BRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Hello! Well, winter has hit really and truly around here.  It's been between -12 and -26 (with windchill) for about a week now.  BRRRRRRRRRRRR!  We haven't been getting outside too much, so we've been trying to find ways to amuse ourselves in the house.  Thank goodness for videos from the library! Although Griffin had watched so many Max & Ruby videos that he was starting to use only one-word sentences.  Hmmm.  Not so good. They all went back on Friday.

We've made necklaces out of cut-up wool sweaters.  I got a giant needle, and Griffin strung them all by himself.  One for everyone.

And we've made muffins, and drawings, and paintings.  Holly is getting pretty good at using the felts.  But I'm ready for some warmer days now!
I'm sure there are about a million other fun, indoor things we could be doing, but I just can't seem to find the energy at the moment.  I'd rather sit on the couch in front of the fire, with a tea and a book!  Truly not my best parenting week, but I'm sure we'll snap out of it soon.  We did spend quite a bit of time playing with these toys I made the kids for Christmas.

I had initially thought of them just as little wooden animals, but then I started stacking them, and they became ten times funner.  They're kind of addicting, in an Angry Birds kind of way.

We all had a lot of fun, stacking them, knocking them over, and stacking them in new and wondrous creations (until someone knocked them down again).  I did have them all stacked in a big circle, all sitting on the bear, but I couldn't guard them long enough to get the camera out.  And, really, knocking them down is at least as much fun as stacking them up.  I mean, really.

Yesterday we made forts, but they were pretty weak.  We definitely have some fort-building practice in store for us.  And there's been talk of picking up another washing machine box for the kids to decorate and play in.  Sometimes I find it hard to find things we can all do together.

Holly is down to one nap a day now, and it never seems to last very long.  Not to me, anyway! Speaking of which, she just woke up!  Bye for now!