new year's morning

We celebrated new year's morning with some papa-made blini with jam. Yum!

family

I just love this little family of mine.

Where have you been, little bear?

The blackberry bushes up the street are a required daily stop for my kids. Sometimes my son needs to check several times a day to "just see" if there are any more ripe ones. I am so glad they can experience sunwarmed, fresh-from-the-vine blackberries. If only it weren't for the thorns, they would certainly pick every last berry on the bush.

May Day

I know, I know...it's almost June and I'm just now posting pictures of the lovely little May Day celebration we had with our Waldorf homeschool group. It truly was a perfect May afternoon. I did make the little gingham apron dress Katya's wearing last year from this pattern. Need to make her another one as this one's getting short. I'm actually looking forward to summer (I don't usually) and I hope to post some more sewing projects I've been working on tomorrow (but that's not a promise!).

Seven

A few weeks ago, Jan celebrated his seventh birthday with three separate celebrations:

I cannot believe that I've enjoyed seven years with this little elf. I remember so clearly when I first saw my tiny baby boy. He had a sparkle in his eyes that I will always see in him. I am forever trying to keep up with him. Now, more than ever, I appreciate his morning snuggles where he manages to roll up his long body so it fits in my lap. We both need that morning ritual as his days take him on adventures with friends far away from me. I love remembering for just a few moments each day that he was once my littlest goose and a tiny part of him will always be needing a squeeze from his mama.

Gone

Jan lost his first tooth today! I was so excited for him and then so sad when he told me he swallowed it with a bite of bread. I just wanted spend some time examining this teeny tiny tooth. Oh well, there will be others....to think that I've been looking at this little tooth since he was just a wee baby. I did not even have the chance to make him a cute toothfairy pillow (locked out of my sewing room...long story), but I'm sure he won't mind a bit.

And just like that...

She turns four! Somehow this birthday hit me harder than most. She just woke up acting more grown up. As a stay-at-home mom, I've tried so hard to savor the good stuff, but I find it so difficult to remember how fast it really goes while bogged down in the ridiculous household challenges of the moment. I'm going through a period of extreme baby lust and actively contemplating a third baby especially after reading this post. Becoming a mother has certainly been in so many ways the beginning of me. I'm so lucky to be participating in this journey with my children.

And I even came up with a nifty party favor idea. I've always struggled with party favors as they are generally crappy little toys that break immediately and go directly to a landfill (in my house anyway), so I decided to do cds of Katya's favorite songs. I know this is not a new idea (and is, in fact, an infringement of copyright. Please don't turn me in!), but at least I hope they will be enjoyed by recipients for a while before being tossed into the trash. I realized Friday night that I had no cd cases, so I sewed up these little interfaced fabric envelopes from my enormous pile of scraps.

Summer wonders

We were lucky enough to see a newly transformed frog at a friend's house the other day. Growing up we used to have hundreds of frogs (or toads?) in our own backyard, but now they're somewhat hard to come by due to environmental changes. The kids were entertained by this little guy for more than an hour.

Last week of school and sick

Today was Jan's last day of kindergarten and, although it's been a difficult year, I was feeling so sad all week. But today at pick up, perhaps because I had a sick child napping in the car, I just felt relief. We've decided to homeschool next year and see how it goes. I think the anticipation of not having school everyday has been much worse than the reality. I'm looking forward to a great summer and lots of exciting advertures with my little man next year. I'm glad I'll get a chance to try and remember what it's like to be six. A couple of fond kindergarten memories.....

Ice cream with best friend.

Being an Egyptian at multicultural week

Poor Katya's been sick all week, which is always makes you feel so helpless as a parent and (on a entirely selfish note) makes it very hard to get any sewing done. Somehow, however, I managed to make a couple of things while she slept.

A dress up tutu always makes one feel better when drinking medicine, along with a favorite giraffe. I'd like to put some of these in my etsy shop (coming soon).

A simple summer dress made from an IKEA duvet cover. It's such a cute, comfortable style. I'd also like to put some of these in my shop.