Bad Bunny!

Autumn the Bunny will eat anything.

--

She will nibble on shoes, backpacks, carpet, doors, window trim, and our CSA vegetables. She has shown a particular affinity for chewing on human fingers and electrical cords.

--

Her absolute favorite thing to chew on up to this point has been NorthernToddler's jack-o'-lantern.

--

Bad Bunny!

--

While NorthernDaddy worked, NorthernMommy and Toddler (and a northern Grandma) went and got pumpkins. NorthernToddler tried to get one out for free....

--

Hmm...I wonder if anyone will notice if I just hold a pumpkin behind me and slooowly walk towards the car?.... NorthernToddler wants nothing to do with carving a pumpkin.

After last year, when NorthernMommy and friends carved a giant pumpkin and got NorthernToddler stuck inside, it's no wonder that he is anti-jack-o'-lantern!

Designed by the master artist NorthernToddler, carved by squash-slasher NorthernMommy.

NorthernDaddy installed two windows (free - reclaimed from the local dump) in the chicken coop. Now there is a whole lot more natural light in there than before!

--

Time for a reader poll....what color do we paint the frames on these windows? Keep in mind that we are not painting the coop - it will stay its naturally weathered grayish color. Do we put a new coat of white paint on the window frames? Do we choose a bright neon green? What do you think?

NorthernMommy picked up her first CSA share today.

The bunny likes CSAs.

Monkey-Boy says HI!

TCP and Guinea Pigs

Guinea Pigs Add Up is a new book by Margery Cuyler. Doesn't ring a bell? Didn't with the NorthernClan either. The illustrator's name, however, does spark a memory. Tracey Campbell Pearson (WHERE DOES JOE GO? and BOB) drew the pictures in this book about guinea pigs.

--

The Jericho Community Center hosted a Guinea Pig Event today - a reading of the new book and a whole bunch of activities: guinea pig masks, guinea pig cookie decorating, guinea pig hats, and the favorite - guinea pig face painting. (Not painting actual guinea pig faces, but painting kids' faces to look like guinea pigs...)
Of course, we had to buy a copy of the book - and stood in line to have it signed by the author, um...the illustrator.

Wait! We're Not Ready Yet!....

It snowed last night in NorthernToddlerLand.

--

Not a lot of snow - just enough heavy, wet snow to cover the lawn.

--

It seems as if the snow starts falling earlier every year....if we remember correctly, last year the first snow didn't fall until the last week of October. If we continue with this trend, by the time NorthernToddler is a NorthernPreTeen(ugh...don't even want to think of that!), it will be snowing in August!

When we showed this picture to NorthernToddler, he said, "Uh-oh, snow on the pumpkin!" - and went back to playing with his blocks...wait until he's old enough to shovel snow off the drive...he'll dislike the first snowfall as much as the rest of us!

Saturday Cleaning Chores

It's an inside kind of Saturday in NorthernBaby territory. It's really windy - the word would be 'blustery' - and a little on the cool side (meaning: the Northern clan is not acclimated to the fall temperatures yet. In fact, we are still wishing that summer was here with the attendant sunny days and warm weather. But don't you worry; we will adjust by the first snowfall and will soon be telling tales of cross-country skiing in t-shirts or showing photos of us walking in two feet of snow with shorts on or participating in a Penguin Plunge....all of the crazy things that Vermonters do.) (Um...correction: I've been told that only the transplants to Vermont do "dumbass, idiotic, stupid things outside in winter - you moron. Old-time Vermonters stay inside by the woodstove all winter....")

--

Anyway, with two members of the Northern clan deciding to stay in for the day (NorthernMommy is outside in the cold at a cross-country meet.), there was some cleaning to be done.

--

Start by scouring the oven.

Clogged potties require immediate attention.

Vacuuming.

Don't for a moment believe that NorthernToddler is actually helping to vacuum the floor. While NorthernDaddy was running the sweeper on the carpet, NorthernToddler was in his room, screaming like Lindsay Lohan at a detox center. He doesn't like the vacuum. As soon as someone mentions that they're going to vacuum the living room, NorthernToddler runs and shuts himself in his room (say, that would be a good way to get some quiet time around here...!). As soon as the sweeper is turned off, you can hear a bedroom door swing open and the sound of a charging buffalo. Around the corner comes a two-year-old intent on helping put the vacuum away. He loves to roll the thing to the guest room 'where it sleeps'.

--

Laundry time

(NorthernMommy asked why our boy was wearing safety glasses in these photos. Well, we put them on for the oven cleaning, and NorthernToddler wouldn't take them off for the rest of the day.)

We Ain't Afraid of No Corn...