merry

Christmas with a toddler in the house.

woooooooo-eeeeeeee!! so very, very busy, and so very, very fun! it really has been wonderful to have Little V here. giggles and snuggles, endless games of Ring Around the Rosie, endless renditions of Row, Row, Row Your Boat (because Aunt Luckdragon does not know all the words to The Wheels On The Bus), lots of chasing and tickling and reading and just pure, all-around joy.

i made some brown sugar shortbread cookies, and we gave a small piece to Little V. she ate it very solemnly, then signed/said, "More?" so we gave her another piece. "More?" we gave her the rest of the cookie. she ate it. "Anwan (another one)? More?" Nope, we said - no more cookies, they're all gone! She looked at me, then turned and pointed at allllll the cookies on the cooling rack, then looked at me again. TOTALLY called me out! so we told her (mostly truthfully) that the cookies were too hot, and maybe they would cool down later.

 one hungry little bunny, who was also fast asleep. :o)


all in all, it was a wonderful holiday. lots of family time, lots of great food, and even a temporary kitty! she showed up on our back deck on the 23rd, meowing and trying desperately to get in the house. K and J are both very allergic to cats, and we couldn't let her in, so i made her a box shelter full of blankets. the next morning, i fed her some canned chicken, then took her around the neighborhood. nobody recognized her, but she took off between two houses across the street, and we didn't see her for the rest of the day. we were really hoping that she'd found her way home, but when Mom and i got back from church at 12:30am (Merry Christmas!), she came running across the front lawn, meowing all the way.

we brought the kitty in last Sunday, and are trying to find her a home. much as i'd love to keep her, E is also very allergic, and i really can't afford a pet right now. but i can love her until we find someone to take her!

 

 the Christmas cactus turned out to be a New Year's cactus:

isn't it pretty? i'm digging the coral pink!

i spent New Year's at E's, watching the Wings fall to the Leafs in the Winter Classic (too bad we don't still have Manny in net for us - he out-played Osgood in the alumni game, AND won the shootout), and watching the snow fall (and fall, and fall) outside. we're supposed to get more snow tonight/tomorrow, followed by the coldest air in 30 years! i'm a little worried about my car...running out and starting her occasionally over the next few days is probably a good idea.

today, i'm heading to E's after picking up a few things at the store - a heavy-duty shovel, a roast, some baby kale, and caesar salad dressing. we're going to try a Poor Man's Prime Rib recipe that we found online, i really hope it turns out!

i'm getting very antsy. it's time to start a new project for sure, lol! i'm kicking around a couple different ideas for Valentines, and there's a baby crocheted cowboy hat i want to make, and a sweater to finish. which to choose, which to choose? :o)