In My Thoughts

:: Our Zoo book was included in Gae's Loveliness Fair all about Picture books this month.

 

:: Soulemama has a post up about paying extra attention to the dinner meal as an important part of the daily rhythm.

 

:: Making a few Easter basket surprises from Susan B. Anderson's newest book Itty-bitty toys.

 

:: I stared at this lovely quilt for far too long when I saw it for the first time yesterday. I may have to make that one this summer!

 

:: Booklists. I'm collecting names of easy readers for Ender since he has the books memorized after 2-3 reads. I'm trying to keep a balance for him of comfortable favorites but also something new every once in awhile. I think we've exhausted Little Bear books, the Bob books are on the boring side, and we have all the Frog and Toad books that we're reading through again. Any favorite easy reader suggestions?

Do Over

We had a really strange weekend, and I'm still catching up.

 

A do-over would be great.

 

So instead of a fabulous post by me, I'm going to point you toward Green Apples for a post that sums up my feelings about crafting mistakes.

 

How do you feel about crafting mistakes?

 

For me, knitting is awesome for mistake making. The worst thing that can happen is that you have to rip it all out, but that yarn is still there for another try. Ripping back isn't exactly fun, but at least you can try again, right? I'm working through Elizabeth Zimmermann projects right now and was told by a few people that I'm "crazy" to even attempt them since I've been knitting less than two years. I suppose my opinion is to just go for it, and I did. I think you learn a lot more by doing and making the mistakes along the way than always sticking with what you know. I haven't found the E.Z. February Sweater to be any harder than anything else I've knit, just a little brain bending due to the fact that I've only knit one adult sized cardigan before.

 

Sewing is a bit of a different animal for me. I'm not afraid to try new techniques, but I'm always a bit nervous when I cut into fresh fabric- once cut you can't go back. Sometimes a cutting mistake means improvising something different (and sometimes better) than the original plan, but sometimes it truly means scrapping the whole thing.

 

How do you feel about crafting mistakes? Do you boldly head into new techniques and styles or do you hold back?

(This Moment)

 

Ezra playing "sleeping" earlier this week.

If you'd like to see other moments, visit Soulemama.

Gray Daybook

Outside my window…

It is gray and cool again today. It rained much of yesterday and it looks like it's going to spit on and off again today.

I am thinking…

about mini-units for Kindergarten. I'm making plans for an About Me unit (learning our address, phone number, city, and other things about our family), and compiling some book lists for science topics Ender has mentioned lately.

I am thankful for…

Quiet evenings. Since we've been able to get outside more readily my boys have been falling asleep quickly and easily at night, making for the quiet evenings I'm needing lately.

Always Learning…

Ender has been reading a lot of easy readers lately and getting the hang of recognizing sight words a little more quickly. He's also been really involved with helping me plan for the garden this year.

Ezra has been lining everything up lately. I mean EVERYTHING- toys, shoes, pillows . . . he started categorizing some things too- stacking little books together, big books together, etc.

From the kitchen…

Not a lot lately, to be honest. I'm having a bit of a hard time adjusting to the schedule for this quarter, but I'm hoping to catch up over the weekend. We have plans to make bagels and prep a few meals for later in the week.

I am wearing…

Jeans, a black long sleeve t-shirt and my blue Shalom cardigan.

I am creating…

Lots of booklists.

The first sleeve of my February Lady Sweater. (!!!)

Easter surprises for the boys.

I am going …

to make it through the next three weeks. That's when the annual recital for the studio is- and I have 55 individual performances. Between now and then there are the programs to design and have printed, reception details to finalize, hands to hold, nerves to calm . . . It all gets done somehow every year. Every year it comes together in time. And every year I still stress the same way!

I am reading…

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan and looking through a GIANTstack of knitting books from the library.

I am hoping…

To get my Easter ideas for the boys to come to fruition- I'm trying to find as much spare knitting time as I can!

I am hearing…

Episodes of The Guild. Again with the geekiness.

Around the house…

We are still in spring cleaning mode a little bit each day so that by the time we  can have the house opened up full time everything will be clean.

One of my favorite things…

Green apple shampoo. It's the best smell to me first thing in the morning!

A few plans for the rest of the week . . .

A bit of work on the recital, hopefully finishing knitting one Easter gift, and making a much needed run to the library.

The Zoo I Drew

We've been exploring art in children's books recently and Ender especially has been fascinated with copying art work. He has tried to copy several books, but The Zoo I Drew is the first one that kept him busy for more than a page. Ender invited Ezra and I to contribute as well so we would have a "very full book" by the end.

 

The Zoo I Drew features animals in alphabetical order with a short poem about each one. We all announced one animal that we would draw and set to work on a book full of different animals. We ended up with duplicate crocodiles because Ezra made at least 3 or 4! We chose to use crayons, since that's the best medium for Ezra (2yo) right now and half sheets of paper to make the book a bit smaller.

 

 

 

 

Ender decided to copy some of the animal art from the book very closely, specifically the jaguar. It took several tries before he decided on the best way to make the eyes.

 

We put our animals in alphabetical order just like the book, hole punched the sides and put it all together with a ribbon through the holes. Ender designed the cover with sticky foam letters and made sure to remind me to add the authors names to the front!