Let me start by saying that this was probably the most unplanned and spontaneous, yet busiest birthday ever.  In the end, though, I think our people loving girl who loves a reason to get out and do something had a great day. On the breakfast menu for the bathtub was…

After reading on a blog the story of one family’s newly built Little Free Library, I instantly knew my neighborhood needed one, and that the corner of my yard would be a perfect location.  All sorts of people bike and walk and run past my house, it’s on a corner…

It has been a crazy week of transitions:  back to school, back to a full schedule of piano students, back to regular activities at church, back to getting up at a ridiculously early hour in the morning that totally wipes me out.  It’s only an hour and a half earlier…

He still loves playing his “oboe” all the time.

The middle kidlets started school yesterday, and suddenly we are back to our early rising school schedule.  Of course, it always goes more  smoothly in the fall, when there’s just a smidgen of light upon waking up instead of total blackness in the middle of the winter, and there is…

Everyone always talks about how emotional and difficult it is to send your kindergartener off to school.  For me, it really wasn’t.  My school aged kidlets were always excited and ready to go to kindergarten, and while I missed them during the day, I had no qualms about them being…

Treasure Island.  It’s a circular patch of ground with two tall, mangy pine trees side by side along with a caragana hedge surrounded by driveway and sidewalk on all sides.  The kidlets have claimed it as a special play place since we moved into our house, years ago, and from…

Dr. Peds and our neighbor halfway down the street planned an almost spontaneous camping trip for Labor Day Weekend to introduce kidlets to the Boundary Waters.  Because I was busy playing for a beautiful wedding on Saturday, I did no preparing or packing for this camping trip other than to…

Never leave home without your phone.  He insisted on bringing along the blue plastic cell phone on our evening “Big Wee Wee Walk” so that he could make calls, as necessary.  Lately he has loved going on a neighborhood walk/bike ride.  I walk.  He rides.  He loves to “win” and…

Some research shows that mosquitos can detect the blood sugar levels of their victims from a distance of up to 50 feet away, and they go after the sweet people. I learned to identify dragon fly larvae and mosquito larvae. A cooper is a person who crafts barrels. Messrs is…