Saturday Morning

He's shoveling again.

And this is why we have a very hard time feeling much sympathy for those of you with nice short, paved city driveways.  It is common to spend 2 hours or more just clearing our driveway each day.

Yes, we have a snowblower.  I swear it hates us.  It is not running again and the emergency key is missing somewhere in the snow in the front. Don't ask, it was a long night last night. This morning Sean shoveled out around the barn so he could get in to feed the chickens.  While Liam and Abby decided to scale the snow drifts.

But it really is not that cold outside so I predict the children will be spending a bunch of time outside today.  Perfect weather to break out the sleds and skis.  And there is absolutely no denying that the world takes on a new kind of beauty when it is covered in snow.

Take a Picture of Me, Please!

A Real Snow Storm

Ok, not really but we are getting a decent amount of snow. It's supposed to keep coming down all weekend. The yard looks beautiful.  We won't be going much of anywhere today since the roads near our house are last on the priority list for the plows but that is not really a big deal.  Just wanted to share a few pictures.

The Nun and The Priest

No, this is not the start of some off-color joke.  Trust me, I wouldn't head in that direction.  This is just a chance to show off a super cute gift we received this year for Christmas.  

Tonight as the kids were sitting down to dinner, Liam asked if they could use the priest pepper shaker.  These two cute folks were a gift from MaryCatherine.  Aren't they adorable?

Making Rosaries

For Lent we have been trying to get back into the practice of saying the rosary as a family every night.  Or at least a few decades.  To go along with this idea, I pulled out the rosary kits I bought earlier this year. 

 

I bought these kits from Adoremus Books.  They include everything you need to make a single rosary including directions with pictures. To make them easy to do with children, I bought the kits that came with spacers rather than the ones that require knots.

 Liam decided that is was easiest to string the beads if he stood on a chair so they could then go down the entire 5 foot cord.  Interesting take on things.

 

It took us under an hour to finish the rosaries and the kids were able to do most of the work themselves.  They could have done the entire project themselves but several of them got a bit tired after a while.

Living Room Slumber Party

Every so often we like to add a bit of extra fun to movie night.  Last night we watched not just one but two movies, ate homemade pizza and then left the kids to sleep in their sleeping bags on the living room floor.  Don't worry, the dog was there to guard them.  In true slumber party fashion, the kids woke up way too early for their own good but absolutely enjoyed themselves.  Think we can cram a few more kids in there?

Cross Country Skiing with the Older Boys

Today Alan took the older 3 boys and a friend to the nature center for cross country skiing.  Everyone survived the trip in one piece and they are now out back playing in the snow.   May I hope this means everyone will crash early tonight?  I know, dreaming again.  Just wanted to share a few pictures.

Gabe and the Snow

Something very important happened today.  Alan was home and took Gabe out to play in the snow. Yes, yes, I will admit that I have avoided taking both the 2-year-old and the baby out in the snow by myself.  Call me a wimp if you'd like but we all have our limits.

He's ready to tackle the great outdoors.  Yes, the snowsuit is a just a tad on the big side.  I goofed and ordered too big and by the time it arrived, the smaller size was sold out.  Live and learn. At least now he can wear it for 2 years before passing it down to Robert.

Every good boy knows that before you can play, first you must work.  And I have to admit that Gabe is a very good snow shoveler. I would safely say he can be listed in the group of kids that you can count on to actually help you out and not cause extra work.  Or toss snow into your face.

Now that the turn around has been safely cleared, it is time to get tossed in the snow bank by Dad.  Yup, fun times had by all.  Gabe actually spent well over an hour outside and had a blast.  Yes, the neon orange on the snowsuit is perfect for making sure you don't lose the kid in the snow.

Snow Forts

The children spent a good portion of the afternoon outside building snowforts.  Well, except Gabe.  Gabe spent a good portion of the day wandering around the house with his snowsuit on begging me pathetically to let him go out with the big kids.  "Me too, Mom.  Me too." 

I am well aware that the building of snowforts is now frowned upon by the all knowing "officials" and powers that be but I have to question what childhood will become if we remove all spontaneous fun and creativity from it.  Yes, common sense was at play here and the forts were built in the side yard, well away from the flow of snow plows.

We do enjoy our snow around here.  Granted, that is partly because Alan is now home in case the van gets stuck somewhere and I use common sense with regard to keeping the house well stocked with all essentials during the winter so you won't find me rushing out to the store in a storm.

 

I must admit I am hoping for a bit more snow this winter just so I can see what else the children will come up with.  And because I am enjoying the fact that the kids were so tired out from spending all day outside that they all promptly feel asleep this evening.

Standing Tall

Can you tell that he is awfully proud of himself? He even tried to take a few steps last night.

New Dog Toys

Bryan signed up for a program at the library to make a dog toy.  When we arrived no one else showed up so all the kids got to participate. For some of the kids, the highlight of the program was eating the candy provided by one of the librarians and watching the Wallace and Gromit movie they had running.  We brought home I think 4 of these fleece dog toys and the kids made several others to donate to Lollypop Farm (the local animal rescue place where we adopted Davie).  Funny thing is that Wiley has no clue what to do with the darn things.

Playing the Wii

This is Robert's opinion of playing the Wii.

I think the boy will find it more exciting when he is able to actually participate but I must admit I kind of agree with his view of things.  But then again, I seem to be the only one in the house who is not enthralled by video games.

And this is what playing the Wii with Gabe looks like.  Alan says it is quite the work out for him but Gabe is thrilled.  I did it Dad!

As long as he's happy, life is good I suppose.  I have a feeling Alan is hoping that Gabe will figure out which buttons to push and which ones not to push soon so he doesn't shut the Wii off mid-game when trying to play all by himself.

Schnitzel and Spaetzle

Alan and the kids made dinner tonight.  For the second time in, um, 14 or so years the spaetzle maker was actually put into service.  Yes, we received this neat-o gadget as a gift the Christmas before we got married and it has mostly taken up kitchen space since then.

 

I do have a feeling that the spaetlze maker will be used a bit more often now.  Turns out homemade spaetlze are super easy to make.  To go with them, Alan made jaeger schnitzel.

And this is what the kitchen looks like when Alan is cooking with the kids.  He is much more patient about having them all in his way and helping than I tend to be.  I'm much happier with one kid at a time in the kitchen but the chaos seems to work for Alan.

Father/Daughter Time

Alan took Katie out alone this morning.  They headed to Lowes for a Build and Grow clinic.  Lowes holds these clinics on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month and they are free.  The project today was a jewelry organizer so I thought it would be the perfect father/daughter activity.

Katie is obviously very proud of her work and had a great date with Dad.  He even treated her to a sandwich and hot chocolate at Bruegger's Bagels, a place we normally only go to when we have the free bagel coupons from the library reading program.

First Holy Communion

Kieran will be making his First Holy Communion the first weekend of May.  So mark your calendars and plan to come celebrate with us.

Look, Mom! No Hands!

Robert is starting to test the waters and stand without holding onto things.  Just a little bit here and there but he's getting there.  He'll be a  part of the real action around here before too long.

And I just love this picture. This is Robert crying when I told him he is not allowed to play with the camera followed by a quick attempt to smile because he sees the camera is aimed at him.  Yes, the boy has figured out that you are supposed to smile when the camera points your way but it's awfully hard to smile when you are busy complaining about how unfair your life is at the moment.

Tooth

Liam lost his first tooth.

This means we currently have 3 kids with new teeth coming in. 

Skiing with the Middle Kids

Yes, there is a group of kids I tend to think of as "the middle ones" although I'm not so sure they would like that designation.  Today Alan took the middle kids cross country skiing. One of the benefits of our family membership at the Genesee Country Village (aside from the discount on the living history camps each September) is free access to the trails at the Nature Center for skiing and snow shoeing in the winter.  You can also rent skis and snow shoes if you need.  Since I've been slowly buying used sets of skis for the kids to use in the yard, we luckily have cross country skis for all 4 of the older kids right now.  Alan has a set as but needs to buy some new boots and we have a set of skis that fits me as well.  Next year maybe I'll work on the downhill skis.

Alan says the visit this year for skiing was much more enjoyable than last year.  Everyone stayed together as they should and the kids were much better at staying on their feet this year.  I have a feeling that all the practice in the yard helped.  Everyone reports that they had a great time.

Boys and Dad Skiing

Alan took the older boys skiing yesterday.  Everyone survived and came home in one piece.  Just wanted to share a few pictures.

 

There is a short video on Facebook if you want to see them in action.  Next time Alan takes the middle 3 cross country skiing at the Genesee Country Village. 

  

And since I said it was the boys and Dad, I figured maybe I should add this one in.