earth hour 2009.

Turn out. Take Action.
Be Part of this historic event.
March 28, 2009 8:30 pm local time


"World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate their commitment to finding solutions."


We did this last year as a family and plan to join in again this year. We did our hour last year from 7-8PM local time, as the boys usually fall asleep before 8:30. We turned off the lights, lit some candles, and played a board game and then the boys took a bath, got dressed in their PJs, read stories, and blew out candles to go to sleep. The thought that millions around the planet were doing the same thing we were, and the amount of energy we saved together in only one single hour was something we talked about for days. The boys liked it so much we have had more nights by candlelight, and enjoy the peace and quiet it brings.

>>So, join us! (you can also sign up by clicking the box in the top right or going here)

photos of the day.

grrr. he is a fluffy pastel sparkly, uh, monster.

nope, he couldn't see a thing.

Thank you for all the well wishes. I'm still feeling blech with some wicked sinus/face pain with this cold, but I'm hoping the next few days will clear this out and I'll be good as new!

under the weather.

After staying healthy for months now, I finally was hit with a cold and am a bit under the weather.


What to do with little spunky guys while mom is feeling not-so-hot has never been too much of an issue. They have each other and enjoy days at home - there are lots of stories to be told, places to be imagined, crafts to be done, pictures to be sketched, scooter to be ridden (yes, inside), books to be read, yarn to be knit, letters to be written, and castles to be built.


Of course they find a way to make time in their busy schedule to give me lots of snuggles and give pointers on what to grow where as I sketch our garden layout yet again with my foggy stuffed up head. They even constructed an EMP generator out of legos to make me feel better (it pulsates, attacking the virus and helping my white blood cells fight it off - who knew?). Their energy is contagious, of course, and who can feel blechy with all that little guy action going on?

museum exploration.

This was the first year that my boys were ho-hum about going to the annual train show - kind of the same'ol thing, after a few years of attending. Yesterday we had a big snow and stayed close to home, but this morning the boys jumped at the idea of heading east to visit the Milwaukee Public Museum instead of going to see trains. The museum is so huge there never seems to be much of a crowd and we can wander and explore so many interesting things - insects, dinosaurs, ancient peoples, Asian art, geology, rain forests, Native American culture and history, and life through the ages.


It is such a big place that G my little asthma boy has to 'stop to catch his breaf', and so we walked a bit and then sat and people watched our way through (G also got a lot of shoulder & piggy back rides! :)). As the boys get older we can stay longer and longer and made it many hours today as the boys wanted to stop, read, and explore so much in each section this time.


A really loves science and all of the little details. We have been to this museum many times, but the trip today started many new conversations and sparked new questions from him. I love seeing what new things he notices each time we go. He is getting so big. I can't believe he is going to be six in only a few weeks. Wow.


With the snow and the museum, it was a nice weekend with a little home and a little exploration. We also visited a great local garden store over the weekend - and found several eco-friendly options (non-peat) for seed starting mediums. Can't wait to try them (more on that soon!).

I'm ready for a week of Mardi Gras kid fun, frenzied garden sketching and plotting, bread baking, insect research, science projects, basement seed station organizing, birthday planning, snow shoveling, and more! Hope you had a nice weekend!

home made mozzarella...

We made mozzarella cheese from scratch yesterday. The boys poured, measured, stirred, and paddled. The cheese is great and it was super quick and easy to make! It was so easy I couldn't believe we hadn't tried it before.


The recipe is at our food blog...