Wednesday, December 31, 2008

ringing it in.



I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world


I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world


The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people going by

I see friends shakin' hands, sayin' "How do you do?"
They're really saying "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow

They'll learn much more than I'll ever know

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world
(listen)


Happy New Year!
Wishing you all a year full of wonder and beauty.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

lovely days at home.


I don't think there is much I like more than those in between days. Days at home, puttering, baking, creating, playing, being silly, singing, reading lots of books, hanging out, making stuff, and just, well, enjoying life. I always like the last week in December. It usually snows, gets really cold, and we settle in and get used to winter, which will now sink in for a few good long months.



We have been busy at home. Lots of lego building and fun science projects (well, A doesn't like the glowing germ gel with the blacklight...ahem...don't ask).


A LOT of trampoline jumping.


Headlamp wearing in the dark (ooh, fun!).


Spinny art making.


Snowball fights and fort (re) building.


Baking and soup making, coffee drinking while reading those crisp new seed catalogs, and watching the birds out the windows.

I hope you all are enjoying some downtime after the hustle of the holidays.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

happy holidays.


Wishing you all a wonderful holiday.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

snowflakes.


With all of this snow outside, we have been making our own inside. I'm sure most of you have made borax crystal strings or snowflakes before - but if you have not, it is a fun project for this time of year.


The boys first made strings of crystals, and then moved up to pipe cleaner snowflakes.


easy to make:: In a wide mouth canning jar, add 3 Tbsp of borax per 2 cups of boiling water. stir to dissolve. Make a shape using a pipe cleaner, and hang it from a pencil suspended across the jar mouth using a piece of yarn (don't let it touch the bottom). Be sure water is high enough to cover. Leave overnight.


Pull out and let dry.


Once dry, carefully hang in a window! Lots of fun.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Buon inverno!


Happy Solstice!
Welcome back, sun!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

a room with a view.


Just listed: Winter Wonderland! Side by side snow forts, new construction. Open floor plan. Living room, entry way, sleeping hole, and custom shelving in each unit. Both snow forts are located next to a community room fort, with fortified walls and circular design. Lots of fresh air!

The forts feature hand crafted snow bricks and attention to detail. Cubby holes, nooks, and windows carefully included.


Rear walls are over 4 feet tall, offering optimum wind protection. Comfortable seating is also provided.


Conveniently located only yards from home for quick and easy access to warm apple cider and freshly baked cookies for the young ones, and for the parents, nice hot irish coffee.


Currently receiving a nice thick layer of fresh powder for that extra sparkle. Each is one of a kind! :)

Friday, December 19, 2008

snow, snow, snow!


We have had a lot of snow this week! Today we got about a foot - and after spending several hours digging out our sidewalks and driveway, we still had some time for fun.


During the storm the snow was icy, sharp, and stinging with crazy winds. After the snow stopped it calmed down a lot - and there are not many things more exciting in winter than climbing massive shoveling piles.


Yeah, that is the ground wayyyyyyyyy down there.


Yep, down there.

It is indeed a gorgeous winter wonderland as the entire world seems to be covered in mountains of pristine white...that is, until you need to go somewhere. Lucky for us, we are cozy at home with lots of science projects, holiday crafts, food baking, and of course, each other!

We are getting another 5-8 inches over the weekend, which should give us enough of the white stuff to re-create our massive snow forts and get some sledding in. The boys can't wait!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

winter sunshine.


In between all the deep cold and snow we have had glimpses of bright sunshine. There isn't anything quite as lovely as that frosty winter beaming off of white snow sunshine. It streams in our front windows and the boys immediately prepare for a beach party. Beach blanket, sunglasses, and lots of bare skin (check!) - and they lay in the sunshine, soaking it all up, chatting away.


G said "Ahhhhhh, this is the life."


Yes, it is.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

weekends...


Sometimes weekends just fly by. This was one of those weekends. G must be in a growth spurt, as his sleep schedule is out of whack and he is getting very cranky in the afternoons. So we pulled back some plans and did more go with the flow close to home.

There was still a lot of fun. A holiday train show, karate, crafting,


botanical garden, making lots of goodies in the kitchen,


a tree farm visit, family movie night,


snow fort building (before the big melt),


and spending lots of time together.


*Just* busy enough that I managed to procrastinate most of my weekend cleaning! Well, sorta. But some weekends any excuse is good enough to put that off! ;)

Hope you had a nice weekend!

Friday, December 12, 2008

friday morning ritual.


For the winter we have started a weekly Friday morning ritual - we meet my mom for breakfast at a local cafe. The boys love getting out to see grandma. It is a nice way to catch up each week - otherwise we don't see each other much (she's a very busy lady!)!


We have breakfast, chit-chat, and spend some time together. After a while the boys get silly.


A little while later grandma gets silly too. Lots of fun and a nice way to spend a freezing Friday morning!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Getting a move on.


What do you do when it is cold outside, but the sun is shining and the music is blasting?


Dance, flip, jump and move.


"This is our funky exercise, mom!" Indeed.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Photo of the Day.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Snow Day!


Today it snowed, and snowed, and snowed.
We played outside, made snow angels, waved at neighbors and shoveled.

Did a fun project, spelled things, built stuff with legos, cooked yummy food and shoveled.


Painted ornaments, practiced karate, baked bread and shoveled.

Link
Read books, played board games, baked cookies and shoveled.


Fed the birds, watched the bunny and...shoveled! Fun day!

Monday, December 08, 2008

for the birds.


My husband has been gone pretty much all day and night for many many many days with work (and has taken our family car many times due to the bad weather), so we have been tucked in a bit at home. The boys seem to be a bit more intense and moody when dad is gone so much, so I have been trying to keep the holiday crafting projects rolling in a bit at a time, to keep us busy and happy...craftiness plus lots of games, baking, and snowball fights on the deck is good.

Every year we like to make pine cone bird feeders. They are easy and look nice out on the tree. We have had a bit of snow already this year, but a 'big one' is hitting us tonight and tomorrow. When there is big snow, our other bird feeders usually get blocked a bit, so it is the perfect time for the pine cones!

It is easy. You just need UNsweetened creamy peanut butter, a little coconut oil, pine cones, birdseed, and ribbon.


Scoop out a container of creamy peanut butter into a bowl and stir in a tablespoon of the oil to thin it down a little so that it isn't too thick or sticky for the birds. Don't want to choke them. An alternative to the oil is to mix in a little corn meal - that makes the peanut butter more gritty and easier for birds to eat as well.

Tie ribbons on the pine cones. Put the pine cone in the peanut butter and spoon to coat. Let drip a little, then put it into a bowl of birdseed. Roll to coat well. Done! Hang it out on a tree, up close to a branch!


Within 60 seconds of hanging our pine cones on the tree we had birds already feeding on them (not exaggerating - we walked in and closed door and they were on it). Fun!

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

clay tea light holders.


Over the past few weeks G has been making tea light holders with me out of air dry clay. We started by making a few as a test to see how it worked and turned out. It is quite simple and anything to do with clay is good with G.


We started by taking an air dry clay (we like this one) and rolling it into a ball - about palm size. We then took a tea light and pushed it into the middle firmly, until it was even on the bottom and pushed it around sideways a little to be sure there was extra room for the tea light to go back in when it dried. G dipped his fingers into water and smoothed around the tea light a little bit.

We let them dry a few days with the tea light still in it, and then took it out, turned over the now mostly dry clay, and let the bottom dry too.


G painted the clay with a craft acrylic paint - we found one that said it was for ceramics and was shiny. He did two coats.


Once that was dry he took a brush and dabbed glue on the holders and then sprinkled glitter on that to stick. After they were all dry we lit them! G loves the sparkles in the candlelight.


They look nice and festive. We are making some more with different colors/shapes and less glitter for gifts.

To make the clay base even it does require working together with little ones more closely in the first molding phase, but the painting and decorating is no holds barred! :) Fun!