Several photos from The Henry Ford are in here. We did not have time for Greenfield Village; but I could have stayed for several more hours if the kids had not started climbing the displays and running away from us. Anyway, we love them even though they've aged us significantly! ;) Here are some lovely photos of the visit/MI trip.
Brothers, Friends.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
There are few things more satisfying than watching our children enjoy each other.
More Two-Year-Old Antics
Friday, November 20, 2015
I wish you saw how incredibly quickly this happened. His punishment was self-inflicted. A look of horror spread across his face .5 seconds after I took this photo, as he tasted what he did.
So much material from this boy!
A Good Challenge + Mob Mentality
Thursday, November 19, 2015
These two get into exponentially greater trouble together. Though there are only two of them, they act like a herd. One can talk the other into almost anything; and if something makes one of them laugh, the other will have no willpower against it. They crack me up. At least now it's little people, little problems.
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| November 2015. |
Some things never change.
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| May 2014. |
Grandma & Aunt Visit!
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
We had a lovely visit with Grandma and DH's oldest sister. The kids played and played, read books, had a picnic, went for walks, and just had a grand time! They received much TLC and were so happy the whole visit. Grandma and I did some shopping with baby girl. We had great weather most of the trip.
DH received some additional gifts for his birthday, one of which has been hijacked by Boy 2.
Perhaps the biggest gift was the back yard rake job, 23 bags full! Thank you!!! :)
Four-Year-Old Conversations:
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
"When this baby grows and grows maybe we can make another boy and name it 'Grandpa.'"
Updating the Homestead
Monday, November 16, 2015
We are slowly removing almond/bisque/bone from our home. I do believe they're among those 1980's colors that will never be "in" for long -- like those dusty pastels that were all-the-rage for a half-year recently. The skinny on those colors is that they never looked clean. So, for a dramatic change, we're using "ultra pure white" and "craft brown" in their places.
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| Left door is in almond; right has the first of two coats of "ultra pure white." So much cleaner-looking! |
Things I've learned with this particular painting project:
1. Drywall mud is much harder to work with than one might think. I'm not a pro by any means.
2. Removing textured wallpaper was easier without the scoring tool. I removed the first layer with a drywall knife, then sponged-on the fabric softener solution and let it sit for a minute, and then removed the remaining layer. The boys helped pull off the wallpaper and thoroughly enjoyed it. For the first several rounds, I was scoring the paper first. That astronomically increased the removal time, which I only recently discovered. Yay for saving time! The time saved also encouraged me to slow down the process, leaving less drywall damage requiring extra patches, mud, and sanding.
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| Ultra pure white trim with almond door in another light. |
3. 3M Blue painters tape works better for me than Frog tape. I'm afraid of using oil-based paints after that spontaneous combustion at that Chicago church a month ago. Though latex isn't the first choice for painting wood, it works for our anti-hazardous-product tendencies. However, latex does not stick very well. So, the frog tape will pull it right off. 3M it is until something better comes along. (I also should paint the trim after the walls, I know. But the painters tape sometimes pulls the paint off the walls too.)
4. Taping door hinges is fast and easy -- much faster than scraping paint off the hinges after the fact. Painting is all about the preparation! I thoroughly enjoy when I finally get to the stage of rolling a new color on the walls!
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| This is as dark as this color looks. It's normally much brighter with sun streaming in from three windows on the left. |
5. Start small unless you want to lose all your momentum. Maybe this is just my issue. However, I had to take one hallway wall at a time, not both, in order not to feel overwhelmed. There are so many things that pop up with every step of the project. (Eg. the vent cover, which was wrapped in the same dusty pastel wallpaper as the walls, is a non-standard size. So, I couldn't just run to Home Depot and buy a new one for $10. I had to remove the wallpaper from the cover, slat by slat, meanwhile asking myself why in the world the original owners thought that wallpaper was a good idea . . .)
6. I like things that I've done better than things that we've hired out, even though the professionals do better jobs. It's weird, I know, but I really appreciate the rooms I've worked on. I'm liking our home more because I'm beginning to understand what goes into making a home. So, I appreciate the professionals more too, although I'd rather be able to take my time and change the direction of something if I want to mid-project.
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| New colors in natural light. |
Now the only place left with wallpaper is the stairwell.
I'm hoping to have that removed and finished by Christmas. Then, our entire foyer will be "complete" minus decorations. Nothing like a little house love to renew our spirits!
Quality Time with the Firstborn
Thursday, November 12, 2015
It's been a while since we did something special. DH let me join a gym with childcare for my own sanity. His hours combined with our lack of napping-children have reduced the hours I can exercise to before 5:45am and after 8:00pm -- after 14 hours with the toddlers. It just wasn't happening. This was the best gift! We used some of that anniversary money to buy healthy shakes after a workout and swim. (Thank you!)
Overheard:
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
"I scare away the monsters with my DINOSAUR stick!"
[Even funnier when in the act of scaring dinosaurs.]
Halloween Haul
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Yes, this happened quite some time ago! We barely made it out. The kids were in Superman shirts with their Dad. They hauled all this in from our street alone. Fifteen minute win!
I had more elaborate plans, but meltdowns prevented their execution.
Reading to Sister
Monday, November 9, 2015
This started when the Firstborn asked his brother, "Can you pick out an Sister-sized book to read?" You can see the age- and subject-appropriate book he selected:
So This Happened
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Our Firstborn switched to the crib at 12 weeks. Boy 2 switched circa 9 months. Sweet Pea is about 5 months and has been showing us signs that she is "done" with the bassinet for a couple of weeks. I'm loathe to take this step. I feel extra protective of this baby. But we have a quality monitor with a motion sensor (thanks to a neighbor). And she seems to enjoy sleeping in the crib much more than in the bassinet.
Dad's Birthday!
Friday, November 6, 2015
Had I known how much DH loves Chinese food in our first year of marriage, I would have saved myself so much time and energy and just ordered carry out for his birthday dinner.
This year's fancy dinner menu:
General Tso's Chicken
Lemon Chicken
Beef & Broccoli
Shiner Bock
German Chocolate Cake
Pralines & Cream Ice Cream
Birthday Cake Ice Cream
Daylight Saving Time
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Andre: Mom, why is it so dark outside?
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Overheard: Boys, I've got something to tell you. The government plays this game where they cut off one end of the sheet, sew it on the other end, and call it "longer." But it's really the same size.
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Andre at 5:15pm: Mom, why is it dark outside?
Mom: Because the earth is tilting away from the sun. That happens as we get closer to winter. The days will get shorter for the next six weeks. Then they will get longer again.
Andre: Mom, why is it dark outside?
Mom: Because it's almost winter, Honey.
Andre: Mom, why is it dark outside?
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New Sitter: You know I learned this trick to help get kids to nap. You don't force them to nap, but make them sit in their rooms for quiet time for an hour. Nine times out of ten they fall asleep. (Said as I relieved her and all the kids were sleeping.)
9:00pm Isaac: Mom, I can't sleep. Can you come chit chat with me?
10:00pm Isaac: Mom I can't sleep. Can you come chit chat with me?
10:30pm Isaac: I'm having trouble sleeping.
Mom: You are never taking a nap again!
6:30am Isaac: Hi, Mom! I woke up! I'm awake!!!
Mom: You are NEVER taking another nap again.
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Andre: Mom, why is it dark outside?
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For Fun
Thursday, November 5, 2015
The 4 year old, the 6 1/2 year old, and the 2 1/2 year old. While we were walking today, I turned to the kids and realized that the two older ones were almost the same size. Our boys got the tall genes. Their cousin is petite. I never think about the implications of their stats unless they are together.
[P.S. I try not to praise the kids for being tall (Tall is not a virtue.), just notice the differences and enjoy watching them be who they are.]
Big Brothers in Action
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
They are obsessed with these head bands today.
The eldest is also picking up my photography habit.
The middle one makes the baby laugh hysterically. She really loves her big brothers!
Baby This Week
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
This child changes so quickly. Even in one week we notice she is bigger. Lately she is grabbing her rattle and sucking on it. She rolls all over the place and likes to laugh a lot. Here she is very intrigued by the reversible camera:
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