A Spot of Spring.

Spring can’t come soon enough for me.   We just had another blast of winter reminding us that it’s still in charge.

Although spring is trying to fight  back.

And I’m doing my best to nourish the hope of good things to come.  My tomatoes are up and going.

The peppers are trying but I think they have an aversion to NW weather.

The kids are busy as always and itching for something to do.  So I send them out to play with power tools.

O.K. Abner’s been busy working on his Eagle project.  Clearing a nature trail and replacing plant identification signs.

 

And when not sending my kids around to play with power tools.  I just pray for snow, Yeah, Right (heavy sarcasm added here.)   For when it snows, no matter how sick of it I am, the kids disappear.   

 

And sometimes they can’t be bothered with shoes.

At least when Hope takes off when there is snow on the ground, she returns quickly.  Humm, maybe I should hide her shoes more often.

My best hope of spring this week arrived in the form of a package from my swap partner Beth of Road to Joy.  We were teamed up in the Luck of the Fae – Fairy Swap.  Hosted by Missy of  Fairychild Heirlooms Weblog.

 

When opening my package I was immediately enveloped in a delicious scent I’ve never really sniffed before.  She sent sprigs of orange blossoms in the package and I had to keep going back for delightful whiff’s of sweetness throughout the afternoon.

Inside was a sweet new little fairy whom I immediately named Violet.

I love her dearly and I barely know her.  Immediately I started planning a fairy garden for her and her little abode which was also in my package.

Complete with a darling shelf and crockery.

I’m going to have to spirit her away because my little princesses just couldn’t get enough of her…

 

and her sweet hidey-home.

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Fairy Queen Beth also sent me this delightful, delicate Fairy Wand.

 

Complete with magic charms galore.

  Princess also received her swap package from her Pixie Wand swap partner who was Beth’s daughter.  Can you tell how excited she is?  She was practically levitating with joy at getting a package in the mail.  It might be her first ever package just for her.

   

Princess couldn’t wait to dig into her pixie pouch.

Which was charming because it’s reversible.

 

Pixie dust, fairy charms and a beautiful bracelet along with a flower wand were the goodies she received.

   

Thanks Beth and daughter!  Now I’ve got to get off my computer and clean up my messy house, dream of spring and find where I put those orange blossoms.    I put these stickers on my laptop to remind me to stop living vicariously through everyone else and start making my own dreams come true. 

Cabin Fever

The weatherman told us that it would be warmer today. That it would start to thaw out the mountains of snow in our yard and off the road.

He lied didn't quite get the forecast right. It snowed some more today.

So what's a mom to do when she has a house full of a half dozen snow bored kids.

She sends herself outside and lets them drive their Daddy crazy stay inside.

Then she takes her frustration out on the snow. And shovels the walk, driveway starts another snowman.

For reference - the Big Blue Beast behind Mr. Snowman is 6 foot 9.

As you can see he didn't get finished.

We'll have to wait and see if mom gets stir-crazy again tomorrow.

Winter Wonder(?)Land

We got another six inches this morning.

As of now we have...

A Really, Really, Really White Christmas. Our first White Christmas since moving to the land of Liquid Sunshine nearly 12 years ago.

And You're not going to believe this...

From the land of (It snows two inches and melts by the morning of the next day) rain...

22 INCHES OF SNOW!!!

And that measurement was taken from a part of my yard that is sheltered from the blowing snow drift stuff.

And thus, from the land equiped to handle (It snows two inches and melts by the morning of the next day so why bother being prepared for anything but) rain; we have gone two weeks without garbage pick-up and had a good week of not having mail delivered. That and the only people driving around are us Environmentally Un-Friendly Gas-Guzzeling 4X4's with monster truck tires. Arrr, Arrr, ARRRR! Doing our part to help the masses of little gas-sipping mini-car owners weather the storm.

I know, I know, I do enough knocking on my beastly big family bus. I have to say that I'm extremely grateful for it when it snows. For when there is snow on the road, it transforms from the Big Beast into a Big Blue Snow Angel Snow Mobile.

The Big Blue Snow Angel has put quite the miles on her wings over the past week. And spending so much time flying over the snow banks in her took it's toll. It meant my Christmas sewing suffered a bit, O.K. a lot.

I'm sad to say I probably only made it through half of my projects. But the most important ones got finished. And the others I will still finish just not for a little while. I'm done stressing.

By Christmas Eve the traditional new Pajamas were mostly done. Extra's like sleeves on the girls nightgowns and matching flannel pockets on the boys Tee-shirts can be finished later.

All in all Five pair of Pajama bottoms cost around $15.50.

Three nightgowns, three bloomers, and three matching mini-nightgowns for the Build-A-Bear family members cost $6.25.

So P.J.'s for all eight of us was a Grand Total of $21.75.

Every year the kids get a new ornament. This year their ornaments cost me a whole .50 cents. and that was for the ribbon to hang the ornaments. Everything else we had on hand. We made them Christmas Eve.

Prince Erik used his manly saw to cut up a log from our wood pile into little disks. Evo-man then drilled some holes in each disk.

I digged up a 12 year old bottle of Mod Podge and had the kids slap on some of the white stuff to each of the wood disks.

We took old Christmas Cards that we've recieved in the past and cut them up. Threw on the pictures and applied yet another layer of Mod Podge liberally over the first. Let it dry overnight and Wa-la!

A Unique family craft that we'll remember for a long time. And it doesn't look half bad - just different.

Christmas this year was simple - but wonderful. And thankfully none of the kids complained.

I scored the most. Prince Erik gave me the fourth computer laptop that he bought at Best Buy on Black Friday. The other three he E-bayed and with money made on them combined with and something I e-bayed we didn't have to pay anything for it. A Free Laptop. I like free.

I went over my $100 Christmas Budget but I'm pretty sure I stayed under $200. That and we didn't go into debt for anything. So all in all it was the best type of Christmas you can have.

However the kids are going stir-crazy with not being able to go anywhere because of the BLIZZARD.

So what's a mom to do with a house full of kids going Bonkers?

Have them build a monster snowman - that's what. Topped off with a good old stew pot hat, tablecloth scarf, and charcoal eye's and buttons, he didn't turn out too bad.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!