Orcas Island

We are having a wonderful and very relaxing vacation and it is hard to believe we only have a week and a half left on the island. Josh, Jennifer, Leo and Carol were just here for a few days and before that Gretchen and Jeff. The weather has been amazing for the most part and thus we have been outside with the kids everyday. The yard in front of our cabin has been deemed "Fairyland" and it is so much fun to have a wild and natural place to visit almost daily. Many points along the way have names now and it is a magical place. Emmit loves to leave notes for the fairies and Asher can't get enough of the moss and literally just wants to roll around in it and rub it on his face. We are cooking up a storm and enjoying incredible views. Dennis is taking tons of photos with his new camera and getting in more hiking then any of us. We are taking lots of photos to post when we return home in mid. January but I thought I would just say a quick hello now while I have a moment!

Science Spot and NWish weather

Ahhhh we had rain today! Having grown up playing in mud puddles and living a very outdoorsy life year round, I love love love 40+ and rainy. Not only is my hair at its prime but it just makes me happy. So we walked to the Science Spot this morning for playgroup and I decided to let Asher walk and not even bring a stroller or backpack. OK so it is only about a block and a half or two blocks but it was so much easier then any other option. He loved loved loved walking and then Emmit walked too. If Asher is in the backpack or stroller then Emmit often won't walk. It also helped to tire Asher out a little tiny bit so he was more containable at the Science Spot. He absolutely loves the broom there and anywhere! We leave on Friday for a month in the lucious and delicious rainy NW!!!!

Emmit's Recipe for Granola (I think)

Sunflower Butter,
Some Cashews,
Some Moisturiser,
And Pop Goes the Weasel

All the ingredients in there with some toast and some peanut butter. The Sock goes in the water. If you forget the sock you can pop it into a giant ball. You normally set the timer but it doesn't matter how long. Sometimes I set it for five minutes or ten minutes or however long you want.

After it is cooked I normally let the dough rise and then you have to knead it. It doesn't matter what ingredients you use like cinnamon, cashew butter, salsa or whatever. It is a good thing for Hanukkah.

the gnomes arrived last night

if you don't make gnomes a cozy home then they will cause all sorts of mischief in your house so we are hard at work around here keeping our newest ten gnomes well behaved and out of trouble.

Meema sends a box

Last night, just as the kiddos were heading off to bed and the Chanukah candles were going out one by one, a box arrived and inside were such delights.

simple gifts

Chanukah is here and I believe in keeping it simple since it is not a big holiday in the grand scheme of Jewish holidays. I found some wonderful gifts for the kids at www.caseyswood.com and the simple wooden treats have been a huge hit. Here you see the first night where they each got 12 little wooden acorns. I hesitated for a moment and thought they would balk and ask for more but of course instead they were beside themselves and started cooking up a storm. The next night they each got 6 wooden eggs in an egg carton and last night Asher got a book and Emmit a box of band-aids (he has been begging for his very own box. Tonight they each will get five little hand sewn gnomes of different sizes and tomorrow some wooden apples. They are still playing with the fort which has now transformed into a boat (see previous post). I love that my children appreciate simple things.

How to stay sane and survive the cold...

I don't think I am doing well at either but a little humor always helps. I truly despise the winters here and being inside so much. Currently the kiddos are playing in forts we just built. Asher is really into wearing hats and loves to try them on and make us laugh. Cleaning walls and wearing my favorite red boots are other pass times of late. We leave for the lovely torrential downpours in the NW in less then six days. I really love rain as long as it is 40 and above!

dress up clothes with friend

sometimes it is so much fun to be a fly on the wall watching children play completely undisturbed. They made up their own words, nursed their babies, dressed up in some clothes full of memories for me and totally kept themselves busy for hours on end! Oh and that hippy burgundy and green shirt that Emmit is wearing is one I used to wear that my mom made. She kind of invented the style using old pants and she wore them too. Yep, total hippy kid!

the last trek to the Co-op alone with both kids until spring

It took us an hour to get all dressed to make our first venture out into the snow and frosty wind and within five minutes the "I'm cold" whining began. It was so so so cold even though the snow isn't that impressive yet and way too hard to lug both kids, groceries and myself in this kind of weather so we will be doing our shopping once a week and planning our meals way ahead or something besides what we did today. The Co-op is used to seeing us multiple times a day so this will be a real shift. Emmit had an appointment with an allergist today and has not a single allergy just weather related eczema! He had his first oatmeal bath tonight and is thrilled that he can once again bathe daily!

Dennis and Emmit are out to breakfast this morning so Asher and I enjoy a quiet breakfast with some extra strong coffee for me with my new favorite addiction of Silk vanilla soy creamer.

One of a dozen or so photos that Asher posed for quite purposefully. He doesn't have to try very hard to be photogenic and hysterically funny.

HELP HELP HELP- my sewing corner still hasn't recovered from our furniture moving and is a complete disaster but zoom in and you can see some of my favorite sewing books.

The countdown has begun. The beautiful hand carved tree of life menorah my mom carved for us for our wedding is packed away in the attic because Chanukah has always come later when we are on Orcas so this is the first year we have had cause to light candles in Buffalo. Emmit made this one a couple years ago at a Chabad Chanukah party. Do you see the plastic on the windows to keep the cold cold snowy air out. Emmit is really into Jack Frost this year and it is a sweet way to warm up the cold with some little imaginative stories.

Strong Children's Museum where Bob is hanging out these days

oh the joys of consumerism taught as a form of play. They loved the child centered grocery store so much though.

so this is where all the missing mail goes



Emmit and Asher stalk poor Bob as he tries to go take a lunch break. Emmit wanted to sit outside the door and wait for him.





As you all know we aren't big on the cartoon characters or the whole world of plastic commercialism but Emmit loves tools and via some of his friends he learned that someone named Bob exists. We indulged him a bit and took him to see the Bob exhibit at the Children's Museum. The kids were both in absolute heaven running around and taking it all in.