snow and baking and halloween

it snowed here the saturday before halloween.  which was kind of unexpected, although my phone said it would snow, i didn't believe it since it has done me wrong before and it just seemed way too early to snow.  we just returned from southern california and 70-80 degree weather the day before, so it just didn't seem like it would really snow.  but snow it did, as you can see.  we went on a little winter... uh... autumn walk on sunday morning.

snow means winter and baking, right?  so i just had to use the last of our garden zucchini for zucchini bread using my friend mary's recipe (which is my all time favorite!).  i added some frozen  blueberries and it was delicious!  we may have been listening to christmas music while we made them...

we went to a halloween art class and made haunted castles.  the castle is make from a tissue box, toilet paper and paper towel roll and shaved ice cone all painted gray.  both kids loved decorating their castles and they looked super cute as halloween decorations at  home.

this year we were princess leia and yoda.  this was the first year i did not make their costumes, which was sad and a relief.  with the multiple funerals all across the country it just wasn't in the cards this year, but next year we will hopefully go back to homemade.  but it may depend on what they want to be...

happy autumn!

late harvest

we just harvested a lot more from our garden!  do you see all those habanero peppers?!?  they are super spicy!  sam is going to make some hot sauce with them for a 'spice' party he is having with some other guys where they all bring something insanely hot to try.  not for me.

sorry i have been absent for awhile, my grandma passed away and it sort of threw us (me) for a loop.  we went out to arizona for her beautiful funeral mass that my aunts worked hard to plan, in the middle of their mourning.  they did an amazing job!  it was perfectly my grandma and i am so glad i got to go with my kids to take comfort in family, reminisce about her amazing life and take time to say goodbye.

powerless

when hurricane irene left us powerless (and home-bound due to downed trees) we had lots of fun with flashlights. a fort was made and all the flashlights were squirreled away in there. the kids were really excited to 'read' books by flashlight. it was very cute but as you might be able to see at the tippy top of the picture, it was still light outside so no flashlight was really necessary, but to them the flashlights were essential for proper reading.

we also held a few shadow plays. very impromptu and they all somehow involved a hurricane, but (as a teacher and parent) i was especially excited to hear calvin's internal sense of story as he unfolded the dialogue of the play. he understood there had to be a problem and somehow that problem had to be solved. there were good guys and bad guys and everyone had a family that loved them.

as it got darker and darker we discovered that the shutter closed slower and slower. so when we clicked the picture button we had a few seconds to move the flashlight all around before the shutter closed. we experimented with this a lot. we tried to spell small words or our names but couldn't quite make it look right. the squiggles turned out the best.

we were lucky and got our power back later that night.  but we have played 'power's out' more than a few times since the day irene hit.  i need to keep this game in my back pocket for those cold winter home-bound days that seem to drag on and on and on.

i don't mind the power being out for a day. maybe even two.  it can be fun and we can play these fun flashlight games, but more than two days is rough.  i few people i work with still do not have power!  it's been over a week.  seriously.  it's time to take the power back.

*ps. thank you for your kind comments and emails about my father-in-law and my dad.  i am so happy and relieved to let you know that my dad's cancer was caught super early and the doctors are confident they can get all of the tumor out with surgery.  yay!  

last days of summer vacation

we have been making the most of the last week of summer vacation by tackling all of the unchecked items on our summer to-do list.  trips to all our favorite parks, the aquarium to see the dinosaur exhibit, the natural history museum (again to see the dinosaurs, and the whale), playschool, the beach, my husband's company picnic (see pic above), and now we are hunkering down for our first real hurricane.  

we were directed by the town to evacuate but i think evacuation is not necessary.  our apartment is on the second floor, it has new windows (none of which are large), we have plenty of water and food, and our landlord (who grew up in our apartment) seems to think it will be fine.  we did park one car at a nearby middle school that is up a hill, just in case we are super flooded and something happens to our car.  this morning we went to the library and got tons of books and even a movie.  i have lots of games to play, forts to make, and legos to build with to keep us occupied for the next 24+ hours.

as a last resort if it gets super scary, i got sparking apple cider so that we can have a storm party to ease some fears and we'll sing favorite things. :)

wish us luck!

vacation!

we just got back from a little vacation to the pacific northwest. it was beautiful and filled with family and relaxation. we rented a beautiful house right on devil's lake in oregon. it had its own dock, which was perfect for fishing.

we were close to the beach also. it was rather windy and cold at the beach though, so we were happy to just visit and head back to our house on the slightly warmer, a lot less windy lake.

then we drove up to seattle to see more family. it was beautiful there too, with just one day of typical seattle rainy gray-ness.  we made s'mores, had amazing sausage and delicious frozen yogurt.  the kids fell in love with their dog roxy.  she is a boston terrier and super cute!  (i have a feeling a boston is in our (distant) future...)

this trip was a wonderful way to start the summer!

today

life has been a bit crazy lately and i have been a bit absent from this little blog.  i have a few things on my mind today so i thought i would post some links:

:: love love love pinterest!  i am addicted.  so is sam.  

:: @erikpatterson recommended this dearphotograph and i think that i have to participate...

:: dreaming of this artichoke comforter

::  anxiously awaiting the end of the school year and summer vacation to begin!

:: kind of wanting to get a faux tan but not sure if i really care, feeling like i should care

we are very into playing knights and princesses over here.  sometimes it is knights and pirates.  tonight calvin was protecting princess maeve from the evil knight (me) but princess maeve refused to move or be moved when i tried to capture her (she plays a very good princess...).  turns out screaming is a very good defense against evil knights.  i think our game needs a dragon.

changes

this has been a busy and emotional few weeks for us. hence the lack of blog postings. we moved into a little apartment for 6 months while we renovate our house. the renovation and dreaming about what our house will be like in half a year has been a oh so much fun. the apartment is okay, it is small but not too small. it has terrific morning light (as you can see in the photo above). the kids had a bit of a rough adjustment though, but it seems that in two weeks time we are settling into new spaces and new routines.

then my step-father passed away unexpectedly and it has thrown us for a loop. still feeling a mix of shock and denial and sadness. he was a amazing soul that put a smile on everyone's face that knew him. he always called me 'pumpkin baby' and occasionally 'curtain climber' and used his made up word 'bacocina' in place of tons of other nouns, just for fun.  he made amazing hamburgers and tacos.  he loved to go 'runnin'.  he will be missed by the many people that he knew and most of all his family.

easter baskets

the easter bunny had fun putting the kids easter baskets together this year.  calvin's had a super hero theme due to the fact that he is obsessed with super heroes.

his basket included a couple of batman books, batman toothbrush, spiderman pencils, some mama made pants, a pack of lizards, a little wooden pirate ship to color, a chocolate bunny and these little superhero guys.

maeve's basket was filled with things i thought she would like, no theme for her.  two books (marshmallow and the country bunny and little gold shoes), a rainbow play silk, piggy paint nailpolish and remover, a wooded horse to paint, a set of little clippies for her hair, princess pencils and mama made pants.

everything was put into the baskets from last year.  i love the thick felt and fringed grass of the baskets.  overall it was a successful easter filled with family, good food and chocolate!

spring table

we finally set up our spring nature table.  it has been in constant use ever since.  the little nest with eggs i bought here last year.

we have a collection of bird houses.  calvin just made the tissue box one on the right at an art class we are taking.

maeve has a love/hate relationship with the wind up toys.  she wants me to wind them but is scared and cries when they start to go.  i kept the sun that calvin painted and we had in our winter table because i love it and it fits spring too.

the felted eggs at the far end i bought from an etsy shop last year.  i still need to find the books.  for some reason they were not in the box with our spring stuff.

changing the seasonal table is something i so look forward to and so do the kids, i think.  it feels like a rite of passage, especially for spring, marking the end of a long cold winter and the beginning of a season filled with green, outside and sunshine (plus a little bit of rain).

scary spaghetti

we made scary spaghetti the other night.  this is a wonderful recipe for letting kids do the cooking.  calvin cut up the hot dogs while maeve stuck the noodles into the hot dog pieces.  they we cooked it.

it was awesome!

and also kind of weird...  but they ate it and loved it.  my kids did not want any sauce (or gravy as they call it out here) on it,  but i think that would yummy.  fun to make and fun to eat which is perfect for my little ones right now.  

spring sensory tub

i saw this post from notimeforflashcards and i had to make this spring sensory tub.  i haven't made a sensory tub in awhile, so it was very new and exciting for the babes.  i bought beans that were on sale in all different sizes, two sizes of little flower pots and some silk flowers and then just dumped it all in a tub i have laying around.

maeve filled and dumped and filled and dumped the little pots.

calvin was more into sorting the different types of beans and pasta that were in the tub.  he also made little arrangements in the flower pots with the flowers.

they played alone and then together for almost an hour.  they have brought it out every day since we made it.  success!

celebrating the last of winter

the snow is (finally) melting. i am starting to see the blades of grass that have been hidden for months now. i can smell the cold rain falling. this has been a long winter for this california girl. spring is coming... i am longing for spring with my whole self, but mindfully trying to savor these last days of winter. when my mind wanders to thoughts of gardening and bulbs blooming and no jackets, i try to pull it back to today, now. to help me rediscover the love for days spent (mostly) inside i pulled out a few favorites last week.

finger paints. this changed our whole afternoon. it was freeing and fun. calvin loved making everything turquoise. he liked the impermanence of making letters in the paint and then then painting over them to make new ones. maeve loved swirling the paint around and around.

button sorting. this was a spur of the moment idea and it turned out to be very entertaining. she sort and then dumps and repeats. she then carries it around like a little suitcase.

so for today we are enjoying out last few days spent (mostly) inside, seeing old things with new eyes and new possibilities. i am enjoying the closeness of my little ones as we share the same space, as i know once spring is here and we head outside, we will have much more physical space between us. for now, we can still enjoy hot cocoa and the occasional winter song (maeve asks for frosty the snowman daily), warm soup from a friend and flashlight fun after dinner. this california girl is going to savor these last few weeks of winter, be present and mindful of how fast they will go.

cauliflower soup

making cumin cauliflower soup with my two little helpers.  i would post the recipe but it was not that great of a soup.  it is from the web but i printed it in 2008 and i don't remember where i got it from.  sam came home just as it was done and added a few more things to it, not  in any measured quantities, and made it taste divine.  i like to cook, but sam has the skills to make things taste amazing with no recipe.  so luckily he saved the day!

snow days

we have had many many snow days in the last few weeks.  although it is freezing, i have kept my resolution to go outside for at least 15 minutes everyday with the kids (save for a few days when they were very sick and it was very cold out).  calvin is digging out an ice cave/igloo above.

when we are not outside i have been trying to keep the kids busy with some arts and crafts projects.  i pulled out some dinosaur rubbing plates from my box of art supplies, and calvin loved them.  it took him a few tries for him to figure out how to hold the paper still and rub at the same time, but he got it.

maeve is a stickers and crayons kind of girl.  these two things will hold her attention for awhile.  luckily when i taught in california, we used to take a yearly field trip to Mrs. Grossman's sticker factory and they would give me a box full of not-quite-perfect stickers.  so i have an almost endless supply of stickers for her.

we are anticipating another snow day this week.  more snow fun outside and in!

everytime it snows...

i want to make bread.  and we have had a lot of snow.  a. lot.  we have three feet on the ground in our yard least.

so just like we have an abundance of snow... we have an abundance of bread.  but it is oh so good!

luckily i have a hungry buzz lightyear living here that loves homemade bread with a little bit of butter and honey (we call them a honey bunny because that is what calvin's old babysitter called them).

here is a link to my favorite homemade bread recipe, in case anyone is interested.  be sure that your milk/honey/water mix is no warmer than 130.  if it is any warmer it will kill the yeast.  i learned the hard way :(  i changed the recipe a bit... i add more honey (1/3 to 1/2 cup) and i add about 2 tbs vital wheat gluten.  i think that it has a softer more airy feeling with the vital wheat gluten.  

it is delicious... so bring on the snow!

christmas crafting III

calvin loves to write letters, so when i saw this little letter holder in amanda's book i knew i had to make one for him.

i used a barnyard waffle weave fabric that i have had forever on the outside and an alphabet print for the lining.

i chose to add divided pockets to the original pattern to organize the envelopes, cards and pens.  i got the envelopes and cards from paper source.

calvin loved it and has already written some letters.  in an age where most correspondence takes place electronically, i hope calvin continues to handwrite letters as he grows.  in the last six months or so,  his writing has changed dramatically.  he now can write all his letters (sometimes with a small reminder...) and wants to know how to spell everything.  he also will say or write a string of letters like, "mommllivvvvin" and ask me what that spells.  i love love love watching his sense of language develop.    

more christmas crafting

sam and i have a tradition of giving each other an ornament each year.  we like to search and search for just the perfect, little, sometimes quirky ornament.  this year i found these little houses here and i just couldn't resist.  i took liberty with the idea of an 'ornament' but sam loved them just the same.  

maeve got a stocking this year!  last christmas somehow passed us by and little miss moo did not have a stocking.  i was determined to remedy that this year.  i had pink and green fabric fabric that matched the stocking i made calvin a few years ago so i decided to use it.  i wasn't sure about the whole matchy-match thing but i loved how they looked hanging together on our mantle.  i used the martha stewart pattern found here on her site.

snow day already called for tomorrow!  we are supposed to get 12 inches!  i am looking forward to an impromptu relaxing day at home with the little ones...

our (homemade) advent calendar

this was one of my very favorite parts of the christmas season this year.  i used this tutorial for the calendar and based our daily acitivties on uncommongrace's advent list.  this is definitely a tradition that we will continue!

2011!

happy 2011!  i have several posts that are half written but never got finished so i will be posting some fun holiday stuff into january.  it was an awesome holiday season this year, filled with togetherness, family, cookies, snow (a blizzard!) and gifts (given and received).

i wish everyone a safe and healthy 2011!

mindfulness

I read this quote from Thich Nhat Hanh today over at uncommongrace:

"If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not 'washing the dishes to wash the dishes.' What's more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact, we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can't wash the dishes, the chances are we won't be able to drink our tea, either. While thinking of other things, we are barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus, we are sucked away into the future -- and we are incapable of actually living one moment of life!"

i need to remember these words, especially in this busy month full of excitement and 'stuff' to do.  this special time is fleeting and i want to be present to enjoy each moment.