Sewing for Cherubs

Bugged

Ready or not, summer is coming. That means soon we'll have lots of time to do things like catching and observing bugs...

...And probably bugging each other a little too. (But hopefully not too much!)

If this summer goes like most summers around here, it will start with well-planned educational activities and fun outings, and conclude with me bribing the kids with sugar and contemplating dropping them off at school two weeks early. But somewhere in between, we will experience the best thing about summer vacation: time to relax, reconnect, and just be a family. Bring it on!

Not Raining

It's not raining here today. But that didn't stop Superman from deciding it was a fine day for the simple pleasure of walking around outside with an umbrella.

And seeing that today is Earth Day, I think it's a fine day for us all to spend a little time outside enjoying the simple things that are so easily taken for granted.

Things I Love About Spring

Green grass and Easter colors...

Children in their Sunday best...

I hope spring is bringing you lots of wonderful things!

Sidewalk Masterpieces

Oh, spring! You're finally here... I think!

March in our neck of the woods is like that famous phrase from Forrest Gump: Like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get. We can quite literally be wearing shorts, rainboots, and snowsuits in the same week. But finally the past two days, it seems like the warmup is truly on its way. At least we hope so.

 

As you can see, we celebrated the first tease of spring by heading outside to make some gigantic chalk drawings on the driveway.

I know you're quite impressed with my kids' artistic ability, but if you really want your socks knocked off, check out these amazing pavement chalk drawings by Julian Beever. Be sure to see the "anamorphic illusions"!

In Like a Lion

Remember my good luck charm? Well, it actually worked! This morning we woke up to snow.

 

And I mean a lot of snow, enough to make really really deep footprints.

No, really, a lot. Everywhere.

Like, enough that you can cross-country ski in your backyard.

 

With schools and work closed, we took full advantage. I hear this storm wasn't just confined to our neck of the woods. So I hope some of you had a chance to enjoy some winter weather today too!

Bubbles

Reason #453 to be a parent: Having an excuse to blow bubbles...

And having little people around to chase them!

   

Waiting for Winter's Last Gasp

This year, winter has been a bit of a disappointment in our neck of the woods. Now, it's been plenty cold, but there just hasn't been enough of that fluffy white stuff. Personally, I can live just fine without snow. But it's been frustrating for my kids and so, I'm suprisingly finding myself a bit frustrated too. They have only been able to go sledding once, and even that snowfall was too meager for constructing a proper snowman.

Still, even though spring can't be far away, we may get a little more wintry action before all is said and done. So I'm keeping everyone's snowboots lined up right there in the garage, for easy access. I'm thinking of it as a good-luck charm of sorts.

Snow Fun

The Ski and Skate set worked! Monday night we got a couple inches of the fluffy white stuff, our first real snowfall of the season, much to the delight of the small people in this household.

You may recall that I, personally, am not a huge fan of snow. But it is important to "bloom where you are planted", and I am planted in a part of the country where well, snow happens. So I set out to make the best of it. And you know, on Tuesday morning I had to admit that wow, the stuff is very pretty.

 

So, when school was delayed by one hour, I quickly bundled all three of the kids into their snowsuits and we were outside enjoying the winter wonderland by 8:00 in the morning, leaving us enough time for snow angels, quite a few sled runs (yes, I did it too), and even an apres-snow hot chocolate, all before it was time to leave for school.

And you know what? It was fun. And maybe, just maybe, this Georgia girl is warming up to the idea of a "real" winter.

Sunshine Finally!

This time of year, you've got to love any day when it's bright enough outside that you can see your shadow. We've been at the playground soaking it in. Hope it's sunny where you are too!

Take a Hike

Today we got the chance to do something we really enjoy but don't do nearly often enough. We took the kids hiking. Now, when we go hiking, everyone hikes - even the two-year-old - so we don't attempt anything too strenuous. But we do have a lot of fun and everyone gets some exercise. We are lucky enough to live in the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, with tons of options for hiking trails. This one is our favorite!