Frecklewonder

sunny days

make for a happy dog.

happy monday

how was your weekend? tons of rain and wind for us- and today the sky just can't decide. it's all moody with dark clouds one minute, and the next minute, the sun is shining in a bright blue patch. somewhere out there, there just must be a rainbow. there were huge flocks (we're talking, like, hundreds?) of robins in our yard over the weekend too. and i thought that robins were supposed to be one of those early signs of spring, although it seems way too early for that. and i won't be fooled- it's still january.

henry had his best friend over on saturday night for his very first, real-deal sleep over. he's spent the night over at my mom's plenty of times, and had sleep overs with cousins- but having a best friend from school? that's different. he was so excited all morning, we were having practice with quick math every time he'd look at the clock, announce what time it was, and then ask me HOW LONG TILL BEN COMES OVER? and it was one of those- oh, i don't know, 5 minutes sooner than the last time you asked me- kind of things. i finally called ben's mom and said - you know, if you guys are ready, come on over, because henry is about to wear a path in the hallway from all the pacing and peering out the window he's doing. and sure enough, same thing at her house. figured we'd better not make those boys wait one minute longer. luckily, they live right around the corner, but i kid you not, henry was out in the driveway waiting. and that 5 minutes that it took them to get here? absolute TORTURE.

do you remember sleep overs and how much fun they were? i think i might surprise matty some time and set up camp just like this for the two of us to have a little movie night in the living room. popcorn and ice cream and everything. yes.

miss manners

(as an aside, there was some bottling of home brewed beer happening in the back ground. hence the clinking and clanking)

caught

sleeping while standing.

he loves the sunshine.

oh christmas tree

we trimmed our tree last weekend. i always enjoy pulling out the boxes + bins of ornaments and there's always a lot of, "ohhhh, yeah! remember this one! i love this one!" kind of chatter going on. probably no surprise, but i have a pretty sweet collection of vintage ornaments- but i also have some precious handmade ones that i treasure just as much, if not more. we decided to tackle the trimming of the tree while dotty took her afternoon nap... thought it would be a little bit more of a quiet, peaceful activity that henry and i could do together without having to worry about a pair of 19 month old grabby hands going wild on my boxes of vintage glass ornaments. so henry, matt and i had hot chocolates and hot ciders and listened to a holiday station on pandora and watched the snow fall. and after a couple hours, a certain baby bird woke up and was ready to come out and see what all the hub-bub was about.

she's been enjoying our neighbor's lights across the street each night- we have different night time rituals, and a new addition has been to peek out the curtains and look at the lights. and dotty says, "niggggh" and we sort of oooh and ahh over them for a bit, and look for the moon, which we sometimes find and sometimes don't.

note the bed head.

her first inspection of the tree was all i had hoped it would be- quiet, gentle and curious. and between you and me, i was on the fence about getting a tree this year because i just felt like my life for the next 4 weeks would revolve around policing that tree and guarding my precious shiny brites. just didn't know if i had it in me... but so far so good. she zeroed in on this dorothy (from the wizard of oz) ornament and boy, was she smitten. she kept leaning in and hugging it and just loving on it, my heart was kind of melting as i was snapping these pics.

after a couple mintues, she perked up and got more excited about all the niggghhhs and the BALLS! and the sparkly things, and she was working her way around that tree at a pretty good clip. but still being more on the gentle side, which was comforting to me. i mean, of course i fear the breakage, but i've also heard these nightmare stories of kids eating ornaments, so i was a little bit on the edge of my seat. a lot more scattered, excited circling around and inspecting and then

back to that dorothy one.

it was pure joy.

and to think i had considered *not* getting a tree.

that's the spirit

a surprise blanket of snow fell this weekend.

it was the kind that  hung onto every single twig and branch.

making things unbelievably beautiful.

it was the shot of holiday spirit that i needed.

i was the first one up (thanks to my obsessive compulsive cats who obsessively, compulsively scratch the sides of their litter box for what seems like an eternity, rant for another day). truth be told, i was a little grumpy about being woken up. how dare they, i thought. it's cold out! and it's the weekend! everyone is sleeping and i should be too! but as i came out to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, i looked outside and saw the most beautiful pink sky over a fluffy, white covered world. i decided i should give my sweet family another hour and a half to sleep, and then it would be time to get out there. it was too perfect to miss.

after some coaxing, we all bundled up and headed out to see what we could see.

and it was a sight. we were the only souls out there. so quiet, and peaceful, just us and the birds.

stuck inside

lots of time playing indoors this week due to some seriously wet weather. i mean it is just yucky out there, i have really barely been outside. here's hoping the weekend shapes up.

dotty is really into drawing (shawww? shawwww? which is how she says that she wants to draw), magna doodles, puzzles and MUSIC. music, music, music (meeeeh? meeeeh?). and henry has been spending a lot of time doing origami, dot-to-dot puzzles and of course, legos. 

and me? i've been baking and doing my best to keep things tidy. because lots of time in the play room means lots of toys spread out across the house. picking up after an 18 month old is a job in itself!

so much beauty

right in my own back yard.

i wish this part lasted longer. the fall foliage peek week is winding down and the winds are rushing it just a bit for me. i want these colors (and these warm temps!) to hang around and i just know that by this time next week, we'll be in full raking mode.

i think a drive along the parkway is in order. and maybe even a picnic in the woods too.

the best one yet

we jumped in the leaves, baked cookies and danced in the kitchen until it was time to get dressed for the main event. the weather was unseasonably warm (mid 70s) and the rain held off. there is so much candy in the house, my teeth hurt just thinking about it.

oh, and it's worth mentioning, take five bars are rivaling my love for reeces peanut butter cups.

hope ya'll had a great weekend, and a super fun halloween!

the ghost of halloween past

 

wishing you all a safe + happy halloween tomorrow! true to form, i am running around putting together some very last minute costumes- certainly not getting the creative mother award this year. 

i managed to scare up (no pun intended, heh heh ) some photos from past halloweens. i am missing one from henry's first halloween where he was a cowboy. yes, he's been a cowboy twice. i tried to convince him for a 3rd go round (i mean, how easy- little straw hats are everywhere and ya toss on a plaid shirt + jeans, draw on a mustache, add a bandana, bam) but he wants no part of it. no siree. he is all about the scary. he is 8, after all. so, i think we have a dracula boy in the making. we *do* have a cape, so we are off to a fine start. as for dotty, you'll have to wait and see what i come up with. 

i was wondering- what's your favorite halloween candy? i happen to be a reeces peanut butter cup girl, all the way.