Seriously, this is amazing

PAPA + WOOD = AMAZING GIFTS WE ARE THE LUCKY RECIPIENTS OF.

The Cake That Will Live in Infamy

Okay, well maybe not infamy...

The other day Marsh and I were looking through photos and came across this one....his 5 year birthday cake. To which he announced to me "Mommy it would be okay if I had this cake forever." Forever? I ask. "Yeah, for every birthday." So for the time being (meaning the next five minutes) this will be his cake of choice....until next year when his grand scheme changes....there have been whisperings already of a HotWheels cake. I wouldn't complain if this was indeed what he wanted "forever". A thick layer of devil's food, an equally thick layer of white, all slathered in a coating of buttercream frosting.

Mmmm....this is to forever. :-)

The Princess...er....Princely Robe

Clancey Dylan....what a little guy....wears the princess robe without even complaining.

The hand-me-down situation had been going along great until the COLD weather hit. I felt that both boys should don robes all day when it was 6 gillion below zero, as it felt like we could hang meat in our living room despite our furnace's best efforts. Well, herein lies the problem. I made Marshall a robe when he was around two years old....cutest darn robe if I do say so. It's made of super soft blue fleece with fire trucks and the like all over it. He's getting too big for it now, but I haven't made a new one yet to replace the old, so he keeps wearing it...wrists showing and all. But that is ONE robe....we have TWO boys who were in need of cloaking that VERY COLD day. So....in the back of my mind, back somewhere in the cobwebby part that only allows thoughts out when you are almost asleep, I remembered that my folks had brought over a container of things from my childhood closet....one of which was what we will label "the princess robe". It's very heavy, knitted from tip to top of white and mint green yarn with an empire waste and little tie in the front. Two boys, one robe....we're going to need the princess robe. We unearthed the little gem from the container, wrapped Clancey Dylan in the robe, wiggled a hat onto his head and he couldn't have been happier. Wouldn't you like to be this cozy? (even if you had to wear a princess robe?)

Mmmmmmm........

After a slight hickup in our giddyup due to the freakishly cold weather we had the week before last, Marsh finally got to take his birthday treats to school. They had to make a slight detour to the freezer after school was cancelled the prior Thursday. That seems really funny when I think about it....had to put his treats in the FREEZER because it was too cold....could have just left them out in the car and they'd have been flash frozen for our future enjoyment. He told me he got the thumbs up from his classmates on his selection of chocolate cupcakes with blue frosting and fish sprinkles. (fish shaped, not fish flavored in case you were wondering.)

Fuzzy Bear or Barack Obama....Obama Everytime

Hmm....I'll preface this story by reminding the reading audience that I have a FIVE year old son, and not a FORTY-FIVE year old son. When we got home from preschool today Marsh was playing with the rubber reptile collection he had happily brought home as his birthday gift from preschool the day before. I mentioned to him that they were, indeed, all reptiles...frogs, snakes and lizards. I went on, in my limited knowledge of science to describe what that meant, including the fact that WE are mammals. What's a mammal Mommy? Well....this, this and this is about all I know about mammals from 6th grade science (I was a history girl, okay?). So, in my infinite wisdom I suggest that he should have Daddy read him some mammal info tonight when he goes to bed....they've been reading info on the Blackberry at bedtime....sun info, moon info, you know all the typical five year old requests. ;-) So he says to me......"Well actually Mommy tonight I wanted to read about Barack Obama's Inauguration Speech."

Okay, you win. Remember....FIVE, not FORTY FIVE.

Warm Fuzzy Greetings

Clancey's lady friend would like to wish everyone a happy January. Now that she is clothed she feels more comfortable appearing in public, although she and Clancey aren't seeing as much of each other right now....while he adjusts to her new, improved, clothed self (thanks to Mema for whipping up the lady friend's snazzy ski sweater set). :-)

real tears

Yep, real tears. Real tears as I watched the 44th President of the United States deliver the first inauguration speech I can actually say I watched....or desired to watch for that matter. There are still naysayers that say he's all hype. Those are also the same folks who go through life, day after day, clutching the status quo like it is their lifeblood. Our country got to where it is today by us, the American citizens, allowing the status quo to go on year after year. This is something new, something different and something to be inspired by. Just let yourself be inspired...don't hold back. We have something to aspire to again as a country...as a WHOLE country, not as Democrats and Republicans, not as blacks and whites, not as the upper class vs. the lower class, but as a country united, AMERICANS UNITED. We are a WHOLE country again and I hope you all join me in saying thanks.

Iowa = Snowglobe

Snow....and more snow and more snow and more snow. But oh well....spring is coming, I'm sure of that. Tonight, after a long entrapment in the house due to the Antarctic temperatures in Iowa, Marsh and I went for a walk...in the dark, in the snow. And it was really nice. Peaceful. White. Not so cold. Just really nice. On our walk, as the snow was drifting down from the sky, backlit by the glow of the street lamps, Marsh said to me, "Mommy it's like we're in a snow globe." Leave it to a kid to make you see the beauty in the white stuff.

Just Because

I think we all need to take a deep breath...and remember....spring is only 64 days away. :-)

Wild Hairs and Egg Rolls

Wild hairs....they just pop up now and again, don't they? My wild hair sprouted the other night....decided that Clancey was getting to be such a good sleeper that it was time for him to move to the big boy room (ie, Marshall's room). From the moment Clancey came home from the hospital Marshall wanted him to sleep with him in his room....we promised that once Clancey could sleep through the night that we would accomodate his brotherly request. So far so good. In fact the first night they must have felt such relief to be in close proximity, as to not pull their cosmically, psychically linked rope too tight they both slept in until 8am....a record for both of them I think.

The joining of two brothers in a room involves a lot of rearranging, which is appropriate for this time of year....renewal, cleaning, organizing, a fresh start. This fresh start also allowed Mommy and Daddy to once again have a space for their own professional/creative endeavors. The musical chairs of rooms upstairs has finally settled in and the music has stopped (for now anyway). What began as the guest room is now Marsh & Clancey's room, what began as Marsh's room, then transitioned to the guest room, then Clancey's room is now the Mommy/Daddy professional/creative space, what began as the office is now the guest room...and so it goes. A family really has to live in a space for a while before you get it just right....and having a flexible (and strong) husband helps.

And now for a Marshallism....today we were chatting about kindergarten and how excited he was to be going next fall. We talked about the bus and learning and eating lunch at school. He got a puzzled look on his face and asked what he would take to eat for lunch. I then described to him that there is a cafeteria at the school and there are people that cook lunch for the children, but that if we saw on the lunch menu there was something he didn't like that we could send his lunch. I asked him what he would like to take in his lunch box. His answer was......carrots (with dip of course), an egg roll, and peas. That's my kid.

The Littlest Cowboy

Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, the Lone Ranger...you know, all the great American cowboys. They all did their best thinking in the saddle of their trusty steed. And so it continues with the littlest cowboy, Clancey Dylan. The horse that Papa made for his birthday has been an even bigger hit as of late. Clancey will rock for hours, sometimes at a trot, sometimes at a full gallop and sometimes as still as a stone. The horse relaxes him, makes him laugh and gives him a space of his own. Thanks Papa, from Clancey.

Thankfulness

Jen: Smile normal so I can take your picture.

Levi: How am I (snap) supposed to smile normal?

He, he he.

Well we're sick again. Head colds this time. I've had this revelation though in the past few weeks. It's temporary. We're TEMPORARILY sick. In a few days we'll feel better. There are so many others, some in our own community, that aren't TEMPORARILY sick...they're PERMANENTLY sick. This puts everything in perspective for me...I really don't feel much like whining about feeling bad since I know my good health is only waiting underneath the surface, ready to reemerge when my white blood cells do their job. Okay, so I whine a little to my husband, but he puts up with it and lovingly herds the children away from me when he gets home so I can rest a bit. Thank you God for our PERMANENT good health...or at least our usual good health.

We Love You Gurney's

The first glimmering pinpoint of Spring light has now shone at the end of the Winter cave at the VanOort house. ;-) The Gurney's catalog has arrived. Now weeks will be spent with diagrams of the garden beds, lists of potential candidates, of the flora variety, for each special spot and hours and hours pouring over the pages of this very special piece of printed material. The regulars always make the cut....Early Girl tomatoes, Miss Pickler cucumbers and the like...then there are always the wild cards, new varieties of sunflowers, decorative kale, jalapenos, etc. Spring, oh dear Spring, we are anxiously counting down the days until as my Grandma Eula says "the earth is warm enough to walk in your barefeet in the garden....then it's time to plant." My barefeet in the garden...that sounds so nice right now.