Doug

No, not uncle Doug...puppy Doug.

For Christmas uncle Doug got Sam a puppy. Sam ~loves~ puppies!! This particular dog was a pug dog. One of Sam's favorite shows is Dinosaur Dan. On the show Dan has a dog, a pug dog, named Doug. 

You can see where this is going....

So Sam named his new pug dog Doug. Which is funny because uncle Doug gave it to him. Quite a coincidence isn't it? 

It's also funny because all his other puppy's and animals don't have any names. They are just puppy or elephant, etc. But this one is Doug.

 

Busy and Bored

How exactly can someone be busy and bored at the same time you say? Well I feel like I've been trapped inside the house for a few months now and I'm starting to go nuts! Okay, not nuts, but I'm getting grumpy. 

I will be the first to admit I'm not a fan of winter. The snow is pretty and all that, but I don't like being cold. Unfortunately I'm not one of those people who run a little warm. I run a little cold. Ella can run around in short sleeve shirts all winter long and be happy. Meanwhile I have on three layers and trying to find something warm to drink. She takes after Zan. 

It was -24 Friday morning!! MINUS 24 degrees! I opened the shade in my kitchen window and there was ice half way up it. Keeping in mind our house is only a year old, so it's not like the window leaks or anything. It's just that freezing cold outside. Who in their right mind wants to go outside in that weather? Not me, that's for sure. 

So anyway you look at it I'm really looking forward to spring! 

Saturday we went to the Mall of America and went to see the aquarium. Sam loves looking at the sharks. They are remodeling the aquarium so every time we go it's a bit different. 

I've started working on some summer clothing for myself. I'll need to wear it soon, right? RIGHT? 

I finished a shirt yesterday. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. 

The picture quality isn't that great. I took it last night, so it looks a little yellow. Zan wasn't so sure about the different colors, but I like them together. Plus when it's on and there's a shirt over it you really won't see the green. I just think it gives it a nice touch and a little different.

Next up is a dress. I finally got my pattern in the mail on Saturday and I have the fabric ready to go. 

I've also been reading on my Nook a lot lately. I downloaded the Twilight series last week and I'm almost done already. I have a hard time putting the book down and Zan laughs at me when I'm reading in one hand and cooking over the stove with the other. 

On Friday morning there were these little paw tracks on our sidewalk. I was showing Ella and we were trying to figure out what type of animal would have made them.

She thought maybe it was a cat or something. I explained to her since it was so cold (-24) that the only animals that liked to be outside were penguins and polar bears. She figured it had to be a polar bear because penguins didn't have little claws. I told her that a polar bear was really big and these were small prints. She said it must be a cub then. :)

This morning before Ella left for school she said thank you to Sam. Sam replied, "No problemo." Too funny!

Wordless Wednesday

Weekend Recap

Not much new to report. Still cold. A new fresh coating of snow about every other day these days. We got about 2-3 inches of snow overnight that will need to be shoveled later today.

Ella and I ran some errands on Saturday. I can't believe how busy the little shopping mall we went to was!! There wasn't a parking space in the entire lot! We had to drive around and around waiting for a spot. Crazy!! We also went to JoAnn's so I could look at some fabric. I could stare at fabric all day long and bring it all home for that matter too!! In the end I found 5 different ones. I've got a couple different dress/skirt patterns coming so I'll have something cute to wear this summer.



I have a thing for collecting fabric. Zan thinks it's funny that I have a hard time spending money on clothing, but I'll spend a lot of money on fabric to make clothing. It's just so pretty!!! :)

I also made vegetable beef soup on Saturday and used my pressure canner for the first time. It was a success! Nothing blew up and I now have 7 large jars of soup in my pantry. I can't wait to try other things.

Yesterday I made a cake for one of Zan's co-workers. He wanted a Chicago Bear's cake.



Not bad if I do say so myself. Making cakes is pretty fun and the kids like nibbling on the leftover frosting. That is if I don't eat it all! :)

To Do List

I've been trying to tackle the to do list. I don't actually have a list. Maybe there should be a list, but there isn't one yet. Yesterday I hung up a picture in Ella's room.



Nana painted it for Ella and I framed and hung it up. Never made a frame before, but it seemed to turn out nicely.

I took down the gate hardware at the top of the stairs. The gate has been off for quite some time, but we won't be using it any more, so the hardware could now come off. I filled in the holes and painted it up. Can't even tell it was there.

Since I already had the Spackle and paint out I fixed a corner on the downstairs wall that the kids cracked and dented shortly after we moved in.

I shoveled the driveway. Okay this wasn't really a to do for the house, but it needed to be done. There was a good half inch of crusty ice under the snow. Got it all scraped up and shoveled off. Looks nice.

So far this morning I've cleaned out a few drawers and shimmed a couple doors. The doors are driving me nuts!! They like to swing closed (a little) and not stay opened all the way. Doors are a tricky thing, but they are much better now. May need to revisit if they don't stay put.

Sam and I have to go get the oil changed in the VUE this morning. I really don't want to go out, but it needs to be done.

I suppose I should go put the drill back and find something else to get done. The nice thing is that when the weather is warmer I won't have things that need to be done inside the house.

Another Week....More Snow

Guess what??? It's snowing outside again!

It really shouldn't be a big surprise around here. It took Zan twice as long to get to work this morning. It's also been very cold lately and it's going to get worse. I'm really itching for spring. I'm going to have to be really patient.

We didn't do much around here this weekend. Took the kids to the mall to run some errands yesterday after church, but not much else.

I've been on a real organizing, cleaning kick lately. I was able to clean the lower (main) level, dust and vacuum yesterday. I call the main level the lower level. Zan thinks I should call it the first floor? I prefer upstairs, downstairs and basement. Anywho, I'm working on some closet shelves and drawers this morning.

I have some projects I'd like to start, but I always like to have a clean house first. Call it a mid-winter clean. I can't/don't want to be outside so I might as well get the inside clean.

In preparation for my garage sale this year we're also "purging" the house of unused and unwanted things. This goes back to my organizing and decluttering kick that I'm on. But there's no sense in keeping things that you don't use or don't want. I want a nicely organized house. :)

I've also been trying to keep my camera out more to get more pictures. Here's Ella this morning at breakfast...



Oh, and Sam's potty training is going great! I guess I would call him potty trained now. He still wears a diaper at night and even with that wakes up most mornings dry. We haven't had any more pooping in pants either. He goes just fine on the toilet.

He's also pretty much stopped taking naps. He seems a little tired during the afternoon, but he wasn't falling asleep at nap time. He goes to bed really nicely and gets about 12 hours of sleep.

Well, off to get more cleaning done! Happy Monday!

Thoughts on the New Year

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions. I try to think of things that I could improve on or start doing. I suppose one could call that a resolution, but I don't. I don't like labeling it as such.

Here is a list of things that I would like to accomplish this year:

* Eat healthier
* Exercise more
* Grow a beautiful garden this summer
* Do more fun things together as a family
* Get more organized
* Get rid of the clutter and things unused
* Build more furniture

This is what I could think of off the top of my head. I added a new exercise ticker to my sidebar. This is for my walking on the treadmill. I'm going to try to get back into running a little, but my body gets mad when I start running. When I walk on the treadmill it's at a good clip and a steep incline. I actually think I get a better workout walking than I did running.

I'm also starting my photo a day again. I'm disappointed that I didn't get too far last year, but I plan on doing much better this year.

The sign up for preschool is next month already!! I can't believe Sam will be at preschool. It will only be two days a week. He'll do two years of preschool before he starts kindergarten. It will be strange and quiet with both the kids in school!!

Christmas Recap

Christmas has come to an end. Whew!! Now begins the long road back to normal. There are lots of decorations that need to be put away. New toys and clothes that need to find a new home. That requires cleaning out the current homes and pulling out old/unused items.

Christmas Eve was spent at Nana and Papas. A good time was had by all. I forgot to bring my camera, so I don't have any photos of said fun, but you'll have to believe me.

Christmas morning was a nice, laid back morning with just our family. The kids had fun opening the presents.





Here's our traditional photo from Christmas morning. I should really get them all together from the past 4 or so years. That would be fun. Maybe next year.



On Wednesday we headed to Sioux Falls for our New Year's Christmas. Once again everyone had a great time and the kids were spoiled with presents. Not that anyone minded.

The kids actually stayed up pretty late New Years Eve. They had so much fun playing with the confetti that was in the presents. They had their own little party!!









He looks like such a little man here...



I love this picture of Ella. You can see her little (rarely seen) dimple!



Trouble...



Here's a picture of Sam. This is before we left for Sioux Falls. He was standing at the door trying to get in. I'm, of course, just taking a picture. I had to capture how low his hat gets. I don't know how he sees, but he gets around just fine. He was wearing his new scarf too!! Thanks Aunt Pam!!



Well that's the long of it. I've been very busy since we got back. I have a lot more to do!!!