Scribble and Scrabble

Maple Weekend 2016

by Heather | 0 comments

Our friends Chris and Melinda run a local maple farm and were a part of NYS’s Maple Weekend.
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We visited their open house on Sunday and enjoyed the all you can eat pancake breakfast. Andy also enjoyed the sausages ;-)
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The kids got to drill and tap a tree and learn how the process starts out in the woods.
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Ben was convinced the syrup itself was coming out of the tree, not the sap.
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We also toured the sap shed where everything is boiled down into the usable product. It’s a 40 to 1 ratio, 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.
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Chris built and welded the evaporator in the sugarhouse.
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There were some history, equipment and of course tasting stations inside as well.
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Before we left we visited the monster truck and tractor.
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The kids also loved the animals that were outside.
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Thanks Chris and Melinda for sharing your farm and a part of your life with us. You guys are passionate, hard working and have a pretty awesome production going on! I’m proud to know you!
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And just because I get a chuckle out of it, this is OUR maple syrup production. We tap two maple trees in our side yard. They’re not even the right kind of tree (silver maples instead of sugar maple) but it’s fun!
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Spring!

by Heather | 0 comments

Spring is here :) The kids and I made bird feeders this week with pinecones and peanut butter.
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Ben has been wearing this bracelet from Ms. Sylvia everywhere, haha.
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We hung them up outside. I don’t think the birds are interested in them at all, but the kids had fun.
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We played in the mud too. Ben actually slipped and fell and was VERY upset he got dirty, but I tried to not make a big deal out of it and eventually he went back to playing. He’s so funny about stuff sometimes, wants to explore bugs but gets grossed out. Wants to play in the mud but not get dirty.
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He kept finding crystals (ice) for Cassidy and I.
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Cassidy loves the surfboard swing on our new-to-us playset. When it squeaks she giggles and says it’s tooting :)
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This was from a few days ago, our snow is all gone today and we were in shorts and t-shirts.
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Hi flowers!
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Snow Day!

by Heather | 0 comments

Well it wasn’t really a snow day because Ben was technically on winter break, but man did we have a storm! It snowed and sleeted all day on Tuesday, I think we got around 18+ inches in 12 hours. Thankfully I didn’t have to go anywhere and Andy was wise enough to stay home from work, so we had such a fun day! We played outside for hours, I heated up cheeseburger soup for lunch and we were nice and cozy inside with hot cocoa that afternoon. Andy brought the snowmobile out and zoomed around the yard, he even gave Ben a ride (he loved it). Andy did have to snowblow the driveways twice just to keep up with the snow (we have a front and back one) so that wasn’t much fun. He also helped out our neighbor who doesn’t have a snowblower. The picture I posted of the kids with their snowman was from the middle of the storm. These pictures are from the day after the storm when we had plenty of sunshine and powder to play in.

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Day in the life

by Heather | 0 comments

I’ve always wanted to do one of these, in fact I wish I had done one a few years ago when the kids were babies to compare. I took all the pics with my cell phone, but it gives you a glimpse of what goes on. Post is kind of long, so stick with me!

7:30am
I try to wake up before the kids to give me a few minutes to pee and brush my teeth before somebody needs me. Some days this doesn’t work because the kids wake up at 7, but most days I’m able to get a little time first. My new garmin has a vibrate alarm that I love waking up to, nice and gentle (before the chaos).
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8:00-8:30
Head upstairs to make the kids breakfast and get everything ready for the day.
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8:30-9:00
Drop Ben off at school, it’s held at a church about 15 minutes from the house.
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9:15-11:15
Head back across town to the Y. Cassidy hangs out in childwatch while I do a CX Worx (core) and Body Combat class and then shower. I look thrilled.
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11:30
Wait in line to pick Ben up from school.
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11:45-12:15
We get home and play outside for a little bit until Cassidy starts complaining that her hands are cold. She’s taken off her gloves and refuses to put them back on.
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12:15-12:45
Kids watch the Lego movie while I get some chores done.
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I grab some more firewood from the back and add it to the fireplace downstairs. We heat with wood in the winter so you have to keep things going all day or else it dies out and is a pain to restart.
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I also make myself some lunch and try to eat a little bit before I have a visitor asking for some.
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12:45-1:15
Make the kids lunch and do some dishes while they eat.
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1:15-1:30
We read a few books before nap time.
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1:30-3:30
Ben has quiet time and Cassidy naps while I head downstairs to get some work done.
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My two favorite office mates are always on the job.
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3:30-5:00
Kids are up, we have snack and Cassidy colors while Ben works on his Valentine’s for class.
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The kids finish their projects and actually start to play nicely with Legos. I take the chance to vacuum upstairs (we hosted the youth group Superbowl party the night before and there are crumbs everywhere). Not that there normally aren’t crumbs everywhere, there just happens to be a lot more of them today.
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I bring the vacuum downstairs with every intent of cleaning the bottom floor later (it never happens, I usually get to it the following week). While I’m downstairs I notice the litter box needs to be scooped (no picture, lol). In the middle of scooping cat poop I hear Ben freaking out upstairs because Cassidy had an accident. I leave the half scooped poop and go upstairs to find Cassidy actually tried to climb up on the potty and go herself and ended up getting pee all over the seat and floor. Clean up that mess and then head back downstairs to finish cat poop.

5:00-6:00
I make dinner (sorry no pics) and the kids and I eat. I clean the kitchen up and make a plate for Andy when he gets home. Sometimes he makes it home in time to eat with us, other times he’s pretty late. Today he gets home at 6:30.

6:30-7:00
After Andy eats he somehow gets into a little wrestling match with the kids :)
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7:00-7:30
Bathtime, teeth, jammies and story time for Cassidy.
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7:30-8:00
Ben and Andy play video games for a little bit until it’s Ben’s turn for a bath and bed.
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8:00-8:30
Laundry! There are 5 lovely loads of it waiting downstairs in the laundry room. I separate the kids into their baskets to be put away tomorrow (again if we’re being honest, they’re still sitting upstairs 3 days later waiting to be put away). I do put Andy’s and my clothes away though.
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8:30-9:00
One of my least favorite chores, meal planning and figuring out the shopping list for the week. Normally I go grocery shopping on Thursdays (so I plan Wednesday nights) but this week my car is going to be at the dealer’s on Thursday because we found out about a gas tank recall (fun wow!). So I need to meal plan and get things together Monday night to shop on Tuesday.
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9:00-9:30
I return some emails and texts that I never got to earlier in the day. I also try to deal with some of the papers that have accumulated on the kitchen counters, but only halfheartedly and most of them remain there for me to deal with another day. I separate out Ben’s school papers, look at what he worked on that day and recycle what I don’t save. I also gather up all the library books strewn about the livingroom and put them in the library bag for the morning.
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9:30-11:00
Andy and I sit on the couch, he’s doing something on his laptop and watching TV. I’m working on a logo design for a friend who is starting her own business. I finish up the Illustrator file and email her a pdf to review.

11:00-11:30
I get my pjs on, wash my face and brush teeth (aren’t our family of tooth brushes cute!) I also pack my gym bag for tomorrow.
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11:30-11:45
Doesn’t always happen, but I do try to take a little time to unwind before bed (even if it’s just a few minutes). Sometimes it’s reading (until I fall asleep a few minutes later) and other times I journal or do devotions.

Goodnight!
And that’s it! Rinse, lather, repeat the next day. Actually every day of the week is a little different…Tuesday is Ben’s library class day and Wednesday afternoon the kids spend with my pastor’s wife so I can get some design work done. All of them are crazy, exhausting, wonderful, hard, fun, full days!

The non winter

by Heather | 0 comments

Last winter was harsh with temps in the teens and below from October through March. The snow and ice was relentless…it seemed like the longest, greyest winter ever. This year, winter in upstate NY has been the exact opposite. We’ve had enough snow to play outside maybe twice. The temperature has been in the 30s and 40s and even a few 50s. Christmas Eve we had a picnic at the park!

These pictures are from November I think. We played at the park with some of Ben’s friends after school. I do feel a little robbed on my winter season this year, but we certainly have enjoyed the mild weather!

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Potty time

by Heather | 0 comments

These are from over 6 months ago, but I realized I never shared them! We started potty training with Cassidy at 18 months because she started bringing us diapers and asking to be changed. She seemed to take to it really well, then after a few weeks it became a HUGE effort to get her to go. She would fight you and scream if you tried to get her on the potty. She also kept pooping on the floor, Ben found a pile one day and freaked out, haha. It just wasn’t worth it so we backed off for another few months. Right after she turned 2 we (I say “we” but who am I kidding, lol) I tried again. Ben had an entire week at VBS last summer so I took the opportunity to potty train in a week. Cassidy ran around naked for a bit and this time things really clicked. We used the little floor potty for a while but now that one’s in my car as a back up and she uses the big toilet with a little seat insert. She’s done really well and hardly has accidents anymore! She does wear a diaper at night but I’m expecting that for a few more years.

That said, our days with cloth diapers are done. We’ve just been using disposable because it doesn’t make sense to use cloth if I wash so infrequently. I’m kind of sad, I know it’s weird to be sad over diapers, but it’s another phase gone by. Plus Cassidy’s fluffy butt was so cute!

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Ben giving Cassidy chocolate chips for going potty :)
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