Everything's bigger in Texas....

Except the snowmen. This weekend we had warm weather---we worked in the yard for a few hours and enjoyed the 76 degree afternoon. So of course today it snowed all morning! We waited until there was a light coating and headed out for some fun.

No love for the sweet potato

This morning in an attempt to keep the kids out of mischief (they're feeling better and pretty squirrely but still coughing and noses running enough we're avoiding other kids) we made collage placemats. The theme was supposed to be foods. Ethan included a girl with a bow and arrow and Ella put a cat. We won't think too much about those, although I suppose that Italian tv chef who just got fired might be in solidarity with Ella.

At breakfast this morning I watched Ethan dip his french toast into his yogurt and gobble it up. This from a kid who gets greatly disturbed when the different foods on his plate touch each other and make the other "dirty". I tried to exploit the love for dipping things last night by serving a little ketchup with the sweet potato fries (insert disgusted shudder here). Of course this didn't work. Brent laughed at me for calling them fries (which they love) and setting them up for disappointment. I'm not sure why I'm on this quest to find a way to serve sweet potatoes that Brent and the kids will like. They eat other vegetables, and I just can't understand not liking sweet potatoes. I've tried them served with butter and caramel sauce, roasted with honey, as chips with some cayenne (which were actually really good but made Ella scrape her tongue desperately with her fingers---oops), and last night's attempt tossed in some olive oil and onions/garlic/herbs and baked/broiled. Guess I'll resort to fixing it just for myself, which at least gives the possibility that they'll want it. Stuff on my plate always looks better to them.

With a cough cough here and a drip drip there...

Pretty non-eventful around here except for the hacking coughs that have me constantly worried somebody's going to gag. Fun times!

In between the non-stop nose running and accompanying whining [most of it from the kids ; ) ] the kids have been helping me vacuum (they both love the toy vacuum Ella got from Ethan for her birthday until the real thing comes out), grocery shop, and make crafts (because another instrument that makes noise was clearly needed around here).

Ethan's bedtime prayers lately are all-encompassing and often include phrasings that I assume have come from church? We cover everybody's health, the Holy Word, angels, protection, requests to help with fear, and thanks for all of creation (usually a detailed list, although one day after that he said "and all that other stuff" just in case something had been forgotten). Ella usually gets fidgety before he's done!

Off to enjoy a bit of silence before the evening ends...

I'M TWO YEARS OLD!!!!

We hear that a lot around the house this week, except for the times she tells us she's 3 years old (which actually is pretty common). Ella had a great time on her birthday at an indoor play place with some friends. There were inflatables and several pretend play areas---Ella enjoyed the veterinarian area quite a bit. (I'm not sure why her neck has disappeared in this picture; I think she was trying to keep the stethoscope from falling off?)

It's good to have a two year audience for my cake-making skills. While extremely picky about many random details of her day, she was absolutely thrilled by her cat cake and not bothered at all by the oreo look that resulted from me trying to frost a chocolate cake with white frosting.

The kids have had lots of daddy time this long weekend since Brent took off work on Friday because I was having gum grafting surgery. They'll be sad to see him go back to work tomorrow after four days with us. My recovery has been pretty good, but now everybody else in the house is fighting a cold. Vicks on the feet for both kiddos tonight--the coughing has been pretty rough.