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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