Sled Riding

I had the day off, there was a ton of snow still outside, it was cold but not frigid, and it was sunny out.   This was a recipe for...Sled Riding!
A few weeks ago I scouted the local stores for cheap plastic sleds...similar to the ones I grew up riding back in 'Bula.  After, I kid you not, FOUR local big box stores, I found these awesome tie-dye sleds for cheap.  We bought one long two person sled and one little one with a slanted front.  Tam has been itching to try these out for weeks...he even attempted riding the small one down the piles of snow on the side of our driveway. 

Well, on Saturday, Brian and I decided to have a go at sledding...but how to find a good hill when you are new in town?  Thankful the Internet provides...man, you can google search just about anything! Yes, there is a website dedicated to the best sled riding hills in North East Ohio (Link).  This led me to a local park that we had visited at the end of summer to hike along the river.  It was only a few miles south of town and the hill did not end in any bodies of water (like the beach parks around our home).

Of course, it took a good twenty minutes or so to get the two boys pottied and geared up to play outside.  It was cold enough that even Brian and I donned long underwear underneath to stay warm.  Since we are already mid-winter, our supply of gloves and mittens is running low.  I am sad to say that both boys sport hand gear that mismatched, though it doesn't seem to bother them.  Jude's boots are also too big because he refuses to wear the ones that are his own size (he curls his foot so it is impossible to put the smaller boots on). 

Once in the car, Jude wails for most of the short car ride because "I can't move, momma!"  though this comes out muffled because his hood ties are covering his mouth.  He really does look like a huge stuffed animal in his gear. 

At the park, the hill is a good size and has a slope to it, so that one portion is smaller than the other.  We roll out of the car, gather the sleds and trudge up the hill.  Jude wants to be pulled after about 10 feet.   Poor mite, the snow is nearly to his knees in the drifts. 

The flights down the hill were AWESOME.  Brian and I took turns at first riding down with the boys.  The big sled was great, but a little cumbersome to steer.  The little sled flew over the snow and went quite a bit further out.  Tamlin quickly wanted to slide down on his own, and by the fourth try he wanted to ride down on his belly...and then backwards!  Jude loved flying down the hill and his squeals of delight were precious to hear.  However, Jude hated walking in the deep snow and would wail his discomfort unless someone came down to pull him back up the hill while he rode in the sled.  What a nugget head. 

I think Jude's favorite time was sliding down on his belly face first.  Tamlin's favorite time was riding with Brian and the sled flipping around 180 and the ended up going downhill backwards.

 There were certainly some spills and faceplants.  Tamlin took most of these in strides, though we were there to help quickly wipe off the snow.  Jude is still little enough to HATE getting snow on him and getting cold.  His little hands got cold rather quickly and we had to swap his mittens a couple times with dry ones (all still miss-matched). 

 

Well, after about 15 minutes or so, both boys declared that they were cold.  This park is open year round, so the visitor center provided a warm haven for us to stumble into.  We thawed out and warmed up our hands for awhile.  However, the boys spied the playground and they insisted on going down the snow covered slide before we went home.  Overall, the time spent as a family was great, even if it was bit chilly.

Let's add it up...20 minutes to get ready...8 minute car ride...15 minutes of sled riding...15 minutes warming back up in the visitor center...10 minutes on the cold playground...and they were done.

(And then they took a TWO HOUR nap when we got home :-)

Memory Monday - Baby dolls

I remember that some of my first dollies were cloth dolls sewn my Aunt Rosilyn, my mother's eldest sister. These babies included a Raggedy Ann and Andy set, complete with striped stockings and red hair.  There was also a yellow yarn hair doll with long arms and legs. She was very originally named "yellow-hair doll." Finally, there was a little baby with a yellow terry pajama sleeper named baby or dolly. I still have all these dolls today, having saved them in various doll beds and cedar chests throughout my post-doll baby stages.  All of these dolls were great for numerous reasons...
I remember chewing on their cloth legs
I remember trying to trim yellow-hair doll's hair with kiddie scissors (I was mostly unsuccessful).
I remember using Raggedy Ann and Andy as puppets in "plays"
I remember learning how to snap and unsnap their clothes

Mom says she loved the dolls because they are completely washable in the washing machine.

When Tamlin was small, I dug these babies back out of storage along with my a couple of my other soft vinyl dolls.   A side note: the vinyl dolls were useful in teaching both boys about drinking and going potty.  Tamlin did take a shine to yellow-hair doll.  Even now, she resides in his bed and occasionally goes on adventures with him.  And we are a liberal family...neither Brian nor I give a hoot what toys the boys decide to play with and we really try not to enforce any gender bias.

Well, when I went to pick up Jude last week from preschool, I found him playing with a doll baby.  He had her wrapped up in a blanket cradled in his arms.  Several of the other girls in his class were playing with babies too.  I had a bugger of a time trying to convince him to place the baby in the crib so she could sleep at school.  He kept on insisting that it was "Mine!  JuJu's baby!  Baby com home!"  I knew I didn't want to set the precedent of it being okay to bring daycare toys home, so I had to be the mean momma and force him to leave the baby behind.  Oh the tears!  Oh the wails of unhappiness!  My little Jude is such a drama-king.  His teachers all said that lately he has been into playing with the doll...mostly having a good time wrapping it up in a blanket and rocking it.  I had no idea!  He has taken zero interest in the dolls at home.


To bring this entry full circle... I let Jude have the little cloth baby doll.  And I found a flannel baby blanket that used to be his to wrap the baby in.  Jude was thrilled.  "I so happy, mom!"  Yellow baby (as he sometimes calls her) has been a companion this week and has found a spot in his bed while he sleeps.
What a sweetie.  And I love that my old dollies are getting some love again.


Thanks Aunt Rosilyn...
I bet you never ever dreamed that those little dolls sewn so many years ago would find love in a little grand-nephew's hands.

First birthday party and a huge bit of luck

A follow up from Tamlin's first school friend birthday party...
It was fun.  I did stay, but so did many other moms.   It was held in a rental room that held about 20 kids and 30 adults.  The mom had a mini-bounce house and a face-painter for the kids. She also thoughtfully had wine for the adults.  The little girl was a sweetie and all the kids got along really well with each other (no tears).  Tamlin eventually had his face painted up like the green hulk and loved it.  He also had fun bashing the castle pinata and eating lots of candy.  It seemed like he got along really well with all the kids at the party and I am glad I was able to bring him.  Sigh...Tam...my little social butterfly.

I had a chance to meet some of his classmates' mothers and talk about the kids. We also chatted about kindergarten and the local school system.  From what I gather we only have the local elementary school and the Catholic school...so no choice for us as to where Tamlin will go next year.  It sounds as if the school is similar in size to the buckeye schools system that I grew up with, which means it is on the small size but not too small.  I enjoyed the chats and felt really comfortable with everyone.  This is a bit of contrast from the mom's at Tamlin's old school.  Those moms were mostly stay at home moms with perfectly coiffed hair, perfectly placed make-up, and huge diamond wedding rings.  Don't get me wrong; all of those things are fine; just not what I am used to or value in my life. I never quite knew what to chat about with those ladies.  Ah...another excuse as to why I really like it here in our new small town home.

Now, prior to the party I had a bit of luck (both bad and good).
I had packed Tamlin into the car and at the last minute, decided to grab the Kindle to read a novel if the party was boring or if I didn't stay.  We drove down the snowy street to the party, about 1.5miles from our house down main street.  We get there and I get Tamlin out of the car.  No Kindle.  What?  No Kindle?!  Tamlin, did I bring the Kindle?  Yes, he answers.  I'm going crazy.  I usher Tamlin into the party and excuse myself back out.  I check the car with no Kindle.  Yep, my head immediately goes to "Oh-Sugar-Honey-Ice-Tea...I left the Kindle on the roof of the car."  I then proceed to drive back to house thinking
1. I hope it is in the garage out of the snow fall
2. I hope it fell in the driveway, into the soft snow and didn't get ran over by my car
3. I hope I can find it along the road in a soft snow drift and it isn't too busted up and will still work
4. How can I buy a new one and not tell Brian
5. And, of course, How can I blame Tamlin for this.

Low and Behold...There it is...IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD RIGHT BETWEEN THE LANES.
I turn around and stop the car.   There isn't much traffic in our small town, so I have a spark of hope.
I scooped it up...it looked whole but a little damp...and pull into a nearby parking lot.  No cracks on the view screen and no pieces missing.  I breathed deeply, crossed my fingers, and turned it on.

IT WORKS!
What luck.  I usually don't put anything on the roof of the car except my keys (so I don't lock them inside).  I really need to stick to this policy in the future.  I promise not to take expensive toys to silly places again...unless I triple check that they are safely IN the car.

Working on Valentine Cards

We are attempting to do the lollipop valentine cards...which meant I had to get the boys to hold still for photos with their hands out.  (The lollipop then goes through their hands on the card and so appears huge).
 I read a hint from a fellow blogger to tell the little ones to "pretend like they are punching the bad guy" to get their hands out stretched.

And this is what I got from my goofballs...

I think I got something I can work with...

And I did get a chance to flex my creative muscles again by making their valentine shirts.
Jude wanted a tow truck and Tamlin wanted a robot.  No problem! 
Tam's shirt is just a bleach job over a stencil he helped to pick out.  I like that the deep maroon shirt turned the cool pink shade with the bleach.  Jude's shirt began similarly with bleach but the red only faded a little.  I then went back with the stencil and painted the design with white fabric paint.
I love how both of them came out and I loved the smiles they gave me when I showed them the results!

Birthday parties?

Tamlin has been going to preschool for several months now.  He is there three full days a week with about 15 other kids.  They always seem to be having fun when I go to pick him up.  Well, I am now getting a glimse into next year and real school. 

Tam has been invited to his first birthday party held by a classmate...a girl classmate.  I am so not ready for girls.  Luckily, Tam just says they play together. However, he couldn't tell me what she likes to play with, which was very unhelpful when shopping for a birthday gift.  I kept asking if she would like a doll or a barbie or a my little pony and he would just say that HE would like that thing.  Ugh. What do 5 year old girls like besides princess stuff?   In the end, Tamlin chose a cute barking dog toy because he thinks she likes doggies.  I don't even know the proper etiquette for these things.  Do I stay at the party?  Do I drop him off?  Well, we'll just see how it goes...

Popcorn

Sometimes it is the simple things that make me smile.
Like popcorn and a moving and snuggling with my family.

Now the popcorn is key.
It must be made on the stove top and not microwaved.  It should be red corn kernels or local kernels.  Real butter should be used as the topping.  Okay, so I'm a little picky about my popcorn.

Every time I make popcorn, I think of my dad.  I remember him making some after I had gone to bed...but if I woke up, I might get my own little dish full.  I remember eating popcorn at his houses in the years after my parents divorced.  It seems it was one of the few things he could cook and that we kids would eat. I also recall him spilling the popcorn into the burners on the gas stove...which meant that the next few suppers had kernels popping unexpectedly at times.  Aunt Brenda asked him how to make popcorn and Dad answered, "You just throw it into the stove and Pop...Pop,pop,pop!"

 I remember him telling me how to make the "perfect" pot of popcorn.

The first secret is to always place three kernels in the oil while it is heating up.  When these few test kernels pop, you'll know that the oil is hot enough.  And, of course I think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail at this time...

"Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out." (From the scene with the Holy Hand Grenade of Anticoh).

The other secret is to ALWAYS shake the pot from start to finish.  This keeps things moving inside and lowers the chance of any burning going on.  Brian always say he likes it when I shake things .

This is a rambling post about popcorn.  But that is just it, popcorn is more awesome when it is shared :-)