Any Ideas?

When we returned home from the zoo this afternoon, we found this guy on our screen door:

I have no idea what kind of moth (?) this is! He wasn't at all disturbed by DS and I going in and our over the course of the afternoon and seemed very content to sit and look leaf-like.

Commitment to Loveliness, June 8

It's time for another Commitment to Loveliness hosted by Charming the Birds from the Trees!

1. Try out a new recipe for potential use for DS's second birthday.


2. Celebrate our anniversary (yes, a week late).


3. Sit outside and relax with a cool drink.


4. Have my hair trimmed and eyebrows waxed.


5. Try wet-on-wet watercolors with DS.

A Sneak Peak

One of our house projects this spring has been to fence in part of our yard. We have about 5.5 acres, and at least half that is "yard." Quite a large space to keep track of a very active toddler, especially on a busy road, so we decided to create a "play yard" of sorts to help manage outdoor playtime. We will be able to step right about the back kitchen door (being careful not to disturb the robin and hummingbirds)! It's actually quite a large space-- twice what we had originally planned-- and I think it's going to be a great help supervising our young children! My DH has done all of the planning and work himself!

Here's a look at our progress on Memorial Day weekend... he spent Sunday afternoon after church and on-and-off (between rain showers!) Monday working on it. Since then it's come along quite a bit and should be done this week.

(This is the front facing the road. The fence starts right at the front porch.)

(The section immediately following the one above. This has since been filled in.)

(The posts on the third side behind the swing set. See my new clothesline? DH built that early in May after the old one blew over and bent in half. I didn't take a picture of the back posts since they're mostly hidden by the maple trees.)

From there, the fence makes another turn to face the driveway (the gate will be in that section) then borders the deck before meeting the house. This is a great area because some or all of the yard is shady all day!

Our Big Backyard

Last fall, I didn't do much with the hanging basket outside our kitchen door next to the hummingbird feeder and instead let the flowers (mini wave petunias) shrivel and dry over the winter. Lazy, I know.



Last Sunday when our hummingbirds returned and I refilled the feeder for the first time (I've had to make more nectar 3 times already!), I took the hanging basket down and moved the feeder over so DS could see it from his chair at the kitchen table.

Several hours later, I was talking to DH through the screen door as he was working on the fence (a post to come on that project soon) and happened to look down. In my dried out basket of flowers was a robin's nest with four eggs in it! Uh-oh! I knew that if the mama bird sensed humans had been disturbing her nest, those eggs would be abandoned. DH and I both agreed, though, that we had better move the feeder back to its old spot and rehang the flower basket. Hoping for the best, we did so.

Fortunately, our tampering didn't deter the mama robin because the next day (Memorial Day) she was perched in her nest and has barely moved from that spot. She blends in with the dried leaves and flowers, that it's almost impossible to see her. She isn't even perturbed by our frequent use of that door! She hasn't come after us-- though the hummingbirds like to divebomb us!

(See her tail feathers in the middle of the picture?)

(Her head is just visible in this shot.)

DS has been thrilled watching the hummingbirds feed and buzz about all day, but he can't quite distinguish the robin in her nest. Maybe we'll get to see the babies, though!

Life in Our House

Last night while DH and I were sitting in the playroom discussing DS's birthday gift (we've had our eye on this, but due to the cost DH is going to make it instead), that same little boy proclaimed he wanted to play with playdough. Since it was so close to bedtime, DH and I said no, wait until tomorrow. He seemed to take it in stride, and wandered back to the kitchen.

A few moments later, we came to collect him to go upstairs. Upon entering the kitchen, however, we discovered that while DS had taken our "no" to playdough seriously, the dictum didn't apply to his paint. Take heart: the situation is not nearly as serious as it could have been! While he was in his paint basket and had opened a bottle of green paint, he had poured the paint from the plastic bottle into an old baby food jar that was also in the basket. He then replaced the cap on the original plastic bottle.

There was only one drop of paint in the cupboard, a small smear on the floor, and a little bit on two of his fingertips. Thanks to the magic of Crayola and their chemical-loaded washable paint all was cleaned up in a minute. I put a cap on the baby food jar and we went off to bed.

Here's a photo of DS's handywork. Not too bad for a not-quite 23 month old, is it? I promise I did not clean up these jars one bit.

So add pouring and squeezing paint jars to the list of things he's accomplished in the past month, along with the lock and doorknob on every door in the house (so far he's escaped once and locked me out twice), climbing to the top of his dresser to play with his CD player (he can climb down too), and potty learning.

I feel like I've aged.

Creating a Child Friendly Environment: Table and Chairs

We've been working very diligently over the past few months to outline our homeschool philosophy and create a very loose "pre-school curriculum" with our son. As time has gone on, it appears that we are becoming "eclectic" homeschoolers, embracing parts of the Waldorf, Montessori, and Charlotte Mason philosophies/approaches. I hope to do a series of posts detailing what our days look like in the coming days and weeks.

Here you can see part of our playroom (what was a formal dining room-- note the wallpaper) and what we've done to create a child friendly environment. Part of our inspiration came from Barbara Curtis's book, Mommy Teach Me.

DS is playing with his play dough here, and working on cutting out a star. His table and chairs were an early birthday gift from Grandma and Grandpa. For some reason, he likes sitting facing the wall. Wouldn't be my choice, but hey!

Behind him, you can see one of the clotheslines we have strung to display various pieces of art, DS's creations, religious images, etc. We have three of DS's fingerpaintings on our other portion of clothesline. Above the clothesline are our corkboard and whiteboard. Neither are in use right now, but they should be again soon! His rocking chair is on the far left, as well as a basket of books: his Bible, book of the saints, etc. I'm working on the logistics of creating a better reading corner for him: moving all his books to one location and finding a better way to display current library and seasonal books.

Tagged

Emma tagged her readers:

What I was doing 10 years ago:

Homeschooling, playing my flute, and dancing.

Five things on my To Do List today (since it's so late, here's part of tomorrow's list):

1. Laundry: finish bedding, diapers, DS’s clothes
2. Make yogurt
3. Exercise
4. Tissue paper collage with DS
5. Nap!

Snacks I enjoy:

Cheez-Its (so bad but oh-so-good)
Water
Empire Apples
Oatmeal Muffins

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I would pay off our mortgage first. Then I would set up trust funds for our children and make sure ours and our family's retirement was secure. Invest some, donate more.

Five places I have visited:

Washington, D.C.
Central/Northern California
Barbados
Montreal
Iowa

Five jobs I have had:

Tour Guide
Resident Assistant
Library Clerk
Teacher/Librarian
Mother