snow eater

since the day he first saw snow, cosmo's favorite thing to do with it is eat it.



sometimes you can distract him with stuff like snowball throwing, making a snowman, or even sledding.





usually though, all wintry activities culminate in the eating of snow.
once everyone's back inside, wet clothes stripped off, warming up-- what's first on the agenda?



snow ice cream, of course! here's how we make it:

1. scoop up the freshest, cleanest looking snow you can find, in a big bowl
2. quickly add some whole milk and pure maple syrup (you'll know when you've got enough)
3. stir it up until it reaches the consistency you like
4. eat quickly, it melts fast!

and the good news is, if it does melt, you can always drink it.

questions and answers

question:
how do you keep snow from getting inside your little kid's boots, which makes his ankles cold and makes him wanna go inside way before he's had enough fun in the snow?

answer:
you take the sleeves of one of those old wool sweaters you've already cut up because you've been making muffs out of them (among other things), and you put those sweater sleeves over your little kid's snow-pants, and cover completely that place where boot and snow-pant-leg meet. it works.



then your little kid can do a lot more of this:

yes, she can...

bake an inaugural cherry pie.

happy inauguration day, everybody!

congratulations, america.

and to you, mr. bush, goodbye and good riddance.

don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out...

woke up to below zero temperatures today. our house is warm, and our car runs.
our neighborhood is not being bombed. we are very fortunate.

read this.

seven things you don't really need to know about me

i got tagged by robin at the other mother, who has asked me to reveal seven things about me that you really don't need to know. here they are, but i won't be tagging anyone else:

1. i secretly want to wear lipstick and heavy black eyeliner, but feel silly putting it on, even around the house.
2. i type very slowly. i only half-learned keyboarding skills. i know where to place my hands, but i always have to look.
   
3. i collect buttons-- the pin back kind, with political messages, images, or cute little sayings like: dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians. i’ve been collecting them since high school. my favorites are the little one-inch ones, and someday i will get myself a button maker, and start making my own. until then, julie at craftknife sells some nice ones on her etsy site.
4. my dream job is to be the owner of an architectural/building supply salvage business. i would have a huge barn/warehouse and a big flatbed truck. i’d go around to building sites, and building demolitions and collect materials that would otherwise be thrown away. anything from bricks and lumber, to cabinet pulls and door stops. back at the warehouse, everything would be carefully sorted and organized, so that people could come and shop for what they needed.
5. i like salt on my grapefruit.
6. i am monolingual, and hugely embarrassed about it. i studied french in college, but can’t really speak it. i grew up (in part) in southern california, and lived in texas for eight years, and have never learned to speak spanish. shameful.
7. i’m horrified, heartbroken and distraught about what isreal is doing to the people in the gaza strip. i feel angry, helpless and hopeless whenever i hear about it, see images of it, or think about it. i know, a bit heavy for a meme, but it's on my mind...
   

production line

here's a short little clip of cosmo painting some thank you cards.
i wish i could be this efficient in my own work.



and here is an example of what happens when mama doesn't respond right away (because she is recording, and doesn't want her voice to be in the video).

dirty snowman

we woke up to a blanket of snow on the ground. carl says it's rather pathetic. it barely covers the grass. but it's great snowman making snow--wet and sticky.



the cheeks were cosmo's idea.



right now carl and cosmo are sitting by the window, with snow falling outside, working on a difficult puzzle, munching on carrot sticks from our garden carrots (we still have tons!).

snow day.

chopsticks!

ok, so they are learning chopsticks, but still...