On Vacation

We've had a terrific trip so far. I survived the plane rides with two kids by myself, which felt like an accomplishement. We had a terrific weekend with my Dad before he had to go back to work, and for all of my parents' friends who read this blog, they made a BIG purchase this weekend - an RV! It was a great deal and I think that means they might come stay with us more often! Here's to hoping anyway. (Technically it isn't official yet. My mom wanted me to put in a disclaimer.)

The only bummers of the trip are that my mom was sick yesterday (though she is feeling better today) and Remick decided to resort to his infant sleeping schedule for the first few days we were here, which totally kicked my ass! But he did a bit better last night, so hopefully he'll do okay tonight. We fly back tomorrow and won't get in until like 11 or something. That should be lots of fun with two kids! But I'm thankful to get to see my family for as long as possible, so I'll take it...

Anyway, a few more shots from this weekend, and I'll post a few more when I get around to downloading them...

This guy is CONSTANTLY grazing on the floor. He desperately wants to eat ALL. THE. TIME!

Makili loves having a full-time playmate (or multiple as the case was this weekend!)
Learning to jump rope with the neighbors...

Got to spend a bit of time on a beautiful day with one of my oldest friends, Laurie and her boyfriend Jeff. Her mom is dying from liver cancer, which deeply saddens me and stirs up countless memories from my childhood. Kathy is such an special person, so full of joy and so quick to laugh. She taught me to love the woods, and the outdoors (alongside my parents of course.) She loves birds and tea and all things English. Sharing a part of her life was like peeking into a chest of your grandmother's jewelry - so many unique and beautiful and deeply personal things. I treasure the time that I spent with her as a child and I am sad for my friend and her family as they watch their mom slip away.

Grammy and Opa's House

We're off!

We head out tomorrow for a visit to the Burgh! I'm excited to see my Mom and Dad, and Pittsburgh can be pretty great in spring. And friends. How fun. I'm only a little worried about the flight with two babes by myself, but I figure, what's the worst that can happen?

I found Makili asleep in his bed like this this week. So cute.

Before My Camera Died

Before my camera died yesterday, I took SO many pictures of this pile of boys rolling around together at the Masterson's awesome house. Dreamy. And so fun to watch these boys play.

When Spring Comes Early

When spring comes early (very early in fact!),

we can try to climb trees that are out of our league.We can go for LOTS of walks.
We can touch EVERYTHING!
And have fun with a big pile of logs.
We can discover dirt and start watching things grow!

A new Day

On Monday afternoon, after relentless rain and being stuck inside, we got in the car and headed up to Ann and Larry's house. Raph didn't have work on Tuesday, so we decided we'd spend the night up there and get things done. Halfway there, Makili puked ALL. OVER. HIMSELF. in the car. We could have turned around right then, but I tried rationalizing - "maybe he got carsick," etc. We got there. He puked more. Then Raph started puking and didn't get off the couch for 36 hours. Remick joined in the action in the middle of the night too. While I did manage to get some things done, I felt pretty bad for bring Pukefest 2010 to Ann's house.

Today, things started out with a HUGE pile of Remick poop, which not only managed to cover his entire back, but somehow got all over my back too?!?! Gross. All over the chair (thank god for slip covers). Yuck. BUT then the tide changed. I went outside to take out the trash and a whole flock of geese honked at me in V formation over my head headed NORTH! That made me smile. I went to gardening class while Larry watched my kids (JOY) and came home to find no screaming! I went for a 3 mile run and when I got home, I found 16 garlic had come up and THIS:

And things are looking up!

Bath time

While our house is nearly in the bathtub (that is our yard underwater out there)my boys are loving takin baths together. So cute.

My Greatest Joy

At the moment, my greatest joy is watching my boys play and love eachother, which they do with increasing frequency. Remick will chase Makili across the house and back again while they both giggle. Makili will lay on Remick and Remick willlay right on him. There are so many moments when they love each other. It is absolutely adorable. (Not that there aren't moments when Makili is sitting on Remick's head to keep him away from his toys, but still...)

Happy Gilmore

We've been blessed with some absolutely wonderful weather around here. In a panic, I ordered my seeds, planted the greenhouse full of stuff, and started fretting about not having enough compost. Makili got out every toy he could find and has spent many many hours outside, doing things like riding the hotwheels I got for free at the dump up and down the driveway, digging holes in the garden with his new shovel, and playing hockey golf as seen here. I love spring.

Freezer Paper Stencils

While my mom was here, I got really ambitious about a project I've been wanting to try with Makili: freezer paper stencils. To be fair I got the idea from Amanda Soule's book (The Creative Family), but the idea is also all over the internet, so I don't feel too bad about sharing. It is an awesome way to make cool shirts or repurpose some old fabric (like Dad's ripped pants, which is what we used).

Start with a drawing (I traced this from google images, which I'm sure will disappoint my artsy friends, but come on, I'm on a timeline here with two kids!)

Traced drawing onto freezer paper (shiny side down). Cut out with exacto knife (obviously my job, not MAkili's )Iron paper onto fabric (again shiny side down). You can put a piece of freezer paper inside a t-shirt (shiny side up) to keep paint from going through.
Paint inside (or outside depending on your preference - we did both) the stencil.

Let dry for 24 hours (or until you're tired of waiting.) Heat set it by ironing it per the instruction on the fabric paint and voila! you've got awesome stuff. I heart this project.

Cool.

Check out this AWESOME video.

Learning Annma's Trade

Makili got his first bread-making lesson from Annma last weekend. I did my duty and tasted his first product. Pretty damn good.



Of course, he and Kane had to do some playing too. They hopped onto the vehicle together by themselves. They love all the toys that Paka finds for them!