Sometimes I fold things other than clothes

A latest discovery: origami. Here is a sanbo, perfect for conversation hearts.

Home Sweet Home

As part of our many Advent treats, we decided to build a gingerbread house. And we had such fun!
The Fisher Price little people found it to be just their size, so they moved right in.

Ada designed the roof, landscaping, and ornament on the house. Here she is assembling the gumdrop shingles.

Esme made the M&M tree for the backyard. She discovered that it is hard not to lick your fingers when the "glue" is orange-flavored icing! But she did manage to get the candies stuck successfully to the tree.

It was so much fun to build, we are already thinking of designs for next year! The only downside was the extra "building materials" proved too tempting for all of us. It's a good thing we think the house is too cute to eat now.

Exploring the yard

The weather surprised us a few times during December, and allowed us to get out and enjoy some days on the new swingset.




We found that Esme loves walking through the grass and leaves, and Ada loves having a little companion to explore with.


When they aren't able to get outside to swing, Esme looks longingly out the window and pleads, "Swing! Swing!" Some parts of childhood never change, do they?

Time flies by our nest!

How the time has flown! Since November, we've had such lovely times at home, I just seemed to fall away from blogging. A much-needed rest, and we've started off the year with renewed energy for school, and cleaning closets, and making fun crafts together.



Here are some great shots of our Christmas at home. We watched Esme fall in love with all the elements of the season, from Santa, to cookies, to the tree, and, of course--presents! Both Ada and Esme had dreams of sugarplums. Esme talked in her sleep about "hohoho," and Ada's dreams included singing (loudly, at 2 am) snippets from "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Though our sleep was disturbed, it was for the best reasons, don't you think?


Esme was amazed to find a Mrs. Potatohead under the tree! She ran around the family room exclaiming, "Wow! Wow! Presents!" And yes, we fortunately did get some of it on video.

Gobble Gobble

At last, a work in progress that is finished! Here are the turkeys we did for Ada, Esme, and Ada's baby. The "feathers" are actually pockets for napkins, silverware, etc.
They were very cute on the table at Thanksgiving, but quickly became characters to play with after dinner.

A little treasure inside

This little treasure came to us by mail last week. My dad, who has some dealings with fish from time to time, came across this seahorse while cleaning a swordfish. The seahorse was *inside* a 20-pound sea bass--and, get this--alive. My dad was duly impressed. Unfortunately, the seahorse died quickly after coming out of the sea bass's stomach. The next best thing to having it in an aquarium, he figured, would be to save it as a treasure. And he thought right away of giving it to his granddaughters, which he did.

By the time the seahorse arrived in the mail, he was on the stinky side--but still amazing nonetheless. We are currently drying him out and deciding how to preserve the exo-skeleton. Any ideas?

Work in progress

Yet another on a seemingly endless list of "works in progress." This stack of corduroy, silk, cotton, and felt will soon become a pair of turkey placemats, just in time for Thanksgiving, I hope!