Three cheers

 Three cheers for today: 

1) A successful intro to 4-H event at our home. I love when the fields are full. 

2) My 'helper' and answered prayers whenever he doesn't run over something important. 

3) Her very focused mothering (above) and homebuilding (below).  This is exactly how I played when I was small. 

The small things bring so much joy.

Slow days

It seems that we have been so fast pace lately, nice turn for this afternoon to be a slow afternoon. 10/10. 

May in Maine Ocean Swim

 It's May in Maine and Adrian asserts the girls are crazy. 

Took Audra seconds before she was riding the waves. Can you see her?

Adrian's wetsuit is actually long sleeved and long pants.  He's not going in, even with a wetsuit.

These girls are living their best life.

"Wash and water and cook"

 The girls have been into their old fashioned ways lately!  Lots of mama mades! And I absolutely love it! Only next time I hope Anna-Kate decides to forage for a meal that it's not my newly sprouted green beans.  

Blooms

The daisies are in bloom and the first thing Anna-Kate wanted to do is pick one for Ms. Allison, our favorite children's librarian.  100% her idea. A trip to the library to deliver was in order!  

Mama Made and Coordinating x3!

 

The only thing Adrian wears that's homemade now for the most part is pajamas. I decided to make him some new pajama pants and use coordinating fabric for them to all match.  The girls may just wear theirs as dresses, or pajamas.  I just love sewing for them, thankful they will still wear things I make.

Best classroom ever

 

Favorites

Line dried

Flowers outside 

Become flowers inside

View from the reading nook has blooms. (Horse chestnut love)

Girls wearing mama made dresses

 

And finding the perfect place to draw for free time afternoons.

These are a few of my favorite things. 

The Flea Market

 

Rainy morning turned gorgeous at the flea market.

Went to spend this little one's birthday money.  Only the man gave her the medal and the bird she was hoping for. And the next one thought she was so cute that he gave her both matryoshka sets for $1. 

This one got a whole tackle box with contents for $5. 

And this one spent $1 on a couple of matchbox cars for his diorama in his room.

All the binoculars were $5 and I was going to get us some.  As I was testing to see how well they worked (they worked great!), I noticed they smelled like smoke. Blah.  Oh well. You can at least see Anna-Kate's little bird in the bottom left. 

It was a good day to treasure hunt!

May 20th

 

May 20th, what would have been my mom's 71st.  Audra made the cake. Chocolate on chocolate. I was trying to go easy and make it from the box, but double the oil was dumped.  Nothing to do but add homemade cake batter to a boxed cake batter.  Two cakes now.  One is headed for the freezer.

Audra's wearing a nod to my dad, a Cornell shirt. I just happened to match with the Cornell sweatshirt my dad gave me in high school. It's now a garden sweatshirt. Clearly dirty. It is what it is.

Alas, I digress.  

Before cake, I like to make time for them to ask questions. "What did your mom do on her birthday?' "Eat chocolate. Sometimes go out to dinner with my dad, grandparents babysat." "What would your mom do with her birthday money?' "Buy gifts for other people." "Do you miss your mom?" "Definitely, but I carry her with me everyday in my heart. And a piece of her lives on in her grandkids."