Happy first day of spring.  Ha ha ha, spring, that is funny.  It is -10*C outside with a windchill factor of -20*C.  There are snow drifts taller than me out there, and it is blowing so hard I can't see across the yard.  Happy spring indeed.  Oh well spring will come when it is ready, I guess.

Anyways I thought I would share a little about my afternoon yesterday.  I was in the bedroom folding laundry and when I poked my head out to check on the kiddos I discovered LK trying to cut LT's hair. After a stern lecture (which I'm sure did absolutely no good) I encouraged him to cut some paper instead.  But as he had cut a bunch of paper that morning he wasn't interested.  So I gave him some of my scraps of yarn to cut.  He did try that a bit but they were a little hard to cut.  Then I printed some pictures of sheep and decided we would decorate them by gluing the yarn on the them. I let him paint the glue on the sheep and then add the yarn.  He was more interested in the painting then and so moved on to painting a bunch of pictures.  LT, of course, was right in the middle of it all and joined in as well.  Needless to say I still have laundry to fold.

PS.  This morning as we were cuddling in bed LK was playing with my hair and said "cut hair mom?".  I don't think he has gotten this idea out of his system yet so I will have to keep a close eye on the scissors.

FOR TODAY

Outside my window . . . the landscape is snow covered but the sun is shining brightly.

I am thinking . . . about spring coming and whether I will be any more successful at having a garden this year.

I am thankful . . . for healthy children, a loving husband, and a nice house to live in.

In the kitchen . . . the children are eating cupcakes. A menu plan still needs to be made for this week. 

I am creating . . . crocheting a couple of afghans for my older girls.  I suspect this will be a year long project.

I am wearing . . . just the usual sweatpants and a T-shirt.  A fashionista I am not.

I am going . . . to band tonight with Star.  But no skating today.  The girls had their skating carnival last weekend and did very well.  Now skating is over for the season so we may have a little more time on our hands.

I am wondering . . . how long the snow will last.  I am guessing it won't be disappearing any time soon.

I am reading . . . The Star Garden by Nancy Turner and for some Lenten reading I am going through Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots by Scott Hahn.

I am hoping . . . to remain at peace.

I am looking forward to . . . spring.

I am learning . . . to take each moment as it comes.

Around the house . . . hubby continues to work on our basement reno.  Today he is mudding some drywall.

A favorite quote for today . . . "The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty" (Blessed Teresa of Calcutta)

One of my favorite things . . . smiles.

A few plans for the rest of the week:  Lil gets her 18 month shots tomorrow, piano lessons for Sky on Thursday.  Other than that I am not sure.

Some pictures to share . . . LT and LK playing outside.

Yarn Along: Car Case and Airplane

For LK's birthday the older girls and I made him this little tote to keep his matchbox cars in.  Last Thursday the buses didn't run due to a windchill factor of -45*C so they got to stay home from school and do some crafting.  We loosely followed this tutorial to make the car case and LK seemed to like it.

And here is the completed toy airplane I crocheted for him.

That`s all for today.  Oh I am re-reading A Mother`s Rule of Life and getting a lot out of it.  Even if you don`t create a formal Rule for yourself there is a lot of good info in there.

LK is 3!

Happy Birthday to my very special birthday boy.  I can't believe you're 3 years old today.  

Yarn Along; Kerchiefs and some squares.

Yarning along once again on this blustery Wednesday with Ginny over at Small Things.  I have continued to work on a few small projects.  This week it was kerchiefs to keep my hair out of my face.  The purple one is the Lacy Crochet Kerchief by Kristen TenDyke and the red and blue one is the Winged Hair Kerchief by Jessica Silfa.

Then I started playing around with some squares from The Granny Square Book by Margaret Hubert.  I plan to use these to make some bags for the girls.

Not much other reading has been happening here because I have some sad news.  The touch screen on my Kobo Touch has stopped working.  It is very sad. I really liked having an e-reader so I would like to replace it at some point in the future.  I having been looking at the various options out there and I am really not sure what would be the best one to get.  Most of the e-books I did read came from our local library which I believe only supports Kobo and the Sony e-reader.  I do hear you can get a lot of free books for the Kindle as well and that seems to be the best and most popular e-reader.  What would you pick?  Does anyone have the Sony e-reader and what do you think of it?  Any advice and opinions are welcome.

40 Before 40

Recently I celebrated my 35th birthday and I started feeling a bit old.  If I were having another baby I would be considered advanced maternal age.  (Not that I am planning to have another baby, I'm just saying 35 is old.)  However, I am thankful to have had 35 wonderful years here on this earth and hopefully I will blessed with many more wonderful years. In pondering all this I thought it would be fun to come up with a list of 40 things I would like to do before I am 40.  So I did.

Here is my list:

            1. Climb a mountain.

2. Learn to knit.

3. Knit or crochet a fitted garment for myself.  Also knit or crochet some items for charity.

4. Improve my sewing skills and sew a garment.

5. Do a mini-triathlon.

6. Read a novel by Jane Austen.

7. Read the entire New Testament of the Bible.

8. Grow more of my own food.

9. Can some stuff from the garden.

10. Make some yummy salsa that we all like.

11. Lose 25 lbs.

12. Be able to do 2 chin-ups.

13. See the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore or the California Redwoods.

14. Invite someone other than family over for dinner.

15. Learn how to take a photo in manual mode.

16. Finish my children’s baby scrapbooks.

17. Get my photo’s organized, printed, in a book, and backed up so if my hard drive fails I don’t lose all my photo’s.

18. Declutter the house and try to keep it that way.

19. Run 5K in 30 minutes or less.

20. Memorize something.

21. Live frugally and be debt free (or nearly debt free) at 40.

22. Go outside as much as possible.

23. Swim in the ocean (learn to surf if possible).

24. Make a will.

25. Make vanilla extract.

26. Go on a canoe trip.

27. Camp in the backyard or pasture (sleep under the stars).

28. Go on a bike trip.

29. Read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

30. Keep a gratitude journal and record 1000 gifts.

31. Pick an obscure feast day and celebrate it (Make some fancy food).

32. Set up an awesome obstacle course in the backyard and time myself (and my kids) going through it.

33. Read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

34. Read Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers.

35. Stop and notice the flowers.  One summer take pictures of all the flowers we see and turn it into a book or something.

36. Create a morning ritual that includes exercise and prayer/reflection time.

37. Finger paint just for fun.

38. Make cloud dough, and try some other fun sensory play with the kiddos.

39. Work on being the best parent to my children as I can be.  Maintain a close relationship with them especially as they enter the teenage years.

40. Be the best partner, help mate, friend, and wife to my husband.

I look forward with joy to next 5 years.  Can you believe that when I turn forty I will have a 16 year old (yikes!), a 14 year old, a nearly 8 year old, and a 6 year old?  It should be fun and I look forward to sharing lot's of adventures with them. 

Yarn Along: Headbands, Mitts and an Airplane

On this chilly Wednesday I am once again joining Ginny for Yarn Along.  This past week I finished crocheting some headbands and mittens for the girls to wear during skating.

Then I started this toy airplane for LK's 3rd birthday.  (I must say I can't believe that my little boy is almost 3.  Time is going way too fast.)

I like crocheting small projects like this that finish up quickly and give you a sense of accomplishment but I am thinking it is time to tackle a large project again.  I think an afghan may be in my future.  I have been waiting to see if Bernat is hosting a Mystery Afghan KAL/CAL again as I enjoyed doing the one last year.  Also I noticed that Bernat is hosting a Temperature Scarf CAL/KAL which I am tempted to join in on.

I haven't been doing much reading lately (other than blogs).  I am slowly working my through 

More Than a Bucket List: Making Your Dreams, Passions, and Faith a Reality.   

That's all for today. Happy Wednesday everyone.