Muddy Spring

2012-01-26T15:22:00.000-08:00

Flat Stanley came on vacation to our house.

The first day he painted a "fresco" with egg paint.

2012-01-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit focused on winter and books at the moment. A lovely combination. The above book is a beautiful collection of photomigraphical snowflakes, quotes and a smattering of information (light smattering mind).

Here is my favorite quote:

The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain childrean all our lives --Albert Einstein

2012-01-11T04:45:00.000-08:00

Flashback: Christmas Book Advent
I was so pleased with how this worked with our "Christmas/Santa Bag". I wanted to share some new to us Christmas books that we used in our advent:

This is a cute story of friendship and turning accidents/possible failures into success using what you know. It's written in simple sentences. It's illustrated by fun woodcuts. It's a sweet story about two friends who successfully fufill an assignment given to them by Santa. There's stamping (with stamps) on paper, there's gardening (a tree) and friendship. I love this off the beaten path story. I got a request to "read it again" immediately from both kids.

This book is beautiful in message, illustration and story. It's loosely based on a historic Christmas Train, thematically about paying debts of kindness and not getting what you want, but what you really need. The illustrations are beautiful. Tiny wasn't the least bit interested in this book. Mowg was fascinated by an old police car. It's a great story that I think will grow on them in time.
As part of the advent on Christmas Eve we had a book for each child wrapped in the Santa Bag.
Tiny opened The Christmas Cat

This is a sweet story about a cat that finds a home for Christmas. It's a simple story the illustrations are classic Tasha Tudor. Tiny loved looking for the cat on each page. Mowg said he liked the story and could still tell me the outline of the story a week later.

Mowg opened:

He didn't like it. This is the story of a boy's sacrifice for his Dad and his discovery of the love that they had for each other. This is a great Pearl S. Buck story--but a little too complex (in its simplicity) for him. I love the story and enjoy Mark Buehner's illustration style.

Have I overwhelmed you? One more. I've seen this and avoided it as the cover didn't really draw me in. Don't judge a book by it's cover! This is a fantastic book! I'm so grateful to the friend who shared her extra copy with us. It's so much fun. It answers the question of what snowmen do at night and why often the next day they don't look as good as they did when you left them. Lots of comedy in the illustrations--but then you probably already know all about it. If not check it out.

2012-01-10T04:02:00.000-08:00

Musical Discoveries:

The Carnival of the Animals. Poems by Jack Prelutsky and Music by Camille Saint-Saens .
The Carnival of the Animals is a classical music piece (in case you didn't know--I didn't) that was written as caricatures of the composer's friends ill-disguised as animals. It was introduced to me as a good way to introduce children to classical music. It has been a delightful book. We listen to Jack Prelutsky read his poems and then dance to Camille Saint-Saens musical sketch. The illustrations are the perfect combination of beautiful and relevant (to the text) art. Our favorites are the fossils, swan, donkey and aquarium. I am not a huge fan of classical music, but I thoroughly enjoy this.

I really like feel-good music with feel-good lyrics. They're hard for me to find. Here are two.

Next up C'mon by Renee and Jeremy. Check out a YouTube music video of one of the songs from this album: It makes you feel good. This whole album makes us feel good and dance. My kids love it, I love it. It's music that sparkles with words that uplift. "C'mon, C'mon let the happy in."

Last, but certainly not least is Elizabeth Mitchell's "You Are My Little Bird." This album saved my emotional life this fall as far as Mowg's concerned. There were a couple of songs that took all the tension out of whatever circumstance we were in. We love this music. It's fun, sweet and peaceful.....without being only mellow. When this is playing we're singin', we're dancin', and most importantly we're smilin'. That's a good place to be. You might recognize the cover art Ida Pearle who wrote and illustrated A Child's Day (An Alphabet of Play). Definitely worth the Monday (or money if you prefer).

2012-01-09T04:31:00.000-08:00

More River Adventures

Tiny is very into spelling her name right now.

She can sign it in ASL.

She can write it.

At the river she wrote it in rocks.

Each rock represents a letter.

Will you get out of my face?!

I can't help myself I have to say--I just like looking at it.

Rock throwing is constant through the season.

The river is a little smaller in winter--ensconced as it is in ice.

After lots of attempts to reach the water the ice was littered with rocks.

Time to head for home and new adventures.

2012-01-08T05:12:00.000-08:00

As part of our magical day that was January 2, 2012

We tried out our snowshoes. The snow wasn't deep, but we had fun.

Tiny is the one we wondered about.

She did much better than we thought she would.

Much better than these pictures might make you think.

She walked almost to the river before abandoning them.

They stayed on her feet too.

Mowg couldn't get enough.

He walked. He ran. He raced.

Proof that I did some stomping around too.

A race.

When Tiny was done, she was really done.

When life knocks you down, kick your feet up and watch the sky.

Snowshoeing is fun!

2012-01-07T17:02:00.000-08:00

Happy way into the New Year!

Here's our first family picture of the year. We're all here.

(Thanks for the hats Mom!)

The second day of the year we took a little walk to check on the river

I love these shadow pictures. They're trying to pound a hole in the ice.

It was pretty thick.

Favorite pictures of the day

Rock collecting

Moving forward (after throwing lots of rocks toward the trickle of the river)

(Which would you rather be: A cat or a zucchini? It's a debate that's currently going on. I think Mowg is going to be a girl zucchini (who knew?!) and Tiny is going to be a cat.)

Perhaps that will help you understand the lack of cohesion in this post. ;)

Next up adventures in snowshoeing

2011-12-31T17:39:00.000-08:00

My Final List of 40 Things in My 40th Year

These are things that I have experienced and am grateful for.

Some of them required nothing on my part, others did. In some ways it's my year in review.

1. Published an article (In The Wyoming Woman Summer Edition)

2. Made Lip Balm Today (New Years Eve Day)! (After having the stuff for at least 6 months)

3. Made a quilt top of my own design that isn't squares--rectangles, but not squares. (This is the ocean quilt for Tiny inspired by The Q and U). The finished quilt:

4. Completed a quilt top from a pattern. (this went off with Granny before I remembered to take a picture, but 2 years into it it's done!)

5. Took a trip to the Northwest to be with my youngest sister on a special day for her and her husband. As a side (and amazing gift) I got to visit with most of my family. Thanks Sean, Mom, Dad and Om for that gift. Better than London. :)

6. On the above trip reconnected with an old friend. What a wonderful time that was!

7. Recieved a silver bracelet as an early birthday present. This is a carved bracelet that has the two love birds (Eagle and Raven) and Raven has a bentwood box containing light (he is the light bringer). I still can't believe that it's mine. Someone I know carved it and that makes it even more special. To top it off it came from my folks in a wonderful little ceremony that involved my folks and kids. Everytime I wear it I think of them. I see my mother's hands in mine when I look down at it.

8. Drove a 4 Wheeler for the first time.

9. Heard a pack of coyotes singing in the night for the first time. (Even if I mistook them for yipper dogs)

10. Went camping and fishing as just our family for the first time. Memories!

11. Caught a fish and remembered why it was so fun. ("Just one more cast")

12. Started making vinegar (first time and I'm very excited.) It worked! Thanks to my sister-in-law for "THE MOTHER".

13. Made a pair of pants! They didn't fall apart with the first washing this time either.

14. Transitioned baby chicks from their box (in the mail) to their new home. (Thanks to another sister-in-law for the help with all of that!)

15. Held a grown up chicken for the first time (finally getting a handle on the freakiness of it).

16. Made my way into the murky world of e-readers. I'm still not too sure about it all--but I'm learning a lot.

17. Volunteered at a Co-op once in my own town and once in another one.

18. Watched the fireworks from a place where I thought for a moment I was celebrating in Alaska with my little family enjoying it too. (Tiny's "bread" making aside--this included tossing dust into the air or our eyes depending on your point of view)

19. Watched two wild mountain lions cross the road and climb a cliff.
20. Made two bucket hats for my kids.

21. Bought alcohol for the first time (I know this might be a big deal to most people, but it took me a while to get my nerve up so I'm counting it.) It made vanilla.

22. Learned how to pressure can and canned 53 pints of beans--among other things this summer including 8 quarts of Turkey.

23. Wrote another article--it will be published next year.

24. Listened as Mowg truly read a book for the first time.

25. Thanks to a gift from one of my sisters I was able to talk face-to-face to every member of my family. Technology, though I curse you frequently, you can be an amazingly wonderful gift. Thank you too dear sister for that beautiful gift!

26. Finished 3 year old Hungry Caterpillar Quilt

27. Spent Thanksgiving with one of my sisters and one of my brothers and got to "see" everyone. Greatest holiday of my life--despite the sickness that confined me to my nieces bed.

28. Started reading stories at the elementary school library once a week.

29. Watched my son and daughter get acquainted with my family this year. Delightful. (Did not get pictures of everyone--at least I can't find them right now.)

30. Helped butcher chickens for the first time--mostly I was the chicken scalder along with the drop-the-chicken-in-the-chicken-plucker person. I did get to do some of the gutting/cleaning/final inspection/bagging parts too. It's such an interesting process. I still have some squimishness when it comes to the live ones though.

31. Milked a Cow for the first time ever and wasn't nearly as scared as I thought I'd be--it was fun!

32. Made cherry pie filling for the first time AND made a pie with it. I mean I really made a pie.

(picking the pie cherries here)

33. Picked huckleberries in the mountains--my first time for huckleberries, but a delightful flashback to childhood for berry picking and we were able to share that as a family.

34. Took the kids to the Rodeo for the first time.

35. Took a child to school for the first time. Oh my!

36. Got to visit with some other old friends and learn the reality of what I suspected was my memory starting to go. It was great to see them and meet their kids! And I'm glad they remembered...even if I couldn't.

37.   Had my first CAT Scan (nothing fell off and they found nothing wrong--great on both counts!) Part of my gratitude in this one is the display of concern and care my kids showed to me. It was a last minute thing so they had to be there and when the nurse came in to put an IV in my arm they advanced on me like an army and held my hand to help me get through the "poke".

38. Spent a magical day at the eternal edge of the Salt Lake with two mostly naked children (who had arrived in their footie pajamas), their Dad, and myself playing games, running, writing and reading words in the sand and never quite making it to the lake itself. Proof to me that you can turn a frown upside down and smile that frown away. It also reminded me that sometimes not having the camera with you is a good thing.

39.   Watched the Lunar Eclipse--most of it. I didn't get to see the full exclipse as it was obliterated by clouds, but it was so fun to watch and think about my dearest watching it from where he was. Thanks for giving me the moon Babe!

40.   Bought a Christmas tree from a store for the first time ever. We also had it down and to the city's "chipping pile" by the day after Christmas (Boxing Day!)--a very first for me. In the past the earliest it's every come down was New Year's Day and often not until February.

2011-12-31T15:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's Eve!

We have quiet plans tonight--celebrating perhaps closer to Greenwich, England Time

Before Christmas we had a wonderful Hoar Frost.

I love the bitter coldness required for the frost

and the way it decorates everything so beautifully.

Here's a crabapple that looks like it's going somewhere fast!

Dying leaves turn out in their best trims

Simple grasses and weeds shine!

Letters appear, even if they're sleeping sideways.

Pinecones seem to nest.

Doesn't this look like a frosty gentleman?

Happy New Year to you and yours,

From Me

and Mine

And that's the closest we've come to a family picture this year.

(By the way, that's Super Why in the picture--not Batman)

Unless you count this one:

(Huckleberries it turns out stain almost exactly like blueberries)

2011-12-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!
I had bigger plans for this post but that will have to wait.
Merry Christmas!

2011-12-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

Some Christmas Conversations

A conversation between Tiny and Mowg:
Mowg: What do you love about Christmas?
Tiny: Stepping in Snow!
Mowg: No. What do you really love about Christmas?
Tiny: Watching the penguins jump in the water!

We've been trying to figure out what Tiny wants for Christmas. Recently at a work Christmas party for the kids Santa came. She ran up to him when he walked in the room and gave him a big hug. When he sat down she was a little more timid, until she saw that he was handing out gifts. After she'd visited with him and she'd gotten a little stuffed snowman I asked her what she wanted for Christmas. "A Snowman!" I asked again and she said, "I wanted a snowman and I got one for Christmas!"

On the way home from school one day we were discussing Christmas wishes again. Mowg and I asked Tiny what she wanted for Christmas.
Tiny: A rock! A pink one!

That's what she wants and she's stuck to it regardless of who asks her. Today a saleslady asked what she was going to do with a rock she said, "Make it cute."

2011-12-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

I know Christmas is coming and I love it, but Remember my celebration of 40 Things I'm Grateful I've Experienced/Done this Year to honor this my 40th year? I need to share my most recent list--when I sat down to do so I thought I only had 20 things on my list. I still have a few things left to add--not sure what they will be yet, but I have a few weeks. Any suggestions?

1. Published an article (It came out this Month! In The Wyoming Wyoman Summer Edition)
2. Accepted an opportunity to sit on a teacher interview board (even though stepping into a school makes me slightly sick to my stomach).
3. Made a quilt top of my own design that isn't squares. (This is the ocean quilt for Tiny inspired by The Q and U) This is finished now and awaiting Christmas.

4. Completed a quilt top from a pattern. (this went off with Granny before I remembered to take a picture, but 2 years into it it's done!)
5. Took a trip to the Northwest to be with my youngest sister on a special day for her and her husband. As a side (and amazing gift) I got to visit with most of my family. Thanks Mom, Dad and Om for that gift. Better than London. :)
6. On the above trip reconnected with an old friend. What a wonderful time that was!
7. Recieved a silver bracelet as an early birthday present. This is a carved bracelet that has the two love birds (Eagle and Raven). I still can't believe that it's mine. Someone I know carved it and that makes it even more special. To top it off it came from my folks in a wonderful little ceremony that involved my folks and kids. Everytime I wear it I think of my Mom. I see her hands in mine.
8. Drove a 4 Wheeler for the first time.
9. Heard a pack of coyotes singing in the night for the first time. (Even if I mistook them for yipper dogs)
10. Went camping and fishing as just our family for the first time. Memories!
11. Caught a fish and remembered why it was so fun. ("Just one more cast")
12. Started making vinegar (first time and I'm very excited.)
13. Made a pair of pants!
14. Transitioned baby chicks from their box (in the mail) to their new home.
15. Held a grown up chicken for the first time (finally getting a handle on the freakiness of it)
16. Bought alcohol for the first time (I know this might not be a steller thing or something that would be a big deal, but it took me a while to get my nerve up so I'm counting it. Just in case you're worried it's for making something on the below list...can you guess?)
17. Volunteered at a Co-op once in my own town and once in another one.
18. Watched the fireworks from a place where I thought for a moment I was celebrating in Alaska with my little family enjoying it too. (Tiny's "bread" making aside--this included tossing dust into the air or our eyes depending on your point of view)
19. Watched two wild mountain lions cross the road and climb a cliff.
20. Made a couple of bucket hats for the kids
21. Made Vanilla
22. Learned how to pressure can and canned 53 pints of beans.
23. Wrote another article
24. Listened as Mowg truly read a book for the first time.
25. Bought a Christmas tree from a store for the first time ever.
26. Finish 3 year old Hungry Caterpillar Quilt
27. Spent Thanksgiving with one of my sisters and one of my brothers and got to "see" everyone. Greatest holiday of my life--despite the sickness that confined me to my nieces bed.
28. Started reading stories at the elementary school library once a week.
29. Watchedmy son and daughter get acquainted with my family this year. Delightful.
30. Helped butcher chickens for the first time--mostly I was the chicken scalder and drop the chicken in the chicken plucker person, but I got to do some of the gutting/cleaning/final inspection/bagging parts too. It's such an interesting process. I still have some squimishness when it comes to the live ones though.
31. Milked a Cow for the first time ever and wasn't nearly as scared as I thought I'd be--it was fun!
32. Made cherry pie filling for the first time AND made a pie with it. I mean I really made a pie.
33. Picked huckleberries in the mountains--my first time for huckleberries, but a delightful flashback to childhood for berry picking and we were able to share that as a family.
34. Took the kids to the Rodeo for the first time.
35. Took a child to school for the first time--I still don't like that much--where did all our time go?!
36. Got to visit with some other old friends and learn the reality of what I suspected was my memory starting to go. It was great to see them and meet their kids!
37.
38.
39.
40.

So really--any suggestions?

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a little "making" of late too.

This is Tiny's corner where she is "making"

(I couldn't catch her in it as her process entails substantial gathering.)

Here's a block I made for a quilt group. I had something else in mind, but then I saw a two scraps together. So I tried. It's too small. So now I'm not sure what to do. Any ideas?

It's about 3 millimeters too small too--OK 1/4" really. I'm thinking about cutting it down and adding a border in another cream colored fabric. Note to self--don't think you can experiment when you have a limited amount of fabric.

Now the big deal. It's done, it's done! This quilt was inspired by a quilt posted here. I love how it turned out. Don't tell Tiny it's done--it's supposed to be for Christmas. We'll see if I can keep it away from her. The back (which I forgot to take a picture of) is in the "lellow" and blue seahorse fabric.

I had it quilted (my first time having someone else do it)

Can you see the seahorses she quilted in the "lellow" stripe?

I'm so excited about it. Now I can't wait for Christmas either!!

2011-12-07T06:40:00.000-08:00

Mowg made a "gingerbread" house at school

Here he explains its finer points to Tiny

(OK so it was more like, "Do you like this kind? We can eat it later.")

Hamin' it up for me

The Creation

We tried to wait until Dad came home to eat it, but we just couldn't. He did get a taste though.

2011-12-05T04:45:00.000-08:00

Yesteday I was looking at fabric swatches with Mowg. He saw a solid colored swatch and was puzzled by it.

"What's that Mom?"
"That's called a solid."
He looked below it and pointed excitedly to a floral print.
"And I know what that is! It's a liquid."

Tiny was dancing and singing in church yesterday. I explained to her that we needed to be quiet and not dance at church. She said, "It's OK Mom. I'll just dance quietly."

2011-12-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

December is here and with it comes the return of the deer.

And a new holiday tradition: One Christmas Book a night until Christmas

I've read about lots of folks who wrap each book, but I didn't want to use the wrapping paper.

That and then there's the time involved. That's truly the clincher for me. So I decided to make a fabric envelop and just switch out a book each day. I started look around for Christmas fabric. Then I found this bag I'd made some time ago and decided if I added a decoration to a hair band I wouldn't even have to make the envelope. Here's my bag

(There's a notebook inside that also has a story for each night--a tradition from my childhood. It will stay in there and a new book will accompany it each night)

I'm pretty pleased with my rummage-through-my-button-box decoration.

Christmas is coming!

2011-11-30T07:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks Welch's. We spent some time with a mad lib like activity on the back of a carton of juice. Here are the three different versions:
Dad:
Harvesting fruit at just the right time is sweet. One way to tell if a cup is ripe is to look at it in your candle. Bright colored, yellow and a little cold means it's probabgly ready. Another way to see if it's ready is to eat it. Lots of farmers like to taste their crops. That's why their snowmen are so full.

Mowg:

Harvesting fruit at just the right time is tasty. One way to tell if a house is ripe is to look at it in your evanston. Bright colored, blue and a little pretty means it's probabgly ready. Another way to see if it's ready is to run it. Lots of farmers like to taste their crops. That's why their penguins are so full.

Tiny:

Harvesting fruit at just the right time is orange. One way to tell if a dog is ripe is to look at it in your Grandpa. Bright colored, yellow and a little cold means it's probably ready. Another way to see if it's ready is to dance and sing it. Lots of farmers like to taste their crops. That's why their catfish are so full.

You can see a little bit of each of them in it and what was around us. Granpa is definitely on Tiny's mind. Last night she burst into to tears. When I asked her what was wrong she said, "I'm sad because my Grandpa isn't coming." She's missing you Grandpa, just so you know.

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today I'm especially thankful for my husband. I've watched him work so hard he can barely move and still find time to help with domestic chores and spend time with our kids. I've followed him around with papers in hand asking for writing advice and he always takes the time to give it. He teases me about my fabric obsession/illness, but kindly supports it. He discusses ideas with me and exposes me to things I'd never really paid attention to before. He's cute. He's funny. He's smart and dang it I like him!

2011-11-28T05:53:00.000-08:00

Last but not least we traveled to my sister's for Thanksgiving for the first time in 7 years.

Lots of playing, eating, laughing and generally just being together

Not many pictures (that's a good sign)

Can you tell who is being thrown off balance?

The whole gang

I look my best and do you know why? Wet hair that gets slept on, just never quite recovers.

Here we are Mom: The "big" kids. :)

That's it for today. Promise.

2011-11-28T05:38:00.000-08:00

Sledding is not my thing, but it is definitely Mowg's thing.

I couldn't get my feet back in the sled

And it took me a minute to realize if I couldn't breathe, Tiny probably couldn't either.

Mowg had a blast

So did Dad (he's about to come over the hill)

After getting "sprinkles" in her eyes Tiny wasn't very interested.

"I don't like sprinkles in my eyes."

She did have a lot of fun posing.

"Take this one Mom."

2011-11-28T05:24:00.000-08:00

We visited our friends the Elk (only one of them shown here)

thanks to the visit of one of our favorite people!

We did a little sledding

(which always includes walking, walking and walking--uphill both ways I'm certain!)

Some signing

and some reading

2011-11-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a very happy Thanksgiving! We certainly did--the best in my memory. When I mentioned this to my husband he was astounded. I looked at him, puzzled by his reaction and then he reminded me that I'd been sick for a good portion of it. Really sick. So sick I couldn't really visit that much. Anyway, it was still delightful and I'm even more grateful for good health than I was before. I'll be back with pictures for you soon, Mom. We didn't take many,we were having too much fun.

2011-11-23T06:08:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for a sister who drove extra when meeting "half-way". Can't wait to see you TODAY!

2011-11-23T06:06:00.001-08:00

I'm thankful for Granddad's who send cool e-cards so Tiny can say: "I want to watch my thingy from Grandpa on the computer. Now Mowg's thingy and then mine."

2011-11-22T16:03:00.001-08:00

A little girl who went on a long car ride and was content just looking at books.

2011-11-21T09:48:00.001-08:00

Brothers!

2011-11-19T18:29:00.001-08:00

I'm thankful today for time to look at fabric charm squares with my kids. It was so fun to see what they liked. Mowg even told me WHY he liked something without any prompting from me. I love that.

2011-11-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you a joke
"How did ya know a frog was in your house?"
(You should say you don't know)
"Because he hid in your bed!"

2011-11-18T13:03:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for cold weather that has us scurrying about to beat and then inside to hunker down and snuggle in. It's too windy and cold with a threat of snow to be enjoyable outside. I love days like these.

2011-11-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

Today I'm thankful for friends who share things like this with me.

2011-11-16T06:00:00.001-08:00

Today I'm thankful for the sound of happy voices in the morning. When does that happen?!

2011-11-15T10:41:00.000-08:00

I'm extremely thankful today for family and friends that are willing to help me! Writing is a difficult process made better by feedback.

2011-11-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for things to love:
Lemons: how they look, what they smell like, how they taste.
Pumpkin Pie Icecream
Vanilla Icecream
The feel, look, and color of fabric
How books feel in my hands.
The perfectly captured picture of people that I love.
Snuggles, kisses and kids with books.
Cheese!
Color
Lovely letters
The fancy in miniscule
Those goblets and cups and glasses that rest so perfectly in your hand.
Being close to the man I love--even when we're doing other things.

2011-11-12T04:06:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for those constantly repeated phrases that sometimes make me crazy until I stop to think about what they might mean (out of context of course).

Like EVERY time Tiny cries anymore and we ask why she says, "Because I didn't get a butterfly."

or, "Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. That's the way it works."

11/11/11

2011-11-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

Today I'm thankful for all those who have risked their lives and lost them in defense of my home, my family and my country. I'm thankful for those that continue to serve in that capacity. Thank you. What you do and have done is a precious gift. I treasure it.

2011-11-10T15:51:00.001-08:00

I'm thankful for a little girl that gets as excited about looking at fabric as her mother does. "Let's look at some more!" Even if it's just going through the fabric we have right here. Yippee!

2011-11-09T12:01:00.001-08:00

Today I'm thankful for the return of the deer on our back hill in the early morning. It gave a rather miserable morning a pleasant moment or two.

2011-11-07T04:21:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful that for the moment everyone is my family is relatively healthy. We have no hospital stays in our foreseeable future. There is something magical about breathing air that hasn't been recirculated. Something especially fine about having choices that don't have to include others' opinions. Something wonderful about jumping on the bed (and off of it for that matter), snuggling together, reading stories, eating Halloween candy with reckless abandon, getting mad and just living. I do miss someone else cleaning up, but you can't have everything. Since I get to choose, I choose this.

2011-11-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

Today I'm thankful for books. The kind with pictures and the kind without. They take me to places I could never go. The give me snuggle time with wiggly kids. They open up conversations with my dearest at the exhausted end of day. They give me a peek into the minds of kids as I listen to them "read". I also love watching Mowg in his discovery of reading. The magic of those moments when he realizes that he can read a word.

2011-11-05T05:38:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful my family doesn't mind extending celebrations when we can't do everything that day.

A little "on their own" time with the dress-up makeup

(and of course a bit of something to eat with "made up" hands)

We also carved pumpkins

Tiny likes cats

Mowg likes smiles (not too scary)

I think they did a great job (with some help)

My favorite pumpkins with their pumkins

We also had fun experimenting with numbers and color combinations of glow sticks.

Which colors lit up the pumpkin the best?

Did more sticks help "beef-up" the lighter colors?

The answers we discovered were "Red" and "Yes"

As one final note we listened to King Island Christmas as we carved.

I'm thankful for that little juxtaposition. It makes me smile.

2011-11-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful for teachers, Mowg's teacher in particular, who take time to talk to parents who are seeing completely different things from their child than they are. Then they also try and come up with a solution.

2011-11-03T06:05:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful for the songs of my Tiny girl. She loves to sing. One of my favorite songs currently is "Little Miss Moffet" who is "eating her curdsy whey."

2011-11-02T04:04:00.001-07:00

I'm thankful for kid logic and their oft-times eloquence in expressing it.
Things like: "Dad, I don't like peas. I'm just not a big fan of things with bad taste in them."

Gratitude and Halloween

2011-11-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

I love November. Winter is still new. Thanksgiving is coming. So I want to write one thing each day that I thankful for. Something that really matters to me.

I'm thankful that my kids only need little bits of events in order to particpate in them. We went trick-or-treating last night to 3 houses. That was enough. (We'd also been to a trunk or treat and part of the a downtown business association "trick-or-treat" madhouse. So they had plenty of candy. Just for the record) I love that about them.

We went the wrong way downtown and came up the street. Then we skirted the slow moving mass of humanity and ghouls to go back. The whole walk back Mowg kept asking, "Can we go home now?" We were on our way. We got to see old friends at the trunk-or-treat. It was fun to see some of the kids I'd worked with and have them remember me and Mowg. Mowg did not like it when people said things to him like, "Sir Knight" or "My Lord". He got quite upset infact. I'm not sure why except that he said he didn't like it. So next year no Knightness for him. I am pleased with his costume 100% Thrifted and Made.

My Princess and Knight

"Oh when will she stop taking pictures and let us go in?!"

Tiny has a cape similar to Mowg, but it mostly hung back.

I have CHOCOLATE!

We're getting a pile of snow this morning. Whew we made it to November with only 1 snow storm.

PS Mom, click on the pictures for a closer look. :)

2011-10-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

LEAVES!!

(I hope you appreciate this Mom and Dad--I took my life in my hands! ;))

Leaf gathering

Tossing

Aaaah!

Group tossing

(OK extension of LEAF FIGHT!)

Leaf Angels

(This photo courtesy Mowg)

Another Leaf Angel

Aren't they cute?!

I actually missed the leaf angels as I'd gone inside for a minute.

I love them best of all--all three of them.

2011-10-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

Recently we attended a Fancy Party

Fancy Mowg (with hat he decorated himself)

Fancy Mowg enroute to the party

The Lady of the Hour

Tiny in her self decorated hat (and new princess dress-thanks good will!)

There were even magicians peforming astounding feats

(impromptu and with many failed attempts--just keep trying!)

Fancy Tiny on the way to the party

That's for you Fancy Granny and Grandad

We love you!

Fun Titles for the Kindergarten Set

2011-10-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

I've started reading once a week at the school library here. It's great fun, but I can tell I'm going to run out of titles. Can you help me? I want to compile a list of great read-alouds for the kindergarten set.

So far I've read:
The Happy Hedgehog Band
Frogs Jump
Some miscellaneous poems like
The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
Sing a Song of People by Lois Lensky (which they LOVED and had me read twice. We were doing a lot of acting out in that one)

Do you have a favorite book that makes you want to move around (or you think you could if you were a little wiggly?)? I'm looking for books that the kids can form connections to.
What about poems?
Do you have a favorite?
If you'd be kind enough to share, I'd appreciate it.

2011-10-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

A Child's Day of Play

You know I love alphabet books, but sometimes one just dazzles. This is one of those times. This Book is amazing. Each letter begins an action word. Ida Pearle's cut paper illustrations are incredible. It leaves me a bit speechless really, it's so interesting to look at, so simple in concept. It's also an amazingly affordable way to have some of Ida Pearle's work.

This is another one that is just fun to look at. It's not really about the alphabet as much as it is about typeface, but each animal is made up of a unique typeface of the first letter of it's name. It reminds me a bit of typing class in high school when we'd make pictures just before holidays. I'm a parent who often responds to requests to draw something with writing the word (I'm trying to stop, but this may be my way around). I really love the description of typefaces and the pictures they additional pictures that are created with each letter. B's that turn into boots on a stick figure for example.

Once in a while I get asked to read

2011-10-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

"Mom, will you read us a story?""Do I get to pick?"
"OK"
We read Halloween Pie by Micheal Tunnel and Fall is Not Easy by Marty Kelly

I love fall books. Halloween Pie is a little more ghoulish looking that I like, but I love reading "Give me some pie!" over and over again. I also like that no ghouls are harmed in the making of the pie.....in the end they float back to where they belong on steam.

Fall Is Not Easy is just fun. The tree talks about all the other seasons and how easy they are, but it can't seem to get its colors just right: a rainbow, a hamburger, and even an Eat a Joe's sign show up in the tree and then finally all the leaves fall off and then it's winter again. Winter is easy. It's that simple.

In other book reporting news let me share one more:
Frogs Jump by Alan Brooks, illustrated by Steven Kellogg.
We picked this up at DI (a thrift store) on a trip West recently. It is so much fun! A little tedious to simply read, but in a large group that's acting out what's going on, it's rollicking. This is a counting book that counts to 12. There is also some thinking that goes on. Each of the animals do something that they do in nature, but they've taken on human contraptions: snakes sliding on water slides, spiders spinning on merry-go-rounds, pigs squealing on motorcycles, etc. Half way through the book as you've built up to the number 12 (repeating all previous numbers each time--tedious unless you're moving around with 5 and 6 year-olds') you learn that Whales don't blow soap bubbles. Then you reverse the count (no longer repeating) and lose all of the human accoutrements (the frog eats them and becomes enormous). It's very fun.

Flashlights

2011-10-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Never underestimate the power of light. There's a lot of meanings in that all of them good. Today, it meant two kids having a marvelous time exploring on the way home (from the car across a small parking lot into the house). Discoveries included: leaves in the evergreen shrubs (I wonder where they came from?!), nails in the railroad ties at the edge of the parking spaces, the stairs, a skeleton under a spiderweb (decor of course), a ghost, a pumpkin and a "dark spooky house" (meaning we didn't turn the lights on when we came in and it was fun to look around with the flashlight). Magic in moments. Nevermind those other ones....just turn the sound off.

2011-10-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

Tommorrow's Alphabet

A little book review. Tommorrow's Alphabet by George Shannon illustrated by Donald Crews.
A is for seed, tommorrow's apple.
You know I love alphabet books. There's just something about the letters that fascinates me. I love how this book takes the basic concept and turns it into a thinking alphabet. What comes next? What happens tommorrow. I also like that the answer is readily available so as not confuse for long what is going on in this book. You might want to check it out.

2011-10-06T04:48:00.000-07:00

Dad! I found your pants!

I went to a garage sale a few weeks ago at my son's request. We found a treasure trove of things we wanted/needed. Among them were a pair of kelly green polyester pants. They look just like the ones you (Dad) used to wear when I was in high school. At least that's when I remember seeing them the most (will they ever wear out?!). Yes ,I bought them along with a pile of other shirts and pants in colors ranging from lavendar to mint green. They're all destined for a quilt (say what you like, I love a polyester quilt in the summer time for "outsiding").

Incidentally, I also found something else of yours, Dad. A saying that you gave me quite often as a child. I find myself repeating it to a certain young man in my life. It seems to be sticking and almost always elicts a smile and (for me) a little lump in my throat.

This is how it goes for us:
Mom (that's me): Have A Great Day! Better Yet......(I raise my eyebrows and smile)
Boy (that's Mowg): MAKE ONE! (Big smile and a wave as he turns his back to race onto the playground)

To put it in perspective a little unless I have bribed him the night before this comes after a morning (I almost typed mourning--apropo!) of whining, crying, and yelling. It's a rollercoaster this parenting. I'll don't think I'll ever get over the stomach to the throat changing of things.

2011-10-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

PS On the chance you might be interested in an I-Spy Swap visit: Sew In Peace
This is a great way to get a variety of fabric for an i-spy quilt. You send in 3 different fabrics and get a whole bunch of different ones back. That means buying three yards of fabric instead of a bizillion. So if you're the tiniest bit interested I highly recommend it. I've swapped with her before and was VERY pleased.

Singin' in the Leaves

2011-10-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

I'm picture challenged at the moment. On top of that it's been glorious outside and winter is coming (Friday according the weatherman). So we're outside as much as we can be for the moment.

I just recently watched Singin' In the Rain with Tiny. She watched parts, but it's the handful of favorite songs that she's come away with that are delightful to me. So here's what we have been doing every morning on our walk back home.We have a small "ditch" area along the road almost to our house where piles of leaves collect. I don't know if it's the wind gathering them there or people. In any case, we stomp through them TWICE each day. The routine never varies. As we do (at Tiny's prompting) we sing: "We're stompin' in the leaves, just stomping in the leaves. What a glorious feeling! I'm haP PY again![all the inflections of the original song are in place] I'm laughing at clouds. I'm singin' and stomping in the leaves."

You can't sing about smiling and not smile. Even if you've had a rotten morning, which we often have.

Along that line umbrella's are a new dance prop since we've seen that movie and anything that makes a satisfying slap will do for tapping out the intense splashing scenes from the movie. Leaves make a great substitute when water isn't available. I wish I could show you the tip back of the duck umbrella and the squinting of her eyes as if she's stepped under the drain spout when she performs. It's another thing that I can't help smiling over.
You've got to take the smiles where you find them.

2011-09-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

A Super Hero Kind of Morning

It's not what you think. There were no bats or spiders, no green lanters or the like. There was a book about buttons that a small boy brought home from school. There was a Mom lying in bed wondering how she was going to make this morning a positive one. Then that boy peeked through the door......

I turned on the light and said, "Would you like to read this book?" He nodded and climbed up on the bed. "Can we lay down and read it Mom?"
"Well, you can. I need to sit up."
We read The Button Box. It's about a boy and his grandmother's button box. They sort the buttons, talk about them and then put them back for next time. The makes it sound rather dull. It wasn't. We read it twice.
"Mom, you have a button box and you don't really let me play with it."
"That's true. I do let you sometimes"
"Can we play with it this morning? Please?!"
(Um, No we have 45 mintues until we need to be on our way to school.)
"Well OK."
The we spent the next 10 minutes let the buttons run through our fingers, talking about what they were made of , which ones we liked the best. It was magical.
Then just as we were getting the last pair of shoes on some little feet before walking to school a vase filled with sticks, wood roses, and 2 American Flags fell over. I have no idea why or how, but it did.
"Mom can I take this flag to school?"
(Um No)
"Well, you can bring it with you while we walk to school and then I will need to bring it home."
"OK"
We walked down the hill flags flying.
It was a magical morning. A super hero kind of morning.
All it really takes to be super hero is to listen, to pay attention and then do.
(Oh and forget about the mile long lists of must do's)

2011-09-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

Unproductive can be productive.

What I did:
A few dishes
Cleaned up milk
Cleaned up milk and broken glass
Cleaned up kids
Folded fabric onto comic book boards with my kids
Picked up a path through their room while they played chef and "fed" me about 20 meals
Dictated words to a budding writer. I should note that I just told him the words, not the letters in most cases.
Visited realtives
Made french toast
Stopped at a garage sale at Mowg's request and came home with treasures. Among them: a slightly too long mattress for the kids bed, a tape player (that works!), some fabulous polyester and an old cupboard (small medicine cabinet size.)

What I didn't do:
Finish the dishes
LAUNDRY!
Clean the bathroom
Clean the bathroom (I have 2 you know)
Clean the living room
Clean the fish tank
Feed the fish (sorry fish I forgot!)

I thought I wasn't being productive, but it turns out I was.

Playful Learning: Develop your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder by Mariah Bruehl

2011-09-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

Can I tell you about a book? (I know you've never had a recommendation of a book from me before.)
Playful Learning: Develop your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder by Mariah Bruehl. I can't get Amazon to let me link it or I would. I love the cover. Maybe it's the freshly sharpened colored pencils. I don't know. I just love it. What I love even more is how very much it is helping me make sense of the murky world of helping my children learn. She provides activities to help support reading, writing, math, science and social skills for children ages 4-8. She outlines the learning process...the stages they go through as they develop in each area. She speaks to me in a way I can understand. I feel as though I've been given vocabulary, understanding and processes for implementation that I can use and not just think about.

Recently Mowg came home from school having learned about volcanoes and earthquakes. He was pretty excited about them. He showed us how the plates worked by separating some cracked asphalt for us. As a result of this book I was tuned in a little better to that excitement. Tiny and I made a volcano with salt dough (not in enough time for it to dry mind you) and when Mowg came home from school we mixed a little red jello with some baking soda and added it to some vinegar. The eruptions were fun to make and watch. Once we were done with that we let the kids mix the mess all together to their hearts content. It was an enjoyable evening and dare I say a bit of a learning one. We had fun. We experimented. We played. All of us, together. Mariah Bruehl didn't recommend this activity or provide directions for it. She simply gave me the tools to be aware and take the opportunities as they were presented. If you haven't seen this book, please check it out. It is amazing. Thank you Mariah Bruehl for writing this book.

(PS I have no affiliation or connection with this author or the publisher. I just love the book. That's all.)

2011-09-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for us?

I'm so full of excuses, but this is a good one. Our computer died. Complete crash.

I'm still sorting out this new one, but it's coming and it'll read the 8gb camera card! Wow.

That's all I can say. What's that tiny girl doing? Is that what you're wondering? She was fascinated by the junk under the bleachers at a rodeo (our first as a family). FASCINATED. That's an understatement. One day soon I'll get on the ball. I promise. I hope.

2011-09-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

I know you think that I've forgotten that I have a blog. I'm struggling with allergies at the moment among other things. This means I would rather close my eyes than have them open. It also means that you could tie my hands to iron rings making it impossible for me to scratch at my eyes and I would find a way to bang my head on the wall until I could scratch them. Actually, some of the time I think I'd like to bang my head on the wall just to do something different. So it's not a good excuse, but it's an excuse.

I'll leave you for now with my favorite "prayer line" at the moment from my tiny girl:

"Please bless the food tommorrar."

I think it's always good to get a head start when you can, apparently she thinks so too.

On getting ready for Kindergarten

2011-08-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

I have a backlog of pictures to upload and lots of fresh stuff that needs to be canned, but guess what else? Kindergarten starts on Monday. I don't want to go. Ok I don't want him to go. He's excited and nervous that Mowg boy who loves to learn. Tiny is going to "Mommy School" so she won't be left out. She's excited to pack up her "packcaqu". I just want to find superman and have him stop the spin of the world for a month or two. Don't get me wrong I love to see him grow and learn. I just will miss seeing so much of it. I might have an easier time if it was only 1/2 a day, but we are "progressive" here so he'll be gone all day. What about, what about, and that too. Sigh. Thanks for reading. Now I'm off to tackle a project....I just can't pick which one.

2011-08-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

I have to share another give-away at Imagine Childhood (here's the link...click there and it will take you there). They are giving away a $75 gift certificate to their store for the winner and a friend. Let me tell you this is a great online store. If you like high quality toys/activities to do with kids. Activities that inspire thinking, you'll love it there. In addition they have a great blog where they share nature walks from around the world. Ordinary people send in pictures of their walk and Imagine Childhood shares it with all of us. It's one of my favorite features. I know I don't have time to share what I've been up to but I can go on and on about this. What can I say, it's that good.

2011-08-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

Just a little heads up that this blog is having a giveaway right now for some great fabric. Go check them out!

2011-08-11T20:34:00.001-07:00

"I'll see you in a couple of whiles." Tiny
Can I say ditto? Ditto. :)

2011-07-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

Tiny's version of one of the songs that I sing to them:

"May you be blessed with time to go there."

That might be evidence of our gadding about. I also have two things to add to my list:
Milk a cow
Pressure can (54 pints of beans!)

More on all that another time.

2011-07-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

My dearest tells me that my last post sounds ominous. It's not meant to be. It's just a reminder that between dreams and reality there is work. Work that isn't always pleasant. That's true of almost ever dream I've ever had. Just 7 short years ago it was the dream of a husband and children. I wouldn't trade that dream that I'm living, but it is work in ways I never fathomed. I just want to remember that when I feel like I'm fly paper and they're the flies, or I can't keep anything very clean. Good things.

On a lighter note (truly!) Mowg told me last night: "Mom, you look like a young old lady." We decided that I was....young for an old lady and old for a young lady. Made me laugh. I thought this long hair I'm growing was supposed to make me look younger! :) I'm really only growing it so I can cut it and donate it (I couldn't stand it otherwise).

2011-07-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

I "stole" this quote from Basic Joy

God allows disappointment to occur on the threshold of every human endeavor. It occurs when the boy who has been enchanted in the nursery by Stories from the Odyssey buckles down to really learning Greek. It occurs when lovers have got married and begin the real task of learning to live together. In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing.
~C.S. Lewis

So applicable to my life at the moment. Here's to laborious doing.

2011-07-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we attended a Scottish Festival with our Cousins

This picture makes me laugh....doesn't it just feel like this somedays?!

Kids and Dogs

Saw a Double Rainbow

"There are four rainbows, two in the front of the house and two in the back!"

Hello there tree people

And a glorious sunset

When we got home we had to do a little skating

and pinecone kicking.

There are somethings that I just don't

Oh what do you do in the summertime?!

(Adding to my list of things for this year: 20. Saw Scott MacDonald (Sons of Somerled) live! And got an autograph. 21. Went swimming with my kids and got to observe Mowg being assisted in becoming a better swimmer (thank you!) and see his improvement: a lap down and back with only water wings for support!)

2011-07-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Words of a Tiny Girl

Upon observing my Tiny Girl picking silver dandelions the other weekend I asked:
What are you picking Tiny? This was her response:
"Wishes! Here's one for you and one for ya. There!"

Today we were listening to music and a song with lots of drumming came on. She started bouncing and then said, "I like this song! It's a bumpy song."

At bedtime I usually sing a couple of songs to my kids, they are songs my mother sang to me. The other night as we were going to bed Tiny says to me: "I will sing it for you." Then she began to sing, "You came from a land. My mother sang a song to me each night before I went to bed...." She continued, but I couldn't understand her words. Those are the beginning lines of two of our nearly nightly repertoire.

Actions of a Little Man

I was a little late coming up to do the final tucking in and singing the other night. Apparently Mowg was ready to sleep so he sang our "sleepy songs" to Tiny. It's amazing how well he knows them.

2011-07-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a bookshelf collapse? I did just as we were getting ready to leave for the weekend. To be fair it gave us plenty of warning. It lost half of itself during our move in the fall. The day before a couple of the shelves had shifted. I was going to get to it. It announced its intollerance of waiting one more minute Friday afternoon by catapulting books and sundry other "I've-got-to-put-this-somewhere-out-of-reach-until-I-can-find-it-a-real-home" things. Do you know how much room three shelves of books takes up on the floor? Too much, especially in our space. My kids loved stacking them and sorting through them. Now for the job of figuring out what to do about it.

2011-07-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

The end of June we got the chance to celebrate the birthday of one of my best friends.

We pulled off a pretty good suprise

Marvin Payne was the entertainment of the evening

Unless you count two cousins who loved the cake.

Some got acquainted with a lizard.

Mostly we enjoyed being together

The next day we read The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

It's a great story within a story book. (or out of the story come to think of it)

We had a great time!

2011-07-09T01:35:00.000-07:00

Remember my list? My Mom keeps asking about it so here's a bit of an update: It's become a bit of a "firsts" and some amazing experiences I've had. I've learned something about myself in making this list. I love reading other people's "Bucket Lists" of things they'd like to do. I have a few things on my own list, but I want to be able to enjoy what comes along. I don't do that as well when I have grand expectations. You'll see things on this list that I've experienced that I'd never have imagined wanting to or being able to. I'm so grateful for that and I want to record them. So here's what would have been on my bucket list had I any idea at all. I also have one item on my list and the reason that it's there I hope I've explained. It's more to me than just a thing. So I don't know what to call it. Maybe a Gratitude List.

40 Things I'm Grateful I've Experienced this Year

1. Published an article (It came out this Month! In The Wyoming Wyoman Summer Edition)

2. Accepted an opportunity to sit on a teacher interview board (even though stepping into a school makes me slightly sick to my stomach).
3. Made a quilt top of my own design that isn't squares. (This is the ocean quilt for Tiny inspired by The Q and U)
4. Completed a quilt top from a pattern. (this went off with Granny before I remembered to take a picture, but 2 years into it it's done!)
5. Took a trip to the Northwest to be with my youngest sister on a special day for her and her husband. As a side (and amazing gift) I got to visit with most of my family. Thanks Mom, Dad and Om for that gift. Better than London. :)
6. On the above trip reconnected with an old friend. What a wonderful time that was!
7. Recieved a silver bracelet as an early birthday present. This is a carved bracelet that has the two love birds (Eagle and Raven). I still can't believe that it's mine. Someone I know carved it and that makes it even more special. To top it off it came from my folks in a wonderful little ceremony that involved my folks and kids. Everytime I wear it I think of my Mom. I see her hands in mine.
8. Drove a 4 Wheeler for the first time.
9. Heard a pack of coyotes singing in the night for the first time. (Even if I mistook them for dogs)
10. Went camping and fishing as just our family for the first time. Memories!
11. Caught a fish and remembered why it was so fun. ("Just one more cast")
12. Started making vinegar (first time and I'm very excited.)
13. Made a pair of pants!
14. Transitioned baby chicks from their box (in the mail) to their new home.
15. Held a grown up chicken for the first time (not as freaky as I thought it would be)
16. Bought alcohol for the first time (I know this might not be a steller thing or something that would be a big deal, but it took me a while to get my nerve up so I'm counting it. Just in case you're worried it's for making something on the below list...can you guess?)
17. Volunteered at a Co-op once in my own town and once in another one.
18. Watched the fireworks from a place where I thought for a moment I was celebrating in Alaska with my little family enjoying it too. (Tiny's "bread" making aside)
19. Watched two wild mountain lions cross the road and climb a cliff.
Not bad for half a year.

Coming up (I hope) are:
1. Make a couple of bucket hats for the kids
2. Make Vanilla
3. Make a tie
4. Make a dress (Yikes!)
5. And a skirt (for me!)
6. Learn how to pressure can and can some dried beans.
7. Start vinegar from Gravenstein apples
8. Try rhubarb Vinegar
9. Write a few more articles, maybe a story.
10. Read the Arabian Nights (1001 Tales)

I'm sure there is more on the list, but I can't think of it at the moment.

2011-07-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Our first family camping trip

Camping it's about:

Chopping Wood

Chillin' and eating

Campfires

Conversations

Water

And oh yes, fishing

Fishing is about:

Casting

Waiting (that's the hard part)

Reeling in

"I catch a fish! No I didn't"

(You need in on the repetition a little)

Most importantly it's about CATCHING!

and removing the hook.

"Whose fish is that Tiny?

It's my Fish."

Wait, Wait...another fish, for another fisherman.

There were lots of occupied sites, but not many people around.

Except for the guy driving road grader (on the right)

Not interested in holding the fish, but willing to pose for the picture.

We had a simply grand time. Despite the "scattered thunderstorm" that started the afternoon of our second day and lasted pretty steadily until we were madly packing up to get out before the road was impassable to our wonderful little car. I also heard coyotes for the first time and mistook them for some "yipper dogs" that one of the trailer campers had brought along. The stars were lovely and the best thing of all the kids didn't want to leave, even though we left in a downpour. Another first for me was my first fish from a lake. I have attempted fishing only twice in the 7 years I've lived down here. The first time we got skunked. This time I caught one, by myself. Then I spent the next 30 minutes explaining to Mowg why I needed to have the fishing pole for "just one more cast". Then it started to rain (shortly after Mowg had an accident because 1. he didn't know where the biffy was and 2. Then he'd have to give up the fishing pole to his Mom and who knew when he'd get it back). It started to blow, but it was that pleasant Southeast Alaska rain that mists in the rain and I wasn't ready to stop fishing. Tiny was done the moment it began raining, her Dad shortly after that. Mowg about the time he started getting cold (you know wet pants). I just needed one more cast. I predict more fishing in our future. If only we didn't have so many states to choose from!

2011-07-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

We have been doing lots of fun things of late. I'm going to work backwards

We got to spend some time at my dearest's sisters home over the 4th

We got to see family from Washington, Utah and Idaho

This kids loved feeding the animals and got a ride on the four wheelers.

I thought my tiny girl wouldn't care much for the ride, but she LOVED it.

"Oh we not go home now, please!" She also fell asleep on the way back.

The camera wasn't around or I would have snapped a picture of the gleeful little face.

Family watching our first round of fireworks

La Familia

The Pretty Cows

We played a little music

Fed the ducks (and chicks, chickens, pigs and turkeys)

Tried skipping rocks in the duck pond.

And took a break in the middle of the floor.

We were walking along and Tiny stopped to pick some silver dandelions.

Here is the conversation that ensued:

"What are you doing Tiny?"

"I picking wishes. Here you go one for you."

We couldn't have wished for a greater weekend.

2011-07-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth Of July!

We had a lovely time visiting family and enjoying their company.

One of my favorite activites is watching the fireworks.

We found the perfect spot to watch on the hill above our house.

Happy Birthday America!

2011-06-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer Solstice! (yesterday)

Summer's here! (even here, it's here!)

We spent the day outside in the water.

Outside + Water = Bliss

I know it's not exotic, but I love this little pool.

We've had it three years now (I think) and it gets a lot of use.

I hope you're filling up on Summer Bliss where you are.

2011-06-15T02:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Day to our Tiny Girl!

We started her day with her favorite activity

Painting!

And a few new things to try Brush!

With a painting board and liquid watercolors.

Fun Times!

We celebrated with our cousins at the Ogden Tree House Museum and just hanging out with them.

We're so glad that our Tiny girl came to us.

2011-06-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

Thomas Part 2

(on the way home)

Tiny wanted to pop her balloon. She's trying to figure out how.

Tired but happy

Lots of silliness to go around though

Goodbye Thomas!

There's a lovely park just down the road and we love to play there.

Swings are the BEST!

Dad is really good about pushing

Once in a while some pumping occurs as well.

In other news Mowg lost another tooth yesterday. This one got swallowed (we think).

Our cousins came to visit and we had a grand time (and not many pictures).

We celebrated a birthday.

Here are the two quotes of the month (so far)

Context: Tiny has been calling me out of bed in the middle of the night to go potty and read a book. (Refusing to do so during the day). Last night she needed a diaper change and a visit to the potty at least 12 times after she went to bed. In the early part of the night she came downstairs to find me.

I had her on my lap and said, "Tiny, you have reached the end of my patience."

This is the rest of the conversation:

"It's OK Mom, it's OK"

"It's OK? What if I don't think it's OK?"

"It's OK Mom, it's OK I'll just give you a hug."

What can you say to that?!

Context 2: Mowg and I were juicing some oranges this morning. We took a break to taste it.

"Mom! This is as good as spaghetti! Mmm it's delicious!"

2011-06-13T03:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome our last Day Out with Thomas

(get ready for an onslaught of pictures)

Tiny wanted as far away from the official photographer as possible.

They're singing the Thomas theme song

On the train

Thomas!

(and cotton candy)

Diesel 10

(and a missing tooth!)

Playing Trains

(the grown-ups least favorite place, incidentally the kids favorite

--it's far less crowded at this moment than it is most of the time)

Tiny takes her coloring very seriously

"Look see here's Percy" Tiny

"Say Steamies!" Mowg

Waiting for a balloon sword (and the making of)

waiting for a butterfly balloon

Watching a movie and eating cotton candy

(that's why I go! :))

a little golf

A little magic

Goodbye Thomas!

2011-06-12T03:36:00.000-07:00

We took a little trip to Fort Bridger recently

This Fort was started by Jim Bridger,

then taken over by the Mormons, and finally taken over to the military.

There are lots of interesting things to see and most importantly room to run.

Here is a bear trap circa 1900

We acquired a bugle player

An old Chuck Wagon and my dearest explaining

that they might have hung a dutch oven off the bottom.

Here is the nice young man who taught Mowg how to play the bugle.

They were both pretty pleased about the experience.

Tiny is excited about finding a ground squirrel hole.

The ground squirrel disappeared moments before.

Pull the handcart (or just stand by your brother) in the museum

Lots of great benches along the way to just "sit for a little bit" Tiny would say.

Ranch House (or Officers Quarters...I can't remember)

Boardwalk

We had lunch on the band stand and had a little entertainment as well.

Three hours were gone *poof* just like that.

It was proclaimed the "best day".

2011-06-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures from our "Friday Fun Day on Saturday" a few weeks ago.

We have "Friday Fun Day" with our cousins and their Mom and I take turns being in charge.

This was her week and we had so much fun with the painting techniques.

We learned the word "Monochromatic" and made coffee paintings.

The paint is made from a little instant coffee and water.

The ratio of water to coffee determines the intensity of the color.

The kids also traced this cardboard shapes onto a piece of paper.

Then they colored them in with washable markers.

Once that was finished they took a dropper and splashed water on them.

I didn't get a picture of any of the final products,

but it gave them a really neat water color effect.

It was a fun day (as they always are)

(and I remembered to take the camera and take pictures for a change.)

2011-06-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

OK Jess, this is for you.

These are the best I got of our cute baby chicks

and I think they're much cuter in person.

Arcana the darkest and feistiest two.

I think these are Arcana's too, but it's hard to tell

The golden ones without any marks are Buff Orpingtons.

It was so fun to watch them swallowing their first drink upon arrival.

Hanging out under the lamp

Working on some grit

(or what happens when you drop the camera down by the bird and just snap the shutter)

There you have it, some cute baby chick pics.

2011-06-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

So guess what? You'll never guess, so I'll tell you. We got baby chicks. Cute baby chicks. I think they're all going to make it--at least at this stage of the game. Thanks to some kind family members who will let us keep them out on there property (no room here!). I was up at 4 this morning anxiously awaiting the call from the post office. It didn't come until about 8 a.m. (after I'd given up of course). I learned how to help them take a drink as we unpacked them, what to feed them and what to watch for. Then we had a fun day just playing, plotting and thinking. We have about a dozen Arcana's which will lay different colored eggs (blue). They are wildly different themselves from a soft blue to a dark brown/black stripe on their back. Then we have about a dozen Buff Orpingtons which are the loveliest yellow. So mild mannered. Arcana's not so much. Practically impossible to photograph or count for that matter. Well I'm off to bed. Even when you don't have the dirt a little farming's fun.

2011-05-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

I forgot about Tiny's skirt. She did wear it the other day,

but this was the closest I could get to getting her into the skirt today.

I really love it.

Recently were able to get blackberries at a really great price. So we made Jam and Syrup.

Tiny Smashed 'em down

Down

See

It made a little jam and a little jelly.

We're going somewhere exciting today, can you guess where?

Hint: He's blurry and in the background

This girl is definitely a child of this area. Those are hot pads on her hands.

She put them on along with her brother's snow boots. Then she asked for a hat and a coat.

"I have my mittens now I can go sledding."

(No snow for the last several days and it's mostly gone on the ground)

Finally in really super big news Mowg lost his first tooth!

He's far more excited that he looks in this picture.

There's a hole there!

And here we have a gratuitous sugar pouring shot.

I just don't want to fight blogger layout anymore.

Add some sugar!

2011-05-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

At last here are the pictures of all the "lately mades"

Two log cabin blocks. I really love the bottom one.

New pants! He was excited.

A little closer in

I love this quilt top!

I also think it looks much better in person.

Can you see the mermaids? Seahorses, octupi and seaweed?

These are just scrap blocks that I was playing with.

I like how they turned out. I'm not sure how to put them together.

Here is a cousins shot from last fall. I just love how it shows all the kids in motion. It really does look a lot like they do whenever they're together: having fun and moving at light speed. It really is grand when your cousins are some of your very best friends.

2011-05-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

Wow has it really been a week already?! It's been busy here. Not much external pressure, but this is what I have been doing:

I was brave and sewed Britt's pants together (they've been cut out for about 4 months) and they fit! (Thank you Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross)

Made a Lazy Days Skirt (courtesy Oliver Plus S free pattern, which I LOVE found here) for Tiny (couldn't leave her out of the "my Mom made it for me" bliss)

I cut most of my swap squares (400 4" squares and 43 5" squares, only 9 left)

I placed my first order through Bountiful Baskets (dot org....if you're interested. It's a fresh fruit and vegetable co-op in several states: Texas, Utah, and Arizona to name a few) and I'm deliriously excited for our pick-up on Saturday. Happy Day to me! (Yes, deliriously excited)

I've been re-organizing the garage again and while it's coming together slowly there is now a walkable path through it as long as you don't get too swingy with your hips or carry too big of a load.

Began slogging through a mountain of laundry. Laundry is my Nemesis.

Taking Mowg to his elementary pre-school 4 days a week. He loves it. I love that it's gotten him excited for school in the Fall and comfortable with being at the school.

Consoling Tiny who sobs and says, "Mom, I'm going to miss Mowg." Every single day.

Dodging snow flurries as they mix up the sweltering 60 degree days (complete with sunburns)/

That's my busy life and I love the little moments like these:

Saturday night I told Mowg that I would finish his pants and that they'd be hanging on the back of my sewing chair in the morning and he could just grab them and put them on. I didn't get them done and left them hanging there inside out thinking that he would ask me about them. Instead when I woke up I found that he was wearing them still inside out and pleased as punch to have them...even though they weren't hemmed.

Tonight after Mowg got in trouble for some interacting with the neighbor kids Mowg and I had a delightful discussion of all the letters he's learned at school. What their sounds are and what words begin with them. The sunshine after the storm was bliss.

In response to her Dad's question of "Why are you screaming?" Tiny responded, "I not screaming fast Dad, I screaming slow."

Tiny has also just begun to pray by herself. When she's done she has to have high five's all around.

One of my favorite moments of the day is the nearly nightly group hug that Tiny or Mowg request in turns. It is the perfect end to whatever kind of day it has been.

2011-05-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

I have another swap heads up for you. This is a rainbow swap so you'll do 4 inch squares of 10 different color fabrics and get a rainbow back. Details are here. I looked through my fabric and found that I had all the colors. {Isn't that great honey?! That means no fabric buying..is that possible?} I'm kind of excited as this will be my second color swap and combining it with the two i-spy I just may have enough to make two rainbow I-Spy quilts. If you'd like to participate head over to the link above.

2011-05-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a heads up on another I-spy swap, this time by letter. You choose a letter (that hasn't been taken) and find a fabric with an image that starts with that letter, "I" Icecream etc. If you're interested here's the link (and more info) : http://flynnnfabric.blogspot.com/

2011-05-08T02:13:00.000-07:00

The other day my kids were watching Charlotte's Web. I'd like to tell you that we don't watch any tv, but that is not the case. I was in the other room attending to one of the more glamourous parts of my day, dishes. I listened as Charlotte and Wilbur were becoming acquainted. Wilbur is disgusted by Charlotte's appetite for blood. However, then they become the best of friends. I was struck with what a wonderful message that is. That you can meet someone or even know something and discover something about them that you don't like on any level and yet you can be friends. I'm glad. I'm also reminded of the words in the book (we listen E.B. White read it often when on long drives) something to the effect of what a gamble friendship is. That's my kind of gambling.

2011-05-07T02:16:00.000-07:00

Opulence is a word my husband thinks I don't understand. Frequently I thank him for the opulent life he provides for us. Once in a while an event such as a royal wedding puts this into focus and I long after a fashion for just a slightly higher degree of opulence. Those are times when an outrageous hat would be just the ticket....and yes I'm on a quest to make one, but that may be some time away. I'm also obsessed with pink froth for some reason. For now this is how I'm going to indulge. Looking at pretty books--or at least books that make ME think opulence. Do you have a favorite pretty, make-you-happy, or think-of-extravagance book?

2011-05-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those fabulous spring days when you play like it's the middle of summer and are certain that summer's coming. It was 60 degrees and sunny! Bliss. The only downside of the day was that it wasn't until I posted yesterday's post that I realized that it was Thursday. I thought that there was some kind of global internet glitch so I called my most reliable source, my husband to confirm that it was indeed Thursday. Where did Wednesday go? I missed it. The Wednesday that I was going to use to get ready for the Thursday I was going to teach preschool. I've gone over my week in my mind and I can not find it. I guess it's a good thing that the world is going to end on my birthday. (Really I saw it in the news several months ago). It did turn out to be a lovely Thursday with games in the park (for preschool) and playing with our new next door neighbors and sunburns. That part isn't so great, but it was worth it. Happy Friday to you!

PS Mai, I love the book you recommended! Everybody does indeed need a rock.

2011-05-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

I had to submit a two line bio yesterday. Two lines about me. What do you say? I'm a Mom most of the time these days, but there's more to me than just that. At the same time I don't wish to diminish the importance I place on that role. Tricky. My dearest helped me out by making it simple. Stating where I live and the people with whom I live. What would you say?

2011-05-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

It may seem tardy to those of you well ensconced in spring by now, but we're just starting to get hints of spring so here are two of my favorite spring books: James and the Rain by Karla Kuskin and Gotta Go! Gotta Go! by Sam Swope.

James and the Rain is a repetitive counting book about a little boy going out to walk in the rain. I love it, the kids love it. What's not to love about repetitive phrases like "Do you know any excellent rainy day games?" and "It might be nice if we strolled along."? There are cows, cats, mice and 7 other animals that they meet on their stroll. The oil paintings are wonderfully bright. The finale is superb. It's simply the best of Spring to me.

Gotta Go! Gotta Go! is the complete cycle of the life of a monarch butterfly, beginning and ending with a caterpillar and an egg. I've mentioned it before, but I love the language in this book. The illustrations are sparse so we have some trouble in holding the attention of the littler one in our house. It's better read while they are moving about than sitting down and snuggling in to read. Again there's the repetitive refrain, "Gotta go! Gotta go! Gotta go to Mexico!" The little caterpillar runs into all kinds of nay-sayers. He holds true to his instinct, "I know what I know, I gotta go to Mexico!" It's a great story of determination as well....all those miles!

So there you have it my favorite Spring Books

I should also mention that I love The Country Bunny and the little Golden Shoes. I think that may be a childhood thing, as my own children weren't that impressed with it. I love that a mother bunny takes wonderful care of her family and that the skills she uses in that task translate into fulfilling a childhood dream of being one of the Easter bunnies. All the while those trained little bunnies take care of things at home. It's a beautiful book.

What about you? What are your favorite spring books? Or the ones that help you think spring when it doesn't feel much like it around you?

2011-04-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I'm officially participating in this or not, since I'm a month behind, but I wanted to try at least from here to do it. I came across a blog, The Outnumbered Quilter, here. About a month ago he had a Pay It Forward Post. This is how it works:

1. I will make a little something for the first 3 people who comment on this post. It will be a surprise and it will arrive when you least expect it.

2. I will have 365 days to do it in. What's the catch? To get a handmade present from me, you have to play too! This means YOU pledge to send a little handmade something for 3 readers of your blog. It doesn't have to be quilty - just handmade and you don't have to make it, you can have someone else make it if you want to.

3. You must have a blog.

4. Once you comment here, you must post about your Pay It Forward on your blog to keep the fun going - with the Pay It Forward badge. Also, feel free to join the Flickr group to see what else is being sent!

I'm going to follow Paul's slight change: The first three to comment will receive something from me regardless of whether or not you have a blog. If you don't have a blog, agree to make something for 3 charities. Or 3 things for one charity. (Project Linus Quilts, Quilts for Kids, Your local homeless shelter, etc.) In order to adhere to the rules set forth by those who started this, I will make something for 3 bloggers. So, if the first three are bloggers, then I've met the obligation. I just don't want any non-blogging followers to feel like they can't participate. So, will I make 3, 4, 5, or 6 items? That depends on who responds to this post!

So what do you think?

2011-04-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

I have three more blocks done! They're pretty wrinkled as I didn't take pictures of them until after they'd been packed into a bag for a bit, but here they are:

Pink

My kids favorite. You can't tell in the picture, but at the top the fabric second from the right is dragonflies that sparkle.

Red

I love that little frog with the umbrella

Green

My favorite block so far.

My favorite Tiny quotes of late:

"I'm right here Babe." She said this randomly as we were walking out to the car.

"My color is yellow." Someone had asked Mowg what his favorite color was.

2011-04-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

I love Easter as the quintessential harbinger of Spring

I love the remembrance of the Holy Week

I love the whimsical springtime baby animals

I love colored eggs

This is the first year that is was simply fun to watch my kids dye them

First eggs

The thrill of the first view of color on the egg

(don't mind the morning hair and the candy encrusted face. The Easter bunny visited us this morning. Don't come between this girl and her chocolate!)

See?

Sometimes a big brother needs to help his little sister.

Organizing the eggs

Pose by the eggs

Happy Easter!

2011-04-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

In my blog reading this morning courtesy Soulemama I came across this quote. It's lifted my spirits even though there's not much sunshine this morning:

Hello sun in my face.
Hello, you who made the morning and spread it over the fields
Watch now how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.

M. Oliver

2011-04-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here are the blocks. I like them much better in person than I've been able to photograph.

Here's my first block

And my second

Here's my handsome assistant.

Our camera is having some trouble with the auto focus at the moment--which is tricky for a blind girl that's been heavily relying on it. For now I'm off to make paper mache bowls and more blocks!

2011-04-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

Notice my new button above. I've joined my first ever quilt along. I made two 11 inch squares tonight using her crazy scrap method. The cool thing is now I have something concrete to show my dearest when he looks at me like I'm crazy when I get more scraps from somewhere. I don't know why, I just love other people's scraps of fabric. They have things I would never dream of having and suddenly there it is under the needle in my sewing machine making something I really like. I didn't try really hard to make things match--other than sorting my scraps into color piles. They turned out! I like them. I took pictures tonight, but I don't like how the pictures turned out so I'm going to try again in the daylight. Some of the fabrics are light and they've faded to white in the picture. Anyway, tommorrow then I'll show. Tonight I just had to tell! :)

2011-04-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Celebration-the pictures

On the platform waiting for Traxs

And waiting

Here comes the train!

Mowg is his most excited when he's just looking about

Tiny on the other hand is much more expressive

"We riding the train!"

Visiting the Museum of Church History and Art

The quilt piecing wall

Catching fish always holds the greatest appeal

"Look what my got!"

Trying some traditional Mexican dancing

Can you beat a skirt like that?!

They had a mirror that you could watch yourself in, but for some reason neither one of the kids wanted to see themselves. I'm still puzzled by this as they are usually looking into any reflective surface at themselves when we're at home. Perhaps it was the lifesize adult strangers in the TV screens behind them.

Wood dolls with clothes to go with them.

Pretend food to "eat", a garden to pick carrots and onions from, and chickens to collect eggs from.

At the end of the visit a lion to rest on

And stand by for a brief moment

The single picture I got of our cougar experience is a blurr of mountain side, not a lion in sight.

That is still surreal.

2011-04-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

One more thing. There's a new quilting blog I've discovered. I'm still learning on the quilting front and from what I've seen this is a great place for inspiration. To top it off she's giving away some beautiful fabric. Go and check it out here at Oops Lah.