We have had an action packed first month of the first year!
Every year, the Cub Scouts go to a local park and have a fun night of inner tubing. This year had temps in only the teens, but the kids bundled up and headed out for about an hour and a half. I stayed inside the warming station to help with snacks and hot chocolate. In the photo the light at the top of the hill gives off a greenish glow, which is odd since it was a bright white in person.
The kids had a day off of school, other than the few snow days, so we were able to head out to visit with a brand new baby cousin. Both L and D just LOVE holding the new babies! It was all they could talk about since he was born. Added bonus was to be able to play and visit with the other little cousins!
D and I have discovered and fallen hard for Jamberry nails! I have been a life long nail biter/picker, so I was hesitant at first. Would these really work on my tiny no nail? Determined I tried to stop for the week leading up to them arriving in the mail. I have to say that it has now been a month, and my nails have never been this long in my 35 years ever! We are having fun with these designs, and D (age 7 1/2), can pretty much do this all by herself. We watched a few videos on how to before we set up.
I have been working on learning new crochet techniques, and so I was determined to figure out how to make this adorable fox hood/cowl. I had made it for myself, but have since determined it was just not for me. Oh well, I was able to make it and that is all that matters.
One Saturday, Adam had decided we just needed to get out of the house. We had gotten a large amount of snow during the month, so we headed out to the mall and a few ethnic grocery stores to find new things to try. While driving past Krispy Kreme we noticed the light was on signalling they had hot fresh free doughnuts. We headed in, the kids love watching the process, and Adam bought us coffees. We got in the car and realized that the lid of his coffee looked like an over-caffeinated monkey screaming! What are the odds.
That night we also decided to try our hand for the first time making pork pot stickers. They turned out amazing, and we can't wait to make them again.
Adam had wanted to take us ice skating but of course that was a warm spell and not great outdoor skating weather. So determined to do a fun family thing, we headed to the old school skating rink. Occasionally on Sundays they have a family skate special. For $25 up to 5 people can rent skates, entrance to the rink, a large pizza and a pitcher of pop. We were all a bit wobbly at first, I hadn't been on skates in about 20 years! The kids get to skate in gym class every year, but it had been a year since they were on skates the last time. After about 30 min, we had all gotten the hang of it, and even the kids were zipping around. We had all fallen down at some point while there, and we all just laughed it off. Of course Adam and I really felt it the next day.
D had come home one day from school bummed because she was not allowed to check out a Harry Potter book from the library. She had wanted to get the 5th book, and they said she had to read them in order, and of course that book was out. I told her not to worry, we owned all the books and would they like to start reading them together. Both kids screamed yes! So every day either after homework or before bed, we all take turns reading a chapter out of the first book. I never read them when they originally came out. I'm the kind of person that if told I just have to watch a show, or read a book because everyone is, will just refuse to do it. I have watched all the films and really enjoyed them. A few years ago I thought about reading them, but decided that since the kids were now school age, I would just wait for them to be ready and we can all enjoy it together. So far so good!
My kids are less and less likely to do crafts with me anymore, and my house has fewer holiday decorations these days. While it sometimes bums me out, it just means that I get to do more myself! So when I saw this project on Pinterest, I just knew I needed to try it.
One of the last weekends of the month, we found out that the library was having a few fun free classes. The kids and I headed to a seed class while Adam went to learn about keeping urban chickens. After the seed class, we headed in to check on Adam, and got to visit with the chickens!
And lastly, D put together a wooden bird house pretty much all by herself. Here she is brushing on wood glue to the top to make sure there is a nice seal.
