Monday, May 31, 2010

zoo day


We had a great time at the Maryland Zoo with Nana! Isn't the camel something? It was so funny to me. Just a few weeks ago they were both so tentative about riding a pony, but that seemed to cure them of all fears, because neither was the least bit worried about climbing on top of a camel that was easily twice the height of the big ponies they rode. Of course, the night before Levi had expressed concerns about being spit on....

Friday, May 28, 2010

two days' time

Isn't it amazing how very different two days can be from another? And yet how very similiar? Wednesday was just a fun day, with nice weather, school, and lots of "take my picture, Mama" moments.



And we went and met Daddy at his work, where we'd been invited to come celebrate our baby girl we're expecting. It was really, really nice (especially since our hostess had really stressed that we did not need a lot of baby-shower type gifts, and what would make Mama happiest would be a massive pile of fabric so I could sew for my babes - and everyone really responded to that!).



And that was that day. That night I snuck out to "hang out with another mama." Translate: drove to the airport to get my Moma, and then snuck her in the back door while I entered the frontway.

So the next morning, Micah came and crawled up into my arms for a cuddle, and then we got up for the day. I love this, sleepy, early-morning light, blurry picture I snapped of the two of us.

And the next two pictures? They both answer the question: What were you doing when you realized that you had a surprise visit from your Nana?



And this is where they spent the rest of that day: right by her side.

All that, in just two days. Time is an amazingly strange thing, isn't it?

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

jam

Ahem. Let's just say that the berries the boys mushed up for me was far more crushed up than the batch I did. Practically liquified would be an appropriate expression. Crushed red berries up to your elbows would be another.


Looks like a big deal, doesn't it? But it's not! Easy, easy, easy! And yes, I did dump that entire pink bowl of sugar into that pot.

I made 17 half-pint jars, with some to spare put into some tupperware (and all but one jar sealed well, which is pretty cool). The boys did such a great job mashing their berries into pretty much nothing, that the jars with their half in them look more like jelly than jam!
I should have gotten a picture of their red arms, but I wasn't bringing my camera anywhere near that, so you'll have to use your imagination!
Good, clean fun I tell you!
Head over to pickyourown.org and try it for yourself!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

finished!

It's finished! My first shirt like this! And I am quite certain there will be many more to come. Levi was gawking at himself all day, and pleased to tell anyone and everyone where he'd gotten that shirt!

Doing the button-holes by hand wasn't that bad. I know you're supposed to do the stitching and then slit the hole open, but it's at least twice as fast to use one of my favorite running stitches to outline the hole, slash it open, and then do the button-hole stitching. So that's what I did!
Well, there's more fabric waiting to be cut, and Narnia waiting to be read, so I better go! Have a great day, wherever you are!

Monday, May 24, 2010

play-with-your-camera day

So, I decided that it would be Play-With-Your-Camera Day today. I mean, after all, that's how you learn how to use all those extra settings well, right? Since we were going berry picking, I told my Canon that we'd have a black & white & red day (you can tell this crazy thing to be black & white & any color you can point at). You can also widen or lessen its range of red, but I thought I'd leave it right in the middle, since I am experimenting!


Micah, studying the ladybug that landed on his shirt...



Ladybugs just make people happy. Why is that?
We had a great time, and I squated and picked and squated and picked until my pregnant body would squat no more! Then I kneeled in the hay until my legs refused to do even that - it was just so hard to stop! The weather was lovely, and it's so early in the season that the berries haven't been picked over yet, and they're just shining out in great red patches everywhere you look!
We got plenty of berries for our first round of jam making this season, and I'm hoping to go back for more!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

work

Here's my three-year-old. Doing the picture-find in a Hidden Pictures magazine. Putting the stickers in the right spots. By himself. Sigh... If he was growing up any faster, I don't know what I'd do.

And I decided to try my first Oliver + S pattern. It's a Sketchbook Shirt, and I've finished everything but the buttons & their holes! I'm probably going to do the buttonholes by hand, as they don't make button presser-feet for my machine, and I'm not sure about all the settings. I fiddled with it for a while, but I'm not even sure that it was intended to do buttonholes, and I'm not willing to ruin the whole thing when I have perfectly good needle & thread!
I love the busy dog print. It's the same as the pinafore for their little sister, but it is really busy on the shirt! (Which I thought would be perfect for hiding any mistakes that I might make) I made one, to check the fit on both of them, instead of doing two at once!
I have to say, I loved this pattern, and that it was really well written and thought out! The boys are both really excited about their shirts, and are begging for the matching shorts to go with them. Well worth my time!

Friday, May 21, 2010

farm museum

We slipped back in time at Carrol County Farm Museum. The kids had fun seeing farm animals again (all though these were the kind you do not touch), but the real highlight of the museum is all their exhibits. We learned about broom-making (for this region anyway), quilting, weaving cloth, spinning, tin smithing, and old-fashioned animal veterinarians (Levi's favorite, as it was just like our studies of life science at home). And we saw tons of old farm equipment and wagons.




They have done a great job with the grounds as well. I loved the irises! I mean, isn't it gorgeous?

And this was my favorite part of the exhibits. This woman has her distaff loaded with wool, and she's spinning away on that tiny wheel. But the crazy, wonderful thing that drew me to the image was the fact that there's also a book on her lap. Her fingers are flying along, but she's reading! Love it!

The tin smithery was cool, cause there was actually a couple of smithies at work! They were really nice, and showed the boys a couple of their cool machines.



The boys loved the corn cobb checker board (wouldn't that be a neat history project when we "officially" get to that era?)!
We were all worn out, slap-silly! Especially me and Micah!
It was a good day.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

afternoon hike 1

Ahhh... That's just how I feel about hikes in perfect weather with my three favorite guys.












Oh, and I have to show you this! Levi nearly came unglued, shouting for me! He found this patch of jack-in-the-pulpits. We had already studied these, though I've never seen a real one before (and today we saw several)! They're carnivorous, which is really something, isn't it?
















I have a few more for tomorrow, see you then.