Yesterday was so sunshiny. Mendy had Cate in the morning and I had planned to clean the house with Jane. But the sun was too tempting. I took Jane and Henry downtown for coffee. And then in the afternoon we all went to the water and walked around, looked at the jellyfish out on the docks and then played on a new playground. And then we came home and a tried to eat a family dinner together. The tacquitos and assorted Mexican sides all bombed with a certain 3-year-old. You can't win them all. 

Other bits of news:

I crave Indian food after living in New York with the ability to order cheap Indian food that arrived at my door in less than 15 minutes. Specifically, I love lamb khorma and naan (among other things). The Indian restaurants around here aren't reviewed well but Telfer heard about this place out in Lacey that has fabulous Indian food. It's a bit of a drive but so worth it. Telfer mentioned it on Tuesday morning and I was unable to stop salivating until he brought it home. 

I posted the above picture on flickr a few months ago. We bought this stinky, smelly but very cute chair at a local antique store for $12.50. We brought it back from our neighborhood upholstery shop on Tuesday. I will say this: It cost more than $12! But! It's so cute and restored!

Okay, this might be categorized as oversharing but I seemingly can't help myself. On Wednesday, we returned home from BSF and Trader Joe's. I was unloading groceries and getting the girls some lunch together while talking to my sister on the phone. Jane was sitting on the window seat in our dining room. I knew her diaper was pretty wet and was going to change her before we ate lunch. She must have pooped in the five minutes from when we came inside the house to when I looked over and saw her eating her own poop. YES! It took an agonizingly long time to process the situation. What is that on the window seat? Is that chocolate? Did Henry poop while we were gone? What is on Jane's hands? What is in her mouth? Oh my…At least she didn't like it! She was trying to get the taste out of her mouth for awhile. Gross, right?? Needless to say she had a bath immediately. She is such a little monkey.

Anyway: one last thought from my devotions yesterday (have to throw in something deep to get you all over the last paragraph).  I love Eugene H. Peterson's Praying with the Psalms devotional. I have been using it for over a year now but yesterday's entry referenced Psalm 21 and his words resonated in light of parenting and my week in general:

"We don't thank enough because we don't think enough. Concentrated remembrance turns up vast quanities of material that derive from God and then are happily reexpressed in thanksgiving." 

That was our motto last week. After our epic snowfall, it was so nice to be at home and have use of our cars again (they were stuck in our driveway). We did lose power for about 48 hours. Chris & Mendy have a generator so we just spent a couple of days over there. It was actually pretty fun. Nana was there and it felt like Christmas without the pressure.

However, the girls and I did spend one very cold and very long night in our downstairs guest bed. It's a double and I was worried about Jane falling out of the bed so I put her in the middle of me & Cate. Picture the girls screaming and pulling each other's hair at 3:00 in the morning. I must admit that I was not at my best. Telfer, of course, was at work. So when we were able to go back home last Sunday, it was so great to do laundry and get cleaned up. If only I felt that way all the time!

I had a small baby shower at our house on Thursday night [I made a really good coconut cake]. We like using the excuse of having people over to get a few projects accomplished. We finally hemmed all of the curtains in our house (the cut/tape/iron method). Telfer did most of it and it was a big job…Telfer also put an outlet in my office so I can see to read in my chair. I was afraid I was going to go blind from squinting. 

And, as usual, our girls keep me busy, entertained, on my toes, frustrated, and in awe of God's grace and kindness to me. Witness: 

Telfer took this picture this morning when trying to back the car out of the driveway. He made it maybe three feet. A neighbor had to take him to work. The same neighbor asked Telfer if he was in town in 1977. Telfer coughed and said he was born in 1979. Apparently, 1977 is the last time Olympia has had this much snow.

The best decision I have made in a long time: yesterday we did go on the Dash bus downtown to the Bread Peddler. I had a badly needed cappucino and a scone and Cate got her morning roll.  

Needless to say, there were no outings today. We have had lots of timeouts and emotional breakdowns however! I don't think I have looked forward to a naptime more in months. I made use of my basement treadmill and then read a whole bunch of The Phantom Tollbooth. Where has this book been all of my life?

Telfer's dad picked him up at the hospital and they cleared (or at least packed down) our driveway. Have I mentioned we don't own a snowshovel? We didn't need them in Calfornia and New York! Also, here's a new use for our California boogieboards: 

My girls immediately put the snow into their mouths. Nice. It was new snow in this picture. I had to tell Cate at church and Costco afterwards not to put the tire-tracked snow into her mouth. She couldn't understand why. 

Shortly after this picture was taken Jane toppled off the bottom step and hit her lip, her nose, and forehead. She looks like she's been through a war or at the very least has an unfortunate head-to-body-weight ratio. 

Jane is such a crack-up lately. For a long time I thought she would be our relaxed, "easy" kid. Hah! I can tell she is a little more low-key than her sister, but this kid is incredibly tenacious. She will try really, really hard to master something like putting all of the necklaces exactly into the bowl, no little bits trailing behind. You can just feel the quivering concentration.

She really wants to use a fork. I get easily grossed out trying to help her. Nastiest fork ever, completely covered in food and drool. 

We are in the middle of a "major snow event" here in Olympia. I think I am going to take the girls out to play when Jane wakes up from her nap. We were planning on taking the bus to the Bread Peddler but the bus isn't even running today (at least not yet). Chicken stock is simmering away on the stove and I am going to make this soup later today for the umpteenth time this winter. Maybe banana bread too. I have a bunch of nasty brown bananas in the freezer that I should use. Soup and bread. Does it get any better than that on a winter day?

I really do love the New Year. The Christmas decorations are down and put away in the basement. Well, that's not exactly true. The snowflakes are still hanging in the window and there are a few sparkly things left. It's a little too sad to take down everything. Telfer and I have been busy bees around here. Nothing worth showing really. The girls' toys and spaces have been re-organized and cleaned and a few little plastic toys may have ended up in the trash. Our move into this house was on the chaotic side and certain places, ahem, the basement and garage, really needed some work. There were a few things left in the house that we didn't want around anymore and random moving detritus. We had a dumpster delivered to our curb and spent the weekend filling that baby up. We still have a lot of organizing to do in those spaces but at least they are picked through. I also took multiple loads to Goodwill and sold/gave away a few things on Craigslist. Feels so good!

RaChelle reminded me that I never posted pictures of our bathroom remodel. Telfer took some good ones and here they are: 

It's so nice. Especially for bathing children + dogs. If interested, almost all of the sources are on my Pinterest board.

What else? Downton Abbey returned on Sunday and Telfer and I watched the two-hour premier last night. Whoo. I love that show. The costumes! Best Maggie Smith line: "My dear, you are not Toad of Toad Hall" when one of her granddaughters decides to learn to drive. Not much else to report. Cate and Jane are having a good couple of days. We are sticking close to home mostly but we might take a walk to the library when Miss Jane wakes up from her nap.