navratri celebration

 :: we celebrate the beginning of autumn with new friends. seeking blessings for new endeavors and enjoying traditional music and dance.

(notice my little one wearing a playsilk. always a reason for a playsilk :) )

last bits of the summer sun

 

i love this time of year. autumn is beginning to make it's arrival. little bursts of autumn color can be seen amongst the lush greenery of the trees. a light sweater is required for our evening walk and cool, dewy mornings. but, by midday, the summer sun is so prevalent. we explored a nature center and seized the opportunity for the children to swim in their pools.

on the top of my to-do list is to brush up on my picture taking skills. i continue to try and capture vince's little hands and toes playing with the rainbows around our house. if he would just sit still it would be so much easier. i am always a second too late in capturing the pic. i also never imagined how difficult it would be to capture a picture of both children together. i have my work cut out for me. i also have to search out some camera options. any suggestions?

halloween weekend

:: halloween came somewhat quick for me this year, so it is nice to still be celebrating through the weekend. and of course, here are some pictures of my superhero, pink power ranger, police girl. she works at night to fight the bad guys. power rangers? i do not know, we do not watch them, but she knows about them and as i said, this request was very specific. we are already talking about next year's costume, which she wants to design herself. someone at school made an astronaut outfit and she became more interested in making a costume. and vince was bundled up in his sling, so we have yet to snap a picture of him in his outfit. it's coming though. and all that candy. we are so lucky that a dentist is collecting candy to send to our troops. i also came across an idea to use the candy to decorate a gingerbread house. does all the candy drive you nuts too?

halloween festivities

:: happy halloween

jack-o-lanterns

:: getting our jack-o-lanterns ready for halloween. my little one designed and helped carve her moon pumpkin and i scooped out all the seeds. we are saving some pumpkin seeds for next year, in hopes to growing some pumpkins. we are still wondering where in our small yard the pumpkin patch will be, but i'm sure we could make it work. the other pumpkin seeds, we'll be eating. no roasting here though, my little one enjoys them raw. we made some quinoa apple muffins and some cinnamon raisin flaxseed muffins. the kitchen smelled wonderful, but i'll need to modify the recipes to suit our taste buds. my little one is really looking forward to dressing up tonight. happy halloween!!

indian corn & autumn activities

::  some snapshots of our autumn activities. removing indian corn kernals is the most favorite activity in our house for years now. we sorted the colored kernals and then created some pictures with them. our milkweed pods opened and we saved all the seeds to bring them back to nature. lastly, some natural treasures from a nature walk around the yard and some pictures of ava & zsa zsa's (my mother) day out together to a dinosaur park.

flying in the winds

:: great winds to put our kite up. a milkweed wand found in the open field. their seeds were packed inside like a pine cone. the soft, fuzzy silk filaments are so lovely to the touch. the seeds were gradually blowing out on our travels back to the car.


Milkweed Fingerplay
In a milkweed cradle all close and warm (cup hands together)
Little seeds are hiding safe from harm (keep hands closed)
Open wide the cradle now, hold it high (open hands, raise them above your head)
Come along wind, help them fly (sway open hands in the air)

pumpkins on a vine

:: do you know that i have never seen pumpkins growing on a vine? hard to believe. my little one found a few of the curly vines while picking out pumpkins. i think it would be wonderful to be able to pick the pumpkins off the vine one day. i am grateful for the wonderful connection she made.




:: leaf collection and rubbings. and identifications (as best we could)




:: ladybugs everywhere. it is amazing the sense of wonder and awe they bring.

early snow

:: early snow for us, we normally would be have an indian summer. my little one was very eager to get outside and enjoy the snow. just enough for her to make some snow angels and get rosy red cheeks.