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.

Ada is awesome

There are a gazillion reasons why that is true.  The girl rocks.  I am reminded of this fact on a regular basis and this morning it came in the form of laundry.  I was doing chores and the girls were playing in the yard.  She asked if she could have a long piece of rope.  I clarified what she meant by "long" and we decided that rope could not be used on people then I gave her a piece from our camping supplies (which are still living on our porch btw).  She agreed and went off with her rope.  I saw her working hard trying to put the rope all over the climber but just let her go.  After a while she asked for help.  She told me she was trying to put up a clothes line.  I showed her how to tie a not and she did with a little help.  Next she wanted to hang up some clothes.  She went inside and got the clothes for her babies and began hanging them up.  I asked if she wanted to wash them first.  "Ooooh, yes mama."

Enter the land of awesomeness.  I had seen a post on Chasing Cheerios a while back and have been wanting to put together a clothes washing station for the girls but as usual just haven't gotten to it.  Ada beat me to it.  Again it wasn't what was in my mind's eye or nearly as beautiful as the party set up in the Chasing Cheerios post, but she (and Emma) enjoyed it.

I think this is the sort of "proof" that Montessori style education has legs.  I'm not going to say I think it's the be all end all, but kids really do like to have purpose.  I see it every day.  Especially Ada wants to do things that have greater purpose- even though she might call it "play" she is most engaged and happy when she knows she is contributing or when she is learning a skill that is applicable to her becoming more independent.  The other morning she asked if she could wash the floor in her room all by herself.  I'm not going to discourage that type of desire however messy it might be so I gave her a tupperware full of water and soap and a little sponge.  Emma was interested in doing what big sister was doing so I let her wash the floor in the kitchen with me.  

These shots were taken after a while of playing (about 30 min.) so she added in the car- not exactly sure why.  I love love love that she initiated this activity and while the photo shoot might have looked nicer if I had set it up, this is way better.  I got some real laundry soap so she felt quite important.

Emma did help hang a few things and I was impressed that Ada let her work with her and not just yell and tell her it was her work and she wanted to do it all by herself.  I wonder if me taking more of a backseat let her be more the teacher and she was trying to show Em how to do it.  Pretty cute.

Emma taking in her challenge.

Success.

We went out and came back around lunch time.  Ada asked if she could go to take in her laundry while I made lunch and I agreed of course.  She carefully took off each clothespin and put all the clothes in a basket and brought them in.  She told me it was going to rain and she needed to bring them in.  I got her some kid hangers and she folded some and hung some up.  Again, love it!

I love you Miss Ada boo!