a museum of snow

our first snow day was a day of discovery- it was like paid entry to a museum! while out running errands, the kids saw snowplows for the first time, wondered what the guy at the grocery store was doing when sprinkling salt, and warned mom to drive carefully- 'especially on the hills'!  we played outside for hours and accomplished all the essential snow activities: sledding, shoveling, snowball fights, snowmen and snowangels, and eating snow.  we woke up to a snow day from school and the kids watched with wonder as snowblowers cleared driveways.  they were amazed with the untouched blanket of snow and almost had to be tied to their chairs to finish a french toast breakfast.  pajamas were hidden under layers of snow clothes and another round of exploration in the 'bright' backyard began. forts were built and smiles abounded.

...mom is now busily dealing with the price of admission to said snow museum- cleaning the house of wet slushiness!   

a discovery that may change christmas forever

for the past 6 years, i've made and mailed 50 handmade christmas cards.  with tender loving care, i spend ridiculous amounts of time matching the color scheme of the card to the colors in the photo. i spend large sums of money for the perfect paper crafting supplies.  and, i'll be honest, i carefully construct a list of VIP receivers to ensure that my limited supply goes in the most appreciating hands.  despite all this, christmas cards has been my absolute favorite TO DO item of the year! unfortunately, a very late start on pictures, a recent call as yw pres, constantly having a toddler- strewn house, and a recent cross-country move turned 2012 into a very different year.  it became a pre-designed, costco- printed, mass-produced, photo- paper cards kind of year.  (don't get me wrong, i see them as a great option for those who do not see this TO DO item as attractively as i do.)
after getting over the initial shock of sterility in costco's options, i began noticing their utility.  thoughts like, 'i can send out however many cards i want at a fourth of the cost' and 'that was so much easier' and 'i can even use these for neighbor gifts which usually require an entirely new set of created tags' and 'what? they even come WITH envelopes' crept in!  the practicalities of this new discovery are almost limitless! 
...stay tuned for 2013- this little discovery may have changed christmas forever! (in the mean time, enjoy 2012's pictures:)

 

it started with a whisper

whispers are the window to jack's soul.  i know what's on his mind according to his whispers.  i know if he is trying to remember a task from mom because he whispers it over and over to himself until it's done.  he gives encouragement and positive self talk to himself in a whisper too.  for instance, mom says, 'no screen time now.'  jack can be heard whispering something like, 'mom said no.  i want screen time.  screen time will be after school with kindin.'  all schoolwork is accompanied by lots and lots of whisper reminders.  and his solitary play is usually in quiet whispers: batman fights villians under his breath; lego towers are built with barely audible instructions; and cars crashes happen in hushed tones.

ps. the only other form of knowing for jack is the mood chart magnet intended for his sister (whose lack of emotional 'whispering' is sometimes concerning).  kindin doesn't touch it but jack checks in almost daily!    

suckala, stink eye, and a sense of rhythm

will now gladly jump up on the lap of another
'chocola' (chocolate) and 'suckala' (sucker) are her favorite snacks
always refers to herself by her full name rather than her nickname dolly
Overheard saying "whoa that is awesome"
a blanket or milk goes everywhere with her
readily allows 'kini' (kindin) to take care of her but requires some warming first to jack
can sort the laundry with 90% accuracy
her chompers are larger than her siblings'
almost every character/ picture/ cartoon is 'jesus'
her hair is out of control
she has her own room temporarily because she kept calling out for her sister (who couldn't help but keep responding)
she.is.still.so.LOUD
she has a great sense of rhythm
is acutely aware of the names of her siblings friends and refers to them by name during playdates
often found talking on pretend phones
sweetly says 'i lub you' before bed but is capable of one, mean stink eye

the twinkle in her eye

all things santa has given kindin quite an eye twinkle.  it's so cute to see her pseduomaturity crumbled by a bursting gullibility to the magic of santa and elves.  my personal feelings about santa and elves aside*, this photo is a priceless reminder of her littleness!  (it's guessed that by next christmas, her discerning little brother might just ruin this twinkle!)

*dont get me started on elf on the shelf--- it's an entirely different blogpost rant beginning with: seriously, I'm supposed to buy into one more magical rouse to mess up the real meaning of christmas?

put your shoulder to the wheel

the parry household has introduced a chore chart.  in the 2 months it's been in use, we have gleaned some information: the chart itself has created quite a competition between kindin and jack (they now each have a separate chore chart); an earning potential has yet to improve jack's ability to delay gratification (buying a mario water bottle didn't improve chore performance); daily, kindin thinks of something she'll buy herself but in the moment still caves to buying her own pack of gum (really? with all the gum floating around this house?); kindin desperately tries bartering her way out of losing money with a missed chore (she rarely misses); and jack really, really hates sweeping the floor!

it's all about dad and not so much about mom

lately, kindin has been all about dad (and not so much about mom) and i have proof!!!

exhibit A: (a spontaneous school narrative written about her 'family' but only mentioning her dad)

...accompanied with evenings doing special coded notes back and forth and other dad-designed brainteasers.


on to exhibit B: (a note of gratitude for a lavish playdate organized by mom- done only to fulfill a punishment)

...accompanied by large amounts of sassiness, eye rolling, and other butting heads moments

some blustery

the first snowflakes came- albeit teensy, cute, and light as air... they arrived.  mom was excited, jack and kindin tried catching the snowflakes in their mouths and dalia watched in wonderment.  within minutes little fingers were cold and we opted to watch the snow fall from inside the comfort of a warm house. 

when the snow melted in the afternoon, jack asked with a glimmer of hope, 'is it summertime now?'