prism.

We went from 7 days of one sick boy...and on the 8th day when he felt a little better, his little brother went down. So, we know we will be doing this another week or so. Seems what is to expect |this| |time| of |year|.


We are looking forward to some big snow this week (finally! we haven't had much). Perfect for staying in, taking care of a little asthma boy, and finishing up some great creative and kitchen projects we've been working on.


The boys have been working on some music, air dry clay crafting, painting, baking, (playing with prisms) and all kinds of other goodness.


Here is to another creative warm week at home, watching the snow fly.


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silliness.

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a
kaleidoscope of new possibilities.
~Jean Houston



The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
~e.e. cummings


Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes
your smile can be the source of your joy.
- Thich Nhat Hanh

Having fun and being silly is a good way to get through those dark gray winter days (and help a sick boy feel a little better)!
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soaking up the rays.

I hear ya. All the blogging out there about the winter doldrums, cold, and desperation for spring. But we have a while to go - winter has a lot more to dish out.

So some January freeze eye candy. Warmth, home, sunshine, blue skies and pretty clouds.


Everything and everyone loves to soak up the sun when it gets this cold. Cats,


kids,


birds,


plants, and ... me.

And that is what we need, when we start feeling funky. Sun.


Well, that and garden dreaming.


Tonight we will hit -16º below zero with -20º to -30º windchills. But that is OK. We are safe and warm, and enjoying the sunshine and blue sky.


What do you do to lift your spirits in the mid-winter?



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robot battle arena.

We've had some lovely snow - which means a lot of snuggling down at home, and trips to the sledding hill. We've had a few fun things stashed away and the snow was the perfect excuse to pull them all out.


New card games and books, and a paper robot battle kit. Ooooh yeah. Robots are big in this house. Both real and toy robots. This kit has paper robots to assemble which are slipped onto a wind up 'motor' base on wheels and they move. A sensor of sorts makes them turn when they encounter an edge. There is a raised battle arena.


So on their own, the robots go in circles around the stage. When facing off, one must inevitably push the other off of the edge. Score! Yes, lots of little boy yelling and cheering goin' on.


The boys need a little bit of help with all of the scoring/gluing/folding, so to make whole thing out all week for full excitement, they want to assemble just one each per day.


I was waiting to see how long it would take them before they wanted to start modifying, changing, re-vamping, and altering designs and motors to suit their own ideas.


They have already started plotting. We have some interesting modifications ahead of us, and several more days of robot battles to say the least!


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more color!

After painting a bunch of rooms together (when my husband was home for a few days over the holidays) we have been working on painting another room or two per weekend.


It is a nice way to do it - getting something accomplished each week, but without any all day marathons or too much at a time - keeps us all happy and boys not overdone.


This week we did the kitchen, front hall, and dining room. Everything is feeling cozy and comfortable. Which is just what we need when the deep freeze hits.


I love having some color inside when it is white outside! Ahhh, January!


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home...

This week we've had some recurring car problems, and so have been home a few days while our car is in the shop (again). But being home doesn't mean we are not busy!


A & G have been on the go go go. Experiments, games, dancing, film making, photography, reading, drawing, music, writing, bird watching - always something! For us, home time is not down time, not boring. It is when we are the most connected, plugged in, interested, focused, creative, and energized.


Inside, outside. Creative, practical. New, familiar. It is all here at home for us.


So while the world outside is cold, gray, and dark, we are home, in motion.


Days at home flow into a natural rhythm that works for us. Focused quiet projects move to exercise and action, experiments lead to new interests and research for answers, inside moves outside for some fresh air and back in to warm up again.


Intense focus to action and back again, never ending, always something happening, learning, exploring, connecting.


So even though we have been home bound, the boys are happy (as am I). Actually, we all prefer having uninterrupted time at home - more time for our projects! Winter is for home.


I love that home is a wonderful thing. That home is where we all connect and feel creative. That home is a place of love and energy and joy for my boys. That home is good. That home is our favorite place to be.


Our car is now fixed, and so we will wander back out, but will always still look forward to coming home. It is, after all, where the heart is.


(Well, that and popsicles.)


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boys.

ham.


with a side of cheese.


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doldrums schmoldrums.

As soon as the holidays end many people start talking about the winter doldrums. I say doldrums schmoldrums. I love winter. There are so many things to appreciate, enjoy and which inspire this time of year. Sure, some can be enjoyed year round, but there is something special, simple, and particularly fulfilling about them when it is bitterly cold outside. Here are a few things that caught my eye today that made me think...I love January.


trays of sprouts, piles of books, crunchy snow underfoot,


sunshine streaming in the windows, the smell of the cold clean air as it blasts into the house when the door opens,


wheatgrass, hot tea, birds, how the previously chilly house feels steamy when we come in from outside,


seed catalogs, garden planning,


knitting and crocheting, music,


baking and cooking from our winter stores...home.


As the cold settles in and the holidays are over and days become more peaceful, these things make the winter a comfortable warm place to be.

In fact, my list goes on and on (and on). ;) I think I'll be doing more of this throughout the 'winter doldrums'.

"Hear! hear!" screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, "winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it."
~Henry David Thoreau

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What inspires you in January?

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giggles.

G working on a comic. About a very very gaseous hamster.
Need I say more?


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