Bay Point Park

After brunch with the Ethertons, we met my folks at a park to run off some Easter sugar. The last time we were at this particular park Mateo ran after a squirrel and I completely freaked out. He was really close to it and (in my mind) the squirrel was definitely going to bite him and give him rabies. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Didn't notice any squirrels today.

Easter Morning

Last night we had this conversation...
Me: I spy a bunny in the yard. Do you think it's the Easter Bunny?
Mateo: No. The Easter Bunny is different colors.
Me: Maybe that bunny works for the Easter Bunny. Maybe he's looking for good spots to hide Easter eggs.
Mateo: Or maybe he's just looking for food for himself.
(sigh)
At any rate, Mateo had a good time searching for eggs in the chilly morning air ;)

Eggsperimenting

Kevin took the reins on egg-dying again this year. Notice how Mateo started out with the copper wire dye-dipper and quickly switched to the "hands-on" approach. One of his friends asked why he was wearing a raincoat!

Spring at the Falls

Spring-like weather has been sporadic here. So when a nice day comes along, it's hard to say no to a walk down to the falls.

Playdate with Ethan

Ethan (one of Mateo's classmates) came over after school one day - the boys mostly played outside, but took a break for cookies, too. At the end of the day, their feet were soaked!

MapleFest

Kevin took Mateo to MapleFest this year - they enjoyed free pancakes, a petting zoo, and - hey, what's that guy doing standing in that giant kettle?! Oh, and they brought home a half gallon of local maple syrup - divine.

Cookies & Cocktails

I spent a Sunday afternoon baking cookies, drinking wine and catching up with my very good friends Mary and Lisa. They both have some positive things happening in their lives and I couldn't be happier for them! xoxo

100 Days

Mateo has been in school for 100 days! (In all fairness he's had some absences, but still...)

I Heart You

I just love this picture. Mateo found a "heart" in a big bag of puff corn.

Old Friends, New Friends

Dan & Joe visited after a too-long dry spell and brought their grandson, Aiden, along. Mateo adored Aiden - after they left he said he wished he was part of our family. We got Aiden all sugared up (note the green tongue) just before they hit the road ;)

Sick Day

All of us had the "stomach flu" this week - what a drag.

King of the Hill!

Finally warm enough to spend some time outside! I made a walking labyrinth in the backyard, which Mateo found boring (but humored me anyway) and Lucy found impractical. Ah, fresh air - cannot wait until spring!

Muffins with Mom!

Snow day! A time for muffin-baking and vacation scrapbooking. These muffins were SO GOOD - blueberry ginger spelt muffins from Vegan Brunch.

Better with Cheddar

Mexican for lunch with Gabby Karen today, but FIRST a tour through the excellent food-related Smithsonian exhibit in the library gallery. Did you know that fortune cookies were invented in America?

Gotta Love Juggling

After a fondue dinner, we three headed to the library for The Big Fun Show - comedy, juggling, general nonsense - where Mateo laughed himself silly over a roll of masking tape. And other people laughed themselves silly over Mateo's laughter. I think he had too much candy at school.

Great.

Great's funeral was today. One of the most common memories people shared of her was how she could make something out of nothing much at all. She had a wonderful creative intelligence.
Some of my Great-est memories:
Lemon drop candies
The smell of eastern European soup. What is that? Kasha? Barley?
Trouble – the board game
Making things with chicken bones and google eyes
Her light blue trailer
Crocheted (or knit?) slippers
Soap operas on the tv
Her dog, Cubby
Kleenex rolled up in her sleeve
She passed away on February 8th at the age of 100. What a long time to live. Mateo and I waved at her among the stars on a candlelight hike tonight.

Deck the Halls with...

...recycled CDs, magazines, and fake snow! I changed out the fall decor at the library for winter -- upcycled style. I purchased silver Christmas bulbs, silver icicles, and a bag of fake snow from a local thrift store and coated the bulbs and some scratched CDs with spray adhesive, then rolled them in fake snow (shredded wax paper or plastic grocery bags - I can't tell which). These were hung (along with the icicles) from the ceiling with filament. I also folded some magazines into "trees", spray painted them silver, added a little fake snow and glitter with spray adhesive and voila!

Christmas Countdown update

The Christmas countdown is going well - we're halfway done and Mateo still enjoys it. Sometimes we do "big" activities and sometimes we do "small" activities, and sometimes Mateo likes the "small" activities as much or more than the "big" activities. For example, he took a pass on going to see Santa when he was in town. He said he just wanted Santa to pick something out for him. It was a surprise to us, but we respected his decision. Of course, a few days later we ran into Santa out of uniform in the grocery store and he told Mateo that he was on the nice list (even though he doesn't always listen). It was a much more magical experience than going to see him along with everyone else. Other things on the countdown have included a special day with Gabby and Papa, a playdate with Jadin, baking muffins, decorating the tree and a Christmas campout.

The Great Tree Search

We cheated a little bit this year and bought a pre-cut tree. But we did buy it from a local tree farm and enjoyed their cocoa, cookies and ENORMOUS model train set.

Printing Press at MCBA!

We've taken a lot of classes at the Center for Book Arts, but the one Mateo most talks about is the one where he used the printing press. And why wouldn't he be excited about that? After all, it's a BIG, HEAVY piece of equipment that takes your WHOLE BODY to use! Today I surprised him with a trip to the cities after school to take a pressure printing class using the printing press. Let me tell you, he did a great job waiting his turn and printed as many sheets as Miss Ellen and time allowed.