Norah Loves Daddy

I have a sneaky suspicion that what was inside Jason's lunch today didn't really matter...

When she saw me packing her Daddy's lunch this morning, she BEGGED me to let her color a picture on it. (Please notice the frollicking, ever skirt-wearing Norah and Daddy depicted at the bottom of the bag).

And I thought I was nice when I slipped the occasional love note in his lunch. How can I compete with such sweetness!?

How to Mooch Ice Cream: A Free Tutorial from a Master Moocher

1. Eat a good dinner, and try to wear some of it on your face, as proof.


2. Pay attention. You never know when something delectably delicious might make it's way to table on the wrong (ie-some one else's) plate.

3. Assume an irresistible "Mmmm...that looks yummy" face. (If the desired treat is especially delicious, cute noises may be required in order to get the attention of the soon-to-be Moochee.)


4. If the Moochee is still holding out on you (or worse, continues to wave his delicious dessert under your nose without offering to share), try one of the following phrases, "Piece Apart?" or "Lil' bite?"to convey your "Would you care to share?" message.









5. Savor the first bite, being sure to properly aerate the palate. Maintain a purely quizzical face, as if trying to decide whether you like what you've been given. (Deep down, everyone who shares wants you to think that their dessert is yummy, too)









6. Agree to give said dessert a second taste. (The simple request, "'Nother bite, PLEASE?" usually works for me)





6. Move in for the kill. Once you've overtaken their elbow space, you should be able to finagle the Moochee into sharing at least every-other bite. (Remember, looking desperate can really work to your favor).

7. Don't forget to say, "Sank you, Daddy," every so often. It helps him feel like even if he does spoil you from time to time, at least you're learning good manners.

This (Little) Old Man

This week I made Eli a "Little Old Man" shirt with a faux tie and suspenders. He took a fancy to it right away, proudly pointing out his "Tie and some spenders" to anyone who would care to pay him notice. I attribute his loving it so much to the fact that it is one of the few things I've made for him to wear. Poor kid. Sister gets dresses and twirly skirts, but little brother is deprived due to his mother's lack of originality/ingenuity at finding good little boy sewing ideas. I'm hoping to break the cycle this year, though. I've got a few ideas to throw in the mix, so hopefully I can even out their homemade wardrobes a little bit.

And that face is the "smile" I get 90% of the time right now. (Perhaps you noticed it in the chicken noodle soup photo from the Snow Post?) I think it captures his personality at this age perfectly. He is such a ham!

Snow Day!

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to photo (and blog) document the biggest snow I've ever seen in my hometown in all my 30 years.

Yesterday we received between 1-2 inches of snow in Robinson County. (Yep, that's our biggest snow in three decades...impressive, huh?)

Norah was ecstatic. We've been talking a lot about the frequency of Christmas, and how it only comes once a year, just like her birthday, and that it has only been 2 months since Christmas, so she'd have to wait 10 more months until it would come again. And then, it snowed. Of course, she thought that the blankets of white stuff depicted in every Christmas movie she's ever seen, and to which a multitude of carols have been devoted, meant that Jack Frost had renigged and was sending her Christmas a little earlier than promised.
N: It's snowing!!!! That means....it's CHRISTMAS-TIME!!!!"
Thankfully, the fun we had in the snow cushioned the blow of reality that Christmas was still, in fact 10 months away.


Eli was excited about the snow too, but mainly because he gauges his expected responses to life on Norah's. (Well, that, and because the kid next door was eating a huge chunk of it, and Eli's always up for a new eating experience)





Even Jason indulged me for a photo-op. After going from vacationing in Colorado for at least 5 years, solid to quitting cold turkey when we had the kids, we've missed our time playing in the snow together. (Granted, we didn't pull out the skiis/snowboard yesterday, but with the Winter Olympics running, it wasn't like we hadn't considered it for at least a second)



We made our first legitimate "rolled" snow men. It's pretty sad that I didn't know until yesterday that snow could actually be rolled into balls the way they do it in cartoons. (And yes, I did mention earlier that I've been to snowy Colorado at least 5 times, but those trips consisted more of skiing and packed snowball fights)



I think Jason thought I was a little crazy when I emerged from the house with a bag of fruit and some scrap fabric. But judge for yourself, they look SO much cuter with faces and scarves! And these might very well be the only snowmen our kids ever have a picture of in their own front yard, so I didn't want to skimp!


I loved that just a little snow brought the neighbors outside to visit. Mr. Leslie from 4 doors down came over and asked to take our picture (to send to his daughter to prove it really did snow here). We were thankful to have him take one our camera too. (Incidentally, Mr. Leslie is a very cool neighbor. He plays the bagpipes in his backyard from time to time, and is really good! )
This photo was about 30 seconds before I took Eli inside. He decided pretty quickly that snow was for the birds, and he wanted to be warm and inside.

So, we brought everyone indoors, and the kids consumed their obligatory post-snow mugs of chicken noodle soup.



The soup did the trick and de-iced Eli's personality (and funny bone).



Mmmm mmmmm good to the last drop!

From the Mouthes of Babes...

Excited, upon seeing that Aunt Paige had made it to her birthday party...
N: Aunt Paige!!! I was afraid you'd come!

Eli's latest bail-out tactic for himself when he's caught doing something wrong...
A: Eli, that is a no-no! Big trouble!
E: (pointing his index finger as if to scold himself, while smiling mischievously) "Naughty little kitten!"

The following exchange took place when Eli was having a mini-whining fit...
Grandmother: Eli, aren't you a big boy?
Eli: (with a definite air of defience) "No."
Grandmother: Then are you a little boy?
Eli: No.
Grandmother: Then what are you?
Eli: I'm a GIRL.
At this point, the entire house erupted into laughter, including Eli, who, conveniently forgot what he was whining about in the first place. Incidentally, Eli and Norah went to the back of the house shortly after this conversation, and Eli emerged a few minutes later, running into the room with his t-shirt pulled up over his head shouting,
E: "Help my dress is stuck! My dress!"

*Note...some of you had asked why Eli didn't have cute Valentines like Norah. It wasn't like we didn't try. The above photos were the two *best* shots I got of him. The first one he was pretty close, he just forgot to close his fist...but the second one sort of reminded me of the grip a young warrior would have on a spear...so we finally decided to call it a day, and just eat some candy. (I don't think he was disappointed in the slightest)

My Funny Valentine

Yesterday, Norah and I had so much fun shooting photos to make her own, personalized Valentines. I thought they turned out pretty cute, though I can't take credit for being the creative genius who thought it up...I found the idea here earlier this week and knew right away we had to copy it!

If you're still looking for a fun, inexpensive, and super-easy Valentine idea, I highly recommend it. Just take a photo of the Valentine-giver with their hand (or hands) extended out, and balled into a fist. Add your message in a photo editing program (Photoshop, Picasa, etc.), upload your photo to wherever you get your pictures printed (I used Target through Shutterfly). After you pick up your photos, use a razor knife to cut small x's above and below the fist, insert a lollipop, and voila! (Norah helped me thread all of the lollipops through the x's, so she really enjoyed being a part of the project from start to finish)

Mr. Fix-It

Jason has been doing a lot of handy work around the house of late, and Eli has not missed one second of it. Unfortunately, Mr. Robinson doesn't always remember to clean up his tools post-project. (Or, if your name happens to be Eli Robinson, then, FORTUNATELY, Mr. Robinson doesn't always remember to clean up his tools).

I came down the hallway yesterday to discover my 2 year-old son giving his tricycle a tune-up, with, I should add, the correct size and head-shaped screwdriver. Is tool knowledge inherent in all males?
"Look, Mommy! I fix it for you!" He exclaimed. So proud of himself for his ingenuity.









When he was finished, he stowed the screwdriver in his tricycle trunk, next to his trusty, orange sippy cup. (After all, every good handyman knows that the key to success is good hydration!)