Weekending

This weekend we had a moment of realization: something we'd gotten used to thinking the kids were too small to do was actually juuuuuuuuust right for them now! Mini golf for the win! Also, this:

Hoping your weekend has a few winning ah-ha moments, too! Happy weekending!

Henry's Poem

.On this rainy morning, while splashing through large puddles in the driveway on our way to school, Henry composed his very first rhyming poem, all on his own.

Rainy chickens,

Rainy bees.

Rainy grasses,

Rainy trees!

~Henry Warden Ware, 5 years old

I think it deserves a few finger snaps, beatnik-style, don't you? 

I'm glad I'm not the only one in our family who is inspired by rainy days.

The Sewing Fairy

If you visit me on Instagram or pay attention to the little photos on the right sidebar of this blog, you probably noticed the little felt girl Audrey laid out last weekend on the floor of my office.

She hand-stitched the pieces together (most of them), and left them waiting for them to magically turn into a doll at some point while she was away at school.

Well, the Sewing Fairy was feeling generous this morning and paid her project a little visit...

...and I kinda love how this artsy creation ended up turning out. I may be hoping a little tiny bit that she comes home and hates it so I can have it. Is that wrong of me?

No, no, that's not true. I hope she loves it. She really should- she's got quite an eye for textile art.

My talented little budding artist!

Love it.

Candle Light

Our power went out at some point last night, and we woke up to a weirdly-silent, slightly stuffy and very dark house this morning. We dressed by candle light, made breakfast and ate it using our gas cook top and more candles, and even brushed teeth and hair using only that warm flickering light.

On the way to school in the growing rosiness of sunrise, Audrey said, "I liked it when the power was out and we were surrounded by candles. It made all the things we had to do feel really special!"

Nothing like the lack of something we all take for granted to shed some new light (haha, ahem) on how much magic there still is in our hum-drum daily rhythm!

Wishing everyone a little magic in the middle of the week!

More Time in Shorts

It has swung back into warm and muggy end-of-summer weather around these parts lately. It's a total bummer for those of us who jumped feet-first into everything Autumn with that first cold front, but there are also those among us who are super happy about a little more time in shorts and bare feet with drinks on ice.

I'm still looking forward to the crisp mornings and afternoons with windows open that'll come with the next cold front, but with the kiddos outside soaking up that summer-like sunshine this Mama has a little spare time for some secret birthday party planning, so I'll quit my complaining!

At least it's not that bad in the shade...

Jammin' with Gramps

My kids don't get their interest in and talent for musical instruments from me (I'm a choir kid through and through), but there are quite a few musicians in the family and boy do they revel in their attentions!

I had completely forgotten about this Von Trap Family-esque jam session from the other day until I was dumping my camera memory card....... this was quite a session, y'all.....

...and Gramps has the patience of a saint. My kids need proper lessons and lots of practice, but they sure did have fun jamming with Gramps! Never mind that they were off key, out of time, and were prone to bouts of stop-playing-and-dance-the-jig. We want that love of music to grow!

We're on the right track.

Feeding the Bees

We've been going through about five pounds of sugar per week feeding our girls in preparation for winter, and now that we've had a couple days of rain and a decent drop in temperatures, it feels even more important that we don't drop the ball on this.

During our last hive inspection, I put some Swiffer-like cleaning cloths in the hives to trap any hive beetles (and figure out if they're at manageable levels or if any of the hives are actually having a problem with them), and I also figured out they all needed a pollen substitute.

Today, we slipped out as grey rain clouds rolled in to refill feeders, pull the fuzzy cleaning cloths out, and put the pollen patties in. There was a lot of stuff to carry out to the bee yard, so I enlisted the help of my ever-present mini-beekeepers, and they did a great job helping!

I'm happy to report that after a week with those Swiffer-esque pads in all three hives, not a single hive beetle was trapped, which tells me we do not have a SHB population to worry about as the weather changes.

I'm also happy to report that both of my little beekeepers remembered all the working-the-hive rules without being reminded, and they put all their own bee gear away when we were done... which for this mama was the best part of the outing today.

Watching them learn this process without fear, and with such respect for these mighty little creatures makes my heart swell to bursting.

Best part of the day.