Staying Warm

It has been cold outside.  Hopefully this polar vortex crap will quit soon.

 

At least he likes the cold.

We have baked cookies on snow days...

Who snitched a bite of cookie?

 

But, most of the time I sit at my desk or migrate to the dining room table to read, write papers, and take tests.  

Tomorrow it is suppose to be warmer.  Even though it is suppose to be 30 degrees... not even above freezing yet...We will still run around outside like crazy people.  I can't wait for a little warmth to come our way!

"O! this learning, what a thing it is."- William Shakespeare

A Little Chess

 

 

He is a fierce competitor... Don't let your guard down or he will take you out!

 

He may be only seven but he strategizes and theorizes every move of the game.

 

We have been working on playing chess and other board games this winter.  Playing board games as a family is a secret goal of mine.  But, I never thought this little guy would catch onto the game like he did.  He is awesome!

-45

The weather at the beginning of the week was deceivingly sunny. 

The tree in this photo is one of our pear trees. Last year it cross pollinated with the apple trees and we ended up with fruit that looked like apple but tasted like pear.  Crazy!

Our area did not meet the -60 windshield that was predicted but stepping into the cold took my vision and my breath away. 

The boys were restless and this mama was very impatient.  I have twenty credits for college that I have to complete on my own (outside of scheduled classes) and my goal was to have ten credits completed over Christmas break.  In reality, the credits consist of reading and writing papers which is simple and very time consuming. 

We have been cooped up in the house for days... which does not help my goal of completing 10 credits.  The natives are restless and my patience is gone.  Now boys...Let's not throw each other off of the bed... or try to lock each other in closets... or trick each other into doing something naughty... or scare each other at every opportunity.  Let's just try to keep mom sane and get along.  Easier. Said. Than. Done.  I found myself begging them to watch a movie--- which absolutely never happens!

Oh well.  They will only be young boys once.  It's not like Aaron and his brothers still horse around.  Yeah. Right.

I am glad the weather finally warmed up.  Now I can send the Wild Ones outside.

Cold

It's cold... everyone knows it's cold.  Tomorrow is suppose to bring -60 wind chill.  Now that is cold!

But we have managed to sneak outside when the temperature isn't dangerously cold...

Maybe it's time to make some more sugar cookies.  That will for sure help us stay warm!

Santa's Elves

I am slightly obsessed with these pencils the boys got for Christmas...

Aaron asked, "Where'd you get the pencils?"

I replied, "Santa brought them."

Then, Abram said, "Santa's elves do awesome work!"

Yes, they do!

A Couple of Surprises

I've had a few surprises lately...

Yes, that is a deer skull.  It is hanging above the chalk board in our dining room.  I awoke last weekend, came downstairs, and stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of this thing.  But, I was assured by a friend that it is currently in style.  A deer skull!

The other surprise was on a bag of frozen peaches.  We freeze peaches every year and this year Aaron helped me bag them.

This message says, "Amanda is HOT."

Aaron wrote little messages on the bags of peaches.  Not all of the messages are... appropriate... so it looks like Aaron and I will be the only ones allowed to take the peaches out of the freezer:)

I spent last weekend with three of my nieces in Mankato. It was so much fun!

We are to address this little lady as "Cinderella."

We played and danced and were kinda crazy the entire weekend.  We are always sad to leave, but we will be back!

You maybe a nurse (or maybe a mom) if...

You may be a nurse (or maybe a mom) if...

~ You clean cat puke up in the middle of dinner and then return to your food as if nothing happened.

~ Your house is a mess.  It is a statistical fact that nurses (and moms) have messy homes.

~ You get yelled at by a family member, for nothing in particular, and you think, "You got nothing on [insert a certain physician or child here.]"

~ You can hold your bladder for 12 hours straight... and then go to the bathroom only because you just realize that you have not peed for 12 hours.

~  You can survive solely on coffee.  It is its own food group.

~  You decide (because crazy runs rampant on your side of the family) that normal every day life isn't busy enough... Lets have a ginormous garden, can/freeze/dehydrate enough food to last well into the next famine, invite people over for supper, teach your kids how to read music, do homework (oh yeah, yours and theirs,) lets play with Play-Doh before everyone arrives... yes please let the drooling-dirty-hairy dog into the house while I am making supper... and then go work a 12 hour night shift and not even get to eat.

~  You may or may not wear Super Woman underwear and envision them giving you super hero powers.  Or secret spy like capabilities.  May or may not.

~ You know the nutritional content of buttermilk pancakes and bacon--- and you know way down deep that bacon is not part of the meat section of the food pyramid.  But, you throw a few apples on the plate (to make it 'healthy') and eat it anyway.  Because. It. Is. Delicious.

~ Your husband calls you and says,"I fell off of a ladder.  I am going to the Emergency Room."

You respond, "Are you driving yourself?"

Several seconds of silence. 

"Yes," he says.

And then you say, with his well being in mind of course, "Then you can go to the clinic."

~  Your husband rents a fancy hotel room... with a Jacuzzi... and you both fall asleep watching TV at seven o'clock.  When you are packing to leave the next morning, you realize that the tub didn't even get used and the sheets are still well made.  How sad.

~  You enter a room to find a couple who have been married for 65 years holding hands.  The wife suffers from dementia. 

You lean down to a level where she can hear you and say, "Your husband loves you very much."

She knows nothing of what is going on... she has no idea where she is, why she is here, or the day of the week.  But, she smiles sweetly and whispers, "I know."

She turns her head to look at her husband, and you look at him with tears in your eyes and see the tears running down his face.  He gently rubs her hand and smiles.

You maybe a nurse... or a mom... if seeing that in real life (or maybe just in your minds eye) brings you to tears--- That is a memory I will never forget.