the kitchen barber shop

Last Sunday evening we put Ben in his booster seat, started Elmo on the laptop and turned on the clippers.  Without a fuss he got a haircut like Daddy.  :)  He didn't make a peep - except when we had to find another Elmo video.  What a big boy!  And of course you get chocolate at this barber shop.

a valentine for you

 

Hope your day is full of love.

XOXO

indoor gardening 101

Yesterday morning I was washing my face and brushing my teeth in our bathroom (with the door open of course), and I heard Ben quietly talking to himself.  I knew he was in our bedroom, but I figured he was just talking or looking at one of his books.  I was wrong. 

As I was drying my face, I peeked out to find him standing behind two of our houseplants - well, one small ficus tree (Willie - as in Willie Nelson), and one large spider plant.  This is actually one of his favorite places to go when he needs a little privacy, but he was obviously not doing that.  Instead he was pulling leaves off of the spider plant, ripping them apart into small pieces, and staying quite focused throughout the process.  I asked him what he was doing, and he replied "picking carrots" and "picking green beans".  I did tell him to stop picking the green leaves, but he could pull the brown ones.

Enjoy the weekend! 

still sewing

I'm happy to report that I am still sewing and filling orders.

And I look forward to updating my shop... one of these days.

cabin fever

This was what our day looked like yesterday.  

Lots of hot cocoa for our snow removal crew (aka Dad)

Our backyard.

This is our garden, and if you look closely you can see the top of large Tonka dump truck just peeking through the snow.

I love the look of the untouched snow.

Our front steps, and sidewalk.

Inside we did puzzles.

Ate snacks.

I'm horrible about constantly eating when the weather is cold and I am stuck inside.

I'm probably gaining 2lbs per snow day!

 And spent a lot of time on Sodor Island.

Ben loves to "make tracks to great destinations", and it is simply adorable when he tells you those exact words.  Jake got him to start saying that quite a while ago, but now you can really tell what he is saying.

 I have trouble getting Ben to look at me for a picture, but I asked him to show me all of his trains and smile.  Here's what I got in return.

Enjoying these winter days, but looking forward to green grass, warm sunshine and homegrown veggies.

outside

The perfect night for beef stew and cornbread.

Hot cocoa.

And sewing.

looking forward to the weekend

Wow!  It's been a crazy, cold time around here lately.  

But we've survived - thanks to family and friends, of course.  :) 

Jake has been traveling quite a bit lately, and since I've started working part-time (back in December) it's been a little hectic around here.  Thank goodness for a nice visit from Grandma, an overnight with Grandpa & Mima, a day with Nanna, and good friends that have helped us out and kept us busy.  

 COLD & DRY - gotta love the hair!

This last week was so cold that Ben and I found ourselves trying to keep busy at home for most of our days.

These puzzles were in Ben's stocking at Christmas - he loves them and has really taken to putting puzzles together.  These are 12 piece ones, but Grandma already upgraded to a couple of 24 piece ones that he does quite well too.

A couple of weeks ago, I started getting them out and working with him to put them together.  Then I put four pieces together for him to work on while I started washing dishes.  I never expected him to stay focused and work them through himself, but I washed the dishes and went into the living room to find a completed puzzle.  It made me really happy and a proud mama - how he grows and learns just amazes me!

Another of his favorite activities is playing with his new art easel that Grandma purchased for him during her visit last week.  We have quite a few local consignment and thrift shops in our little town and this was a great bargain for $3!  Thanks Grandma.  :)  It came with all the alphabet and number magnets and Grandma furnished some new dry erase markers.  

Ben loves it!

 And we have also done a little bit of decorating.

 

 

I don't much care for our light fixture above our table, 

but it really works well for hanging things.

It's got the hearts now, but here's how it looked on Christmas Eve.

I decided to leave the snowflakes up for the rest of winter - they make me happy.

However, this doesn't...

One of my goals for this year to eliminate our home of all the remaining wallpaper and paint.  So you can imagine how excited I was to find that under our lovely plaid wallpaper in the kitchen/dining area, there are two more layers.  And they're not the easy pull away kind either.  Oh well... I'll appreciate the completed project more in the end.  :)  Right?

I love our little house, but it is truly "vintage".

Have a wonderful (warm) weekend!