I found the best puzzles ever in the toy store by our dance studio. Family puzzles! I adore complicated puzzles, and used to have thousand piece puzzles in progress on the dining room table all the time…pre-kids, of course!
An appropriately seasonal puzzle!
So, these puzzles only have 400 pieces. But some pieces are big, some medium and some tiny. Basically, Anna-sized, Carolyn-sized and Mommy-sized pieces!
Time to sort the pieces......sorted by size and ready to go!
It didn’t take too long to put it all together – we started it yesterday after school – but the best part was that everyone could work on it without frustration. We’re definitely going to need to get more of these!
One of the advantages of sending Anna to the same preschool as Carolyn is that she gets to do all the same fun things! So today was Anna’s first field trip, just like Carolyn’s four years ago. Anna was pretty upset when we got to the farm, because she “wanted to go to school today!” Luckily, that wore off quickly, and she had a fabulous time.
Anna in the pumpkins.Riding a bunny "train" car (hooked to a tractor).Holding a baby chick.Giddyup, big wooden horse!
She also really enjoyed trying to feed the animals in the little petting zoo. I say “trying” because she tried to feed them like she gives treats to the dogs: hold it out in your hand and then chicken out at the last second and drop it on the ground in front of them. Too bad, because the goat and sheep had such soft tickly muzzles and tongues. I want to go back just for the petting zoo!
Conversation in the car earlier as we pulled into the driveway after dance class:
Anna: “Mama, what is that on top of the roof?”
Me: “That’s the chimney, honey, for the fireplace we never use.”
Carolyn: “Yeah, we’ve never used it, have we?”
Me: “Well, not since before you were born.”
Carolyn: “Oh! Is that because it contributes to greenhouse gases? When I was born did you start thinking more about the world around you because you wanted to be more environmentally responsible for me and all the other children in the world?”
Me: “Um…well, honestly? It made the house too stinky.”
Carolyn: “Oh.”
Maybe sometimes honesty is not the best policy! Also, where on earth did she come up with that whole speech? I mean, we are pretty environmentally friendly, but have never talked about these things in anything approaching those words…
Anna and I spotted these “Living Lantern” planters walking into Wegmans. Also known as Chinese Lanterns, they absolutely fascinated Anna and I figured they’d look nice on our front step. Something different from the potted mums I usually put out for the fall!
Lanterns and a little scarecrow.They are so perfectly orange!Anna insists they smell pretty.
Unlike most people, I find stripping wallpaper to be a form of stress relief. I know I’m weird. But when it’s easy, it’s really quite satisfying…
Not the ugliest wallpaper, but it's time for a change.
I put this wallpaper up myself, about ten years ago. And now it’s falling down. I know it was put up properly – well, aside from the falling down bit…at least the walls were prepped correctly before it went up – so I know it won’t be hard to get it off. So, in a fit of nervous energy I started ripping off the printed top layer.
Why yes, that was fun!
This corner (plus a bit – the bathroom is too tiny to stand in and take pictures) took all of 5 minutes, including the part where I went and got a trash bag after realizing the bathroom trash can was way too tiny.
Bare walls. Much better!
And then about 15 minutes later this corner looked like this. (Really, spray the adhesive backing with warm water, wait a minute or two, pick up a corner and it comes off in big strips. Easy-peasy.) There are some rough patches on the walls, and I had forgotten about those…taking off the wallpaper that was in here a decade ago was *not* such an easy task, and the walls have some battle scars. (Believe me, it was worth removing that wallpaper. It was beyond ugly. Four shades of tan clouds dotted with black seagulls. I think I took pictures, but it was actually on film (what’s that?) and I’d have to go dig them out of a box somewhere.)
I’m contemplating adding some texture to the paint to hide the imperfections.
(Oh, and Denis, if you’re reading this, I promise the bathroom will still be in working order when you get home! You had to know if you left the country for a whole week and left me in charge of girls and dogs I’d do something crazy like this, right?)
