Posted by Becky @ 6:00 am | 3 Comments Icicle
March 5, 2010 | Family, Iowa
Get a load of this!
Here’s where it was before melting and falling off.
Footprints
February 27, 2010 | Family, Iowa, Winter
The kids and I saw footprints in the snow one morning before school. We hadn’t seen any animals around, so it was a mystery how they got there. We’ve had various critters around — deer, skunk, raccoon. It would be interesting to figure out what had wandered around our house in the snow.
After school, we went out to track the prints. They stopped with tire tracks. Did Pappa have an animal in his pickup? We didn’t think so. They went a little ways past the garage but not all the way down the driveway. They stopped before the snow in the yard. We saw them along the side of the house, though, to the door into the garage. I remembered feeling horrible for the delivery guy who had to tromp through the snow I hadn’t had time to clear yet. Aha! The delivery guy. He must have had a dog. Mystery solved.
Rule No. 1 about Iowa winters
February 15, 2010 | Family, Iowa, Weather, Winter
Every time you build a snow fort for the kids?
The next day, a blizzard will blow through and close it up. Every. Damn. Time.
Books: Pancakes, Pancakes!
February 12, 2010 | Family, Iowa, School
Our next Read a Million Minutes book was Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle. This is one of my son’s favorite authors.
Books: Snow Day!
February 11, 2010 | Books, Family, Iowa, School
Our next Read a Million Minutes selection was Snow Day! by Patricia Lakin. Fun read and appropriate for our winter.
Books: Dewey
February 10, 2010 | Books, Family, Iowa, School
Our next Read a Million Minutes book was Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library! by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter, illustrated by Steve James. This was a SHE WRITES book. It’s also the children’s version of Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.
Three button hand me down
February 8, 2010 | Family, Friends
I just packed up and sent a box of clothes to my friend Karen in Florida. She gave me several boxes of boy clothes more than seven years ago. They were worn by her son, who is — dang — almost 15. I “met” him before he was born. Karen hired me just in time to cover for her maternity leave.
Here we are. Way back when.
She now has a younger son who can wear many of the clothes I’m sending back.
Some people don’t want to use hand-me-downs. I think it’s a wonderful connection with others. I’m always looking for connections. That’s why I was crazy enough to move to Iowa, to try and make connections with my relatives who live here.
Besides, getting hand-me-downs for my new baby felt like a big old Welcome to the Parenthood Club, which I was thrilled to finally join. I had filled out the membership application years before and it finally went through.
The clothes went from baby size all the way up to 7 years old. I remember thinking, wow, that’s so big. And now, my son has outgrown them. How did that happen so fast? Here he is in one of the last shirts he could wear.
I put red dots on the tags of all the clothes from Karen. I put a blue dot on the tags of clothes I got from my sister-in-law in Norway. Every time I saw those dots, I thought of Karen, my sister-in-law and their families. My son also got to borrow my nephew’s bunad. It’s since been returned, and my younger nephew is wearing it.
The girls also got some sweaters from my niece when she was visiting last year.
I love the connections. I enjoy remembering how small these other children were and seeing how big my children are getting. I enjoy being reminded of my special relationships with all of them. I enjoy marking milestones in connection with others.
Books: Sledding
Books, Family, Iowa, School
For our next “Read a Million Minutes” book, we read Sledding by Elizabeth Winthrop, illustrations by Sarah Wilson. Very cute!
Books: I can Read with My Eyes Shut!
February 7, 2010 | Books, Family, Iowa, School
For our next “Read a Million Minutes” book, we read I can Read with My Eyes Shut! by Dr. Seuss. My son read it to us. We love Dr. Seuss in this house.
Books: Goldilicious
February 6, 2010 | Books, Family, Iowa, School
Another Read a Million Minutes read was Goldilicious by Elizabeth Kann and Victoria Kann. It was one of the books I got at Bookadee for the SHE WRITES call to action. The kids loved this one.
