Never-ending Chives

I remember last spring, the first plant to come up was chives. It was great to already have a fresh vegetable to use in the kitchen so early in the year! Well, spring went. Summer passed. Fall flew. And I was surprised to see I still had chives growing in October. And in November. In December, I used them in a dish I took to a Christmas party. Now it's January, and I am still able to go outside and pick some fresh chives to throw in a salad.

This has been the strangest winter. So mild. I almost feel like I live in the South instead of the Midwest.

I have felt all winter like I am "waiting for the other shoe to drop." (Is that the right expression?) Like any minute now, a blizzard will hit and Jill might actually use her snow pants for the first time all season.

We did have one ice storm, but then it was 50 degrees the next day, and it all melted. Today it got up to 60, and it is supposed to again tomorrow. The only bad part about a warm winter is that I look at my yard and feel like I need to go weed it.

Jill and our next-door neighbor, Mikey, enjoying the mild weather

My spring flowers are a little confused this winter. They started coming up in December. I can't wait to see their blooms! My friends, family, and I spent a lot of time and effort planting all of them!

If someone gave me a few hundred dollars for no specific purpose: I would buy mulch. Lots of it.

What a weird winter. :) I hope you've had a nice winter!

Two year old Logic

Jeff was recently contacted at work by a local business that had a fire. Apparently, some disgruntled employees (ex-employees now, I'm sure) went in, dismantled one of the video cameras (didn't know about the second one!), tried to disable the sprinklers, piled up papers in the office, and then set them on fire. The business was calling Jeff to get a quote on smoke removal (like the smell of the smoke). Anyway, Jeff came home and told us the story during dinner. I think I said something about how naughty it is to start fires.

Jill was quiet for a bit and then asked, "Were they naked?"

Jeff and I were quiet for a bit, and then I asked, "Did you just say 'were they naked'?"

She nodded yes. Jeff and I continued to stare at her.

Then she sort of sighed and explained, "naughty people are naked." (In a voice that implied this should have been very obvious to us.)

I love having an almost three year old in my house. Although perhaps I have been too strict on the naked rule. A toddler needs to have some fun, right?

On a more sober note . . .

My sister-in-law recently announced that she is expecting. I decided to try and share this information with Jill.

I said, "Jill, Aunt Rachel is going to have another baby."

Jill thought about it, looked at me, and asked, "baby Tabitha?"

I said, "No, Aunt Rachel already has a beautiful baby Tabitha. Remember?"

Jill then said, "Baby Tabitha is dead." She paused and then continued, "we still love her though."

It amazes me what Jill picks up on.

We do still love her.

And I am very excited for my brother, his wife, and my niece!

Getting Cozy

Recently, Jill has gotten really snuggly and is a fan of "getting cozy." To get cozy, one must be on the couch, under a blanket, and usually cuddled up with someone. :) And if Jill had her way, it would also mean to always be watching a TV show. She has recently discovered that her grandma's house has Winnie-the-Pooh movies, and she loves them. We are reading Winnie-the-Pooh to her at night. (I thought it didn't have enough pictures to keep her attention, but apparently it does!) I think she thinks it is fun to see the characters on the TV that we are reading about in her book. She also has started sleeping with her Pooh bear that GranB bought her a while back. And to add to her recent craze, she has announced she will be Winnie-the-Pooh for Halloween. She has not decided who Danny will be, but most often he is Christopher Robin or Tigger. (Whatever will we do when Danny decides he wants to pick what/who he should be for Halloween? My poor sweet dictator will be so sad.)

Jill and Danny Getting Cozy :)

Sometimes I want to call Danny "Bucky" after the cat in Get Fuzzy, because of his awesome front tooth. :)

"That's impressive."

The other day Jeff did something. I can't remember what. But Jill witnessed his action and said, "that's impressive." Ha. We both thought it was pretty impressive that she said impressive. Have you seen anything impressive recently?

The other day Jill was flipping through a story at the library. On every page, she said, "oh my gosh!" . . . I think I need to start saying "oh my goodness." It is just too weird to hear my two year old saying "oh my gosh." Have you realized recently that you say anything too frequently?

The other day Jill was looking at a library book that had animals in it. She came upon an animal that she had never seen before. After some study, she announced that the animal on that page was a "beaver duck." The animal was a platypus, but isn't "beaver duck" a really good description of that animal? Have you made up any good words recently?

The other day I learned that I have been vacuuming without a vacuum belt. Do you know how dumb that made me feel? I've been doing basically nothing. It is amazing how much dust, etc., comes up out of the carpets when your vacuum has a belt in it! It is pretty gross to keep emptying the vacuum and realizing we've been living and breathing in all this dust and other particles. I wonder how long it hasn't had a belt. Has anything made you feel dumb recently?

And here is a visual representation of happiness!

Recently, Jill has started congratulating Daniel for his accomplishments. "That's so great, Danny!" "Yay for Danny!" "Good job, Danny!" It is pretty sweet. She's his personal cheerleader.

My children are growing up to be best friends, and that makes me really happy.

Don't wake me up for cake!

Well, we celebrated his birthday, but it was rough. Both Jill and Daniel took late naps, and I think both of them thought they were already down for the night, because they were miserable during dinner. So much crying. So much drama. Danny cheered up a bit once dessert started, or maybe he was just really not sure about the candle.

Seriously! Right when I think he has started to grow into his eyes, he goes and opens them even wider! Sometimes I feel like the phrase "baby blue" was invented for his eyes. :)

Jill stayed upset until she helped open Danny's presents. Her sadness was not to be persuaded by simple delights like chocolate. (Honestly, I wish I had never woken her up.) (I hate late naps.)

That's about the extent of how messy he got. Now the floor below him got really messy. He loves to throw food over his shoulders. Silly boy. Jill did calm down a bit when trying to feed Danny her ice cream.

Jill has been telling people that her birthday is tomorrow. Poor girl. Not until April!