Baby, it's cold outside

I cannot begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed our fall and the beginning of winter here in Texas. In the 13 years I've lived here, I cannot remember a colder fall or winter. It has been..well normal, as in the normal I grew up with, like we have seasons! I certainly have fully adapted to Texas weather by now and so I find it very cold out there, but I love it. There is something about walking out into the cold, it jolts you awake, it reminds you that you're alive. Here are some things we've been doing for fun during this cold snap.We made peanut butter playdough and really enjoyed shapping it with cookie cutters and plastic knifes. Of course the best part is eating it.Kyle and I have started reading a book out loud together, one of our favorite things to do that had gotten pushed to the back burner. We're reading The Lost Continent : Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson, it is a wonderful book and several times a night we have to stop reading because we're laughing so hard, it's not often that a book makes you laugh out loud.


Kylynn has decided that she is now an artist after receiving a marker set with about 100 markers in it. She daily sits down to color, draw, and "write" things down. It's amazing to see that she can actually draw things that I am able to tell what they are now and write letters that are correct. Jack, who wants to be Kylynn when he grows up, has too decided that he is an artist, however he prefers other surfaces (it's more modern that way you know), so he finds stray markers and draws on floors, doors, toys, rugs, people, dogs...you get the picture. Thank you mom, for buying washable markers!

I have fallen back in love with cooking (at least temporarily). My sister gave me a subscription to Food Network magazine and I'm loving it. Most of the receipes in the magazine are not something that a stay at home mom has time to cook (although some are) but just reading the articles and recipes and seeing the pictures gets me excited about cooking, it gives me an idea for an easier receipe I could make or an ingredient I want to find a way to use. This week I actual planned out a full two weeks of recipes and did all my grocery shopping to last me that long, the way I used to before Jack came along, you should see my fridge! :)

Best of all we've been getting outside, yes it's cold, but really it's better than hot, and if this weather is an excuse to keep me indoors, then I'll never find a good time to go outside. So we've been going on walks, bike rides, and trips to the park. I've got to find some way to lose this holiday weight!