Wrapping up school

A kid and craft post all in one today because Friday was Rainforest Animal Project Day at Z's school. And Z's animal was the Spectacled Owl. So I designed (my very first design!) a felt owl to sew and we made a diorama for it which Z did almost all the work on (I help with the tougher sewing on the owl and sawing the branch and writing the bigger words onto the leaf cutouts so they would fit, but Z did everything else entirely)

First is the Owl hand puppet



And then here is the diorama in the classroom. The Owl was in its diorama rarely because everyone wanted to fly him around the room. Hee!



All that is left of school is game day (today), tomorrow's promotion ceremony and the last day of school at the beach on Friday. And then kindergarten is over. *sigh*

Still nothing really to post about.

But here's a pic of B! (My current pics of Z involve most of his classmates and they may not like me posting them here)

In Z news though, we have signed him up for 2 classes this summer, including swim lessons for two weeks in August with his good friend and tennis lessons starting next week (he seems to enjoy it whenever he gets a chance to play). I'm trying to keep the summer pretty low key. Lots of outdoor time, not a whole lot of scheduled activities but regular ones like pool on Monday, park on Tuesday, playdate on Wednesday, etc etc., that sort of thing.

And I'm excited to see what school next year brings. He will likely be going to a male teacher who is new to the school (but not to teaching) and is apparently very musical and also very interested in outdoor education, both things I am interested in more then the classroom based, recorded music based learning he has had this year. Fingers crossed on this one for sure! I don't mean to be mean about it (altough that kind of sounded it) but I really think that children should be making the music they sing, not singing along to recordings.

Happy Father's Day

a day late, but we were off celebrating yesterday. Brunch out, then a little Sporting Goods store window shopping and then a full afternoon at the beach running in the shallow parts and digging in the sand and exploring for rocks, shells and beach glass. But I have been bad about bringing the camera with me lately, so I have no photographic evidence of this.

My favorite parts though?

-B saying 'mere ocean. 'mere

-Z running in the surf with DH trying to find cool rocks. And of course each one was cooler then the one before it. I never thought he cuold sustain that for hours, but then again, I guess I forgot to account for the fact that he is 6!

-DH finally getting his dual line delta stunt kite up in the air. He has been trying for ages to do it and had so little luck that it was pretty exciting that he finally did it.

Kid pics

Because sometimes family wants to see them and can't figure out Flickr (seriously, just sign up with your Yahoo ID, let me know, and then I can make you a friend and then you can see all my Flickr pictures. Just saying.)


Retrieving a toy car from in the flower bed


Playing with aforementioned car


Climbing on the table to get hold of the good art pencils. (And no that is not a real Chagall on the piano LOL)

All by himself

Someone loves playing Lincoln Logs with his brother. He's getting pretty good at it too!

Bedding and Mending

First the new beds for Z and B



The side rails for the top bunk make the perfect toddler bed rails. Funny how much more comfortable the mattress is when it is on a decent bed.



And then Z's newest project - counted cross stitch. This all got started when he saw me sitting and mending a shirt of his and he wanted to get in on the sewing game. So he ran and got his sewing basket, but he didn't have any projects in progress.



He's been wanting to do embroidery but getting frustrated with me because I won't let him start sewing on whatever he picks up (washcloths, baby clothes, etc) So I got him started on a ladybug start-to-embroider kit that I bought a few months ago knowing that he would be asking soon to start. He took to it quickly and with much aptitude. He has always really enjoyed sewing, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but the kit says it is for ages 8 and up. I know an Aunt of his who will be pleased to share this hobby!

Garden Blog?

Apparently that is what this is morphing into. There really hasn't been much knitting the last few months, just sewing and gardening. Unless you count the sock I picked up and did a 20 row repeat on last Thursday for knit night. At the rate I'm going with it, I bet it will be ready for next winter. Maybe. Which reminds me, I actually made it to a knit night!!! Thanks hon!

In the meantime, look what popped up in the garden this morning - zucchini flowers!



And the tomato plant has been working steadily on these:



And last, but not least, as my children (and their friend) will attest, when you find a train climber at the park, crawl under it and find the best place in the whole park to play.



On the agenda today? New beds for the boys! We bought them over the weekend and they are slated to be delivered this afternoon. Woohoo!

Love Garden

I can't believe how much I am enjoying gardening this year. I loved working in the compost, and giving the blank canvas of soil water, I loved planting seeds inside, I loved buying seedlings, I loved watching everything find a new home and planting them in and I am really loving watching it all explode from the ground. Both the vegetables in the back bed and the roses and flowers in the front. And the pots surrounding the playhouse which I am hoping will be covered in morning glories and surrounded by sunflowers and calendula and zucchini and lamb's ear and Hopi red dye amaranth and sage and... Here is B next to the lamb's ear and half an empty planter which will not be empty for long (pole beans? more morning glories?)

I bought a giant half wine barrel and I am planning to plant something climbing (maybe fuschia?) and then some trumpet vine in the planter at the back near the Mexican Marigold.

And here is Z with scissors. He is a bit outdoors-ed out since he has had school every day for the last two school weeks at one park or another while the older grades are participating in STAR Testing. But we had a playdate this afternoon and he had a great time painting and putting on an "art show" with his friend (and little brother although that part wasn't planned)

Man in the Moon

And here he is. The Man in the Moon mobile that I made for Z's room. I ran out of stuffing, so it took awhile before I could finish it, but here he is in his recently hung glory! He is made from wool roving and the stars and moon are made from wool felt. B keeps pointing to him and saying "cool!" so I think he rates. LOL

In other news, we had dinner from the garden last night with a green salad and pasta with chard. So cool! (to borrow a phrase from my 2yo)



The garden is fairly well bursting from the ground. I even bought more planters yesterday because we are running out of room at a crazy rate. I forgot tomato cages, so I need to get back there today because the tomato plants are getting huge. The broccoli is huge too and I had to spray a garlic oil/clove oil combo on it yesterday because they had mealybugs. Ugh. The bugs are kind of embarrassing. The seamy underbelly of gardening I suppose. I took a picture, but I think I'll just keep it to myself. Trust me on that one. ::shudder::

Blur in Yellow and Blue

Here is the blur in a rare still moment.

And then I asked him to please hold still. This is the picture after that.

Star of the Week

This week Z was Star of the Week in his class at school, so we made up a poster of photos and packed up 5 of his favorite things to share and we went to celebrate him. And wow! was he amazing! He read, played chords on his guitar, showed off his trains, talked about his photos and shared his paper airplanes book. He then got to help me (and DH for a time) lead a center on making paper airplanes. He was interesting and excited to share and just seemed to blossom right there in front of all his friends. And the paper airplane center was fantastically popular. Kids kept "finishing" their other centers early to return to ours. So instead of 5 kids around the table we always had at least 10 and often more!



He had a really good time and, for once, when he was asked how was school today, he answered "Fun!" instead of "booooooring..." But they are off to a fantastic storytelling festival on a field trip today, so I expect we'll be back to boring by pickup time! LOL

Here we go round the Maypole high

Let Colored ribbons fly!

This is what the Nature Table looked like this morning to greet the day.

And even the little nature table in Z's room got some fresh flowers to celebrate.

And this is the chard we harvested from our garden and ate. Yum!

Woohoo! Look what I can do!

Now for some of you this is all in a day's work, but I muddled my way through DH's Photoshop just enough to create a semblance of a banner. DH has been promising to get to it for 4 months. Hee!

Also, on a completely unrelated "Look what I can do" note. There's been a lot of garden progress from the last time I posted. There's been a lot since I took this picture a week ago! We've harvested and eaten some of the chard. Yum! You can check back on March 30 for a before and after.

Fava Beans and Trucks

Z thinks they go together well. Can't figure it myself, but he's more "out of the box" LOL. BTW, clearly the secret to getting kids to eat fava beans is to help shell them. A good time was had by all and then they were eaten - by all! A rare occurrance around here at Chez Air-etarian.

And here is B showing off his tongue rolling technique and new Crocs. Disney Crocs! The kids really scored because they were out of their sizes in regular Crocs. But the yellow and blue is just sooo cute. (Z got red and black)

Quiet

Things have been quiet around here lately. I've been in a pensive mood and, adding to that, my grandmother passed away night before last, not unexpectedly, but more quickly then we figured on. And, sadly, she lived in Florida, all the way on the other side of the country and so it looks like I won't be able to go to her funeral. The combination of small children and expensive last-minute travel are conspiring to keep me here. And so I have been doing my best to remember her with affection, but honestly.

My grandmother and I had difficulties when I was a child. She was not overly fond of my mother and also was horrified at my weight (I was a heavy child. Not record-breaking or anything, but plus-sized children -or anyone really- were a horror to her) She often said mean and hurtful things to me about it or just in general. BUT, she also was always on hand for the important events, graduations, confirmation, weddings, funerals. One of my best summers was one where she took my cousin and I across the country on an extended car vacation to amusement parks and to family (and every Holidome in our path!) I remember her horror when I put ketchup on my poached eggs. That trip was also my first exposure to both Dogpatch U.S.A (now defunct) and biscuits and gravy (a love I may never outgrow)

When I was an adult, she came to a better relationship with my mother before my mom died and later also with me. I knitted her a shawl a couple of years ago to have with her in the nursing home after her stroke. She made sure Z (and then Z&B later) got a Hess Gasoline truck every year.

I loved hearing her tell about her time in the military, hopping transport planes when she and her friend could, to see places, and her stories about my grandfather who I don't remember at all, and about her working hard as a waitress to help ends meet when a NYC cop's salary wasn't enough to raise 6 kids on. Getting glimpses into her life as a mother and a young woman, which, in retrospect were far too infrequent. Remembering her calling herself Kate when she was pointing out something she missed or did wrong. And packages every Christmas from Mrs CLaws. I always wondered why she misspelled it. Until I got it.

I regret that she never met B and only knew Z from a few visits. I am glad that I made sure to send an email thank you with photos from this year's Hess truck arrival so she could see the joy the boys had in her gift. I'm glad I made sure to talk to her on her birthday this year even though talking on the phone is so difficult for me. It was good to hear her voice and she seemed very glad to hear mine.

So last night, in honor of my grandmother, I toasted her with a glass of cream sherry and memories of her strength and love. Goodbye Grandma. You were a tough lady and, although you weren't overt about it, a loving one as well. I'll miss you.

Too much Calvin and Hobbes

"Eww! Get rid of Slimy Moms! Ez & Buzz's secrit Club. Okay?"

Mini Golf

When Z had his tooth extraction a few weeks ago, he was given a gift certificate for mini-golf. Since Daddy has been working so hard lately we decided to head out just the 3 of us and play a round of mini golf. Z really had a fantastic time and so did B even though he had no concept at all of what the whole thing was about. Hysterical really, because every time I hit a ball towards the hole he would run and get it and bring it back to me. Zen and the art of mini-golf I suppose...



Afterwards, DH surprised us by meeting us there and took Ez in the L'il Indy cars (it was too dark for a photo by this time) and then off for Ben and Jerry's because they have sorbet for the dairy free among us. An enormously good time was had by all!

Meet Marigold

The doll I made for the Earth Day silent auction fundraiser at Z's school. She came out perfectly. The bad news. The boys and I have fallen in love with her. I guess I will just have to make another girl doll for around here. Someone for Pokey to hang out with I guess.

Matzah? Here have mine...

And here is my favorite food made from matzah (I think) Fasta-than-Pasta Matzoh Farfel Bake (we call it Matzah Pasta around here for the sake of brevity)

Z likes it.

Missing my mojo + Passover

Still life with Matzo (and some toddler detritus)

Ah Passover. Starting whenever DH can help take the kids off my hands on Sunday, I will be working like a madwoman to prepare our house for Passover. I admit that we aren't all that good about kashrut during the rest of the year. We eat out and even occasionally bring food in (although we don't eat it on our regular dishes), but we are extra strict during Passover. We (OK I) clean the house and especially the kitchen top to bottom, change out all the dishes, pots, flatware, appliances to our Passover versions (stored in boxes in the garage throughout the year) But this year I am so unprepared. Sure, I have my shopping done (all but produce which is another Sunday outing to the Farmer's market) but I have done no cleaning, I've not really made menus, (although I have some from years past that I will rely heavily on) I've not even taken the boxes out of storage yet. So I guess I'm going to be stuck doing it all on Sunday/Monday day before 1st seder Monday night. It just feels pointless to start the cleaning when I can't completely enforce the no eating in the rest of the house rule because the toddler who shall remain nameless has ways... if you know what I mean. So best to remove all offending food from the house at once rather then having to repeat the work. So I'm working on making sure that laundry and ironing and other things that are not holiday cleaning related get done.

Which brings me back to my mojo. I don't know if it is that I am tired and burned out from lack of me time or just the weight of impending work holding me down, or my concerns about Z and school (which I may or may not mention another time), but I am having the most difficult time accomplishing any creative work at all. I haven't even made progress on my sock that is remaining. I forced myself through 10 rows of a 20 row repeat on the lace pattern the other day and there was no pleasure in it. When I realized it was a chore I put it away. No sense in working on an enjoyable diversion that I'm not enjoying.

I really am feeling the call of my sewing machine and also hand sewing, but I'm overwhelmed by the task. I don't have much confidence in my skills, although I know the right way most times, I don't have the skills in my hands to accomplish what I want to do. I have a bit of embroidery that I finished a while ago (A challah cover) that I haven't backed because I am stumped on how to proceed. I feel paralyzed by it. I even bought a beautiful batik to back it with, but I can't figure out how I want to attach it. Should I do a light batting? Use a binding? Fringe? Some other edging? Here's a picture of the work with the backing fabric to the side:

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any.

I have been out in the garden trying to make things grow and worked hard to get a vegetable garden going this past Sunday. I love watching it grow, but I have no real idea what I'm diong and I fear I'm taking out my inexperience on poor defenseless plants. LOL