Another Garden Project

We've been poking around our yard over these past few months, finishing up projects that have been on our minds for a while like our Tire Swing, as well as starting new ones like our Vegetable and Herb Garden. Recently we finished another quick project, hanging a swing for the kids that we've had sitting around in a box since our move last year.

Its a simple cute Ikea swing,

which we decided to hang from the base of the kid's tree house that Frank built last summer.

I'm working (still working!) on a long overdue post about our yard renovation that we did last summer, its really hard to believe that when we moved in last summer this was all just dirt surrounding the big old trees, its come so far and looks great this season as many of the plants that we put in are filling in more.

Its such a special place to hang out and play.

We all goofed off while Frank hung the swing, Jasper took some silly pictures of Carys and I.

Then, it was done! And I don't think they've stopped swinging since, between the tire swing out in our front yard and this new one! But....I've still got one more cool swing idea using just a thick nautical rope, our friend here made one for his kids and I think we're going to attempt our own. I'm excited about that and I'll share it with you as soon as we figure out how to make it!

Mexico: Phone Hijack

So while I was busy coloring with Carys on our flight back from Mexico I gave Jasper my phone thinking he'd just play the couple of games that I keep for him on there, and this is what I found later....

Oh my goodness silly boy, I got a real giggle out of them!

I do remember him taking this last one, I should have known!

Thanksgiving

Perhaps I can blame it on our move this year, but I really can.not.believe that the Thanksgiving holiday is coming up this week! How can it be the end of November, and is Christmas really only a few weeks away?!?
While I absorb all of that, and cook and host Frank's family for a Thanksgiving feast coming up on Thursday I might be pretty quiet around here, but perhaps I'll pop in with some images of our celebration.
I am feeling extra thankful after a quick trip that we took last week, we drove down to Disney in Florida and met up there with my mother and also with Sarah, my closest friend from childhood who flew down from New Hampshire with her kids.
We all stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we had a view of safari animals from our room's balcony which was pretty cool,

My friend Sarah has a son who is Jasper's age and a daughter who is Carys's age, which is an amazing serendipity, and the fact that they all love each other and play so well makes me happy on many different levels. Watching them play makes me think of the way Sarah and I used to play when we met when we were only 4, and it also makes me realize anew how thankful I am for her and for all of my deep friendships that have seen me through the years.

Another side of the trip was actually tough, Sarah's husband Jamey died 3 years ago in a motorcycle accident, and this was the first trip that Frank and I have spent with her family since the accident. So, Jamey's absence was tangible, strange and aching. Seeing how their children have grown and watching their son's face form the same expressions and smiles that Jamey would do was a constant reminder of their loss. It made me so grateful, so deeply Thank-full, for my own family. The simple fact that Frank and I get to wake up every day together and watch our beautiful children grow is a joy that never gets old and something that I am thankful for every single day, and I could taste that on this trip.

I plan to celebrate that joy, especially this week as we give thanks on the holiday. This past year has been a huge one for my family of 4, as we moved together to a new place where we only had each other and together we have branched out, made a new home and new friends slowly making this place our own. We have come through it all together as a stronger family unit, they are my joy, my strength and my thanks for them overflows.

Fire Pit

We've been using our yard so much now as it has been getting noticably cooler in the evenings, the mosquitos are around less, so we can be out more!
I promise to post the before and after story of our backyard landscaping project (I'm a little overwhelmed with editing all the photos that I took of the project but I promise!), it is hard to believe that this whole back yard was just dirt when we moved in 4 months ago.
Something that we have always wanted is a fire pit, there is something about having a fir out of doors that relaxes Frank and I, it makes us think of camping. Finally, we have a fire pit on the patio and we had our first fire in it the other night.

We loved it.

And we captured the moment with a family photo, 

Clearly Carys had other ideas...

I loved watching the world darken around us, and the sparks dance up through the darkness.

A little silliness

Recently we've enjoyed getting back into doing our family mural projects, where we lay a big paper down on the floor and just go at it all together with pencils, markers and paints. Often now Jasper will be the director, telling us the story of the drawing while we are making it, and telling us who should draw what and where. We are all liking this structure, as with his direction the pieces become like a dialogue and a family story.

This is one of our favorite ways to play as a family, and these sessions can definitely get a little silly,

Here is a recent finished drawing, that the kids immediately wanted hung up on their bedroom wall. The story of this drawing became about our family (see there are the 4 of us) wandering on a path through the woods where we saw lots of animals and then finished our journey at our new house in Charleston....see it there at the end of the path? 

I love the poetry in that story, and how doing these family drawings really helps our family bond and talk about things that are going on in an indirect way, helping all of us to feel safe, secure and together.

Date night

 When Jasper was a baby, and before we had Carys, Frank and I had a regular date night set up with our babysitter. We'd sit down with her, and pencil in every other Saturday night for months in advance on our calendars. Those dates were our time that we looked forward to as a couple to be out alone together, to remember who we were as two people and not just two parents! All of you parents know what I mean right? This night was so precious to us as a couple. Then our trusted babysitter moved away, and we had another baby, and well... date night fell to the wayside.
Now it has been a few years, and recently a woman at our church was looking for babysitting work, and it turns out that both of our kids loooove her. So, we've set up "date night" again, its all pencilled into the calendar and everything, through June. I can hardly believe it!
Last week was our first one, Frank and I just went down the street to the local cozy Pub on our corner,

where we grabbed a table, ordered food and chatted for hours.

The gift of time alone together was precious, and much needed, especially as it feels like we've been cooped up inside as a family for weeks with the winter weather. I'm so looking forward to all of the date nights that we have ahead of us on the calendar, where we can talk and dream together about all of the exciting changes and dreams that we are actualizing this year!

Felt-a-licious

There is something about heading into these winter months that makes me just feel like crafting with wool. A friend and I started sewing wool felt food for our children's play kitchens two winters ago. I jumped right in and I think that winter I must have sewn about 12 little cakes and cupcakes. Then last winter a friend offered a workshop for the parents in our Waldorf Playgroup on wool felting. From the moment I started working with the soft wool, and all of those colors, I was hooked! There is such a meditative peaceful feeling that comes over me when I have my hands in wool, and that is why I was so excited to learn about this delicious looking online workshop, being taught by two beautiful women who I have become friends with online recently, Nicole and Emily.

The wool that Nicole is sourcing from Australia, where she lives, looks so yummy doesn't it! I'll be taking this workshop and I'm really looking forward to it, as it feels like the perfect way to decompress after the busy Thanksgiving holiday that is fast approaching.

If you'd like to join me you can find out more information about the class and teachers (they are lovely!) and registration here. I can't wait to make lot's of wonderful woolly Christmas presents, especially these felted ipod/phone pouches, so sweet!

Ways to spend a too-hot-day

These recent days have been long, and hot here in Brooklyn, way too hot to spend too much time outside. We've been running out on errands, to the store, the farmer's market, then retreating back indoors to the relief of our air conditioning. There we have been spending most of our time. Yesterday, I started thinking that in a way it might as well be wintertime with the amount of time that we have been spending holed up inside. It is harder for me to think of how to spend our time when we are stuck indoors but we do have some creative tricks here, so I thought I'd share a list of some of our recent favorite ways to pass the time, all of which I think could work equally well in this heat wave or in a snow bound winter....

1. Sunprints
Making Sunprints is something that even very young children can do. It works very well in the summertime as the sun is so strong and you get your results very quickly.

We grab a bunch of things that we think will make a fun impression....

Then we start experimenting, placing things in the sun on the photo-sensitive paper, and the results are so beautiful. It is hard to go wrong with Sunprints, the kid's excitement really makes me feel like the coolest mom ever.

2. Window Stickers

This turns any window into a fun surface for imaginative play. We use The Original Colorforms Set along with a combination of sets like this Mudpuppy Room to Play Play Scene Sticker Set. Basically any reusable vinyl sticker will do.

I keep them all in an old shoe box so that I can pull them out when we are searching for something to do, today the kids created a circus.

3. Video time
We do enjoy good videos and lately we have been really into the series of videos that were released last year by BBC called Life.
Each one hour episode is about a different part of the animal kingdom, mammals, insects, birds, reptiles, etc....and my little animal obsessed boy pretty much thinks they are the best thing ever, in fact so do the rest of us, the cinematography is beyond amazing.
We've also been going back to our very favorite video series The Little Travelers, about a real life world traveling family, the kids love it!

4. Beauty Shop
It is hard for me to get a good shot of this because I am usually the center part of the action when we do this...

Usually I'll suggest this when I am tired, since the main part of "beauty shop" is usually me sitting on the floor while the kids brush and put hair clips in my hair (and I close my eyes), we also dress up and do each other's nails during beauty shop time. This is another winner in our home, and here is how my hair looked after our last beauty shop time...

Well, there are some of our ways to stay sane indoors! Tomorrow we are making an escape to the beach where at least we'll be able to beat the heat in the water, before returning home.
xo