Made granola from cookinglight.com. came out soooo good. not too sweet or heavy and the kids ate it up (though Stella still couldn't put down her book) This recipe uses a grape juice reduction as the sweetener. I wanted to add some coconut, but not frighten the children with a new food, so I called it "sweet snow" and there were no further questions! I had to talk myself down as I watched so much of it hit the floor as the cooks "mixed" it. Other pic is Scarlett swiping frozen cheese while I made soup and pizza for dinner :)

Snow Day

Playing "froggy boogy," had painted race cars from a Target kit, Georgia's impression of our freckley family, getting ready to go sledding...

I'm crazy about the chinchilla, I ran out of time to get on the treadmill this morning because I was watching him eat hay. I have an appt. at Hondros this morning to face my technical difficulties head on with the IT guy. I'm terrified. Will Lovey ever accept his wheel? I'm so impatient.

Eating like chinchillas

valentine's day

Valentine bunting sewn by Stella

snowflake window turned v-day 

Elephant I sewed for Scarlett's 1/2 birthday

The whole family is now addicted to shrinky dinks. So exciting to watch them shrink. The ones in the pic all have holes, girls are planning to make charm bracelets from them.

Boo Hoo! Lovie the chinchilla did not move in this wknd due to a weather advisory in Pittsburgh. None of us can wait to get our hands on that little rodent. I'm looking forward to an evening of crafting with the newly re-named "shrink plastic," AKA shrinky dinks.  Stella did her first machine sewing project last night, a fabric bunting for valentines day, will post pix.

Zeke made his valentine for Flash Gordon

1st day teaching at Hondros (www.hondros.edu) was awesome! Every student  was attentive, engaged with the material, and bright. I just feel badly about  how much they have to learn. There was so much I had to re-learn just to teach it to them. Next week they have to learn nit-picky stuff about fetal development that I never use in practice. Anyway, It's a good review for me and they seem excited. BTW the office is beautiful and colleagues were so kind and helpful, I can hardly wait for next week.

Playing Hullabaloo

Best conversation with Zeke last night:

Zeke: "I put on mine underwears, but thems is like shorts"

                                        Me: "That's OK, they're called boxers."

                                         That's the best shot I could get of his messed up hair without him                                                      knowing.

Photos of the "snowflake window" for posterity. Even though we're having a snow day, I'm ready to take the flakes down and make Valentine's day hearts for the window.

Scarlett was looking at pictures of my 3rd birthday party last night and was outraged that she wasn't there. Conversation went like this:

Scarlett: Where us is?

Me: You weren't born

Scarlett: I want to go there! Go back in Safta's tummy and get born again so you can invite me!!!

Me: Did you invite your daughter to your 3rd birthday party?

Scarlett: What daughter?

Me: Exactly.

This picture is not crooked, it's the cat that's crooked.

Blanca is my loyal crafting companion, lover of all textiles, and future Chinchilla frenemy.

Stella did her first hand sewing project last night, and I stayed out of it, the stitch lengths and all that, and she is so proud!

Today I teach 60 nursing students the many theories of human psychosocial development, think Maslow, Piaget... It couldn't be more timely actually, preparing the lecture helped remind me that the little people I live with are normal, though it can seem otherwise.

I finally captured it on film! That little upper lip overhang thing I call his "beak." It's a good thing I still think he's adoreable because I spent all evening talking him down off of his development cliffs.

Other evening highlights included the Tuesday night burrito bar, starring special guest-Avocado! as well as a rousing game of Cranium's Hullabaloo.

I think I've earned this organic, low fat poptart damn it!

Please pass the sports section

Children # 2 and 5

                                                                Happy Craftiness