during and after

let it snow!

We woke up this morning to a light covering of snow over the grass and cars. There was enough to make a few snowballs and get everyone excited (as soon as Gwennie noticed, she ran to the back door expecting to go outside in her footie sleepers), but the sun and rain soon melted everything away. Until late this afternoon when it snowed steadily for hours. We had a lot of the large, moist flakes which are perfect for building a snowman (a task which was executed mainly by Gwendolyn, who decorated and named our snowman, "Snowball") and, in the case of Linus, eating. A fun, fun day!

Perhaps I should also note that Todd was surprised to hear his boss say that his teenage children had never seen snow. He took this to be an exaggeration, but also as a testament to the rarity of the occasion. (Even the college kids were outside taking photos and making snowmen, though I doubt that any were as genial as Gwennie's friend. If you can't tell, Gwendolyn has created a particularly domestic snowman, who is holding a tray of snowballs to offer to his friends. Too bad you can't see Todd's contribution, the fir-branch combover.)

brotherly love

We have a little bit of sibling rivalry going on at our house between Linus and Casper. This post is evidence.

While Mama was playing with Casper at the toy workbench, Linus got exasperated: “Don’t teach Casper to hammer nails – he already knows how to zoom trucks!”

Linus, of Casper: “That’s why we’re going to get rid of him.”

Linus, to Casper: “When you grow up I’m just going to keep my nose in a book.”
[So Linus won’t have to play with Casper]

After Casper grabs two big fistfuls of Linus' hair and then bites him on the head, Linus exclaims, “That’s why I didn’t want Casper to have hands or a mouth!”

parade route

This afternoon we met up with some friends and watched our first small town parade. It was a fun afternoon and Linus was especially thrilled to see horses, tractors, cattle, a fire engine and a marching band, all within an hour. Gwendolyn enjoyed playing with friends and the sugar which came in the form of hot cocoa and cookies. Thanks for thinking of us, Erin.

knowing

Every couple of days, I read a chapter of Mary’s Little Donkey to the children. The other night after we'd finished reading, Gwendolyn and I had this conversation:
Gwennie: What’s the next chapter called?
Mama: The Sale of the Donkey.
Gwennie: (with a knowing look) Ah, so he’s going on a ship.

leaving the past behind

Things that have made my week long:
1. the long and traffic-filled drive home from Louisiana on Sunday
2. the death of a very dear family friend
3. the van going into the shop for repairs
4. unexpected house guests (Granny and Grandad, though exceptionally fun, still cause a little stress because that is the nature of house guests)
5. a day trip to Houston with the kids for the funeral of our friend
6. Todd getting the stomach bug I had on Thanksgiving
7. rehearsal for the Enrichment program I was in charge of
8. Enrichment
9. both boys catching nasty colds

WELCOME, WEEKEND!

memories of a fishing boat

country portrait

how the cretaceous period ended

Linus: Ask me how the dinosaurs died.
Mama: How did the dinosaurs die, Linus?
Linus: A masteroid hit the ground in ReMexico!
Gwennie: Not in Mexico! In NEW Mexico – Land of Enchantment!

family portrait

(Thanks, BJ!)

wildlife in the pelican state

This was a day for the kids, though all the adults had a grand time as well. We went to a local wildlife park. We've been to a couple of these before and the kids always love them (our kids adore animals). This one was neat because we rode around in a open wagon pulled by a tractor (instead of driving through in our own vehicle). This was an advantage for the kids because they had a lot more access to the animals than they usually do. Gwendolyn was very serious about the feeding of the animals and determined to get a giraffe to eat from her hand. Linus was eager and interested, but intimidated by the larger beasts. Casper loved being allowed to throw food out the window. The day ended with long and much needed naps for Todd, Linus and Casper and a late night of game playing for the adults.

new orleans

A fun (but cold and rainy) day in the city. Thanks to my cousin Michael, we had a VIP tour of the National WWII Museum. A really fascinating museum and a very interesting tour, this was enjoyed by all (except perhaps Linus, who likes to bellow his complaints in places that echo. A toy airplane from the gift shop set him right). We lunched at Mother's and then toured the city a little before finishing the day with a trip to a shrimp boat for 50 pounds of fresh shrimp.

thanksgiving in the pelican state

We headed to my Aunt Janie's home in Louisiana for the Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving is a little blurry for me because during the drive on Wednesday night, I started throwing up in the van (and continued throwing up through the night. Gwendolyn joined in the fun, too). I stayed in bed most of Thursday but the kids had a fun day, running around outside and fishing in my aunt's pond, playing with cousins and watching Wall-E. I roused myself for late afternoon family pictures and ate a single dinner roll for my Thanksgiving dinner.

flying objects

Earlier today, Linus, Gwendolyn and I were playing Uno Attack and Casper really wanted to push that little button. So later, we let him play and he loved it. The beeping button was pretty great, but he thought it was hilarious when all the cards would shoot out at him.

When Gwendolyn plays with Casper, she often bounces him on her lap and sings a song she made up, "Baby rocket ship goes, 'pssssh!'" Casper loves it and today I caught him singing that little song to himself: "Baaay-beeee (unintelligible jabbering) psssssh!" I was amazed. Smart, adorable kid.

hanging around

As we are driving home from the grocery store:
Gwennie: When I grow up, I’m going to marry Thomas and have some babies and live with you so you can help me out.
Mama: Well, by that time, you will probably want a home of your own to live in.
Gwennie: No, I’ll want to live with you so you can help me out. The thing is, I’m afraid about driving.
Mama: Well, you’ll be less afraid when you get older.
Gwennie: I’m worried that I won’t be able to find my house. (pause) Maybe I’ll carry around a piece of paper with my address on it!

paper airplane

(I apologize for the blurry photo, but Linus is trying to sabotage me -- he will not stand still or even look at me when I have a camera in my hand!)

peek!

self portraits

I love the way the morning light brings out the gray in my hair.

fall foliage

This is Fall in Texas -- green leaves on the trees, brown leaves on the ground.

boys and their love of trucks

Casper has always been a big talker and has always been very animated. These days, every time we play in the back yard or I walk by the kitchen window while holding him, he starts to shriek, "Truck! Truck!" and point at all the construction trucks building that damn condo complex. Nothing excites him more than those diggers.

new tricks

Linus, asking about the rental car Todd recently picked up for a business trip: Did the Universe let him keep it for one day?

Linus, mad at Todd: I’m saying something rude about you!

Linus: I miss Granny. Why does she have to live in Dallas instead of here?
Gwennie: Maybe the next time she moves, she can move here.
Linus: Maybe she can move next door to us!
Gwennie: Yeah! When our neighbors sell their house, Granny and Grandad can buy it.

Linus likes to come into our room in the middle of the night and sleep on a pallet I have on the floor for children who like to play musical beds. Tonight, he sneaked in there before Todd and I went to bed and shut and locked the bedroom door behind him, locking himself and Casper in the room. It took Todd and me a good 20 minutes to get the door open.

It's official

Casper is a walker. Just the past day or two it started to be nearly full-time walking. When he falls down, he stands back up and tries again, instead of just resorting to crawling. He's so proud of himself and so cute to watch.

sweet angel girl

I had such a good day with Gwendolyn yesterday. Kids go through phases when all is balance, and then they have stages when all is turmoil and chaos. Gwendolyn is in a very good place right now and I'm enjoying her so much. She helped me make banana bread. While I was on the phone, she surprised me by folding a load of laundry that was waiting for me (and she did a pretty good job). In the afternoon, we got out her spool knitting (which has frustrated her in the past) and she caught right on and excitedly "knit" for nearly an hour. She "babysat" Casper while I rolled the trash can to the street and to make him happy, filled up the tractor he was holding with Cheerios. Also, isn't she beautiful?

vintage glasses

The kids modeled some vintage glasses today and even though I snapped a good half a dozen shots, Linus looked like a complete nerd in every single photo.
They also dressed themselves today.

in the driver's seat

trying to figure it all out

There is a lot of talk in this house about someone the children call “Baby Sister”, even though I’m not pregnant and don’t plan to be anytime soon and Todd and I don’t discuss possible future children with our current children. Still. At church yesterday a baby girl was blessed and Linus was very interested in the baby. He kept asking me (in his quiet bellow) how we would get baby sister, when we would get baby sister, how she would get to our house, and finally, when they were going to bring her over to our pew. It dawned on me that Linus thought the baby getting blessed in church was Baby Sister. I explained that the sweet baby we saw in church was someone else’s baby sister, not his. He’s obviously still confused because last night he asked if Baby Sister would be arriving tomorrow.

Linus: Do you know why people come down from heaven? Because Heavenly Father has all the parts: heads, feet, legs, arms. . . .

fall-ish

Today we found the one tree in town which is starting to change color. And we wore short sleeves. This is Autumn in Texas.

three is hard

Today, Linus climbed on the fridge to retrieve (and eat most of) his remaining Halloween candy. He then opened his bedroom window, took off the screen and ran around the front yard until I found him and dragged him back inside. At bedtime, he got up every 3 minutes for two straight hours, until he finally fell asleep. An hour later, he woke up crying because somehow, in his sleep, he hit his head hard enough to make it bleed. He makes us so tired.

ambitions

We've been talking a lot about presidents here in our house lately and today Gwendolyn grew thoughtful.
Gwendolyn: Can a girl be President?
Mama: We've never had a female president in this country, but absolutely, yes, a woman can be president.
Gwendolyn, after thinking for a moment: I'm going to be President one day.
Mama: Well, I'd vote for you!
Gwendolyn: So would Daddy. And Granny and Grandad. And Grandma and Grandpa Sam. (And then she listed every other relative she could think of before turning to Linus.) Would you vote for me, Linus?
Linus: I'm going to be busy working at Bear World.

Gwendolyn: [opening a book studiously] I’m going to be the looker-upper.
Linus: Well, I’m going to be the looker-at-booker.
Gwendolyn: No, I’m going to be the looker.
Linus: Then I’ll be the checker-outer.

the fuzz

Gwennie was recently telling her cousin all about fuzz balls (the little pieces of fabric she plucks off her lovie and then rolls into balls). She warned, "Don’t put fuzz balls in your ear or they might get stuck in your brain and then you won’t be able to think about anything but fuzz balls."

I'm so in love with this little cowboy