Feeding small children-

Feeding small children - this is a big part of my day. Just when I have a good routine down pat, and have each little monkey's preferences accounted for, someone throws me for a loop. A few new tricks I've been tinkering with lately:

• Mix it up sometimes - most kids will eat veggies with dip. And even more kids will eat veggies when they look like an airplane (no, this is not an everyday plate at my house).

• Toothpicks are fun - this is a new discovery. You don't want to overdo this or the novelty will wear off, but I've made a few skewers lately and they were big hits-

• And don't ever turn your back, not even for a minute, or you might find something like this-

Snow Week

Tonight feels like the last day of holidays. School was closed due to snow every day last week, which is basically a teacher's wife's jackpot. This meant lazy days- with tobogganing runs, snowy hikes around 'our' park, book reading, board games, family movie time, and general hibernation. Having Mike and Grace home also meant additional arms for baby cuddling and playmates for a 2-year-old who is starting opt out of naps (Nooooooooo) .

I wonder if I will ever again spend 7 days without getting into a vehicle? I kind of hope so.

Finn stayed true to his Calgary roots, spending countless hours sledding on the mini-ski hill at the end of our culdesac.

Post-tobogganing hot chocolate

Lately-

Christmas and the festivities, the germs, the great family times, have come and gone. What hasn't come and gone is the mountain in my living room (not laundry this time)-

If you've been to our house lately you'll have seen the climbing wall that some little Elves deposited in our house on Christmas Eve (Thank you VanWyks!). The plan was for it to spend Christmas morning indoors, and then to find its permanent home in our yard; of course, it is still sitting in my living room. Every time I holler at Mike, 'This thing needs go outside NOW,' I come upon scenes such as this, and the climbing wall manages to eke out shelter one more day..

And on Babies-

Yesterday I swooped Asher off his play mat for a cheek-to-cheek cuddle. It's pretty much impossible not to go cheek-to-cheek with this babe all day long (my babies are genetically endowed to have the roundest, softest, babiest cheeks possible, it took me till my first baby at age 28 to finally appreciate my round face as an asset). In the swooping motion, a trickle of cheek-pooled slobber, with Asher's ever-present hint of vomit, landed directly in my mouth. Probably the most disturbing part of this story that I wasn't even phased, my only reaction-

'Grace would be so grossed out right now.'

Did I mention that this baby is THE BEST BABY. If you're reading this, and you have a baby, I'm still not taking it back.