Ack!

Middle of the night posting is rarely a good sign.

Have you ever been awakened by the sound of liquid being dumped on the carpet in your bedroom at 12:30 am?

I have.

Now I'm up, praying that everyone sleeps through the rest of the night.

Me: I'm so sorry you're sick, pal.
Him: I'm not sick. I just threw up a little.
Me: Oh good. Hey, next time, how 'bout you head straight for the bathroom if you need to throw up, rather than coming to my room to tell me first, 'k?
Him: Okay. Sorry about that.
Me: It's okay, just keep your bowl handy the rest of then night.

Ah. I guess I should be happy that it's been so long since he's thrown up that he forgot the procedure. Clearly, we were due.

The toddler just found me. I heard his delicious little footsteps on the tile before I saw his sleepy face.

Oh how I love all the parts of being a mom. Some parts are just a bit more lovely than others.

It's actually nice to be up this night. We're being hit with the second big, artic snow storm! It started snowing a couple of hours ago, just after we got back from town. The air is filled with the tiniest snow flakes imaginable and they sparkle! It's like it's snowing silver glitter. So beautiful!

We'll likely be snowed in for a few days, as this is supposed to be a much bigger dump than the five or so inches we had already.

Hopefully, I won't spend our snow days scrubbing carpet and washing pukey laundry.

Although, even pukey laundry is more pleasant with a clean blanket of snow covering the world.

Good night!

Can't Stop Giggling...

Every time I think about this story on the Yarn Harlot's blog, I find myself giggling quietly to myself. It's just what this tired mama needs on a crazy day.

Fallen and Can't get Up

Blessings on your day!

Snow Days

So, here is pictorial evidence of the beautiful, light, fluffy, COLD blanket that has covered the Ranch and the region and beyond, apparently.

The Ducklings have been having a grand time playing in it.

It's so very cold. Which means everyone stays delightfully dry.

However, I wonder how long I should let them stay out.

Ack! Uncharted territory!

We're finding our way and having a grand time of it.

I can't handle the cuteness of these pants!

The cute extra kids are our new neighbors and fantastic playmates.

Daniel and JJ are cut from the same cloth. They have WAY too much fun together!

Warming their hands around the "campfire."

We're staying warm and cozy and figuring out how to make all the parts fit together in our new routine.

It's all good.

Mmmmm... Christmas

In case anyone's keeping score, yes, it's snowing! Sadly, it has not been sticking. Today was cold and rainy/snowy - slushy, I guess.

But, tonight it's supposed to start getting c.o.l.d. Hopefully, we'll wake up to a little snow on the ground. Enough to play in would be fantastic! We'll see. The forecast still holds out hope for more later in the week.

But, the more pressing issue:

We went to town yesterday and stocked up on groceries. Today, I realized that we forgot to buy chocolate! Ack! We have chocolate chips and cocoa powder, so, clearly, I will have to get to work and make them into something snackable. (Sure it's a word!)

Therefore, I bring you...

Super Easy, Super Tasty, Quick and Simple Fudge

Combine
12 oz. (2 Cups) Semi-sweet chocolate chips
with
1 Cup Butter
Microwave for about a minute, until it's all melty

In another bowl,
Beat
2 Eggs
Mix in
1 Pound Powdered Sugar

Combine the contents of the two bowls and mix well.
Stir in 1/3 teaspoon Vanilla.

Pour the fudge into a wax paper lined 8x8 pan
Refrigerate at least two hours

Cut into tiny pieces and nibble away!

I guarantee this fudge will turn out right every time and will taste great, without the need for tricky stove-top cooking or special ingredients.

Enjoy!!

Blogging about the Weather

I know, not the most thrilling topic at first glance...

But take a look at this and tell me what you see:

Could we be headed for a white Christmas??

That would be a real thrill for this formerly coastal family.

Of course, I left out the part of the forecast that says the high on Tuesday will be EIGHT degrees. That may be thrilling in a whole other way...

We're off to Walla Walla (the town so nice they named it twice) this afternoon to get my Washington drivers license and get some groceries in anticipation of the week of cold/snowy weather ahead. The road into the ranch is not one that would be a fun drive in winter weather. We'll also go watch the Ranch Boys play a basketball game while we're in town.

I'm telling you. We are learning to get lots done when we're in town, now that we're out in the boonies. At least, we try... I think this is our fifth trip to the DMV. Ack!

Life is good.

We made it!

If you've been here before, you might notice I've changed up my header a wee bit. I really can't be "on the S OR Coast" any longer, now that I'm... well... NOT.

I'm still toying with the title. What do you think?

The picture is of the sunset here, as viewed from the widows at the back of our house. Every sunset since we arrived has been amazing.

I have so much to tell, but I'm still in a daze with all the change and all the unpacking and organizing and all the finding places to put things.

It's a good daze, though. God is clearly in it!

I feel sure I'll be back soon with more details.