A "Springy" Kind of Day

The vernal equinox came and went with a good old fashioned Nor'easter last week.  We got about  a foot of snow to celebrate this mighty day when the earth's axis points neither toward nor away from the sun. I'm pretty sure last year we were experiencing an early, warm spring while this year it seems to be taking it's sweet time.
Ah, but today...the sun was warm, so warm I pulled out a chair and sat on the deck knitting while the kids busied themselves with the beginnings of a tree fort.

 Lucky for my little early riser the neighbors didn't mind his banging one bit.  We've been looking through our books for a couple weeks now.  We really like Tree Houses You Can Actually Build and Handy Dad for lots of useful information.  I also scored this book at a book sale last summer and It is so fun!  The author weaves the story of his own childhood adventures of building a tree house (among other things) while giving directions on how to do it yourself.  The idea of a tree house has been in the plans for some time now, but now that the monkeys are a bit older they can really take part.

A nesting bird has been discovered (can you see her hiding?) and Corey is looking forward to tracking it's progress (I think she's sitting on eggs) daily. We're still trying to figure out just what kind of bird so we'll keep you posted...oh how I love homeschooling.

 This day has been splendid, for the first time I feel spring in the air and I'm ready to be outside all the time.  Well, almost all the time.  As I write the sun has gone in and I am warming my bones next to the fire.  But it has been a most "springy" kind of day.

In Our Living Room

I like the living room.  I went through a phase where I wanted to call it the family room, or the parlor, the hip phrase I hear lately is the great room.  But this room whatever you wish to call it has some serious living going on at all times!

 Last night I truly enjoyed watching some music lessons happen.  We are all so fortunate to have this wonderful papa in our lives.  After a full day of work at the office on Mondays he heads strait to band practice, then comes home and is still happy to give a lesson to some anxiously waiting children!  I just sat here, enjoying the warmth of the wood stove and breathed in every smile, giggle, and cord I could...there is nothing quite like it. 

 

Looking around the room, clearly the animals don't care one way or the other, a simple fire in the wood stove and family around is enough to make them...well fall asleep...sign of a truly content pet I'm assuming?

 

Of course there is always a changing display of artwork, right now there seems to be a dragon theme, I'm sure you can guess who is into this right now.

And here again this morning as I was thinking about a blog post we are again in our usual spots.  Kids in front of the fire doing schoolwork, cat sleeping in the chair, and me breathing all this life in, enjoying every last bit. 
Soon the seasons will shift as will our "living space" to outside but for now; I like it here in our living room.
Whats going on in yours?

Looking Back on the Week

It seems I can't post more than once a week lately, but know that I think about it often. 

 Have you seen this wizard?  This was a joint effort between Molly and I.  She learned how to freezer paper stencil over at Dragonfly Farm and now we are hooked!  What a fun easy way to dress up anything.  Being huge Harry Potter fans in this house Molly found this on line and we had to make a pillow for the couch.

Then I decided a foxy pillow was in order.  I'm super in love with this one.

Molly is in the midst of getting a new pet (more on that to come), Greg and I have been really impressed with her determination.  She has done all the research and has been saving her own money to make this craziness happen.  She spent a good portion of the day yesterday assembling the cage without a bit of help as she really wants this to be all her.  You go girl!

 Of course we've got to fit some school work in as well.  Have I mentioned how much I love their kindle fires?  A christmas gift from their special Tita last year and it's fantastic for school.  See it right here next to him on the bed?  He's looking at the vocabulary in his science textbook that is on the kindle!  Don't get me wrong, I love me a good paper book but for some of our school work that little tablet has been amazing.

 Of course we've always got time for our little friends.  I think we all enjoy our day with the littles, there is so much to discover and learn.  I think Corey especially loves playing in that magical world that children live in for so long.

My niece spent a lot of time looking at the world through binoculars yesterday!  I'm not sure she saw anything in focus, but she was indeed a happy little lady.

We were blessed with a quick weekend visit from a very special grandma last weekend.  It worked out perfectly as Molly had her best gymnastics meet of the season and is now going to regionals!  Loud applause...

And finally Greg finished his album for the RPM challenge! It's amazing, you can listen and download it for free here...I do love that man of mine.

I'm heading into a busy work weekend and hoping a dear friend goes into labor while I'm there. Also hoping to find time to see both my boys play an open mic night in Damariscotta.
Have a great weekend! 

The Beach in Winter

Last week right before our big blizzard hit the kids and I took a short trip to the beach.  We were in search of some specimens for microscope viewing.  Boy oh boy it was cold, the trip was quick and there was lots of running and jumping to stay warm.  It's amazing how beautiful our ocean is even in the bitter cold. Even so, I  am more than ready for spring...a bit soon I know but I've got gardening on my mind.

These Summer Days

I'm finding it hard to believe that we are already in August...It seems I remember the "grown-ups" talking about how fast time would go by when I was younger, but I just didn't believe it.  These summer days of ours have been filled with so much, I keep meaning to find the time to sit at the computer and catch up with a blog post, but sure enough another week goes by.  Not that I'm complaining mind you, it's nice to step away from the screen a bit and our time together has been filled with such fun and adventure.  Here are some recent pics of what goes on around here: (by the way, the gorgeous Lunar moth was just hanging out while we did dishes while camping, I had to take a shot, he was huge).

Greg and I managed to find time for an anniversary dinner at Frontier in Brunswick, just a quick little trip out, nothing extravagant, but just what we needed to remind ourselves of our love.  

There was another weekend trip to Vermont to see our sweet nephews/cousins.  Oh my these two are something special!

We we around for a first s'more (yup the same guy who had a first ice cream with us, how lucky are we?)

 Oh this boy of mine was great with the littles, and they simply adore him!  I still can't believe my babies have turned into the "big kids"!

 There was much time spent on the lake.

And in the lake.

Some time on Greg's brother's boat.

And tubing.

A bit of napping.

 Ben & Jerry's (we are in VT folks)

And a Wilco show to boot! This is the 9th or 10th year that we have seen them live, it's really become quite a tradition they never fail to put on an amazing live performance!

 Around here there has been lots of stitching, this embroidered Mexican sugar skull pillow is for Molly's new room, she has been digging them a lot lately so you may see them popping up here and there.

Also I did purchase the Alabama Studio Sewing + Design book!  So fantastic, I made my first item, a skirt for Molly in some leftover City Weekend I had.  I love it and will show more later.  Wasn't sure what I would think of the whole hand stitching thing, but wow I found it quite meditative and the results are gorgeous!  I finished it off this am with a little hand stamped tag and she's wearing it now!

Tonight we are off to a Dark Hollow Bottling Company outdoor show that should be super fun (of course seeing the hubs on stage always gets me a bit giddy).

Hope your summer days are full of fun!

Backyard Adventures

When we have extra little friends over we often go off on adventures throughout the coast, fun is always had and the unknown is exciting.  Sometimes though, it's nice just to stay right around here and enjoy what we have at our beckoned call.

It always starts with pillows and blankets heading out the back door..."what are we doing?" I ask.  "Building a fort" comes a response in unison from 3 little boys.  I love that with them on this particular day there were knights, horses and even Corey's first Waldorf doll "C-Rob" is his name, I made him when Corey was 4 and he still plays with him...warms a mama's heart and soul.
Of course, 1 fort can be a bit crowded for 3, and some feelings can get hurt so I came to the rescue with a little tepee fun!

Talk about cute!  This one even got the girl involved.  It was super simple, there are plenty of tutorials out there for a more permanent structure (which I'd love to try), but for a temporary afternoon this was perfect.  I took some garden stakes I had around (5 I think), tied them together at the top with some twine and stood them up in a tepee shape.  Next I just wrapped a full flat sheet around, tied some more twine on the top, used a clothes pin for the "door latch" and voila happy children.
I love these days, when for the most part I am busying myself with what ever chores need to be done and the kids are outside laughing, playing and just entertaining themselves.  Of course it's never long before somebody announces they are hungry.

I've been setting up this little space for them quite regularly, such a sweet little setting in the shade for a lunch time break.  The table is Corey and my first woodworking project together a couple of years ago, it's from this book, which we have made a few things from.  The carafe of lemonade is the biggest hit of all, amazing how they love to pour their own drinks and serve themselves.

Spending time with these extra little people every week has been such a blessing.  First there is the fact that their mama and I have been friends for over 20 years now (long before I met the hubs); this fact in itself warms my heart beyond belief. But also in this busy world we live in it's easy to loose track of the ever important "village" that makes child rearing so special.  These little guys learn every day from the "big kids" and my "big" kids learn so much from them.  Of course we as parents grow and learn with each other as well, and sometimes having another grown up to chat with can make the everything just a bit better.  With immediate family spread out in several states having friends close by makes growing up together memories every day.  How lucky we are.