Check out those feet!!!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
This
This guy got to stay home today because of the company anniversary.
So I made these:
And this:
And of course, a bunch of these:
Actually....the dishes were much worse. Pete (a heckuvaguy) did some cleaning up while I put Clara down for a nap.
And now because it's doing this:
I'm having a little of this:
April. Cruel.
So I made these:
And this:
And of course, a bunch of these:
Actually....the dishes were much worse. Pete (a heckuvaguy) did some cleaning up while I put Clara down for a nap. And now because it's doing this:
I'm having a little of this:
April. Cruel.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Just a bunch of pictures...
Here are some everyday life photos....not that my usual blogging isn't everyday.... whatever....here are some pictures:
This is Henry at the library, playing at the train table...
And choosing books.
And Clara, soaking in the ambiance.
Here's Henry eating lunch.
He was enjoying apple donuts.
Franklin thought the laundry basket was his new bed.
Here are the new backyard visitors.
For some reason I thought it was funny how many utensils I used for dinner the other night. It was for a one-dish meal. I may have had a glass of wine before taking this photo.
Here's Clara in her usual dinnertime seat.
This is how my Sundays often start. I like going to the grocery on Sundays. The road is empty.
Unfortunately there's a lot of this going on.
The parking lot is also empty.
Is it sad that grocery shopping is my "me time"?
This is where I like to park. Then I don't have to run all around to return the cart. It actually matters more when I have the kids with me, which I usually don't on Sunday mornings. Whatever. This is where I like to park.
Here's my car full of groceries. 4 bags in all today. Also my coffee cup. I like to get a coffee and wander around the store with it. And my not-very-adhered-to grocery list.
When we get home it's Henry's job to hang the bags back in their spot.
And Pete likes to unpack so he can scope out what I bought. He doesn't like it when he finds out four days too late that there were chocolate covered raisins in the house. I don't usually buy so much yogurt, but it was on sale and Katie's here now.
Henry got some special cereal. He was very excited and wanted to try some immediately.
And that concludes my rambling posting of random stuff.
This is Henry at the library, playing at the train table...
And choosing books.
And Clara, soaking in the ambiance.
Here's Henry eating lunch.
He was enjoying apple donuts.
Franklin thought the laundry basket was his new bed.
Here are the new backyard visitors.
For some reason I thought it was funny how many utensils I used for dinner the other night. It was for a one-dish meal. I may have had a glass of wine before taking this photo.
Here's Clara in her usual dinnertime seat.
This is how my Sundays often start. I like going to the grocery on Sundays. The road is empty.
Unfortunately there's a lot of this going on.
The parking lot is also empty.
Is it sad that grocery shopping is my "me time"?
This is where I like to park. Then I don't have to run all around to return the cart. It actually matters more when I have the kids with me, which I usually don't on Sunday mornings. Whatever. This is where I like to park.
Here's my car full of groceries. 4 bags in all today. Also my coffee cup. I like to get a coffee and wander around the store with it. And my not-very-adhered-to grocery list.
When we get home it's Henry's job to hang the bags back in their spot.
And Pete likes to unpack so he can scope out what I bought. He doesn't like it when he finds out four days too late that there were chocolate covered raisins in the house. I don't usually buy so much yogurt, but it was on sale and Katie's here now.
Henry got some special cereal. He was very excited and wanted to try some immediately.
And that concludes my rambling posting of random stuff.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Correction
At dinner Henry was telling Pete about gymnastics.
I realized I made a mistake in the previous post.
Henry was not a "shark monster".
He was a "monster of the sharks".
Seems like an important difference.
I realized I made a mistake in the previous post.
Henry was not a "shark monster".
He was a "monster of the sharks".
Seems like an important difference.
More Dirty Laundry...
Okay- just in case you're tired of the subject of laundry, I'll try to couch it in amongst some other topics. This post is going to be photo-filled.
Here are the pretty red flowers I planted out front the other day. I'm so glad I got them. I might have to get a few more. Also- Dad is maybe going to make us some window boxes. Pretty soon we won't have the scrubbiest front yard on the block anymore.
This one is for Joyce....
On Tuesday I got to pick Henry up from school (usually Pete's job, as it's on the way to and from work for him). We may or may not have stopped at Ben and Jerry's on the way home. Henry would not stand still to have his picture taken with this lion.
And now- laundry. A few things I've been mulling over....
1) Samantha said that everything but adult undies go on her clothes line. I must say, with the fabulous Breezecatcher, you can hide the adult undies in the middle quite nicely!
2) A conundrum. I always use the cold water settings for all of my laundry. With regular clothes this is still fine. However, for things like baby-butt wipes and dishtowels (not laundered together) I've relied on the germ-killing heat of the dryer. Should I now switch to washing those things in hot water? Please advise.
3) Last night I left a load of laundry out overnight- mostly out of laziness. Neither possums nor raccoons absconded with our clothes. I may have seen a squirrel wearing a pair of Pete's boxers, though.
4) I let Henry decorate my clothespin bag. On the front is this lovely family portrait.
Drawing color-coded for ease of identification: I am red (and pretending to be a camel- according to the artist) Henry is blue and stepping over (not on) Clara, who is purple. Pete is green. We all have purple hair. Franklin is yellow with lots of hair and Linus is green. This is maybe my all-time favorite piece of Henry's artwork.
And here is the back; a lion with many feet. Please note that the far right foot is "taking a big step".
5) Will and I had a conversation about which type of clothespins are best. This kind:
Or this kind... he recommended the former, as they don't require manipulation. I tend to agree.
However, this one is no good....
And I can't make this one work...
This morning Henry helped me push Clara for a windy walk.
Then we went to gymnastics. They have raised the bar.
Clara enjoyed watching.
Here's Henry being a "shark monster". His pal on the balance beam had been playing shark under the beam while Henry went across. Henry is not a fan of sharks, and got a little teary with the other boy's exuberance. I guess this was his retaliation.
There were only 3 kids today. They like ending with the scooters.
And Clara again...
On the way home we got stuck by the train.
But Henry had his snack and his post-gymnastics water bottle.
And we had a lovely view of the Save Ferris water tower. So we were fine.
And here's a photo for Joyce....who loves the thumb sucking pictures. As do I.
Finally- a little video from our walk this morning.
Here are the pretty red flowers I planted out front the other day. I'm so glad I got them. I might have to get a few more. Also- Dad is maybe going to make us some window boxes. Pretty soon we won't have the scrubbiest front yard on the block anymore.
This one is for Joyce....On Tuesday I got to pick Henry up from school (usually Pete's job, as it's on the way to and from work for him). We may or may not have stopped at Ben and Jerry's on the way home. Henry would not stand still to have his picture taken with this lion.
And now- laundry. A few things I've been mulling over....1) Samantha said that everything but adult undies go on her clothes line. I must say, with the fabulous Breezecatcher, you can hide the adult undies in the middle quite nicely!
2) A conundrum. I always use the cold water settings for all of my laundry. With regular clothes this is still fine. However, for things like baby-butt wipes and dishtowels (not laundered together) I've relied on the germ-killing heat of the dryer. Should I now switch to washing those things in hot water? Please advise.
3) Last night I left a load of laundry out overnight- mostly out of laziness. Neither possums nor raccoons absconded with our clothes. I may have seen a squirrel wearing a pair of Pete's boxers, though.4) I let Henry decorate my clothespin bag. On the front is this lovely family portrait.
Drawing color-coded for ease of identification: I am red (and pretending to be a camel- according to the artist) Henry is blue and stepping over (not on) Clara, who is purple. Pete is green. We all have purple hair. Franklin is yellow with lots of hair and Linus is green. This is maybe my all-time favorite piece of Henry's artwork.
5) Will and I had a conversation about which type of clothespins are best. This kind:
Or this kind... he recommended the former, as they don't require manipulation. I tend to agree.
However, this one is no good....
And I can't make this one work...
This morning Henry helped me push Clara for a windy walk.
Then we went to gymnastics. They have raised the bar.
Clara enjoyed watching.
Here's Henry being a "shark monster". His pal on the balance beam had been playing shark under the beam while Henry went across. Henry is not a fan of sharks, and got a little teary with the other boy's exuberance. I guess this was his retaliation.
There were only 3 kids today. They like ending with the scooters.
And Clara again...
On the way home we got stuck by the train.
But Henry had his snack and his post-gymnastics water bottle.
And we had a lovely view of the Save Ferris water tower. So we were fine.
And here's a photo for Joyce....who loves the thumb sucking pictures. As do I.
Finally- a little video from our walk this morning.Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Plastic Bags Blow
Okay- yesterday's post got a lot of great comments. Here are some bags I saw on another website. Look how cute they are!
And they fold up really tiny, so they're easy to take with you and have on hand.
Somehow they seem more appropriate for Target/clothes shopping than string bags do. Though- something I do is to just put the clothes in the bottom basket part of the stroller. It may make it look like I'm shoplifting- but I'll just carry my receipt right in my hand. I, also, have had funny feelings about what people will think of me. But really? Who the hell cares!??! If that's what people are choosing to judge me on- let them. And I learned a long time ago that I'm much happier when I don't live by the rules of "what will people think?" Anyway. Lest I get soapboxy again....
Here are the wrapsacks Sandy mentioned. Their original product was gift-wrap bags (thus the name) but Sandy's right- they do have really cute totes! And they fold up into a little zipper pouch, I think.
Sorry about the quality of the images. I borrowed them off of their websites.
Also- I really like this website. And their t-shirts.
Get it? Ha ha. I found some good string bags there. They also have mesh produce bags so you don't have to take all of your produce home in plastic. I got some of those for Will and Sandy for Christmas. I actually just bought some for myself at WholeFoods too. I started with 2- because I still had plastic produce bags I was reusing. But I think I'll get some more. Did you hear that WholeFoods has gotten rid of plastic bags entirely? As of yesterday. Kudos to them! I wish every place would do it. It's so easy, and so much better in so many ways, to use reusable bags- why doesn't everyone do it?
And they fold up really tiny, so they're easy to take with you and have on hand.
Somehow they seem more appropriate for Target/clothes shopping than string bags do. Though- something I do is to just put the clothes in the bottom basket part of the stroller. It may make it look like I'm shoplifting- but I'll just carry my receipt right in my hand. I, also, have had funny feelings about what people will think of me. But really? Who the hell cares!??! If that's what people are choosing to judge me on- let them. And I learned a long time ago that I'm much happier when I don't live by the rules of "what will people think?" Anyway. Lest I get soapboxy again....Here are the wrapsacks Sandy mentioned. Their original product was gift-wrap bags (thus the name) but Sandy's right- they do have really cute totes! And they fold up into a little zipper pouch, I think.
Sorry about the quality of the images. I borrowed them off of their websites.
Also- I really like this website. And their t-shirts.
Get it? Ha ha. I found some good string bags there. They also have mesh produce bags so you don't have to take all of your produce home in plastic. I got some of those for Will and Sandy for Christmas. I actually just bought some for myself at WholeFoods too. I started with 2- because I still had plastic produce bags I was reusing. But I think I'll get some more. Did you hear that WholeFoods has gotten rid of plastic bags entirely? As of yesterday. Kudos to them! I wish every place would do it. It's so easy, and so much better in so many ways, to use reusable bags- why doesn't everyone do it?
Monday, April 21, 2008
Earth Day Every Day
Sarah's blog tipped me off to a recent episode of Oprah. Like Sarah, I was appalled to hear that a family would use a full roll of paper towels in one day. I just find that unconscionable! How do you even feel okay about doing that? Anyway...I try hard to do what I can to just generally be a responsible person living on this planet. I know there is a lot more I could do, but I feel pretty good about how I stack up to the families that were on the show! Also like Sarah, I'm going to try not to be too soapboxy. Speaking of soapboxy: Here is the letter that Oprah presented to the absurdly irresponsible families on the show. The same challenge goes out to all of us:
Dear Family, Thanks for agreeing to live with less for a week. Your challenge starts now! This week, you will be eating at home every meal. No more eating out, no more takeout. And you have to eat your leftovers. If you throw food in the trash, you've got to 'fess up. For one week, you're going to give up the bottled water habit. Get a water filter—time to get to know your tap. No more disposable plates, cups, napkins or paper towels. Try cloth—you might like it! For entertainment, you'll have to rely on each other. For one week, I'm asking you to give up your iPods and video games, and your computers only get turned on for homework. TV is limited to one hour per night—one TV only. That thermostat is going way down…to 69 degrees. If you get cold, put on a sweater. Give your washing machine a break—try to wash only clothes that are TRULY dirty. When you leave a room, lights out. Ditto for fans. When you're done using an appliance, unplug it. Don't forget your computer and cell phone chargers too. Showers are going to be shorter—eight minutes max. Use a kitchen timer to help you keep track. Want to go shopping? Head to your closets. That's your wardrobe for the week. The mall is off-limits. You final challenge—no buying anything other than food for seven days. Good luck, Oprah
So, the way I see it, I'm good on the water, the disposables and the thermostat. I've also gotten much better about meal planning and using the food we buy.
Here's what I'll try to improve upon:
1. Shorter showers. I've been working on this one. I'm not terrible, but I could do better. I think I'll buy a timer (oops- already breaking the rule about not buying stuff) and aim for 5 minutes.
2. I'm pretty good about only washing clothes when they're dirty. But I could probably be better. We are now set up with our new 'Breezecatcher' in the backyard and I love it already. Any thoughts, though, on drying clothes at night? (Thanks to Will and Sandy who gave me money towards the clothesline as a gift. They also recommended this model- which is excellent.)Dear Family, Thanks for agreeing to live with less for a week. Your challenge starts now! This week, you will be eating at home every meal. No more eating out, no more takeout. And you have to eat your leftovers. If you throw food in the trash, you've got to 'fess up. For one week, you're going to give up the bottled water habit. Get a water filter—time to get to know your tap. No more disposable plates, cups, napkins or paper towels. Try cloth—you might like it! For entertainment, you'll have to rely on each other. For one week, I'm asking you to give up your iPods and video games, and your computers only get turned on for homework. TV is limited to one hour per night—one TV only. That thermostat is going way down…to 69 degrees. If you get cold, put on a sweater. Give your washing machine a break—try to wash only clothes that are TRULY dirty. When you leave a room, lights out. Ditto for fans. When you're done using an appliance, unplug it. Don't forget your computer and cell phone chargers too. Showers are going to be shorter—eight minutes max. Use a kitchen timer to help you keep track. Want to go shopping? Head to your closets. That's your wardrobe for the week. The mall is off-limits. You final challenge—no buying anything other than food for seven days. Good luck, Oprah
So, the way I see it, I'm good on the water, the disposables and the thermostat. I've also gotten much better about meal planning and using the food we buy.
Here's what I'll try to improve upon:
1. Shorter showers. I've been working on this one. I'm not terrible, but I could do better. I think I'll buy a timer (oops- already breaking the rule about not buying stuff) and aim for 5 minutes.
Pete installing our new clothesline. Franklin was very helpful.3. I can always try harder to avoid Starbucks. I do take my own cup- but still....the general over-consumerism of it bothers me. Plus, I hate to ever feel addicted to anything. I don't even drink caffeinated drinks- you'd think that one would be easier for me.
Clara after our walk this morning. I did buy Starbucks (We walked right past it! I had a card! I used my cup!). I also bought some lillies of the valley for our yard, more clothespins and a duster. I'm always good about not using taking a bag- but I thought it was funny how it looked like the stroller had a fluffy tail on the way home.4. My big one- and this is what will really be a challenge and an important change for me- is to cut down on my computer time. We've been without t.v. for over half a year now and it's great. But I rely much more on my computer. I'm not sure yet how to monitor myself, but I think I'm going to have to try to limit it to an hour a day. That seems like a lot- but I'm sure I would be shocked if I knew how much time I actually spend on the computer in one day.
Oops. I think I'm already past my quota for today. As soon as I'm finished blogging I'll stay off the computer until after dinner. Unless there's some sort of emergency.....Now I'd like to hear from you. What are you going to change that is above and beyond what you already do? It's not supposed to be easy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)