And it's storm season!

Not Spring, but storm season.  Spring and summer are my least favorite times of the year.  There's just something about the length of the days and color of the sky the spells doom, gloom, and Apocalypse for me (I joketh not).  Somewhere near the end of February I begin to hold my breath, and when things outside die in Autumn, I exhale, slowly, one dead plant and falling leaf at a time.  Maybe I should start painting my nails black and quit washing my hair.  The one redeeming quality of this green, growing, living time of year is, hands down, severe storms.  Call me crazy, but I love a good tornado watch.  Watch out, little buttercups, lest you get blown away.  So, throw open the windows, let in the wind, and enjoy the rain before the Great Green Gloom settles upon you and spews forth flowers.  

Favorite Things::My Top Five Reads

Not only do I enjoy writing and blogging, I also enjoy reading what other people are writing and blogging.  I thought I'd share with you my top five favorite blogs (although there are many many more that I read).  

My mother has recently begun to blog.  She's over at The Cookie Lady,  and her main purpose in being on the World Wide Web is to promote her little cookie business.  Y'all, her cookies are adorable and delicious.  She just started her blogging venture this week, so save the link in your favorites and keep up with her beautiful creations.  If you're local, you should definitely have her cookies at your next celebration.  

A blog that I'm relatively new to is Young House Love.  Young House Love is written by a married couple around my age with a little girl close in age to my Little Man.  They are currently renovating a 1960s ranch house and have a book coming out this fall.  They started their blog four or five years ago to keep their families up-to-date on the renovation of their first home.  They are mostly DIY-ers and do amazing and beautiful work on their home, learning along the way.  They are clever, witty writers, and there's never a dull moment over there.  

Next, we're going to head over to the Northwest corner of our country and meet Alicia Paulson.  Her charming blog is just full of cozy, uplifting warmth.  Posie Gets Cozy is a great way to end the day with a little encouragement.  She has a sweet little embroidery book out that I adore, and she is always writing about the (amazing) meals she cooks, being out in the gorgeous country-side, and her super cute puppers. She is a very creative gal and loves to share the joy of crafting with others.

Bringing things back a little closer to home (and my life), this next blog is written by a friend of mine.  Sarah P. and I went to high school together and, as we were both in band, spent a good deal of time together.  I considered her a role model and mentor, and Sarah is one of the kindest, most intelligent people I know.  Her blog, The Redheaded Stepchild, is funny, charming, and included in my morning routine every day.  Sarah writes about food, decorating, and making the change from professional student to professional professor.  That's right.  Ms. Sarah is actually Dr. P!  Her blog is full of humor and southern charm.  Head on over and give her a read.

The final blog I'm going to share with you today is my favorite.  It tops the list.  I have been reading over at Soule Mama for five years.  Every week day.  Amanda Soule, her husband Steve, and their five children live in Maine.  The home state of my heart.  I have never been to Maine, but by reading her daily words, I feel like I know the state better than my own.  Soule Mama strives to live a simple life, loves tea, and knits.  Ahhhh.  A kindred spirit.  She and her husband have written three books, and I highly recommend them.  They have recently purchased a two hundred year old farm house, and the work they have done is simply amazing.  They raise animals and cultivate a huge garden, and Amanda never hesitates to tell you how hard it all is.  But oh so very worth it.  

I hope the next time you have some free time, you'll hop over to one of these lovely reads and enjoy them as much as I do.  Oh, and they're better with cinnamon toast and chai tea.

Mysterious Ways

Three weeks ago, I was robbed in town.  I eventually got everything back except my wallet, Little Man's vaccination record, and my brand new iPhone 4.  

Friday on Lankford was a looooong day.  Little Man is working on four molars, a snotty nose, and upset tummy.  Mr. Chadwick has school, soccer practice, musical theater rehearsals, and concerts.  We're very busy and very cranky.  At 6:15 Friday evening, we were trying to eat a very fast supper, get a tall man into a tux and out the door, listening to a screaming toddler, and watching the dog make a very big mess on the carpet because no one had had time to take him out.  The door bell rang, and I threw a temper tantum.  After 27 years, I'm still pretty good at that, unfortunately.  It was a friend of ours from church.  My tantrum actually escalated at this point, believe it or not.  After telling me that she didn't mind the incredibly large pile of dog mess on the floor (which really didn't make me feel better), she reached into her pocket and pulled out something small, asking if I recognized it.  It was my phone.  The brand new iPhone 4 that had been stolen three weeks ago.  In perfect condition.  Here is (a paraphrased version of ) her story:

"I was on my way home from work when my phone rang.  When I answered it, there was a man on the line who asked if I was the same B---------- R--------- who lives on --------- Road.   I said I was.  He said he was my garbage man.  I thought I'd forgotten to pay my bill or something.  He asked if I knew some Chadwicks.  I said I did.  The gentleman said he'd been at Wal-Mart and a man he didn't know asked if he wanted to buy a phone.  The gentleman thought something might be up with the situation because the phone didn't have a charger with it.  He turned it on and saw a picture of a very cute little boy.  The little man took it into the store on some pretense and saw a message on the phone that said something about it being stolen.  He looked through the contacts and saw B----------- R------------ in it.  He went back out to the man trying to sell it and told him that Wal-Mart had run the serial number and the phone was stolen.  the seller took off running.  The gentleman took the phone home and called me (B-------- R------)." 

Our friend then went to a rather rough part of town and picked the phone up.  The gentleman said he had had several things stolen from him in the past, and wanted to make sure that whoever had been robbed got back their stolen property.  After she left I called the police to report the phone had been returned to me.  They were amazed, as was I.  I also felt pretty silly for that tantrum.  Maybe one of these days I will learn...

I never expected to see that phone again.  It's very easy to think that God isn't answering our prayers when it takes a while to see a result, forgetting that "Wait" is every bit as much a response as "Yes" or "No."  I hear "Wait" alot.  I'm pretty sure it's because I'm impatient.  (And hard-headed, apparently.)

Friday Photo(s)

Gallery Progress

Remember when this started?  Progress, my friends, has inched along.  Over the weekend, our prints came in from our autumn family photo session, and, using only frames I already had, some of them have found their way to the gallery wall (and a few other places around the house.)

As soon as I have a chance to get to Michael's, more frames will be purchased, and the gallery wall will be finished.

Rearranging

From this:

To this:

I have wanted that chair in that corner since we moved in, and I finally moved it.  I think it makes the room feel larger and more open as well.  Mr. Chadwick just thinks I move things around too much.  Does it work?  What do you think?

He Had a Good Day

Two Years Old

Two.  Already.  He's so big, so funny, so busy.  And growing.  If you ask, "Little Man, who made you?"  He will reply, "God."  "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right." Psalm 139:14  Yes, Little Man, God made you, and I am so glad He did.  We love you!

Things I Love About Him::7

He loves my cooking.  Well, at least he likes my waffles and chocolate zucchini bread.

Things I Love About Him::6

Four words:  Look At Those Cheeks!

Apparently, he also thinks he is ready for chess.  That is, indeed, a Peanuts chess set.

Things I Love About Him::5

He's inquisitive.  Does that get him in trouble?  Some.  But mostly it just helps him learn.

Clean Up Time

Remember when I switched out the toy cabinet to a more convenient location? Well, that hasn't stopped Little Man from wandering around the house zooming cars and trucks on every flat surface he can find, especially his original toy cabinet.  We're working on saying "bye, bye" to this habit because of this.

This picture really doesn't do it justice.  All of the doors and trim work in the house is painted in flat paint, which is nearly impossible to clean (even using one of these wonders).  I got tired of looking at the fronts of the built-in cabinets the other day and decided to paint them while Little Man was at school.  I did all three sets in white semi-gloss (that I already had), and after three coats they look much better.  

I will most likely go back and do another coat or two, and I intend to do the rest of the doors and trim  in the house little by little.  A clean look is in the small things (and poor photography, apparently).  

It's Party Day!

At Little Man's school, that is.  They're exchanging Valentines today, and since he's quite popular with the ladies in his class (one of them actually feeds his snack to him every day) there's no telling what all he might come home with.  Here's what I sent for his little friends:

I was inspired by this post on Pinterest, which got me started.  I then wandered around in my craft stash to see what I had already assembled that I could give with the crayons.  I stitched these books together a while back and thought they'd nicely complement the crayons.  Hopefully they will be well-received by the little ones. 

Friday Photo

Things I Love About Him::4

He looks just like his daddy.  That's not a bad thing at all.  So cute.  

Things I Love About Him::3

February 2011

Little Man grows so fast and changes so quickly in so many ways, and yet, this sweet smile has been the same since day one (or day 14, when he first smiled).

Things I Love About Him::2

Music.  Our home is always full of music.  Someone singing or playing or listening.  Little Man is very much a part of that.  He loves to sit at the piano.  I had to move the bench out and put a chair in it's place to keep him safe, because I can't keep him away from it.  We have BoomWhackers and harmonicas and kazoos and recorders and more percussion instruments than you can shake a stick at (pun intended).  He loves to sing and makes up as many songs as he can fill his day with.  He has dance parties with Daddy and during the day will ask for "tunes."  We spend a good bit of our day making a "joyful noise unto the Lord." 

Things I Love About Him

Two weeks from today, my little one will turn two.  Two whole years!  He's getting so big, so smart, so funny.  There are alot of bloggers out there who do "8 Things I love Abut my 8-year-old" type posts when their little one has a birthday, but there are so many more than just two things that I love about Little Man.  I thought I'd do a series of posts about my Little Man instead.  

My sweet Little Man loves language.  I year ago I wondered if he'd ever talk.  I wasn't worried about him, I was just frustrated with the endless whining and screaming every day.  I was ready for him to be able to tell me what he wanted.  About four months ago, he started with a few words, and just in the past week or so, his vocabulary has doubled.  He knows his colors and loves to sing the ABCs.  "A B D D D D D..." (we'll fill in the blanks later).  His favorite letters are A, B, O, S, and Y.  He learns a new word or two every day and has great conversations with a photo of my brother.  He's reaching the point where he consistently asks for what he wants rather than whine, and he loves to pick up his phone and call Mike, Matt, Mimom, or Poppy.  He'd just as soon sit down with a book as play with a toy, and he has several books that he can "read" to us.  Little Man, I'm so glad you love to learn!

Friday Photo

Healthy Cookie Dough Dip?

I found it, I Pinned it, I made it, I ate it.  It's pretty good.  What it amounts to is cookie dough-flavored hummus (since chick peas are the base).  The recipe calls for chocolate chips, and since we are all aware of the fact that I can't follow a recipe as written, I used cocoa powder in it's place.

You have to make sure it gets super smooth in the processor, or it will be be gritty.

Little Man liked it so much I couldn't get a clear picture of him.

I told him he'd have to wait until after nap time for more.  When he woke up two hours later, he ran straight to the counter and said, "More, please."

Will I make this again?  Ehh.  I'm not sure.  Will I eat all of what I made yesterday without complaint.  Yes.