When the neighbor gets a delivery with dry ice, experimentation ensues.

Exactly a year ago, I drove almost an hour away to pick up an $85 mud kitchen for E’s birthday (then realized I’d have to hide it for almost a week – that was fun). All summer long I watched as it barely got used. “You win some, you lose some,” I told myself. Then,…

For so long it seems like I’ve been tethered to children and suddenly I’m realizing: this is IT. This is gonna be THE summer! The summer the kids all disappear to play with neighbors for hours at a time and I won’t even know which house they’re at and THAT WILL BE SO COOL. N…

Happy as a clam every time I let her sit and hold the chickies.

Morning stretches and yoga.

Chickies round two! This time the difference in kid interaction is startling: the big boys want to hold them all the time and I’m fairly comfortable letting them do so solo, N is a little nervous and loves them but mostly from afar, and E’s delight is over-the-top and rough – lots of reminders to…

She’s always always hungry, so she’s my regular companion in the kitchen (or following me around the house whining “Mama, can I PLEASE eat something?” when I’m not busy cooking). Thankfully she’s also a pretty good chair-dancer and enthusiastically joins me in any kitchen dance parties.

It wasn’t warm outside – not at all. But I found these girls out on the front porch, snuggled under a heavy picnic blanket, sharing their popcorn with giggles and whispers.

Is any birthday complete without the pure sugar high of a Mamele cake and wrapping paper ending up everywhere? Meanwhile, when nobody was looking, S snuck back to polish off everyone’s pieces of cake. Aren’t you so confident in our babysitting skills, M & G?!!

Užgavėnės – everyone got into the spirit of scaring winter away in order to welcome spring to the land! This spring in particular has felt incredibly hard and long (mentally – not weather wise) and gosh I’m ready for hot days, warm evenings, and less wind. We live in a valley and the wind is…