A day in the snow in Eugene...

Below are some pictures I took when we had a surprise snow storm on Sunday. It was magical and glorious. It was so beautiful - it reminded me of Colorado. The trees were just gorgeous with the snow on the branches. The kids really loved being out in the snow. I was not sure Molly would endure the cold, but she learned to really love it and not want to come inside the house for a nap.

Jack, of course, found a way to incorporate car/truck play into playing with the snow. He has a one track mind!
We made our snowman with a "tongue" sticking out, so the family did the same for the picture.

New furniture, new arrangement...

We recently got some new furniture for the new room. The color in these pictures is not a great reflection of what it looks like in the room. We have an ottoman coming, but they ordered the wrong one so we are without one right now. We really like the new stuff, but as Kyle keeps saying we have to figure out how to sit on it. I know it sounds weird, but it is true. One has to adjust to new furniture and figure out the most comfortable way to sit on it.

With the new furniture, we moved our leather "living room" furniture back out into the front room. Take a look...


The room is in need of a rug and maybe a new table or two, but overall we like the look of the new room.

Molly, the beader...

I turned on a movie this morning for the kids while I thought I would shower and get dressed. We checked out a Winnie the Pooh movie from the library, and they love it. Molly actually sits and watches the whole thing. I was done and walking into the family room to check on them and the fire. Molly starts to cry a little, and I ask what it wrong. She points to her nose and I ask if she needs a kleenex to blow her nose. She doesn't say yes, but she does not say no very clearly. She just whines a little. I go and get the kleenex and start to have her blow her nose. That is when I discover it...the bead up her nose. Jack brough home some beads from preschool yesterday. They were playing with them very nicely yesterday. There was no sign of Molly putting them in her nose or mouth. I was not aware that she had them today - I thought I had picked them all up yesterday. Anyway, I ran to get the tweezers because I thought I would try and pull the bead out. After only two rather whimpy attempts to pull it out, I decided the wisest move would be to call the doctor. They said that they could get us in around 3pm today. I wondered to myself is it really alright for the bead to be stuck in her nose all day - through nap and everything. I asked the nurse this and she said that it would be if Molly was breathing alright - which she was. Still she told me hold, and then came back to say they had an earlier appointment. I called Kyle to tell him about the situation, and through talking he offered to help see if he could get it out. We all got ready for the car - shoes, coats, water, toys. Meanwhile, Molly continued to whimper and cry a little. I went to get my coat and looked at Molly to make sure she was okay. POP - out slid the bead enough for me to push on the outside of her nose and make it come out all the way! Yeah - no doctor, no copay, no trauma of feeling like the bad mom who let her 2 year old play with beads. Molly kept saying she was sorry as I told her that she can not put things in her nose. We are all alright now.

Jack, the puzzler...

It has been really cold the last few days in Eugene, so we have not gone outside alot. The other day the kids got the puzzle box out and started to do them all. It was great to see them do it together. Molly really has not done a lot of puzzles, but seemed to like them alot this day - and she did really well if I say so myself! Jack, of course, did them in a split second - I think we need to get some harder ones for him. In this picture, I actually got Jack to look at the camera and say "cheese", but Molly was not going to show her face for anything. Here Jack thought he would play with this clown game we got last year, but you know Jack. He just had to incorporate his cars into his play. They were holding the clown up so that it would not fall as he put the pieces onto it, which by the way goes against the whole idea of the game. Oh well!

Molly, the reader...

Molly has finally begun to enjoy reading. There are many times I will find her quietly reading to herself or Baby Betsy (pictured). Here she is reading the bible but pretending it is the hymnal, so not only was she reading but she was singing as well. I think often to myself that she is going to be our musical one in the family. She loves to dance and sing. Her favorite song is Holy, Holy, Holy - but only because I am constantly singing it to her so she knows it the best.

Knit...then felt...

Before...the knitted bag After...the felted bag

Here is my first attempt at knitting...then felting a bag. My mom taught me over Christmas to do this. I think my first attempt turned out good, but it spurs me on to do it again and improve my abilities just so I know that I can do better.