One of the hilarious parts of parenthood are the little dioramas that greet me when I turn the corners of our house.
Today I looked in the shower to turn on the water and found it was acting as a coat hanger for Fawn’s clothing.
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The tent
So we’ve had a lot of snow days. A LOT of snow days. We’ve been at home more this winter than I’d ever imagined possible.
Snow isn’t so bad, as you can still boot restless kids outside.
But this ice? It’s going to send us over the edge.
Yesterday I walked onto our porch, took one step, and then found myself at the bottom of the flight with a really ouchy wrist. Then Neko wiped out and did a number her knee. That sealed the deal—no one was going outside.
Neko had the idea that we’d set up our tent in the living room. Which was a great idea until we realized that we’d upgraded to a larger tent this summer, one that no longer fits in our living room. So Tom cracked out blankets and ropes and super-strong clips and made this jumbo-sized tent. After I took this photo, the kids took the all the pillows off the couch and put them on the floor and moved in sleeping bags. I crawled in there to read a book to someone and nearly dozed off, as it’s just that cozy.
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Birds
These huge flocks of black birds are a hallmark of winter in the Midwest. Their seemingly endless numbers never cease to amaze me, like this flock that was none too troubled by my passing car.
Are they Blackbirds or Starlings? I need one of my Audubon friends to sort this out for me.
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Tulips
Whenever I go somewhere with a child (or three) in tow, I try not to be in a hurry. I try to budget in plenty of extra time.
But today I had to get to the grocery store, as people can’t stop talking about this whole Ice-pocalypse business. And this is my afternoon to watch my nephew. And then pick up the older kids from school. Plus, I need to pick up Kendall so Tom and I can go see a talk about conservation planning this evening. By the time it is over, the impending doom of Bad Weather will be upon us.
So grocery shopping? It needed to happen in the next 45 minutes.
Ellery and I hustled in, me scooting her around as quickly as I can. Suddenly, she’s yanking at my sweater, and I manage to peel my eyes away from the produce to see what she wanted.
“Mom, we REALLY need flowers!”
I was a few minutes late gathering my nephew. But she was right. We really did need flowers.
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Hooks
It took us roughly 5.5 years, but we finally hung hooks in the kids’ bathroom. Which is worse than the 3 years it took us to hang a toilet paper holder. And, yes, I know, these hooks are probably really for dog leashes, but they make all of us smile.
I should not even confess what has occurred in the interim—towels shoved on counters, which then fall on floors. Or little people grab a clean towel from under the sink, wipe their mouths or hands, and then shove it back among the clean towels, thinking I won’t notice. (If they would learn to fold properly, they could carry this off with a bit more panache.)
While I was in the bathroom, I snapped a pic of one of my favorite things we added to this house. If you know my children, you understand why this tile is not only amusing but also likely necessary.
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Auctioneer
Our entire loft is filled with these silent auction baskets. It’s a sea of fund-raising madness. I cannot wait for them to get out of our space, which is supposed to happen this Friday.
Of course, the Ice-pocalypse is due this week, so I should probably just start arranging furniture around them, as I suspect they’re here to stay for a while.
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Olympic dreams
Granted, she’s taking lessons, but most of what she does on the ice is improvised, based on what she’s seen the older girls do. It’s like when we used to go dancing in college—I always had that one friend who hit the dance floor and with such gusto, but made it look effortless.
When I watch her whirling around out there, I wonder how I can soak up her fearless determination. I adore how she musters up everything she’s got and just goes for it.
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Ghyslain
I never claimed to be a food photographer. And our kitchen at 9pm has the most atrocious light.
But I felt compelled to snap a quick pic of these delicious confections the Husband brought home from local French bistro, Ghyslain, before we demolished them.
