click me and I was crying within 3 seconds

How to keep Emmit entertained for hours and well fed too

art this morning at barely 7 a.m.

What you can't see is my bleary, grumpy, coffee deprived eyes. Asher not only has been climbing out of his crib since last summer but now he knows how to pop the secured tent off of the the top of his crib making for a difficult night and early morning for all. The tent is now practically sewn to the crib so hopefully we can keep this kid secured and sleeping through the night soon. Other pictures that aren't captured: all the books being knocked off the bookshelf, Asher drinking the painting water, Emmit's tantrums, Asher hitting, the kids laughing like hyenas and dumping everything on the floor, Emmit cleaning the bathroom "to surprise me" and soaking every towel in the house, the torn books.......

I wasn't kidding about puppies underfoot

The best Valentines Day ever ten days late

Did you know that Dennis decided to learn how to ski at 37 and just began in late January? Did you also know that I started skiing black diamonds around age 6? Well it had been a few years since I had put on skis and long enough that they have totally changed the lengths. Could someone please help me understand the length thing as today D and I were both wearing 158's and last time I skied I wore 185's. Well today D and I spent the whole day together skiing while our kids were being well cared for by Dasha (let me just say our house looked cleaner, our kids had been baking, doing art projects and were being bathed when we arrived home). It was a wonderful day and the ski bug has bitten me hard and Dennis is already obsessed. WNY does have some ski hills although I would like to say that after skiing primarily double black diamonds all day that they are probably blues out West. It was a perfect day with sun shining on our faces all day and I am completely smitten with how good Dennis got so quickly. It was an amazing gift.

our local Science Spot where we hang out on Sat. mornings

a doll for Greta: Snowflake Baby

playdate

We are having a wonderful day with friends today full of imaginative play and good things to eat. The kids set up a very detailed dentist office complete with all the tools and lots of patients. At this exact moment Emmit is a puppy again and has served himself some water in one of his tea set dishes. No sense waiting for me to fulfill that one for him. Rebecca and Fiona came over for lunch and play and Greta is with us all day. I love watching my kids play with other children especially when it is such lovely play. I am working hard to make Greta a baby to take home with her but had to take a pause to share these.

a sweet photo Dennis unearthed and gifted me

missing my Seattle girlfriends (all of whom are not pictured)

we are sharing our favorite cookie recipe with you

This is from The Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book which is one of our favorites for cooking with the kids.

Birthday Star Cookies (aka the best molasses cookies I have ever had!)

1/4 c. oil, 1/2 c. honey, 1/4 c. molasses mixed together in a bowl

sift the following then add to above: 2 1/2 c. flour (mix whole wheat and unbleached white), 1 t. baking soda, 2 t. cinnamon, 1 t. ginger (I use pumpkin pie spice mix instead of individual spices for extra wonderful spice flavor), 1/2 t. salt

roll out dough on floured surface then use cookie cutters. Bake at 350 for 5-9 minutes depending on thickness.

I love that this recipe is so easy to make with the kids since it all goes into one bowl. I just put all the dry ingredients into the flour sifter, give a little stir and start sifting. It is so fun to finally have a reason to use that lovely sifter Dennis bought because he loved the idea of it. In the midst of making these Asher suddenly discovered that he could eat the dough and it kind of put an end to the lovely image of all of us cooking together since he and Emmit began devouring the dough way to fast although I guess it is a safe dough to eat raw. This eating of the dough then somehow progressed into both of them pretending to be puppies for about 45 minutes. I seriously felt like I suddenly had two dogs in our little apartment and Emmit starts requesting that all of his food and water be given to him in a dog bowl on the ground. I shooed them off to Asher's room to play explaining that dogs need kennels or cozy caves....Needless to say I avoided the dog food bowl request another day. I seem to remember we had to find Sebastion a new home because nothing about this apartment is very dog accommodating. Oh and I love that my kids will absolutely wear and love anything that I make for them. I know it won't last long so until that day gnome bonnets are a great way to keep crazy hair out of the cookies.

so much love

Life with Baby Valentino and our newest Baby Bluebell

Meet sweet sweet Bluebell who still needs a little felt or embroidery decoration if I can pull her from the arms of my sleeping child. Yeah right! We are all in love with her, even Dennis! We filled her with some rice/stuffing (head) and the body we filled with popcorn kernels. I used one of the kids little socks for her face which was a different method then with Valentino.

I have made the kids dolls and playthings before but never have they been so aware and involved in the process and at this moment Valentino is wrapped in Asher's chubby grasp of sleep and Bluebell is curled in next to sleeping Emmit. I would love to post those pictures but there is nothing that would get me to risk waking them.


Emotions were running a bit high this morning trying to share Valentino. He loves eating wooden eggs and acorns from www.caseyswood.com


Asher and Emmit had a Valentine Tea yesterday at our weekly Waldorf Parent/Toddler and these were their crowns. Hey wait first he looks so demure and then all of a sudden a pirate appears.


This is currently not only the favorite book but Asher's favorite page. It is barely hanging on despite lots of tape. I am loving life with our newest babes and the weight of the popcorn in Bluebell is so comforting and feels like a real baby.

snowy Valentines Day and Wishy Washy

First let me just say that Emmit is my mom's biggest fan. She wrote Wishy Washy years ago and had huge plans for it and in the end it sold some copies and is available on line at Amazon and most places but her biggest accomplishment with it has been with Emmit. He is Wishy Washy these days and outside in the snow he was pretending to be her. Wishy Washy is practically my mom's autobiography told as a child's story. Emmit listens to my mom reading the book on tape each night and most anytime he is in his room. So the funny thing is that in the middle of his completely imaginative snow play, reciting bits of the story of Wishy Washy, I hear, "Tape 2, Side 1....Where Wishy Washy....." He seems to have incorporated my mom's cassette intros a bit to deeply!





I could really freak you out and say that that window is on the first or second floor of our house and most of you would believe me since this is Buffalo!