This Was A Hit

Wow!! I have The Crafty Crow on my "top sites" page. Every day there is something new, and most of the time something there that we want to try. Moreover, we usually have the stuff on hand. Today it was this. But we had to (of course) paint ours, because my kids are very paint-y people. So ours took a little longer. But not much, because lately the hair dryer is used more as a paint dryer, and so it was today.

Under construction:

The tongue: It's a tall tale sign that Liam is in deep concentration!! (Shhhh! It's a serious thing, the development of those fine motor skills.)

Focus, focus.

And of course, the pinball game inspired the kids to get out the geo boards.

Set up:

And the race is on!!!!

And this boy finally has enough confidence in his steady hand to clean out the wood stove while it is still hot. He did great and didn't spill any coals on the hearth!!!

And our little Lauren can read one hundred percent, independently, on her own. I love to see her read on her own (even though she doesn't ask me to read to her as much). She feels so empowered!!!!

Move over Match Box. You've been replaced by a bigger, better, bolder, broader bed buddy. The Mini Cooper!!!!

And last but not least. There was a whole lot of love between these two today. Every day she picks her favorite person to cling to. Today was Calebs lucky day!!!

KKS

Whoever You Are...

Please leave me a comment. Thanks.

Sun Catchers

We had to wait all day for the temperature to go down. It was dark by the time it was 32 degrees. So we made them last night.

Here is Lundi helping Liam with his, while Harrison and Audrey watch from inside the house.
The masterpieces are created and ready to freeze.

Look at this!!!! Totally unexpected but totally cool. Lundi put a cube inside her cup. It was totally frozen on the outside with water on the inside. She drank out of her ice cup. So cool!
And the finished sun catchers.....

Lundi's and Caleb's:
Mine:

Lundi's:

Displayed on the front fence for everyone to see:

KKS

Why I Love This House.....

The mud room. Definition: A mud room or mudroom is a room which is built into some houses to act as a barrier between outdoors and indoors. (Ours just happens to be between the house and the garage). Especially in regions with wet, muddy winters (Maine), a mud room can be a useful addition as it helps to keep the house clean. In addition, the mud room constitutes a clear boundary between indoors and out, which can be a useful reminder for animals and exuberant members (here???? No!!!) of the household. With built-in ski racks.

These built-in cubbies, right inside the door, coming in from the mud room.

The many, many windows that let in much, much sun. (Oh, and the hardwood floors are beautiful, too.)

The front porch. It has windows with screens. Which means bugs stay out (ideally). Can't wait to use this when the weather warms up. For now the kids use it as a bowling alley, and a place to build forts when the temperature is above 40. We also store our wood out there.

These stairs. Oh, how I love this beautiful staircase. And Lauren loves to sweep them everyday. She has declared it as her chore. No arguments.

Light fixtures. While we plan to update most of the lighting in this house, we won't be replacing these. There is one in the girls room, and one in Caleb's room. We'll be taking his out and giving him something a little more to his liking. His will go in our room. Aren't they pretty? Love them.

Bathroom sink. Pretty? Yes. Functional? Somewhat, we're getting used to it. We're still on the fence as to whether or not we'll be replacing this one. (Don't you remember what happened?) Very old, but charming.

More pretty windows.

This one is in the boys' room.

This one is in our room.

And this one is in the school room, where we hung our crystal pretties.

Ahhhhhhh! A real workshop, for doing workshop stuff. Also for storing tools, paint, WD40 and other workshop paraphernalia. (Ya, Mike loves this space)

Also a great place for chopping wood to make kindling.

And there is a storage garage right underneath the car garage. You know, for all of the stuff that we want to put in our garage- and if we did we wouldn't have room for the cars- kind of garage. The kids call it the dungeon. It's cold and has a rock floor. But oh so spacious. More space than we can use. Did I mention how great it is to have a place for everything? Well, let me tell you....IT.IS.WONDERFUL.

....and this is only the beginning. We are so excited for spring when the yard will come alive with all sorts of beautiful surprises.

KKS

This I lIke......

Have you ever visited The Shabby Nest? It is a very inspiring place. I was feeling crafty today. It always seems to happen when Mike is home and I get a day to do my own thing....very nice, I tell you. So I went down to the basement, found a copy of "A Tale of Two Cities" (we have three copies) and started rippin' out pages. Here is where I got the idea. I don't know about you, but I love this idea almost as much as I love to read. I think it will be a perfect addition to our dining room, next to our huge book shelves.

No, this is not it's permanent home. I just wanted to hang it up to take a picture.

I used a wire hanger. The previous owners of this house left plenty of them. I almost threw them away (I hate them for hanging clothes) until I remembered how useful they were for crafts. I alternated, one page in half, the next in fourths....all the way around. It took about 200 pages. The kids helped me fold.
The book that I used is very old, so the pages were yellow-ing. I like how it looks kinda antique. Also, I love old books. So it's perfect.
No, this is not the final product. I plan to find some pretty ribbon and attach a bow.

KKS

Up To......

Groceries were had today. That's always exciting. Because you know....food doesn't last long around here. I don't even remember the last time we had sour milk, moldy cheese or rotten carrots in our fridge.
Liam took his rolling bucket everywhere he went, and took a rest in it when he got tired or wanted to hide.

We made sugar cookies last week. No two are alike. Very creative, these people.

Horse play.

We had a friend over for dinner yesterday. We laughed and laughed at his humorous impersonations. Seriously, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. He is so funny!!! And the kids thought he was the greatest because he played on the floor with them while Mike and I made dinner. (I wonder if he'll babysit???)

Serious reflection and shadow play. (Love that afternoon sun!!)

And tomorrow, this is in the plan. I'm so excited. This will make our nearly snowless winter more bearable.

We'll let you know how they turn out.

KKS

Truth

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa

KKS

Best Laid Plans

I want to empty the laundry basket that sits at the top of the stairs. I want to scrub the toilets, de-clutter the book shelf in the school room, file the bills, clean out the fridge, wash all the dishes and vacuum out the couches. It also wouldn't hurt to wash the (many) hand printed windows, sweep the front porch, sweep under the rugs, finish unpacking the boxes in the garage, scrub the tubs or put away the six -crafts in progress- that occupy the table in the school room. I haven't even mentioned the mountain of laundry (a constant thorn in my side) that is in the basement, or the boxes in my closet that I have successfully neglected for two whole months!!!

But alas, the baby is sick and only wants to be held. I must oblige.

The last time she came, we had only lived here for a week, so I didn't feel a whole lot of pressure. But this morning when I got up and realized that Mike had mopped the floors, cleaned up the breakfast mess, washed the fronts of the cupboards and washed all the dishes, it occurred to me that he wanted the house clean when she came. He didn't say that, but I knew.

The woman of whom I speak has one (grown) child. She has two dogs, a husband and an immaculate house. When we visit her, she follows the kids around with a paper towel in her hand, mopping up whatever drool, mud, water, pee, juice (or whatever they might spill) the second it hits the floor. This same woman was appalled that I had a bunch of women (angels) over from church to help me fold laundry the week before I had Audrey. I was desperate, so I pleaded for help. Help I received. This same woman washes, dries, folds and puts away (all of) her laundry in the same day!!! Surely you can appreciate why I am embarrassed when she comes to visit. The last time I did that was when it was just Mike and I. She never came to visit us back then. This same woman never has cobwebs in her basement, trash in her car, dirt in her garage (seriously, she sweeps it daily), finger prints on her windows, crumbs in her couch, water spots on her faucet, dishes on her counter or an unmade bed.

True, it's something to aspire to. I do, I love a clean house. It just never works out that way. Her hobby is cleaning. My hobby is kids. Surely she will (won't?) understand.

Sigh. See you tomorrow, Nana.

KKS

How I Feel......

KKS

I Relate

To this.

KKS