Winter Returns

Winter returned without a doubt on Friday...so we took the opportunity to do the perfect indoor project....painting!  The girls painted letters to spell out their names to soon adorn their bedrooms.

Hand palettes are a preferred tool.  Who thought of a paper palette anyway?

Mattie and I made a rag wreath (I couldn't take the Christmas ones any longer and spring flowers seemed a bit premature!)



Maybe better saved for the Fourth of July?

With the onslaught of snow Friday and Saturday we were left a wonderful medium for a serious snowball fight around the garden, culminating in "Cinderella" winning over the "Beast" and ultimately two wet girls burrying daddy in the snow.

Even Tory enjoyed the snowballs!

Catching UP

Well, it's been a few more days than I had intended.  Here are some pictures of a week ago or more...

The only time the birthday crown was worn ON her birthday. Since then, she has worn it about the house like a normal accessory. (whew!)

Who wants to hear the horse music box? Why all the horses in the land of course (and perhaps a few fairies)!

Shoveling is hard work...digging a pass (like the Rocky Mountain Pass) is even harder!

Guess who?



Surprise!  (Playing bucket-head was far more fun than digging a pass.)

On top of the snowy mountain! (What a pose, huh?)

And now on to this week's fun...

This was the morning our 4.5 year old got up on her own, woke not a soul, dressed herself in her big girl clothes (please note the purple belt and baseball cap, key items in being dressed as a big girl) and then announced to everyone that the sun was up, so what was our problem?  (Before and since she has never, ever, gotten up and afforded her mom an extra second of sleep!)

Proud of the tower built for animals and dollies alike (managed by dumping the basket of blocks down the stairs for more efficient hauling.)

50 degrees you say? Let's walk -- dogs and binnoculars are all I need!



Seed pods, everywhere. Please note the petticoat-like layers in Mathea's dress. Brand new velour dress, two layered skirt, pants, and a new to her spring coat (layered over another). All clean and pretty. I had to beg her to wear water-proof boots and not some pink item.  She swore she would walk around every puddle.

Hmmm.  I suspect the entire month of March's pictures will look something like this.



She was joyfully exclaiming "spring, it's spring!" Heartbreaking. February in western New York.  Not so much.  But beautiful while it lasts.  (Oh, and did you notice the mud? Almost lost the boots at the bottom of the block.  Imagine suction and cries of "hold my hand!"  Yes, March will be interesting.)

Lulu the Traveling Emu visits Atlanta

Imagine my surprise when I opened up my Christmas present from Erica and the kids and found, staring up at me, a nice, fuzzy, bright blue emu (the head only, of course). While her primary function is to sneak into my suitcase and transport little notes and goodies while I'm traveling for business, it only seems appropriate that Lulu should have the opportunity to document her travels, obviously for the greater edification of emus everywhere. Toward that goal, I'm happy to announce that Lulu's first stop was to the National Archives Southeast Regional Center in Morrow, GA, tagging along while I was helping to present a two-day seminar. Unfortunately, Lulu wasn't able to bask in the normal comfortable temperatures of northern Georgia in February, as she apparently brought the snow with us from New York.

The Spirit of a Week

So far, our week has been filled with lots of creating.  For fun, our bellies, and birthdays (with more birthday creations to come if we can squeeze it in...at the very least cake!)

Clay. It was fun while it lasted. Then we had to wash the girls, the horses, the table, the chairs, the floor, the sink...need I go on?

Mathea sewing Mairi a costume...impressive patience by both.

Mathea's masterpiece, a butterfly for all seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter).

Painting linseed oil on the great trucks Papa Doug made, the dog bowl stand too.

Homemade bread, whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, chili...and veggies, which obviously were not homegrown this time of year, but pretty, and what the girls had for dinner.

Birthday garland, crown, and gift bag, all reuseable for many years, inspired by "the creative family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections" by Amanda Blake Soule, http://www.soulemama.com/.  The fabric for the bag was a thrilling find at Goodwill, a beautiful linen with sparkly butterflies and flowers. Perfect. Both girls helped with the sewing of the crown, hence the perfectly imperfect embroidery.

Super Mathea...disappearing and reappearing the "horse chicken".  JR asked for a duck-goat, but apparently those are on back order.

Priceless.

Where in the world is Mairi?

My Heart

Soft, warm hands, delicate. Tiny fingers resting gently, perfectly, in my palm. That old, tired cliche so true.... How fast time flies, how quickly you grow. Three. Are you sure? 

You're sure. "I can do it!" is your M.O.  You're learning you don't always have to follow your sister and her designs, you too can wield some power. Testing the waters, trying new tricks, pedaling away...coming back for a red popsicle.  Fierce and stubborn, gentle and tender. Already embedded in a strong, beautiful sisterly truce.

I want to scream, "Slow down! Don't grow!" But I can't. I am too excited to watch you unfold.

As you whisper, "I love you Mommy" in the dark, I am amazed at how small and big you are. 

I love you too, Mairi, I love you too.

The Spirit of a Week

This week we...


dressed up in new costumes, set aside for a cabin fever day;

painted (hoof print pictures...and then the entire herd);

 

built a snowman for our local rabbit and birds to enjoy (yes, I know those are rather unfortunately placed turnips, what can I say? buttons?);

and corraled some veggetables.

We also ate two dozen chocolate beet muffins, discussed birthdays, birthday parties, and listed our family member's birthdays in chronological order (beginning of course with next week), and reminded Mathea that her birthday is indeed in June.  More posts on birthdays to come....

Chronicling the Journey

So, the other day I said to Erica "Why don't you write a blog?"

And, well, here we are.

Seriously, though - I agreed that I would participate as well, and that our goal would be to share some facets of our life as a family - the decisions we're making, the priorities that we've set, and the successes (and most likely some failures) along the way. We've given a lot of our collective time and energy to learning, and following, a more responsible lifestyle the past few years - responsible to our children, our bodies, and the planet - and want to take the opportunity to share what we've learned. Not everyone will get everything, hopefully some of it will be interesting to all, and my guess is that many will just check in for wacky "your kids did what?!?" stories. If you laugh, that's great, and if you learn and choose to make some small changes in your life, all the better -- and we hope you'll leave comments to teach us a thing or two as well!  To paraphrase a friend of mine, the information "is free - and worth every penny!"

With that, wish us luck on this experiment!

Best,
JR (and Erica too!)