Because She Changes Everyday...

...and it's been a couple days since sharing some pics

Turtles, Take One

I like to have "things" (a casual way to say "traditions"). Something that I do every year. I am trying to figure out what one or two things can be "mine" for the Holidays...the couple things that I love to do and am sure to prioritize each year so that if life gets too hectic and nothing else gets done, I will feel 'centered' and content with just these few things.

For the past year or two I've been dreaming of making really delicious turtles, and lots of them. Enough to package up cute and hand out to neighbors, school teachers, mail lady, friends, family, you get the point. I have this vision of my family and our extended family in a big old farmhouse, fully decked out for the holidays making football field lengths of buttery, rich confections.

Everyone says they are putszy, but they seem less daunting to me than making a variety of cookies. As long as you keep stirring the caramel and get the timing/temperature right, you can have dozens of turtles just moments after that. ...Or, dozens of "Werther's Unoriginal" hard candies as Joe called ours. You guessed it - we didn't get our timing/temperature just right and our dozens of turtles wound up being hard candy with some pecans in them. Joe (being Joe) popped the pecans out of the hardened caramel for when we give turtle making a 2nd try. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get them right when we try again in a few days.

This photo looks pretty tempting and yummy.

Our little candy girl who "helped" us.

What's For Dinner?

4 Feet of Bread!

A loaf that was taller than each of the boys!

Otto taking a bite and Max saying it was too crunchy for him.

Officially Inducted into the Inclement Weather Club

Anyone who knows me knows that my "thing" while on maternity leave is my daily power walk with baby. Usually it's a walk around a lake, and many times it's a walk to do our errands to get groceries, bread, post office, etc.

Wren has lucked out with 6 weeks of unseasonably warm weather since she was born. Her brothers, born in January and February, were literally thrown into the middle of winter and had nothing but months of icy, snowy walks ahead of them.

And though it took 6 weeks, our little lady has been officially inducted into the inclement weather power walking club. Given the warm temps last week, it was a lot of rain rather than snow that welcomed her into this exclusive club:)

Cuddly With a Chance of Flurries

That is the forecast for Otto & Max's room after I spruced it up a bit.

First, I sewed a twin and toddler bed duvet out of two queen sized Christmas sheets I had purchased (& never used) several years ago. Then I used some left over flannel to make a coordinating little pillow for Otto's bed.

Joe hung up Otto's hooks so he has a place for his PJ's, just like Max does.

And then I hung paper snowflakes above both of the boys beds.

The whole impetus of this winter bedroom makeover was Max's enthusiasm for cuddly bedding and the anticipation of snow. We've been reading books in mine and Joe's bed and Max has been asking for cozy winter blankets like our hot cocoa duvet. He showed up in our room one morning asking to climb into our bed because "my bed is so incredibly cold."

Additionally, while picking Max up from school a few weeks ago he asked if he could leave his winter jacket in his locker, to which I replied "There's a chance of snow this weekend, so we should bring it home." Well, you would have thought I told him Santa was coming that night and every night until he turns 4, because he and his friend Graham went wild (screaming, jumping up and down, hugging, telling their friends and teachers) about how excited they were that snow was coming!!!!!! This gave me the idea to hang snowflakes in the boy's room.

And my efforts were not for waste. When Max saw his room for the first time he reacted similarly to how he and Graham had about impending snow, and actually said "Mom, mine and Otto's room is MAGICAL!"

Thanksgiving

We ran out of feathers, but I could have easily added more things I was thankful for this Thanksgiving. For starters, it was at least 59 degrees in Minneapolis on Thursday! Warm enough for a run around the lake in shorts! Shorts that fit me again!

Max's first drumstick

Wren with her cousin Lyla

Me & Wren

At the risk of sounding trite, I am most thankful for these smiling faces.

Shadow Cat

While doing my whirlwind 3-minute "tidy up" after the boys headed off to school this morning, I nearly tossed this little kitty right into a toy drawer before noticing her super cute shadow.

So glad it caught my eye...inspiration for shadow puppet shows, chasing shadows, tracing shadows, etc for days when the boys aren't headed off to school.