crayon coolness

i've seen this crayon idea in lots of places - perfect for a rainy day!

we had fun peeling old crayons and snapping them into little pieces.

we had fun putting them into the little muffin tins. 

 we oohed and ahhed as we popped these little beauties out of the tins. 

 we colored our little hearts out with the crayon coolness.

 

we can't wait to do it again. 

 

linking up here

"a" is for...

yesterday marked the start of a fun little journey through the alphabet with bennett. a simple way to guide our adventures... and a little letter learning along the way.  i definitely won't have a shirt for each of our outings - but this one was just perfect for "a" day!

a is for adventure
we packed his little backpack with the essentials (snacks & his trains) and headed out on our "a is for adventure" outing.

a is for all aboard
we went on a short little train ride - literally one stop from franklin to norfolk and then back again. and let me tell you (and the pics as well)...that it rocked this little guy's world. for a wopping $2.50 we had an "a is for awesome" time!

a is for airplane
there happened to be some toy airplanes in the kiddo seating area at whole foods where we stopped for lunch...how perfect for "a" day!

a is for arts & crafts
of course sister gets to join in on the fun as well with our "a is for arts & crafts" afternoon.

a is for ants on a log
a simple little "a" inspired afternoon snack

a is for anya

bennett & my mom (anya) had a nice little phone chat - though no photo to capture it...but one that he remembered for sure!

a is for acorns
and a little nature as well with an acorn hunt

yesterday was our first day. it was so cute / rewarding to hear him tell ella & wes at the end of the day, all the things that "a" is for from our day. he loved it! i loved it! we are going to tackle a letter a week - so if you have any good ideas, send them along!

thankful tuesday, 9/27

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17 

• capturing sweet moments like the one above
• peeling apples
• smooth travels
• being in the old testament 
• celebrating 7 years of marriage...even if it was a family dinner at outback and not a date night in the city (rain check for sure!)
• sweet treasures from wes
• finding a box of old cards & letters from years ago
• appreciating the pioneer woman's love story
• praying for friends
• entering the world of girl scouts
• book club moments
• first small group of the season
• quick coffee date with a friend and losing track of time (3 hours later!)
• gorgeous indian summer afternoons
• "a" day adventures with bennett
• another familiar face moment
• easy grocery store outings
• feeling inspired
• minivan outing with the janson kiddos - and the joyful chatter & giggles of 5 kiddos on a sunday morning
• oragami tutorials with sue (addicting!)
• the bravermans (and with that signing off...parenthood is on, our favorite show!)

hello fall

you may have noticed in my recent "look back at summer" post that i pronounced last wednesday as the  "official" first day of fall.  nope... it was actually friday.  i guess i thought all equinox were on the 21st... woops. that's okay - it didn't much feel like fall anyways...ha! 

but from the looks of these pics here ... it's definitely here!  we were driving back from our apple picking outing on saturday and drove past this beautiful little road in dover. i shouted "stop...turn the car around...we've got to go back!"  it was the most beautiful fall scene...and of course a great opportunity to explore and snap a few shots!  even ella had to capture the moment!

7 years

7 years ago today i got to walk hand in hand with the love of my life on our wedding day.  happy anniversary wes!

a look back at summer

today is the first official day of fall - wow! though i'm a wee sad to say goodbye to summer, i love that i get to relive it a little through this space here.  each bullet below is a link to some of the adventures, projects and special summer moments of 2011.

days at the beach

• days in duxbury
• seagull adventures
• father's day 
• beaching it with the keenans
• sea side. pool side.
• nice shades

creative summer moments

• paint & bellies
• lemonade for sale
• idea jar (i think we accomplished them all)
• little superheros 
• whisper microphone
• kiddo car wash
• little sailor
• face painting
• home with irene
• worm hunts
• perfect picnics
• friendship bracelets

yummy summer treats

• orange sherbet
• watermelon pops
• june's sweetness
• blueberries
• ice cream for breakfast
• just peachy

vacation & adventures

• nyc
• story land
• family reunion on lake canandaigua 
• camping
• long weekends
• cabin bliss
• away with the girls
• baseball games
• hardwick fair
• locomotive love
• days like these
• boating
• davis farm land
• camp putnam
• dear summer

in the garden

• inch by inch, row by row
• vegetable garden explosion
• tomatoes
• garden treasures
• vegetable telephone sillies

special birthdays 

• operation rainbow 
• bouquets at the farm
• grammy turns 94

and of course the countless sweet moments not documented or photographed, included in my thankful tuesdays and forever in my heart. it surely was a good one. i bid you farewell dear summer...and looking forward to cooler weather, fall adventures, school moments, pumpkins, baking and all that god has planned for this new season.

thankful tuesday, 9/20

• being out of my comfort zone
• snuggling with sweet baby paige for a couple hours
• rocking in a rocker
• pizza and drinks with julie
• productive and highly entertaining ikea outing with bennett
• stopping around every corner to identify letters & numbers
• ms. bindergarten kindergarten books
• planting mums with the kids
• my chaeuffer hubby...he makes road trips a total breeze
• welcoming the arrival of fall while in nyc
• bagels & tea in central park on a chilly fall morning
• meeting leigh's sweet family
• wedding excitement
• being a big sister
• treasures from africa
• ella's months of the year "macarena" routine
• cute kindergarten homework assignments
• little boy playdates
• reading stacks of books with the kids on a rainy afternoon
• uncle matt & uncle tim's frisbee clinic with ella
• ms. joanne's apple treat with bennett
• tire swing giggles
• dean & deluca treats

mondays

mondays, mondays, mondays. this little day of the week definitely gets a bad rap. of course it's always big bummer that the weekend is over - but for this girl, mondays aren't so bad. in fact i often feel like i can accomplish anything on mondays. it's not glamorous - but it's productive, relaxing and a great start to my week. from there things can unravel. things will most definitely unravel...but on mondays, watch out world...ha! here's a little look at this particular monday... as a silly blogging way to hold onto those fleeting moments when things make sense, things are in control and things are clean! 

i work from home on mondays - which means while ella is at school, little b goes to ms. joanne's. i use this day to not only get some good ol' mercer work done...but as a day to get home and me done. the day starts a little bit like this...

 

after ella gets on the bus - i lace up the sneaks for a run. then it's off to the market, followed by a monday morning starbucks treat. all this before 9 a.m... and before my first conference call. productive!

in between calls and a bunch of work i do a whole lot of laundry. it's always my goal to wash it all on mondays. putting away may take all week (or never)...but at least it's all clean for the week. productive!

after a few hours of work - it's time to lace up my apron for some meal prep. monday is my meal swap day - so my one day to cook dinner for four families including my own. lots of chopping, making a big stinkin' mess and even a little time to clean it all up before the bus comes. productive!

after a few after school snacks and hearing about her day - my little ella lends a helpful hand to change the bed linens. followed by some bedroom gymnastics. productive!

meals are packed and ready for delivery. then it's off to pick-up b while dropping off dinner for friends along the way. productive!

the day ends at the playground. and since dinner is waiting for us at home, there's no need to rush. so we don't. we end our productive day with lots playing. thank you mondays!