a January evening

Last night:

dinner, outside...our first outdoor meal of 2009
moon gazing

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

vintage toys

When Abbott was an infant, the bath tub toys available for purchase seemed to lack quality and imagination. I bought the above Fisher Price "3 men in a tub" toy for him on ebay; I remember long baths and lots of imaginative play with this set in my childhood. As Abbott got older, I came to wish that many of my childhood toys had been saved. I missed them and wanted Abbott and Cal to enjoy what I had played with. One Christmas my sister and I were given the Fisher Price "village" set pictured below; I recall long hours of play with it. I spent an embarrassing amount of money buying it for them on ebay. I find it difficult to sort out, as my boys start to outgrow toys, what to donate and what to keep.

We love delivering the mail...


getting gas, fighting fires, driving around....


being an auto mechanic...


barber, jailor...


...even still.

the walk to school

I have been impressed at the things in my daily life I have never noticed before this past month, when I started bringing a camera with me everywhere.

Fun on the Run

When the boys were younger, I carried the kitchen sink with me. Books, toys, crayons, snacks, first aid supplies; you name it, I probably had it with me. I now revel in carrying with me a mere handbag (or a camera bag). The downside to this is those unexpected times like trips to see the pediatrician. Last week I had to take Abbott to the clinic, and we waited and waited and waited for a test he needed. As pictured in the top photo, the boys started wrestling, playing hide and seek...



...lots of general silliness.


One of the things that was abandoned to a book shelf after the diaper bag went away is a great book called Fun on the Run. (A couple of years ago, I gave it to many people as a holiday gift, I like it so much.) This is full of ideas for the doctor's office, restaurants, grocery stores....you get the idea. This book is now going to have a permanent home in the car so that the next time we spend hours somewhere unexpectedly, we have some fun ideas for how to pass the time.

hello weekend!

I hope your weekend is as satisfying as this trip to our favorite neighborhood coffeeshop was.




Have you seen National Geographic's story Inside the Presidency? Alexi pointed it out to me; absolutely fascinating.

I am doing an exchange for Easter with my blogging friend Elaine, who lives in England. I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments about American Easter treats to send her two little ones. Thanks!

The SAC

Recently Alexi built a hockey target/goal for the boys to shoot pucks at in the garage. He made a wooden frame and attached carpet to it - it can be seen on the wall behind Abbott in the top photo. The extra lumber has been sitting around in the garage since that time; last weekend Abbott decided he wanted to make something with it. His initial idea was to build a campground for the back yard. He used a hand saw and did almost all of the sawing all by himself, and the nailing with some help and supervision. Once the structure was up, Abbott decided he wanted it to be a club house for the garage. (Fortunately we never park in the garage!) The club is called the SAC, or Secret Abbreviation Club. All week there have been meetings with a schedule of activities including free choice, lunch, recess, and work time. Want to join?

for posterity

When I'm asked, "What were you doing the day history was made?" I will say, I took Abbott and Cal to school. Abbott watched the inauguration and learned more about the Obamas:


Cal's preschool teacher was full of inaugural spirit:


I got back home just before this moment:


Put away 44 dishes:


And bought special treats to celebrate:

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr's Last Speech (full text here):




At church yesterday, our pastor read an excerpt from this speech; I found it incredibly moving. I encourage you to take the time to listen to it or read it.

at the library

One of our outings yesterday was to the public library. Over the rest of the weekend we'll read what we checked out, and think about a remarkable man. And even though it's all relative with children, this is a slow, quiet weekend for us, which I love.

Barefoot Contessa's Easy Sticky Buns

For your weekend, Barefoot Contessa's Easy Sticky Buns. We first made these during our snowstorm in December, when friend and fellow blogger Sherri posted the recipe. This is the perfect recipe to make with children as it involves fun, hands-on work like spreading butter and sprinkling sugar and cinnamon. Cal did all of the work, aside from the slicing.

Eyore was our assistant.


Delicious!

fleeting

Yesterday the morning was rosy; after so many gray days, I took the opportunity to spend a few minutes at the beach before getting on with the day's routine.

two ferries are about to pass each other; a sea bird is in the foreground

Parenting is in many ways like this rosy morning; the golden moments are fleeting and easily overlooked amidst the chaos and energy that children create in a home. This day turned into another gray day; a great reminder for me to cherish each and every little second.

Julio and Jorge Want to Know

Both Cal and Abbott's schools use the second step curriculum. Here is an example of one way it is used in Cal's preschool classroom. Every day, the children are given a question to answer. This picture is from second step; the question is "how do you think Enrique is feeling?" This is great practice for this group of four year olds in many ways, including emotional awareness and writing.


Here are Julio and Jorge, the classroom pets who are asking the questions. These are axolotls that were donated to the classroom by a parent who works in a research lab. (I think they're creepy and try not to look at them; the kids don't really seem to notice them one way or another.)

What Makes A Picture Interesting?

It can be our first look at something.


It can be entertaining.


It can evoke deep emotions.


It can be amusing or thrilling or intriguing.


It can be proof of something.


It can jog memories or raise questions.


It can be beautiful.


It can convey authority.


Most often it informs.


It can surprise.


This list of criteria is by John Loengard, a Time-Life photographer for over 40 years. He is an alumni of the same high school as Alexi; it was published in the school newsletter.