We're Back!

So, I took a 6 month break from this blog, but here I am, trying again. Life happens, and blogs get forgotten. Life goes on.
Muffin really likes markers that smell good. She received a pack of smelly markers a while ago, and for weeks the tip of her nose was a collage of multi color smears. She enjoys telling me what they smell like... grape, cherry, etc. This morning I was doing dishes and she came to the kitchen while I was doing dishes and asked me to smell the marker she was coloring with. It was a peachy colored marker, and a non-smelly one by the way. I smelled it and told her I thought it smelled kind of yucky. She chuckled and very matter of factly told me "It smells like diaper. I have alot that smell like diaper." Hee hee. Shes so cute.

We just got back from our vacation to D.C. to visit Papa's folks. We had a fun-filled week. National Harbor and ferry ride, National Aquarium, Smithsonian Museums, slip and sliding, good time with family. We took pictures of the Obama's vegetable garden while everyone else was taking pictures of the White House. We went contra dancing at Glen Echo, in Maryland. Wow, what a dance. Papa played in the open band and made $20! I left my dancing shoes in Wisconsin but still danced my heiny off in my flip flops with at least 300 other people. My feet are still recovering.

Since we have been back, I am trying to convert our weed patch back into a vegetable garden. We harvested a nice crop of carrots today and a zucchini about as big as a canoe. We also found a baby (tiny tiny) mouse or vole in our hay bale, which was so exciting for the girls. When we left, they left the baby a mini carrot. I am also trying hard to find a job and to get on top of things before Bug starts Kindergarten in TWO weeks! How did this happen!?! I took her and her cousin to the fabric store yesterday to pick out fabric for a rest mat cover that I am going to sew for them. She chose sparkly disney princess fabric. Shes all set: markers, pencils, kleenex, glue, crayons, lunch box, princess backpack, princess rest mat (that I would be completely shocked if she laid and rested on, but maybe they work some sort of magic in Kindergarten that makes them rest)

In accordance to the goal I set before, I am hoping to update the blog at least once a month. We'll see! Its a fun way to share the Sanford family happenings and a few pictures. I just tried to add some new pictures, but I need to purchase some more storage capacity on my Picasa Web account, which means it will have to wait until next paycheck. But next month, I promise!

Dress Up Tea Party

Here's the birthday girl! I can't help but go all out for birthdays. My mom always made our birthday so special, and love doing that for my girls too. This year, for birthday number 3, we had a dress up tea party. The girls and I went to the local thrift store and for 15 dollars got 8 tea cups and saucers, 8 china plates, and a load of fake flowers for decorating. (Plus, a really groovy vintage dress for Mama to wear for the party)
The table looked so cute and all the kids were adorable. We had raspberry and blueberry tea with milk and sugar cubes (which were almost all gone at the end of the day... whoops! sorry parents!) I also made mini tea sandwiches, mini muffins, fruit, cheese cut out in cute shapes, raspberry brie tarts, and mini quiche.
Bug handled her little sister's special day like a champ. No fits of jealously. Even when Muffin got the mermaid doll that Bug has been asking for for weeks and weeks. She has been so desperate for this doll, she wrote a note to the flower fairies and hid it under a table. She is convinced they will bring one for her now. Its all i can do to not just go out and buy it for her.
the lovely Sanford ladies. never thought I could get so into this girly stuff. :)

My grandma used to make my cake every birthday, and since my girls don't have their grandma's nearby, I always make their cake too. I let them choose what kind of cake they want. It is always an unusual challenge every birthday. Bug has had ladybug cupcakes, a caterpillar cake, flower pots full of "dirt" and "bugs", and a mama spider cake with a bunch of baby spider cupcakes. This year will be the first non-insect cake... she is already requesting a mermaid cake. Muffin had a teddy bear cake, and last year was a Pig cake. I will never forget that one. It was red velvet cake, so when you cut into it, it was bright red. The whole time she was eating it she kept laughing and saying "Eat Pig! ha ha ha!" Well, this year she insisted on a princess cake. It was an interesting challenge... last minute I sent Papa to the store for a box of cake mix because it wasn't tall enough. She turned out pretty good though!

It was a really fun day.

December Fun

My parents and us out on Lake Monona after a fun time sledding with the girls. It's so neat to walk on a frozen lake! We made snow angels and wrote our names by them also.
Downtown Madison (the capitol building is in the background) is on an isthmus. The lakes are exciting places here, even in winter. They are full of people ice fishing, cross country skiing, wind sailing, flying kites, and snowshoeing. There is a big festival called Kites on Ice on the lake when the winter is cold enough. There are usually several ice skating rinks plowed out. Interesting artwork usually pops up on the lake during the winter months. This winter there is a grouping of dinosaur skeletons emerging from the lake. In past years, I have also seen the statue of liberty, dancing penguins, and a huge blue whale.

This is Bug and Grandad... right before they wiped out hard.
Granny at the beauty shop.
Papa working on his new hobby: bow making. These are logs (black walnut I believe) he harvested. He split them and they will cure for 6 months and then the carving begins!
Uncle E-Block. We always get him a gag gift. It is tradition (one of my favorite of the holidays, it always brings massive amounts of laughter.) This year was good: rap grillz, bling, and the shades, of course. Muffin is sucking her thumb there, probably very confused, and a little worried.

a few Christmas pictures... just a little late.

Fairy girl


Princess girl


Bug made Papa "toilet paper bean bags" for Christmas. She wrapped them up and wrote a note and everything. It was a very special gift.


The Christmas train. Doesn't this picture look like it belongs in a magazine about happy family life?


I LOVE this picture. This was right when everyone woke up. We forced them all to sit at the top of the stairs and swarmed them with cameras and flashes and lots of commands to "SMILE!" I think their faces are hilarious. T is cooperating, but you can tell that smile is a fake. Bug looks miserable and in pain. Muffin is totally out of it, in La la land. G is saying "get me the heck out of here, you people are crazy." Ha, i love it.

My little Bats

These pictures are the girls in their bat costumes. Pretty fierce. Although I always inform them that bats are gentle and harmless creatures despite their reputation and portrayal in various media.
We lived with the bats once. I will never forget the feeling of waking up in my bedroom (on many occasions) in the middle of the night to bats flying over my head. Or, reaching to get a bowl off the shelf and finding a bat inside. Or, reaching in the washer to peel off the sock that got stuck on the side only to realize it is a bat.
I really do like bats. I would prefer that they live somewhere other than inside my house. However, if they are the little girl variety, I can let it slide.

Pretty Pretty Princess Papa

this is Papa's FAVORITE new game: Pretty Pretty Princess. He especially enjoys the clip on earrings. The girls and I picked up the game at the thrift store for $1 and it has provided us with many many laughs. Quite a deal for a buck!

the Nutcracker

Bug and I just had a magical day at the Nutcracker Ballet. We went to the performance that functions as a dress rehearsal for the cast, and they invite all the schools and homeschoolers to attend for discounted prices. Well, there was a HUGE snowstorm last night. All of the schools were closed, so the only people to show up at the performance were a group of around 100 other random people/homeschool groups. They let us sit anywhere we wanted in the enormous Overture Center. Bug and I went right to the front row. We could see the whole orchestra pit (which was so fascinating) and were close enough to really see all the glitz and glamour of the ballerinas. Bug was entranced. During the scene of the battle between the toy soldiers and mice, a sword flew off the stage and whacked a french horn player in the head. That's something you only see when you are in the front row!
It was such a treat. I kept thinking how expensive those seats would be on any other day/time. Pretty good deal we got for $8/ticket!
We followed that up with Lentil Soup over rice at the Mediterranean Cafe with some friends. It was such a great day!