Got the Keys Day!

It's really ours now! Got the keys tonight, celebrated with a take out dinner picnic style, and "celebration" cupcakes made by Q and I.

Now let the carpet ripping, painting, and plumbing fun begin!

Aquarium with SCP

It had been awhile since we'd made it down to the Aquarium, so I was pumped that our preschool field trip was there this week.
The benefit of not going for a few months though, is it's a whole new place to the kids! They loved the touch tanks of course, the diver gal, the sun stars,
watching the seal tank get refilled and the seals going nuts, and then a special class upstairs as well. The kids did some extra learning about sea stars, urchins and such. A little circle time, a little coloring, some puzzling, and small touch tanks to explore creatures we'd just discussed.
Thanks preschool for a fun field trip!

Rainbow Hazel and Her Sidekick Sai

Yeah, he looks pretty tough on that parachute, but don't let that fool you, he's a pretty handy fellow in the kitchen too.
frying pans and hair clips should always be coordinating ;)

Homemade Grahams

Oh yum. I never would have expected to enjoy these simple cookies (cause I just can't bear to put that much butter and sugar in something and call it a "cracker") SO much. I'd seen a lovely post about them back in January here, and was wanting to make them with the kids. I did a bit of a lazy adaptation by just pressing the dough into a big rectangular mass in the fridge for cooling and then cutting them off straight from that. Though admittedly this is partially cause the rolling pin is still in a box to be unpacked soon! The kids also made their own "teddy grahams" and other little various cookie cutter variety (using a tiny rolling pin ;)).
The benefit of doing the simpler version though is I left a chunk in the fridge to make a few more fresh ones when we run out. I was also too busy to even make the little line down the middle, so I'll have to try that with the remainder. Oh, and we didn't have dark brown sugar, so I used light, clearly just fine.
Again, yum. I might just have to try making some homemade marshmallows next!

Whoah, Parenting Overload Day

I had a super parent sort of day, as in trying to cram in too much, probably cause I was too tired sort of day. And though I should go to bed (especially with this article on my mind), that dang cup of hot cocoa I had is keeping me wired, whoops, so I'll write instead, and then read myself to sleep. Ok, so back to our day, went like this:
~rise with small children too early for my taste, as always
~ make, eat, clean up breakfast with small children wanting to help, getting in tussles, being small children
~ get dressed, get small children to stop running around all nakie and get dressed!
~ get out the door (whilst trying to get the rowdy dog to stay in...)
~ stop by fabric store = a serious test of parenting patience
~ leave fabric store with NO purchases including special stickers Q picked out cause of wild children (oh, but no worries I was in a hurry, and I will go back without them someday soon cause I'm excited about new house decor!)
~ quick trip to Target to get a few basics, and a few tiny items for much better behaving pleasant children, ah, the benefits of sticking to my word.
~ meet Papa at Escrow office to sign papers for new home! Hurray, it's really ours as of Friday!
~ deal with 2 messy monkey children at Escrow place, blah
attempted to distract them with "Books to Grow on Kit" from the Lib (these ROCK by the way if you haven't tried them yet friends). But lots of snacks, cuddling and drawing with Papa worked much better.
~ head home ready for an early nap/quiet time
~ sigh of relief that H did fall asleep on way home as predicted
~ Q's 1/2 hr video time (he's had since being sick last week, ack!) oh well.
~ prepping of homemade graham crackers with Q, will share more tomorrow. Of course this being the daily time of Q to do some enthusiastic storytelling. Today it was all about the package we sent to Spain and it's plane travel, which turned into a rambling tale about planes and guys, and I don't even remember what else.
~ letter writing time with Q, he's SO into this activity right now. He'd picked out stickers for this project as his treat at Target earlier.
~ H woke, after a great 2= hour nap. I fed her while reading to Q
~ Opened new car seat for Q, tested it out, H played with buckles (current obsession) etc. Then moved onto the box and packaging it came in with a game of "boat"
~listened to fun music that came with Lib kit as it was an important piece of luggage that made it onto the "boat"
~ finished making graham crackers altogether, with cookie cutters and such
~ had a little tea party to properly eat "cookies"
~ had some sensory tub water play time, scooping, pumping bubbles, using tongs, etc.
~Played the clean up game involving scooping water into sink as a team, towel "skating", and rest of the rooms pickup, eventually
~Q time in his own space listening to book on tape as he was "too tired" to help any more
~ Ah, big sigh as Papa arrives home and kids clamor to climb all over him.
~ Dinner prep sans kids (dinner = giant salad, wh wh pasta with parm and chicken. Sorta bland I know, but tasty for a the super fast dinner we needed)
~ Dinner clean up/bath time (kiddos split up)
~ Chase of the nakkie runners again! ;)
~ Books and bedtime!
~ Playtime for Mama and Paper with their new phones :)
Ah, there, a proper recollection of what our days are like right now. Now, I can go to bed!

Soaking up the Rays

Woah, that was a lovely run of days. We were outside at the playground, walking, enjoying picnics in the yard, gardening, mowing the lawn (I swear Todd was one of a half dozen or so neighbors on Sunday all simultaneously mowing), and soaking up that Vitamin D. Didn't take many pictures, have this weird little gray dot in the middle of all my pictures, dust?
Looking forward to the spring and summer already, what fun it will be with these two!

Mr. Sleepyhead

Q must be growing as he has been so sleepy lately. Well, it's that or waking up too early sometimes. Anyhow, he's fallen asleep at dinner,this was the other night, tonight he was out at the table again and in bed by 6:30, ahhh
and in my arms in the late pm.
Now I know he won't do that much in his 5th year, so I soaked up every minute.

Signs of Spring

Well this winter break has certainly been a treat with the very spring like weather we've been having! Here are the signs of spring we're seeing (as photographed by Q and myself):

Not to be Outshone

H wanted in on the embroidery action today, umm wanted is putting it lightly, really she insisted, even insisted on the purple felt. So, I didn't really expect her to be able to do it, and she did! She watched Q and completely knew what to do. So, here is H in a few seconds of her first sewing (beware there is a H scream in there at the end for effect!):

Oh, and they were SO cute about sitting in their little rockers by the fire. Q told me it was his sewing chair. After they finished, they sat rocking across from each other, so sweet!

Winter Animals Lesson

Q and I enjoyed reading some winter animal books and doing a little craft while H was napping today. We read:

And did that polar bear rice craft in the middle. It was all from fun4kids. Love the blog world for fun educational crafts!

Crafty Vaca Days

We've been having a pretty mellow fun time on our Mid Winter break this year, not just cause we've got a cold, but also cause with the closing of the house at the end of next week, things are going to get wild again, all too soon. So, after reading copious amounts of blogs last night, we did this little activity during quiet time:

Painting with scented paints:

I added flavorings and spices while Q wasn't looking and had him guess what they were. I did tell him his choices, but he got them all right stuffy nose and all! After painting, he moved onto the roller, then finger and hand painting, then ya know, cause he just had to be wacky, chin painting:

That was about when we switched over to "playing" wash the dishes with the sprayer and lots of soap.

Then he did his first actual embroidery:

He'd picked out the thread and wide needles at Joanne's this morn, where we'd also picked up the above finger paints. He said his project was a little hat for Hazel's baby, but then afterwards ended up gluing it to a piece of thick paper and securing it in an envelope to give to Papa. He's still in Valentine giving mode, and is often writing little notes and using the stapler and glue to get them all packaged up in envelopes for his friends and family. I guess my job would be to make sure they make it to the mailbox for real!

Fist Bumps and Nursee

H learned how to do fist bumps a few weeks back and has been pretty into doing them on a regular basis. Once she gets going she has to go around and find everyone who hasn't gotten one yet. Here she is givin' me a bump while hiking back up the hill last Sunday:

So, she doesn't restrain herself to giving these bumps as a greeting, they act more like a sign of affection at times. So, while nursing for instance she may have to give me a dozen or so. Which also reminds me, apparently nursing isn't just for her anymore. Her dolls are also interested these days (though I'm beginning to think this is her trick to getting to give some to her when I'm not relenting, "Haza nursee?"), and not just dolls, but also on occasion even more inanimate objects like doll house furniture. I don't go that far though, dolls are one thing, I do want her to learn that baby dolls don't have to be fed via a bottle, but no thank to the tiny little drawers that go in the doll's kitchen. Oh Hazel, you are a silly girl!

Sick Day

Q has a nasty cold, and H and I have a bit of one so we had a laze around sort of day, a real rarity for Q. He watched multiple PBS kids shows, then we took a sick day break, and followed Q outside with the picnic he suggested (it was a balmy almost 50 degrees out after all).

He curled up and said, "Mmmm, it feels nice to rest in the sun!"

Then there was more mellow time while H napped.

Then, cause I'd forgotten we needed to drop off a friend's helmet we went out for a quick bit. But that of course never happens for us. We were going to drop off some books at the Library, and just checkout a couple more, and the Children's Librarian hustled us into watch a guest storyteller telling special African stories. Fortunately it was a small group and we stuck to our own corner and then checked out every book we touched (thus a few interesting ones made it home...). So, for a sick day, it sure wasn't bad.

Love is in the Air

This Valentine's Day has been well prepped for this year. Quin made an absolute plethora of holiday crafts and Valentine's at preschool and at home, for decor, and for family and friends. Many of which we passed on to friends at preschool and playgroup, sent off in the mail, and attached to this giant heart Papa gave to Q. Since I'm a little collage happy these days, here's another one for ya:
(the heart wreath and H's hair clip were from Etsy's Hearts for Haiti)
We celebrated today by having a wonderful family day. We had a tasty breakfast including heart pancakes. Quin insisted I have "breakfast in bed", so after cooking I went back to bed. ;) Fortunately I was permitted out, so I could really enjoy my meal without monkeys climbing all over me in the bed. We all enjoyed our meal while opening our Valentine's from family and each other. Then, later in the morn we went to Meadowdale park to hike to the beach.
A snuggle with Q as H slept on my back
It turns out this little trek was a bonus 3 in 1 outing for Papa: time with fam, exercise and dog walk, AND work! He even taught Quin and I about the work he's doing on salmon restoration in small streams.
The "stream" at Meadowdale was roaring today cause of the rainfall last night, so it was exciting to watch. He also had a good chat with the ranger on coming back for future research. I'm hoping we'll get to tag along with Papa as he's in the field frequently in the next few weeks and months to come, and it's a great chance for the kids and I to really get some great science lessons.
Ah, who wouldn't love a man who carries your flowery diaper bag for you?
Then, back home we had a delicious dinner together of grilled portabella burgers and salads (Todd and I had those same burgers on our first Valentine's Day together, ahhhh ;)). As a treat we had a little campfire and raosted marshmallows, which of course the kids LOVED!
Here's to hoping your Valentine's Day was lovely as well!