A brief respite from the cold winter is always nice and Elena and I made the most of it, staking out this one sliver of porch that gets full sun in February. We used to have a rose trellis in this spot but a) it would get inundated by bugs every year without fail, even…

(Hello, February) Goodbye to the longest month of the year. Hello to finally feeling back on a comfortable school schedule. Goodbye to icy cold temperatures. Hello to being able to be outside without a jacket occasionally. Almost goodbye to four straight months of renovations. Hello to almost (almost! almost!) having a working bathroom upstairs and…

P showing off his new (specially ordered) Lego ghost to Teta T and A and Trixie (of course). At this stage, every single dollar earned from taking care of the chickens goes towards new Legos. Not entirely sure V’s financial education plan is working….

Sun’s out! Which means the girls are all in on some serious mud-kitchening, hammock swinging, and nonstop shoe removing (the back entry rug required washing three times in three days!). Meanwhile, I’m just over here, deliriously delighted with sitting in the yard, basking in the rays.

Little libraries are one of those things that I don’t remember ever truly noticing (or using) before I had kids. Upon moving to R, though, suddenly they were everywhere: painted in charming colors, bursting with any number of fun books, sometimes displaying “free to take” cut flowers from people’s gardens or half-used seed packets. On…

Just two girls who, despite distance and differences and busy-ness and life, keep a flourishing friendship going throughout the years. Whether it’s bonding over headstands, escaping to Mexico with their spouses, or spending hours thrifting together, it’s always fun to see these two together. Apparently the first time G ever saw my husband (she missed…

Mom never says no when I show up at her doorstep with a spur-of-the-moment sewing project. This time it was fleece neck warmers, just in case it snows again and in an effort to keep kids from wiping their boogers all over MY scarves. I’ve been doing my hardest to “low spend January,” so making…

V sharing his favorite Ok Go music videos with the kids – their reactions were hilarious. “HOW IS THIS REAL LIFE?”

Her favorite thing in the world is when I let her go upstairs at night and have sole control of the remote to play endless episodes of SUUUUPER KITTY! (this is her excited Super Kitty theme song dance) Her siblings have moved beyond Paw Patrol and Super Kitty and usually convene in the basement to…

January has crept by, days full of ignoring the tense political atmosphere by focusing instead on the cacophony of a house full of contractors and a bathroom that never quite seems to get finished. Parts get delayed, trim work needs to be redone, plumber can’t fit us in…but the finish line is finally in sight…