We Colored Easter Eggs... While It Snowed Outside

Last Sunday as all four of us were recovering from some kind of cough/respiratory infection, a crazy late snowstorm hit, giving us about 8 inches of snow.  Between our coughing and watching the snow, it felt more like Christmas than Easter!

Since we were stuck in the house anyway, I decided it would be a good time to bring some Easter cheer (Christmas cheer?) to our day by decorating eggs.

You may remember that coloring Easter eggs, carving pumpkins, and decorating Christmas cookies are three of Frank's favorite activities, (that was sarcasm), but he's actually becoming quite a pro at all three.

I wasn't really sure if Jacob had the dexterity yet to handle using a dipper and putting the egg in the dye, but he surprised me.  No eggs were cracked, although I did yell, "GENTLE!" about 523 times during the process.

Then he realized if he didn't use the dipper, he could turn his hands different colors, too.  It was hands-in-the-dye from then on out.

I think Carter was kind of annoyed that he was in his high chair and no one was feeding him, so he was a very loud little supervisor throughout the activity.

The eggs turned out really pretty this year.  Now if only the weather would cooperate and warm up, we would be all set for Easter!

13 Random Facts

Oh my.  It's been a while.  Lots going on, but none of it too much fun, and I'd rather write about fun and fluffy. So in the spirit of Courtney's post a few weeks ago, I'll jump back into the blog with a "13 Things About Me" post.

How have I never done one of these before?!

1.  I've gotten a little obsessive about keeping my fingernails painted.  This is going to be a problem when the weather gets warmer and I'm finally get to do some gardening.

2.  I think anything is better with cheese.  I'd probably eat the cat if you topped her with some warm, melty cheddar.  Yum.

3.  My hair is my Achilles' Heel... I never think it looks right.

4.  The worst summer job I ever had was during the summer after eighth grade.  I babysit for a second grade boy whom I didn't really like (one of the few kids I've ever not liked), and we spent long, nine-hour days together at their house in the country.  It was just the two of us and their brand-new yellow lab puppy that I had to house-break. Oh, and on the second day of summer, the little boy came down with chicken pox.  I was bored, isolated, and annoyed.  I didn't last the whole summer.

5.  I would love to be able to do home-improvement/home repair projects.

6.  I did refinish my grandma's porch swing once, though.

7.  My favorite color is blue... or red... depending on my mood.

8. I like being with Frank even more than I like being alone, and I really like to be alone.

9.  If I wasn't in healthcare, I would be a florist or gardener.

10.  I've lost the twin boys I was babysitting while taking cover from a tornado.  I tell this story a lot, so if you haven't heard it, ask me.

11.   My favorite book is Anne of Green Gables.

12.  Rodents, especially mice, freak me out.  (It is probably best that I don't pursue that gardening career!)  I'm actually a little scared of the ground squirrels in the backyard.

13.  Every summer I say I'm going to take golf lessons.  One summer, I actually will.

Way Back Wednesday

The first picture is Jacob from April 2010.

The second picture is Carter from Sunday.

Healthy Hermits

I think I speak for both boys when I say that we officially have cabin fever.  We have purposely avoided some of the traditional hot spots like the Children's Museum because the germs have been so nasty this year.  We've managed to stay well *knock on wood* but we're bored.  Healthy hermits, in other words.

 We've done some fun stuff, though.  Like building a fort...

and going to the Amtrak station to watch the trains.

We (well, okay, Frank and Jacob) built a snowman.

(Notice that it has a Cardinals hat and is carrying a bat :)

And last week, we went to the mall for an event to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday.  Jacob got his own striped hat for donating a book, and the Cat in the Hat was there!  He wasn't quite sure what to think about that...

Other than that, we've just been hanging out at home and playing with toys.  

You knew I had to figure out a way to get another shot of the baby into this post!

Some Days

you just need your blanket and monkey paci.

This is one of those days.

Monday: Stream of Consciousness

Frank said I should have titled the previous post, "My 4 Loves" because the cat was also in the picture.  I actually debated about cropping the cat out-- she is not on my good side right now.  

Two weekends ago was the ICCA Cheerleading Competition.  My father-in-law does the videography, and we sit at a table that day selling the videos.  After moving my pictures to the computer, I found a couple of cute photos from that weekend:  

(I kind of wonder what Frank did to him mom to get this look!) 

We celebrated the Chinese New Year last week as well.  Jacob and I cut out little paper fans, and we glued a dragon on a paper bag.  

Unfortunately, the ONLY thing I could really find in terms of Chinese food was a bagged, frozen meal, eggrolls, and La Choy fortune cookies.  Not quite as authentic as I'd hoped, but it's the thought that counts, right?

My window grilles came in!!  I feel so much less trashy now that all my windows look the same from the outside. 

Carter got a mesh feeder for Valentine's Day, the kind where you put a little bit of fruit in it and let him chew on the fruit through the mesh.  Jacob never had one because I thought it would be too messy, but I'm going to try some different feeding techniques this time around.  So far, I have put a slice of frozen peach in the feeder as well as some pears.  He likes it, but I don't know if he knows quite what to do with it.  

I thought this picture was cute because it's pretty representative of what goes on around here on a daily basis:  Jacob holding a phone and Carter watching Jacob.  I can't wait for the day when they actually play together.  

And finally, this post was originally titled "Friday: Stream of Consciousness," but it took me 3 days just to find the time to write these few short paragraphs!

My 3 Loves