Joel, Eliza, and CR with the gingerbread
house we made for Christmas this year.
Regan, in one of her new Virginia Tech
Hokie shirts that she got for Christmas
from her Aunt Oreo.
We have two cats, Murphy and Tempe (Temperance). Murphy loves to be petted "on the go," and Tempe will let you know when she is ready for affection. Usually by nudging aside whatever you are currently working on, or laying on it, and purring until you pet her for as long as you can. The kids keep asking for a dog too, but that will have to wait a couple years until I no longer have a little baby to care for.
A very Murphy Christmas!
This blog is part of a goal I've set for myself, to better record in words and pictures my life. My kids frequently say hilarious things, as well as deep and insightful things, and I don't want to forget them. There may be introspective posts where I'm thinking "out loud" and working through my own questions or problems. There will be posts about food, hence the title of the blog. I have a goal in mind to start my family on a path to eating healthier foods, so I will post mealtime successes and failures, with pictures and recipes as frequently as I can.
I am somewhat of a Facebook junkie, I admit I do spend quite a bit of time on there; you can find me under Kimberly Snelgrove. Horribly creative screen name, I know. As a SAHM, FB gives me a link to the outside world and a chance to interact with other adults on a regular basis. It certainly doesn't compare to an actual phone call, or better yet a visit, but it does give me a lifeline to hold on to. I am also a book junkie, and you will find me constantly in the middle of about 3 or 4 different books at a time. Currently those books are A Game of Thrones, Blood Song, Royal Apprentice (notice a fantasy theme here?) and Little House in the Big Woods, which I'm reading aloud to Eliza. I love to sew, but not on a machine; I'm still trying to learn that skill. Lately my focus has been on crocheting some carseat blankets for friends having babies this winter, and one of my goals for January is to finish crocheting a Tetris-themed afghan for Richard. Once the crocheting is done, I have some plastic canvas/needlepoint projects to finish for decorations next Autumn. I have a felt applique stocking to make for Regan for next Christmas, and at least half a dozen cross-stitch projects in some stage of progress.
A carseat blanket for a friend; see the
slots for the seatbelt?
I am not an expert homemaker or housekeeper, but I am making an effort to improve. One of the Facebook groups I belong to is called "A Clean Slate" and is a support group for followers of the Flylady's cleaning philosophy (which you can find at http://flylady.net/). The focus is on baby steps, doing a little bit at a time, which works for me since I usually only have a few minutes here and there. I enjoy cooking, and especially baking, most especially for other people. Ironically, though, when Richard is working late and it's just me and the kiddos at home in the evening, it's hard to cook a full meal for some reason. Go figure.
I am an amateur gardener, 2013 was really my first attempt at a backyard garden. I had high hopes, since we had purchased our home from my parents-in-law and inherited a fantastic garden site along with it. The Snelgroves have always had a fabulous garden as long as I've known them, and since I diligently purchased the same varieties of plants as they have used, I expected great things. Alas, between being pregnant all summer and not understanding the watering system (or having any clue to what I was doing, really), the garden was a bit of a flop. We got a fair amount of beans and tomatoes, though, and the grapes and peaches did very well. I'm trying to convince Richard that it would be a good thing to buy a couple baby bunnies from a neighbor, so we have our own fertilizer machines for next season. He's not going for it so far.
So that's me and my family, and my (second) first blog post. My original attempt at blogging was a miserable failure, so please ignore any other blogs found under my user name. I am trying to figure out how to delete the other blog entirely, but so far no luck. My husband is the computer guru in our household, not me. Feel free to accompany me on the blogging adventure, or to look me up on Facebook.
