Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Life Cycle of a Snowman

Yesterday we got an inch or so of snow, but it wasn't supposed to last, so LMS determined to enjoy it while she could.

Making a Tiny Snowman.

Look at the tiny snowman!

Tiny Snowman enjoying the light snowfall.

Oh no! Tiny Snowman is melting in the sunshine!

Only his arm is keeping him from toppling over.

RIP, Tiny Snowman.
Hope you had a good life, even if it was only a few hours.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Mud Run Results

Saturday I ran (and slipped and slid and walked) the mud run that I ran last year.

Last year I barely got dirty at all, but that was definitely not the case this year.

We had a decent snowstorm that left good-sized drifts that started melting towards the end of the week, aided by a downpour that came on Friday. Needless to say, the course was a muddy, sloppy mess. But isn't that why we run mud runs: to get muddy? The weather was warmer this year than last, which made the freezing runoff a little easier to handle. The almost-knee-high water in the drainage tunnel under the highway halfway through the race was pretty cold, but washed some of the mud off.

I talked my friend C into doing it with me, and it made a huge difference to do it with a friend. We helped each other over the obstacles and tried to keep each other from slipping and sliding too much. I still slipped and fell in a creek and a giant puddle, so I got soaked to my waist, but it would have been a lot worse without her help.

It was also nice to have the psychological help of running with someone. Physically this was one of the hardest races I've done in quite awhile. I think it was a combination of factors: I wasn't as recovered from my cold as I thought I was (my lungs and throat were very unhappy during and after the race); I think I'm still not getting enough carbs, so my energy levels are lower than I'd like; and two weeks off from running combined with being sick and not enough carbs left me with legs that felt like lead on a course full of rolling hills.

Despite all that, we had fun and C said she'd be willing to do it again next year.

As you can see from my race times below, I was a lot slower this year than last. Part of that is because it wasn't safe to run the whole thing so we walked a good portion, but there were still parts I could have run if I'd just had the energy to do so.

2014:  1:49:55 at a 24:26/mile pace  = 4.5 miles
2013:  1:12:34 at a 18:09/mile pace  = 4 miles

Not sure about that extra half mile this year, but the timing and pace info comes from the official race results. I think the course did change a little from last year, but who knows? It just adds to the challenge!

Before the race:
all nice and clean, wearing our clearance Valentine's Day knee highs from Target

After the race:
definitely not nice and clean anymore

Have you run/walked/slipped/slid through a mud run?

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Sunday Funny

A few weeks ago we were looking at RVs (remember that I said we're selling our truck and trailer?). We're not buying just yet, but we wanted to see what would work for us and what we liked/didn't like.

LMS decided she liked this one and buckled herself in- she was ready to go on a trip!

The floor plan for that particular RV (the Fleetwood Storm 28 MS)- is below. We like this series because while it's a class A, it has a bed above the driver and front passenger seats that can be lowered at night. Most class C's have above-cab bunks, but it's not super-common to see that in a class A. This particular model is also only 29' long- quite short for a class A, but still tons of room.

 

While looking around the manufacturer's site, I discovered this floor plan (the 32H):

For two extra feet in length, we can have bunk beds and an extra eating/seating area in the back along with the over-cab bed. Even better than the first floor plan :)

You can just see the dinette beyond the frig.

Bed above dinette, waiting to be lowered. 
Master bedroom is just beyond the dinette.

Top bed lowered.

Top bed lowered and lower bed laid out.

Front bed lowered (note the netting to keep people from rolling off the platform).

Front bed raised.

This is probably the one we'll end up getting, but I have to get past my hangups about how class A's look. I think they look so ostentatious. Even if it's an economy model like this one, it still looks quite similar to the half-million dollar diesel pushers you see out on the roads. 

Yes, I know I have weird hang-ups. Do you have any weird hang-ups about certain vehicles?

Friday, February 21, 2014

The Case for Baby Shoes


I know many people are against baby shoes, but I have to admit, I actually kind of like them. Only certain kinds, of course, but they definitely serve a purpose.

TLM is young enough to still wear a lot of footie outfits, but we don't have a ton of them, so on the days he's wearing an outfit with pants, he needs socks to keep his little feet warm. It is winter, after all.

The problem with baby socks? They won't stay on. Let me show you, using some kind-of-crappy cell phone pics:
socks on all the way

socks sliding off his feet already

socks completely off

That whole sequence can occur in less than five minutes.

Or there's this one: I set him down for a second and realize he's missing a sock.
Oh, there it is: on the floor. Where else would it be?

So that's why I like baby shoes: they keep those silly socks on and his feet warm :)

I only put soft soled shoes on him though. Once he starts walking he'll be wearing soft soles (just like LMS did), so why would I force his chubby feet into hard soled shoes just because he isn't walking yet?

Are you for or against baby shoes?

Here's another picture of our cute baby. I couldn't help myself :) 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

More Fun in the Snow

Since the snow has actually stuck around (instead of melting the same day it came down like it usually does), LMS had time to modify her snowman a bit.

 Now it's a snow gummy bear- notice the ears on top. Mr M let her watch some old Gummy Bears cartoons on YouTube and now she thinks they're the best.

There's also a tunnel through the snow gummy bear. Mr M helped her dig it, then she put sticks across one opening to block it off.

This side morphed into a snow fort. I believe this side was highly influenced by Calvin and Hobbes' snow forts and snowmen.

A handy spot for snowballs.

She's ready to defend her territory!

If you look closely, you can just see the tips of her vampire fangs. Mr M and I think they're funny, but she doesn't see the humor.

The Little Miss has loved playing in the snow and it's been so nice to have it stick around for awhile instead of immediately melting. Everyone else is moaning and groaning about how terrible the weather is, but we're seriously enjoying it. I guess it all comes down to what you're used to. Too bad the weather is warming up and melting the snow. We're hoping we get another good storm before spring settles in for good :)

Friday, February 14, 2014

Snow Treats

Since we got a lot of snow yesterday, we decided to make a couple treats using some of the snow. The first was maple syrup taffy, which was quick and easy to make.

a couple pans of clean snow

maple syrup almost to softball stage

maple syrup poured over the snow

maple syrup taffy

yummy! just like what Laura and her family ate in Little House in the Big Woods

Next we made snow ice cream. The snow was already a little sweetened from the maple syrup (the one instance where it's actually ok to eat yellow snow!),


but Mr M added a little sugar to make it a bit sweeter, plus some vanilla and sweetened condensed milk. After stirring it well, we ate it quickly before it had a chance to melt. Yum!



The Little Mister hung out in his high chair while we played with the snow in the kitchen. Doesn't he do a good job of being cute? Love the little Superman curl- he gets that from his daddy :)

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Our Week

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I've spent the last two and a half days curled up under the covers with a nasty head cold. The timing stinks since I had plans to finish some projects, but that just didn't happen. I'm feeling better, though definitely not anywhere near 100% yet. I'm {mostly} vertical, at least. Hopefully no one else in the family gets it, though I'm most concerned about TLM, since he's the one who has the most direct contact with me. I've been trying not to breathe on him, but I'm not sure I've been very successful. I've been diffusing essential oils into the air and I think that's helping me feel better and everyone else fight it off.

In other news, we actually got some snow last night!


A few weeks ago there was supposed to be a big snowstorm and everyone panicked and schools were canceled for the next day before that day's school had even let out and then….

It was a nice day. It was even sunny, if I remember correctly.

Oh well, better safe than sorry, I suppose. Just one more reminder that we live in an area that really doesn't get much snow and is populated by people who don't know what to do when there's anything more than a flurry. (I'm not trying to be rude, it's just a case of not being accustomed to lots of snow and not developing the skills to deal with it.)

This time around, as the approaching storm got closer, the forecast kept increasing the estimates of total snowfall expected. First it was 8-10", then 10-12", and this morning I think it was at 12-14". It stopped snowing in the morning, but it started up again this afternoon. This morning Mr M measured in a couple places and we had at least 9" on the ground here. At this point we've gotten a few more inches and we're wondering why we bothered to shovel the steps and get the driveway and road plowed.


Our little dirt road isn't maintained by the county, so it's up to those of us who live on it to take care of it. This is the first time in the almost three years we've owned this house that we've had to have everything plowed. Luckily there's a guy who lives just down the road who'll do it for a reasonable price.


LMS is in heaven, especially since Mr M is home from work today (they were told yesterday not to come in) and can play in the snow with her. I thought about bundling up for a bit and taking my cross country skis out for a spin, but ultimately decided I wasn't quite up to it. It figures that I'm sick the first chance I get in years to use my skis. 

crappy resolution because I was up on the deck 

In other news, LMS lost another tooth. It's been loose for quite awhile and has been moving a bit and changing colors so we knew it was more than ready to come out, LMS was just a bit too scared to pull it out herself. So Mr M gave it a good tug last night and out it popped. There's another tooth on top that he'll probably pull out in a day or two.


The tooth fairy apparently does not follow the tenets of the post office, as snow and dark of night delayed her visit {oops}. I think we managed to convince LMS she just didn't look in the right place :)

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Sunday Funny

she fell asleep reading Calvin & Hobbes, which is a fairly common occurrence

LMS, sitting up in bed, moaning. "I can't find my Nanny."

Nanny was right next to her pillow.

I handed Nanny to LMS, and she sighed, snuggled Nanny, and went back to sleep.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

4 Months Old


The Little Mister doesn't spit up much (he never has, knock on wood), but he's started drooling all over the place. He's worse than a puppy dog :)

He's still a solemn little guy who likes to observe what's going on around him, but his smiles come more readily, especially if you smile at him first. He's also started giggling a little. It's still hard to catch him smiling on camera. As soon as I pull it out he stops smiling- somehow he already knows that the camera is to be avoided.
I looked at this pic and thought, "wow, he really does look like his Papa (Mr M's dad)!"

I mentioned awhile ago that after the holidays we'd start working on early potty training, which we did indeed do this month. I'm not hard core about it- mostly I just have him sit on his little potty chair right after eating, if I remember. Honestly, half the time I remember when he farts in preparation to poop :) I've been sitting him on the potty a couple times a day, most days this past week or so, and he will usually poop and/or pee in it. I don't worry about it when we're out and about yet, but when he gets older we'll start taking the potty chair with us for use on the go. We followed this same basic method with LMS and it worked pretty well. As he gets older we'll have him sit on the potty more frequently. We've also started showing him the sign for potty, so hopefully he'll start telling us {when he's able} he needs to go.
TP strategically in place- safety first!

A Baby Bjorn Little Potty, just like what we used for LMS. They've stopped making them, so I had to buy this one on ebay. They changed the design to make it two pieces, but it looked bigger than this one, so I opted for the older, smaller style since The Little Mister is so little.

He has decided he really doesn't like his car seat. We went for a drive on Saturday and he screamed most of the hour and a half drive home. That was fun for everyone. We're hoping he bows to the inevitable very soon.

He still really wants to suck his thumb, and will pop it in his mouth and smile at us while he does so. We're still pulling it out and offering his pacifier.

When TLM is done nursing, he pulls away and looks up at me with what I call his "milk smile". It's a very wide, flat, happy smile that I only see when he's done nursing :)

He's figured out that kicking his feet will rock his low-tech Baby Bjorn bouncer, and will kick and bounce when he's excited or trying to get our attention.
We found this bouncer on craigslist (at a steal!) when LMS was a toddler, after she'd destroyed the cheap metal and plastic vibrating bouncer we'd bought her. These are pricey, so it's one of the few pieces of baby gear I've hung onto over the years.

He's become quite vocal and will start "talking" to me when he's decided he's done eating. He'll talk at other times as well, and it almost seems like he's trying to get our attention and interact with us.

He's become much more aware of his hands and will hold them up and look at them or hold his own hands. He hasn't quite figured out how to hang onto things yet, but he's getting there.
Batting at the bears. He's been uninterested in them before now.

He still really likes being held and truly believes he needs to be as close to Mr M or I as possible. He'd rather sleep next to us than in his bed and he'd rather sit on a lap than in his chair. We're enjoying the snuggle time while we can, since we know it won't last :)