Day of Rest

Getting a head start on the day of rest.

(No, Ivy rarely takes that pink dress off.)

Hello, Snow

Our family has experienced quite a climate change since we moved to Reno. Neither of the kids had ever lived in a snowy place, only seeing snow in Idaho during a couple of Christmases. It's been hard getting them to bundle up -- Ivy especially. She turned into a limp, screaming noodle when I tried to put a heavy coat or boots on her. Things have gotten better, though.

A couple of weeks ago it snowed for the first time since we moved here and Sophie, immediately upon waking, wanted to go out in it. (Those were the anti-puffy coat days, thus the unzipped hoodie. She was only out for a few minutes.) She still had her "just woken up" face, too. Ivy wasn't interested.

Later that day she went back out (with a real coat) and I helped her make her first snowman. The snow was really dry and there wasn't a whole lot, so this little guys was the best we could do. Ivy still wasn't interested.

Until a few days later when it DUMPED. Nice, moist, sticky snow made the perfect snowman. She wanted to show my parents (who came to visit over President's Day weekend -- I'm lame and have no pics), but he fell over later that afternoon as the wind picked up and it snowed some more.

Too bad. He was pretty cute.

(Ivy still wasn't interested. She hasn't been out to play in the snow once and today was only the second time she put on her boots without a fight. Maybe she's a true California girl :))

Baking (and the mysterious disappearing cookies)

The week before Valentine's Day the girls helped me make homemade graham crackers which we made into Nutella S'mores. (My new favorite treat!)

I'd promised them a while ago that we'd decorate cookies for Valentine's Day. Since I had extra graham cracker dough in the fridge, we made the cookies out of that.

As we started to frost them, I noticed that even though we were halfway done, none of the decorated cookies ended up on the plate.

I wonder where they went?

Happy Valentine's Day

From two affectionate little girls.

(But that affection is sometimes one-sided. Everyone needs their space sometimes.)

Happy Sunday!

P.S. The pink fuzzy ball Ivy's holding is actually the pom-pom from the end of her hood, pulled under her armpit.

5 Things

1. I don't know if it's the cold(er) weather and being cooped up in the house more than normal or if the newness of the move has started to wear off. Sophie's been a bit kooky lately.

Kooky is a very generous term for it, though.

This is the face I get most of the day. A combination of playful sass, defiance, and "every idea you have is lame, mom." Things are fun right now.

2. Ivy's moving right into her two's nicely. Her highs are higher and her lows much louder and vocal. No, we don't usually eat naked with towels on our heads at the table. The kids wanted some more oatmeal after their bath and Ivy stays naked with a hooded towel for as long as she possibly get away with. (Not so long now that she's had two accidents on the floor already and we've only been here 4 weeks. I don't think the "bare-bum" potty training method will work with her. She doesn't care where she goes.)

3. We've had to get more creative with our entertainment so we don't end up watching movies all day. One of the joy school lessons I taught last fall suggested setting up an obstacle course around the yard for the kids to go through. It was a big success, so I tried to adapt it for inside our house since we have a long stretch of running space. They LOVED it. It didn't make a huge mess and it kept them busy for almost an hour. (There's a video of the whole thing below these two collages.)

The obstacle went like this:
1. Climb over the kitchen chairs. (didn't show at the beginning)
2. Kick over the stack of pillows.
3. Jump up and touch the squares taped to the wall.
4. Throw the toys in the basket.
5. Walk over the step stools.
6. Do a somersault on the yoga mat.
7. Crawl into the tent and get a "prize" (which was just some of their favorite toys I threw in there)

Favorite part of the video -- Ivy's "somersault" at the end. Love it.

4. Steve took the exam this morning to get his chiro license in Nevada. He thinks he did pretty well. He'll get his results (and his license, hopefully) in about 4-6 weeks. So far he loves and meshes really well with the office he's working in and he's learning a lot.

5. Unfortunately the only news on my end is rather tragic. I almost cut the tip of my finger off during breakfast yesterday morning. I've done it twice to my thumb and just wrapped it up without going to the doctor. This time it bled. . . and bled. . . and bled. . . so I let the kids finish their breakfast, while thinking, "should I just hurry and pack them in the car? I think the possibility of losing my finger is more important than them finishing their oatmeal." A little dramatic, I know, but it was starting to turn a little purple, and I got nervous.

After dropping off the kids at Steve's office (luckily there are places in the back they could hang out and they were having a slow morning) I went over to the urgent care and got four stitches put in it. One of the stitches went right through my fingernail. A little weird, but that's the only way she could get that part of the cut closed. 

It feels a little better. But I still feel like crying every time it gets bumped. Sophie's prayer tonight summed things up pretty well:

"Help mommy's finger to feel better. . . . help mommy to be careful and not go too fast with the knife. . . . help mommy not to cut herself anymore."

Amen, girl.