Bird and Little Bird

The Week That Was.

A few notes from the past week...

- Zak has now entered the phase of babyhood where he is very, very interested in knowing the whereabouts of everyone in the house at all times.  He never takes his eyes off of us, and it is hilarious. 

- We had snow again.  I know, I know, it wasn't much and I should have expected it, but I was so ready to sign on for spring already!

- Have you seen this?  I just happened to be watching just after she laid the second egg last night and she was trying to get comfortable for an evening of sitting.  Amazing.  I think the bird doing the sitting this morning is the male. 

- I had a great time talking to Dawn on the phone yesterday morning.  I don't know how an hour and a half went by so quickly! And, I'm sure we could have kept talking for another two or three. 

- I think I've just about finished up work on Volume Six of Alphabet Glue.  And, you may notice that I've made some changes to the Alphabet Glue page here on the blog.  I wanted to make it easier for folks to look at each issue individually rather than having to scroll down and down and down...  A few more changes will be on the way soon, one of which I think you will really like and I will be ready to tell you more about next week.  In the meantime, Volume Six will launch Monday! 

- I made vanilla cupcakes for Mariam's birthday from this book.  They were ridiculous. Totally dairy, egg, soy and wheat free and so, so good.  I think I might even like them better than a "normal" cupcake.  Dan ate two of them despite the fact that his motto is "I really don't like cake." 

Okay, a few more minutes of heron watching and then off to small people orchestra practice!  Happy weekend, friends.

The Week That Was.

 

This week:

- We finally got our long awaited semi-big snow. We spent our snow day at my friend Sarah's house.  The small people played outside until their snowclothes were totally soaked through.  Sarah and me (and baby Z) hung out inside and managed some pretty good knitting and coffee drinking. 

- I became wholly obsessed with this video.  At first you may be tempted to think that nothing is happening, but be patient.  Trust me.

- Dawn started regular posts on her family's new nature and science blog.  This is worth following along with for many reasons, but I think especially because the blog is a collaborative project between Dawn and her children, and they are planning and gathering information for their posts together.  I love that.

- I was honored to find myself included in the virtual pages of the newest issue of Rhythm of the Home.  You can read an interview with me here, or check out a tutorial for the Story Lantern project from Volume Two of Alphabet Glue. The entire issue is beautifully done and more than worth reading all the way through.

- You can also read a really lovely post about the newest issue of Alphabet Glue on Mariah's blog.  She made wonderful versions of the watercolor artist's notebooks from Volume Five with her kiddos and she's hosting a giveaway of a couple of five volume bundles of the magazine as well, so I'd say it's well worth a visit.

- I saw this. Oh, Purl Bee. You do know the way to my heart. Sigh.

The Week That Was.

Last week...

- I decided that from now on, when people ask me what I do, I will just say "I am a semi-professional snow pants and mittens launderer." Seriously, this winter of mud is getting a bit tiresome.  Especially since when you send your kid to school on a farm, and they come home covered in mud, it is truly special stuff.  And not in a way that smells good. 

- Dan finished his last rotation of his third year of medical school.  Medical school used to (and sometimes still does) feel like a permanent state of being, yet somehow the final year has arrived.  I can't say that any part of me will be sorry when it's over for good.

- Mariam and I started reading a really unusual and very sweet little book.  It's wonderful enough that I think it deserves the proper Library Monday treatment, so pop back in tomorrow for that. 

- The baby had his two month check-up at the pedatrician.  And, he is continuing to rock the 98th percentile for height. That's my boy.

- I was out running errands with the kiddos when I suddenly realized that I really and truly could not remember how old I was.  I called Dan, who promptly reminded me that I recently turned 34, and hung up. He might have been more interested in the whole affair if it hadn't happened so many times before.  

- Mariam brought home an owl pellet that she found outside at school on Friday.  She thinks that it is the ultimate treasure and can't believe how lucky she is to have it. 

And, as always, I am totally charmed by her persepective on the world. 

 

The Week That Was.

Last week...

- The subject of the role of monkeys in Cold War era space programs came up.  News of the monkeys' fate, though presented as gently as possible, was not well received by our resident animal lover.  She spent the rest of the day fashioning space helmets for her stuffed monkey from printer paper and duct tape.

- The monkey was also given a rocket pack, but the cat ate it.

- We realized that Mariam spending so much time reading my Childcraft encyclopedia set from the early 1980's raises occasional issues. See above.

- We finished another of the Moominland series, Moominpapa at Sea.  And, we started in on Moominvalley in November.

- It certainly feels like November around here.  We still have no consistent snow cover and it has been raining again.  It's like we live in the land that winter forgot. Oh, except for all the days when the temperature has been below ten.

- I spent hours building a great book list for Alphabet Glue in honor of February being National Poetry Month.

-I discovered that National Poetry Month is in April.

- I built some other great book lists for Alphabet Glue.  Look for them in Volume Five.  This week! 

 

The Week That Was.

 

This last week...

- Our nearly snowless Vermont winter continued.  Our driveway is now a sheet of thick, solid ice that is hazardous to everyone attempting to walk across it.

- I slipped on said driveway ice and fell down.  Not among my most graceful moments, I assure you.

- Zak turned one month old.  I'm not sure how a month has already gone by, but apparently that is exactly what has happened. 

- I began work on a new website for Alphabet Glue.  This has required some serious brain stretching on my behalf.  I have been writing code, people.  For the record, I have no idea how to write code. 

- I didn't get all that much sleep, but I think it is safe to say that my middle of the night diaper changing skills have reached a whole new level. 

- The to-knit list grew a little longer.

The Week That Was.

This last week...

- The collective number of hours spent by members of our family at the hospital was probably unreasonably high.

- Weird Vermont fall continued.  It has been so unseasonably warm that I haven't even needed to get my coat out of the closet yet.  Which is good because I am officially one billion weeks pregnant now and it would never fit anyway.

- Gluten-free baking experiments continued with semi-decent results.  I still have a few kinks to work out with turning my favorite cupcake recipe gluten-free, but I also have optimism.  I think it can be done, and when it is, I'll let you know how I did it...

- I finally approached the mending pile.  This is a hard, hard thing for me to do, although I don't know why.  I only mended a couple of holes in one (favorite) shirt, but it felt like a pretty big accomplishment all the same. 

- My heart broke when I read Alicia's post today.  She and I have exchanged emails and a couple of letters over the last year or two, and as someone who was myself adopted as a baby, I've always persisted in promising her that the right baby will come along at the right time and make her family complete.  I vote that we all send her all the love and well wishing we can muster right now. 

 

The Week That Was.

Last week:

- I started gathering titles for the winter booklists for the upcoming issue of Alphabet Glue.  Winter might just be the very best season for great kids books. So many fantastic reads!

- We had our 32 week ultrasound and the baby looks very happy.  And healthy.  As in the "already weighs about five pounds" sort of healthy.

- Which explains why complete strangers keep asking me if I'm having twins.  And why I keep having to resist the urge to kick complete strangers.

- The storm windows went on and we started using the heat in earnest.  Winter is on her way.  Honestly, I'm kind of looking forward to it this year.

- I discovered this cardigan pattern online and realized that my attraction to knitting patterns that require the use of tiny, tiny needles is really neither practical or good for my sanity.

- We realized that we have been totally remiss in our celebration of the season this year.  Pumpkin carving is on deck for this week.  Even though I am totally lacking in skill in the decorative winter squash department.

 

The Week that Was.

This week:

 

- We enjoyed the last days of summer vacation with some very, very slow-paced days.  Extra pajama time is always well recieved.

- I informed Dan in the nicest possible way that I will not be doing any more of his laundry until he puts away the basket full of his stuff that I've already washed and folded.  He noted that the last laundry strike was in 2004 and I said "Yes, I have been far too lenient."  

-Despite my need to give him a hard time about things like laundry, Dan did just finish a month full of very long days and nights at the hospital and both Mariam and I are excited to have him around a little bit more for the next couple of weeks (and proud of him for making it through).  Have I mentioned how much fun medical school is not?  Right.  I think I have. 

- We got our first many pound haul of apples for the season and ate almost all of them in the first two days.  I'm particularly enjoying a variety called "Zester," which is a lot like a Pink Lady.  So good. 

- For the first time in eleven years, I did not begin September by setting up my classroom and welcoming my students for the new school year.  A little bit weird but honestly, incredibly liberating at the same time.

- We watched and shook our heads as the news media and blogosphere declared Hurricane Irene to be "overrated" and blown out of proportion.  It sure doesn't feel that way in Vermont, where local farmers who have lost everything were selling cardboard pictures of vegetables to raise money at this weekend's farmer's market in Burlington.

- I noticed a few more trees with red and yellow leaves around town and decided that I am very much ready for the arrival of fall. 

 

The Week That Was.

This week:

- We dug up the first of our potatoes from the community garden plot.  And had them for dinner.

- I realized that despite my distinct preference for toys made of natural materials, I still think that Playmobil rocks.  Mariam will play with those goofy little unicorns for hours and that is a beautiful thing.

- Speaking of plastic toys, Mariam admitted that one of her concerns regarding the arrival of a baby brother is that it signals an inevitable takeover of the house by Star Wars Lego sets.  Upon reflection, I realized that this is one of the bits I'm really looking forward to.

- We discovered this very cool biodiversity card game via a post from the equally cool gals over at BIG Kids Magazine.

- I came this close to finishing my first baby knitting project.

- Okay, so I didn't actually see these pictures for the first time this week, but I did have to go back and look at them again, because they are absolutely stunning.  I suspect that you'll agree.

The Week that Was.

This week:

- A groundhog ate our garden.  Notice that I do not mention a specific area of the garden or a particular plant or group of plants within the garden.  Nope, he ate the whole thing.  In one night.  Well, at least the garden at the top of the yard by the patio.  The tomatoes down below are still unscathed but I am not that hopeful.  I've seen this groundhog in broad daylight and he is an animal of considerable girth, which I'm sure he feels he must eat adequately to maintain.  Sigh. 

- I've realized that the upside to the phase of having trouble falling asleep at night that Mariam has been in is that we get some pretty great "deep thoughts" type outbursts after she's been laying in bed musing for awhile.  Usually they are the last thing she says before falling asleep.  Last night: "Mama, is Australia an island?" And then she was out, just like that.

- We made ricotta gnocchi for dinner- again.  It is kind of becoming my go to meal when I'm not sure what else to make.  Now that I've got it down, it's really easy and pretty quick too.  This time we had it with sauteed zuchinni, corn, tomatoes and carmelized onions. Oh, and lots and lots of parmesan.

- I decided that maybe Dan should do his residency somewhere in the country where there are no groundhogs.  I should start researching our options.

- Mariam and I packed our bags to head out for a week of Suzuki music camp in central Vermont.  We are out the door in an hour or so.

- I realized what a homebody my little girl is.  She is excited about camp, but very, very hesitant to leave dad and kitty at home.  And she packed her backpack full of her very favorite things to remind her of home.  Of course, they are mostly rocks so I'll probably end up carrying her very heavy backpack around before too long.