Updates in no particular order

Mud. Squishy oozy black mud was everywhere I turned last week. Our new house in particular was a mudhole! We've got frozen ground and snow again, but the mud was fun for a while. A little glimmer of hope in this Iowa winter. Spring is coming it whispered.

Dry wall. The carpenters got dry wall up in the entire house and the garage last week! I tell you these guys are awesome! This pic in the garage was just cool because the light was shining in through the window so prettily.

Cardboard and rosen paper now covers the floor in preparation for the taping and mudding to come. Of course, we ordered the doors and trim this week so the staining must start, too!! It all looks soo close, but in reality I think there is a lot of work left to do. I can't wait to see how great it's all going to look, though!

Oh yeah, my Valentine bought me this really awesome purple, poufy, soft, shiny coat for Valentine's day just because I texted him that I "needed" it!! Isn't he great?!!

Crafting with Casey

Tuesday was Casey and my stay home day and it was the perfect opportunity to work on his Valentine's Box for school. He wanted to paint it, so we started with the top.

If you give a four year old a paintbrush and some paints for his Valentine's project...

He will most likely get distracted and want to paint the paint container...

and he will want to use all of the brushes...

And it will become a castle that you will end up helping with.

That will lead to watching a movie with a castle in it and eating lunch. The end.

I love you Casey!

"How's the house coming? When will you be in?"

I think since we are building on a highway people are more interested in the progress of our house. I get asked everywhere I go, "How's the house coming? and When will you be in?" Most of the time, I don't recognize the people asking, but they seem to know me and our house so I usually answer "Not fast enough!!" In actuality, the carpenters are doing quite well...It's just that the more you see done, the more you imagine it and the more you are ready to live there!! Although, it all still feels like a dream....

Al blew insulation into the attic this weekend with his dad's help. It took over 250 bags of insulation! Wow! I think I am going to save on electricity because it will be so warm I won't need my heat as much!

I wish I had a picture of Al. The kids and I stopped at lunchtime on Saturday to see how it was going, and Carter says "Where's Dad?" Dad, was standing right next to me. He just looked so funny with insulation all over him and his glasses off that Carter didn't notice!

This is what all the electrical in the basement looks like right now. And here's notes on a wall that will soon be all covered up that I thought were interesting.

Finally, the kids built a snowman at the new house this weekend. We have all kinds of cool weeds growing hence the hair and arms. Plus leftover construction stuff for the eyes, mouth, and bucket.

Emily put the snowman actually in the ditch so that people from the road would be sure to see it. She said, "I hope people drive by and some little kid says Mom! Look at that cool snowman!!"

Lastly, we all thought Max looked funny with these snowballs hanging from his fur!!!

Happy Monday Friends!

Max

"I see you."

Quick. Name that movie.

What do you think?

I don't often take the time to try and edit photos. It seems every time I try a lovely child of mine wants the computer and aren't very patient waiting, or it's time for supper, or time to get ready for school...Or I have an excuse...Anyway, I still try to take interesting pictures. These next ones were taken in the frigid temps just because. I've tried a touch of editing. See what you think...

This first one is by the ethanol plant that is on my way home. I thought it would be neat to get the sun dog and the smoke, etc. I don't think you can really see the sun dog in this pic, though. I pulled over on the way home to take this pic and people stopped to help me. Nice to know there are still kind people out there.

The dam in the town I work is being changed and worked on so this one side was freezing and flowing and looking cool. I tried the black and white to try and make things stand out more.

This tube of ice that the water was flowing through was just so cool!

Here's a sun dog!

So what do you think? Would you try something different in editing?? I need suggestions so that I can get more in the habit of "seeing" what needs to be done. Then maybe I can do more with editing and making my pictures better.

Short Lived

My satisfaction at blowing snow was short lived... Do you see the hill of snow in the middle of the road in front of my house?? Apparently that is frowned upon. I guess I was supposed to aim it other directions!! And here I was just trying to keep up drive straight and break through great hills of snow!! Multi tasking is snow removal.

Having everyone well in my house was short lived...
Casey has strep throat...the fourth time in as many months!! I swear the little strep monster has taken up residence in our house and slashes his "strep wand" when he is feeling particularly ornery!

The pain from the penicillin shot was short lived cuz moma bribed with a movie!!

Hopefully, this bout of sickness will be short lived, too!!

Satisfaction

I must say, I know I've told you all how I conquered the snowblower...but I need to say again. There is such a feeling of power and satisfaction when you break through a huge snow drift and win!!! That big town snow plow thought we were stuck! Ha! No way!! I have a John Deere snow plow!! Take That!!!

Snow Day Continued...

We made homemade cookies too! And what could be more fun than using a purple spatula??

And then, since the oven was full of a pot roast, Casey called Aunt Amy and asked how she cooks cookies in the microwave. So you make a little ball, zap it for 20 seconds and then eat with a baby spoon, the better to savor it.MMMMmmmmm! Thanks Aunt Amy! What a fun treat!(I didn't savor it enough, however, because I had to make 2 and eat some plain while I waited!)

A snow day of play...dough

Yay for snowdays!!! We are supposed to get around a foot of snow by the time this is all over! At least it's not the 18 inches forecast for south of here! Al went in at 2 a.m. and the kids and I have been playing and laying around in our jammies! Sorry Al.
My cousin put a picture of a playdough rose she made on her blog, so we decided to try and duplicate it. Emily even sat in front of the picture and tried to copy it.

Carter made cinnamon rolls...

Casey's is ice cream...

And here's Emily's rose and bee.

The red is the first attempt and the yellow is the final. To see the original rose we copied, go http://thrumynikon.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-01-11T19%3A07%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=7 
and scroll til you see the rose and bee.

Happy snow day!!