MommyCoddle

changing our pace

A few weeks ago, I sat down at the computer and wrote a meltdown email to my husband at work. It said things like, "just getting by each day", "losing everything", "no time for anything", "disorganized", "grumpy", "tired", "always rushing"....

And since email is never the best way to communicate, especially with your own husband, his response wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear...."Maybe if you had dinner ready right when I got home, it would make the evenings less stressful and rushed at bedtime."

Thankfully, I know my husband well and I know that he meant to be helpful with his response, but of course in my fit, I took it all wrong. I think I wrote something back along the lines of, "but it's all the stuff BEFORE dinner that I'm having a hard time with!!!!!" (you jerk!) no. I'm kidding. I didn't call him a jerk.

But after unloading to him in that email, I was somehow reminded that most of the mood of our home life is set by me. I set the tone for our days and my attitudes and outlook are extremely contagious for the rest of my family.

That afternoon, I sat down with a large stack of blank paper and began writing down all the things that I felt needed to change. From simple "rules" like "no toys in the bathroom", to a weekly schedule of which days the kids would take their baths and showers. I put down everything I could think of on those pieces of paper--homeschool lesson ideas, meal ideas, things that I needed to finish or find (ugh.) and reminded myself of the things that would help me feel like I was back in control of our home life.  If nothing else, it felt so good to get all those things out of my head and into print that I could read and scratch through and erase.

Oftentimes, I feel like I need to hit a rock bottom of sorts, before I snap out of my funk, shake off the dust and get my act together again. It takes me getting a little overwhelmed before I make real changes. I wish it weren't that way. But unfortunately, that's often my reality.

So we're not uber-organized now. I'm not the drill sergeant demanding a tightly run household as a result of my latest meltdown. In fact, it may be just the opposite.

I've toned things down. I've slowed down. I've let go of a lot of things. I've said "no" to things. I've made some healthy changes. I've returned to some good habits I used to have.

A few specifics?

I've started planning our meals again.

I've started counting points again. And being extremely mindful about what I put into my body, and my children's bodies--(another thing I want to write about)

I've given my children a few things to look forward to on specific days. Things they can count on.

I've stayed away from the computer until afternoon naps. (sometimes I sneak in a check of email, but that's about it.)

I cut back on my babycenter posts. No more "A Bushel and A Peck".

And the other thing I'm trying to do is not be so super-focused on the things I have to accomplish each day. They weigh me down and distract my attention away from my children.

 Today, it was 11:00am before I had the breakfast dishes completely done and all the school work set out on the table. I let my loading of the dishwasher be interrupted by a trip to the chicken coop, a toddler wanting to feed her doll in the highchair and a little girl wanting to hold her dove and have me take pictures.

And the irony is, though I felt like I was moving at a snail's pace this morning and wasn't getting very far, very quickly, I still got everything accomplished today that needed to be accomplished, today.

And I realized there's still tomorrow. Except for a few things...

Tomorrow, my children will be a little bit older.

And tomorrow they'll be carrying around memories of yesterday.

And I can stand behind them and rush, rush, rush them through to tomorrow.

Or I can stay with them, and alongside them, and savor them. Today.

last week's stars

All these pictures were taken from my front porch over the past few days. There was also a picture of several turkey vultures picking through a bit of roadkill, but I'll spare you those pictures. It was fascinating to watch though. At one point, all the girls were standing in the window making gagging noises--but unable to pull themselves from the action. The vultures didn't let me get very close, but I was close enough to be in awe of how big they are and how ugly their heads are--which I suppose is kind of ironic coming from a guinea owner.

I do admit to wondering where it puts me on the country-bumpkin scale to be photographing turkey vultures tearing apart roadkill. Hmmm.....

Anyway...my whole reason for this post is to share some of my google reader "stars" from last week--posts not necessarily written last week (I'm very behind) but good things to share with you nonetheless.

It's been a long day. And I'm trying to get to bed earlier so that I'm up earlier. But sometimes these quiet evenings are my time to unwind--but maybe they don't need to be quite so loooong.

Oh, and before I forget...thank you for some amazing music suggestions. I've been working my way through the list. So much good stuff I forgot, or discovered. Thank you!

Some starred items from last week, for your perusal:

* soft pretzels, refreshed at Smitten Kitchen
* Grace's baby bunting...now if that baby would just arrive!
* roasted cabbage at thekitchn...dan has requested cabbage in the garden this year. i'm collecting recipes.
* good tip: why you should keep your oven door closed.
* a sneak peek at kristin's new fabric design. (I see mollybirds in there!)
* Lori's thoughts on the perfect homeschool curriculum
* Molly joins the club.
* I want to make my own version of these for the girls. I love them!
* Leslie's latest pattern has me dumping my current project to get started on this.

What's catching your eye in blogland these days?

To all the music snobs

After writing this post, it sounds like there are a few self-proclaimed music snobs among us. So I figure it would be only fitting if we banded together and shared our secrets. There are few things I like better than discovering new, good music.

So friends, what are you listening to? Are you imparting your great taste to your children? What are they listening to?

I'll go first with a few favorites from a variety of genres...and honestly we all listen to the same music and our tastes are all over the map. The other day I was in the kitchen listening to bluegrass, I walked into the living room and Dan had Elizabeth in his arms, and the girls around him dancing to Dean Martin. Oh, and lest you worry, on some of the "grown-up" music we listen to, I do censor some of the songs.....

1. My all-time favorite children's CD: Renee And Jeremy : It's a Big World. Watch it on YouTube, with another favorite song, Night Mantra.
2. Anything by Elizabeth Mitchell, though I'm rather fond of You Are My Little Bird
3. Catch the Moon by Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell.
4. When the girls were a little younger we were big into Laurie Berkner's CD, Whaddaya Think of That? . But I burned out and we haven't listened to it in awhile. But it's great.
5. Innocence Mission: Now the Day Is Over ...probably no. 2 on my list. So good.

Other here and there faves:  Woody Guthrie , Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary (I feel like "Peter, Paul and Mommy" is the soundtrack from my childhood.) Smithsonian Folkways Children's Music Collection, Best of the Land of Nod Store Music, we also do some classical, some odd Russian Folk music, we've even been known to bring home a CD of gregorian chant from the library. 

In the "not necessarily intended for kids" category, but other stuff we like and all listen to:

6. Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
7. Gillian Welch : Orphan Girl was the song I sang to emma every night.
8. Anything Patty Griffin
9. Emmylou Harris...they are really into the story behind the song Kern River right now. And this one is a classic favorite .
10. Dean Martin
11. The John Michael Talbot Collection is our Sunday morning standard.
12. The Mills Brothers
13. Fiddler On The Roof. The movie , the music , the videos on YouTube--Le chaim, the bottle dance, "tradition", matchmaker, "If I Were A Rich Man". They can't get enough. Elizabeth cheers when it comes on, shakes her belly and says something that sounds a lot like "yubba dibby dibby dum".

So I know I'm forgetting some good ones, but that's a sampling. I'd love to hear what you're listening to!

**That second picture is an oldie of Emma--as in it's on one of the first pages of my flickr photostream, take me back to the beginning, kind of oldie. It slays me. I can hardly look at it.

Happy Friday. Happy Weekend.

chocolate covered granola OR not enough protein at lunch

They say that necessity is the mother of invention.

And there was definitely some inventing going on in my kitchen today. But I'm not sure how much necessity played into the inventing--unless you count a necessity for chocolate, or a necessity to use up the chocolate that was melting in my microwave.

I did not start out planning to make chocolate granola. I started out planning to make this simple peanut butter fudge-ish recipe that I have been making since high school.

I unwrapped the chocolate, started its slow melt in the microwave, started melting a little bit of butter in the pan and went to the kitchen table to get the new container of peanut butter out of my Target bag...

Apparently I didn't bring home the bag that was carrying my peanut butter, a packing envelope and two cans of soup.

Can I pause for a small tirade, just for a second?

 It really bugs me the way Target checkout people don't put your bags in your cart for you. The minute they hand you a receipt they start on the next person in line. Leaving my stack of bags to get muddled in with the next person's stack of bags and before I know it, in the hub-bub of getting my two older girls away from the gift registry computers or the tubes of candy that have spinning fans on the tops, and my toddler slipped back down into the straps of the shopping cart and back into her coat and hat...I've somehow lost track of how many bags I should be leaving the store with. Could you please, just put my bags in my cart for me? Or give me ten more seconds of attention before you move on to the next person so you know I know where all my bags are?

(Or maybe I could have just remembered my reusable bags so that I recognized which bags are mine.)

Anyway.

No peanut butter. At this point, I begin to think that God must be saving me from myself and doesn't want me making a recipe that begins with chocolate, peanut butter and butter....but I also don't want to waste the expensive melted chocolate that is sitting in my microwave.

I begin to literally walk from cupboard to cupboard, opening the doors, looking inside and trying to determine what I could possibly coat with chocolate.

I considered pretzels. But felt it was too time-consuming.

I considered cereal, but didn't like the ones I had to choose from.

I considered uncooked pasta. Though not for long.

Then I saw the large glass jar of granola sitting on my counter. I love granola. I like chocolate. How would they be together? I will confess to having a momentary daydream of how this was going to make a great story when my instant-success chocolate granola home-based business was featured on the Food Network.

I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper, poured about two cups of my granola into the melted chocolate and spread it out in a thin layer on the baking sheet.

Then, crazy woman that I am, I added sprinkles. (For the enjoyment of my children, of course.)

I let it cool, broke it into chunks, tasted a piece, bagged it up and stuck it back in my cupboard.

The results--pretty good. Nothing to write home about. (though obviously something to blog about). I think it has potential though. I'd prefer a better granola to chocolate ratio. As in more granola, less chocolate. But I really like the idea of it. And the sprinkles just look happy. I feel like this could have some good gift-giving potential, if I could figure out my ratios. I could see it wrapped in little parchment lined boxes.

I'm not sure what it is with my kitchen wackiness lately. First the paper-punch crackers. Now chocolate granola. I think tomorrow I'll do something really traditional, like make chicken noodle soup and a loaf of bread, just to get my feet back on the ground and my head out of the clouds. That and have some more protein at lunch, so I don't find myself in the kitchen at three in the afternoon trying to figure out what to cover in chocolate.

digital scrapbooking with kids?

I have to confess, I've never thought of myself as the scrapbooking type. Too cutesy, maybe? Too many things to buy to get started? I'm not sure what exactly....

But when I discovered ali edward's blog, and saw some of the things she was creating, it started to stir a little interest in me. I thought, "I kind of like that. I want to do something like that!"

And then this summer when I went to lunch at my grandmother's and my dad mentioned, "Oh, your second cousin (once removed, or something) Katie is going to be at lunch today. And I think she's a blogger, too." and that "blog" turned out to be designer digitals, and she turned out to be the founder/designer/owner....well....a whole lot MORE interest was piqued.

And then Katie and I started talking and brainstorming....and then we started thinking about the fact that I homeschool...and then all of a sudden I couldn't stop thinking of all the ways I could use digital scrapbooking with the girls and with the things we were learning.

When they ached to do something on the computer, we could sit down together and do something a little more creative and interactive. And we could talk and create. And I could nonchalantly assess what they were learning and remembering....and....and.....

So, at this point there is a big gap between my ideas and my skills. But we're dipping our toes in the water around here. I've got lots of ideas, and I'm slowly bringing them together.

And with all the big egg news of late, it seemed like the obvious place to start.

I give you our first dip into the world of digital scrapbooking. For now, I see us creating pages that are reflective. A collection of daily journals, highlights, moments from our day, things we don't want to forget.

For these pages, I created the layout and the backgrounds. The girls dictated the text to me and chose some of the colors. And it was a lot of fun. Emma has been designing pages in her own journal, with pencil and paper. Things that she wants to turn into digital scrapbook pages. She's writing things down and drawing pictures and making plans.

I think this is going to be a lot of fun.

The details:
Background: Little Forest Friends Kit
Eggs! text: Wynken, Blynken and Nod Kit
Hanging Tags No. 1
Hinged Frames No. 3
Date Strips No.3
(chicken prints via google images with a litle tweaking)

cause for celebration

I feel like a proud mother. Or maybe a proud mother hen. We've been waiting for this day since September. And lately, with all the spring-like weather, and rooster hanky-panky, I had a feeling it would be happening soon. We even gave them a freshly cleaned out coop and fluffed up those nesting boxes, just as a little encouragement.

Someone else in this house has been anticipating this day even more than me.

So when I woke up Friday morning to, "MOM!!! WAKE UP! You are going to scream your pants off!" I knew what was coming before I even opened my eyes.

(And yes, Emma does wake up before me some times. And she sneaks downstairs and does things like burn toast and set off the smoke alarm (Thursday), or sit and draw pictures at the kitchen table, or bring all the outside barn cats into the mudroom for "snuggling". )

On Friday, she must have sensed it was THE day, because she got up, got dressed and went to let the chickens out and check for eggs, very early.

And she was right!

EGGS!!! WE HAVE EGGS, people! Three of them, in fact. And two of them later in the day--because, you know she checked almost hourly. That's one egg from every hen.

I feel so proud.

And we're keeping track--the official "chicken chart" has been placed on the kitchen wall and a tally system is in place. So far, we've collected eight eggs. And Dan, to the shock of our children, fried up a few of those eggs Sunday morning. The girls, apparently, are on an egg strike.

And when I went to the grocery store on Sunday afternoon, I walked right on by those shelves of eggs. There's nothing like the feeling of producing your own food, even just a little bit.

Gets me excited for this year's garden.

And makes me want to give these hens a day at the spa or something...for all their egg-laying work.

the winners and a recipe (if you dare)

If I told you how I made these crackers, I think some of you might think it was a small stroke of genius, and others of you might think it was unsanitary and gross. But when I went searching in my drawers for a small heart-shaped cookie cutter yesterday, I came up empty. And you know, that heart-shaped paper punch wasn't the cheapest thing in the world....and those sheets of wonton wraps fit so nicely into the paper punch, and slide out so easily.....and then perfectly-formed, crispy, crunchy salty little heart-shaped crackers are born and I'll never look at another paper punch the same way again.

If you're interested in the details, aside from the paper-punch part, the crackers can be made from wonton or egg roll wraps (in your produce section). Brush both sides with olive oil, salt them (or cinnamon, whatever floats your boat.) Bake them on a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper, 350 degrees for a few minutes until golden brown. But watch closely they go from brown to burned while your back is turned. Hey, that rhymes!

Alright, alright. Enough. Here are the winners for last week's fun round of giveaways. Thank you all for stopping by, playing along. Come visit again and even say hello, will you? There will be more giveaways, too...so stay in touch.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::THE WINNERS ARE ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Milkshake CD and DVD: Melissa H.

We SERIOUSLY need some new music around here. I'd love to win this one, thanks!

Posted by: Melissa H | February 13, 2009 at 05:59 PM

Blue Yonder's Book of Days: Paula

I thought I posted, but didn't see the secret code thingy. I'd love to be entered in your drawing...dd would love this.
Paula

Posted by: Paula | February 13, 2009 at 10:22 AM

Handmade Hellos, from Chronicle Books: Carrie

How sweet is that book! Awesome.

Posted by: Carrie | February 11, 2009 at 12:26 AM

PEEK Mobile Email: Jenny Bracken

Sounds great! Pick me please. I've never even heard of one before.

Posted by: Jenny Bracken | February 10, 2009 at 11:29 AM

Winners: Send me an email (find it on the About page) with your contact information and I'll get the details worked out!

Show & Tell: Milkshake Band

I have to admit, I am seriously picky about the music my children listen to, especially the children's music they listen to. In fact, I wouldn't be at all offended if you called me a music snob. So when a package arrived in the mail containing a CD and DVD from "Milkshake" I was skeptical. I was pretty sure it wouldn't meet my high standards....

I was wrong. I was pleasantly surprised with the music and lyrics on this CD. Let me tell you, this CD has some pretty good dance party music on it, too--tutus and eye patches optional. The songs were easy for my kids to learn, so easy that after about the second playing, "we've got a band, yeah, yeah!" was on repeat in my head. The songs talk about things kids think about--imagination, pirate ships, super heroes, baseball and birds (one of my favorite videos on the DVD.)

For Emma, it was like she'd discovered her first "cool" music. And I watched her as she carefully mimicked the dances and motions of the female lead singer.

From the interviews on the DVD, the song lyrics and the overall vibe of the CD, I get the feeling these Milkshake folks are good people.

And you know, I have an extra copy of the DVD and CD to send to one lucky family.

Leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway. The winners of all of this week's giveaways will be announced on Saturday, February 14th. 

Show & Tell: The Book of Days

Some days, it is the community of mothers in the blogging neighborhood that keep me going--that inspire me, that encourage me, that remind me about things that truly matter matter in life. They remind me to slow down, take note, to enjoy each moment of the day for what it may or may not be. And Stefani, of Blue Yonder is one of those people. Her blog is full of inspiration, honesty and some downright funny tales from her life raising three young men in Texas.

This year Stefani launched a new project called the Book of Days. It is a monthly journal that she keeps with her children and now shares with all of us. Stefani describes the Book of Days:

The Book of Days is a monthly journal of mindful experiences, natural pursuits, yummy recipes, and science experiments. It is meant to be a simple way to make family time fun.

Each edition comes with illustrated pages to download, print and put in your own binder. You can make one for each child, or just make one big family book. The Book of Days is geared toward families with children ranging in age from 3 to 12, but could be adapted to suit older or younger kids.

The book also comes with a detailed Parent Field Guide that provides seasonal reading lists, ways to expand each month’s activities, and ideas for slowing down and holding onto the magic of each day of the year. The activities are simple and only require easy-to-find supplies that you may already have at home. However, with the added suggestions in the Parent Field Guide, each section can be expanded to provide several days of fun and learning. 

I can speak from experience that the book of days is a great way to mark time with your children. It is brimming with simple, fun ideas and is a wonderful way to capture your days.

And Stefani is offering one of you the chance to win a year's subscription to the Book of Days. Each month you'll be sent a link and code to download your free copy to print and use! Thank you, Stefani.

You can read more about the book of days, here at the Blue Yonder Ranch online shop . You can also see the book of days in action in the flickr group.

You know the drill....leave a comment for your chance to win. All winners from this week's giveaways will be announced on Saturday, February 14th.

Intermission

Hi Friends.

I need to take a short break from giveaways for today, but I'll be back on Friday with two giveaways to catch up, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with some pictures from the girls ride this morning. Emma sat through a pretty good little buck, and Elizabeth had her first taste of riding. I think we're in serious trouble. Let's just say there were lots of tears when we peeled her fingers from the reigns and removed her from the saddle.

More friday!!

Show & Tell : Handmade Hellos

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you have probably picked up bits and pieces about my grandmother, whose farm we lived on for our first two years here in Maryland. Beyond the fact that she is the mother to fifteen children, there are countless things about her that impress and inspire me. As I get older (and I'd like to think, wiser) I notice little bits of her influence in my life--whether it be her granola recipe, the basket I keep at the bottom of my steps and carry up each night, or washing out my ziploc baggies and keeping them on the same drying rack that she uses in her kitchen.

If she's not in the garden, you could most likely expect to find her way in the back if the house, just off the back living room, sitting at her desk, stamps and address book laid in front of her, NPR crackling on the radio. My grandmother keeps in touch. And she keeps in touch the old-fashioned way. A letter, a clipping, a remembered birthday, holiday or special event.

In all my years, I've never known her to forget my birthday, and I am one of forty plus grandchildren. Her correspondence and letter-writing is a gift to many people and an inspiration to me in an age of email and hurriedness. (I told you I feel the pull of two very different worlds.)

So several weeks ago, when I saw Amy post on her blog about the book, Handmade Hellos, to which she's a contributor, I felt drawn to it immediately. If you need a little push to get out the pen and paper, and stamps again, this is the book.

There are many projects I love in this book, just a few on the list....

.....the self-mailing note (my girls will love this) by Darling Clementine
....the fabric collage card by Sally
....the pop-up birdie hello by Kate Sutton
....the library card birth announcement by Paper + Cup
....the new baby nest card by Abigail Brown

I could go on....the book has clear, illustrated directions, includes templates, each project is given a difficulty level and there is a great source section in the back (one of my favorite parts of any magazine or book).

And of course, thanks to the sweet people at Chronicle Books, I have a copy to give away!

Leave a comment to throw your name in the hat. I'll announce all the winners of this week's giveaways on Saturday, February 14th!!

Happy Writing!!

Show & Tell : Got PEEK?

I'm so excited to start this week of giveaways off with a really fun one! I have to admit that I have two feet planted firmly in two different worlds--one part of me loves a good old-fashioned existence--baking bread, feeding chickens, knitting by woodstove. The other part of me enjoys a bit of technology now and then--a speedy new laptop, an iPod, a FLIP (don't have one, but wish I did....)

So when I heard about the new PEEK device, it was really intriguing. For those of us that don't require a smartphone with all the bells and whistles, but still like the option of staying a bit connected, the PEEK is perfect. It is a small, slim, handheld device that is dedicated to personal, mobile email.

It is that simple. A mobile device that allows you to access (and respond to) your email anywhere. It is easy to use, easy to set up and a pretty inexpensive alternative to fancy smartphones.

And one of the best features, in my opinion--no contracts! Twenty dollars a month gets you email access to several accounts, even unlimited text messaging and there's no two year contract that you've signed in blood. You can cancel at any time.

When my computer crashed a few weeks ago, my PEEK really got a workout. I found it easy to use, easy to type on and it even kept many of the contacts that I thought I had lost. It was a lifesaver in many ways.

Right now, PEEK is offering a great deal for Valentine's Day--a new PEEK is only $49 when you sign up for one month of service. And it even comes in some swanky new colors.

Read more about the PEEK here.

But, being the week of LOVE here on my blog, I have one to give away! Leave a comment to win yourself a fancy little PEEK delivered right to your door. Whether you keep it or give it to someone you love, is up to you.

You know the drill....leave a comment and your name will be thrown in the hat.

I'll be announcing the winners of all this week's giveaways on Saturday, February 14th.

peaceable kingdom

When the chickens were little, I really wondered how I'd ever save them from the cats that wander around our farm.

I remember when we kept the chicks in a wire cage out in the yard--the cats would crouch in front of it, and jump on top of it, and stick their little paws through the holes of the chicken wire.

But somewhere along the way, it looks like they've reached some sort of agreement. Perhaps the chickens have just gotten a little too big for them now.

I did see "Orange Juice" take a leap for a chicken the other day when I was out feeding them in front of the coop. But I could tell he wasn't putting much effort behind it. I think he just likes to hear them squawk and get their feathers in a bunch.

For the winter, I moved the cat food onto our picnic table because the chickens were picking it clean when I had it out by the garden shed. I thought I had them fooled until Henny Penny and her friends discovered where I was hiding it. When I open the hen house doors in the morning, she makes a beeline for the deck, and now she's started bringing her sisters with her. No wonder I'm making weekly trips to the Mill for cat food.

Meanwhile, the rooster seems to be coming in to his proper role in the last week. And he is being quite promiscuous with the poor hens. Dan and I talk in code or use fancy words for what we're observing--(ie. promiscuous), if we need to address it in front of the girls. Emma tried to pin me down the other day about what the meaning of "that 'p' word you keep saying about the rooster"  is, and I told her it meant he was being sassy. We'll get to it eventually.....

But with a little taste of spring weather today, a freshly cleaned out coop, and fluffed up nesting boxes, I'm hoping that we might be getting our first egg very soon. The girls already planted one in the nesting boxes a few weeks ago, to trick me. I sure hope they know that our chickens won't be laying white eggs with "EB" stamped on the ends.

Happy Monday, friends.....Keep checking in, I'm planning to share some giveaway love this week on the blog...a little valentine from me, to you!

shopping for girls

I just got back from a trip to Old Navy with Emma. Every time I go looking for clothes for her, I come home frustrated and disappointed. She is seven. And she's wearing clothes from the girls' department. Does everything have to have something written across the seat of her pants? Or be cut so low she can't crouch down to play a game on the floor without showing off her undergarments? Or cut so low I'm seeing her bony little bird chest? Or so tight, it's like a second set of skin? Or glittery? Does everything have to be seven going on seventeen?

We left with a few basic tees in solid colors. A few short sleeved tees to layer over them. And a hoodie. No mini skirts. No hip-hugging, thigh-hugging flares. No "too cool for school" logo tees. No triangle-top bikinis.

It makes me appreciate the classic looks of catalogs like Lands' End and LLBean, or MiniBoden, and people like Joanna and other small-scale shops and etsy sellers. Though they aren't always in my price range, they are clothes I feel comfortable with. They are classic. They are made for kids who are being kids. I appreciate that more every time I go shopping.

Where do you shop for your children? Though we're blessed with some really nice hand-me-downs, and some pretty good second-hand shops, sometimes there are still holes in the wardrobe that need to be filled.

But, in Old Navy's defense, I will say that they have carried an amazing line of games and clothes this winter featuring illustrations by Charley Harper. The girls each got something from the collection for Christmas--the memory game, the alphabet cards, the board book and a tee. When I was in the store today they had all the games on sale and I even snagged a few coloring books. I can't get enough. I probably should have stocked up on more games to put away for gifts.

So I suppose in Old Navy's defense, that little score made the frustrating trip a little more worthwhile.

Just an Innocent Walk in the Snow

So I thought it would be a good idea to go outside first thing this morning. Get the girls some fresh air. Spend a little time exploring in the lightly falling snow.

Look for tracks.

Look at the snow hanging delicately on the pine branches.

Feed the chickens.

Take a few pictures.

By the time we made it out to the back field, around to the chicken coop and back to the front walk again..............

Mary and Emma had gotten in an argument because Mary wouldn't walk down to the stream with Emma. And Emma pushed Mary, sending her tumbling into the snow. Which left Mary crying over freezing cold hands and wet knees. (Mary can't handle any extreme temperatures--hot or cold.)

Emma then continued to give me a little attitude and was sent into the house and her attendance at tonight's 4-H meeting is in jeopardy.

Elizabeth tripped over her own feet and had an up-close encounter with the sidewalk.

By the time I got to the front door, I had three crying girls in the middle of meltdowns while I tried to remove coats, and hats and boots, attend to freezing cold hands, deal with attitudes and check for bloody chins.

Sometimes, in these moments, I have to admit, that I lose my cool. But sometimes the absolute craziness of it becomes suddenly humorous to me, and I'm able to handle it with a cool attitude and a calm demeanor.

Thankfully, that's what happened this morning. And I still managed to snap off a few pictures of the pretty snow.

I love it when things don't go exactly as planned.

Happy Tuesday.