Because this is probably one of the last times I'll get to use this tag...[sniff].

Nora: "Mommy, Mommy, say it again! Say what you said yestihday ( Read more... )

With Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial beginning of summer, Nora and I worked on our list of things to do this summer this past weekend -- using the Summer Family Fun Planning template from 247momsAmong Nora's requests for the summer: "wear my new Dora swimsuit to the beach," "go strawberry picking," "go to the farmhouse" (my in-laws), " ( Read more... )

(Originally wrote this post on May 24, but didn't get it posted. Accomplished this weekend: seasonal clothes sorting, garage cleaning, planting.)

This month has been crazy for my family, both in terms of schedule and of weather. Mostly a good crazy, but nevertheless.

Weather: within the same month, we have had nights with snow flurries in the air ( Read more... )

I forgot to include in yesterday's roundup of our seasonal activities over the last month that we also went to the spring open house of one of the greenhouse/florist businesses in our city. They had chicks, ducklings, bunnies, a calf and baby goats to be petted. They also had an activity where kids got to plant a seedling in a little starter pot ( Read more... )

It is now April, and spring has sprung! Much earlier than it normally does here in Minnesota: there is actually no snow left on the ground -- and it didn't snow on Easter!! (Trust me, this is unusual.) It's actually been warm enough to get outside some, and some of my tulips are starting to bloom. (So far, just the red ones.) Birds are singing -- I ( Read more... )

What with the official commencement of spring this weekend, we got out some of our seasonal books -- like The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, Bunny My Honey by Anita Jeram, and The Little Lamb by Judy Dunn and Phoebe Dunn. They're tales of cute animals with, in the case of The Little Lamb, lovely photographs of actual lambs and sheep and ( Read more... )

At the end of this week, according to the calendar, spring will officially have sprung. And, miraculously here in Minnesota in March, we are actually experiencing some springlike weather. Early in the week last week, we still had mammoth snowdrifts everywhere. (Really; they have been causing parking issues because there is so much snow in parking ( Read more... )

One of the books Nora and I currently have checked out of the library is Goldilicious by Victoria Kanin. It’s a sequel to Pinkalicious and Purplicious and features a unicorn with a sparkly golden horn, who spends time pirouetting in a pink tutu, having a tea party, and wearing a mermaid costume. It’s a huge hit: this author really knows her ( Read more... )

As I mentioned in yesterday’s food and menus post, we had a special Valentine’s Day dinner this month -- part of my ongoing effort to do “something seasonal” (which is another area that’s been slacking around here; I just don’t seem to accomplish much in the first two months of the year).

Here is a photo of our Valentine’s table:


( Read more... )

Nora: "I don't want to go to [her babysitter's]."
Mommy: "You have to go to [S's], because Mommy and Daddy have to go to work. Why do you think Mommy and Daddy have to work?"
Nora: "I'm not thinking it. I'm mad."
Mommy: "Well, you might be a little less mad if you thought about it. Mommy and Daddy have to work to get money to pay for things, ( Read more... )