Tailgate Teatime

After hauling, splitting and stacking a bit of wood this afternoon, I took a little break with a nice "cuppa" in the back of Luke's old '63 Ford pickup. Virginia took this picture and Miriam took some too.












Just chillin'















Ditto.













And here is a view of the truck.

Happier Meals

What makes a meal happy? For a kid, it means tasty food, a prize and a fun box to hold it all. For mom it means no corn syrup, no trans fats, no junk, plenty of whole grain, protein and veggies. Here we have it all. Orange boxes are lined with waxed paper then filled with sandwiches, carrots, lettuce, organic ranch dressing, milk, fruit leather in the shape of a heart and a coloring page with crayons.











Happy kids, enjoying lunch in the fresh air.













Happy Seth. He doesn't need a happy meal to be happy. He's almost always happy:)

Morning Glory

Early this morning Virginia called to me from her room, "Mama, look out the window!" And this beautiful sunrise met my eyes. I took this photo from our back porch.


And last night, the three older ones were lying in a row on the rug for some reason so I added Seth and snapped a picture of my four silly kids.

Another giveaway!

This time the Euphoria Blog is giving away a safe feeding sampler pack, so you can see how the different types of dishes work. Totally BPA free! I'm sure those of you with little ones can appreciate that. Simon has broken several of my dishes because I won't serve him food on evil plastics. Check it out! http://www.euphoriababy.com/blog/uncategorized/enter-to-win-a-safe-feeding-sampler-pack/comment-page-1/#comment-2182

Virginia's First Cooking Lesson

More Scavenging

#2. A deer track






















#6a. Virginia snapped a shot of this proud fellow.



















#6b. A crow in flight.

This (already past) Christmas season I decided that I really wanted to make a gingerbread house, completely from scratch! I did some reading online, and found that most people used patterns to cut out the gingerbread before you bake it. I drew out the pattern on paper, and then put it on the rolled out dough and cut each piece out. After it cooked and cooled I mixed up the icing using egg whites and powdered sugar. I then 'glued' it together using the icing. When it dried I let Lacey come and we decorated it using icing, chocolate chips, and some organic peppermint sticks. Lacey had asked me to make it a church, so we did.

Scavenging Results

Virginia took this photo of a blackberry vine in winter. She took most of these pictures while we went outside and braved the cold yesterday.















#5 A hole or hollow. Dug by an animal? Perhaps.















#1 and #7 A pine cone on a pine (evergreen) tree















#3a. A sweetgum seed case
























cute boy with a winter hat

















#4. Ice on the edge of the creek
















#9. squirrel nest

Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt

1. A pine cone
2. An animal track in snow or mud
3. 3 different seeds or berries
4. ice
5. A hole dug by an animal
6. 3 different birds
7. An evergreen (try to identify)
8. Tree buds waiting for spring
9. A bird or squirrel nest
10. Orion (turn off flash to photograph stars and rest camera on firm surface if possible)

Calling all nature lovers! Grab a camera and head outside. Even if it's just on your way to the car, take a quick sidetrack (just follow your kids, lol). Try to get one photo a day or more and post them on this blog. They don't need to be in any particular order or form. Include stories of your scavenging adventures and add your own items to the list. Let your kids take their own random winter photos and post them too. If you are not a contributor and would like to participate, e-mail your photos to me using the link on my profile or share a link to your photos in the comments section to your blog, facebook, flickr or photobucket album.