Signs that spring...

may soon come?
snow melting off the roof,
the sun shining
temps in the 40's
no need for layer upon layer...
it sure helps make winter more tolerable when we get a day like this every now and again.

finally

a day nice enough to venture outdoors.
she quickly began to follow the paths, exploring these surroundings that have been unexplored by her for months.
I couldn't help but notice that even with the sun shining, and the sound of melting snow dripping from the roofs, compared to her there is still a lot! of snow out there...

when I find them...

like this, snuggled close, content to share their space,for this moment enjoying each others presence, it gives me strength for
the other moments when I find them nose to nose, toe to toe, determined to take the other out.

dancing...

at the basketball game..
the girls dance group performed Friday night both girls were quite excited to be dancing.
a glitch in sizes for both their costumes had them dancing in t-shirts and black pants, neither minded just happy to be
performing.

Mama may I.....

a shop I discovered on Etsy...yes etsy.
(I do love etsy)
loved these toys as soon as I stumbled across one in a search I did.
the simple, basic design. the open ended play.
the bright colorful pieces and the natural components.
I love that each set is interchangeable and can be used with other sets.
The first set I discovered was the family box, intrigued I sent an email to the shop owner
asking if it would be possible to add a few more figures to bring it to a family of 9. She responded with a yes!
and suggested coordinating the colors to match the Sensory Color Sorting set I had already ordered, perfect!
A work from home mom who always dreamed of making toys, she created this shop out of her love to have quality, unique, educational
toys for her daughter to play with....love that. Rosie and Reyna helped me unpack the box when it arrived today and judging by the laughs and squeals of excitement it was a hit. love that even hours later I found Reyna sitting and playing with the bowls and acorns
creating a game all her own. Love when a toy challenges them to be creative and to think outside the box...love that!
this is where you can go to check out this Etsy shop...have fun browsing...I certainly did.

*edited to add link to etsy shop.

a new

cookie type?

last minute...

valentine box...realized Monday night that Anthony needed something for his Valentine's at school.
Went searching for a box or bucket or milk jug...then remembered it was recycling day and all those items
would have gone to the curb with the rest of the recycling...sigh.
on to plan B...no actually I didn't have a plan B
but! I do own a Cricut...
thus the creating began he decided a dragon and knight would work just fine, he dug through the scrap folder and found just the right colors for each piece, after showing him once how to program the machine to cut he proceeded to cut each piece with a push of this button and that button and of course the all important "cut" button. We glued and arranged until he decided it worked. Soon enough we had a place for his valentine's, perhaps not traditional but workable. It made it to school Tuesday, on time.
whew!

It's Girl Scout cookie time!!!!

Girl Scout cookies have arrived, my dining room has been invaded by boxes and boxes of cookies (58 cases)
This year we ordered the number of cases we wanted to sell, they arrived on Friday and tonight we picked our order up.
In past years the girls would gather orders and then about a month later the cookies would arrive and back out to deliver they would go. Love this new way which eliminates one of those steps, especially during these wonderful winter months.
Having no idea how much to order but remembering quite well from our previous cookie selling experiences with Beckie and Cassandra the huge number of people who would say a few weeks after the delivery of their cookies "I wish I would have ordered more" We planned accordingly...and honestly it didn't seem like THAT many cookies at the time I ordered. Tonight as box after box after box made it's way into the house, as a few comments were muttered by kevin, and josh about the sheer quantity, as I glanced at the growing stacks I started to worry .... a bit. Good grief that is a lot! of cookies boxes but then Yahaira came home from Girl Scouts and squealed with excitement and soon I was swept up in her energy...So here we go another year of selling girl scout cookies (the last time we did this was 14 years ago) let the adventure begin....

Picnic...

in the kitchen....
since the weather outside is so far removed from picnic weather tonight we decided to just have a picnic in the kitchen....
simple.
so unexpected, they weren't sure how to respond but quickly jumped into the fun of it...
we need to do more simple moments like this.

bloomers

remember this post when I might have mentioned my love of Etsy and gave you a sneak peak at something I had ordered
well they arrived last week and honestly waiting until warmer weather for her to wear them was driving me bonkers. So this moring I figured they would match her dress and we would break them in now rather than waiting for those warmer winds to arrive....
she humors me and allows me to put adorable ruffled bloomers on her, and tights with hearts, and bows to match. No idea how long she will continue to roll with this, but I am going to enjoy every moment she does roll with it.
Aren't they adorable? love the bright, spring colors.... love cute little girl clothes...and yes I do love Etsy. I did just have to say that one more time.

Lego's

He got this set for Christmas but had yet to construct it.
Saturday Beckie and Rosie helped him build it...
It amazes me how he constructs these sets, how quickly his mind figures out the directions and soon he is
putting piece with piece and creating these amazing structures. What a kid!

book on tape

she loves books!
(I love that she loves them)
I put a cd in one day and gave her the book to look at as the story was read
she sat for the entire story on that little green stool, listening intently...and once it was over
she asked to hear it again, and again

Click it, Rip it, Roll it, Thread it....

in my never ending search for toys that inspire imagination or promote and strengthen skills
that don't make noise or flash lights I stumbled upon this toy on Etsy (I love etsy have I mentioned that before?)
She spent a long time exploring it, squeels of laughter as she discoverd yet another thing. A very simply concept and yet it provided hours of fun, exploration, and challenge. Daily she is playing with it... A win in my book. This is where I found it, in case you want one for your little one.

Play-Dough

she poked and cut and squished it
she pounded and stacked and smushed it
thankfully there is one thing she didn't do...
and that was eat it!