When I Grow Up

Sarah just said, "When I grow up I will have a chameleon, a dog, a kitty cat, and four kids."
Brian said, "You're going to be very busy."

Daddy Big Legs

Eric found a daddy long legs today and called us all over to see. "See, see," he said.
Sarah looked at it and said, "It's a daddy long legs!"
"Like you, Daddy," Eric said.
If that were the end of it, that would've been great. But it gets even better. I asked Eric what the spider was called. He replied, "Daddy Big Legs." Awesome.

Nature Girl

Sarah's last day of preschool was yesterday, and we were quite proud when she received the "Nature Girl Award." As Ms. Nancy put it, "even the boys couldn't keep up with her, with all the worms she carried around." From what we hear, after she received the award, she found a snake under a rock and brought it to her teacher. Again, as Ms. Nancy said, "she certainly lived up to the award!" As her nature loving parents, we were very impressed, but quickly explained that snakes may not be the best animal to pick up. (We've talked about this before. Really.)

Today, Brian called his parents and asked them to send him the snake picture, the one where he's holding a snake that he found. Sarah loved it. Like father, like daughter.

Last Friday

I've made a bunch of new art cards for this week's Last Friday. Here's a sneek peak. I'm really excited about the new designs.

All Grown Up

After a month and a half of sitting on the eggs and feeding her young, mama robin must be proud. They've all grown up and flown away. I mistook one of the babies for the mom just before they flew away. It's amazing how big they get so quickly!! The last baby bird took about a day longer than the rest and I was kind of sad to see him go. Just a small preview of what I'll experience with my own, I guess . . . Anyway, happy flying, baby birds!!

Thanks, Dad

My dad made us this bench. As you can see, it's a great place to eat ice cream. My favorite things to do are sit and watch the kids play or admire the plants in my garden. I also like looking at it from the house. It makes me very happy. I can't say thank you enough.

Skyscraper or Snow Plow?

Eric loves trucks. And every truck he sees, whether it's a pickup truck, a garbage truck, or a delivery truck, is called a "dump truck". For him, dump truck is a generic term. In the car yesterday, he was talking to himself and playing with his "dump truck". Sarah, who needs to correct him when he's wrong, said to me, "Mom, he's calling his skyscraper a dump truck. Why does he do that? Why does he always call it a dump truck?" Now, I didn't think Eric had a toy skyscraper, so I asked her, "Do you mean his snow plow?" "Yes, his snow plow. Why does he always call it a dump truck?" I replied, "I don't know. He just does." Little kid vocabulary is the best!!

Australian Animals

My friend asked me to make something for two newborn girls, whose mom is from Australia. We talked about animals that could be used and we both decided that it would be more unique to have animals that aren't quite so stereotypically Australian. I did lots of research and here's what I found out about Australian animals. First, there are a lot of rodents indigenous to Australia, and most of them are not that cute. Second, most of the cute ones are carnivorous, and therefore not really that sweet for a girl's nursery. Third, there are a lot of really pretty, colorful birds that look like they belong in the Amazon jungle of South America. Fourth, the cassowary (a bird) can "eviscerate a human" their toe claws. Gross!! Really!? Needless to say, but after learning all of this fascinating stuff, I decided to play it safe and went with koalas and kangaroos.

Robin's Nest

I thought the finches would win the nest building and egg laying contest, but I ended up setting them back by bringing the ferns in for a few cold nights. I guess that allowed the robin to get back to nest building, which took her at least a week. She's been sitting on the nest for a few weeks and now we've been rewarded with babies! I think there are three or four in the nest. Eric has actually been somewhat polite and quiet when he goes outside, which is big for him.

Two New Plaques

I just finished two new plaques for a customer. I like the colors choices she picked, as well as the dinosaur. Very cute!

Thoughts on Food

I'm currently reading A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenburg. Before that, I read The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule. Both of these books have me thinking about the food I eat and offer to my family and the time and energy involved in making a meal. I grew up in a family that honored mealtimes. We sat at the table together, discussed the day, and ate. Good nutrition was emphasized. If we, as kids, wanted a treat, we had to eat the healthy stuff first. My parents (and more specifically, my mom) did a great job of instilling these values in me. I feel strongly about these ideals and wish the same for my family.

But these two books have me thinking further. The idea of cooking from scratch, eating wholesome, minimally processed food, not to mention trying to eat locally, are all on my mind. The task at hand is daunting, but also quite appealing. I'm aware that good food (and the ways we gather it, prepare it, and share it) can become more central to our family's moments and memories, not to mention providing lifelong lessons and habits. Interesting, indeed . . .

A Day at the Beach

Personally, I prefer the mountains to the beach, but watching my kids at the beach was a beautiful thing. I knew they'd love it, and they really did. As a stay-at-home mom, I watch them play every day, all day long. We've gone to parks, playgrounds, museums, zoos, pools, and lakes. (Not to mention our playroom and backyard.) They have a great time at all of these places, but if they had to pick a favorite place, I'm pretty sure it would be the beach. There were no complaints, no fussy faces, no requests for anything. They just played, and played, and played some more. It was truly joyous to witness. It'd be tough to do, but they may turn me into a beach person, with all of their salty, sandy happiness.