Little & Big

mardi gras!

today at school

here's little brother:

and big brother:

Look at those boys dance!  Yee-ha!

birthday replay

This was one of the best birthdays.  Which I wouldn't have expected, what with being two weeks out from David's surgery, having survived two rounds of illness in the house, AND behind two weeks at work.  At the last minute (and the urging of my friends who own the company I work for), I took the entire day off.    I  didn't do anything extraordinary.  But I did do exactly what I wanted.  I left home late.  I shopped the sale racks.  I had a massage.  And I met girlfriends for dinner, had my favorite hamburger in the world (and fries!), and talked and talked.  And laughed.  And finished the night with brownies.  Simple.  Wonderful.  And just what I needed. 

Above are the cupcakes we had on Sunday to celebrate with the boys.  Vanilla chocolate chip with butter cream icing and Roiboos tea.  I pulled out the Danish china.  Just right.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love from our house to yours!

secret heart totes

In this week's "At Home with Martin & Sylvia" (Sparkle Stories!), the brother and sister make secret heart totes, and then secretly leave them on their friends' and neighbors' front doors.

Well, we've had a lot of dear friends taking care of us these last weeks, and so we thanked just a few of them with secret gifts....

But here's to all of you!  Friends and family, near and far, remember you are truly deeply and delightfully...

an afternoon for valentines

a treat

There's a new cupcake shop in town.  It was time to try it.  I took the boys after school on Friday.  As a treat.

And right before they were all gobbled up, I grabbed the phone to capture this last beautiful little (gluten free!) cupcake.

They were all gone in about 2 minutes.  Or less.  But it was seriously yummy. 

And a wonderful reminder: treats are good.

road side duck art

I took a walk by myself today.  It had been weeks since I had had a walk, or had any substantial time by myself.  And although I had about 374 things I considered urgently-important-and-really-shouldn't-wait-another-moment, I decided to walk.  For my sanity.  Because I was deeply deeply tired and crabby and overwhelmed.

The past two weeks have been nothing short of hellish.  One round of fever-flu that caught everyone, one round of stomach flu that caught almost everyone, and major surgery for the Daddy in the middle, with a slow, long recuperation ahead.  I've been fighting the ever-circling thought "I can't manage any more."

And so I went on a walk.  I was still crabby, I was still tired, I was still totally overwhelmed.  But I walked anyway.  Because it was the only idea I had for giving myself some rejuvenation.

And at the midway point in my walk, I found this.

What is it?   A stool, some stones, a dried branch, a red cap and a rubber ducky.    I have no idea who created this path-side found art project.  Or why. 

But it woke me up to the world around me.  The enormous hawk circling over head.  The tiny airborne milk pod seeds that were dancing in the breeze above the field.  The cold on my neck.  The lake.  It was like I finally arrived on my walk -- I was present.   For a moment anyway. 

I circled back and took a picture.  To remember to say thanks to the unknown artist whose rubber-ducky art changed my day.

the inventor at work

We played "home school" today -- he was home "sick" (or really "recovering").  I gave him a challenge -- learn 3 things about electricity and magnets, and then create something through which you can teach me what you've learned. 

And he did.  With hours of quiet study and focus.

Using the book How Things Work, and a magnet and electricity kit he got for Christmas, he created an example of a mechanism that's used in burglar alarms.

It was very very cool. 

finally! the neighborhood pond was ready.

And the ice was perfect.

                                                        (tired out.)

favorite wintertime things

(vintage box we picked up from the curb on Plum Island last summer)