f o u r ~ s p a r r o w s

Now I don’t know why, but there seems to be no June bugs. I believe we were pestered with some last year, but maybe we weren’t. Maybe this part of Indiana is not home to June Bugs, and if that’s the case, I may never want to move. My dislike for June bugs in my hair, have actually led me to dislike the month of June in the past, but having Leelee born in the month, and no June bugs… well I’m warming up to this month after all.

This weekend was our first for summer vacation. I could tell we all enjoyed it a little more than a regular weekend during the school year. I sewed two dresses and a top for Leelee. THREE items in a weekend (actually three items on Friday/Saturday), earlier in the week I finished her rainbow top. Which is the only picture I have to share, cause I haven’t bothered to snap photos of the sewed items.

I used the handy “Pick Your Own” website to find a local orchard to pick strawberries, cherries, black raspberries, blueberries, peaches, plums, and the old staple, apples. Of course all when seasonally ripe. We found the kick butt pumpkin patch with that website, and cut-your-own Christmas tree sites as well. Though we didn’t use the latter, as the husband declared we can not have a real tree until we live in a bigger place. He is pretty right on this, and bought a nice fake tree to appease me and the wild things.

A bit back I made a crayon roll with Skip to My Lou’s instructions, and this has been a big hit in the house. I adjusted it to hold a notepad, and the big kids like it for “waitressing” and it aids Leelee when she just gets the undeniable urge to draw and draw right now. I fear colored walls in the future… she’s rather dedicated to the craft of coloring.

Other than crafting, coloring, and finding places to pick fruit, we enjoyed some tea.

Looked for clues to find fluffy little robins after we found some eggs by our front door.

We see some very territorial robins flying above in our tree, but too many leaves (and to tall a tree) to see a nest.

And we listened to Mrs Piggle Wiggles Magic while we bought mad ice cream for our Alice in Wonderland slumber party.

Seriously way too good.

And even Leelee was ok with being at another store (she much prefers Kroger’s they give her cookies at the bakery) with the thought of cookie ice cream in the cart!

Someone may have bought the Hipstamatic App for my iphone, that takes these analog style pictures, thanks to Sara’s suggestion.

And all the discovery outdoors, tea parties indoors, picnic, ice cream, slumber parties, all caught up with her, as she crashed for a nap mid play at 11 in the morning. This girl naps promptly at 3 every day, never before lunch.

It was a good start to summer, up next.. Seattle. Now what to bring for the plane ride to entertain four kids. Not to mention the three hour layover in Minneapolis, three hours?!?! Still bumming that we didn’t get to fly to LAX for a shorter layover.

I’m definitely interested in suggestions on keeping them (and even myself!) occupied.

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Except, we are back from Chicago. A whirlwind hike up to the city, a dinner with my family, and back home to finish the last week of school. (The glory of home school is that I get to enjoy summer vacation just like I did as a kid!)

A quick lunch from one of the street vendors.

Birds (and ducks even) waiting patiently and expectantly for us to toss them some bread.

After eating, playing chase (of one another)…

Finding things in the grass..

Completely tickled, and laughing contagiously

Pointing out one bird, two bird… (I love the sears tower in the background… oh how I yearn to live in Chicago)

A little friend, who I found standing right next to my shoe.

Into the aquarium to stand above manta-rays.

Watch sharks swim by…

Stare at this creepy bloke…

Watch their new dolphin show “fantasea”

walk along Lake Michigan

run along the path way with a beautiful breeze blowing our hair…

name the types of columns along the Field Museum (from our study of Greece), and Solider Field… (also get asked for money while I take this picture)

trip and fall, and be rescued by Daddy

Complete the day with cake and presents…

I do declare, that Leelee had a wonderful second birthday.

And, that our trip to Seattle is going to leave me absolutely knackered! Good thing there is no shortage of Starbucks (or coffee for that matter) in Seattle.

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When you forget to fill out your census, they really do come to your door. And again, and again… I don’t know if they’d ever stop! My friend keeps teasing whenever she sees the census lady at my door. I really should have remembered to open the envelope and fill out the basics.

Leelee’s golden birthday is tomorrow. I can.not believe that my baby, my last little one is going to be two! Where oh where has the time gone!?!

I still remember when she was this itty bitty…

And now she’s so darn big…

And talking up a storm…

Here she is reading, “Goodnight Moon” to me and Jeremy. When she says “mom” she’s pointing to the mommy bunny, which she started all on her own. Jeremy usually reads bedtime stories with her and said that she’s always pointing out “moms” in the books. Which of course, causes me to melt with love for the little sweetheart.

I’m making progress on her little top that I’d like her to wear for her birthday. Just the sleeve left! When she woke up this morning she ran to it on the ottoman, and said, “pretty.” So I believe I’ve done well in my aim to please.

Jeremy’s boss had his last day yesterday and we had a little going away shindig for him. Too much cake and excitement, left Leelee exhausted on the drive home.

(That was taken as I was getting her out of the car, no flames for her being unbuckled)

And now we are packing our bags to head to Chicago for the day. Since it’s Leelee’s golden birthday, and though she won’t remember, we aim to do something she will get immense joy out of it… which is taking her to Shedd Aquarium. She’s absolutely fascinated by fish, water, and aquariums. I wonder if she’ll be a little swimmer like her Mama.

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A whirl of events happened this spring, and there was a position open here. Jeremy applied, and we left it in God’s hands. Yesterday we found out that he did not get the promotion here. A bloke from Iowa did, which I find quite ironic, though I can’t quite place the reason why. So our stay in this part of Indiana is numbered. Not sure where we will be off to next, but I’m rather excited over it.

It’s always bittersweet when thinking of moving, like living even farther from my sister, Erika. We met up in Chicago (a perfect half-way point) in March and had such a wonderful time.

We tried getting all the kids in a photo.

Which is really, just ridiculously impossible.

I’m rather fond of this one, though it doesn’t include my nephew, Landon.

In May, she had her second child, a little girl that they named Adison, and we went to visit her. Erika and baby are doing wonderful and I’m beyond pleased.

In the end though, moving about, visiting places, has always been my nature, even when I didn’t have the means to do it, or the spunk to carry it through. And I’m beyond words happy to not live in Iowa. I figure in about ten years, I’ll write a bunch of novels, and they’ll all take place in Iowa, and I’m good with that.

As for now, Memorial Day weekend, the husband is out working. Earning more for our trip to Seattle in June, (can.not.wait!), and me and the kids are lazying around.

Leelee is pushing Ari’s doll in the stroller we bought for her. I figure each girl deserves a stroller to push around outdoors.

The big kids are cleaning up their rooms, cause they are quite out of order from many hours of imagination.

As for me, I finished the toy bear that Aislyn wanted, and Leelee has since claimed.

pattern: Henry the Bear by Jess Hutchison//ravelry project page

And starting on my next project, a cap sleeved top for Leelee out of scraps, modified and inspired from Jcasa’s own version.

pattern: Seamless Sweater by Shellee Floyd//ravelry project page

I believe nap time will be spent knitting with the fan on, iced coffee on the shelf, and Pride and Prejudice playing in my ears. (Elizabeth Klett does the reading for this version and I highly recommend her.)

Hoping everyone has a nice, safe Memorial Day weekend.

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Everything is awoken, and given new life in the spring, and it seems fitting for my blog to do the same. Let’s call this, “Dipping my toes.”

I have spring cleaned, and moved previous posts to the drafts folder, in honor of new beginnings and fresh starts. But still, I’m just dipping my toes. No promises, life-long commitments, or secret handshakes going on here.

Simply put, if I’m not being creative in a tactile sense, then I’m not blogging. They don’t inherently seem to be connected, but they are connected to my person, and if I’m not in the mood to create, then I’m definitely not in the mood to blog.

Maybe it’s spring, it just makes me happy, and inspires me to create and be a better… mom, wife, friend, sister. Cause I have been inspired. It seems ruts are easy to get into, and I was in a definite one with my wild things, who had quite fittingly, taken the title to heart. They would have fit in nicely in Maurice Sendak’s book. Thankfully, they are back to their sweet, perfectly agreeable, loving little selves. Or… as close as they ever were.

And all it took, was for me to remember my parenting motto… It’s really quite simple. If it’s broke, fix it. If what we are doing, no longer works, then I need to do it differently. I can’t just sit here, and bang my head against a wall, and wonder why my head hurts. So I fixed it. I put my focus back on my kids, back to the ages they are, and the kind of Mom I wanted and needed to be.

And one of those things I want to be, is a Mom who can create a little rocket, that inspires my son to do this:

and jump around, and make “rocket” noises, like this:

There’s no time for getting worn out, tired, or even lazy, when there’s a toddler in the house. She’s just as determined to climb the slide, as she is about everything else she puts her mind to.

So, we’ll say I’m dipping my toes into blogging again, back to the simple things, the good, wholesome, make my heart sing, type of things.

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