We spent the weekend celebrating the birthday of this wonderful man of mine- with our little family and then with family and friends. Perry, we love you so. Happy Birthday my love.  

A peek into our week:

Drawing, drawing drawing. So much drawing from these little boys.

Many experiments, potions and attempts at alchemy. We are still big Sparkle Stories fans around here, and this week Martin and Sylvia- the homeschooling brother-sister pair from these stories- did some reading about alchemy and tried their hand at it. Ari was very much inspired and has been sneaking away to try various experiments with household items. I found this scene above on his bedroom floor at the end of quiet time. He wanted to write down his recipes in his journal in case he really did make gold. Also a recipe for a (rather messy!) crushed blueberry drink he made for his brother and himself. 

A trip with their papa to visit a wonderful local farm and their goats, including the new baby goat. 

Play. Pirates. Playmobile (does that stuff multiply in the night? I swear we had just a few pieces and suddenly there are little plastic helmets and swords everywhere. They love it though, and play with it creatively so I am trying to be okay with the plastic-ness of it. It is kind of cute in its own way.) 

Peanut butter cookies. They instantly transport me to my grandmother's kitchen, and though these ones are made using this recipe- with almond flour and honey- which I'm sure the ones from my childhood were not- they taste just like Grandma's. 

And the temperature has dropped again- it isn't really that cold, just barely below zero, but the wind is blowing the snow is coming down, and it is feeling like winter will be with us for awhile. So the best thing to do is get a pot of soup on the stove, a kettle boiling for some tea, pile up some books by the fire and pull up the rocking chair for a bit. This is where I'll be if you need me.

Happy cozy weekend to you all!

Joining in the Yarn Along today with this little sweater I finished the other day. It is the Manda Ruth cardigan in size 6-8 months- though it looks bigger than that to me, we'll see, its been awhile since I had a little one to knit for, and I may not be a great judge of baby sizes anymore! The buttons (which I still need to sew on, obviously,) are from beadfreaky. I ordered them awhile ago for a different project- one that never came to pass. Maybe they were waiting for this little sweater, because they seem like just the right thing!

The wool is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes tonal in pearlescent. I have several skeins of this in my stash and I really like it in this seed stitch. The slight yellow tint to this colourway is hardly noticeable in this pattern for some reason, but I didn't like it when I was knitting with a different stitch for a baby blanket- it sort of looked aged or dirty. But it works here and I will really enjoy putting this wee sweater on our little baby next winter when the cold winds start to blow- oh my! 

I just got a new load of books out from the library today which did not make the photos, but I started Family Matters the other day and I am enjoying it. It is written in the 90's so some things have changed since then, but he writes well about some of the issues that homeschoolers are often questioned about- socialization, public education,  etc. 

I also just finished a string of books all set in the same general part of the world- Zorro by Isabel Allende, The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, The Hummingbird's Daughter -Luis
Alberto Urrea  - all very good reads, though the last one was a bit gruesome for this super sensitive pregnant mama. I picked up a book that looks lighter at the library today, we'll see.

And now, I think I need to take one of those books with me and head off to an early bed, Goodnight!

The amount of drawing and creating around here just seems to be increasing every day- the boys have been spending so much of their time drawing- Ari has been drawing landscapes and picture maps- all featuring lots of volcanoes, of course, and Dorian draws lots and lots of pirates. Some monsters, some suns, but mostly pirates. 

The boys decided on the morning of a birthday party that they wanted to sew gifts for their friend. Dori drew a bear and we worked together to make it into a pattern that could be sewn into a soft toy. I embroidered the face the way he had drawn it, and then he sewed it together. He need hardly any help with this, just a few tricky parts- an ear, a paw, and sewing up the stuffing hole at the end. It was hard to give this one away- I will treasure this picture. Maybe I can talk him into making another one for our baby.

Ari made a pirate treasure bag for his friend (it was a pirate themed party.) He filled it with special little beads and shells and such from his treasure box.

And I have been going through old photos, trying to get a handle on the endless pictures I take and never seem to get to printing or doing anything with- aside from posting a few here. I was inspired by Melody's beautiful birthday book she is making for her son, and started making some photo books myself- rather obsessively  I must admit. But I can hardly wait to hold those books in my hand and see the images printed. And going through Dori's baby pictures to (finally!) make him a baby book has been a lovely thing to do while pregnant. All that baby sweetness to reminisce over.And it makes my boys look extra big in my eyes too!

I've come across a bunch of photos that I love that I had forgotten about. These two really made me smile.

Happy Friday, friends.

There was much drawing and cutting and making this week- Perry brought home a couple new notebooks (Dori is going through drawing pads at an amazing pace,) which inspired lots of new artwork.

there was cutting of paper dolls (and goats!),

and going through the huge stash of vintage zippers from a friend (thanks Nik!)- I think I need to make a whole pile of zipper pouches with these.

The living room was tranformed with various impressive set-ups and many elaborate castle themed games, 

                  (I especially love this little shop selling smoothies,)

Valentine making,

My funny valentine. (This picture is so quintessentially Dori-he loves it when I take the camera out so he can practice his poses and silly faces!) And look at those letters he just started writing spontaneously!

Strawberry lemonade as a valentine treat. We were planning a big cookie-making endeavor  but the day got away on us, and a sweet pink drink was a welcome substitution.

Ari and I are enjoying this math block we are working on- he's really taken to the characters from the 4 processes story, and moving from story, to manipulatives (first with word problems and then on the grid sheets,) to writing equations has been amazingly smooth and fun for him. I remember math from my own childhood mostly being a series of dry and confusing workbooks and (scary!) drills and flashcards, so it is refreshing to be part of this wonderfully creative and intuitive method for learning those same skills.

Flowers from my love.

We've been getting some warmer weather the past few days- I actually could smell melting soil on our walk the other day! I am always a little reluctant to browse the seed catalogs and get too focused on spring when there is still so much winter ahead, but I just might sneak a peek. Or maybe I should just strap on the ski boots and accept that I live in the north!

I hope the sun is shining where you are, friends.

Let's see, what can I say about this time? It is February. We still have a few months of snow ahead of us. The light is coming back slowly- there are melty days, and cold ones too. There are blue skies, and cloudy ones. There is snow, and ice, and birds at the feeder, and a fire in the wood stove. 

 I find I take the camera out less this time of year, and have a harder time getting to this space- it's because the light is dim, and it's because the winter shots feel a little tired out by now and it's because,  really, so do I. And this year, well, I am pregnant. And at the end of a day of  chasing after these busy little boys of mine, of executing homeschooling plans and cooking healthy meals and refereeing disputes and of getting to the laundry (when I do!) or the cleaning (maybe,) well, there isn't much left of me and my energy. I have been known to crawl under my covers before my children some nights, (leaving my wonderful husband with bedtime routines and the kitchen to tackle- dear me, I do love that man of mine!)  But of course when I think through all that we get up to, and look through the few snapshots I've managed to take I see that every day is full of little bits of beauty, that there is so much to love and feel grateful for. 

So that's what I've got for you today, a few random little things from the days that help me feel glad for the life I am living, for the beauty that surrounds me, for all that we are able to do together. And thanks be to grandparents who take the kids on excursions and for a husband who plans out the weekend to include some adventures for him and the boys (and me alone in a quiet house!) and for cups of hot tea and for knitting a baby sweater by the wood stove and for gathering up those sweet boys in my arms when they return home, so happy to see them again. It is good. All of it. 

the snapshots:

1. our daily walk down the driveway and through the trees.

2. grain-free dutch apple pancake- served with homemade yogurt and strawberry sauce from strawberries picked last summer during our strawberry picking craze.

3. + 4. dipping candles to celebrate Imbolc. Ari's intense focus and ability to stick with it for ages. the boys both naming their candles and deciding which was the mom, dad, kid, baby. how cute and knobbly they turned out and how wonderful they smell.

5. starting a math unit that both Ari and I are enjoying. new wool felt counting bags full of stones we collected last summer at the river.

6. making crockpot carmalized onions. so good.

7. Dori's endless piles of artwork. all those adorable square people.

8. sewing a bit. making a bunch of these little felt balls while sipping my tea in the mornings.

9. this wee seed stitch hoodie for the baby doing flips in my belly. And my boys who talk so sweetly to it every day.

there. it is good, isn't it?