Standiford Family

We had another showing today.  Our house really likes all the attention it’s getting.  (As of right now, we have two more this week.)  I have needed to come up with somewhere to take the kids on occasion.  (It’s not quite park weather yet, too much mud.)  For that I turned to our favorite place, at least one of them.  (By “our”, I mean me and the kids.)  That is the library.

(Kade’s trying to figure out which Beast Quest book he needs.)

Kade and I visited there this afternoon for a little while before meeting Mickey for a quick lunch and our own viewing of a house.  I’m sure the library will get old soon for those of us that go 3-5 times a week but I can really relax there among all those books.  Our library was re-built and re-opened last year.  They have nice cozy spots to cuddle up with your kids to read.  They also have a fireplace with leather couches nearby for the adults to sink into.  There is even a little snack area with vending machines.  It’s like a home away from home.

I love Spring.  Things miraculously come back to life.  I saw the leaves sticking up the other day and now there are already buds.

These flowers tend to jump the gun a little.  I hope they don’t get frozen in the next couple weeks.  It won’t happen this week.  It’s supposed to be in the 50s all week!

Today was an “Oh, shoot!  I haven’t taken a picture of anything yet.” day.  We went to church.  Came home, had lunch.  I helped Meg redo the last popcorn popping for her experiment.  We dropped the kids off at my parents’ so we could go to an open house.  Didn’t love the house.  Picked the kids up.  Mickey helped Meg with her layout for the science project.  Had dinner.  Read scriptures.  Mickey helped Meg some more.  So I thought it would be fitting to get a picture of Meg typing up her info.

The project is due on Friday.  I think if she works at it a little every day it will get done.  By the way, Meg found out that when you store your popcorn (non-microwave) in the refrigerator you get the best popping results.

Kade is learning to be a handyman like his dad.  Today Amanda and Chris moved into their first house.  Mickey helped with the loading and unloading of the truck and the kids and I showed up later to help unpack and clean.  It was decided that the locks needed to be changed.  The men went off to buy the supplies.  Kade was right there in the middle of things for the first door.  He was thrilled he was allowed to use the tools.  I’m sure he’ll need a refresher course for the next locks he changes.

The girls were no slouches.  They were running things up and down the stairs, vacuuming, and chowing down on red vines until they needed a movie break.  I unpacked most of the kitchen.  Pictures of these events were taken but did not turn out clear so Kade gets to star in another potd.  Good thing he’s cute.  You gotta love that expression of total concentration.

That’s what we’ve been doing a lot of lately.  It’s not been deep cleaning though.  Mostly a wipe off here and there.  We had two showings already this week plus one tonight and one tomorrow.  I couldn’t get the cleaning done without the help of my friends.  (Or my husband.)

The kids have been really good about picking up after themselves.  They still need to be reminded but maybe by the time we move they will have had enough practice it will be second nature.  Ha.

We looked at two houses today.  One…let’s just say odd layout, drowning possibilities in the pond behind it, and they have a cat.  The other has potential but needs to be brought to the here and now and not the 70s.  It also had a tiny yard and not a full basement (meaning there’s basement under part but not the entire house.  Now why would they do that?)

This afternoon Mattey and Kade went out to play while Mickey did some clean up work in the garage.  The reds enjoyed themselves tromping around in the mud and and swinging in the almost 40 degree weather.  The sunshine is SO nice.  (The fun ended when Mat threw a snowball in Kade’s face.)

Has Spring come early?  I doubt it.  We’ll probably get a few more inches of snow before Spring really settles in but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Kade’s teacher sent home a progress report today.  He’s doing great.

There was a note from Mrs. R. inside.  ”Kaden is very responsible and a great helper.  I can always depend on him to help me out.  He is also a good friend and enjoys playing with all of the kids.  Kaden is a terrific listener and he follows directions very well.  He does the crafts and activities independently and neatly, and he is quick to help others out if they are confused.  Kade also likes circle time and he loves to contribute ideas to our conversations.  He especially likes when we becomes scientists and we do experiments.  Kade does a very good job of identifying letters and numbers.  I have loved being his teacher these past two years and watching him grow.”

Mrs. R. has known Kade since he was a bump in my belly so she’s really gotten to watch him grow.  I’m glad she’s been his teacher this year and last.

Other things Kade really enjoys doing are:  play dough, water play, singing, instruments, rhythms, block building, story time, science, show & tell, puzzles, manipulative table toys, puppets, telling stories, asking questions, sharing ideas, solving problems, directing activities, and acquiring new skills.

I think this kid will be ready to take on kindergarten in the fall.  We’ll have to work on letters, phonics, and writing over the summer.  He’s already figuring out math.  It’s so fun to watch him grasp the concept of addition.

Kade was looking out the window and said, “The sunshine is giving us grass.  I’m so happy to have grass.”  I thought that was cute so my picture goes with that thinking.

The saying goes “In like a lamb, out like a lion”.  I wonder what the end of March will be like.  This is our second sunny day and the rest of the week is supposed to be nice too.  Maybe even 50’s on Sunday.  What a treat!  I just hope the lion part is rain/thunder storms and not snow storms.

It’s the first of March and we had a NICE sunny day.  The snow melted a little and I don’t believe there were many, if any, clouds in the sky.  I would love to see that continue.  (If anyone has control over that.)

Keeping it simple is my theme for this year.  At least that’s what I said in January before the house was on the market and I had to make a couple quilts in two weeks.  I don’t do a lot of decorating for the holidays.  I don’t have a ton of space and I DON’T like clutter.  But I do have a grapevine wreath I like to hang on my front door.  I put different things on it for each holiday.  I find it’s a lot easier to have one wreath and a bag full of changeable decorations instead of 12 different wreaths and nowhere to store them.  This is the first year I’ve ever had something for St. Patrick’s Day on my door.

You know, you just can’t find wooden shamrocks anywhere.  I made mine out of felt.  I would have liked to use a thicker ribbon but sometimes you have to use what you can find.  I hope this wreath brings us a little luck this month.  I suppose it won’t bring a lot of luck since I didn’t make a four leafed clover.  Oops.

Yesterday I asked for help with the burnt popcorn odor.  I got an e-mail from my aunt suggesting I simmer cinnamon in water.  It smells yummy.  I’m hoping this and the bacon I made for dinner will help with the overall odor.  Thanks, Auntie Pam.

I’ve made it two months with a picture/post everyday.  Can you believe it?