Grandpa Toot

When Drew wears this shirt, all I think about is my Grandpa Toot. He wore flannel shirts sometimes, smelled like cigarettes, coffee, and the outside air. His face was often scratchy when we gave him raspberries on his cheek. He was either in his chair watching tv, or at the kitchen table - but sometimes he was in the basement and would allow us to join him. He was always working on a project but he had a special area for us to use a hammer and nails - what a treat! He had a laugh like a cartoon character and cleaned his plate like a magician. He didn't say much, but he didn't have to - he was there and he loved us - it went without saying.

A Favorite Place

After running a few errands this morning, we went to the local county zoo which is less than 10 miles away. We go there quite often and it sometimes feels like ours. Especially today. It was cloudy and a little chilly, there were exactly 6 cars in the parking lot (which is also for a playground). The zoo is free now for the winter season, so we walked right in - no staff in site. We stopped over to see our buddies, the buffalo, but on the way we were surprised by the prairie dogs. We have seen one or two before, but this time there were at least 12! They were running, wrestling, eating - the kids loved it. We walked towards the barn and sat on a bench for lunch. We saw one other family pass by, but other than that the kids had the pigs, sheep, and donkeys to themselves. The animals were all up and the pigs were talking. Everyone was happy, despite their colds, and it felt perfect. I love my kids and I love being a mom -especially on days like this.
ps. this pic is from a few weeks ago, but I love it!

Things We Love

Im going to start posting one item the family loves each week. To start us off...
we have 2 of these sound machines one in each of the kids rooms. While living in the city, they slept right through fire trucks, garbage trucks, drunken 20 somethings on their way home from a bar - but here in the quiet country (I wish!) it apparently is TOO quiet for them. So, we purchased these little gems to add some noise. They work like a charm.
Drew likes to pick which of the sounds they listen to each night. I have to say that waking up to rain when it isn't really raining throws me for a loop. I also wake in the night wondering why the windows are open when he sets it to "summer night" and it sounds like the crickets are invading. The box says that the human heartbeat is the most soothing sound, but it freaks them both out! If you have trouble sleeping through noise, I suggest you pick up one of these.