cozy snowzy

on sunday we had our first (and most likely last) significant snowfall of the season, which made for a snuggly night and a playful morning.










i pulled out an old candle kit of tashi's. it has sheets of colored beeswax that you roll up or cut out. tristan and i had a very nice time making a few small candles. the wonders of crafting are upon my toddler.




this morning i made him this little marble maze. i found the link to a tutorial on the crafty crow.





i am trying to bring more rhythm and focus to our days, more crafts, and as spring approaches (with a small snowstorm in the mix), more of the great outdoors. it is hard not to steal a little time for myself here and there (to blog, for instance), but i think i am trying to secure a place of balance, and that we are getting there.

this thursday we are meeting with a waldorf based outdoor playgroup. we're so excited.

hearts aplenty

the crafty crow saves the day again with great ideas for holiday crafts.

i had so much fun making things with tristan and realized that we definitely don't do enough crafting together. he is almost three now and quite ready to work with glue and glitter. he does however have this particular way of claiming he doesn't like the finished product. i'll tell him from the start that we are making a sun catcher and once it's all said and done and hanging in the window he says, i don't like that sun catcher. take it down. what's up with that?


he had good fun pasting the tissue paper to the parchment on this sun catcher.


we made the sun catcher and transparency from a red and gold gift box. there were some strips left over so i made tristan a little heart bracelet and he made one for tashi. it was so sweet to see him giving her a valentine.


i ended up making some of these handprint cards of my own, as i had to demonstrate to tristan that laying one's palm in the paint was neither hot nor painful in any way. i really didn't think he was going to do it, when suddenly he just squished his hand in there and was ready to go. thus commences an era of finger painting.


i adore the idea behind these love rocks. i don't think mine turned out quite as nice as those in the tutorial, especially without any mod podge on hand. but the idea is so sweet and tristan really liked carrying his around (and dropping it on occasion). tashi has a very cool
magnetic word stamp kit, which i used to stamp some choice words on the backs. i didn't photograph the backs but they turned out pretty well.


we had a tasty valentine dinner of greek potatoes, youvetsi, salad and bread. surrounded by roses and flowers from dan and my dad.


followed by rich chocolate pudding with whip cream and a sprinkle of crushed candy canes.


and candle light.

i didn't manage to photograph tashi's valentines as there was no good light left, but she made a lovely book for all of us, and some sweet cards with messages hidden under layers of heart lobes. my favorite part was that tristan went to bed with his card from tashi in his hand. seeing the love between my children is the greatest valentine gift of all.

corners

today has been incredibly windy. i've been enjoying the sounds of it, and the light filling corners.

good fortune

recently tristan was marching around saying, "don't hide your feelings! be careful what you wish for!" i couldn't remember for the life of me where he picked up these phrases.

yesterday we were looking one of his newer books, fortune cookies, and my question was answered!





it's a cute book, with a good message about one thing leading to another, or when one door closes another opens. and the little one gets to pull the fortune out of the cookie, which is always fun.

day stuff

sometimes feeling unwell is really difficult with a very energetic little boy to take care of. it seems like baking sometimes provides focus. he loves to be a kitchen helper. we made these marvelous oat cranberry white chocolate cookies. they are dangerously good.


this is loki, enjoying what is apparently springtime


this is luna, with the beautiful eyes



tristan loves his gnome house. he is sitting in front of it right now. i think i'll join him.

thrift therapy

need i say more?

first crocus

we walked outside yesterday and this little lady nearly knocked me over



i guess i wasn't expecting her quite so soon




and she has some yellow friends nearby



sitting on the hammock and feeling warm with my little guy made me think i was fine with winter being over.

but another freeze is on the way.

and the crocus? she will fold under the chill. the gift of her early nod encourages us to look toward the bright days that lie ahead.

pools of light

it was raining when we woke up. and then the sun.


poor tashi has been up and down with a cold for a few weeks now. she stayed home today. we had some good laughs as i tried to teach her how to use a neti pot.


it's been two months since my uncle dimas passed. tristan sometimes asks for the river song, a video of my uncle's amazonian waterline photos set to amazing tribal music. he is absolutely mesmerized by it.


this is a wet on wet watercolor that tashi made four or five years ago. i love it.


and this is light on the wall above my bed.

happy imbolc everyone. we talked about it today, read some stories, had a lovely dinner. but i think we will save the fire and the river and the candles and the tarot readings for the weekend.

february flowers

the hellebores and camellia are blooming and the daffodil shoots have sprung up. today we are twenty degrees above the february average; the screen door is open and it's almost warm enough to turn the ceiling fan on.

we spent some time outside this morning, raking and hauling more leaves, blowing bubbles, chalking the driveway, checking out the blooms and hanging out in the fairy hut.

tristan is refusing his nap and instead laying a path of books on the floor while singing an ode to a firetruck.

are your days unusually warm? how are you spending them?