Live, Laugh, Love, Be Happy

The Girls Made Tie Dye T-Shirts

2011-06-06T22:46:00.002-04:00

Will has always had a few tie dyed t-shirts - the girls have always wanted them. Well, now they have them. We went to the most wonderful birthday party over the weekend. And had our first experience tie dying. I can't wait to try it at home this summer with natural dyes...blueberries, onions, beets, etc... Should be a wonderful project to do!

Maybe we could do some fabric paint stamping after the shirts are dyed as well...names...sayings...quotes...whatever!

Happiness is...

2011-06-05T21:32:00.002-04:00

...drawing with your friends on a big chalkboard outside...

...then washing it all off...over and over and over...

Will's Art Exhibit

2011-06-03T05:00:00.001-04:00

Tonight was Will's Art Exhibit/Ice Cream Social.

In my humble opinion, there is nothing like kids' artwork:

Will shows us how his rain stick works...

And finally... a Quiditch (sp?) match!

Formally introducing Willy

2011-06-02T00:11:00.002-04:00

Forgive me if I have already done this, but...less than a year ago, we added Willy to our family. I'm not sure that I ever introduced him, since I believe I was in the midst of a blogging break when he was adopted.

He's a loving, food-centric (aren't most labs?), fun, and energetic chocolate and we're so happy to have him!

Chicks, Birthdays & Teacher Gifts Part 1

2011-06-01T17:39:00.002-04:00

This morning after putting Will on the bus, then taking Esme to preschool, a friend asked if Molly and I wanted to come and check out their one and two week old baby chicks. Well, of course! We got to hold them and see what having our own chicks would entail...something we'd like to do at some point.

Monday and Wednesday mornings we have a friend of Will's who gets dropped off to hang out with us prior to heading to the bus with us. Well, this morning it was his birthday, so I made a birthday coffee cake for him. Unfortunately, he didn't like it, although the rest of us did! He did enjoy the birthday song and blowing out the candles...

Part one of end of year teacher gifts...Molly's last day of preschool is tomorrow, so today she painted terra cotta pots that we will plant some of our tomato seedlings in to give to her teachers.

Thank goodness he's home

2011-05-30T22:31:00.002-04:00

Boy, was I happy when hubby returned home after being away for a week and a half. He returned Saturday and soon thereafter took the kids to see the Alewives at the local fish ladder...

While I did this...

What a treat to be entirely by myself. I don't know how those incredible single mothers do it out there! My hat goes off to you. I took a nice, long bike ride down to the end of the point to walk on the dock and take some pictures.

The rest of the weekend has been a bit of a whirlwind - cookouts, swimming, games...

Happy Memorial Day!

Running

2011-05-28T08:56:00.002-04:00

Will has always been an active guy - more interested in gross motor, than fine motor activities. Well, this fall, he participated in a local cross country running program and got a bit of the running bug. He has friends who he now sees running with their families around the neighborhood and who run 5Ks. So... since running isn't back on again until the fall...and mom's foot is giving me trouble (possible stress fracture) he has discovered kid's fun runs. Last weekend he wanted to do one that was organized by a friend to benefit their school. The girls were decidedly not interested in participating until they found out what the treat was at the end - ball and a popsicle. Next time, they've said they definitely want to do it! We'll see... BTW: this picture was pre-haircuts!

First Hair Cut

2011-05-27T00:04:00.003-04:00

I'm back from a year long blog break... we'll see if I can be a little more dedicated to this daily journaling online thing!You would think that it would me Molly who would be last to get the first hair cute, but Molly's pre-Christmas self-trim made it impossible to wait for her to get a cut. So...Esme was the last of my three kiddos to get her first hair cut. She did quite well, although I could tell she was apprehensive about the experience...

4th of July

2010-07-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful 4th of July weekend we all had! Two days on dad and Kim's boat - an overnight at the Dolphin Marina, an overnight at Sebasco, an early morning plunge into the ocean for mommy and Grampy on Saturday (setting the bar for the kiddos in the future), swimming in the salt water pool, Will's first golf outing, ice cream, and the smell of cinnabon buns baking in the galley at breakfast time (heavenly, Kim!)...

Esme's First School Field Trip

2010-06-06T13:34:00.000-04:00

After watching her big brother attend field trips and ride the school bus over the last few years, Esme was beyond thrilled to go on her own school field trip and ride on the school bus for the first time. Here she is with her special preschool friend at the beach...

What A Weekend!

2010-06-02T23:38:00.000-04:00

What a perfectly wonderful Memorial Day Weekend it was! Picturesque location, friends (both new & old), outdoor games galore, beach time, one long bike ride, plentiful food & drink, and lots of laughs & memories created...

Sisterly Love

2010-05-26T23:07:00.000-04:00

My two favorite girls... Esme can be so helpful with Molly and Molly just adores her big sister. I always wished I had a sister. I'm so very happy that my daughters have each other.

Baseball!

2010-05-25T21:57:00.000-04:00

We have a new passtime around here - baseball! Will has been taking part in a kindergarten baseball league and we've all gotten in to the swing of things (pun intended). Will needs a glove and the girls must have gloves as well - pink, of course, in their case ...

She's Two!

2010-05-08T20:53:00.000-04:00

Unbelievable, but my baby girl is two!

"The Best Valentine's Day Ever!"

2010-02-14T22:10:00.010-05:00

Some signs of the perfect Valentine's Day...

I found this seasonal heart on the trail during our hike today. A picture speaks a thousand words, right?

You know it's a good sign if your one-year-old is wearing a necklace sporting self-painted beads and has chocolate all over her face by 8:30 am...

Definitely a good sign when you find a whole ton of wood chewed by beavers on your hike...

And how about if your kitchen door is covered with hearts top to bottom?

But, it's a sure sign when your oldest spontaneously yells up from the frozen pond where he's checking out a beaver dam up close & personal that "This is the best Valentine's Day ever!!"

Yes, my own heart just about melted when I heard that.

A Whole New World

2010-02-10T22:33:00.002-05:00

This guy goes to "hockey" every Saturday morning, but isn't allowed to use a stick and puck yet...

watching these guys...

...to see the enthusiasm for what the future might hold ~ very cool! Plus, we won: 6 to 1!!!

Chicken & Egg Project

2010-02-08T22:03:00.002-05:00

We've been lucky enough to be the recipients of local eggs from a coworker of my husband lately. A couple of weekends ago, we went to their house for dinner and the kids got the whole chicken experience. They held the chickens and pulled eggs out from under them...the looks on their faces was to die for, but unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me! So as a very special thank you, we made this super cool thank project to mail to them. I found it on Kidssoup (one of my absolute favorite resources for kids' projects!). The top egg was made by Esme. The next two down are Will's and he made a picture of a baby chick inside. And the bottom three were decorated by Molly. I just loved it so much, I had to take a picture :)

Bird Counting Anyone?

2010-02-06T23:57:00.004-05:00

So, I'm thinking I'm going to attempt to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count with the kids this year? Anyone up for joining me? There are great resources including tips for participating with children and a checklist customized based on your zipcode at the following link...

Life has been busy, but enjoyable around here... Sorry to be away for so long. I'm hoping to be back here regularly now. It's such fun for me to document the doings with the kids as well as inspiring me to take more pictures!

Thank You Notes...Almost Done!

2010-01-11T19:58:00.002-05:00

I love the kids' thank you notes each year... it is so much fun to work with them to come up with something they're proud of and spend the time with each child thinking about the people who care about them and have chosen to give them gifts over the holidays or birthdays...or whenever. Here's Will's latest... In case you haven't guessed, the top part is Santa Mouse visiting a tiny little mouse house :)

For the first time this year, I scanned an image and made color copies of a picture that the child had made, then had them each write "Thank You" and "Love" plus their name one time and scanned that as well, thinking this would streamline the thank you note process. It did in Esme's case. In Will's case, he is still creating a detailed pencil drawing (the mouse house, in this example) on every single note, so it will take just as long to get them out. Oh well!

The Ballet Stage...

2010-01-08T08:41:00.003-05:00

What do you do when your sister asks for a ballet stage for Christmas? Why, you make one of course! Take one LLBean box, a whole bunch of tulle, a large bow, and add a sign that says: "Esme's Ballet Stage". She loved it!!

Dark, but cute video...

2010-01-07T12:20:00.001-05:00

Casco The Sailing Cat from Julie Kimber on Vimeo.

OK - I've figured out how to add video :) Next time I'll try one that you can see a little better!

The Importance of Quiet Time

2010-01-06T14:09:00.003-05:00

I am struggling here with balancing what we believe to be important structured activities and the need for quiet time. I hate to miss out on opportunities to learn new things and to play with others, but I also believe in the importance of time alone to experiment, be peaceful, and get into a state of independent flow. How do you fit in the down time when there is school, music, ballet, skating, swimming, playdates with friends, grocery store visits and all the other business of everyday life to fit in to every week?

Here is a snapshot of much needed quiet time for Esme over the holidays...

Once Again...What We've Been Up To...

2010-01-05T23:06:00.008-05:00

Learning new things...

Quiet time while battling the flu...

Giving gifts...

Pre-Christmas crafting...

What We've Been Up To...

2009-11-11T21:51:00.002-05:00

I have a cute video clip on my camera of Will presenting his first story/drawing in costume, but I'm having trouble making the video web ready. Any suggestions? In the mean time, I have a photo of the scene. Sir Will, the knight, is holding his story illlustration with his faithful steed, Moose, on one side and his princess, Princess Esme, on the other...

Lots and lots of baby play for little Molly...

All three kiddos are loving watching the big kids have basketball practice while we wait for Will's swimming class to start after school one day a week...

Lots of sisterly hugs... With Will in school all day every day and Molly getting older (fast!), Esme and Molly are really starting to play together and bond...

Oh and it snowed!

Priceless Comment...

2009-11-09T00:05:00.003-05:00

Esme and I are in the laundry room folding some of the mountains of laundry that never seem to go away...

Esme: "Momma, is that a surf board?"

Me: "No, Esme, that's an ironing board."

Esme: "Momma, what's an ironing board?"

Priceless.

Kids & TV time

2009-11-03T17:39:00.003-05:00

My local newspaper arrived this afternoon with an editorial that caught my eye immediately. It horrified me to read that a recent Neilsen report found that kids ages 2-5 are watching an average of more than 32 hours of tv a week. That was 32 hours a week. This is shocking. My kids do watch a periodic tv show. But it is not daily. Here's a few snapshots of some non-tv activities that went on at our house today...they warm my heart and speak to me even more after reading the above mentioned article tonight.

A bubble bath ~ aka: sitting in pom poms inside a cardboard box...

Markers on the easel. The art closet is always open and available when inspiration hits at our house...

Chilling out in a sunny chair twirling and inspecting a few leaves brought inside from the Japanese maple in our front yard...

32 hours? You've got to be kidding me.

New Skater

2009-11-03T00:24:00.002-05:00

Will is learning how to skate in the nicest brand new digs ~ Bowdoin College's ice arena.

He's in a very small group of beginning hockey skaters.

Here he is learning how to get in and out of his skates. He's quite specific about how he likes them laced...

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T21:01:00.002-05:00

Will...

Esme as a "girl bat" ~ the pink pants were essential!

And Molly as a lobster ~ yes, she is in there!

Making Things

2009-10-21T22:13:00.002-04:00

This makes me so happy! Esme and Will are getting such pleasure out of making things. Esme went to a friend's birthday tea party recently. I told her we had $10 to spend on a gift at the store. So we were able to get the little fairy mushroom table & chairs set that she wanted to get for her friend, but we couldn't get the fairies to go with it too. Her response was, "Fine, so let's make some fairies!" So, we went home and made the cutest little acorn fairies with scraps of fabric and wool and tiny sticks for arms ~ they came out pretty cute actually. Thank goodness for the glue gun! Here Esme is working very hard on her birthday card...

And, Will can't get enough of this child's crafting book called, "More Than Moccasins". We got it out of the library and we have made so many Native American themed projects out of it! Here he is wearing his buffalo tunic and feather head band while finishing up his bear claw necklace... For the bear claws, we cut claw shapes out of a milk jug and punched a hole in the top so they could be strung and they really do look like bear claws!

Esme Squared

2009-10-19T21:57:00.002-04:00

We see Esme's Great Great Aunt Esme about 2 or 3 times a year. We saw her in August on our two week vacation in upstate NY. I just love these candid shots of the two Esme's who are three generations apart, sharing one awesome name and some silliness as well!

I am so backlogged on going through photos, I am just starting to go through our summer photos that I dumped on the computer often multiple times a week, but never looked at. I will go through them and do something with them... I will go through them and do something with them... I will go through them and do something with them... Can anyone else relate?

I'm Back :)

2009-10-18T22:42:00.006-04:00

Life has been quite full over the last months since I've been missing in action! The summer was a whirl wind. It really feels as if it just flew by. And this fall, Will has started Kindergarten. Here's a shot of him on the first day with his teacher, Ms. Gallagher.

And, can you tell how excited Esme was to start school??? Here she is in front of her preschool on the first day...

Will has been doing soccer this fall and has now begun a skating/hockey program (no pictures from either one, sorry). But, I've been taking Esme to ballet this fall and have tons of photos from her class...all the little girls really are quite adorable in their pink tutus.

On weekends, we've kept busy with projects around the house, birthday parties (always fun!), and swimming at the Y, as well as special family outings to Moosehead Lake (I had visions of a Christmas card shot in this location - not to be)...

an overnight on our special island...

and, and, and... life is full and the kids are growing up so fast! Here's to updating my blog more frequently :)

Another Island Day

2009-06-29T14:52:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, Esme & Daddy had a Daddy/daughter day ~ they checked out a new ballet class, went strawberry picking, had lunch together, and Daddy even managed to get the lawn mowed and some other things accomplished - how does he do that?? Super Daddy!

Will, Molly and I went out to our favorite island for the day. The kids were super stars sitting (for the most part, quietly!) through a three hour annual meeting with very few complaints.

Will took some photos and I included three of my favorites here...

And he got to drive the outboard motor with some help from one of his favorite cousins!!

We managed to take full advantage of the one beautiful, sunny day we've had around here in a very long time...

Farm Camp

2009-06-26T23:09:00.002-04:00

This past week Will spent the days at our local farm camp. Unfortunately, it was a rainy week to be outside all day every day. But, hey, nothing a raincoat and some waterproof pants won't take care of, right? Here's a shot of Will when we arrived first thing Monday morning ~ he was excited, but nervous, I knew...

What a wonderful experience ~ feeding the animals, working in the vegetable gardens, hiking in the woods, exploring the waterfront & digging clay down at the beach to work with as natural play-doh, taking a tractor ride, and learning & practicing their theater production to be performed this afternoon.

Here is Will's group of "peapods" getting ready for their show, complete with accordion player...

Then, they performed in front of a backdrop they had painted. Can you tell they're faces are painted as little sheep?

Will's turn to speak alone into the microphone ~ good job, Will!

Pogo-a-gogo!

2009-06-25T00:59:00.002-04:00

Will tries out his new pogo stick...this is going to take a lot of practice!

Esme takes a turn...

And even baby sister ~ what fun!!!

5

2009-06-21T23:00:00.002-04:00

Will turned 5 this past week. Wow! Where has the time gone?? Lunch time on his actual birthday, we headed over to Grandma's house to celebrate there with a birthday whoopie pie!

Today we held his birthday party. I must say that I was completely uninspired by his requested birthday theme this year ~ Transformers. In the end, I think we pulled off an okay shindig. My favorate part of the party preparations is always the cake. I *love* putting together cheesy, over the top, decorated themed cakes!

Here's a 10pm the night before shot of the finished cake this year... Optimus Prime, in case you didn't know. I had no idea who Optimus Prime was either until two days ago when I did some searching online for cake inspirations...

Every year, Grampy comes sporting an unbelievable costume to support the theme of Will's birthday party. This year, who came to Will's party? Optimus Prime!! This picture will undoubtedly gather a few chuckles from those blog readers from your side of the family, Dad ;) Aside from the helmet, this was actually a home made costume - wow!

Happy fifth birthday to my thoughtful, gentle, sweet, fun loving, silly, goofy, intelligent & completely wonderful in every way little boy... I love you, Will.

Lobstering

2009-06-19T23:39:00.002-04:00

How did five days get away from me? Crazy week! Well, now that my grandfather's boat is in the water, Wednesday morning the kids and I went lobstering with him. Will spent some time captaining the little lobster boat...

As the lobster traps are pulled up, Esme was in charge of crossing her fingers in hope that we would get some lobsters!

Is it a keepah? We came home with four! And many, many crabs. This made for a *very* long and late night of picking for me the other night, but all worth the effort, since now we have a freezer full of lobster and crab meat. Now I'll need to decide the best way to use the precious meat. Quiche? Bisque? Crabcakes? Dip? Hmmmmm...

Molly had such fun standing at the side of the boat, watching everything, and touching everything that came up! Here she is checking out some kelp...

The newest crewmembers wave saying, "Have a good weekend!"

Fences, Crowns, & Waffles ~ Oh My!

2009-06-15T05:00:00.001-04:00

The fence and door are complete! Woo hoo! Hubby did such a nice job ~ now, we'll see if any of my veggies grow and do it justice... I'm having tomato plant issues at the moment. I took a couple of my yellowing, slightly spotty leaves to our local nursery to ask for advice and was told that with all the rain we've had recently, lots of people are having trouble with their tomato plants. I came home with dehydrated cow manure, which I put in a ring around each vegetable plant for added nutrients. Another piece of advice that I came away with was to add a teaspoon of baking soda to a clean spritzer bottle and fill it with water (shake). Then spray the leaves of the plants. This solution acts as a natural fungicide. I'll try that once I have dry leaves to apply it to...hopefully in the next few days.

The latest homemade crown created out of necessity resulting from a spat over the other crown we have... The "big" kids and I attended the most wonderful production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe last week. It is such fun to see them act out various scenes from the play. Esme is usually either "the wardrobe" (isn't that great?!!) or the White Witch and Will is usually one of the bad wolves, of course.

I thought I'd share one of our go-to recipes. We have waffles for breakfast on a regular basis ~ sometimes more than once a week! We enjoyed them yesterday morning before our family swim time at the gym and I thought I'd snap a picture. They are much better than they look in my photo! They are best, of course, with real Maine maple syrup! I use a modification of the basic waffle recipe from Joy of Cooking...

Waffles from Scratch:

Whisk together in a large bowl:

1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon wheat germ

1 tablespoon flax seed meal

1 tablespoon oat bran

Whisk together in another bowl:

3 large eggs

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups milk (buttermilk is even better, but remember to add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the above dry ingredients if you use buttermilk)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together. I have frozen blueberries in a bowl on the side to add to some of the waffles after I pour the appropriate amount of batter on the waffle iron, since some of us like blueberry waffles and some prefer plain...

These are to die for!!

Making Jello

2009-06-14T05:00:00.000-04:00

I found an old box of forgotten jello in the back of the cabinet recently and we got to work making it for dessert that night. Great exercise in delayed gratification with the 4 hour wait to chill it before eating it! After all his waiting and peeking in the refrigerator and fingers in the jello to see if it was ready yet, Will didn't even like it. Oh well! Esme easily finished off both their servings ;)

Oh, and there are those hats again! They *love* them!

Our Favorite Island

2009-06-13T05:00:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we took our first day trip of the year out to our favorite island off the coast of Maine. Honestly, I don't get sentimental about many things, but as I watched the kids running through the meadow, playing in the woods, and exploring the cottages, I was overwhelmed with memories of my own time spent here when I was young. It's truly a child's wonderland.

Here's the spot where hubby and I were married almost 10 years ago...

The obligatory Molly-attacking-Mommy-from-above photo!!

Will and Esme had a blast checking out the various beds ~ isn't it funny how kids love that? Here they are on a top bunk snuggling with their baby sister...

A stack of the most wonderful children's books ~ the top two of which were copyrighted 1920s. I couldn't find a copyright in the bottom one.

Overnight At The Beach

2009-06-12T05:00:00.001-04:00

The kids and I spent Wednesday night at the beach. It was overcast and chilly, which was just fine with us! Nobody got overheated and the picture taking opportunities were endless... We spent time in the pool and made great strides in swimming ~ each time we go the kids gets a bit more comfortable.

I've been unbelievably tired lately, so although I had visions of liesurely reading my current book club pick ~ Olive Kitteridge ~ late into the evening, my eyes closed as soon as they hit the pillow. Thursday morning, as always, my little one-year-old 5:00 am alarm clock was wakin' me up. So, of course, we headed straight down for some *early* morning beach time! With grandparents inside available for the other two sleeping kiddos, Molly and I had some nice one-on-one time together.

Coffee was essential!

Next, Esme woke up and came on down for our early morning pajama party on the beach...

Will wanted to spend his post-wake-up time with Bapa's collection of playmobil toys in the living room. You'll undoubtedly be seeing many pictures of Alphonse, the gnome, in the future. He is apparently Will's favorite traveling toy these days...

Someone else had built the coolest (fairy?) structure down at the beach, and the kids had fun playing with it...

Much later in the day we donned clothes and headed straight back out.

Can't wait for our next beach visit!

Rainy Day Photos

2009-06-11T06:32:00.002-04:00

There is nothing like rainy day photos... I want to head back to Fort Popham on another rainy day with the kids with the main purpose of taking photos. Particularly with the gray background of the fort and the overcast/rainy sky, I think next time we could plan for some really beautiful ones.

Sea Trials

2009-06-09T22:40:00.003-04:00

This afternoon, we made the trip out to Fort Popham to see Daddy off on sea trials for a new destroyer. It was quite spectacular to see the ship under sail and up close! The boat emerging from behind the fort was really something to see... for once, we remembered the binoculars!

I love this one of the coast guard boat making a speedy turn at the stern... Daddy is actually in the red jacket farthest to the right.

Afterward, we played at the beach into the dinner hour and had a picnic in the sand. Esme was so happy she was literally getting air in this pic!

Molly had a blast practicing her walking skills in the wet and dry sand. She did take a few face plants, and ate mouthfuls of sand each time, but recovered nicely. Needless to say, everyone was exhausted and ready for bath and bed upon returning home. Easy solo night for Mommy...

Our First Vegetable Garden...

2009-05-29T21:51:00.001-04:00

Last weekend was a big weekend for us. We started and finished our first raised bed vegetable garden. I'm just thrilled with the results and can't wait to see the fruits (or veggies, in this case) of our labor! We started by moving the grass ~ square by square by square ~ to an area close to the road that had very little grass. The rain this week has really helped to establish the grass in it's new home, thank goodness.

Will had a good time looking up the types of insects he found...

We had to take a number of refueling snack rest stops of course!

The result is beautiful!

The last part of the project will be a fence to keep the deer out ~ hopefully that will get accomplished this weekend...

Another Fairy House

2009-05-29T05:00:00.001-04:00

We just love fairy houses around here! Here's another of the wonderful little cottages we found in the woods at Mackworth Island last week...

This article made me think a bit... how to think & spend like a millionaire...

Signs of Spring ~ Flowers & Fairies

2009-05-26T21:49:00.002-04:00

On a recent trip to Mackworth Island, we came across an absolute sea of lily of the valley...

the rare jack in the pulpit...

...rocky beaches to explore...

...and fairy houses in the woods...

Flower Child

2009-05-20T23:59:00.001-04:00

Oh, my little flower child...

Grillin'

2009-05-20T05:00:00.001-04:00

Before kiddos, we grilled almost every night. Spring, summer, fall, & winter. Somehow, since Will was born (yes, that was almost 5 years ago!), for various reasons, I have gotten out of practice. We still grilled, but I usually left it to my husband and it was on a periodic basis... But, now I've got the bug again...nothing fancy. Just simple chicken breasts marinated in our old standby ~ Spiede's.

Stickers

2009-05-19T05:00:00.001-04:00

Life just wouldn't be the same without stickers, would it?

I'm thinking I might want to try this recipe for homemade wipes...

Greasy Food Fix

2009-05-18T00:17:00.002-04:00

Every once in a while a greasy food fix is esssential, right?!

Well, one of our favorite summertime fixes is now open for the season. Bonus: no lines to wait in on a Saturday in May! The haddock sandwich is to die for...

Crabbing

2009-05-17T23:53:00.002-04:00

Every other week this spring we've been making a point to go crabbing with my grandfather, the kids' great grandfather. It is such a special time for all of us...

Here they are walking down to the slip where Great Bapa has two crab traps set.

You never know what you'll find when the trap is pulled up! Lots of rock crabs & green crabs, of course. But, sometimes starfish as well. On Friday last week, we had a couple of mystery inhabitants that unfortunately I didn't get a picture of. Our homework was to figure out what on earth they were. They looked sort of like small orange sea anemones to me. I have a book on request at our library that I need to pick up on coastal maine invertebrates that hopefully will shed some light on our curious-looking trap visitors.

The two older kids now know how to pick up crabs safely so as not to get pinched!

Fun, fun, fun on the coast of Maine!!

Pollywogs

2009-05-16T10:13:00.002-04:00

It's tadpole time again! So far, we've just made regular trips to the pond to see, first the egg clusters, and now all the little tadpoles swimming around. Soon, we'll plan to bring some home to take care of like we did last year...

One Year Old

2009-05-15T23:47:00.010-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, we had a little family first birthday party for Molly. It warmed my heart to see how excited big brother and big sister were about the celebration for their baby sister. They worked hard on decorating her birthday banner and painting special birthday cards to give to her. Esme had specific ideas on important party decorations...adorable!

My mother made a special summer outfit for Molly. The bloomers are adorable and appear to be super comfortable (I have my request in for lots more of these!) and amazingly they fit both Molly and Esme! The little dress is made from the fabric from a summer blouse that was my grandmother's, Molly's namesake, who passed this past fall. Very special...

My son is very interested in space and our solar system. Here is the coolest idea! http://mommyme-thewonderyears.blogspot.com/2009/05/introduction-to-solar-system.html I love the teaching idea there and I have to get hold of that mobile set for Will's birthday...

Another extremely cool link ~ http://www.rubbishfreeyear.co.nz/index.php ~ wow! Inspiring.

E-I-E-I-O

2009-05-14T05:00:00.001-04:00

Some shots from our frequent recent visits to the farm...

Last year, Will was terrified of feeding the goats ~ this year, we have conquered the fear!

Baby lambs are an especially fun site to see in spring. They have so much energy!!

A New Baby Sweater & Girl Time

2009-05-13T00:14:00.002-04:00

Well, I've given a new baby sweater pattern a try. It's the Child's Placket Sweater out of Last minute Knitted Gifts. There are errors in the pattern, so if you decide to try it, be sure to get hold of the revised pattern which is available online through purlsoho's site. I'm glad I tried it first in some old, inexpensive stash yarn because I'm not thrilled with how it came out the first time. I do need to find some small beads to attach to the placket to use as "buttons" for embelishment. I think I'll give it another go with some nicer yarn and perhaps add some real button holes.

During last week's "girl time" while Will was at school, Esme and I enjoyed some outdoor art play. This time we tried out the pastels, then added some homemade water colors. We cut out handprint butterfly wings and chunky yarn for antennae. The resulting Mother's Day card for Gramma (didn't get a picture ~ sorry!) was very unique and quite beautiful...

Love this shot of the sisters playing together that morning with colorful pom poms.

First Beach Day!

2009-05-12T07:55:00.003-04:00

We've been busy, busy, busy around here with life. We've had birthdays, gone on fieldtrips, been sick, visited with friends and family, among all the other events that fill every day for our little family. To be honest, I just haven't felt much like blogging, although I have continued to check in on other of my favorite blogs periodically. I figure there is no point in making this personal blog feel like work, so I took another little break... now I'm feel rejuvenated again.

Last week, we made our first trip to the beach. It was windy and cold and Esme had a fever, which made it particularly "un fun" for her, but I figured the fresh air was good for us all for part of a morning. It was a good thing we arrived at Reid State Park first thing in the morning since it started to rain as we left an hour and a half later and continued to rain for the rest of that day.

Castaway Molly...

There was the coolest lean to structure that someone had built on the beach, which provided considerable protection from the wind.

Maine Maritime Museum Open House

2009-03-26T05:00:00.004-04:00

We were quite busy last weekend. In addition to a visit to the farm for Maple Sugar Sunday, we explored Maine Maritime Museum on Saturday for their community open house. Lots to see and do, but I got shots of the kids getting their faces painted...

...and making treasure boxes. This craft project was a big hit!

A few random finds as well:

Wow! Have you seen this project? I love this idea for using the kids' artwork for a baby gift or handmade cards.

Newsflash: Rubbing alcohol removes pitch! This afternoon Molly got pitch all over the back of her fleece snow suit while she was exploring the back yard in this beautiful spring weather that has finally arrived here in Maine. Isopropyl alcohol, or rubbing alcohol, did the trick for getting it out very easily. I simply dumped a bunch on the area with the pitch and rubbed it with a rag until it was (very quickly) gone...thanks Mom for suggesting this solution! EASY!

Maple Sugar Sunday

2009-03-25T05:00:00.001-04:00

We had the most wonderful time visiting a local farm on Sunday to learn about how maple syrup is made. First we checked out all the tapped trees at the entrance to the farm...

Then we watched a demonstration in the sugar house.

Only 3-5 gallons of maple syrup an hour! No wonder our family's favorite sweetener is so pricey!

Chalkboard Facelift

2009-03-24T23:46:00.003-04:00

I love this sequence of photos from the kids drawing on the chalkboard the other day. It's amazing how the novelty of removing the chalkboard from the easel and laying it flat on the floor renewed everyone's interest in it. And a fresh coat of sprayed on chalkboard paint didn't hurt either! A quick and easy face lift... This was Molly's first time using a writing utensil and she was *loving* it! She's so excited to show me the chalk in this first shot that she's gone cross-eyed :)

Will was very proud of his knight that he drew... Our rule is that whoever draws a picture on the chalk board has to be the one to erase it. We were having a lot of problems with Esme erasing Will's drawings and he was getting very upset.

Molly loved sitting right in the middle of the whole thing.

Stolen Moments

2009-03-23T05:00:00.000-04:00

This does not happen often during the day for me, but I found myself with a few moments while Molly was napping and the big kids were out and about with Daddy to sip my tea and read a book in the rocking chair in the sun. There was laundry I could have been folding, cleaning I could have been doing and various other household tasks I could have (and maybe should have) been accomplishing, but it felt so good for the soul to sit in the sunlight and enjoy a good book.

Homemade Bread

2009-03-22T05:00:00.000-04:00

There is nothing like the smell of bread baking in the oven...

I have grown to love my bread baking ritual. I don't know that I save money and I certainly don't save time by making our own sandwich bread, but I have fallen in love with the process itself, so I will continue making it as long as I feel inspired by it. Maybe I'll branch out and try some different types of bread one of these days. For now, whole wheat sandwich bread is what I do.

Another Fine Feathered Friend

2009-03-21T05:00:00.000-04:00

We had a really spectacular viewing the other day of this periodic visitor to our feeder.

It looked as if he was a Hairy Woodpecker according to what I read in our copy of Sibley's bird book...

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

2009-03-20T05:00:00.002-04:00

Last month, we received a very special gift from Great Bapa who is living in Florida for the winter months ~ a coconut from his yard! What a fun surprise this was!! I can't begin to tell you what a blast the whole experience was for the kids to learn about opening a coconut, drinking the milk, and eating the yummy coconut inside...

So, we started by hammering a nail into the coconut.

Then, we removed the nail, inserting a straw and took sips of the coconut milk inside...

Next, we shook out the milk and measured the amount ~ just over a half cup, considering we had already drank some of it.

Next, it was a family affair smashing the coconut open with a hammer.

Once all of the coconut was removed from it's shell, it took seconds to grate it using the Cuisinart! A good deal was eaten as snacks over the next week, but a lot still resides in our freezer with plans to add it to our granola recipe the next time we make it.

And finally, we had to read one of our all time favorites, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. This whole experience brought new meaning and excitement to this much-loved classic! Thanks Great Bapa!

You could easily do this project yourself by purchasing a coconut at the grocery store as well...it was worth the effort, let me tell you!

Oh, and by the way, Happy Spring!!

New Poncho & Spring Is On It's Way!

2009-03-19T05:00:00.000-04:00

Esme has the most beautiful new poncho knit by Grammy! I think it is absolutely adorable on her...

And we had to try it on Molly as well...

I dare say that spring is finally almost here! Daddy's motorcycle made it's way out of the garage the other day and the kids immediately had to mount it and "go for a ride". Esme was a bit nervous about the whole thing as you can see from her eyes shut tight! Don't worry, although the motor was running, the kick stand was down the entire time ;)

Induction Into The World Of Dress Up

2009-03-18T21:32:00.002-04:00

Molly has now been introduced to the world of dress up. A package arrived recently with some hand-me-down clothes from older cousins. This installment included a tutu that fits Molly! So, of course, her siblings gave her no choice but to don the tutu...

Caps For A Cause

2009-03-17T21:56:00.004-04:00

My mother's friend from Louisiana bought these fun caps for the kids. Will suggested adding pompom's which we did and adds to the fun, I think! Check out this link to read the heartwarming story behind these wonderful crocheted hats and maybe even grab one for a child you know...

Confirmation Code: GNNSMBV15335708

Grinch Lovers!

2009-02-26T05:00:00.000-05:00

My kids love the story ~ "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas". It's an all time favorite. Both our large stuffed Grinch and the mini finger puppet Grinch have regular parts in pretend play around here. Well, the other day, the Grinches were each traveling in their sleighs and stealing anything and everything from the dollhouse, blockhouses, and other various locales. I love seeing what the kids come up with in play!

Spray Painting Snow

2009-02-25T05:00:00.001-05:00

Last week I was on my own overnight on the night of a snow storm (hubby was out of town for work). So...the next morning, how did I get the driveway snowblown? I was quite worried about this! As soon as Molly went down for her morning nap, the big kids and I got dressed for the snow and I filled a spray bottle with water and red food coloring and the kids sprayed the snow red! It kept them happy for the first half of the driveway...

Once the snow turned to true rain, everyone was cold & wet & ready to go inside...

Nuthatch

2009-02-24T05:00:00.002-05:00

We're having such fun observing the varous birds at our birdfeeders this winter. This weekend we had a new visitor we hadn't seen before. I'm new to this bird watching thing, but am finding it lots of fun to learn about the various local birds. So, we looked this guy up and found out that he is a nuthatch. Cute little guy, huh!

We then had fun singing one of our Music Together songs with the kids...

"Robin red breast, crow flying round...

Nuthatch hopping down the tree, chickadeedeedeedeedee...

Caw, caw, caw, caw, chickadeedeedee, chickadeedeedee, chickadeedeedee, chickadee!"

We Have A Crawler!

2009-02-23T05:00:00.002-05:00

I've made good progress over the last week on socks for my husband. I'm really liking how the stripe is coming out on these, although I would prefer the lighter colors not so heathered. There will not be much more of this quiet sitting and knitting going on while Molly is awake, because...

...we now have a crawler. She can really get places. She's slow at the moment and it's not always a direct route, but she gets where she wants to go.

Obviously, I need to start moving baskets of small items out of her reach!

Being Resourceful

2009-02-22T22:26:00.002-05:00

Yesterday there was no butter, no bread, no yeast, and no milk in the house and I was alone with the kids for the morning, so...rather than get everyone dressed in winter clothes and heading out to the store, we were resourceful. I always like to have powdered milk in the cupboard to make my favorite corn bread recipe (yum! I'll share that sometime soon...), but this morning it ended up being used for...drum roll please...milk...for cereal, then chocolate milk to drink with lunch! Noone could tell the difference.

We also made blueberry muffins made with vegetable oil instead of our usual butter and beer bread for sandwiches.

Quiet Vacation Week

2009-02-20T21:19:00.003-05:00

There is something about the quiet, independent play time going on in this candid photo that speaks to me. I love how three small children can be in the same room so content and wrapped up in their own individual activity. We've had a nice quiet week at home...

Have you seen this tutorial for recovering your ironing board? I *really* need to do this!

Will's Valentine's Party

2009-02-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

So, I mentioned that we had a visitor in town all last week. My mother-in-law was here and she was such a saint with two sick kids in the house and helping with everything from dishes to cleaning to child care. While she was here I was able to do many things that I would not have otherwise been able to do.

I went on a little afternoon one-on-one date with Will. We went out for coffee & hot chocolate, played checkers alone and spent time at the library together. This is a tradition that I plan on continuing ~ making sure that my husband and I both get regular one-on-one time with each child as often as we can swing it.

Esme and I had some good walking, cuddling, painting time alone, as mentioned in my previous post.

I attended two of my yoga sessions last week that I otherwise would have had to miss with two sick kids unable to attend the Child Watch playroom at the Y.

And I spent three hours with Will at his Valentine's party day at preschool. By leaving the two little ones at home with Grammy, I was actually able to be at Will's school early, help the teachers with party preparations, and spend the party time really *with* Will ~ as well as taking some photos of course.

I love this photo of Will sitting at the circle time with his Valentine mailbox (ready to receive) & his basket of Valentine's (ready to give). His teacher did something really fun ~ when each child delivered their notes she had a mail delivery person shirt available to be worn. Will chose not to wear it, which was no big surprise, since it had buttons and he *HATES* buttons!

He was in heaven at snack time. He has definitely inherited my sweet tooth...you can imagine that the carrots & apple were left over on the plate at the end.

After all the sweet treats, the kids played some rounds of Valentine bingo.

I just *love* the wall in his classroom that displays all the different owls that the kids made this fall.

A Week Off...

2009-02-18T08:16:00.003-05:00

Well, I ended up taking a week off from blogging for a variety of reasons...two biggies were that we had a visitor here from out of town for a week and I had two sick little girls in the house.

In the midst of an ear ache and viruses, we managed to do a bit of crafting & get outside. Oh, and Will had his *fun* school valentine's party (I'll post some cute pictures of him from there tomorrow...).

Esme and I did a whole lot of painting in the morning light each day. She was really happy, even while feverish, doing that with me.

We managed to take some walks outside. Esme now likes to be in charge of walking Moose.

And this is my favorite of the valentine's we crafted this year. I love the layers and the use of the painted newspaper I referred to last week...

Winter Waterfront

2009-02-11T05:00:00.000-05:00

The other day the kids and I visited the point to look out to our very favorite summer island... it's there waiting for us for when the weather is warmer!

Will and Esme practiced their rock throwing on the landing...but we didn't last long because we didn't have enough clothes on ~ it was *cold*!

Painting Newsprint

2009-02-10T05:00:00.001-05:00

I saw this idea on one of the many amazing blogs I read...painting newsprint. So, now, not only does our newspaper get used to start fires in our household, but now we can use it for artwork as well...

Esme and I had an absolute blast painting on newspaper together last week and now it's all dry and ready to use in more Valentine projects :)

Inclines & Big Brother's Bed

2009-02-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

We haven't done a lot with inclines around here, so the other day Esme and I had some races. Babar's race car won every time!

Later that morning, Esme disappeared upstairs and it was *very* quiet, so I snuck upstairs to investigate. This is what I found...adorable! Esme was quietly and very intently reading a book in Will's bed.

Valentine Work Has Begun

2009-02-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

Esme and I started working on Valentine's last week one day when Will was at school and Molly was snoozing. I think hers are looking beautiful :)

She *loves* using the glue "with no Mommy and no Daddy"...

Socks Are Done!

2009-02-07T20:36:00.001-05:00

My socks are *finally* done! I love them with slippers...

...and without!

The Sugar Cookie Pout?

2009-02-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

OK - I'm just noticing the pout that both kids have on their mouths in this picture. Honestly, they were having a good time! I think they must sometimes have that expression when they're concentrating really hard? I'll need to take note from now on...I never noticed that! How could they possibly be pouting during one of their favorite activities ~ making yummy sugar cookie cut outs?!

Watercolors, Friends, & Favorite Toy

2009-02-04T11:15:00.002-05:00

I was so proud of Will yesterday. He was such a good sport. Esme had a friend over for the afternoon and he was very disappointed not to have his friend over at the same time. He did great playing with the girls and doing things on his own & with me. It was very interesting to see how often I had to remind the girls that they needed to include him in what they were doing. I wouldn't have thought that kind of "excluding" would start as early as 2 and 3 years old! But, after a few prompts from me, everyone played well together...

During a chunk of time on our own over the weekend, Esme and I tried out the new watercolor colored pencils. She "suffered" through coloring with them impatiently because she couldn't wait to get to using the paint brush with the water on them!

Quickly she switched to "painting" other items with the water. I think that was her favorite part.

I remember when this toy was Esme's favorite as well. Will received it as a gift for Christmas a few years ago and played with it some, but the girls really have had such a blast with this log transporter toy! The little man is perfect for chewing on (with me nearby of course!) and the logs can be used as musical instruments as well as many, many other things... I've also noticed that the older kids have started using this toy again in the pretend play a great deal. It's fun to see how kids change their play with the same toy over time...

Moose Update

2009-02-03T05:00:00.002-05:00

Moose seems to be doing just fine following the loss of his sister, Whisper. He loves to find a spot in the middle of whatever we're doing or working on and sleeps comfortably beside our bed every night...

I've noticed lately how gray he is getting around the muzzle. We got him as a little puppy when he was 8 weeks old and he was the ring bearer at our wedding 10 years ago. I'm going to go in search of a puppy photo of him...he was so darn *cute*!

Bedtime Routine & English Muffin Bread

2009-02-02T05:00:00.004-05:00

Our typical bedtime routine:

Molly is always in bed asleep these days first...

Then the older two kids get reading time with either mom or dad. Lately we've been mixing up where we read. In mom and dad's bed is a popular spot as is on the couch under a blanket in front of the fireplace...

We are all addicted to this English Muffin Bread recipe! I thought I'd share it and encourage you to toast it and add whatever topping you like best. Around here it's usually Kate's local sea salted butter and jam or peanut butter...

English Muffin Bread (2 loaves)

(modified slightly from the recipe my mother-in-law got from her good friend)

cornmeal

2 packages of yeast

7 cups of flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons of salt (I use kosher)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups milk

1 cup water

Combine 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, soda.

Heat liquids until very warm (120 degrees to 130 degrees).

Add to dry ingredients mixture. Mix well. Stir in the rest of the flour to make a stiff batter.

Spoon into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and coated with cornmeal.

Cover & let rise in warm place for 45 minutes. I preheat the oven to 200 degrees, shut it off, then let the dough rise there covered with a dish towel and this works well for me.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Remove from pans immediately. Cool on a wire rack. Freezes very well...

Costume Update

2009-02-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

Will's latest costume is...Super Why!

Writing Grasp

2009-01-31T05:00:00.001-05:00

We came home from parent teacher conferences last week and I immediately got to work on this project...clearing out all the skinny & long crayons. Only short, larger grip crayons were allowed to stay. All larger grip, long crayons were quickly broken in half! It seems Will *can* use a "big boy" grip to write. But, since it's hard work for him, he most often does not. So we're forcing the issue around here. There is no way to fist grip the remaining crayons ~ only big boy grips around here now! So far, it's working beautifully. The glass jar that gets-macaroni-added-when-we-see-a-big-boy-grip-and-once-it's-filled-we-take-a-trip-to-the-toy-store doesn't hurt either. We are not beyond bribary around here...

Here's Will work dilligently toward a macoroni to add to the jar! By the way, I have no doubt that Molly will be crawling in a matter of weeks, maybe even days. We are in trouble!! Our days of plopping her down in one spot and her sitting there happily are numbered. Hold onto your crayons, Will & Esme!

Bear Snores On & Skiing

2009-01-30T05:00:00.002-05:00

I know that many bloggers out there are doing a Friday book activity and I've been meaning to get in on the action :) So, yesterday during one of our book reading sessions, we decided to create a little bear's lair to go with "Bear Snores On". Yes, we have an ongoing supply of Pampers boxes around here! The kids had more fun than I ever imagined acting out the story as we read it...

It was quite interesting to see what animals they chose to use for bear, wren, raven, mole (the elephant was mole!) and gopher, which were all animals that we did not have in what I had thought was our pretty extensive animal collection...

Then, today, inspired by my cousin over at http://whoopszaza.blogspot.com/2009/01/another-milestone.html, we took to the trails! Even if only on the snowblown trail to the wood stash in the back yard! It was a great place for the kids to have a first try on their cross country skis :)

Followed, of course, with some time on the play structure and the mountain of snow in the back yard... It was an absolutely gorgeous day!

Cashew Chicken

2009-01-29T05:00:00.001-05:00

Continuing right along here with the Chinese New Year celebrating... We cooked a wonderful version of Cashew Chicken tonight. I found the recipe here ~ we tried it complete with LucyKnows' modifications to Martha's recipe. Both kids did a really great job using their modified chopsticks!

This picture does not do this meal justice. It was amazing!!

I am absolutely in love with my rice cooker. I use it all the time for rice. Supposedly it does so much more, but so far, I haven't ventured beyond the rice function..

China Photos & Irish Soda Bread

2009-01-28T14:06:00.002-05:00

So, I thought it would be fun to look at a few of the *many, many* photos I took when my husband and I were in China about 10 years ago now...

Will thought the photo of the Great Wall was really cool. He is very interested in space so thought it was very interesting that it's the only man-made structure that you can see from space. And asked if you could walk on the wall...he couldn't believe that I said Daddy and I had walked on it!

And one of my favorite breakfast breads ~ Irish Soda Bread ~ toasted with butter or peanut butter, of course!

Chinese New Year Activities

2009-01-27T06:15:00.002-05:00

We've been using this world map throughout the day, every day since I grabbed it last week at my local toy/teacher education store. Whenever we read a story, we'll find the country where the story takes place on the map. For example, Will now knows where Turkey is because of reading The Hungry Coat so often. Well today, we got out some of our animals and a some flags and used the map to show how far China is from where we live as well as what kinds of animals live there (and in Africa). The kids really enjoyed this. They then got out many, many animals and started asking, "Where does the meerkat live?! Where does the mouse live?"...and on, and on... I need to pull open the internet while we're playing this game so I can immediately find out where some of the animals live that I'm not as familiar with!

Lucy Knows shared how to modify chopsticks for kids ~ great to know & perfect for this week!

I've been trying to decide on an art project for the baby food jar lids, but for now, Molly's enjoying them!

So close on these socks!!

The Hungry Coat & The Chinese New Year

2009-01-26T05:00:00.008-05:00

Have you seen this book? We borrowed The Hungry Coat by Demi from our local library last week. What a great book! Both kids *love* the wonderful illustrations as well as the story. Demi books are always good starting points for various topics for conversation with the kids and this one doesn't disappoint. It has an important message about not judging a person by the clothes they wear or how they look.

Immediately after finishing the story, the kids both ran upstairs to get their coats and started feeding their coats pretend food, yelling, "Eat coat eat!"

Fun, fun!

Today marks the Chinese New Year, so I'm making an effort to do a variety of Chinese New Year related projects and reading and such with the kids this week. Have you seen this video? There is a lot of good information in this video geared toward young children...even if your kids won't sit through the actual video (mine won't!), it has good information that we can share with our children when talking about the Chinese New Year with them...

Who Needs Toys?

2009-01-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

Although we have *A LOT* of toys around here...who needs 'em??!

Snow Outside & In!

2009-01-24T05:00:00.002-05:00

During Molly's nap this afternoon, we had a great time outside in the yard! Here are my little snow angels :)

First Will tried his hand at making snow angels...

Then Esme decided it looked like fun...

A pretty good brother/sister shot...

Will spent much of the afternoon on top of, sliding down, digging into and under our backyard snow mountain that they created last weekend with Daddy. Here's our king (or "knight" in this case) of the mountain...

We, of course, needed to add a flag to the top...or two (Esme needed to make one too)...

Once inside, while Will checked out http://www.starfall.com/ for the first time (big hit!), Esme played with a little arctic scene I set up on a tray in the kitchen...

Love My New Printer & Snow Fun!

2009-01-23T05:00:00.001-05:00

Can I just say how much I *love* my new little photo printer??!! I had so much fun experimenting last night with the Selphy CP760 that I got for Christmas...thanks Dad & Kim! There have been so may times when I wanted to send along a thank you photo of the kids wearing or using a gift or do some sort of craft project using a photo and had to upload a photo and wait until it was either ready to pick up or sent to me in the mail. By then, I'm a little less inspired. Now I don't have to wait!!

And I thought I'd share a few pictures of Will and Esme having a blast in all the snow we have here...digging their "igloo"...

Lots of shoveling!

And enjoying a little swinging fun in the wintery weather as well :)

Alone Time With Mommy

2009-01-22T05:00:00.003-05:00

Esme and I have had some much coveted alone time over the last couple of weeks while Will has been out with Daddy or at school and Molly is napping. Within the craziness of life, I treasure this time when we can simply be together, cuddle, read, chat about whatever, and lately she's been asking to color together a lot. Sometimes we color in coloring books, sometimes we draw or paint, and sometimes we work on cards to send to friends and family.

Another wonderful resource for doing art with children ~ http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/search/label/0%20grade. I've included a link here with ideas specifically for preschool kids, but she's got tons of ideas for older kids as well!

The Simple Things In Life

2009-01-21T05:00:00.002-05:00

Isn't it just wonderful how babies just drink in the little things?

I remember when both of her big brothers sat at this same book case and pulled all the board books off the shelves over and over again. Molly is no different...to me, this is the beginning of a life long love of books. Our family has such a wonderful collection of books in our house. We love them all and are always looking to add another favorite. Going to the library every week is a much looked forward to activity around here as well for us all!

Here she is practicing her talking. I love that I caught this adorable look that she gets when she's vocalizing.
All strings and zippers are the most fun toys of all, of course!

And after her older siblings were long gone from the living room, Molly continued to bebop around in the sunshine enjoying the noise her little shaker was making. I just love this girl!!

Furnace Update & Snowman Soup

2009-01-20T05:00:00.001-05:00

The furnace is fixed ~ thank goodness. But, I must say that it feels empowering to have survived just fine without it. The wood stove actually has kept our entire house a toasty 65 degrees for the last couple of days and I must say it really wasn't that big of a deal to boil water on the stove to wash dishes. It will be nice to take a hot shower tonight though...

The kids had a fun time this afternoon with Daddy outside working on a snow fort and playing on the play structure. Fun, fun! Now, their wool socks, mittens and hats are drying (very quickly) on a drying rack in front of the stove.

One of the items that Santa left in the two older kids' stockings was a bag of Snowman Soup. It was a cellophane bag containing hot chocolate mix, marshmallows, a couple of Hershey's kisses, and a candy cane. Attached to the bag was this adorable tag. This would be so easy to make for next Christmas, don't you think?

Another good resource for inspiration and ideas of things to do with preschool aged children - http://preschooldaze.wordpress.com/

Pictures From Last Spring

2009-01-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

I must be feeling a bit tired of the cold and ready for spring...I'm tasked with creating a 2009 calendar for Daddy (don't ask! I obviously didn't get to it before Christmas) and am having fun going through photos to include. These two hit me from last April.

In this first photo, Will is checking out the daffodils that we transplanted from my grandmother's garden two years ago. She passed away this fall, so we will be especially touched to see these beauties pushing up through the earth this spring.

And in this next photo, I'm struck by how young both kids look. Esme had just turned two and Will was still three. My, how time flies! This little outdoor tea party has me looking forward to the warmth of spring.

New Puzzle & Cold

2009-01-18T21:26:00.004-05:00

We're having so much fun around here slowly making our way through the wonderful gifts we've received from family and friends over the holidays. The 24-piece puzzles are the perfect challenge right now for both Will and Esme. Esme will do a puzzle over and over again, getting faster and faster at it each time. It's as if she's trying to beat her most recent completion time!

We woke up this morning to a *very* cold house. Our furnace was not working and with the snow coming down hard outside our plans for the day (swimming at the Y and an afternoon at grandparents' house) changed to quiet time at home for the kids and I while Daddy spent much of the day stoking the wood stove, fiddling with the furnace (only in the end to admit defeat and schedule someone to come work on it for us tomorrow!), and snow blowing. Thankfully, we're warm, the kids are asleep, and we *do* have electricity. I washed dishes tonight using water boiled on the stove top - who needs hot water from the tap??

Some New-To-Me Inspirational Blogs

2009-01-16T05:00:00.002-05:00

I just found a new Montessori blog that has such wonderful ideas - The Wonder Years. I'm planning to try her experiment with pine cones (they close when wet and open when dry) with the kids. I have a big bowl of pine cones collected from our yard this fall just waiting on the dining room table! I also love the idea to play in sand with toy animal tracks - I also may bring some snow inside to make animal tracks in...

I also want to try growing wheatgrass with the kids...what inspiration at Mom in Madison!

My kids play wonderfully together (for the most part!) and I love catching them simply enjoying being together, completely independent of me. I "caught" Esme and Will before bed time the other night completely emgaged in an I Spy book together. I love overhearing their pleasant little conversations. It makes me happy.

Learning To Read - BOB Books

2009-01-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

It is so thrilling to watch and help while Will is beginning to learn to read. We picked up the first set of BOB Books from the library last week and Will read (with help) through the first 4 books. Each book has entertaining illustrations, very short and easy stories, and after finishing the first short story, Will asked for another. We took a break and out of the blue hours later, he'd ask for another one. Very motivating.

Big Blocks

2009-01-14T05:00:00.002-05:00

One of the gifts that Santa brought to the kids this past year was these large blocks. Well, I can't get over how often and in how many different ways the kids use them! It's really fun to watch their creativity blossom. The blocks have been made into castles, garages, houses, and the Titanic among other things. But, in these pictures below, the kids had made up a game where they had to make their way around and around and around the room by only stepping on the blocks and collecting various "ocean treasures" as they went. They were having an absolute blast!