7/100

I. Snow Day

James is my most important shoveling helper. In addition to giving some very real assistance clearing the driveway, he made himself a mound of snow at least as tall as him for sledding purposes.

We didn't go anywhere today. This was as far as any of us went from the house, except for me taking a jog while the kids were sleeping. It was a perfect indoors day.

And this is why our woodpile never gets properly dried out.

Hot pancakes for breakfast, lots of coffee throughout the day, and soup and fresh bread for lunch. It was a delicious day to be trapped indoors.

Not too old to enjoy being pulled around the yard.

I don't think it's cold enough to stick, but it made the yard look pretty

I told James I would look up what these are, but I promised him that they weren't blueberries

Owen didn't come out with us. He loves the idea of coming out in the snow, but he can't abide wearing boots. As soon as you put them on his feet he starts shrieking and trying to pull them off. If he succeeds in getting them off, he tells you he doesn't want to put them back on or go outside anymore. If he can't get them off and you do get him outside, he just stands in place and screams.

J and Owen came to the big front window over the hedge, and James and I threw snowballs at them. Owen jumped and then laughed uproariously every time. And James made a very small snowman.

II. Calamari
We've had a pound of calamari ("tubes and tentacles") in our freezer for a couple months, and we decided to make it up tonight. I was going to take beautiful pictures of dinner, but J said that she didn't want to get any big dishes dirty, because the dishwasher was almost full and there was just enough room for some small supper plates. She gave my James' sports plate. I put my tubes and tentacles on the basketball, the sweet potato baked chips on the soccer ball, the barbecue sauce on the hockey puck, and the hot peppers on the football. It was a good meal, but it didn't look particularly elegant on the sports plate. And now that it's over, I'm really thirsty and a bit queasy. (We deep fried the calamari.)

III. Profanity
James, like most little boys, talks gibberish from time to time. And today, in his stumbling through all of the interesting sounds that one can make with various combinations of consonants and vowels, discovered the F word. He said it quite confidently while we were playing a board game with him this morning. J and I exchanged a glance, and said nothing. He said it again and looked at us. Still nothing. Then he went onto more nonsense. And then at dinner tonight, he said it nice and slowly, as if it were a pleasure to roll around in his mouth just after we finished blessing the food. I know he didn't learn it from us, because we haven't done any home improvement projects in the recent past. I doubt he learned it at church. It must still be an accident. He received a gentle caution about how that was a rude word, and hasn't said anything since. Also, in much more important news, Owen hasn't picked up on it yet...