Playtime at the beach - then home for nap

this is a perfect example of one of those sweet days. exploring the tide pools and building sand castles, clean up, lunch in the car seat -- then off to nap! weren't they cute?

Going back to afternoon naps

I realized today that my life and home was so much calmer, cleaner, quieter and more organized when my kids were toddlers. I know that is the opposite of what most people say or think. But really, most days we were up and out the door to go to different places, but we were ALWAYS home for nap. When the little angels were sleeping, I was quietly working around the house. Cleaning, reorganizing drawers, putting pictures in albums - whatever. Now, no one naps - we hit the ground running and don't stop until dinner, or after. Back then, they would have quiet play time sitting on the floor playing or watching Sesame Street - now they have loud music cranked (not all of them), they are in and out of the house, along with their friends. No wonder our home looks and sounds like a bunch of wild animals are living here. To take this even further, I realized that I was in much better shape back then. When the kids weren't napping, we'd be outside taking walks, playing at the playground, swimming, wherever, Mom had to play too - or at least keep them from falling off the climbing structure. Now, I seem to sit more than anything. I sit in the car, in the orthodontist's office, piano, ballet, soccer - whatever. I've even taken up knitting, so at least I feel like I'm accomplishing something while I'm doing all of that sitting! No more moving around and wearing everyone down in order to ensure a good, long nap. How sad. Even night time routines were easier - before, the exhausted little cuties would have a bath, we would read a book or two (oh, I miss those days) and then it was off to bed, before 8:00. Then I could work on other things, or watch a show with the hubby. Now, we're lucky if everyone is even home in time for dinner, let alone a relaxing bath and book time. I miss the good old days. So, if I get my way - the kids will be going down for nap in just a few short hours and then I will be reorganizing my drawers. The only problem is - I'm the one who really needs the nap these days.

Pink Milk and Heart Shaped Pancakes

What a lovely way to spend Valentine's Day. I got up early and enjoyed some coffee and quiet. I mixed up a batch of pink milk and set the table and put out the little love notes for everyone. Then I made an adorable batch of heart shaped pancakes, however, I heard that the red sprinkles that I used actually got a bit crunchy as they cooked - ooops! After church we had a nice lunch out and then a beautiful ride around Oceanside. It was just gorgeous down there.
When we got home I needed to get to work on some gourd birdhouses that a friend of mine ordered - how exciting, my first real order and sale!
On the garden front - I went to Lowe's today to check out the heirloom seeds that they have - quite a few. It's time to start planning and soon it will be time to plant. I'm waiting for a catalog I ordered from a rare seed bank.
We heard from Donald's Aunt that she saw our little bunny friends today. They were hanging out by the shed where we left them, and she thought they looked like they were growing. I'm glad to hear that they are still around.
We're having a romantic dinner for 5 and then watching the Amazing Race - what a great day!

It's sinking in

This morning I was listening to Alex practice the piano - as he does every morning for 45 + minutes - and usually I'm a bit annoyed by it, close my door and cringe when he hits the wrong key. Well, as I was listening, I was reminded that soon, I won't be hearing that anymore. He'll be leaving for school and that beautiful old piano will be quiet - what a sad thought. I guess it's all part of the letting go process. Here is a picture of a recent recital - not too many more of those to attend either. boo hoo.

more from our weekend

A few more pictures from our fun weekend. When we were out on a bike ride we saw this boat washed up on the beach on the wrong side of the jetty. Apparently they lost power and with the heavy surf and wind, were pushed ashore. Bummer. The seals were enjoying the sunny weather as much as we were.

Relaxing weekend

We decided to go down to the harbor and stay for a couple of nights. This is a view from our balcony. We enjoyed bike riding, playing games and watching the Super Bowl. More pictures to come.

My knit girl

Jordan working on her knitting, while wearing a few of her masterpieces!

Rainy day PE

Having a little home school PE time - via the Wii!

Where does the time go?

We found this picture today - what a cutie! It feels like it was just a year or two ago!

Free at Last

Well, we let our little bunny friends go today at Donald's Aunt and Uncle's house. It was bittersweet. We found a place that we thought was as safe as possible and put food around for them and even left their cardboard box and tried to not worry about it too much. When we drove up this morning we saw many other rabbits around - so we hope they will all meet up and be friends. What an experience.

Sweet Life

I ran across this quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder and had to share it - along with a picture of the awesome apple pie I made for my dear hubby!

"It is the sweet, simple things of life that are the real ones after all."

The Bunny Boys

Here are a couple of recent pictures of the little guys. We hope to release them later this week. They seem to be doing great and very much enjoying the shower area in the master bath. We're missing our spacious shower area. As of today, they are down to having formula once a day. The rest of the time the are eating Timothy grass.

You Belong in the Zoo

Our fun day at the SD zoo.

Now that's commitment!

The kids are part of a HAM radio group through our home school center. Jordan is braving the weather to do her day on the net.

When in Rome

Here is a picture of Jordan trying out the toga - part of our Roman study.

You Have To Feed Them What?

Well, we've had our little bunny boys for more than two weeks and boy has it been a learning experience. We found several good websites to walk us through caring for orphaned cottontail rabbits. Most of them were not very positive about our success, but we did learn a lot. I'm glad I didn't believe them or we would have given up on these little fuzzy guys a long time ago. I won't go into all the details, but the most interesting and disturbing thing that I learned was that rabbits eat their own poop. Not only that - all rabbits poop two different types of poop. A regular poop - like the little pellets that you find in your yard and then a night time poop that is dark, gooey and gross. Well, the dark, gooey, gross one is the one they eat! Who knew? This provides some sort of enzyme that they need in order to properly digest food. My friend called me and said, you have to find this poop - the website says they will die without it. So, I had to call a friend who owns a rabbit and ask to "borrow some poop". I know she thought I was crazy, but she was a good sport. She did crack up about this and swore that she wouldn't tell "many" people about this. So I gathered what I needed and proceeded to feed it to my little friends. How weird and wrong - I've been feeding these little guys 5 or 6 times a day with an eye dropper and now, I'm trying to shove this gross stuff in them. It just felt wrong. But, they did manage to eat some. Apparently this poop is only good when it is fresh, so I did try to harvest some poop another day, but her rabbit must have been busy eating it before I arrived. In any case, my little guys seem to be making their own and I'm off the hook on feeding them that sort of stuff. They are now eating grass and drinking water and I'm only feeding them formula twice a day. We think they are about ready to release back into the wild. Just not around here - I would be devastated to find one of our sweet dogs munching on these little cuties. It has been quite an experience. I have a couple of adorable recent pictures, I'll post them next time I have access to high speed.