MommyCoddle

decorating, naturally

This is one of those posts I've been meaning to share for weeks now. But I'm just getting to it this morning. A little late, I know, but maybe it will provide a little inspiration for any last-minute crafting you and your family might do this week.

Emma and Mary's 4-H club decorated a Christmas tree this year which then gets auctioned and sold for charity. This year the club decided to create ornaments for the tree that were all handmade using natural materials. The idea was inspired by the Brandywine River Museum which decorates a two story tree each year made completely of these handmade ornaments, with natural materials gathered from the grounds of the museum. 

For the get-together the 4-Hers were told to gather and bring any natural materials to the meeting with them, as well as a good supply of hot glue guns! Everything was dumped into a large table and within minutes the 4-Hers were creating. 

It was truly amazing for me to stand back and watch the creative minds of these children come to life. Many had never visited Brandywine, but with a table full of raw materials, they were able to come up with the most creative, amazing, inspiring ornaments. Their ideas were endless. 

The tree turned out to be amazing, as you might guess. It won an award at the festival, and was one of the first to sell( for quite a good price. ) And it has inspired quite a few crafting moments here at home as well. Especially when the combine was working across the road last week, spewing corn cobs and seed into our yard....

I truly hope this inspires you to take a little walk outside and gather. You'll be surprised what little minds can come up with. Just have the glue gun hot and ready. 

See the whole set of ornaments HERE. 

sun, day 2

Good Morning, friends.

We are on day two of sunshine and I am soaking it in. It has been a wet, dreary fall so far and I'm learning to truly appreciate each sunny day, as if it were a gift.

Yesterday, I actually found myself out on the mower--mowing our grass in the middle of November. I have to say, I'm sad to see that job disappear for the winter. It is one of my favorite things--ipod on, children can't interrupt me, seeing the trail of accomplishment (mowed grass) behind me. And to top it off, the mower we use is one of those commercial zero-turn kinds. The kind that spins on a dime. I think you all know how much I enjoy a good power tool. And this, though much bigger, falls in the same category. And when you have as much grass to mow as we do, a little riding mower would take half a lifetime to get the job done.

Did I just write about riding mowers on my blog?? I'm turning into my husband....

Last week was a long one--Dan was home sick for two days, which always seems to throw everything off, even though we barely saw him emerge from the guest bedroom. And the girls and I were on house arrest the rest of the week, as my car was in need of brake repair. Let's just say, when it gets to the point of grinding, it's time to change the brakes. Thank goodness, my husband could do it, and save us the astronomical costs of repair.

Did I just talk about changing my car's brakes on my blog? I am turning into my husband...(I did refrain from talking about the frozen calipers [my new vocab from the weekend])....

We also had rain all week and by Friday the girls (and I) were suffering from a severe case of cabin fever. I could tell they had huge amounts of energy that needed to be expended, so I got them going on a project. I figured they could expend that energy in a creative form. Creative therapy, I like to call it.

So we pulled out the iron and ironing board and my big basket of fabric scraps and began cutting out triangles for what will eventually become a little flag banner to hang above the beds in their room. Each child had a job--Mary turns out to be an excellent iron-er. And Emma traced and cut out (with pinking shears) all the triangles.

Elizabeth "sorted" the scrap basket. And Ruby laid behind me and chewed up tiny bits of fabric scraps and paper. She's such a help.

Immediately, the mood of the house changed. The girls settled down and became engrossed with their jobs. Emma, who loves a good project, began to talk my ear off. I barely spoke through the whole project except to answer a few questions, or agree with the things she was sharing with me. It seemed like all that energy was coming out through her hands, and her mouth.

It was a great way to break the week's foul mood.

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In other news, the winner of Friday's Show & Tell giveaway is Emily Preston.

Emily, please send me an email (you'll find it on the About Molly page) and let me know you're mailing info. I'll get the book out to you asap.

carving pumpkins with power tools

Our pumpkins barely made it to the carving blocks this year. In fact, if I hadn't rescued them quickly enough our chickens would have made short order of them, just like this scene. In fact, the chickens had already started some of the "carving" for us.

Since we didn't get to the carving until after Halloween, I really wanted to encourage the girls away from faces to something that could be more Fall-ish. Emma seemed pretty dead-set on carving something scary into her pumpkin...that is, until I brought out her daddy's power drill.

I wish I had pictures--bits of pumpkin flying everywhere. Girls wielding power tools. But a mother can only handle so much power tool safety without trying to photograph it at the same time. Some things are better left to the imagination.

Once the carving was finished, I happily carried the pulpy mess into my kitchen where I spent a painstakingly long amount of time cleaning the seeds. I LOVE pumpkin seeds. I mean, seriously LOOOVE them. It really bothers me if I accidentally let one slip into the discard pile, or I miss one hiding in the pulp. I get every.single.seed.

And then I roast them with a little salt and butter in the skillet, all while fighting off little fingers who try to get in on the goodness.

Now they are sitting on the center of our kitchen table in a canning jar, whose lid I have screwed on so tight, I can barely get it off myself. It's kid-proof, requiring help (and the rationing of seeds) whenever little children decide they want to dip in to the treasure chest of seed-wealth.

I get down-right aggressive about the careful, slow devouring of these seeds. 

And I'm thinking next year, I'm planting a whole row of pumpkins in my garden....

ribbons and recipes

Last Tuesday afternoon, Emma and I found ourselves scrambling around a sticky hot kitchen. While I gave her directions on measuring this, leveling that, and "do you know what it means to cream the butter and sugar?" and "you should really crack the eggs in a separate bowl first, but we don't have time for that."; I also fielded the whining from a jealous little sister, "You never let me do anything in the kitchen!" and tried to comfort and keep tabs on my three house guests who I worried were wilting in the heat and bored out of their minds.

For the two days prior, we'd lost electricity in a storm that seemed to settle in and swirl around our valley. And so this day, fair day, we were left to prepare almost everything.

We were multi-tasking wonders--between baking and measuring, she'd do another touch-up on her painting. I'd dry the paint with the hair dryer while she wrote out the labels for her photography--I don't want to talk about how many times we had to redo the labels.....while the cake baked, she changed her clothes, threw her hair back in a ponytail and we searched for our gate passes and read through the all directions one more time.

I quizzed her on things I thought the judge might ask about each of her projects:

What kind of paints did you use?
What's the name of your cake?
At what temperature did you bake your cake?
What kind of camera did you use?

And I tried to give her gentle nudges of things she might want to share with the judge:

You could tell her that the eggs are from your own chickens.
You could tell her the story about how you finished your painting and then your little sister got into the paints and covered it in black.
You could tell her how your mother is this amazing photographer who takes stunning pictures and she taught you everything she knows and she has this photography project called ha......(kidding. i didn't say any of that. of course.)

And right on schedule at 4 o'clock, we all loaded into the car, her bag carefully packed with half a cake on a pretty teal plate, her photographs and her painting of a sheep. We made our way to the fairgrounds and found the judging table for the Clovers--the children who aren't quite old enough to be full-fledged 4-Hers yet.

She walked up to the table. And I stepped back.

The judge was sweet--overflowing with compliments, asking sweet simple questions, nowhere near as difficult as those she'd fielded from me. And I smiled as I heard Emma tell the judge the story of the ruined and rescued painting.

And then her things were carried away, into the big home arts building under the green flag of clovers. Set on display among other children's projects--birdhouses and scrapbooks, knitted turtles and cross-stitched pillows, model rockets and strawberry jam.

When we came back to the fair Friday night, I believe she entered the fairgrounds skipping. So proud of that little white card in her hand that proved she was a card-carrying 4-Her. So excited to show her Daddy her projects on display and dying to see those silky green ribbons she knew would be hanging from each one.

So, I thought this morning in honor of the sticky hot fair days that are behind us, I'd share Emma's recipe for Sour Cream Pound Cake. A recipe given to me years and years ago, which we've since made our own. It is so good and just the right amount of sweet. One of the judges even arrived at Emma's table, fork in hand, "I just have to try this cake." And afterward, I heard her whisper in Emma's ear, "You make one awesome cake little girl." and she reached for one more slice.

Enjoy.

COUNTY FAIR CAKE

3/4 c. butter, soft
2 1/4 c. sugar (and that's why it's so good)
4 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1/4 t. baking soda
3/4 c. sour cream (i like to make it an overflowing 3/4 cup.) (can also be subst. w/ yogurt)
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. lemon extract (optional. we never add it)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. To creamed mixture add sour cream and flour mix, alternately. Starting and ending with the flour mix. Mix until just blended after each addition. Stir in flavorings.

Pour batter into a greased and sugared (that's the key) bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for an hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan onto a wire rack and continue to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

ONE simple question, no. 7

Sometimes it's hard to be five. Especially when your older sister is off gallivanting and swimming and having who knows what kind of fun with a friend, and you're stuck at home with your boring old mom, and your little sister who repeats everything you say and fights you for the tree swing.

This is when the mantra begins, "What can I do that's FUN?!?"

If you asked my mother, I'm sure she'd back me up on the fact that I tended to be the perpetually bored child. Especially on Sundays. But my boredom, if I recall correctly, usually led to good things like puttering down at the stream or walking around the house with a tape recorder--reading the newspaper and writing my own radio ads--many of which involved a flushing of the toilet and lots of hushed giggling in the background.

I believe boredom is a good thing for children to experience. Because it often leads to amazing bouts of creativity.

However, it only seems like karma that Mary would be asking me the same question I'm sure I hounded my mom with for many, many years and many, many lazy Sunday afternoons.

Yesterday, I saved the day with painting en plein air. It did the trick and got us through a tough patch of boredom until Dan got home from work and Emma returned from her playdate. (only to drown her sister in stories of how much fun she had. Thanks, Em.)

But I believe it is good for a parent to have a boredom busting arsenal.

So here's my simple question for today:

How do you answer the "What can I do for fun?" question? What activities are in your boredom busting arsenal? What ideas do you throw out to your children in hopes that they'll latch on to one? Between all of you creative mamas, I think it will be a great resource for all of us to share our ideas.

Here's to a boredom-induced, creative summer!

Searching for whales

Strange as it may sound, I've had whales on the brain for the last several months. I can't remember where it started, really.

I know I had this idea to start making whale shaped chalkboards, but that still hasn't panned out. Then I thought about carving whale shaped stamps, but that hasn't happened yet either. So when I stumbled across this book on making hand-print animal art and happened to turn to the whale page first, it pretty much seemed like a sign to me. Don't you think?

The girls and I made some prints on paper this winter but after going to a printing/textile workshop at the BMA this weekend, I was inspired to get the girls to do a little whale printing on some kitchen towels for me today. Sort of like poor man's screen printing.

The book is filled with some amazing instructions for making animals using all kinds of handprint techniques--only stamping certain fingers, just your palm, printing with your fist. Things I'd never even thought of.

But making the whale is pretty straightforward.

To start, stamp (or in this case we painted with a brush) your hand and fingers only. Not your thumb. (if you want more of a handprint look, don't let your children coat their entire hands and palm in paint. The girls coated their hands for these whales, which makes them much more filled in.)

After you have printed your hand on the paper, use your pointer finger to make the fin and tail.

Once the girls prints dried, I used a sharpie marker to outline the whale body and add an eye. Because Mary's was so dark, I used the end of the paintbrush to paint on the eye.

All in all, an extremely successful, easy project. And I have a little whale in my life made from my favorite little hands. The perfect combination.

chickens, guineas and being a turkey (about dpns)

I have a feeling this will be my last post until after Thanksgiving. (And I also have a feeling that's one of the dumbest titles I've ever given one of my posts.)

But anyway....I have apple pies to make, bread to bake and a house to clean. My sister and I will essentially be trading spaces--Dan, the girls and I will be traveling to my mom's for Thanksgiving, my sister will be coming here--staying at our house, taking care of our chickens, keeping the fire burning--and spending Thanksgiving with our dad and grandmother.

In the meantime, a few odds and ends:

Last night, after several attempts, I conquered my fear of the dpn. I have some serious mental-block, motor-skill issues when it comes to dpns. I cast on several times yesterday afternoon, got twisted, frustrated and gave up. Then last night, I decided to give it one more try. With a lot of jaw-clenching and concentration I finally mastered them and I'm feeling pretty much like dpn hot-stuff. All I want is a pair of Leslie's Toast-for my too-long-arms, too-short-sleeves, freezing cold farmhouse. And I'm ignoring the fact that Ms. Urchin can whip up a pair in two hours. Maybe I should have started this in July.

Emma and I did a little classic pinecone turkey craft for the babycenter blogs. Then we got a little carried away and started making them with all natural materials. It was sticky, sappy business. Emma decided she needed hair extensions au naturel. I think we need to get out more.

And can I just say how much I love having these chickens and guineas? They are so much fun--my favorite part being able to go outside and call: "HEEEERE guinea, guinea, guineas!" or "Heeeere chick, chick, chickies!" And they come running--heads down, feathers spread just a little, waddling as fast as their little yellow legs will carry them, hoping I'll have a big scoop of grain to toss them.

I also love watching Emma, carrying her bright green bucket out to the coop with the whole entourage skittering behind her. I can only imagine how much I'll love these girls when they start giving us eggs. (I do mind however, that two of the girls have become quite fascinated with the road. I have to admit that I hold my breath every time I walk outside, checking the yellow line for "feathers". yikes.)

And last of all, just a few words to say how thankful I am for all of you. I can honestly say that I am touched daily by your emails full of kind words, encouragement, understanding, humor. Thanks for making this documenting of life so enjoyable and fulfilling.

Happy Thanksgiving.
xo.

starting fresh: my quest for creative, simple kid spaces

Dan and I are doing what we lovingly refer to as "trickling" over to the new house. I doubt we'll ever have a big moving day. But someday soon, we'll find that we're miraculously spending the night over at the new house. Last weekend, the girls took naps over there--Elizabeth in a pack n' play in her room (pack n' play naps are never good), and the girls together in the big double bed in the guest room/office. The guest room is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It boasts the best light--with windows on both sides--and the best bed--a big soft pillow top that we "inherited". I told Dan that if he notices an absence of his wife by his side come morning, to look for me in the guest room.

Each day, a few more things disappear from the apartment--a desk, a rug, a bookcase. And every time I take something away, I am reminded of how refreshing and peaceful it is to keep things simple. To only have what you really need and really want.

When I took away some things yesterday, I did a little rearrange of the spaces that were left bare--throwing a few pillows in a corner with a basket of books, bringing out a basket of schleichs and a wooden barn...and immediately the spaces are filled with activity as each child found their special place to play.

It reminds me that children don't need much to stir their creativity.

So I've been doing a little research, going to a few of my favorite, books and catalogs for inspiration. And I'm making a list of what things I want the girls to have in our new house. Which toys and materials and spaces are most important to us--a dollhouse, a basket of blocks, a can of colored pencils and sketch books, a corner of throw pillows and books, an old suitcase of dress up clothes...

I'm taking this move as a chance to start fresh, to simplify, to clean out and to be more intentional about what things find their way into our new home.

I know we won't find that perfect balance right away. It is a work in progress. My research is often interrupted...ahem, Elizabeth!  And I believe you need to live in a space for awhile to see how you live in a space. I'll let you know how it goes, maybe I'll even share my list as I try to organize my way into simpler, more creative, peaceful surroundings.

I love starting fresh.

do something creative

 
Lori and I often email back and forth about homeschooling our children. (Well actually, I email with all my homeschooling woes and she emails back encouragement and ideas.) A few weeks ago in one of my emails she told me that there are a few tasks her boys are required to do each day, on their own. She and I have similar learners--independent learners. Generally, if wasn't Emma's idea, she's not too keen on working on it. It can make for quite a few battles when I try to do some concentrated work with her.

But this is all a series of learning, trying new things, adjusting, evaluating and getting to know my children better. I think I change my approach to homeschooling every other week, but so far, this simple little idea, at the suggestion of Lori, is working.

On a piece of cardstock, which I "laminated" (with packing tape), Emma has a series of tasks she must do every day. She slides the list into her notebook, traces the right side edge, dates the page, and puts a sticker beside every task as she completes it. It allows her to do things on her own time, at her own pace and I believe she feels like she is controlling some of her learning. My help is required for many of the tasks, but it still has an air of independence to it.

Of course, the two favorite things on her list are "play outside" and "do something creative". She wakes up ready to tackle both of these before breakfast has made its way into her stomach. This morning, we shoved bagels and cream cheese aside to break out the ironing board, wool felt and floss. `A la The Creative Family at Home, she's stitching up a wool felt cube for Elizabeth's birthday next week. It's been a great little project for her to work on and chill out in a comfy chair on this gray and damp afternoon. And the whole process of creativity brings a sense of peace and calm to our home. Even Mary has a square that she's filling with giant pink stitches.

I'm thankful for this little taste of quiet, busy hands on a Friday morning.

Happy Weekend, everyone. Wishing you lots of greening grass, warm sun and peace.

my life::up close:: 2/30

take and replace

"Take and replace." It's my new mantra with Emma and Mary these days as they deal with Elizabeth, who now wants to come crashing in on whatever they are doing. Playing with schleich animals? She wants to sit in the middle and suck on the giraffe. Drawing at your desk? She wants to stand up beside you and pull the papers down to shred. So I've taught them "take and replace." Take away what she has that you want. Replace it with something else she'll like.

Maybe that's what Martha Stewart is doing with the new special issue of Martha Stewart Good Things: Kids ? Take away MSKids, replace with MS Good Things? This special issue is good--full of some old favorites that I recognize from my MSKids back issues and some new things, too. Having the issue in hand makes me realize how much I miss Martha Stewart Kids. It makes me want to do something.... like write a letter to Martha or Jodi Levine. Or start a new blog--a petition begging them to bring it back!! There are other good children's magazines out there. Wondertime has filled the Kids-void for me, but it isn't as craft-heavy, which is what I loved about MS Kids...

I sat with the issue last night and went through and made a list of a few of the projects I want to try first--the button bracelets, wrapped pencils, decorated bobby pins. So much good stuff.

I've been an embroidering fool this weekend. I got started on an old bird drawing of emma's that I found which has wing bars. I got it all filled in with the colors she suggested, but then got a little stuck. I'm not sure what direction I want to go from here--a pale grey to fill in the other parts, leave them "blank"? But it made me glad I did a practice run before jumping in with the other sketch. I also need to use less strands of floss in the smaller areas like the beak and dark crown. This is all a fun learning process for me.

**my pictures look so blurry in typepad this morning. they're much better in flickr today. hmm.**

And this morning, just because I wanted something to work on while I drank my cup of coffee, I did this drawing I found buried in my sewing basket. Now Mary is begging for me to do something of hers, too. I'm going to have to make a trip to IKEA this weekend for some cheap frames, if this keeps up. They want to draw everything on fabric. Thank goodness for cheap, but simple muslin cloth.

And speaking of birds, check out these amazing felted birds I stumbled upon last night by Lauren Alane. Aren't they amazing? These kill me. She just updated her shop and sold out, but may be updating again this week, according to her blog. I wish I'd found them earlier. They would have made sweet little valentine gifts for the girls.

It's freezing cold here today. Although I remember, when I lived in Wisconsin, thinking these temperatures being what we called "relief". It's in the twenties. I remember being happy to see double digits again, back in my Wisconsin winter days. Brrr.

stay warm.....

good things to know

1. Always check your barley

...before you shake a big pile of it into your hot bubbling stew that has been happily cooking along in the crockpot all day. Because that barley---that you didn't store in an airtight container--just might be laced with tiny bugs that you'll dump into the stew before noticing them wriggling and writhing around in the hot broth. And you'll hurriedly scoop out as many of the offensive bugs as you can, but when you take a big ladle full from the bottom, there'll still be a few stray deceased offenders floating in it.   

2. You can't register for classes at the local community college

....if you're on academic probation. If, last year, you accidentally signed up for pottery workshop as a credit class instead of an audit, and then you had a difficult pregnancy and didn't do one stitch of pottery, and your professor called you two days before the end of the semester wanting to go over your goals and see your work, and you had nothing, he'll give you an F. And if you have an F on your permanent record, you can't sign up for pottery again (as an audit) without dragging your three children over to Student Services to meet with an academic advisor who will give you permission to take another class. You're never too old for a little academic probation.

3. Don't give your daughter a sharpie

...and tell her to draw her best bird on the muslin cloth so that you can embroider it, without first giving her some direction. Because she'll draw a really good bird on the cloth, one that you really love, with wing bars, but she'll draw it so close to the edge of the cloth that you won't be able to fit it into the embroidery hoop. And the project that you wanted to sit down and work on right away that evening to unwind, will have to wait until you figure out a way to get more room around the edges of that very good drawing of a bird. But then she'll draw you two flowers to work on instead, and that will make you happy. And as you work, you'll realize you really know nothing about embroidery, but it's extremely relaxing and it just might be your new thing.

a place to lay your head

We're packing up the car this morning and heading to my mom's house for a little birthday visit. Emma hemmed and hawed yesterday afternoon trying to "think of a special project to make for NeeNee". I decided not to give her any direction, to see what she came up with. She finally settled on the idea of a special pillow, which I simplified to a decorated pillowcase. (mostly because it was after 4pm, all children were up from naps, and dinner was far from ready)

You had to know there would be some horsey theme to her gift--a "rider girl" walking her pony over to the mounting block. I love the way it turned out. A quick and easy project that only required a little ironing of a pillowcase and a sharpie marker.

I have a feeling Emma's gift will out shine the less-than-thrilling, practical one I got for her. Oh well. That's how it should be.

tooth fairy revisited

The tooth fairy paid a visit to our house this weekend--for the second time. She leaves teeny-tiny hand-written notes wrapped up in thread with a dollar tucked inside. I had to upload this picture in secret because I was worried Emma would start asking questions. With all the scrutiny I got about Santa this year, I was worried she'd be suspicious of my picture of the tooth fairy note.

Apparently I made some rookie mistakes this year at Christmas, like wrapping a gift from santa in paper I had used on other gifts. We really push how santa and his elves make all the presents so she really questioned how Santa knew how to make a "perfect box for a Breyer Horse, just like in the store". And thank goodness she hasn't noticed the Old Navy tag on the slipper socks she's been wearing around the house. Rookie mistake. Rookie mistake!

Emma's tooth was pretty loose to begin with, but playing a game of wild animals and biting down on your sister's shirt only to have it ripped out of your mouth, can sometimes move things along a little more quickly. There was lots of blood, which everyone found fascinating and to which her sister replied, "Do you have another tooth you want me to take out, Emma?"  What a girl.

This weekend I had a losing my mind, too much clutter, cleaning spree. I always start at one end of the house and work my way around--a tip my mother taught me. I made it about half way around and ran out of time...and now today, I'm out of motivation. But at least part of the house is looking very fine. I think I'll just pretend the other three rooms are clean, too.

And did you notice a familiar name in your issue of Wondertime Magazine this month, besides miss twostraightlines' wonderful craft? My three or four sentences on blogging made it in the "Readers Panel" response to how you keep in touch with far-flung friends and family. I meant every word....

And for those that have been asking, I'm starting to put some brainpower into Mini-Swap III, so be watching for more details. Very soon, I hope! Grace, I may take you up on your offer...

Happy Monday!
artwork provided by emma. Her bird drawings have changed recently. I love them and had to post here for posterity.

a box of treasures

I've been meaning to share one of my favorite Christmas gifts that we gave to Mary this year. I was starting to think that you'd all be bored with a holiday recap, but this one could really be given at any time of the year. And it was such a success, I had to share. (And if you haven't read Courtney's post about her holiday giving this year, it is worth the look.)

Before Christmas, I began asking my children what kinds of things they were hoping to receive under the tree. Time and time again, Mary said things like, "A new refrigerator for you. A drill for Daddy. A broom for the kitchen floor." No matter how much I probed, or shoved catalogs in her face, I couldn't get her to give me anything to work with, (though I did appreciate her simple, generous spirit). Finally, one day she settled on "a box of marbles". And that was the present idea that she stuck with for the rest of the holiday pre-season.

So I decided to take the idea and expand on it a bit. Of course, I couldn't think of anything worse or more dangerous to have rolling around the floors of my house. With a newborn scooting all over the place trying out anything from mud to dryer lint in her little mouth, it sounded like potential disaster. I figured I better review my choking baby techniques!

I decided to improvise and make a few additions to her request. Dan built her a large wood box with a lid that slides off easily. The handle is fashioned from one of the mushrooms I ordered and one of these days I'll add some detail to it. He made the box deep enough that nothing is in danger of spilling out and she can really rifle through it without risking anything flying out of the box.

I knew I wanted to fill the box with marbles and treasures--things to sort and count, arrange and examine. I opted for the flat-sided glass marbles in the florist section of the craft store because I knew they wouldn't roll away and get lost as easily as round marbles. I also knew how much she loved shells and since we sadly, don't have a local source for collecting, I settled on a $2 bag of them at the craft store.

I also knew I wanted little wooden objects, too, so I  filled it with all kinds of things from this online source. And of course, Amanda's post about her acorns added some inspiration to include those as well. I added wooden items like robin's eggs, buttons, tree shapes, mushrooms, bowls, ladybugs and egg carriers. I also got a small flat tray with compartments for her to sort some of her "treasures".

It turned out to be a really nice collection of things and one of the most inexpensive gifts under the Christmas tree. It is such a good feeling, seeing that it still gets attention every day. Mary and Emma sit over it and sort and share and 'shop' with the various treasures inside.

And a little girl who wanted to do something special for everyone else this Christmas, received something very special for herself.

december 19

"I can't hold back my tears any longer..."

That would be a quote from my five year old daughter as she lay prostrate on her bed, hugging the neck of her rocking horse that was pushed up alongside her.

"I just know I'm never going to get a real pony."
"Cricket(the pony) is the only thing I love in the whole world!"

Me: But don't you love mommy, and daddy, and mary and elizabeth, too?

"Yessss. I love you all, but Cricket is just the only thing that love. I can't hold back anymore."

I have to admit, my dear Emma feels deeply. It literally broke her heart last week when she had to put a big, doe-eyed stuffed fawn (a companion to this book) back on the shelf at Barnes and Noble.

"It just needs me. I can't bear to put it back on the shelf."

And it broke her heart even more this afternoon when she accidentally found it stashed away under my bed, waiting to be wrapped. But it was sweet. Her heart was broken for me, because...

"...we can't afford to get many presents. And now you won't have many special surprises for me."

(I hope you're reading all these quotes with lots of dramatic inflection and phrasing.)

She's just one big, soft, pulsing heart. She feels deeply and responds to everything deeply. Dan and I always remark that she's a lot like the classic nursery rhyme:

   

There was a little girl,
    Who had a little curl,
    In the middle of her forehead.
    And when she was good, she was very good.
    And when she was bad, she was horrid.

Well, at this point, I can't even remember what I came her to post about. Something about gingerbread houses or how absolutely edible this one is.
After I erected the structure of the gingerbread house today, I gave Emma full reign. I was going to try to make it something Martha-Stewart quality, but in the end decided to just let go and let her make her own fun. It was wonderful to watch.

Happy Wednesday.
Six days until Christmas....
Here's a song for you that we're singing along to today...