We make it a priority to at least spend some time outside every day. We all enjoy it, unless it’s super cold, then my boys still want to go out, but I’m usually longing to stay inside (you can read about it HERE).
However, once spring arrives we’re all ready to spend time outside in the sunshine and fresh air.… Continue reading
With Easter on its way next weekend, we’ve been seeing eggs, bunnies, and chicks everywhere (not to mention a plethora of goods containing huge amounts of sugar, and even more insidiously lots of high-fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes, unhealthy oils, genetically modified soy, and chemical preservatives).
We avoid bringing unhealthy sweets into our celebrations, including our celebration of the rebirth of the natural world around us in the Spring.… Continue reading
Eating dinner together as a family is a vital part of our family life. Food is so central to our lives, and I love stopping at the end of the day and enjoying each other’s company as we sit down and eat a meal together. From the time my 6-year old was born, we’ve worked to implement this. As an infant, he sat in my lap or in a baby seat ON the table, so he could be at eye-level with everyone.… Continue reading
It snowed a lot over the last couple of days. When we get a lot of snow, we try to find fun things to do with the snow that we might not be able to do otherwise. .
Last week during story time at our local library, the librarian read a book that mentioned making ice cream out of snow. My 6-year-old immediately wanted to try it.… Continue reading
Life with two young boys in the house can be loud. Very, very loud. Loud games are commonplace. Loud voices – frequently laughing and having fun, though not always – punctuate the hours. There is always a lot of crashing, be it boys tumbling into something, block towers collapsing, or a bookshelf being cleared by my toddler. Our house is filled with lots of chasing, lots of somersaults, lots of jumping, and more dancing than I ever would have imagined.… Continue reading
Last week I took my 5-year-old to go and see a production of Fiddler on the Roof. He loves theater performances, especially musicals, and when there was a one-song preview during the last performance we watched, he begged me to take him. He’s listened to the soundtrack at least once a day for the last several months. He now knows all of the songs, and we discussed the plot extensively before attending.… Continue reading
My boys love to be outside in any weather. Even when the temperature drops into negative territory — which thankfully doesn’t happen too often here, at least when using the Fahrenheit scale — they want to be outside daily. Currently, my 5-year-old plans to homestead at the North Pole when he grows up (just to show how much he loves winter).… Continue reading
The other day, my boys were digging through one of our bookshelves, and pulled out a stack of books that we haven’t read in a long time. We have hundreds of children’s books, so while we read every day, it isn’t too difficult to find some books that have sat unread for a period.
One of the books they pulled out was Jenni Overend’s Hello Baby.… Continue reading
The new year is here. I’m not big on New Years resolutions, but each year I do try to pick a focus, one word to provide a touchstone to ground my actions. My focus for this year is gratitude. The last couple of years have been difficult, but to quote the great philosopher John Lennon, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”… Continue reading