a flutter of fairies?

Unity joined a flock of flittering fae friends to celebrate the birthdays of Sadie and Quinn, her buddies from school. They frolicked at home and in the park, fetching fancy finds and fabulous food.

Spring Break

This week Unity's school was on Spring Break. We had lots of playdates with our friends at the kids museum and the zoo, we dyed eggs, we had a shoe store and we helped celebrate Reuben's birthday. Sorry this is so long, I meant to do a couple of smaller ones earlier in the week but you know...two kids all week long! We were just too busy.

Tulip Festival

This weekend we went to Skagit Valley for their Tulip Festival! Every year different farms in the area grow tons of flowers and people go out and trapse around in the mud and take a hundred pictures of the flowers and buy lunch in town and everyone's happy. So here we are frolicking in the flowers. My favorites are the ones where there is a sea of a certain color and then one little brave flower of another shade. I know, I know, it's very angsty teen poetry. But I still like it.

Wassup doc?

born that way?

one of the most facinating parts of being a parent is watching the interplay of genes and environment, the old nature vs nuture debate in action. Before I was a parent I was pretty firmly in the nuture camp. Now I see that it's not that easy. It's so interesting to watch my kids; who look like Chris and I, who share our genes, showing us the personalities they were born with. It's even more obvious with two kids because the differences are there from the very beginning even with the same parents, same house, etc. The first night that we brought Brixton home, he slept six hours straight. Unity didn't do that until she was six or seven months old. Obviously birth order has some role to play here (parents more relaxed, etc) but I know enough people with mellow first kids and more sensitive seconds to know that's not the whole explanation.

All this to say that I have learned my kids have their own personalities that they were indeed born with. It's not to say that we're off the hook as parents or that life experiences won't shape them, but truly each human is a beautiful and unique thing. You know those people who can find some strange pillowcase in a thrift store and cut a hole in it and make some fabulous dress that stops traffic? Suffice to say, I am not that person. Chris and I both wear the same t-shirts and jeans until they literally fall apart and consider something we bought two years ago to be the "new" shirt. Unity? Can pull her brother's vest out of the dirty clothes pile and make an outfit out of it. This is not parental influence. If she continues in this path, we'll have to find some kind of fashionable adult to mentor her later.

sweet sweet spring

oh spring we are so glad to see you! Brixton loves to be outside these days, to "walk! walk!" and pick "flow-ers" (dandelions) and look for doggies "me-ow". Me, I just like the sunshine and my tulips. I didn't plant any bulbs last fall because we were on our road trip, but our flowers still came back.

zoo!

Friday was sunny so Brix and I went to the zoo, along with half of Seattle. After waiting in line for half an hour (!) we met up with Desi and Joey and their mamas. These freshly minted toddlers just want to run...and grab...and sit in the middle of a busy walkway. Good times. Thanks to Oma and Anya for sharing their photos.

Shrinky Dinks

Meridian and Unity with their Shrinky Dink hair clips...and Archer has two teeth!

jellybean

Brixton is modeling the new spring palette for you. ( Honestly, I had to spell check that. I called it pallet at first.) Doesn't he look like a sleepy jellybean? But truly, these pictures made me want to wear more turquoise and orange. Cause I own lots and lots of clothes in those colors...happy spring.

mmmm Kombucha

So I have been making my own kombucha for a few months now. Kombucha is a fermented tea that is thought to originate from China. It can be an acquired taste - sometimes it's strange to drink something fermented that's not beer! But I have grown to enjoy it's many flavors and health properties. In the stores it can be expensive- $3 or more per bottle, so I started making my own. The process is fun since it involves a "mother"- a slimy squishy collection of bacteria and yeast. Chris is convinced that one day he will wake up with that mother pulsating over him. We'll see I guess. In the meantime, he's started drinking kombucha, and the kids request it too. Bucha? Bucha?

I made it

Ok, don't look too closely cause there are one hundred and twelve mistakes but...I made this! I did lots of it during our road trip in October and the rest while watching Mad Men with Chris- it took about six months. Now- off to the yarn store to decide on the next project!