Biltmore

A few weeks ago, a lovely friend of ours gave us two free passes to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.We had never been there, so we decided to take a day trip the Saturday after Valentine's Day.  It ended up being a bitterly cold day! And the place was busy!  I was glad I had called ahead to make a tour reservation.

This is the view as you approach the house. George Vanderbilt built the house in the late 1800s as a mountain retreat from his hectic life in New York.  (Must be nice, eh?) It is the largest privately owned home in America with 250 rooms on about 8,000 acres. No photos allowed inside, of course.The interior tour took 2 hours and was really comparable to some of the castles we have visited in Europe- our kids did amazingly well and loved working their own audio guide controllers.

We had a lot of fun conversations about the house on our way home, and it was hard to choose a favorite room. Charlotte and I both loved seeing the kitchen, various pantries, pastry room, laundry, etc.  I guess just because they hit so close to what my daily life involves that it is difficult to imagine doing all of it without "modern" conveniences. Rob and I talked a lot about one room in the house that was set apart as a labor and delivery suite.  It had the most beautiful views and balconies... I would be quite happy in a room like that at the local hospital!  Toby liked the bowling alley and indoor pool (with underwater lighting! In the 1800s!)  But finally enough was enough and we headed out into the cold to explore the grounds.

I just love these kids.  Oh, and that handsome fella in the background, too.  :)

This is just outside the conservatory where we got to see beautiful exotic flowers blooming in February.

The gardens themselves are obviously not much to look at this time of year.  But I thought the gardener's cottage looked far more homey than the estate itself.  So, if we were transported back to Asheville in 1899, I would be campaigning for Rob to work as gardener there... and we could be like Anna and Bates (wee bit too much Downton Abbey in my system) and live in domestic bliss on the estate.  Except without all the drama and false imprisonment and such. And British accents. But otherwise, just like that.  :)

car chat with Toby

I've always thought of Toby as a quiet little man, but since Charlotte has been in school I've had more one on one time with my little man and he has been talking my ear off.  Here are just two brief conversations from our time running errands yesterday, (as best I can reproduce them.)

Scene 1:
Me: Tobs, I'm sorry we're not going to be able to put the tent up this weekend to camp out, because it is going to rain.  Maybe next weekend.
Toby: Is it the weekend today?  Then why is Charlotte at school?
M: No, today is not the weekend.
T: Then maybe the rain will stop before the weekend.
M: No honey, it's not going to rain today, it's going to rain this weekend. Today is Wednesday, tomorrow is Thursday, and then it is Friday and that is the beginning of the weekend.
T: So we'll put the tent up on Friday.
M: Yes, but not THIS Friday, because it is going to rain.  But maybe next Friday.
T: Okay.... so we'll go camping this weekend.
M: Look!  A digger!

Scene 2:
Toby: Mom, you know what would be cool?
Me: What's that?
T: If we had a house with stairs in it that was on wheels and there was one driver downstairs and another driver upstairs.
M: That sounds like it would be very tricky to drive.
T: Well, there would be this cross thing that if one driver wanted to be in charge they could just pull it and then the other driver could take a rest and then they could pull it back when it was their turn. Wouldn't that be soooo cool?
M: It certainly would be something different.

A while later at home, I was looking at houses for rent on the computer and Toby ran up behind me and stated, "I like that one.  Is it on wheels?" 

lean, mean, eighteen

Okay, at 18 months old, Jakey is neither lean nor mean.  At his check-up earlier this week he was in the 90th percentile for weight and the 75th for height.  He's a lover not a fighter. When caught playing with Toby's toys, he takes off at a full speed run rather than try to fight with Toby over them.  I can't believe how quickly our baby bear has grown into a toddler.  He wants to do everything himself- including meal times....

Some things Jake loves:

being outdoors

Toby's Legos

his stuffed dog "Duplo"

playing the piano

singing- especially E-I-E-I-O (Old McDonald, obviously)

Mom- no joke, he is the biggest momma's boy I have ever seen, and I love it

food- any food, any time- he taps his highchair tray to say "right here"

brushing his teeth

"teeeeet!" (treats- like M&Ms or graham crackers)

helping with the laundry, dishes, or sweeping

climbing

Some things Jake does NOT love:

coloring (he eats the crayons)

sitting still

movies- they involve too much sitting still

reading- he's getting a little bit better about this if the book contains a tractor, digger, or dog, but again, this activity requires too much stillness for his liking

sitting in the car (do you see a trend here?)

hotel rooms - the last time we stayed in a hotel, I got zero sleep because Jake was completely freaked out all night

cold drinks (everything needs to be lukewarm)

I hope he doesn't start those terrible twos too soon!  Because we just adore this little guy.  :)

Bahama mamas

A few weeks ago my sister Pam called me and suggested we go on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas... and I laughed at her!  She is quite the persuasive talker though and after much encouragement from Rob I decided to go after all.  So last weekend I drove 10 hours to Miami to meet up with Pam and Leah (my niece) to go on a 3 day cruise.  There was a strict rule made about not taking swimsuit photos, and since we spent quite a bit of time in swimsuits, there aren't too many photos.

This is the ship we went on.  It is NOT the ship that had to be towed back to the US amid horrible turmoil- thankfully.

This is the view from my beach chair sitting on Junkanoo Beach.  I've never been to the Bahamas before and it turns out that, yes, the water really is that amazingly beautiful and you can see little fish swimming around your ankles.  We bought BBQ chicken and fried plantains from this hut on the beach... I thought it was pretty good, though fried plantains aren't going on our monthly menu anytime soon.  But Pam wasn't convinced it was really chicken, so I ate hers too. 

After an ice cream cone downtown, we spent the remainder of the afternoon in the Straw Market shopping for souvenirs. (One of us knows how to use sunscreen- and I, I mean she, is not pictured here.)

Oh look there I am!  Just one to show that I was in fact there.  ;)

The endless buffet on the cruise ship was not thrilling. But dinner each night was actually pretty great.  I had steak one night and vegetarian Indian food another.  Each night on the menu they had one "exotic" item.  Leah and I tried these Alligator Fritters.  They weren't bad- honestly they were like deep fried ham and cheese balls.

Fun times indeed!

I've gotta say- I learned that I am not a big fan of cruising.  The entertainment, casinos, constant alcohol consumption... just isn't my idea of fun.  But I am very glad that I went and spent the weekend with Pam and Leah. There were some good late night chats, a lot of lounging in the sun, and nobody's food for me to cut up or diapers to change!  Thanks for the memories girls.  :)

blogged down

Every few days I think, "I should update the blog."  And then I think, "That sounds like work."  And I don't do it.  I guess I am just experiencing some Winter blahs.  Yes, I realize that having our high for the day ONLY reach 45, and the fact that it only happened once since we've lived here, will not earn me anyone's sympathy... but there is something about this time of year that makes the world outside seem uninviting, bed and a good book seem extra cozy, and all of my motivation to be productive go "POOF!"

So, this is just a brief note to let the world know that the Andersons are still here.  Hibernating... but here.

I'll be back with a more thorough update someday soon.  :)

a busy break

 Hopefully you all have been enjoying your holiday break as much as we have!  Charlotte is still off of school until this coming Tuesday, and there have been some exciting developments in the Anderson home since I last posted....

 Toby is in Lego love.

He spends a couple hours a day tinkering with his new toys.  I loved this particular scene that he made soooo much.  He used a baby blanket to make "snowy hills" and set up a decorated Christmas tree. A father and son are snowboarding while sword fighting with ski poles in the foreground while the mom watches and tells them to 'be careful.'  The firefighter is near his burn barrel, but sitting at a desk and using the internet while he drinks some hot cocoa.  (Oh dear, I think I've been pegged in this scene more than once!)

Jakey has developed a fake smile.

Neither Charlotte nor Toby had quite so much enthusiasm as toddlers for making other people laugh and smile.  Jake is our class clown for sure around here.

We acted out the nativity story on Christmas Eve and sang songs around the piano.  Daddy Polar played all of the animals. I am seriously enjoying having kids at an age where we can all participate in activities as a family and have a good time doing it.  (Jake just ran in circles during this time, but did participate in singing Jingle Bells- "Ba-ba-ba, Ba-ba-ba.")

We were also able to go to Atlanta and participate in a baptism (the kiddos' second cousin CarrieAnne, who sadly I didn't get a picture of- I was battling a head cold and wasn't as on the ball) and the baby blessing of our newest nephew Nathan.  (Also no photo- sorry, I am lame, every time I thought of it, we were not with him.)  

While spending time with cousins Lizzy and Savannah, Charlotte lost her first tooth!  The tooth fairy was kind enough to come to our hotel room to deliver a dollar and take away the itty bitty incisor. (She lost tooth number two just after we got home.) As happy as I said I am that we can do more interesting things as a family these days, it is also bittersweet in these moments when I realize I have a baby old enough to be losing teeth!

The 12 Days of Christmas

We have been very Merrily getting into the Christmas spirit the past few weeks, and here are just a dozen ways we do that in our home.

1. We sent out a few Christmas cards.

2. We watched Home Alone for a family movie night.

3. I have been forcing Rob to play Christmas songs on the piano nearly every day.

4. We picked out a tree and decorated it and the rest of the house for Christmas.

5. We went to “Lights of the South” and visited with the nicest Santa ever.  (I especially liked when he told Charlotte and Toby to pick up their rooms when they got home.)

6. We have been baking- English Toffee, Peanut Butter blossoms, Molasses, Oatmeal Raisin, Caramel Popcorn, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, and Angel Puffs.  Too bad for Santa those are all gone already, but luckily I still have Fudge, Sugar cookies, and Chocolate Chip cookies on my to-do list.  

7. I made some Super Tobs and Super Jakey capes this year.  My first time doing appliqué work- so I have some skills to improve, but I don’t think they will mind.

8. I chaperoned Charlotte’s class field trip to the Clark’s Hill Christmas tree farm.

9. We’ve got all of our shopping done!  Rob and I have been wrapping gifts after the kids go to bed this week while re-watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy together.

10. Rob and I took the coffee table frame that my dad made in high school, removed the glass top, and upholstered an ottoman- style top for it.  Charlotte renamed it the Comfy Table.  I sewed some throw pillows to go along with the new look. (Toby especially likes to lie on it with a blanket and watch a movie  in the afternoon.)

11. We’ve been reading Christmas stories before bedtime.

and last, but not least,

12. We have been thinking of YOU- 

our friends and family, near and far, and hoping that you are happy and healthy this holiday season.

16 going on 17

Tomorrow Jacob is 16 months old!  

I meant to dedicate a post to his milestones when he turned 15 months old, so hey, I made it with one day to spare, right?

Jakey Bear is quite the handful these days.  

He loves to run, walk backwards, and climb things.  Seriously our most active child by a mile... That he ran... Backwards.  ;)

In the past month his language has really taken off. He has added to the basics (Mom, Dad, dog-dog,) with things like "buff-buh" (brother,) "Dahhht" (Charlotte,) Ho, Ho, Ho, again, kitty, "mmmm-hmmm" (this food is tasty and I would like some more,) "dakh," (thank you,) and "wub, wub, wub" (I love you.)

He can identify major body parts (hair, ears, mouth, toes, hands, etc,) but if you ask him where his nose is he  laughingly shakes his head no.  The Jake-ster is a Joke-ster.

Jake is an omnivore.  He eats everything put in front of him.  He used to dislike bananas, but he now eats one nearly every day. I can only assume he gets his willingness to try new foods from Rob. (Or my mom I suppose.)

Jake has a to-do list of his very own making.  Every day after breakfast he sets out to empty my lower kitchen cupboards and redistribute items throughout the house.  When that is done, he moves a chair, climbs up, and turns the lights on and off for 10 minutes or so.  After that he has to track down Rob's shoes and move them around the house as well.  Then maybe it is snack time, so he picks up anything that was dropped during breakfast and eats it. Then he needs a quick cuddle with mom. Then he actually goes and plays with some toys before having a nap.  At this point it is 9:30-10 am.  So you can see, he has quite a lot of responsibilities around here.  (Perhaps you can also see why this blog post is so long in coming as I spend my evenings putting everything back where it belongs.)

Our home and family would not be the same without our little Jakey Bear and we love him so. :)

Helen for the Holiday

Charlotte had the entire week off of school for Thanksgiving and she and Toby enjoyed catching up on some sibling time and lounging in their jammies.  It made my heart super happy.

They also taught Jakey how to stay safe by walking on the furniture when the carpet turns into lava.

We ate a simplified Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday. Toby is the turkey leg man.

I made turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, and cranberry sauce shaped like a can (my personal favorite.)  It wasn't fancy but it worked.

The reason we ate on Tuesday was so that we could go to Helen, GA on Thursday.  We took our leftovers and headed to this little cabin in the Georgia mountains.

Charlotte brought along a notebook and pencil and discovered she loves drawing from nature.

Yup, Rob is THAT dad.  Saw some rocks in the middle of the Chattahoochee River and took Charlotte and Toby out there to explore.  

We hiked up to the Anna Ruby Falls.

They were very pretty and it was a totally do-able hike for the littles.

Monkeys in a tree.

This is what downtown Helen looks like.  I was excited to explore this Appalachian Alpine village, but it turns out it is basically a tourist trap.  Ah well.  We still ate German food (not great,) played at the playground, bought fudge, played mini-golf, and bought German salad dressing mix (Woo-hoo! Rob and I were just talking about how we were missing that.)  So it was a fun family weekend.

On our last day in Helen we drove up to the Appalachian Trail in the Chattahoochee National Forest to do a little more hiking.  We went straight uphill for nearly a mile and then decided to stop while the kids were still having fun.  We really want them to LOVE hiking, which means we have to take hikes that are short enough to be fun for them right now and not go until they get cranky.  That's our theory anyway.

On the way down we saw this in a tree over the trail we had just come up and which we now had to hike down.  It's a black bear.  It's not a large black bear, but that made me more nervous because maybe mama was around and wouldn't like us very much.  At any rate, we explained to the kiddos about respect for nature and quickly and quietly returned to the car.  It was kinda a great ending to our week of giving thanks for family, nature, home, and love.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Project Runway - Christmas Edition

I was on Pinterest one day and saw a link to this blog- Craftiness is not optional.  On there are tutorials for making Barbie clothes and I was like, "What? I could make Barbie look more like the girl next door and less like the cocktail waitress from the corner bar?!!?  Sign me up."  Now, I know there are Barbie clothes in the stores- but not as many as you might think, and they are made of really cheap materials that tear easily.  (Trust me, I know, I've been shopping for them.)  And despite the marketing of Dr. Barbie, Archaeologist Barbie, etc., most outfits are either designed for Hoochie Barbie or Princess Barbie.  Ugh.  So, don't tell Charlotte, but this Christmas she will be getting some Barbie clothes made by MOM.

My first pattern choice was the "simple skirt." It is really easy, so I made eight of them.  Doesn't Tiana look like she is ready for the neighborhood 4th of July picnic?

This little dress is possibly my favorite.  All of the fabrics came from my scrap box.

I made four dresses total. The ones without sleeves took about 10-15 minutes start to finish.

I'm not great at doing the darts yet, and Ariel is not as.. um.. well endowed as some of the other Barbies in the house, but I wanted to make one gown out of red satin.  It's okay.  The satin was harder to work with though for sure.  I also made a top out of the red satin.

I love this one too.  It's a bit longer and I found a scrap of white eyelet in my mom's old sewing basket so I trimmed the bottom. 

This poofy skirt is adorable... if I do say so myself.  I used the last bit of white eyelet to trim it.  I would totally wear this outfit.

Some of the tops have darts in the to give them a more fitted look, this one does not.

Altogether I made 8 tops, 8 simple skirts, 5 poofy skirts, and 4 dresses.  I hope that Charlotte will like them. I had fun doing this project for her.  Possibly too much fun.  And I will certainly be more willing to play Barbies with my sweet girl in the new year.  ;)  

An Incredible Halloween

Happy Halloween from The Incredibles!

Jack Jack gets into a LOT of mischief these days, but we worry about telling him "no" as we don't like when he bursts into flames... especially around the books. 

Dash is always ready to GO.  He ran from house to house when it was time to trick or treat this year.

Violet makes excellent force fields to protect us all from the spooks and "bad guys" out on Halloween night.

Mr. Incredible and I (In-Elastigirl) hope that you enjoyed our family Halloween costumes this year.  We had a blast dressing up together.  :)

Peanut-palooza!

This is my Charlotte girl one short year ago.

And here we are at SIX years old! Am I the only one who is shocked by this transformation?

For Charlotte's birthday this year, she wanted to go to Peter Pan (the ballet) at the Imperial Theater in Augusta.  She and I went to it on a mommy/daughter date and mingled with the cast afterwards.  This is Charlotte with her favorite character- Tinkerbell.

We also attended our first school fund raiser event during birthday week- 

the FUN RUN!

Whatever, it wasn't that fun, and I don't think we will be raising funds for the school in the future.  Donate? Sure. But call people? Um no.  Charlotte did run/walk a total of 2 miles though and she LOVED it.  So that was great.

On Charlotte's actual birthday, Rob flew home from a month away for work.  Charlotte requested we go to Red Robin for dinner and that SHE get to sit by her daddy. Who could say no to that?  So we had a nice dinner out and then they SANG to her and brought her an ice cream sundae.  ;)  Charlotte was overjoyed (I knew our extrovert would enjoy that surprise) and my introverted Rob was mortified (bonus.)  We also took cupcakes to Charlotte's class for snack, so there were plenty of birthday treats and I made no family birthday cake this year.

Charlotte has always been a fun girl to talk to, but as she gets older we are finding more things that we both enjoy talking to each other about.  She has loved starting Kindergarten, and she and Toby rarely ever argue when they play together now, because they are both just happy to be together. Charlotte is generally a confident, assertive, happy little individual (though we are already having some hiccups as she compares herself to other girls at school- that is such a hard thing to try not to do, I know.) And I love my girl sooooo much!  Happy birthday to my Peanut girl.  

Charlotte's birthday interview: (These answers are amazingly similar to last year)

What's your favorite color? Pink

What's your favorite movie? Rapunzel (Tangled)

What's your favorite song? I am a Child of God

What's your favorite food? Macaroni and cheese

What's your favorite thing to do with Toby? Play cars with him on his carpet.

What's your favorite thing to do with Jacob? Tickle him.

What's your favorite thing to do with mommy? Cuddle!

What's your favorite thing to do with daddy? Go bowling- just like we did today!

What’s your favorite part of the school day? Going to art.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A cooker and a haircutter. I want to live in Paris when I grow up.

What makes you feel happy? My mommy. (Awwww)