Way Too Cold.

So what did we do this weekend? Christmas shopping? Santa visits? Wrapping Christmas gifts? Grading papers? Playing in the snow? Nope. The picture above illustrates our weekend perfectly well.

We did nothing. Literally we did not leave the house from Friday evening on, and nothing of value was accomplished. Why? Because it was way too cold.

All I felt like doing this weekend was curling up on the couch with a book. All of us still have colds, and the idea of walking outside in this miserable weather was just too much to handle. I've survived by taking benedryl every night so that I can breathe while I sleep. Nick just gets extra crabby and needy. Plus, he took a five hour nap on Saturday. He must feel like hibernating, too.

Usually, we do not watch much tv. But this weekend, we indulged in anything sedentary. We watched the weather channel, as you can see. Greg even let Nick watch some of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when I wasn't paying attention.  He seemed very concerned about the snakes. "I see snakes!" and then, later, "Snakes in there. Uh-oh." Like any male, though, my little boy was glued to the action movie for at least 20 minutes. Must be a guy thing.

I hope that this weather does not continue. It is way too cold.

Cold Weather = Bacon?

Why does cold weather make me crave bacon? It must be something about putting on a layer of fat to help keep me warm. I absolutely hate cold weather, and lately I just can't seem to get warm. The picture above is actually from a few weeks ago, on another very cold day when I took Nick out to eat at a little diner near our house. He's showing us all how much he loves bacon, too.

As I was driving home from work today, in the cold, in the dark, I suddenly had a thought. "Bacon." As I drove further, it became all consuming, so much so that I decided to run into the grocery store and get some so that I could incorporate it into dinner. After all, it isn't really normal to have bacon for a snack.

So tonight I made breakfast for dinner. All of us have bad colds, so we had orange juice for the Vitamin C. I made scrambled eggs with spinach, peppers, and goat cheese. We had english muffins, and, of course, bacon on the side. Something about a cholesterol-filled dinner is extremely appealing on a cold winter day.

Nick must have the same cravings. He stood near me the entire time I cooked, begging for bits to eat. It's funny how as soon as the smell starts to fill the kitchen, he comes, drawn to the meat. "Bacon!" he announced. "Want bacon please. Please! Bacon!" Then, when he'd eaten a slice, he'd insist. "More bacon!"  He reminded me of that old commercial for bacon-flavored dog treats, where the dog keeps saying "Bacon!"

By the time dinner was actually served, he'd eaten at least half of an orange pepper, plus a slice or two of bacon. Then he ate his whole dinner. I guess I'm not the only one craving fatty foods this winter.

I hope spring comes back soon. . .

because Nick really wants to go back to the park. These pictures are from warmer days, and, sadly, I couldn't take any "having fun at the park" pictures this weekend.  :(  Instead of playing at the park, like we did last week, we spent the weekend indoors. Poor Nick was sad. It even snowed on Saturday, and the temperatures were freezing! What a way to start spring.

My spring break starts after this week, and I can't wait. I hope this last blast of winter weather runs itself out this week, because I'm hoping to get a lot of work done outside. I'm also planning on taking Nick to the park everyday, because otherwise he is a bear. Today he was crabbier than I've seen him in a long time, and I think that's because he didn't get to run around outside.

A good book on a cold, cold night

It never ceases to amaze me how much Nick likes to hear stories. Tonight he sat for six stories in a row. Each time we finished one, he would go and bring me another. Some of his favorites are "Waddle," by Rufus Butler Seder, "Yum Tummy Tickly," by Karen Baiker, and two touchy-feely alphabet books. On a cold night like tonight, it felt great to curl up with my little boy and just read stories. I could practically read them in my sleep by now.

Even though Nicholas is my first child, I worked in daycare centers while in high school and college, so I have quite a bit of experience with infants and toddlers. I seem to recall that it was unusual for them to sit for an entire story, let alone six in a row. Heck, even the kindergarteners I work with now only last two stories or so before they need to run around. Not that Nick always sits for stories. But at least once a day, he'll bring me a book and want me to read to him. Then, he will look at the books once we're done, turning the pages and pointing to the pictures while he mutters to himself. I'm seeing this as a good sign; books are a huge part of his life. He seems very interested in books, for a fourteen-month-old. But perhaps I'm just being a doting momma. Or maybe I remember incorrectly about how long toddlers will sit.

Teeny Weeny Zucchini and a Huge Bag of Babyproofing Supplies

Now that Nick is crawling, my life has become one long series of "No honey," "Not in your mouth," and simply "Arghh!" My baby has found freedom, and he is using this freedom to wreak havoc and destroy everything in sight. Yesterday he found our one remaining downstairs bookshelf and decided that the books would be better off on the floor, ripped. Thus the reason that our other bookshelves have been emptied of books and filled with toys. We will have to do the same with this shelf, it seems.




Because of all of the baby movement going on, Greg and I decided to do some additional babyproofing this weekend. Cabinet locks, bi-fold door locks, toilet locks, door handles: we needed everything. Most of all, we needed gates for the top and bottom of our stairs. I was lucky enough to have two of those 20% off on one item coupons for Buy Buy Baby, so off we went.

As our cart started to fill up and my wallet started to empty, Nicholas rejoiced in flirting with every baby girl who passed us in the aisles. The little girls seemed charmed by his wicked grin. Nick's little onesie says "Little Rascal," and he is, especially with that little tuft of hair sticking up.

Well over $200 later, we decided to head up to Yorktown. Greg was looking for some incense, and I was looking for baby clothing deals. I didn't find any deals, but Greg bought a ton of incense. He's really nice about only burning one stick per evening, though, because I'm mildly allergic to it. That or it irritates my asthma. One or the other. But Yorktown has a pretty fountain that Nick thought was awesome.

Nick and his daddy sat by the fountain while I scoured the clearance racks at Gymboree, The Children's Place, and Baby Gap. The clerks there must know that I am one of "those" people, because I walk in and go directly to the back of the store.

Unless I have a really good coupon or a gift card, I only go to one place. I quickly scan the final clearance rack, and if there's nothing good, I leave. I know how much things cost on ebay, so unless a store is going to beat that, I don't even bother.

Well, my squash and zucchini are finally up to something. It is probably too cold and too late in the season to get any nice-sized veggies, but my plant is making a cute little yellow squash. I think these are delicious, so it'll be okay even if it doesn't get too big.

It was in the 60s and cloudy all weekend. I think it's way too early for fall weather, but what I think doesn't matter.

The zucchini is slightly bigger, but we'll see what happens with the 40 degree temperatures that are due tonight. One thing I have to remember next year is to give my zucchini more room. I put too many plants in my little square foot garden. Notice how the strawberry plants were overwhelmed by the zucchini. These are the ever bearing ones that do two fruits in a year, but I'm pretty sure they won't this year; the zucchini are covering them all up. I might make one big bed of strawberries and then do a whole big vegetable garden next to it. Nick can help with the digging.