Random January stuff

What are we doing as this new year has begun?

1. CLEANING! The pantry has sort of been my nemesis for a while now. I would look at it in disgust as I pulled food out. I would make excuses in my head. Well, no more. Dave went back to work after the holidays and I got busy on the pantry. With the boys' "help" it took me two full days but it is organized to my liking now. Yeah!! I also got the new wall calendar hung up, and who doesn't love a brand new clean calendar?!?

2. ORGANIZING! I came home one night in early December from a solo outing to find the office that David and I share (we each had a corner and the adjacent walls) had been flip flopped due to some computer issues. It was a disaster! So, finally, post pantry clean-up, I got busy in the office. It is nearly done. I am SO excited to have a place to scrapbook (again).

3. SNOW! We finally got a decent amount of snow. The boys and I went out to play. Seth got new snow boots - Lightning and Mater from the movie Cars. He was so very excited to go out and "skate" in them. That's what he calls playing in the snow. And this was our first substantial snowfall so out we went. Luke was surprisingly unphased by the whole thing. But he did seem intent on cleaning off the slide, swings, etc. It took nearly 45 minutes to find all of our gear and get "suited up." I will confess, a small chunk of that time was allotted to me as my clothes aren't quite fitting and maternity clothes are not something you want to sacrifice to a romp in the snow so it took some digging to find apparel for me. But, thankfully, they stayed out that nearly another 45 minutes so it was worth it! They had a great time.

4. OUCH! Don't sneeze with a curling iron in your hair. Really poor planning on my part. Enough said there. I think I finally self-exfoliated all the dead skin off the side of my face. NO pictures of that one.

5. SLACKING! We have been spending way too much time at home! Between me not feeling 100% and then sniffles here and there and the very cold weather, we've just been home too much! Plus, Luke seems to have hit the wonderfully terrible twos (or maybe he's just in a mood lately?) but he can throw one ugly tantrum. And he's pretty flexible about where he does this. The library was my favorite.

6. MAKING BAD FOOD! I have been missing donuts. They aren't really safe for a peanut allergic child since nearly every donut shop serves some donut with a peanut/tree nut on it and the cross-contam factor is high. So, I got a cooking magazine in the mail that had a recipe for homemade donuts. I took a stab at them. Admittedly, I killed the yeast in the first batch, I guess, as the dough just laid there limply in my bowl. But, not to be defeated, I started over. And the look on Luke's face made it pretty much all worthwhile!

7. SLEEPING! Well, not as much as I might like, but we did get a new bed and coordinating furniture. We got a larger bed, which meant I got to shop for a new comforter, curtains, etc. Very fun. Buying a new bed has been on "the list" for years now but it's the selfish item that always gets bumped for things like baby beds, or a car we can all ride in, etc. But we took the plunge. It was our Christmas gift to each other (and my Mother's Day gift, birthday gift, next Christmas gift, etc.). To complete the look my wonderfully talented mom made me some pictures to hang in the room as well. They are done on canvas. I did the very basic striped one and I watched her do part of the other two (watching counts for something, no?). Well, anyway, I love them.