This and That

Sometimes, when I really want to show my family I’m crazy about them, I make them yummy things.  Things like fresh strawberry jam.  I am too lazy or life is too crazy during strawberry season, so I only make a batch or two of jam and then freeze the rest of the raw sliced strawberries in pre-measured amounts.  That way, when we run out of freezer jam, I just let a bag thaw on the counter overnight and then make some fresh jam the next day.  I like it because licking the bowl after a fresh batch of jam just feels like summer, and one really starts hankering for that after a few months of fall and winter.

And of course, what could possible be better with fresh jam than fresh bread?  So yummy!  I can’t eat the bread for a variety of reasons, but I love the smiles it puts on my loves’ faces.

I was ecstatic to find three lovely leeks out in my garden one night when I ran out of onions (the grocery store and menu planning and I are not getting along right now).  Yea for planting a garden!  Yea for harvesting it!  Yea for forgetting to harvest it and finding good things out there when you forgot all about them!

Sean and Erik figured out a new way to clean that weird shelf thingy over the front door.  It’s still all dusty and gross up there, but at least the Nerf darts and stray socks and random stuffed animals that “mysteriously” appeared up there are all gone.

I’m really not sure I’ve seen anything more lovely than my girls all squished together and full of love for each other.  (We must celebrate these moments because at times they are rare.)

Over Thanksgiving break Anna and Alyx took the bull by the horns and finished painting their beds!!!  This was a HUGE deal because we started this project about a year ago and Alyx has been sleeping on the floor forever!  They got sick and tired of waiting (and waiting . . . and waiting . . .) for Daddy to do it for them.  These girls came, they saw, they conquered.  Great job, ladybugs!

Pure yumminess.  Sigh.

Tickle fights.  I love them.  I love Elle looking on, realizing she might be missing something fun.  And thank you, Erik, for making sure Elle has lots of fun, even thought it’s not big kid fun just yet.