Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Flower Shopping & Puddles




I realize a two and a half year old can have fun anywhere as long as there are puddles to walk through. I want to be a two year old at heart and for my little one to keep her sense of joy and love of little things as she grows up.

Cool Paper Plate Weaving







It's really amazing what kids can do when you give them a great project and cool materials. I want to try this paper plate weaving project from Fem Manuel with my little one when she gets a bit older. In the meantime I could see giving it a try myself.

There is a downloadable pdf with instructions at Fine Little Day and a more photo's on Fem Manuel's flicker stream.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Earth Day




Our Earth Day was quiet and included a drive through Califon NJ. Here's a bit of what we saw as we hit the back roads. We took a turn down the Raritan River Road and enjoyed an up close view of the river. I got a kick out of seeing how residents hang hammocks on the river side of the road. A nice benefit of river front property.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Sleepy Snake and Mischievous Mouse by Mochimochi



I'd like to think snake and mouse have an agreement and nobody gets hurt in this relationship. I'm also betting that their matching toupees are a sign of a true and lasting friendship.

These two characters are just a few of the wonderful and imaginative creatures created by Anna of Mochimochi. Luckily you can purchase patterns from the Mochimochi shop and knit your own menagerie. You can also see more of Anna's creations and see what's she is up to on her blog.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Violets are Blooming in the Lawn



I love this time of year when violets are scattered throughout the lawn. Soon they will disappear and the regular lawn mowing will prevent them from coming back until next spring. Every year I dig a few patches up and try and establish them in the rock garden or a pot in our back garden. I'm having some success and a bunch that I planted in an herb pot have come back along with a few patches in our front rock garden. I hope they just keep spreading.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Spring on a String




This mushroom and butterfly necklace by Woodland Belle perfectly captures spring for me and the magic of miniature worlds. I like the way she describes how each necklace is made by hand and how she carefully paints the dots on the mushrooms. You can tell a lot of love goes into these necklaces.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

How Does Your Garden Grow?



We have begun our gardening for the year. We started by planting some seeds for our sunflower garden. We still have another little green house to fill. Our sunflowers were so beautiful last year that I want to double their number this summer.

As we were working on this project together yesterday, I was struck by how much my little one has grown in the past year. Last year I did all the planting by myself and she helped with watering and making mud puddles. This year I have a full blown helper. She helped poke the holes for the seeds and put all the seeds in the soil. And who knows maybe she will really mow the lawn one day. Oh how our children grow.

There's Some Bunny for Everyone




I'm not a big fan of pass along emails, but leave it to my friend Susie to send one that actually made me smile. The title was "Beware of Identity Theft This Easter", but I prefer "There's Some Bunny for Everyone". These pairings are so cute, I fear I could find myself at a pet store. Must repeat "No bunnies, no bunnies, bunnies bite, no bunnies."

Hunting for Easter Eggs



"Eggs!". That's what my little one said when she looked out the front door and saw that the Easter Bunny had stopped by. I was so happy she was happy and also that the weather was so great, we were able to take the hunt outdoors. It was so much prettier seeing the eggs tucked in the plants and around the yard. And it was nice not to have to run around like mad trying to clean the house. Yeah for warm weather and living outdoors again.