Geez, it is Downright Cold and Depressing Here in January!

January...how is one supposed to get through January without being depressed?? It has been pretty darn cold, one blast of snow that brought a couple of snow days, but the reality is is that it is just not a very pretty time of year! I'm anxious to get on to some projects that I've been saving for this particular time...need to do something to lift my spirits.
Here's proof that it was cold...this was 2 Sundays ago...Bluebell was taking me to church, bless her heart, and here's how cold it really was. Never seen her say this before! And mind you, zero in IL is much colder than zero in parts west.

So when it's depressing, what's a girl to do but spend money! Just kidding. We've been in the market looking for a new flute for Sarah...was definitely time to upgrade. Unfortunately there aren't too many music stores that carry higher end flutes to try out, so we ordered three in the mail to try side by side. The third one is a Gemeinhardt. The verdict is still out a week later, although she's narrowing it down pretty fast. Hearing her play definitely lifts my spirits!

Well, the BEST thing to do when it's depressing outside is order in pure entertainment...so that's what we did!! Katie and Claire came to town on the 12th to visit for a week. And pure entertainment is just what we got! Claire is a hoot and a half!! She has the funniest, silliest, goofy and happy personality. Love, love, love this little girl!! Seeing as she is not here too often and I didn't want to have to tell her "no" over and over, we put up two gates in the kitchen, locked the cabinets we could, removed things that she would break from other cabinets, and let her have at it. It will take me several days, maybe weeks, to put things back the way they were, but it all needed reorganizing anyways. She had great fun rearranging everything. It's always amazing to me how she thinks the toys are just ok, but anything in the kitchen is way more fun! And the heavier and bigger it is...she'll definitely go for that! I do have a little table with two kids chairs that she enjoyed sitting at and telling us stories. Too funny...jibber, jibber, jibber, then "ummmm", then right back to the jibbering. She has a definite agenda about everything. But she adapted to new sleeping quarters and play areas just fine. Loved, loved, loved the piano and the fish tank...under close supervision!

This baby was in the crib and Claire attached herself right away. It was just amazing how she hugged and kissed and carried this baby around. She often held her while watching Sesame Street. This is all, of course, very good to know...hopefully she'll continue to have great feelings towards babies because there's going to be a NEW BABY in her house in August! Yay. It's finally official and I can speak about it. Grandbaby #2 is on it's way. Check out Katie's blog for more details. We are way excited!

We didn't go on too many outings this time, except one day we went down to the mall to check out a few sales. We were in Children's Place and came across this cute rain outfit. We didn't buy it, but it was sure fun to try things on!

There is a merry-go-round at the mall and Claire and I had it all to ourselves! Katie wasn't sure she'd like it very much. Ummmm, she LOVED it!

OK, so none of my kiddos had curls. Sarah had one, but nothing even close to this. This does my heart good, too! I love giving Claire her bath, simply because she makes it so fun. Then we do "lotion time", which I think she really enjoys, too. Oh, the baby lotions smell so good. And her hair is always so cute and curly after her bath when it first dries. Too fun.

So they left yesterday and it's still rather dreary outside. Not good. I need to go into "project mode" super fast to get through this! I'll have to figure out how to post pictures of what I'm thinking of doing. Going to be super cute! Here's to hoping you're handling January okay in your neck of the woods!