Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Too Cute

IS there anything that pleases children more than baby animals????

I don't think so ;)  I wish I could have captured the looks on the kids' faces this morning as we introduced the new chicks to their space.  I was too busy making sure none got dropped or stepped on tho....

  My sweet scientist boy helped us introduce the chicks to water - they need to each have their beak dipped in to show them how and where.  IT takes a while when there are 100 of them!

The smiles were big tho - this is definitely an event that the kids look forward to.

Work in Progress Wednesday - My First Sock

Yes I said sock - as in *one sock* lol :)  Finishing one was great- not feeling so motivated to start that second one tho - something about the heat?  Ok - maybe I'm just being lazy - I don't love double pointed needles ;)  I do however *love* the feeling of a hand knit sock - the fit is perfect - and they are so cushy and just..... luxurious feeling.  

I know - they are quite um - colorful ;)  I had a bunch of single skeins of o-wool balance - not sure what I was thinking there other than that all the colors were pretty and I couldn't decide :)  I bought them when I hadn't been knitting for long too and didn't realize what a PITA single skeins are.  Oh well - colorful socks it is :) 

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Bubble Post Part 2



   So when I uploaded the bubble shot - I didn't have time for a full post, as I was about to run out the door to take the kids to the beach...... but I was so excited about it I had to post that one shot right then.

So now I'm back to tell you about the actual bubble making ;)

The scientist of the house was super gung ho to make bubbles.  He'd seen  directions for making bubble wands and had done it all himself and he was not interested in hearing any reasons why we couldn't do it right then and there (his persistence is really good for me :)  )  I was all hung up on thinking we needed this that and the other thing to make it work - he just wanted to do it.  So we did it.  I wasn't sure if the Seventh Generation dishsoap we had would do the trip, so I googled it (of course) and came up with a blog I already was familiar with (and more fabulous bubble shots)  - I would love to link, but my browser I normally use is down, and I can't for the life of me recall the name of the blog.....

So we got a rubbermaid bin, put enough water to be able to submerge the rather large bubble wand (a coat hanger bent into a round shape - then at his insistence we wrapped yarn around the coat hanger - you can see what I mean in the photos).  Then we put in a few really good long squirts of the seventh generation dish soap - and finally because i happened to have it around - a dash of glycerine - (yes I happened to have it around, *but* I *meant* to buy it for ohhhh 2-3 years for a craft project - then I finally did and we never got to it in time (preserving leaves in the fall - maybe this year?) - so I'm not * that on it lol!

I just kept trying to make bubbles and added more soap until it worked - I know some people prefer recipes - there are a ton out there if you google - I'm a bit of a recipe avoider ;)

And it did work :)

And it was extremely fun - and yes at times I had a hard time handing that bubble wand back over to the waiting child - what is it about making bubbles that is soooooooooo satisfying!

So if you've been wanting to make these fabulous big bubbles, but you haven't because you didn't have any joy dish detergent (supposedly the best soap for bubble making) or whatever - just do it!  It's really not hard at all.

 .

Monday, June 28, 2010

I Heart Faces - Pets

 I'm taking the plunge and taking part in the I Heart Faces weekly photography challenges.  This week's theme is "Pets Only" but anyone is welcome to enter a photo of any animal (it does not necessarily have to be a pet.)

"Pig Moon"

Thursday, June 24, 2010

This Moment

Inspired by Soulemama - This moment - A Friday ritual. A single photo, no words, capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


Caterpillar Explosion

The beach we visit often daily during the swimming months of the summer has these wonderful big old trees that offer us shade in the heat of the afternoon. This year these trees are *covered* in caterpillars - there isn't even the tiniest part of the tree that isn't covered. They've eaten the vast majority of the leaves in record time. It's quite shocking - mostly to the adults I suppose ;) The kids are thrilled - of course! What could be more fun than collecting caterpillars in vast quantities. All of the kids herd around the trees pointing and exclaiming with delight and running off to tell the other children, in voices full of wonder, "Have you *seen* the caterpillars????"






Monday, June 21, 2010

Dying Playsilks with food coloring

We had a handmade gifts only birthday party to go to this past week (love those!)
and true to my usual style - I didn't get to it until .... the morning of.

Right. I'd had grand plans to dye a play silk, *and* make a birthday crown (with Big Miss A's help of course :) ) Then I didn't have any koolaid - which is normally what I use to dye play silks. I buy a whole bunch of silks at once to have on hand for occasions like this. My next thought was to use food coloring, but alas - my little scientist had used it all up. Fortunately tho I discovered one partial bottle of green he had missed

I hadn't ever tried food coloring before - and I didn't have much of it, so I tried a new method.

I folded up the playsilk and then rolled it and wrapped a few elastics around (you can see this above) Then I handed my daughter the green coloring and let her go to town until it was all gone. I sprinkled a little water on to make sure it soaked through. Then I realized that while the koolaid is plenty acidic without vinegar, the food coloring wasn't and the color wouldn't set properly without it, - so I went for the vinegar.... but ..... the scientist again. Hmm. Ok - apple cider vinegar it is. He'd gotten to that too, sigh. There was just enough tho - I just poured it straight on until it was soaked through. Looking back, I suspect it would have been better - held more of the color if I hadn't sprinkled the water on - the vinegar would have spread it just fine. I opened up the scarf and popped it into a steamer pot to steam while I ran around getting ready until I remembered it again ;)

A quick rinse, and into the dryer on low it went.

Not bad considering we had only one color - and not much of it :) I can't wait to try this with other colors.

Easy Peasy :) I was really pleased with the way the colors separated a bit - chromatography instead of green we got some yellowy-green, and some bluey-green - extra cool since we just did an activity a couple of weeks ago illustrating chromatography - using paper towels, drawing circles in markers, and then dropping drops of water onto the circles and watching the colors separate - very cool :)

A Garter Yoke Cardigan for Little Miss A



This is my second time knitting this pattern. I can see why people like it so much - it is a really nice fit. I never thought I'd be the matchy matchy type with my kids, but apparently I am ;). I love the button - it's from Peace Fleece.

I should really call this the Lost Cardigan. I recently started watching the first season of Lost - and I got a little hooked - watched the entire season in around 2 weeks - while knitting this sweater ;)

You can see the details on my ravelry page here.



Thursday, June 17, 2010

This Moment

Inspired by Soulemama - This Moment - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.






Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Another Skateboarder or 2

Ah Skateboarding. My husband has skateboarded for ohhh....
20 + years.

He loves it. It clears his head in a way that nothing - aside from snowboarding ;) - else does.

It's like magic watching him - at the local sk8 park. Sometimes I think it must feel like flying!

My oldest son just fell in love recently after finally learning how to drop in to the bowl from the edge. Very cool ;) The look on his face - the utter pride of accomplishment. Beautiful. And the resulting drive that followed - one that has him wanting to keep trying again and again - to learn another new thing .... that will lead to another and another. It's wonderful to see such focus and commitment

As you can see even the 2 year old wants in on the fun ;)

Recently even *I* decided to join in! I know - it's shocking - not really something I'd have ever thought I'd want to do, but let's face it - it's kind of boring to just sit and watch - not that I don't enjoy that - I mean I can't really complain about watching my handsome husband skateboard can I? Eye candy ;)

That said - I still get bored eventually, and I'm always trying to find a way to get exercise.

Really tho - I want to experience that feeling that looks like flying!

So I've been joining the fun - altho I can't exactly say that the pain the following morning is fun - but oh well - cement *is* hard after all - I wasn't really shocked.

My husband even put together a board for me - a dream come true for him lol - he always wanted a skater girlfriend ;)

Not that I really qualify as a skater - much more like a crash on the pavement not terribly graceful mama - but that's ok ;)

Mainly tho I was surprised by how fun it is to be so focused on something physical. I'm very familiar with being very focussed on all things mental lol - I'm referred to by my mom as an "information junkie" (she's a self-proclaimed one herself)

I can really see the benefit to kids - or anyone really, in the focus of skateboarding. Wanting to learn something so badly- sticking it out even when it hurts. Accomplishing a never ending series of very specific goals that over time build to competence. Pushing one's limits again and again.

Fascinating.

I think that skateboarding often gets a bad rap - I think that is really sad. There is so much more to it than meets the eye.

I wonder who in the family will be next to join the fun ?

Monday, June 14, 2010

beaching

Summer is finally here. Beaching will become an almost daily event, to cool down in the afternoon heat. It's funny - I seem to view every season, every event, every milestone from the point of view of this being the last of the baby days. Little Miss A - almost 2 1/2 - is seeming like less of a baby each day. I go to the beach and as I chase after her quick little runaway self I am reminded that next year will be different. The diapers will be gone. She'll stick around at the beach. Heck maybe she'll even sleep at night! Every little thing reminds me. Some days that leaves me feeling sentimental - others I'm quite relieved to be honest. I feel these intense baby days coming to a close - and it was a wild and wonderful ride, but this mama's tired. Looking forward to enjoying my children in a different way - maybe a little less frazzled and sleep deprived ;) Not always missing out on a special moment because i have to chase the current toddler. Not better - just different- a new time - as it should be.


This photo really strikes me - the girls - look so alike - even the same height. They couldn't be more different tho - One so fairy like, and the other such a sweet feisty little elf.




This boy of mine- he just adores his little sisters.


The summer will be over in a heartbeat - trying to make the most of each day.

Friday, June 11, 2010

This Moment


Inspired by Soulemama This Moment - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.



Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Dad Rocks


The other day Mr S -(my 7 year old in case anyone is having trouble keeping track ;) ) was trying to rig himself up a zip line - using the fence in a way that made my husbands eyes bug out ;) He had a brief moment of crankiness, quickly followed by a deep breath and an offer to go out right after breakfast and build a real one together :) Yay Dad :)

Those would be *my* pink holey soles ahem ;)

There was no time to get dressed - this was definitely a high priority event - no time could be wasted, so the pj's stayed on :)

The fun lasted for hours - days actually :)

A bigger grin has never been seen...

For safety's sake - and heck it's even more fun if you get to let go at the end and crash onto a nice soft matt :)

A certain little Miss A found herself quite comfortable on the crash matt..