Into the Woods:: 1/28

The past weeks have been a little challenging with Asher in the woods, not that he doesn't love it, but he doesn't really want to move much and by the middle of our hikes he has been very crabby and wanting to be carried. As I already have one on my back, carrying a boy loaded with snowpants and wet boots isn't my first choice. So this week i decided to ditch the snowpants, wondering if they were just uncomfortable, making movement harder and more tiring. This helped with the wanting to be carried, but not with the desire to not move much. Asher could entertain himself for hours with just 20 ft of trail. River is getting tired of just observing, and he isn't really ready for just walking in the snow. We are adjusting and I think the woods in the spring are going to be an even more magical place for these boys.

Back to this week. Asher pretended his mitten was a mouse under the snow and did an awesome job recreating the mouse, leaving tracks.We followed the fox tracks, it intesected with a rabbit.and walked through the woods.Asher climbed on a fallen log, he was a squirrel- we were lucky enough to have our woods walking friends with us.He was a squirrel for a good 10 minutes after our friends departed. He really seems immune to the cold while playing.River and I hung out per the usual.We followed the fox back up the hill to walk the trail along the ditch.

And continued our track obsession until A finally declared he was cold.

Celebrations

Birthday Month has arrived! Happy February to you all. Many preparations are underway in our home. I have been trying my best to stay reasonable about what I can get done for the boy birthdays. Have lists made and am checking things off daily and am actually prioritizing what I will not comprimise on and what in the last minute crunch time can be cast aside without guilt.. These are big steps for me.

Birthday Crowns are a no comprimise item and thanks to a bit of time this weekend I got a good jump on my ambitious plans. Needle felted on wool made by an Indiana artisan (R's) and recycled sweaters (A's)

I can hardly wait to see these on their birthday heads.And finally the bunting, it has been cut since April, thought about since over a year ago, and now it is ready for decorating. This month promises to be a whirlwind with busy work weeks (we are 38 members strong this month), lots of visitors, other birthdays and a shorter month than all the rest. I plan on conquering it all with little sleep, lots of coffee and chocolate, pecan cookies so fresh out to the oven that I have to be extra careful not to get burnt.

Searching for Warmth

On one of the coldest days last week, we sought out the warmest of places:: the University's Green Houses. We even had a scheduled tour, which was pretty great. Asher didn't last for the whole tour, but we got to see some cool thing in the back rooms.

We made sure to stay hydrated during the heat wave.

Jerky Take 2

With some Asher help, we were able to turn 6lbs of Triple S farms delightful organic beef into 3lbs of jerky that we are all enjoying for a good afternoon protein treat.

Crushing whole spices and garlic.

seasoning the 1/4 inch sliced rump roast.

crushing the garlic.

And a few tablespoons of brown sugar.

A lovely sight for hungry, active bellies.

It looks like last time, just a little less spicy to the eating pleasures of the kiddos.

Crafting in Honor of Snacktime

I am totally in love with our snack bags. I love using the tiny scraps of fabric and using up other stuff I have had for too long.

This holiday season had me letting go of a lot. My first intention was to make these snack bags filled with home made fruit leather for all the great kiddos that we know. Well, we know a lot of kids and I didn't get much sewing time. But now after the holidays I have had some time, I'm not sleeping, but there has been more sewing time and that feels good (on most days). And while they aren't in the mail, they are in a pile to mail.

These bags are great for kids, Asher can open them and clost them on his own, plus they are reusable, unlike the standard ziplock.

Into the Woods:: 1/21 & 25

Despite the grey we are still getting outside. The weather has turned a little colder today, but the woods are still a retreat for us.

Our last hike on Monday, A wasn't so into the walking with his friends. Instead he was an owl in a tree.

Squishy, Squashy

To get out of our Sunday funk, we headed outside. The sun was no longer shining and there was the perfect amount of chill in the air to remind you of all your body parts. Mud boots came out of storage and we stomped along.

This pond is one of our regular places we like to visit. Just south of Homer Lake, we kayak, fish and look for frogs.

And it was our first trip out with the sling shot in ages. Yes I have a problem with play guns, but I love, love the sling shot. I found these at an Environmental Ed conference I attended 4 years ago- and I would often go into the woods looking for slingables and practice my aim. While Asher is lacking some of the motor control, it was fun to play around with it and he did successfully get a pine cone to fling a few feet.and he of course thought playing with mama's toy was pretty cool.Before he discovered the ice and wanted to be a penguin.

It Shines

Luckily for us we got to see our shadows for a whole 7 minutes this morning for the first time in 10 days.

We are experiencing a lot of grey around here these days, plus a lot of sleepless teething nights, needless to say it has been a little tough to get motivated to do anything but the bare minimum.