Great Weekend

This is how our weekend started off - a tea party. This was was unusual because C was the one who initiated it. We had a banquet cherrios and raisins. Later dad brought my coffee in because is was getting cold on the kitchen counter. Later we saw an Imax film, tore out tons of juniper, visited a new park and the bookstore.

Down to one nap a week. Mom cannot make this happen for the life of me so its' Dad's job. Here they are reading...not sure what the book is but lately the Magic Treehouse books have been a favorite.

Saturday was EarthHour. Very uneventful...but I wasn't expecting much. It was more an excuse to do things a little differently and enjoy an evening with candlelight. As a kid it wasn't uncommon to wake up in the morning after a winter windstorm and have the electricity out. The quiet that settles in the house is so still. No hum from anything. We'd light candles everywhere and sit next to the woodburning stove to stay warm. So I had my piece of silence on Saturday night...I should light a candle more often.

Communication

I wonder what they are talking so nicely about????

C is quite crafty with the legos. Each day he becomes more adept at creating the machines he invisions. Though it's often hard (temper-tantrum hard) for him to understand that he cannot create exactly what he imagines, that he is limited by the medium, its been fun to see how eventually he makes do. This guy is a transformer with lightsabers coming out of his head.

This is picture taken by the creator himself. In case you cannot tell its a transformer. One arm has a hand for a wheel, the other hand has a propeller. There is a lego guy head at the top....there was some help by mom to get it just right which takes quite a bit of patience but is a great exercise in communication - right?!!

Can I wear sunglasses in the drizzle?

It has been one of those evenings. Completely kid-friendly meal gone uneaten (cornbread, chicken and corn anyone?) Then all the barking of orders. "Do this or else...do that or else" and the predictable response by the kids "I won't do this...NOOOO....". Teethbrushing was chaos. As a result kids go to bed without stories and mom and dad are more than a little on edge. This isn't the normal mode of operation and I know the late afternoon trip to get those sunglasses that I really needed is the cause. As a rule, late afternoons and evenings are not to be messed with around here. Especially by a shopping trip with three kids, no stroller or back pack, snacks anyone? (Dad was there to lend a helping hand be we are still outnumbered.) But you know sometimes there is no good time to get something done. Love the glasses now I just need some sun.

Lightsavers

Star Wars has been a play theme around here for the past few weeks. C attended a birthday party which had this theme and one of the party favors was the lightsaber (lightsaver) that he has sheathed in his belt. While ultimately he is too young for this series of films he isn't too young to understand the good and the bad and the feeling of power and strength. (And he's seen a few cuts of the film on YouTube (thanks Grampy and Dad!?!) So to help him play on those aspects of the film I sewed up the Luke robe and I can't get over how much pride he has in himself. Part of me is excited for him to see this set of films, because they were such a wonderful fantasy life for my friends and I when we were little (they also seem so innocent compared to the barage of modern day heroic kid stuff) However I don't want him to grow up too fast. So for know he has to wait until he's six to see the whole thing.....

Spring

Our March came in like a lion and hopefully we'll see the lamb arrive soon. I love the Daffodils and St. Paddy's day. When our yard gets to the point of being able to plant without the fear of it being torn up again next year then there will be a spot for these bright flowers (and many others!)

This is what happens...

when you sit in a parking lot nursing a baby in the front seat with a toddler in the back seat with MARKERS! I don't wear makeup but she seems to know that there is such a things as eyeshadow and lipstick. I don't have a shot but Teddy got the same treatment. And as luck would have it she would perform this trick on the first day she wears the first skirt that I have made for her. Not much marker made it onto the skirt and what did I hope can be easily washed off. Anyway I was assured that this was an easy skirt by the title "Lazy Day Skirt" and so I gave it a whirl. Sure enough. 1 hour flat and it LOOKS like I bought it so it is that easy. Of course B did not want to wear it right away so I had to delay my gratification until the next morning.

Crazy Day

We had snow this morning (see past the georgeous babe in the foreground at 7 am) and lots of it - for MARCH!!!!

The kids weren't all that excited about going out into it. They did make it out but according to dad did not meet the stamina needed to be an offspring of a Midwesterner. Hmmm, we need to work on that I guess. But really who is to blame them. The snow was really wet and slushy on the ground. B's been sick and C would rather be inside playing his imaginary games. The snow was good for snowballs if you have the fine motor skills to make them not not so good for sledding.

So we made stuff. This is the astronaut, diver, power ranger, airpack, rocket boosters thing-a-ma- jig.

And there he goes!!!!Flight is a real possibility with this pack.

St Patricks Day Celebration

We joined some friends for the St. Paddy's day bash at church. Real Irish dancers were there dressed in their sparkly dresses and bouncy hair wigs. The kids loved the music and the motion. Afterwards it was stickers for all the fans and then some dancing on their own. Both C and B have some great moves. The dance school the dancers came from offer a mom and me class for beginners so when B is old enough I think I'll be joining in!

Day of Treats

Today we received a package from Davis CA. Lots of surprises. Some we recognized (jacket and movies) but others we had not seen (gardening kit and bibs) The nicest surprise was the jar of homemade apricot jam! We are told that in Davis, every home has a fruit tree (or two or three) and at A and C's house they have an apricot tree which has had a bumper crop for the past two summers.

Oatmeal raisin cookies anyone? My mixer is back in action so we celebrated by baking cookies. B has her priorities straight. Lick the spatula while big brother mixes in the oatmeal.

Here is M's treat. Not only is she a thumbsucker but on occasion she finds her big toe.

Capes

Here is "Blue Flash" with her cape. I wish I had a shot of Blue Flash doing her full routine. In general it includes phrases like "Blue Flash pushing the couch" as she is poised with her hands on the couch trying to move it. Sometimes its "Blue Flash running" as she is running through the house looking behind her to see how fast she's going.

I didn't have much flame fabric for this one but this is another superhero cape with various names and uses. Notice the stance. Pure C these days.

The superheros headed upstairs to create more chaos in an already chaotic household.

Snow and Library

The weather report said snow - so this is what we got. Snow with no stick. Fun to watch but not fun to play in.

Went to the library today. We had some overdue books and were sorely in need of new material. I have to say I don't really care for trips to the libarary with 3 kids. The stroller is too big to bring in and I don't like strapping a baby onto my chest. So I end up holding the baby, holding the load of books and any extraneous stuff (jackets, cars, teddys???) that make it out of the stroller through the library doors. But once its said and done it is so nice to have the new books to read and look at. Kids are occupied for awhile and I enjoy reading the books with them.

Happy 85!

Nana turns 85 this month. So we celebrated yesterday with three types of spaghetti and an anglefood cake with waldorf whipped cream topping (nana classic) SO GOOD. M is sitting in Nana's lap, born nearly 85 years after her great grandmother. At one point in the afternoon A asked me "how old is 85?" to her 85 must seem forever! I counted out 8 sets of ten hands and thought as I counted each set that really 85 is alot of living and therefore alot of wisdom inside that little lady. I still have at least 5 sets of hands to go!

Earlier in the day we had snow flurries. But that didn't matter to B. Here she is getting ready to go outside.

Guess who is who?

Spot at the Table

M was a little late in starting solids. Partly because I wasn't ready to add one more routine into my day and partly because she didn't give me much incentive to do so. She just spit the stuff out everytime. Well now at 6 months she's decided rice cereal and pears are ok and I have another routine added to the day. She's also earned a spot at the table....

Robin Hood and Maid Marion playing in our super-project backyard. More on yard projects to come in the next few weeks.

Projects

Nana gave me her old Kenmore sewing machine a month or so ago. She wasn't using it and said once I was settled in our new place I could have it if I wanted it. She doesn't remember the date but it looks to be a 70's machine and it works beautifully. Granted I don't have much skill beyond sewing in a straight line, but that is all that is needed for the projects I have been doing. This is one of the projects recently finished. Curtains for the girls room.

Wheels

Our weather is looking alot like spring. So we are heading outdoors on bikes and in strollers.

B is an excellent grocery cart driver. I was not quite so carefree with number 1 but then again she doesn't drive it like a race car. She stays close to mom.