If you're getting the idea that I'm catching up, you're right. 

The blossoms are gone now, but the climbin' tree bloomed (crab apple)!

Tiny girl loved it.

"Here's a flowler for you."

We also had some unexpected guests one Sunday

wild baby ducks rescued from a black cat 

After a treasure map/pirate adventure at school Mowg and

Tiny (her highnesty) had some adventures of their own.

The serious pirate pose

"Now how am I going to get down?"

This is my treasure map.

"You do this and say 'Hello your Highnesty'."

Spring in all its adventuring

When Mowg gets to go swimming at school, Tiny gets to play in the water at home.

Fixing her car

running through the water

(not as easy as it looks to man the hose and the camer)

And what's water without an umbrella?

 

Water is a wonderful thing!

Pink Lemonade Cake!

Tiny discovered marshmellow creme for the first time

Mowg helped put it into the frosting and wasn't even tempted.

"What marshmellow creme?  I don't know what you're talking about."

These are the pink lemonade cakes we made from scratch (and they turned out!).

Since there were two (for a layer cake, colored slightly different shades of pink)

each kid got to frost one.

Frosting them was definitely the best part

not to mention taken very seriously

This cake had what became a "swimming pool"

(otherwise known as the part that stuck to the pan)

Finally finished!

And what's a cake if you can't blow out a candle?!

What started out as simple apeasement turned into a really fun activity.

I didn't care for the frosting, but the cake was wonderful.  Couldn't be beat for fun.

SPRING!  We've had spring come and go as it usually does around here. 

One of our near daily rituals in early spring seems to be climbing this tree.

Here are my little birds in the tree.

Coming down



Tiny's going after Mowg's hat (the one that blew off)

I got it!  Ta Da!

Evidence that this is an after school experience.

(Next he runs up the hill to get behind our house)

Listen

Listen.  Even when the chatter seems to fill the air with noise.  Listen.  That little person just may lead you somewhere you wanted to be.   For example:

That little person may seem to be trying to get out of getting ready for bed in asking if we could have a family night.  Maybe you should think about trying out the suggestion another time.  Maybe if you did you would wrack your brain for an idea and then in a moment of frustration settle on fufilling another inconvient request of baking something like a Lemonade Cake.  Maybe as you made the cake and watched your children delight in the process you might think--Wow, that's all it took. 

So Listen, just remember to listen.

PS I'll post pictures as I can download them.  Tonight I'm just cherishing the thought that one day Mowg's kids will ask him to tell them a story about when he was little and maybe, just maybe he'll tell them about tonight.

Mom Tell Me a Story

"Mom, tell me a story about when you were a kid.  Tell me about.....Christmas!"  I've been hearing this sentence and others just like it very regularly.  It was really fun at first remembering, thinking, anticipating the question.  Some moments I don't appreciate it as much and I launch into my least favorite story from childhood: "It was a dark stormy night.  We were all sitting around the campfire and (insert requester's name here) came up and said, 'Mommy, Mommy, tell me a story!'  And Mommy said, 'It was a dark stormy night...... "   It can go on for a while.  Mowg hates it as much as I did.  Tiny on the other hand has adopted it as her favorite story. "Mom tell the dark stormy night story!  Please!"  Other times she'll just tell it and said, "Mowg, if you don't want to hear it just close your eyes."  He takes it a step further and plugs his ears and she tells it making sure to include everyone in the family.  Stories are a fun part of life.

Limits

It's tough to know what our limits are sometimes.  Then circumstances occur that make those limits very obvious.  That's been the case with me of late.  First circumstance:  Pregnancy.  Second circumstance: Vertigo, intense vertigo.  It's slowed me down and also helped me to appreciate the simple opportunity to stand up without feeling you're the outer end of a rope being whipped around.  I'm looking forward to doing some things.  In the meantime here's a few pictures that chronical some of what's been going on inside those limits:

I was on my bed talking to my sister one day when I saw this hawk.  It landed in the tree, dropped something and spent the next 15 minutes looking for it:

Ah there it is!

See ya!

My boys went to the store one day and came home with this because as

Mowg told me, "I think you're sweet."  Ditto kid.

Easter has come and gone, but we did color eggs.

Tiny Pose

Mowg working away

Mowg painted a box and his face earlier.  This is the "washed off" version.

Tiny got a hair cut courtesy Mom

The whole batch!

Usually at Easter I like to bring in a branch of something to "force".

This year I settled for a tiny pot of daffodils and one courtesly peeped out on Easter.

 At the end one day while on spring break, Mowg feel asleep mid icecream.

It was a long day!



I hope you're enjoying your days within their limits! :)