Halloween Work

The girls have had colds this week and on the day Emma stayed home from school she "helped" me switch over the work upstairs.  I had been gathering little activities and finally just put them out and packed away the Solar System work.  I'm really trying to get myself organized ;)  I saved a few decorations from last year and we put those out too.  I think Ada really likes this sort of thing.

Jars covered in mod podge and tissue that we made last year with Gramma Deb.  At night we can put little led tea lights under them and they look cool.  Miscellaneous fall type stuff I had in our Halloween bin.

Last year's pumpkin suncatchers that I couldn't let go of.  These were fun to make- I'll have to remember to do pink/ red hearts in February.

I LOVE Halloween and Pinterest has given me all sorts of ideas of special things to do in addition to the art shelves that are out.  I'm planning to make the paper lanterns and maybe do some black and orange paper chains.     

Use tongs to sort erasers.

Patterns.  Ada did this very easily and quickly went on to making her own patterns.  She used a blank sheet and a few markers to make little quizes for us to do- making a pattern with the last space left open.  I think the next time I do this I'll print out open dot pages and have her make the patterns herself since she liked that so much.

There are a few more trays I don't have pictures of.  I put some chalk and black construction paper in a tray and we've been drawing spider webs.  I'll take some shots after we have a nice collection of artwork.

As expected, Ada's favorite is the puzzle, and Emma mostly likes the little eraser sorting.  I had bought those for like 30 cents in the post Halloween Target sale last year.

I put together a counting game from Teach Mama using printables and some mini erasers from the dolar section at Target. 

The chilly weather has left me with a serious case of nesting syndrome.  I've been rearanging furniture and had a yard sale a few weeks back that included getting rid of our old tube tv.  That left our armoire empty and ready to organize some toy clutter- hooray!  I moved a few things around in the living room and created this cozy little reading nook with a fuzzy rug I found on sale.  We are all loving it...even Books (the cat).

We have a couple Halloween books but I needed to supplement a bunch from the library.  I was late compared to most so we had slim pickings- no matter, the girls like them.  Plus I grabbed a bunch for fall and Thanksgiving (for next month's theme).  

The card on my camera filled up and cut this video short... but I wanted to include it anyway because I love it and it gives a little glimpse into just how proud I am of Ada's awesome big-sister-ness.

Spiderweb Snacks.  This was a Pinterest idea that I've seen over and over, but we saw the stick pretzels this morning at the store and finally we could make them.  I didn't actually read any instructions and just did what I thought would work...and it sort of did.  I used white chocolate because I had some and I don't like it so in theory I won't eat them.  I had some red licorice that I gave them as the "spider".  Then Ada said, "Mama, the spider needs a bug to eat."  Since I couldn't refuse such a great request, I gave them some chocolate chips to put in.  Overall I think they are great little first attempts, but next time I'll pay more attention to getting a more liquid consistency before trying to make the web.  Ours was a little thick so they're not very delicate, but the girls will find them thoroughly delicious as their afternoon snack I'm sure :)

Totally Wicked Cute

I am extremely proud to have encouraged at least one Minnesotan to start saying "wicked" (a.k.a. Massachusetts vernacular for "very").  Well, this wicked awesome friend found these wicked awesome shirts for the girls.  I am in love!

Getting ready for winter

We planted peanuts this spring.  There was a plant at the garden center and I couldn't resist.  We let them grow and they made some beautiful little orange flowers mid summer.  Then a few weeks ago we pulled the whole plant out of the ground.  SO COOL!

We ate a couple but they weren't very tasty.  I think we'll let them dry out then maybe roast them and try again.

We needed to empty out the water cooler so it won't freeze and break...Emma helped.  Conquering turning this spigot on and off by herself might have been her proudest accomplishment this summer.  She still comes to get me and show me that she turned "wawa off self".

And finally, the sunflowers.  We harvested all the heads and saved the best ones for planting next spring (including Ada's giant sunflower).  Emma helped me collect the rest in buckets to give to the chickens as treats- they love to peck all the seeds out!

Saturn the bear

In this house we have some very important bears.  Most Notably is Happy Bear- Emma's must have item.  We also have Jim Bear- this bear has been with Tony since he was 5 given to him by the awesome Gramma Bon.  He is one of those awesome big classic teddy bears.  Well, last year Gramma Bon sent Emma a bear that is the exact same bear (a slightly lighter color, and way fluffier since she isn't nearly 30 years old).  This way there are 2 girls and 2 bears.  Well, Ada decided she should be named Saturn.  Love it.

These are some of the most played with items in the house and Jim sleeps with Ada at night to protect her from any number of things she might be worried about.

Since playing "mom" is a favorite activity for both girls Ada came up with a nice way to put the bears to bed using a sheet and a couple of chairs.  The only photos I got were of another beloved animal (Koala).

This is her with Saturn.  She is usually very hesitant of the camera but this time she asked me to take her picture!!  My old Raggedy Anne is there too- my mom made it for me- there's an "I love you" heart on her chest and everything.

To see pictures of Jim you can scroll down through the Solar System post and see him sitting on the couch while the girls do some work together on the floor.

Solar System

In an effort to get a post up, this will be mostly pictorial.  You have seen some of this before but I have been a little better at rotating toys/ work and this Solar System theme has been up for a couple weeks.  I plan to change over to Halloween in the next day or two.

Ada's favorite by far has been the floor puzzle.  At first she needed help, then she just kept at it and now she can do it solo in only a couple of minutes.  I'm excited to rotate in a new puzzle and for Santa to bring her some more complicated puzzles in a couple months:)

Emma's favorite by far is the Solar System model.  It's just a plastic mobile I found at TJ Maxx and paired with a placemat that Gramma Deb got for Ada.  The mat is cool because it has little facts that I think will keep this type of thing interesting as Ada gets older and wants to learn more details.

There is also a matching work using some figures from a Space Tube.  The container is a heavy glass jar with a clasping lid.  Good fine motor work:)

Matching shadows in order.  There are numbers on the back to check our work.  Em is way into counting right now so this is fun to do with both girls. We had to weight down the strip with books because it wanted to roll up.  But you get the idea.

The art cabinet got a change up too....

I had a moon and starts stamp so I stamped it on a piece of paper and made 2 lines for writing the words.  Ada has been very excited to practice her letters lately so this was a big hit.  I laminated the example and left loads of blanks in the tray.  If you look at the bottom one you can see her pencil marks.  At her school they learn lowercase letters first so we try to be consistent at home.

Emma liked this work too!

Yes, she has a black eye in this picture.  This kid is a daredevil and this particular injury landed us in the ED one night- she's totally fine but I'm pretty sure Emma is training to be a gymnast at all times.  

Play doh.

Cutting work.  Mostly for Emma.  Once stars were cut Ada made a collage with the pieces (no pics.)

Stencils from the dollar store.  This was a 4 pack with some others like sea life which I plan to do a theme of around the time we go to Florida.

Ada inspired awesome.  She decided to make Mars.  Got the card and started drawing.  Not planned, spontaneous work is my favorite!

Books.  We happen to have a good collection (there are a couple more that didn't make the shot) of space related books, but for other themes I'll need to supplement from the library.

Emma is saying "Hi Mama" through the little windows of that book. It's a page about the phases of the Moon.

Reading with Poppa.  Good times!

In the meantime... the girls

I've been lousy at delegating my time lately.  The beginning of school for the girls was paired with me taking my first graduate course and I'm still trying to figure out how to make time for everything.

Until I get a legit post together, here are a few pictures of the girls at work and play.

Play doh action.

Ada making some baba ghanoush for dinner with our surplus of eggplant.

And Emma making some Jello for snack (the girls were sick so this was an unusual treat).  Seriously, no person ever has been this stoked to make Jello.  Love that she talks to it.

Reading.  Ada will from time to time go grab a "grown up book" from the shelf and sit down to read.  I've seen her sit for up to 20 minutes doing this.  Pretty cute!

Emma reading one last book to Happy before sleep.

And the other girls.  No eggs yet, but they're happy.

I used to be a farmer

** I wrote most of this post in the early summer- sorry for the delay.  More recent updates are coming soon- promise!**

Through my adult life I have worn many different hats.  My first real job and career was as a farmer.  At 18 I started working for an organic vegetable farm in Massachusetts and fell in love- mostly I loved the feeling of being so connected to my survival.  It was a crucial point in my development for sure and it left a lasting impression in addition to introducing me to some amazing people.  Eventually I worked at a farm that also had animals and learned the basics of husbandry.  This left an impression as well.

Yup, that's me on the tractor

I went to college and eventually decided to attain my degree in Family & Consumer Science  with a focus on secondary education.  I taught high school for 3 years and LOVED it.  When we moved to MN and I left my job behind I wasn't prepared for how much I would miss it.  For months after we moved and people would ask me what I did I would say, "I used to teach."  I couldn't think of myself as a stay at home mom.  I still identified as a working mother and it took months to make the switch internally.  I underestimated how difficult it would be not to be earning a paycheck (the first real time since I was a teenager), and honestly it's difficult not to get any accolades for your hard work.  No one cares if you took initiative to unload the dishes for the 4th time in a day, or sweep, or keep the kids happy all day with no yelling.  I know how taxing all of these seemingly simple tasks are. But alas if you work hard there is no short term payoff, no promotion, no raise, no public recognition.  Of course the long term payoff is what we're all in it for... time will tell.  All the same, I do miss my job teaching high school.

This spring Ada and I went and picked up some pullets: one barred rock, one Rhode Island red, and one gold star.  They started off living in the garage as it's very well protected from the elements and predators.  This is a little act of me regaining a sense of identity that feels like me.  As I have mentioned before, the move to MN has been tough on me and after clawing through the first year I feel happier here than I thought I would.  I feel hopeful and look at this new place as an adventure rather than something to tolerate for the next several years.  I see the benefits of being at home with the kids, and I see value in what I do.  The chicks represent my feeling of a fresh start in this place.  That there is vibrancy and opportunity for things that would have been difficult if not impossible in our former life situation.  This has been a crucial transformation of thought.  And the rest of the family is a fan of these little ladies too.

Now I didn't specifically write anything about Father's day on here but in case you didn't know, I am married to the best dad around.  He is adored by the girls and makes an effort to be present when he's home even though he works long hours.  Perhaps the best thing though is that he sets a good example for the girls on being a good husband.  I am so lucky to have him on my team and love that he gets me and loves me all the same.  AND... he does amazing things for me like when we were away in New England he built me a chicken coop!  He even used the scraps in the garage so it didn't cost much- LOVE IT!  I know I may not be a typical woman but this was a tremendously romantic gesture and I simply love it.  To me, it shows that Tony is making an effort to fulfill a little dream/goal I have had and embrace all of my crazy.  I would be lying if I said the idea of being responsible for three little chicks in our relatively small yard with predators around, and winters in our future didn't scare me a little.  But he believes in me/us and that kind of support has been a huge reason why this transition year has landed me in a positive head space.

Just love this man.

My reality is certainly different than I would have imagined it when I was 20 and driving around a field on a tractor or hoeing some lettuce but now that I'm where I am I feel so lucky that life has brought me here.