New in the Zoo

How did A fill his snow day? He helped me with breakfast....and he painted.

E did something pretty amazing last night....he lost his first tooth.

I accidentally left my bible bag on the plane. I have called ArCanda and they assure me their crack team of investigators is on the case. Or at least whoever I spoke to at their foreign call centre assured me that by entering 'lost canvas bag' into their computer it will magically reappear. (Or maybe they said that they 'centred a moss pancake bog into their patooter and so it will tragically be a beer.) Hard to say for sure.

Meanwhile I went and bought a new bible last night. And put my new tabs on the pages and put it in my new bible case. All very exciting.

Wonderfulest

E described today's weather as the wonderfulest he's seen. School was let out early and everyone in the neighbourhood made straight for the toboggan hill. We had a blast.....(I even took a couple runs down the hill with A on the back of his toboggan.) I used to think the boys didn't like the snow but it turns out it was just the -25 degree weather that accompanies snow up North. Snow with -5 degrees they like just fine.

Game Time

A and E received a new toy from a friend of ours. It makes it so much easier for them to hold their cards. E was at school but A and I played "GoFsh" twice. We each won a match.

And the BIG news.....IT IS SNOWING....yahoo. I got the call from the school and they are having early dismissal because of the inclement weather....believe it!

Daddy Who?

Well she is back!!! Hooray! The kids have already totally forgot who I am. Anyway, we all had a good time but it is great to have her back. The kids are looking forward to their "Mommy cuddles". Good night.

TA DA! Banana Bread Anyone?

Mmmy Comes Home Tonight!!!

Well, Johnna returns this evening. What a week! The boys are very excited to have her back. In anticipation, I told the boys we would bake a loaf of Banana Bread for her homecoming. Now I have never made one of these before, but hey, what the heck? The kids insisted that it have chocolate chips. There are also some shaved almonds and all the rest of the good stuff that goes into Banana Bread. I'm not sure how it will turn out, but here are the pics of the boys hard at work. If it doesn't turn out, and we'll know in about an hour, this post will be quickly removed. ;)

In the mean time, enjoy the pics.

A prepping eggs and E mixing ingredients.

Greasing the pan...very fun!

Ready for the oven!

Finished product photo to follow.....maybe!?

Cheers!

Ok. Not that I'm tooting my own horn here, but we had the most incredible meatballs for dinner this evening. Made from scratch and assisted by the boys, they turned out great and apparently are the second best meatballs the boys have ever had. (They came in close behind Granny's apparently). Anyway, there is a picture included. Funny story, I asked E to help and add a little bit more bread crumbs. He said sure and then emptied the entire container on top of the meat pile. Now that's a spicy (read dry) meat-a-ball! With a little digging we managed to save the recipe and they turned out great. After dinner, the boys decided that tonight would be movie night. (They are allowed a movie night on the weekend if they complete a full week's worth of chores). So....what goes better with a guy's movie night than freshly baked homemade fudge brownies and milk shooters? Nothing apparently, just look at those smiles. I think they were cheering "Hoorah for Mr. Mom!" Have a good weekend all.

Barfot Boys on the Run!

All right, with Mom away I have been holding my own but must admit I have been remiss in my duties to keep the Blog up to date. I must admit that I am quick to forget the camera when the Brefoot Boys are doing guy stuff. Besides, it's boring to take pictures of the kids in front of the TV all day and night ;) Just kidding Johnna! Anyway, I managed to remember the camera today when A and I were blending and baking leaves. Yes, you heard me....leaves. As most of you know, the boys and I are in the process of building a Mdel Railrod. Here is a pic of A blending leaves (for landscaping) and a pic to give you a general idea of how the layout is coming along. Hope you enjoy. I will attempt to take more pics as the week progresses. Cheers!



Also, A had Art Class today and he made a pet turtle. Don't tell Johnna, but A was only one of two of the eight students in his class to not have a real pet! Our poor children are so hard done by.

ByeBye

Well off I go. M is going to be Mr.Mom for the next week while I'm up visiting my mother. I'm not sure if there will be any posts until I return. Though I'm sure they will have lots of adventures.

GoodMrning

Such sweet faces. You wouldn't even know that moments after this picture was taken a battle broke out because I wouldn't get E a different kind of cereal. (We didn't have time for cereal switching this morning.)

His words to me as he stomped up the stairs were, and I quote, "The next time you say 'no' I am going to do something very bad. I have freedom! If you say 'no' I am going to do it anyway!"

Passionate, eh?

Like Little Puppies

It was so hard to get out of bed this morning and get things rolling. I wanted to just stay right where I was.....in the middle of this little cuddle group.

I thought A's red cheeks looked so sweet. A made the picture behind him at his PreschoolPicasso lesson last week. It's a picture of a snowman getting a lot of snowballs thrown at him.

One-Dos-Trois

I was reading something tonight that got me thinking about the ThreeMusktrs. And then I was thinking that everyone should have a group of three people in their lives that they can count on. Having one is too much pressure, having two creates an unbalanced dynamic but three is just right. So then I got thinking.....who are my three? Am I part of anyone's three? Deep thoughts here.

Wednesday

We don't get as much time as we did before A started school but we do still try to squeeze in a little bit of 'mommy school'.

Many moons ago Grndd made me an extra extension for my dining room table so we could more comfortably sit our intimate dinner gatherings of 12-14. I had the guy at the local hardware store mix up a matching shade of stain and have started working on it. When it's all done I'll post another photo.

Interesting

My mom sent me a link that makes a great word collage based on what your blog has in it. Check mine out.

Grrrrrr

I made a bonehead move. Our house elevator here has been causing trouble for the last few months. Every time it has been pronounced almost fixed it has taken a turn for the worse. At the end of last week the repairman told me that it was working and I could go ahead and use it again. So, despite all historical evidence to the contrary........I threw a bunch of stuff in the elevator and called it upstairs. Guess what?!? It is stuck between two floors. And I need the stuff that's stuck in it. So now it is 10:39p.m. and I am waiting for the emergency repairman to come and rescue my stuff. Let me just say......my next house will NOT have an elevator...hahahahahahaha

WeekendChefs

The boys love the weekends. Saturdays in particular. It is the one morning each week when we don't have to 'get up and go'. M gets up and gives them breakfast and then they retreat to their playroom. One particular favourite activity of the Saturday ritual is making their own lunches. They take this very seriously and other than fetching them things they do not want our help.

Rmmbr

On Sndy the kids were asked to remember this verse and if they did then they got a candy at the end of the service. Getting dressed this morning I could hear A saying it to himself...he was quite proud that he still remembered it.

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

M and I try to strike a balance between traditional foods and trying new things. Usually it's a win-win effort. However sometimes......not so much. We tried these spinach burgers the other night...not good. The texture was bad and the taste was non-existent. Yuck!!

The boys love walking to school with their matching umbrellas.

The boys greatgrandprnts sent them each a kid magazine subscription for Christmas. The first issue of one arrived the other day. Pretty exciting stuff.

PoorLittlSoul

A started preschool today. He seemed fine. I was a bit lost. I think I called M at work about 12 times. When I went to pick A up from school the teachers said that he did amazing...that it was as if he had been there for the whole year. His classroom teacher said that in truth, she was worried how he was going to be once he got comfortable at the school. hahaha

Bye Bye Baby

Look what we found in Columbus, Ohio.....

We hit the bowling alley......of course....

Look at those moves.

The girls were sportin' matching shoes and shirts and jeans.(Not on purpose).
And the hotel had a pool. A warm pool.

Thanks again to that other Brft family for meeting us for NewYear's.