Spring Equinox & Henry's Rainbow Hoodie

One of the reasons I've chosen homeschooling is to allow us more time to be aware of and observe the changing of the seasons. We had a wonderful, simple "celebration" today.

Probably the most exciting part of today was that I finally finished Henry's rainbow hoodie that was promised to him first at Christmas, then his birthday...but now it's done, just in time for spring!

In the end, today wasn't all that different from any other - we went to the chiropractor, then gymnastics, back home for quiet time, and then played outside until dinner - except in our mindfulness and awareness that this marks the first day of a new season. Henry was so excited and made cards for everyone.

Henry posing with Felix & his newly completed hoodie

I felt rather like the mother bunny in Goodnight Moon, whispering "hush" and knitting in Henry's room last night as he went to sleep

Henry helps Jude open the card he made for him

Playing with a neighbor friend this afternoon

After our friend from across the street went inside, Henry made a "path" that I think was part of a map or secret something-or-other. Everyone watched hm with great fascination.

 And then...the moment we'd all been waiting for! We planted our flower seeds. (We picked up the seed packet yesterday at our local hardware store, just a traditional flower mix.)  I've heard you can start seeds in egg cartons, so I decided to give it a try. We'll see how it goes!

I just had to include these pictures of Felix...after dinner, when his brothers were running around, he was meticulously coloring in all the eyes, noses, and mouths of the people in these pictures. It was amazing how long he sat there - at least 20 minutes, to be sure.

Advent 2012

The tragic events of last Friday have served as a poignant reminder to me that nothing in this life is guaranteed. I am so grateful for each moment of every day with my precious boys. Here is how we spent our days this Advent season.

On the first Sunday of Advent, I went (all by myself!) to a wreath-making workshop at the Oregon Ridge Nature Center, one of my favorite places in this area. I was the only one who made an advent wreath - I dug through the boxes of stuff they had there until I came upon exactly 4 candleholders. It was meant to be.

Jude and Felix helped me set out the gorgeous Nativity set that Dan's mom made for us. They love those camels.

We picked up these discarded branches and trunk pieces for free when we got our tree, and they smell amazing in the woodstove. (I took the boys by myself because Dan is working so hard to finish his dissertation we decided he couldn't spare the time to come with us this year.)

 Making ornaments...until today these were all we had on the tree!

The handmade stockings are another amazing gift from Dan's mom...

 Henry, of course, has been making all kinds of Christmas-related art.

 Chocolate Thumbprints, Henry's favorite cookie and a Christmas tradition around here...

Most of us have been sick for most of the month, Jude and Felix worst of all. They are still pretty snotty/coughing/low fevers on and off. We've made the best of it with lots of snuggle time in our bed watching Christmas movies.

The other big project this month besides the Christmas cards was preparing gifts to mail to family and friends. We finally sent them off on Friday!

 We made Gingerbread playdough on Thursday. The boys, of course, LOVED it. I tripled the recipe so we could send some to our friends.

 Gingerbread for sale...

On Friday we went to the B & O railroad museum. Henry wrote a letter to Santa, we saw the holiday train displays, and everyone made some pictures.

 We had a wonderfully relaxing pajama day today. Dan baked up a storm, and I made Peppermint Bark for the first time! I also finished Felix's owl ornament, and we finally put the ornaments on the tree. Now I need to make ornaments for Jude and Henry, and finish a few other things.

I

the day after

Sometimes the day after a birthday is hard, but today was a good day! This morning, Jude, Felix and I ran a few errands. They both brought their hand kites with them everywhere (yay!). We went to two post offices to get Christmas stamps (the first one was out), dropped of some library books that were long overdue, and got two more thyme plants at the local nursery, because I had used up the one we had. (I am still loving my front porch herb garden and use it all the time in my cooking!) While there, I saw some Christmas ornaments and got an idea of one I could make for Felix...

I have noticed just in the past week or two that we have turned a corner with independent play - meaning, I don't have to supervise the boys' play all the time anymore! This is a huge milestone for me. I can be in the kitchen while they play upstairs in their room...it is wonderful. This afternoon, all three of them were engaged for about an hour doing their own thing (well, I was helping Felix off and on a lot of that time, which is understandable). Felix was painting with glitter, Jude was building with Legos, and Henry was playing in his room. There were some thuds and bangs coming from upstairs that Felix and I were wondering about, and after a while, we went upstairs to check it out.

 Turns out he had turned their room into a restaurant! He loves this new kitchen - they all do!

Henry and Jude proceeded to serve me a number of delectable dishes.

I also completed a big project today - the Christmas cards! The past few years I have spent so many hours on these, and I decided to go simple this year and "mass produce" them - i.e. each one is the same design. I am really pleased with how they turned out.

 Cards are best addressed with a cupcake and a cup of tea. (Or a large glass of wine.)

In case you're wondering - yes, that is our address on the card. I send one to myself every year because I love to save them, and want to have the postmark on the card. I can't be the only one who does this, right?

I set out this little basket and paper tonight, hoping it will inspire some creativity tomorrow...we'll see!