watch vince grow

1. plant seed in dirt
2. cover with dirt
3. water seeds
4. let sun shine
5. watch sunflowers grow


our little guy is progressing each day, which is wonderful, looking at the big picture. our day to day feedings continue to be a little rough lately. it can be very frustrating and stressful, when our little guy refuses his food and drinks. it can make me feel so sad. but when he eats most of his meal or drinks well, it just makes me feel so happy, it makes me feel that he's going to grow healthy and strong. 

first day of spring

:: happy spring 

happy saint patrick's day

happy saint patrick's day. i was up a wee bit late last night, inspired by this posting from golden sun family from years ago. it is a fantastic idea.

the magic and wonder that it brought this morning was so beautiful. her initial discovery was the wee little book and she wondered where it had come from, who's it was, what was it going to reveal. she headed for the magnifying glass as the writing in the wee little book was very tiny. 

she searched around the house for any other traces of the leprechaun and discovered the outfit. her questions, her thoughts, her wonder had my heart smiling.

then, just as we were getting ready to leave for school, she wanted to bring in the wee little book to show her classmates. but then, she hesitated and i asked why. she went on to say that the others at school did not believe in fairies. as we discussed it further, she figured out that the others had not opened their eyes wide enough to notice the fairies or the treasures they leave behind. and we left it at that.

a first birthday

it was my little guy's first birthday. 

to my precious baby boy, who has the sweetest smile and the most precious brown eyes. and did I say how I love your bashful side and all those mamas just melt my heart. and when you come running into my arms with a great big hug, those are just the best. and how your curl up to me at night. and how excited you get when your daddy comes home. and how much you adore your big sister and how happy you are playing with her. and i know she's pretty great, but boy you just love her sososo much and it is just a beautiful thing to be a witness to.

you have taught me to love and laugh in the toughest of times (or should I say at midnight, 2 am, 4 am, and 6 am) but the truth be told that this year has been the most challenging and the hardest year that i've had as a mama. and i've learned that i am stronger than i thought and our family is much stronger, as we work together, giving thanks for what we have. 

making an acorn cap bird nest

a wee acorn cap bird's nest. you may be able to gather the materials for this little activity along your nature walk. first, you'll will need some acorn caps, straw, v-shaped twigs. around the house, you'll need to gather some glue, beads and some wool (or tissue paper)

:: first, put a little glue on the inside of your acorn cap and glue in a little bit of straw and wool. next, we are going to add the bead eggs. i found it easy to dab one side of your bead with glue and then arrange into the acorn cap. lastly, attach the acorn cap nest to your branch.


i hope you enjoy this little activity.

shades of green

i just love this time of year, birds chirping with the rising sun, the morning sun filling our house with rainbows and warming our faces, and blooms and buds starting to peak up everywhere. with the last piles of snow melting, we are almost ready to welcome spring and all the beautiful shades of green it brings. from the vibrant, chartreuse greens, a perfect combination of green and yellow, to the rich, velvety moss green.

it's can be wonderful to bring some of the outside in. some trimmings from a flowering tree or maybe making a garden dish. originally inspired here and here, by carol petrash's book, earthways, in making our garden dishes. this year, we started working with modeling beeswax, so that will be a fun way to add to our garden dish.

i have a fun little bird's nest project, i'll be sharing tomorrow. come back and see.

one small change - cloth towels

one small change. it has been a wonderful reminder to stop and take a little inventory about our family's lifestyle. see what we could change. see what we'd like to change. our change is twofold this month. 

paper towels have been a big convenience item. we buy them. they are readily available and therefore we use them. i purchased some cloth towels, they are the same size as the paper towels and i stopped keeping a roll of paper towels out. instead, i am keeping the rolls in our upstairs closet and if we do need them for a big baby or doggie mess, we have them. while, i have not stopped buying them, we definitely have made a change in when we will use them. 

the second change is to try out some new natural cleaning recipes. a majority of my cleaning is done with straight vinegar. and baking soda for cleaning the porcelain. but, after trying a few recipes for dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent (minus borax), i am back to the big box brands. 


would anyone like to share their small change?

your child at play giveaway

our family was so delighted to be gifted with a giveaway from acorn pies. the wonderful book, sunflower houses by sharon lovejoy, is providing lots of inspiration for our outside gardening. so many wonderful ideas it will be hard to pick which one we'll try first.

with my little one's first birthday coming up, i wanted to pass along a book to a another family. the book, your child at play, discovering the senses and learning about the world, by marilyn segal ph.d.

please leave me a comment with your favorite lullaby to sing and i'll randomly choose someone on march 21st.

good morning sun

 

 

 

after waking and coming downstairs, my little ones and i gather around one of our windows that looks out onto our bird feeders and yard. this room catches the light of the morning sun and our sun catchers are strategically placed in the windows. when the the sun shines in, our room fills up with beautiful rainbows. we have always enjoyed our sun catchers and i think it is one of those things that brings a smile to everyone's face. 

it is a lovely way to start the day together, which surprises me that this fell out of our day. we never really told a verse or blessing in the morning, but i would like to. seven times around the sun is a wonderful resource for establishing a family rhythm and rituals. do you have a morning ritual or verse to share?

songs for march

the first two pictures are from a child's seasonal treasury. the later two are from a book i came across at the goodwill, it was a treasure waiting to be discovered. i hope the images are large enough to read the words.

here are some more spring songs, verses and fingerplays



my lady wind by k.guilmartin, based on a traditional poem
(this one is great to sing around the house with a playsilk or scarf)
my lady wind, my lady wind
'round and 'round the house she blows,
trying to get in
whoo, whoo, ooo, whoo

through the key hole in the door
through the crack in the bedroom floor
in and out she blows about and 'round the house once more
whoo, whoo, ooo, whoo




we have snow in the forecast for later in the week, so we'll still be singing this one....
snowflakes by l.levinowitz
(you can be creative with your movements and hand gestures with this one. we usually bring each hand down alternating and on the last line, we put our hands side by side, palms down and then move hands together left and right as if we are wiping the counters)

snowflakes, soft snowflakes gently are falling.
magically making everything white