Mommy and Sweet Pea

Last Friday, we got over six inches of snow in Eugene. Today is Wednesday, and school is still cancelled due to icy roads. We are at the point where we have done all of the fun snow activities, and all of the fun indoor activities we can think of. I took my kids to daycare today so they could play with friends and I could get some work done (lesson planning). But then I thought of my lonely little blog and figured I would share a couple of the pictures I've taken the last few days of our snowy wonderland and cookie baking fun. Neighbor's house with the lovely sky. It's been so clear! She runs everywhere, in every condition. Attaching straps to tow Stella by bike. Henry thought it was a bad idea. Stella loved it and didn't want to stop. Cold little nose and mis-matched mittens. Just doing some blending with ski hat and glasses. No big deal. Swings! We love cookies! Notice all the sprinkles? Stella's favorite part. Th...

Starting August 26, I will be a full time, grade 7-8 teacher. I am really excited about my new job, and satisfied with our daycare situation. My husband just got a new job as well, so we are going through lots of changes lately! In the meantime, since school got out and sub jobs ended, I took a very part-time job working at an upscale clothing store. I would want to work there more often if it weren't for the fact that I either pay for childcare, negating most of my profit, or miss out on family time with my husband every time I work. I also have spent most of my paychecks on clothing that I buy with my employee discount, so I'm basically getting paid in clothes, which I do desperately need after the last several years of being pregnant, postpartum, and finally losing all of the baby weight plus some. Overall, the job is mostly fun, often rewarding, and a great learning experience for me in many ways. I keep wanting to share what I've learned with other women so we can all...

Today during Henry's nap, Stella and I baked cookies. I used the recipe on the top of the oatmeal container, modified for ingredients that I like better. It ended up looking like this: 1 stick of butter, softened 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 3/4 cup Sucanat (sugar cane natural) 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2 1/2 cups Quaker Oats, uncooked 1/2 cup Craisins 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup chopped coconut assorted sprinkles 1. Heat oven to 350. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy 2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. 3. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well. 4. Add oats, Craisins, pecans, chocolate chips, and coconut; mix well. 5. Scoop with a cookie dough scoop onto parchment paper on your cookie sheets. The dough doesn't stick together super well so you will have to finger shape and smoosh it together (...

My Sweet Pea turned four years old this week. Unbelievable! This year, I quit my job to spend more time at home with my kids. Or, more precisely, I took a leave of absence from my part-time teaching job that I actually worked at nearly full-time because my part-time teaching wages didn't cover full-time daycare for two children and working full-time was stressful for me and my family, even though I loved my job. (Precision is wordy.) I was hoping that I could net more income overall by subbing a few days a week, and I am so far! Last spring, even after I knew I wouldn't be working every day, I was researching preschools for Stella because age three is the year when children generally start preschool. I found some really great-looking schools and situations, but it seemed the more I liked the school, the more it cost (my preference was for Montessori or bilingual, of course). Since I was planning to be home most days, the more I thought about it, the less sense it made to me t...

I was in a terrible mood yesterday morning. Our back fence in being replaced (the neighbor hired a company), so Glen can't go outside to potty or play without us taking him on the leash. Henry has been sick, really sick, for the past six days, and we are just starting to see real improvement, so I am exhausted. Stella has a cough too so I can't really send her to a friend's house to play, but she is not sick enough that she is happy to be just hanging out at home watching movies and playing with toys, so she is asking for a lot of attention, and begging for a friend to play with. My subbing paycheck for the month was tiny, so we are on a very tight budget. All of those things came together and made me a very grouchy mama. I ignored my kids for a few minutes, locked myself in the bathroom, and talked on the phone with my friend. When I came out, I was determined to change my attitude. I would make the best of all this forced togetherness, with no pressure to get anything in ...

Last week, Henry turned 1. Joe made this beautiful banana cake with peanut butter and chocolate frosting. The filling is marshmallow cream. We went with an Elvis theme as Henry shares his birthday. At age one, Henry crawls very quickly, eats like a champ and loves to feed himself, and giggles if you turn him upside down. He waves bye-bye, claps if you say "yay," and just learned to sign "more" if he wants more food. He will say mama and dada if he really wants us, but mostly just points and says "uh" for what he wants. This is how he often looks at the end of a meal: Today, he pulled himself to standing, and then let go! Two times! Stella got her first major hair cut yesterday. She has had it trimmed twice, by her babysitter at my request. The last time was over a year ago. This bob do I did myself, as she sat on a kids' chair in front of me and watched a show. Cutest questions she asked me regarding the haircut: "will it hurt?" a...