Saturday, February 27, 2010

When Winter and Spring Collide

This week's project was to plant a, um, garden. DeLaynie's been begging to have a garden. You'll see in a minute why an outdoor garden isn't feasible at the moment. We used an old egg carton to house our dirt and seeds, which will hopefully turn into daisies in the coming weeks.


The warmest room in our home is the bathroom, and the window is about 4 1/2 feet off the ground, putting the dirt out of reach. We decided to make this the location of DeLaynie's Garden, Stage 1.
Now, I have friends who have degrees in forestry and horticulture, and my grandparents can plant seashells and grow a beach, so I know that there are people reading this post who are thinking up all of the mistakes that I made. Please don't tell DeLaynie. Right now she thinks that her mommy is amazing for turning an egg crate into a garden. Let's leave it that way. If nothing grows, I'll make a trip to Walmart, and buy a pot of daisies.

One of the family activities these days is the shoveling of snow. Edwin does it out of obligation; DeLaynie out of a desire to be helpful; Ella out of jealousy toward DeLaynie.

Some of us are better at it than others.

See? Now there's a master of the shovel.
Here are a few pictures of random moments, enjoying a warm day. You could actually find grass, which made DeLaynie very happy!


Ella really seemed to enjoy throwing ice. It's the simple things (as long as those simple things involve mild violence).




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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Lazy Blogger

I know, I know. I haven't been posting much lately. I pull out my computer, place my fingers gingerly over the keys, and wait for inspiration, but none comes. I try to think of something witty. I try to think of something serious. I try to think of something spiritual. But for all the somethings I try to come up with, all I get is nothing. A total blank.



"Why don't you just post pictures?" you ask. It's a valid question, for sure. (It's not like the grandparents mind a lack of words as long as there's an image of their grandbabies on the screen.) I find uploading pictures to be an annoying task. My camera takes good pictures, which equates to large files. I either have to take time to make compressed copies of each picture I wish to post, or I have to leave the computer open while they upload. Either option is very time consuming, and the latter leaves my laptop open to an attack from Ella, who has already brought about the demise of four keys. We're in the process of getting a new keyboard. All of this is in addition to the fact that I have to remember to take pictures when the very rare opportunities arise. Anything that depends on my memory is not very dependable at all.



Thus I have been reduced to semi-weekly posting. My own laziness is at fault, of course. It's not impossible, just challenging (and I mean that in its weakest form). So I hereby vow (yes, vow) to write at least two posts a week. It's a pitiful beginning, but a beginning none the less. I will also do my best to post pictures regularly. I'm fully aware that the beauty of my children is the most compelling aspect of this blog. (What can I say? They are pretty adorable!)

Until next time, enjoy more consistent bloggers.
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Monday, February 15, 2010

Impromptu Valentine's Day Party

DeLaynie had a party at school on Friday. I didn't go because I knew that she would turn into a totally different child, and wouldn't be able to enjoy the party. In order to prepare for the day, she got her wiggles out by jumping on a mattress, a good idea in my estimation. She's such a planner.

When DeLaynie arrived home, she brought several treats with her, including two suckers. DeLaynie got to choose which to enjoy herself and which one to share with Ella, though they would swap later. (Altogether now, "Ewwwwe!")

There came a point when I thought that Ella was done with her sucker. She quickly corrected me.So I returned it.
We had several bracelets left over from the treat bags we sent to school, so we played a game of ring "toss"

DeLaynie and Ella did a marvelous job taking turns. Okay, maybe Ella struggled a tad bit with the concept, but she chucked her rings so fast that it really wasn't an issue. DeLaynie would gather them back up for her and return them after she had her turn.


We also had a few balloons left over, which really got the party hopping. It constantly amazes me how much kids love to play with balloons.

I also have a tendency to forget how emotionally attached they can get. As each one popped, we mourned for a few minutes. Suzu did her best to console the very sensitive older child, who seemed to take it the hardest.Despite the seemingly inevitable emotional breakdowns,

fun definitely conquered drama for the majority of our mini-party.

It was a fun afternoon with my two little Valentines.
Edwin and I haven't had a chance to officially celebrate Valentine's Day (whoever planned out the calender is most definitely not a pastor's wife), or our anniversary, for that matter (it was also on Sunday). I'm sure that we'll get around to it eventually. Maybe by next Valentine's Day?

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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Update Salad

I know that I haven't blogged lately. There haven't been many photo opportunities because of runny little noses. We haven't been playing outside, and there really aren't many pictures to be taken inside. Here are the ones that we could get:



I'm not sure why Ella was so fond of the pajama-tutu combo, but it is awfully cute, except for the pizza sauce all over her face. I made the tutu almost a year ago, and five moves later, it's still in use. Actually, the post I wrote on the tutu process is the most popular one that I've ever written. I'm relieved to see that it doesn't fall apart after a couple of wears.

On the dieting front, I'm a pound away from the 10-pound goal for the first half of the competition. The deadline for the first half is in March, so I have some time to lose the final pound. Although I'm not highly optimistic regarding our chances of winning (we're the lightest team by almost 100 pounds!), it's a very good thing that I have the accountability of having the results printed in the local paper. I would have ended the weight-loss process a month ago.

DeLaynie continues to do well developmentally. She is using more sentences, asking more questions, and focusing longer in conversation. She's trying more foods, and sleeping without a pull-up.

Ella is messy, curious, and hilarious. She's always into something, and she's eating almost everything, including Play-Doh and crayons. We're, uh, working on that.

I hope to have more updates soon, maybe with some creatively worded anecdotes. Now I need to get back to mothering, house-wifing, and weight-losing.
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