Snow Day

First snow today. We've had such a lovely fall, I'm sad for it to get cold. The kids were dying to get out in the snow, but I couldn't climb up to the garage rack to get the winter box down. They had to be satisfied with coats and hats, and walking the boys to piano lessons this afternoon. That was cold enough for me, I was ready to be done by the time we got back.

Adelia (and really all the kids, but her specifically) thought the snow was magical. It didn't bother her that she didn't have gloves or proper shoes. She made tracks, and scooped up handfuls like it was made out of fluffy cotton instead of freezing ice. And I couldn't help but think how it would be to see the world again as a child sees it. Snow as a perfect miracle, instead of a pain in the neck. Maybe when the kids are old enough to put on their own boots, zip their own coats, and shovel the driveway for me, I'll appreciate snow again. ;) I do like to watch my kids in the snow though. Especially Ollie today, he was glued to the sliding glass door, just pointing and saying, "Oooo!"

Speaking of that little stinker, he thinks it's hilarious to use Ruby's crib as his own personal jungle-gym. Today he kept climbing into it, and getting stuck and yelling for someone to come get him out. I finally got tired of it, so I sat on the bedroom floor and watched him while he decided how to get himself out. It took him awhile, but then he started getting braver and braver. Right after I took this picture, he decided to stand up on the railing. He looked at me and said, "Catch!" and then jumped for it. Luckily, I caught him. But he has wayyyy too much faith in my ability to get my pregnant self up off the floor and in catching position in time.

Ollie also decided that today would be a good day to dump a third of a bottle of vegetable oil out on my kitchen floor. That's a first for me. I've done baby powder, Desitin, nail polish loads of times, vaseline, poop, paint...but never vegetable oil. Not the hardest thing to get cleaned up, but still not fun, and I ended up mopping half the kitchen floor on my  hands and knees.

I was a little slow on the uptake, but today I finally got around to getting our Thankful Tree up. Usually I do a Grateful Gobbler, but I wasn't feeling it this year, and I had some sheets from a roll of brown butcher paper that I've been trying to find a use for so they don't have to take up space in the bottom of my school closet anymore. And long story short, our Thankful Tree was born. I like it. The kids helped me cut out the leaves, and we'll add more as we write more things we're thankful for on them and hang them up.

We also did a writing summary page today. I read them There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, and then we summarized it on turkey shaped paper and colored a turkey to go on as the cover. :)

Ivan's summary

And now the kids are all in bed, and Aaron is at Elder's Quorum meeting. For whatever weird reason, I can't focus on reading this pregnancy, which is how I would normally choose to pass a quiet evening. So instead, I've taken to crocheting around baby blankets and watching Dressing Your Truth videos online. At least that way, I still feel like I'm being productive. My hands are moving, and my brain is concentrating on whatever topic the video is teaching about.