Eagle's Day

We still love Lawrence, KS. There are so very many reasons why we dig this town and I'll share one with you today: events like Eagles Day. This is our second year participating in the event at the high school sponsored by the Jayhawk Audubon Society and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. There are activities for kids, information for adults (ranging from bees to wildlife to birds), and live animals. The girls continue to broaden their knowledge about birds, with a definite interest specifically in owls. Owl Babies is a favorite book and an incredible family of Barred Owls have been residing in Gran and Grandpa's woods for well over a year, the largest of the owls fondly named "Percy", after the book. We've been using binoculars to search for them in the trees, we've spent many moments on the deck silently waiting for them to talk, and we've gotten over the need to run, shrieking and crying, when the owls do let our their beautiful call (thank goodness that freak-out response of startled toddlers faded away). Here is the fun we had at Eagles Day 2012:

Michael and Jane

I'd like to introduce you to Michael and Jane:

Yes, they resemble Abby and Elise very much in the face... the sparkling brown eyes... the pinch-able cheeks... the crazy hair. But they are very much Michael and Jane... from Mary Poppins. The girls had movie-night on their last overnight with Gran and Grandpa. Yes, we've allowed them to watch a movie... with some conditions, of course. None of the hour-and-a-half-animation. Something with actual actors/actresses. Singing, there has to be singing. And, on a sidenote, hearing the girls say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" is not only impressive, but adorable. 

For the past two weeks, there has been so much imaginative play happening between these two - pretending to be Michael, Jane, or Mary Poppins, singing "Spoonful of Sugar", flying through the house with umbrellas. And tonight I came across this article from a couple of years ago: "Old Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills". This article is spot-on with my beliefs as a preschool teacher and as a mom. It's no secret that I'm struggling with how quickly kindergarten is approaching - I'm not ready to think about my babies being that old, but I'm certainly not about to send them off to sit at a desk with highly restricted outdoor time and into a world where "play" is viewed as worthless. And I love that the NPR article addresses the way in which "toys" changed the type of play children carry-out. It is absolutely true that, as a teacher, we are seeing an outrageous increase in children with self-regulation struggles and social-emotional needs. Wouldn't it be wild if we could alter that trend by simply playing, creating, and imagining with our kids? 

Wordless Wednesday: Homemade Tent

(Tutorial found here, for the tent... not the twins)

Homemade gifts: Biscotti

I love to make things. Things to eat. Things to wear. Things to look at. Things to do. Some things end up being kind of lame. Some things don't taste very good. But other things are beautiful. Or delicious. Or so totally awesome. And I get a thrill every time I finish a project. John is a great supporter - he comes to check on me when I'm buried in paper in the workroom. He follows his nose to the kitchen when something is cooking. As I speak, he's standing here smiling and chewing while sampling the s'mores cupcakes that I'm working on for dessert tonight. Seriously. 

I made several gifts for the holidays and I thought I'd start sharing a few of them. For my co-workers, I baked a couple batches of Whole Wheat Walnut Raisin Biscotti, drizzled them with white and dark chocolate, and packaged them in individual cellophane bags. I included the recipe because, in my opinion, that could be the gift that just keeps giving. :) Biscotti is insanely easy with very few ingredients. It's time consuming because it has to bake twice but I thought it was worth the time. And, it's similar to Mandel Bread, which my Grandma has been baking forever. She introduced the girls to it and they are always delighted when Grandma arrives with a batch of "crunchy bread". 

Whole Wheat Walnut Raisin Biscotti
from Everyday Food, Jan/Feb 2007

• 3/4 C organic whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C organic unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/3 C organic sugar
• 1 tsp alumninum-free baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 C walnut halves
• 1/4 C organic raisins
• 2 large organic free-range eggs
• 1 tsp organic vanilla
• Preheat oven to 350°
• Which together flours, sugar, baking powder, salt; stir in walnuts and raisins
• In different bowl, which eggs and vanilla; Add to flour mixture
• On a silpat-lined cookie sheet, pat dough into a loaf
• Bake until risen and firm, about 20-25 minutes
• Reduce oven temp to 300°
• Allow loaf to cool completely on baking sheet; transfer to cutting board and slice diagonally (will make 20-24 slices)
• Bake slices for another 25-30 minutes, turning once, until slightly golden

Wordless Wednesday: Rock Chalk

Yo-J

Growing up, our family trip to Minnesota was a highlight of the summer year after year after year (32 years for me, to be exact). When you have someplace that is special, the people, places, and things that make it so awesome stay with you forever. It might be a trip to Benjamin Franklin for nail polish. It might be that plastic goo that you can blow bubbles with. Maybe it's Yo-J. Anyone remember Yo-J? We bought it every summer at the little grocery store in Aitkin, Minnesota. And it was delicious. YOgurt and Juice: Yo-J. Go make yourself some. Feed it to your children. Use different juices. Whatever (see? already tossing the "whatever" around...see previous post).

Homemade Yo-J

• Organic homemade plain yogurt
• Organic blueberry juice
• Organic lemon juice (just a tiny dash)
• Local honey
• Whisk away
• Drink

There is nothing involved in this recipe. You probably do it all the time. But I hadn't made Yo-J in awhile and this morning it was a lovely treat for the three of us girls. Speaking of treat... John and I don't go big when it comes to gifts, especially for each other. Hell, I bought him drumstick chopsticks this year. Seriously. Chopsticks on one end, drumsticks on the other. He told me that he loved them and I believed him. However, he surprised me with a killer tabletop photobooth - it has the screens on two sides and the top with a backdrop and then two lights that shine in from the outside. I took the pics above with it and I am loving the quality. Thank you, dear! While I was sitting in the kitchen savoring my Yo-J, it seemed strangely quiet for having two small people in the house with me. I found the girls, in my workroom, posing their little critters in the photobooth and taking pictures with my camera. They took these pictures - 100% on their own. Now I'm not feeling so smug about my pics, because theirs are damn good. 

Happy New Year!

Dear 2011,
Thank you for filling our lives with milestones, memories, lots of laughter and lots of love. As with any year, there were days that were down-in-the-dumps but we don't take many pictures of those days because it would take up space on our hard-drives (literally and figuratively) that should be filled with the on-cloud-nine days. I already miss my toddler-ish 2 1/2 year olds from 2011. They never say "what'd you said?" anymore. Instead they say things like "Okay, so, Momma, here's the plan: first we are going to go to the park with the little house and then when we get home we are going to play Candyland. Okay?". I don't hear words like "sider", "sot", and "soon". Instead "spider", "spot", and "spoon" just roll off of their tongues.  While I expected this to happen closer to their teens, I'm already being called "Mom" instead of "Momma". Seriously? In the blink of an eye...

I've been trying to have more of a "whatever" attitude with the girls: "Momma, may I wear this tiny shirt again today?" Whatever. "Momma, may I have 2 m&m's?" Whatever. "Momma, may I take my Mango (toy frog) in the car with me?" Whatever. "Momma, may I have a pancake for lunch?" Whatever. As a mom, I get asked a gazillion-trillion-million questions each day. Which means that I have a gazillion-trillion-million opportunities to say "No". And, with the word "no", comes a negative thought process, a negative response, and a negative reaction. Life's too damn short for a gazillion-trillion-million negatives a day.

So here's to 2012. May whatever happens bring all of us peace, joy, and love. Or whatever. Just as long as it's worthy of hard-drive space. 

Happy New Year!