Wishing For Pine Needles

it's all about the Syrup

On Saturday, Marianne attended a birthday party on the outskirts of town.  Way out, I should say.  So instead of driving way back home, the other three youngsters and I stumbled upon the lovliest of quaint maple sugaring festivals!  This was a no bells-n-whistles operation if I've ever seen one, which made it all the more enjoyable and interactive for us all.  (Except for little Lena, who was bundled so tightly that I'm not sure she ever made an appearance outside of her bunting.)

There was a pancake and sausage breakfast that we had not intended to join, but that wouldn't fly with the sweet ladies who worked so hard to put the event together.  We simply weren't leaving until we sat down and ate their pancakes and sausage and hot chocolate and coffee and of course....maple syrup!  (So much so that they were willing to let us dine on the house since this mama is almost always cashless and there was no debit card option here.  But because I am just old school enough, I had a check with me that they gratefully accepted!)

Even though it was about the coldest day we've had this winter, we had a wonderful time learning all about maple syrup and how it's made.  (And if it were any warmer, the fire in the hearth wouldn't have  been nearly as cozy!)

Hoping you are enjoying this first day of March!

Thank Goodness Our Tooth Fairy Has Origami Skills

Have any of you been stunned by the going rate of lost teeth these days?  Five or even ten dollars per tooth?! 

If my math serves me correctly, at a $10 per tooth rate x 20 baby teeth per child, our tooth fairy would be spending approximately $800 on lost teeth for our four children.  (Our tooth fairy told us that she thinks not!)

So, in an effort to make the standard one dollar bill seem way cooler, our tooth fairy has learned the art of origami.

Over the years, since Rylen started losing her teeth, we have had a heart, letters of the alphabet, a bird, a church, and more I can't quite remember.  I never thought to get a picture of those sweetly folded dollars before they started to burn a hole in one said little girl's pocket.

Marianne is our toothless girl as of late and so far has gotten a jet plane and a butterfly.

It is always a thrill to see what the tooth fairy will come up with next...including for me.  You see, around here I am neither the tooth fairy nor the origami expert.

(Thank goodness for tooth fairies and for paper-folding daddies!)

 

 

Our Twelve Days of Christmas.....Gingerbread Fun at School

third graders + graham crackers + mountains of frosting & candy = total gingerbread house mania!!!

10 days to go...what kinds of things are you making???

Fall Farm Love

Loving Fall here!  How about you?

(Linking up with The Prairie Homestead on 10/3/11...check this cool blog out!)

Flour Sack Monday: Fun and Free Weekending

The annual neighborhood canoe and kayak races

This is one of the many free activities that we've enjoyed this summer.  Among our favorites were concerts in the park, church pool and pizza parties, the library reading program, vacation bible school, gathering with friends and lots and lots of swimming!

What were some of your fun and frugal summer moments?

Winter Catch-Up

I spent some time today browsing through our winter pictures, and realized that there is much left to share.  (I continue to strive to be a more frequent blogger, but until I reach that optimal blogging place the occasional catch-up post will have to do!)

Allow me to rewind back to mid-February (ahem) and a trip north to visit Great Grandma....

And some winter swimming in the hotel pool....

A lovely morning spent with my dear friend and college roommate, and meeting her baby girl for the first time.....

 

 

 

 

And, finally, our Valentine's Day magnet goodies!  My sweet girls simply could not understand why they had not yet been featured on "the blog."  Well....here they are, girls!

 

 

 

 

And not pictured:

A visit from Mimi and Auntie Nea

Five flus (which mainly happened during Mimi and Auntie Nea's visit, so hence the "no pictures")

A trip to the Fabric Shack

Lots of playdates

Some ice-skating

And lots of experimenting with and by our Cool Daddy.  (Even though I'm not the biggest fan of deep-frying, nothing will make me say no to a fresh, homemade funnel cake!)

I hope your winter moments are keeping you warm and busy!  Happy Monday!

Happy Day to You!

 

 

Hoping your Heart Day was sugary sweet!

(And my new favorite holiday for gingerbread houses?  Why Valentine's Day, of course!)

A Bit of Catch-Up

I was quite surprised when I saw that it has been 11 days since my last post.  11 days?  Really???

I guess time does fly when you're having fun!

Fun, like having a just-because-school's-out tea party....

Fun, like some late spring planting...

Fun, like painting for the first time...

Fun, like a neighborhood block party...

...featuring our very own Daddy as the entertainment (by request, I might add)...

Fun, like lunch downtown....

Yes, all this fun seems to trump spending time in front of the computer.  (And an evening gig I currently have scoring essay questions for 8th graders might also be adding to my blog-less-ness.)

Ah well....'tis a season for everything...

I hope this season is bringing some fun for you!

Happy Enchanted, School-less Monday!

First year of homeschooling  - DONE!

Summer...here we come!!!

(We hope your week is off to an equally great start...!)

Tea with Marianne

Yesterday it was my pleasure to enjoy a mid-day tea in the company of one of my very favorite people ever!

Marianne.

This sweet 4-almost-5 year old, who waits so patiently while I homeschool her big sister and manage the antics of her baby brother, finally got an afternoon with mama.

Or should I say, I got an afternoon with her.

The conversation was delightful, the goodies were quite tasty, and the entertainment was splendid.

And the hat?  Undeniably the best hat in the whole world!

Thanks for the fantastic time, baby girl!