February so far

Celebrating ten years of precious Elias

A ten year olds birthday 

spring bulbs

Valentines cookies

Making valentines

Atticus cut out hearts and wrote his name all by himself

Elias folded 30 origami valentines

Bright colorful flowers in the middle of a dark, cold month.

a family under the rainbow (and a little rain falling too)  by Atticus

scenes from home

We have been busy since the move, and I have not been  keeping up with the blog.  That doesn't mean there hasn't been a lot happening around here.  

Actually, it's the day-to-day stuff that I find fascinating right now.  The small moments that I know I will forget when my children grow, and when the house is quieter.

I thought I would try to commit to a little more blogging, about that every day stuff.

We'll see if that happens...  

A little weekend gaming for the big kids.

A night of homemade spa

Tea, back rubs, candles, fire in the fireplace 

a new violin 

Some silly time. Always silly time...

And a new cello! 

Chore time.  the ear protection is worn when he vacuums...

and plays the drums

Simple dinners and lunches, lost of bread, cheese and fruit.  

Nobody complains.

Our new Sunday ritual of washing all the laundry and folding all of it, while watching a movie of course!  Makes it a fun family event.

Playing dress up for real

A tennessee sunset

A progression of houses by Atticus

Lots of cuddling, maybe an illness or two...

It looked like a full moon tonight.

Smoke out of the neighbors chimney.  

Why not sk8?

It was a rather cold and rainy weekend.  Lucky for us, my mom was visiting, so it was a little brighter.

One morning, they boys suggested we go roller skating.

It was so dark outside, we thought, why not?

Nothing says weekend like black lights and roller skates at 10am

Elias won the limbo contest, somehow he bends like a wet noodle, and is also graceful on skates.

          Mom was very brave, as she donned skates and went around and around.  Isn't that cool?  They played Celebration, Hey Micky, and YMCA.  It was crazy fun.  Missed my sister, who would have pulled out some leg warmers and skated too...

loving these links

baked potato soup; made this for lunch today.  Added some lemon, crispy bacon, and sour cream.  Oh yes I did.

good foods; A beautiful way to eat the rainbow and get back on track after the holidays

Small town is self-sufficient; a small town in England is trying to grow all their own foods.

another soup;  heard this on the Splendid Table on NPR

inside a yogis fridge; Relieved to see a yoga superstar eats like a human

beautiful skin care products; beautiful.

6 january super foods; another good thing about the season

how to make a smelly dog smell better; Chance is so smelly from being out in the wild all the time.

The Nature in Me

Something about getting moving in a nature setting does me so much good.  My whole body tingles as my blood fills tiny little capillaries in my fingers and toes.  Walking on a tread mill is good, but a hike through the woods or around a lake is better.  Yoga actually does this for me too.  I love moving.  My body loves it.  Sometimes, when I have been still for a long period of time, I forget how much I love moving, and think I could just sit forever.  Then someone, maybe a child, maybe a hiking partner, maybe Mr.Sunshine, gets me up and going.  Recently, we took a walk around Long Hunter State park outside of Nashville.  My Dad was visiting and took these pictures. Thanks to him, you can see I exist.  Unfortunately, you have to take my word for it that he exists.    

My children love moving to, as most children do.  And exploring, and doing exactly what they are asked and told not to do.  Like walking in the mud.  Dash went straight for the furthest, muddiest, part of the beach.  And in less than a minute, he sunk into the mud, and was stuck.  I hopped from rock to rock to help.

Dash told me quietly that he was very angry at himself, that he knew I had just said that if anyone gets muddy or wet we would have to leave.

I had such sympathy for him.

He was exploring, 

never meant to get stuck.

I remembered a time my boot had been stuck in the mud, 

and I had fallen into ice cold water, 

and my brother had to carry me all the way home,

shivering.

And I remembered when my boot got stuck in the snow, and my sister and brother could't find it, 

and I had to go home missing one boot.

My brother probably carried me then too.  

We did not find it until the snow melted.

Elias helped Dash, instinct told him to go get Dash's boot, and help him put it on.

We moved on, and walked and enjoyed moments of quiet reflection.

Atticus had one "melt-down"

He warned me.

He said, "Mommy, I am melting"

He just couldn't go on.  He wasn't tired.  He just couldn't move one more step.

Dash immediately came to his side, just as he did when we

were hiking the in the Appalachian trail.

I don't know what he said or did, but somehow he got Atticus to keep going.

the day before the day

I just can't believe that after 7 months of being a stay at home mom, tomorrow, I return to work.  I am a mix of emotions.  I like work, being with others, accomplishing something, earning money...and, I love staying at home, cleaning and organizing, quiet, cooking and baking, my own schedule.

sunlight streaming in the bedroom window

sunlight in the kitchen window

Chance in the sunlight

Atticus and Chance, good friends

Right now, I have the feeling that it will be good to be back to a schedule, good to walk my children into their classrooms where they so want to be, where they are so loved and taken care of by their teachers and classmates.

The boys made these photo collages of themselves

view from Elias's bedroom window

Dash and Atticus sitting by the fire 

So, today I will spend getting ready for tomorrow.  And hopefully the effects will be long-lasting.

 We were out in the woods for a while
yesterday.  The boys have a fort, and they wanted Grandpa and I to see it.  It is a magical place, where little boys imagine they are anywhere, and they can be anybody.  It is where the children want to play for a very long time.  It is the best place for them to play, unstructured, inhibited only by their own minds, and maybe sometimes, the weather.  It is a crazy maze of trees and vines, thick enough for the boys to climb on them and swing on them.

 A place where dreams and reality blur.  An earthly and heavenly place where boys talk to things only they can see.  Where trees and vines become buildings, ships, airplanes, castles, dragons, animals...

A place where they hardly notice the adults are there, but when they do notice us, they invite us into their world.  It is a place I can remember from my childhood.  I am just one step away from the magical land they live in.  My boys take me there, all I have to do is take their hand and follow them.