A day in January

6am outside the kitchen window. bitterly cold this morn.

before everyone else woke up i spent some time with millie to make up for the fact that it was too cold for a walk. (see those white patches in her beard? yeah. that's flour. caked in her fur.  she loves the new grain mill as much as i do.)

the dining room window at breakfast. (oatmeal and tea)  that is frost on the window.  such a beautiful pattern. even the cold comes with its' perks.

the view of the maples from the upstairs window.  hen and i watched for the little bird to return today but we did not see him. perhaps it is too cold?

We had learning times at the big table today. Mostly it was me reading outloud "The Horse and His Boy" while they spent time drawing and doing puzzles.  We ate a leisurely lunch and then headed to the library.  

We found lots of great books to bring home and I was happy we bumped into a friend on the way out, who graciously held our baby while I checked out all the books and made sure we got to the van okay.  Sometimes I am supergirl and can do all of this by myself without any trouble at all....and sometimes I can not.  Often I am asked by an innocent bystander if I "would like some help".  Well, no...I wouldn't.  Isn't that grumpy of me? But that is almost always my initial reaction.  I think I've figured out that it is harder for me to vocalize what I need and so it "feels" more stressful to accept help than to just do it myself.  I am learning to be more gracious about this.  Today I managed a "yes, thank you" when she asked me and I could tell it made the boys feel less stressed to have someone to talk to while I did all the managing of books and things.  Here's hoping I remember all this for next time too.

We stopped at the local Chocolate Shop and had hot cocoa while we read our new books.  Then we headed home for quiet times.  ALL THREE OF THE YOUNGEST BOYS NAPPED TODAY!!! (and i may or may not have snoozed a bit too. ahem)  I came downstairs to find Badger well into his new Boxcar Children mystery and went to brew a pot of coffee. (must....stay....awake....)

See these cute new coffee cups? (a gift from my mom...i think they are actually espresso cups?) I just love how colorful they are and the red cup made my afternoon "pick me up" seem really special.  Ah, it's the little things sometimes......

 

We finished the day by spending some time watching the fish.  Our baby fish (that we got from freecycle of all things!) have all grown up and we think one female platy is about to have babies. The boys are really excited about this.  (i hope they don't get eaten...)

There was also a nice little play time with Hen and Badger playing with the wooden animal magnets and drawing while I made another batch of homemade tortillas. Badger is learning to be very independent in the kitchen and pressed and cooked the tortillas on the griddle all by himself.  I am so proud of him!

Well we more than survived this day of cold.  I am feeling that the January blahs are starting though.  Perhaps tomorrow will be warmer and we can get outside for some fresh air and sunshine.  I'm thinking I better come up with some other ideas to keep us occupied (and exercised?) in case tomorrow is another cold day.  What are your family's favorite things to do on days when you just can't get outside?