Thursday, July 31, 2008

Flock of Seagulls

Finn had what was probably his fifth haircut last week. His hair, much like his personality, has been pretty impossible to contain since birth. And in either case,
who would want to? Within a week, his hair was back to being wild and crazy, flipping out in every direction. Beethoven one day, flock of seagulls the next. (I must admit that I rather miss the curly faux-hawk days of months 4-6.) Hopefully, his hair, and his personality, will continue to fascinate us and make us smile.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

10 favorite things about blueberry picking

1. Spending a little extra time with Granny.


2. Watching Paulie and Philip hard at work.


3. Philip, eating almost as many as he picks.


4. Kids, racing through the rows.


5. Searching for the perfect berry.


6. Seeing the collection in Finn's berry bucket.


7. Blueberry-theiving babies.


8. Finn, using the back of my shorts to steady himself while reaching for another berry.


9. Finn, eating everything he picks.


10. Seeing what an accomplished blueberry-picker Paulie has become.




Wednesday, July 23, 2008

There's more than one way...

to eat corn on the cob! At least that's what Finn was discovering as he tried out a few different ways. He tried pinning it to the plate and eating it with no hands. He tried opening his mouth as wide as possible to get many kernels at once. He even tried eating it like a hotdog.

We bought a couple dozen ears of fresh corn on the cob at the farmer's market the other day which is one of Finn's favorite dinner treats. (Apparently the news reports have been true about the price of corn this year due to the ruined crops in the midwest. Yikes!) He thoroughly enjoyed his ear as you can see. :)


Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Gardening with Mommy

As I was gardening the other day (or more like pulling weeds from the flower bed), Finn thought I looked like I could use some help. He picked up the weeding tool and got right to business. He stuck to task for quite a while too. He's going to be a great gardener!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Frolic in the Creek

Elizabeth brought her friend Hailey to Fourth of July Park with us last week. They were initially hesitant to wade into the creek with it's slippery rocks and icy water. After their initial hesitation, they had the best time tromping around in the creek, splashing, slipping and stomping. Some of my favorite childhood summer memories are from the time I spent wading in the creeks around the houses that my grandparents grew up in. It must be a childhood rite of passage to spend at least a little time in nature this way.

I took the first picture of them from under the footbridge. The second picture of just their feet, splashing around, making mischief. They had a great time, and Hailey declared it the best park she's ever been to!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Summer lunch

Elizabeth and Philip were both home with me while I worked one day last week. They spent almost the entire day outside playing with their webkinz, picking gourd-like things to store up for winter, and hiding in their fort. They hardly wanted to break for a lunch on the deck consisting of cheese, crackers, and fruit kabobs. What a summery treat!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Reading in the Rain

The night before Paulie left to head down to SC to visit grandparents, we went out for dinner at Bear Rock Cafe. (Gotta love Kid's Eat Free night when you've got 4!) We planned to head to the park for a walk after dinner, but of course, the weather did not cooperate.

Since there is a Barnes and Noble right down the parking lot, we decided to head there for a few minutes instead. The older kids spent several minutes perusing the various books of interest. Paulie picked out a sport-themed book that he was interested in, which I secretly purchased for his trip. Elizabeth looked briefly at the Magic Tree House books then buried her nose in picture books for the rest of the time. Philip flitted from one picture book section to the next then asked, in typical Philip fashion, if we were going to buy any of the toys (the marketers so helpfully station around the bookstore). Finn was mesmerized from nearly the beginning with the train set.

Nestled in a cove (surrounded by other toys, of course) was a wooden train and track, completely set up, and Finn was sucked in immediately. He spent probably 20-30 minutes never even checking to see if Paul or I were still nearby; he was so captivated by his new discovery. Predictably, when it was time head home for baths and bed, Finn wailed the entire way out of the store. How devastating to be ripped from his new-found train love! Can anyone guess what's on Finn's Christmas list this year? (which is rather convenient considering the neglected train table currently sitting in our garage)

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Bayou Bash

Last Saturday the Bog Garden held a Bayou Bash at the Bog. Paul and I took Finn and met our friends Kolleen and Sebastian to walk around in the Bog Garden and listen to music and see the shows. Finn had a great time strolling around and seeing the sites. Of course, he demanded "DOWN" anytime the stroller stopped for 5 seconds.


At the exit point, Finn poses beside the face statue.


Finn's favorite attraction was the mist tent set up in the street outside the Bog Garden.



Sebastian had a great time in the mist tent as well.


Finn was completely soaked and had to be stripped down before getting into the car. It was totally worth it; he had a blast!




Monday, July 14, 2008

Dye Another Day

In preparation for the dyeing event at our house on Saturday where I demonstrated dyeing to about 10 other moms, I ordered some playsilks from Dharma Trading, which gave me an excuse to try something new. I ended up ordering an extra large playsilk (30x30 in) and a silk scarf to dye for myself. I worked on them earlier in the week since I knew that I wouldn't have time during the dyeing event.


Dyeing the scarf, a crepe silk that is actually very floaty and light.


Dyeing the playsilk.

The finished product -- the scarf is on the left and the playsilk on the right.


Elizabeth, playing with all the family's playsilks and silk scarves. She needed to try out the new ones, and when we told her she looked like a gypsy, she sat down like this and wanted her picture taken. I'm not sure where she got the association between gypsies and meditation; she might be a bit confused. :)


Finn didn't want to be left out!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Sliding

He's getting to be a big kid, that Finn. He's really been enjoying the play structure lately, especially the slide. It's really funny watching him try to climb back up the slide. He doesn't particularly enjoy getting dumped off the bottom when he gets to sliding too fast because he isn't terribly fond of grass.






You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again. ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Felting

The kids are always up for a new crafting challenge it seems and last weekend was no exception. I decided to teach them how to wet felt wool into balls. Of course they had all kinds of grand plans for the types of things they wanted to make after they finished their first felt ball, but once they realized that it took a little practice, they were content to just felt balls for their first lesson. Philip bailed pretty quickly after finishing most of his first ball, but Paulie and Elizabeth each did a couple of balls and really seemed to enjoy the process.

Elizabeth is squishing her wool with warm soapy water to start the felting process.


Paulie is picking some colored wool to felt the outside of his wool ball.

Here they are rubbing their balls 'round and 'round to felt them into a secure ball that won't come undone with play.


Here are the colorful felt balls all completed and dry.


Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Ugly Is As Ugly Does

Paul and Elizabeth, being taken with the Ugly Dolls they bought in NYC two months ago, have been drawing ugly dolls, talking about ugly dolls, sleeping with ugly dolls and studying the ugly doll brochure that came with their NYC purchases.

When I received a sewing machine for my birthday from my ever-so-thoughtful husband, churning out a couple ugly doll knock-offs seemed to be the perfect first projects to acquaint myself with my new machine. Armed with plenty of scrap fabric, these stuffed friends just seem to design themselves although the kids each picked out the buttons that were to be the eyes of their friend. Paul and Philip even embellished them a bit the next day by adding tails, and Paul added fleece dreadlocks to make a "hippy" friend.

The results of the ugly doll experiment were certainly well received. Elizabeth's Lulu is the gray boxy fleece friend with the crooked grin. Paul's Cookie is the triangle-shaped, red fleece friend with the cookie shaped face and long flowing locks. Philip's Carrot is a forest green cordoroy, hexagon friend with his red tongue hanging out. Ahhh...love at first sight.



My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun. - William Shakespeare

Friday, July 4, 2008

Blackberries on the Fourth of July

Blackberry brambles wildly envelope the fence bordering our backyard and the pasture behind us. Most summers we get a small bowl full once or twice because the neighboring cow feasts on them before we get a chance to pick them. This year, we've been fortunate that the neighbors have kept less cows and a few horses in the pasture instead, and apparently, horses aren't particularly blackberry lovers.

Paulie and Elizabeth both enjoy helping me pick the berries, nibbling a few along the way. They'll even climb under the bobbed-wire fence to pick the berries that arch to the other side of the fence. We've already made one blackberry cobbler this summer which was met with rave reviews so I'm sure they enjoy contributing to another one.

They look like summer in a bowl. Don't you agree?

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Somewhere...

I don't really have alot to say about this but Elizabeth was so thrilled to see such a huge, bright rainbow the other evening after a summer thunderstorm that she wanted a picture with it. So...here's Elizabeth, freshly scrubbed, in her nightgown with her bedtime reading (another Magic Tree House book) standing under the rainbow.

Tag-a-long Duck

Finn's newest developmental milestone, aside from the new words he's adding to his vocabulary, is the ability to drag a pull-toy behind him. This duck was a Christmas (or birthday, who can remember with a Christmas baby) present that has seen very little action until lately. He's even managed to watch the duck "walking" behind him without tripping himself up!