ball of energy that he has become!

And P.P.S - I just noticed that I never did finish/post Abby's Birthday Retrospective.  Saturday will be a day devoted to our teenager (my list of things to accomplish just got longer!).  I saw last night that she had the movie 13 Going on 30 in the DVD player and I had to smile!

Winter walks & the best Hot Cocoa in the world.

We had our first real snow over Thanksgiving weekend.  Of course, it’s all melted now and we are left with patches of dirty snow lining the streets and a yard too cold and soggy to play in.  But Christmas lights are starting to light up our streets and so the early onset of evening takes on a twinkly orange and red and green glow.  It makes the lack of snow a little bit cheerier.

Last week, though, when we did have snow, I took Finn on a quick walk down to the break wall to check out the waves.  When the wind is just right, and if the waves are big enough, we can hear them in our back yard.  It was snowing lightly (or so it seemed at the time) and I though a quick walk would do us both good.  We bundled up, retrieved the sled and started walking.  The whole walk is about a mile round trip if we don’t walk out to the end of the break wall (which, for obvious reasons, we did not do.) and Finn chose to pull the sled for most of it.  He’s turning into a very good walking partner.

Unfortunately, the closer we got to the lake, the less we were sheltered from the trees and homes in town and the harder the wind blew.  We persevered and made it down to the bay to take in the spectacle of the waves crashing up on the rocks, the snow hanging heavy on the air before filtering down around us and filling up the spaces where moments before our foot prints were visible in the snow.  The force of the waves on the rocks caused Finn to jump a few times and as there were no boats in the harbor, he soon grew bored with sitting on the beach (because I wouldn't let him anywhere near the shoreline to throw rocks in).  I wrapped my scarf tight around Finn’s little face, pulled up my hood to block the wind, and turned around to walk briskly back home.

Once we were back and mittens, hats and snow pants were drying on the radiators, Finn requested his new favorite, hot chocolate.  Coming out of his little mouth, the words are a bit slurred and sort of stuttered and it makes me want to pour gallons of cocoa down his wee throat because he’s just so cute when he fills his cheeks full and then tries to smile at me!  This cocoa is nothing fancy or difficult, in fact, when I was growing up, every time we visited my grandma in St. Paul she made this for us.  I like that I can share this special treat with my best boy to warm him back up after a cold walk outside.

I am looking forward to our next snow fall – hopefully in time to give us a White Christmas** and another walk or two in our Winter Wonderland**.


Best Hot Cocoa (In the World Galaxy)

½ cup sugar
¼ cup Hershey’s Cocoa
Dash salt
1/3 cup hot water
4 cups milk
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in saucepan; stir in hot water.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils; boil and stir 2 minutes.  Stir in milk and heat.  DO NOT BOIL!  Remove from heat; add vanilla.

Optional additions: candy canes, whipped cream, chocolate chips, marshmallows - big and small, and if you're a grown-up and you're really cold, add a shot of peppermint schnapps to really warm your bones.

**Tomorrow I'm going to share with you the best Christmas play list ever!

We had our first real snow over Thanksgiving weekend.  Of course, it’s all melted now and we are left with patches of dirty snow lining the streets and a yard too cold and soggy to play in.  But Christmas lights are starting to light up our streets and so the early onset of evening takes on a twinkly orange and red and green glow.  It makes the lack of snow a little bit cheerier.

Last week, though, when we did have snow, I took Finn on a quick walk down to the break wall to check out the waves.  When the wind is just right, and if the waves are big enough, we can hear them in our back yard.  It was snowing lightly (or so it seemed at the time) and I though a quick walk would do us both good.  We bundled up, retrieved the sled and started walking.  The whole walk is about a mile round trip if we don’t walk out to the end of the break wall (which, for obvious reasons, we did not do.) and Finn chose to pull the sled for most of it.  He’s turning into a very good walking partner.

Unfortunately, the closer we got to the lake, the less we were sheltered from the trees and homes in town and the harder the wind blew.  We persevered and made it down to the bay to take in the spectacle of the waves crashing up on the rocks, the snow hanging heavy on the air before filtering down around us and filling up the spaces where moments before our foot prints were visible in the snow.  The force of the waves on the rocks caused Finn to jump a few times and as there were no boats in the harbor, he soon grew bored with sitting on the beach (because I wouldn't let him anywhere near the shoreline to throw rocks in).  I wrapped my scarf tight around Finn’s little face, pulled up my hood to block the wind, and turned around to walk briskly back home.

Once we were back and mittens, hats and snow pants were drying on the radiators, Finn requested his new favorite, hot chocolate.  Coming out of his little mouth, the words are a bit slurred and sort of stuttered and it makes me want to pour gallons of cocoa down his wee throat because he’s just so cute when he fills his cheeks full and then tries to smile at me!  This cocoa is nothing fancy or difficult, in fact, when I was growing up, every time we visited my grandma in St. Paul she made this for us.  I like that I can share this special treat with my best boy to warm him back up after a cold walk outside.

I am looking forward to our next snow fall – hopefully in time to give us a White Christmas** and another walk or two in our Winter Wonderland**.


Best Hot Cocoa (In the World Galaxy)

½ cup sugar
¼ cup Hershey’s Cocoa
Dash salt
1/3 cup hot water
4 cups milk
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in saucepan; stir in hot water.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils; boil and stir 2 minutes.  Stir in milk and heat.  DO NOT BOIL!  Remove from heat; add vanilla.

Optional additions: candy canes, whipped cream, chocolate chips, marshmallows - big and small, and if you're a grown-up and you're really cold, add a shot of peppermint schnapps to really warm your bones.

**Tomorrow I'm going to share with you the best Christmas play list ever!