Shrove Tuesday

Had a wonderful plate of fluffy, crisp pancakes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. Since we were out of maple syrup, I substituted frozen cherries and cinnamon sprinkled with chocolate chips! A very big hit with the 6 year old crowd.

Sunflower seed necklaces

We dried these large sunflower heads from the garden last fall. I found them sitting in the garage just looking for something to do. We took nylon string, soaked the seeds for 15 min and then strung them to make necklaces for the birds!

Tip: Use thin needle to avoid breaking the seeds and sticking little fingers.

Cleaning and organizing

I have spent the past few days doing a pre-spring cleaning and de-cluttering. We are putting our house up for sale next week, so this is a mandatory step. Though it is hard work, each room is transformed into an organized, sparkly space. It is nice to walk through the house and smile because I know it is clean.

Day of Love

Here are some sweet treats we received from our favorite Valentine, my hubby. We spent a snuggly, rainy day just enjoying each other. Then me and DH went to a nice dinner.

Handwork

We made some lovely hand-sewn valentine cookies and the girls made valentine felt suckers. I didn't get a picture before they were given away to grandma! Here is the tutorial for the suckers.

From the same site I made these cute valentine's cookies! Look good enough to eat and so easy.

Here is the tutorial for the cookies.

Signs of Spring

Early spring bulbs of daffodils and summer snowflakes are peeking out into the warm sunshine this week. We have started our morning walks once again. I can feel nature reaching out and pulling my spirit outward into the garden.

Creating Harmony

After 2 weeks, it seems that a white flag has been put up between the dog and the new kitten. It got me thinking about harmony and daily rhythms. My day flows much better when we are all in harmony with each other. This usually means me getting up an hour or so earlier than the rest of the household. A time for me to relax, meditate, gather my thoughts for the day. When I am centered and feeling balanced, the day unfolds in a natural way and I seem to still get the things done that I intended.

Gnomes in my home!

We did our first ever Waldorf Gnome project. This was so much fun! It takes a bit of trial and error, but once you figure it out, it goes fast. I used this tutorial that was very helpful. My girls did their own King and Queen Gnomes out of wooden clothespins. They were a bit harder to do than my Valentine Gnome, due to the smaller head and taller dimensions, but they were determined to make them out of the clothespins! Isn't she sweet! She is on our nature table already to spread her love for Valentine's Day.

Ground Hog Day!

This is our groundhog, inspired by the book "Go to sleep Groundhog!". We also celebrated Candlemas/Brigid's Day by lighting candles at our meals and having Candlemas Crepe's. We talked of the return of longer days and read a story of Brigid. Our week celebration will continue by making our own candles from beeswax, baking a Feather Cake, making a Brigid doll from fresh rosemary and bit of early spring cleaning.

We also went into the garden and clipped some branches from my forsythia bush. We bring them in each February for forcing. There were already a few yellow flowers open! The lovely signs of spring...

Horse Play

We found a horse stable close to our house and Lily & Brooke wanted to go pet some horses.I talked to the instructor about lessons and they got to walk around the ring a few times on a small pony named Marilyn. We are meditating on whether or not we want to do the riding lessons. I know that it would be a wonderful learning experience for them. And the way they love horses, it is hard to say no!