Yes We Can

You will never guess what I did all day yesterday. Especially if you are one of my old college friends/roommates who knew me back when the only thing I could make for dinner was a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. I canned applesauce. --All by myself! Without anyone to hold my hand or pat my shoulder. I KNOW!


And I know what some of you are thinking. "Whoopty-freakin'-doo. I've been canning my own applesauce since I was 6 years old." But allow me to remind you that we are talking about ME, Mary Darcy... Queen of the Undomestic. Also known as She Who Broke Her Finger In The Mixer. Seriously, I never thought canning was in my future.



AND, I didn't even burn any part of my person, shatter anything, or blow anything up. And all my cans sealed, too. Sure, it took me eight hours to do twenty-something cans, but who's counting? And okay, my kitchen floor is stickier than a cheap movie theater's, but I'll mop it... eventually.



Anyway, I'm so proud of myself. Who knew I had it in me?? I think that Pemberley has awakened my inner housewife. You might be rolling your eyes at that theory, but I'll have you know I haven't caught any of my fingers in the KitchenAid since we moved in.

TGIPemberley

We got a new garage door this week. Now, it might not look very exciting to you. It's not the best garage door in the world, by any means. But, it's a step up from the last one that was 60 years old and busted.

So, now I get to park in the garage again. Weeeeeeeee! No more scraping frost off the windshield! No more struggling for my keys while trying to carry in a large, squirmy Kitty and 6 bags of groceries. I am in love with my garage door and want to run away with it.

And actually, an attached 2 car garage is one of the reasons why Pemberley is magic. Do you know how many old houses have attached garages? Not very many. Let me be more specific... NONE. None of the other old homes that I was trying to convince Mr. Darcy to buy had an attached garage, just my lil' Pemberley. And an attached garage was pretty high on my WANT list. Which is how I know that Pemberley is the only true and living house on the face of the whole Earth in which I, Mary, am well pleased. Yea verily, Amen.

Hmm... Maybe it's time to dust?

Or would that just squash their creativity? Perhaps someday The Boy will have his very own Dust Drawing art exhibit? I would hate to be the reason that doesn't happen.

So I must take a stand: I refuse to dust for the betterment of my children.

Messin' around with the Kitty

Kitty was in a foul mood this morning and made it clear that she would not be ignored. So, I got my camera and we played around.

First we played "Find the Hairclip". This game is harder than you would think. I have to find enough hair to attach the clip to, and she still has those stumpy little baby arms to deal with.










She changed up the game at this point by shoving the clip in her mouth. So then we played the "Pry the chokable item out of my throat, Mom" game. One of her favorites.



So, I took it away. Game over.



Every now and then she will find her Leia Buns and wear them around like a hat. Which I find hee-larious.

And during our play time, I was surprised to capture a couple of pictures that I love. But, I can't decide which one I prefer...





Whattaya think? Color or black and white? (Or Leia Buns?)

Parent Teacher Conferences

I had Parent Teacher Conference today for the three kids in school.


The Boy is doing great in second grade. He's doing 4th grade math and his teacher was so impressed with an essay he wrote on bacon that she told her own kids about it. An excerpt from his Ode to Bacon: "Bacon tastes salty, crispy, crunchy, YUM. When it cooks, it makes a sound like rain falling on a lake." So awesome. The world definitely needs more bacon-inspired literature.



Lizzy is finally holding her own in Math, which is usually her weakest subject. She is a great reader and eager to please... even if her teacher is a little kooky.



I was NERVOUS going in for Jane's conference. She barely squeaked through the cut-off for Kindergarten and got her name on the board within the first week of school. But, I was surprised to see how much she has learned in just a few months. Her teacher says she is actually ahead in most areas, so I am relieved.

And Mrs. JanesTeacher even said that her behavior problems at the beginning of the year were mostly due to one of the girls in the class. They aren't allowed to sit by each other anymore, which is probably for the best because this girl... we'll just call her Lydia... Lydia sounds like quite a character. She tells kids she can't be friends with them because she's allergic to the color or their hair (ha! I'm going to try that one out sometime) and has been known to start up games of "Jesus! Jesus! God!" at recess (just like duck duck goose, but more holy).

ANYWAY, huge sigh of relief. I knew the oldest two would have good reports. They always do. But, I kind of expected Jane's teacher to grab me by the collar and shake me. Or else welcome me to her classroom with a hard slap across the face.

"I don't want my hair to look like puffballs!"

Pemberley Appreciation

This is one of the three fireplaces in Pemberley. Now, aesthetically speaking, I can't pretend that this one is my favorite. The tile doesn't excite me (looks very 80's to me... Is this the original tile? Any 1930's tile experts out there?), and it's in the office which I've previously mentioned is entirely too wood-covered for my taste. So, while this is the least visually pleasing fireplace in my home, I love that it is there.

Because, see... we live in a big drafty old house (Cue George Bailey). And I love living in this drafty old house and sticking around this crummy old town and having all these kids anyway. But, I also have some sort of circulation deficiency which makes me the coldest person in any given room. Everyone else will be comfortable and I will be shivering under a blanket and wishing I wasn't too proud to wear a Snuggie. Just kiddin'... I'm still not sorry about that.

For some reason, the office is a very chilly room. And I spend entirely too much time on the computer. So, for the last month I've been shivering in the office while getting my internet fix, and lamenting that it was such a frigid room. Trying to type while wrapped up in a blanket. Wishing that someone out there would invent a blanket with sleeves.

Then I realized, "Duh Mary, you have a fireplace in here." And there was much rejoicing. Now I can spend even more hours curled up with the computer while my faux fire keeps me warm and toasty. Anything that helps me spend more time online is truly delightful, no matter how 80's looking the tile might be.