Spring Sewing

We have two courageous and giving friends who are in the Peace Corps serving in Mali, Africa for 27 months and showing me what "it" is really all about. We miss having them stateside dearly but are also completely wowed by what they are learning and doing on a daily basis. I feel so grateful to have friends who are generous and know me well enough to send a fantastic package full of African fabric. I have been so excited to use it, but also carefully contemplating the best project. It is a very stiff fabric that almost disappears into a sheer when wet but dries again to a starched cotton. So I decided to work with one piece and make AnaSofia a special spring coat. I used some contrasting bias tape for the ties and AnaSofia picked out the fleece for the inside (purple with rainbows! hilarious!). She really loves it and I am thinking I might do a flouncy sort of dress with the next piece and some funky pants for Kasper... We'll see!
Thanks so much Artie and Katie for sharing a little of Africa with us, we can't wait to see you in Maine again (well, okay, maybe Boston for a few months, but then you are moving to Maine!).

Welcome Spring!

Such a fantastic time of year for renewal. I am finding myself cleaning out cupboards and drawers on a daily basis lately! The two girls in the house welcomed Spring a few weeks ago by painting a wall in the house with something we have been waiting for - flowers! And now the crocuses are here!

Yes, that is a wall and yes, AnaSofia painted it. She has been asking to paint on the wall for awhile and I must say I am pretty laidback about art projects around the house so decided to give it a go. I drew large petals on the wall in pencil (thinking Marimekko) and gave AnaSofia three colors to work with (thinking red and orange) and she went to town staying within the lines, well mostly! As she finished each flower (with lots of drips and globs of paint)I took a sponge brush and worked to the outside of the lines to make smooth shaped petals. I think it looks really beautiful and AnaSofia is really proud of it. Soren thinks unless hippies move in after us we might want to paint over it before selling the house. Hm... I think I should just sell the place as an "artist's retreat" with the one painting I did on the outside of the house, tree branches and fabric flowers, hearts and birds everywhere and then my alphabet and biological illustrations I guess it is a little different!
So what is your favorite thing in your house? Something you or your child has done or something thrifted/bought out and about? I love sneak peeks into everyone's special spaces! Happy Spring cleaning!

Let's Take A Trip Together...

The kids and I headed to NY again because we were all missing Nana and Boppa. We did not believe them that they still had snow since it has been gorgeous in Maine with warm weather and no accumulating snow since before Christmas, but OH MY did they have snow! We enjoyed the last few days of winter by sledding, making a snowman, cooking and spending time together. It was a wonderful week, but I am so happy to be home (hint, hint Nana and Boppa - MOVE HERE!).
Cooking with Boppa.

Snowman!

Multitasking by eating a carrot and playing with Bungee.

Playing with Nana.

Being silly.

Not to be outdone, Kasper put on Momma's shoes.

My Dad working on a really cool project for me that I started and needed A LOT of help with, more on that in a few weeks...

Kasper is really into sunglasses, just not when the camera is around. We went to Mama Goose (the BEST used clothing store for kids) and he found a pair of Beauty and the Beast sunglasses complete with rhinestones he HAD to have (not pictured).

Fun times and we are happy to be home to Spring and many big changes around the MH household!

Quiet Solitude...

Quiet is not often found around here but I try to nurture everyone to take a few moments each day and enjoy a little peace. We have been watching the slow emergence of Spring with wonder, it is so fun to describe it all to a three year old and know you described it to her last year but realize she is getting it more and more each year...
We spend a lot of time outside under a quilt (or even throwing a quilt right on top of the snow) observing and sharing stories...

I love the ingenious use of recycled materials to make the ice shacks on the lake. Now THAT looks like solitude. Maybe I'll pick up ice fishing next year...



And the time alone with each child is so much fun. Kasper is really into tutus right now (yes at 13 he will realize how much of a bummer it was to have a big sister who convinced him this was cool...) and loves to dance and do fingerplay to the many different songs we are learning at storytime.


We are excited for the snow to melt and the year to march forward into the next season. Embrace these next few days of cold because I really think this is IT for this year!

Pretzels!

We have been baking almost every day this winter - breads, cookies, muffins or pretzels. Our favorite recipes are from this book. AnaSofia is really into letters and letter sounds so the pretzel recipe is a lot of fun and educational too!
AnaSofia can play with the dry ingredients for hours!

Making letter shapes.

Our little taste tester!