Grass stained knees

rainy weekend

Well, we wished everyone a weekend filled with sunshine and it turned out that we had none. It was gray, wet and quite chilly. So it was up to us to make our own warmth and happiness. Believe it or not, we totally succeeded.

Saturday morning started with warmth in the kitchen in the form of hot muffins. Blueberry for the grown-ups and chocolate chip for the boys.

By noon it was clear that we were going to need a pot of soup, so we took a stab at Molly's. Holy Mackerel....it was Scrumptious!!! The recipe can be found here. I think the next time I will reserve a bit of potato and leek goodness before the puree step so there are some yummy chunks. Thanks Molly for sharing such a wonderful treat!

We spent a full two days wearing out this fantastic CD. It was terrific inspiration for my weekend project (more about that in a day or so). It also provided wonderful material for several impromptu dance parties.

As it turned out, clouds and rain were the perfect excuse to sit and actually read a book or two. As luck would have it, I received two brand new selections in the mail on Friday . My mom surprised me with a tremendously thoughtful package containing This and that. Both selections are full of amazing inspiration and I am enjoying them immensely. Thanks Nan!

So, I leave you this morning with a recipe for our Saturday morning muffins. This is a tried and true favorite 'round these parts. Enjoy!

Our Favorite Muffins

1 C. Milk, 1 egg, 1/2 C. oil, 1/2 C. sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1  3/4 C flour plus 3 tsp baking powder

Stir together ingredients in the order listed. Bake 375 degrees for 20 mins.

Chocolate chip: add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 cup chocolate chips

Blueberry: add 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before baking

Peach: add 1 cup fresh chopped peaches, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before baking

Edited to add: If you are finding that my links aren't working and you would like to know what in the world I'm talking about the CD can be found here: http://www.vampireweekend.com/

The books can be found here: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photographers/camera-kids-camel-slideshow.html

and here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=7xpxA7pyBSs&feature=related

I'm so sorry, I think it can only be attributed to my own computer-impaired-ness!!

Capturing the Afternoon Sun

I know that some of you are still surrounded by snow and I don't mean to gloat, but I just have to share with you how much we have been enjoying the sun. Yesterday afternoon was spent by the pond. Thankfully, everyone stayed dry.

We are knee deep in "spring" right now. The air is fresh, the sun is warm, there are muddy puddles everywhere. Everything is completely alive and we are doing our best to embrace it to the fullest.

I realized today the way the changing seasons shape our days. During chilly months you will find us neatly wrapping up our day by 5:00, with dinner and baths. But when springtime sunshine arrives you will find all three of us trying to stay outside as long as possible, reluctantly dragging ourselves in the door around 6:30, just a few minutes before Papa comes home from a long day at the office. Instead of finding his family waiting with a hot meal, he is greeted by a cold, silent kitchen and a family in the yard, sweaty, and muddy but incredibly happy after a long afternoon in the sun. That's a fair trade..... right?

We hope that whatever season it is at your house, you will be blessed with a weekend filled with plenty of warmth and sunshine!

Checking in and A Vintage Funny

I'm so sorry that I have been completely absent from this space this week. It's just that life's been happening here. The weather has been super nice. Every year about this time, when the days get consistently warm, I become a girl possessed with being in the yard, raking and unearthing the garden beds. It feels like slowly pulling the sheets back so the sun can gently wake the perennials from their winter slumber. I love it. The fresh air, the dirt under my fingernails, the boys scurrying around "helping out". We have been busy and superbly happy.

I have been meaning to share with you a funny little story from our weekend.

So my mother-in-law brought the fix-ens to make Rice Krispy treats with the boys, complete with her own box of wax paper? She popped this box on the counter and it stopped me in my tracks. My initial thought was that this particular box of wax paper appeared to be about as old as I am.

Take a gander at that picture. Look at that hair and that blouse. I never achieved that particular hairdo but I did have a shirt like that..... when I was 7.... in 1981!  Also notice the fact that the microwave happens to be as big as the smiling lady. I couldn't help but think that nothing about this wax paper was even close to modern. But then I began to wonder just how old it might be.

When I asked in the kindest way possible just how long she had been in possession of this item, she swore that it was new.  Whaaaaaaatttt??????  She claimed to had just bought it, not long ago at some store I've never heard of called Ollie's . Apparently, Ollie's is a closeout store that stocks "new" items from the cold war era.

Well it became quite the topic of conversation for the rest of the afternoon. Everyone was placing wagers, all of us guessing it dated to the early eighties while my mother-in-law kept insisting it was new. It got pretty funny. She felt sure that because the manufacturing address was a two letter abbreviation it couldn't be that old. She was sure that the post office just made the change to two letter abbreviations very recently. Well none of us had any idea what she was talking about since all we've ever know were two letter state abbreviations. This prompted some research on state abbreviations. It turns out that the United States Postal Service went to two letter abbreviations in 1963. Hmmmm.....

Then I researched the brand name Waxtex. I discovered that the current packaging looks nothing like the box on our counter. I also discovered that the company dates back to 1984. I feel pretty certain that somehow my mother-in-law (very recently ?????) purchased a vintage box of wax paper from perhaps the very first shipment produced in 1984. How much do you think we could get for it from the guys on Antiques Roadshow?

The Rice Krispy Treats were very tasty and the boys had a wonderful time making them with Grandmother. Just to ease your mind, because I know you can think of nothing else at this point, we used a piece of very modern Cut-Rite wax paper from my cupboard.

Favorites

This morning, after having a fresh night of sleep, I am feeling really grateful for many things about this oh so special weekend known as Easter. It is full of things near and dear to my heart, things that are sublimely "Easter". Things that have become more special now that I share them with my own children. Things like the annual chocolate bunny, whose ears are always the first to go. The giant smiles and sticky, melty fingers he creates are a timeless favorite.

Things like plastic eggs filled with cereal. At our house these are the first of the bunny's hidden treasures to be found all over the boy's rooms. This little tradition happened quite by accident last year. We knew we would be rushed trying to find eggs & baskets, have breakfast and make it to church on time so we came up with the idea to stuff eggs with cereal as a way to fill tummy's with something somewhat appropriate for 7 am. The kids think it's fantastic. On Saturday, Samuel told me it was one of the things he was most looking forward to...eggs full of cereal, who would have guessed? 

Of course, there is the favorite of dying the Easter eggs. There isn't much that compares to the distinctive smell of vinegar, the vibrant colors, the stained fingers, the drippy stains all over the top of the kitchen table.

Then there is the favorite that is trying to find new ways to eat up 2 dozen hard boiled eggs over the course of the coming week. Hurray for egg salad on crispy rolls with UTZ potato chips!

There are so many other things....the smell of Easter lillys and hyacinths, the mess of Easter grass peppered all over the house, little girls smiling with pride in their new Easter dresses at church. The rush of small children racing around in the sun with baskets as big as they are, scurrying to find the most eggs.

For me, all of these signal the arrival of spring, celebrate life and rebirth and make my heart positively swell with joy.

Egg-cellent Weekend

It was a fun and exhausting holiday weekend. Eggs were boiled, dyed, hidden and found. Time was spent with family. There were large meals, lots of laughter, bright sunshine, and many happy moments. We even found time to squeeze in a trip to see This great movie. Go see it, really, it was super terrific! So many of you were on our minds and in our hearts. We hope you all had a great weekend as well.

Egg Hunt

Last weekend Our favorite store hosted an Easter egg hunt and petting zoo extravaganza.

The morning was overcast but warm. Giant rain clouds hung in the sky and opened up the very second the starting whistle sounded. The children ran around like crazy people in the pouring rain. Strangely, it was still a great time. It was a warm, spring rain and the grass was so vividly green and the kids were all so excited to be there. They were laughing like crazy and soaking wet. Look at Caleb's basket, it's as big as he is.

We are looking forward to more egg hunting this weekend.

We wish you a wonderful holiday weekend with celebrations that are meaningful for your family.

Happy Easter

Day of Firsts

Happy First official day of spring!

Let's all take a moment to enjoy a collective "Whoopee!!!"

Take a look at the other first that happened here this morning....

My first baby has lost his first tooth.

Look at that giant thing coming up from the back. I think we might need to start saving for the orthodontist now. He is super excited. I on the other hand, am in disbelief. He just turned 5. Doesn't that seem early?

Does anyone know what the Tooth Fairy's going rate is these days?? 

Mixed Medium

While things have been quiet in this space for the last day or so, things have been very busy here in our real life. We have been absorbed in a really fun project, some of us more than others, (ahem)..... the house is beginning to look seriously neglected. I'm excited to share some photos, although I apologize for the poor lighting, sunlight has been scarce here for the last few days. I don't think these pictures do our project justice, I suppose sometimes you have to take what you can get.

We will be hosting Easter dinner on Sunday and it occurred to me that it might be special if we made a table runner similar to the one we made for Thanksgiving. The turkey runner was all about fabric paint. This time I was hoping to use a mixture of mediums. For the last 24 hours I have employed the help of the sewing machine, fabric paint and brushes, and embroidery needle and thread.

Our last runner was made with the kids handprints, which was not only fun, but made it really meaningful. I was hoping this time to incorporate their little hands again. See the eggs in the basket, they are the boy's fingerprints. Clever, I think, if I do say so myself. I anticipate going back to add a bit of embroidered detail to the basket because it looks a little flat compared to the rest of the runner.

Look at the little bunny who resides in the center. His head is made from a thumbprint and pinky prints for ears. This one is Samuel's. Isn't he adorable?

None of the above were done with fingerprints, they were just bits I drew, painted with a brush and then embroidered. I'm so tickled with the way this project moved from concept to reality. It's incredibly satisfying to start with a sketch and end up with an end result that is even better than you had originally envisioned. Hooray for that!! 

In other preparing for Easter news, this book has been getting lots of use in the last few days. It started on Saturday, when I thought it might be good to give Samuel some sort of context about Palm Sunday so that it made a little bit of sense why people would be in church the next morning waving plant leaves around. His reception of the story was unbelievable, asking questions, really thoughtful ones and then wanting to know what happened next. So we have been pacing ourselves through the stories leading up to the Crucifixion. I'm not sure I would have ever thought to introduce these with as much detail at this age, but like so many things, he surprises me with his interest and capacity. It feels like a powerful moment, sharing these stories of faith with my child.

On a much lighter note, in case you were wondering, the hole in the front yard has yet to be filled. The rest throughout the neighborhood were filled last Friday. There has been no sign of the work crew all week. I'm beginning to fear we have been forgotten. I don't know how many more days I can keep the boys on our street out of that mess!

I hope you are all having a good week! 

Feelin the green

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

This is usually a day that gets pretty festive around here, but this year it has become lost in the shuffle with Easter sneaking up so close behind. Instead of focusing on shamrock crafts and leprechauns my mind is already busy planning Easter dinner and sorting through egg related projects to be completed this week. Never-the-less, we shall be having corned beef and cabbage for dinner and spending much of the day invigorating our Irish blood with tunes like These. We did make this yummy treat this weekend.I thought you wouldn't mind my passing on the recipe, just in case you are need of a little "green" as well.

Creme De Menthe Brownies

1 stick butter, 1 cup sugar, 4 eggs beaten, 1 (16 oz.) can Hershey's chocolate syrup, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt

Beat ingredients with mixer in the order listed. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins. in a greased pan. Let cool.

In the mean time combine.... 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 stick butter, 2 Tbsp Creme De Menthe

Spread over cooled cake and refrigerate until set, about 45 min.                                                            

In a small saucepan melt.... 1 1/2 sticks butter, 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cool slightly, then spread over iced cake. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut and serve.

(In the interest of full disclosure, we didn't have any Creme De Menthe - I think it's against the law to bring children into the liquor store here - so I substituted about 2 tsp. peppermint extract, a bit of green food coloring and the teeniest bit of milk to make the icing soft enough to spread.)

exciting times

This is how the boys spent a good bit of the day yesterday. Parked on the front steps, donning hardhats, and watching this amazing display in our front yard....

It's not everyday that a backhoe unexpectedly appears on your lawn with plans to tear it to shreds (some cockamamie story about needing to upgrade cables or some such nonsense) No matter, the children were in seventh heaven, first watching from the steps and then not being able to stand it any longer, getting into the action themselves in the garden bed. (don't worry, they were much further from the backhoe than it looks in this picture!)

Lots was supposed to be accomplished yesterday, however I found myself parked on the front steps as well, feeling like supervision was necessary and realizing that an explanation of my need to get things done would go over like a lead brick. So we took a "demolish the front yard holiday" and reveled in the moment. We picnic-ed on the steps and got to know the "worker men" quite well while the machinery was quiet. I think they found the audience a strange combination of annoying yet amusing. They took photos of the boys with their cell phones. Neighbors stopped and asked if they were available for birthday parties. I think by the end of the day they felt a little like rock stars.

You know what they left us at the end of the day?  A gigantic hole and a huge mound of dirt all "enclosed" with mesh fencing. I'm crossing my fingers that the wire man shows up today so we can have that humongous temptation filled before the weekend.

Happy Friday everyone!