dress-up days

Today she sits at the window sill with a long white dress over her clothes.  The puffy sleeves remind her of a princess.  She sits dreaming about little fairies painting the pansies with spots of color on their petals, horses, sweet sisters {ugly ones too} and friendships galore.  She hums little tunes that linger in my brain all day--little songs from her favorite movies and shows.  She is happy and somewhat disturbed and startled when I pop over with my camera to document this beautiful imagination.  She stares at me with a sparkle in her eyes and a far-off look--a look that tells me she is engrossed in her imaginary world and somewhat oblivious to me.  I snap a few shots and retreat to watch her from afar.  

Happiness is a window sill, a white dress-up dress and a vivid imagination on a quiet Friday morning.

silhouette

 So much can be read through the lack of small details in a silhouette.  Eyes can focus on the scene and characters alone rather than the expressions, clothing, accessories, etc.  Perhaps that is why a silhouette is so timeless.  The fewer details to distract our eyes and opinions allows us to truly appreciate the image.  I love the way older sister is delighted to look after her younger sister in this photo--feet, just lifting off the ground as her face beams with joy.  Delight reigns between these two and it is incredible to watch.

Spring!

Happy Spring to you!

We have awaited this day for a marked change in our weather.  Thankfully, it arrived today with bright skies, soft breezes and warm sunshine.  We are delighted to romp in the spring days ahead!

little talks

"Mommy, when I was walking back to my class after seeing the principal, I saw Mackala in the hallway.  She was cheering me on and waving her hands up and down."

Oh, she showed up at school?  How nice you saw her.

"No, she is with me everywhere I go...even birthday parties.  I can see her but no one else can. I can talk to her with my brain."

"Mommy, I was dreaming!  I had a dream!"

What was your dream about?

"I don't remember.  My brain knows but it won't tell me."

"Momma."

The word I have been dying to hear!  Yes, she has been saying "Momma" but only in reference to more food, not me.  Today, she called for me!

milestone

milestone: an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development

On a quiet morning in the middle of town, she had the nerve to give it a try.  She reached far and used all her strength to finally accomplish the monkey bars.  Without fear of ridicule from peers or siblings, she did it.  On her own time, she did it!  When I walked up,  she beamed as she skittered around the mulch, "Momma, I can do the monkey bars!"  "Look, I can do it!"  Delighted, we all stood to watch her cross the monkey bars.

Since that day, she has worked up enough courage to practice the monkey bars at school with her friends.  Each day, she comes home and proudly tells us how many times she was able to cross those bars.  Each day, the grin gets bigger and her hands become more blistered and calloused. 

As a parents, tit is so neat to witness your child growing, overcoming fears and accomplishing new feats on their own.  Now, we just have to figure out how to get some monkey bars in our yard...at her pleasant request!  

hunting for green

Today, we are in search of green all around.  The earthy color seems to magically appear in places we never notice.  All of the sudden, the Irish magic heightens our senses and that lucky color finds its way into all the nooks and cranny's of our day.  

Normal foods we eat everyday suddenly appear only green when paired together in a new arrangement.  A few drops of green food coloring makes our milk green too.

Bright green socks are dug out of the sock bin and proudly worn

 to avoid a dreadful pinch.

Little green bows and hair-clips adorn red Irish locks of hair.

We sit in the tiniest patch of green and hunt for signs of a four-leaf clover 

and perhaps a lucky Leprachaun prancing around.

They peered into a small pond, confident they could see a Leprechaun dashing about.

Snippets of spring green are spotted among the ruffles of a homemade spring dress.

Even green hangars are found amongst a pile of laundry.  They make great teething toys.

And all this hunting for green has pleasantly reminded us that Spring is just around the corner.  The trees are blossoming and grasses are waking up, eager to spread more green all around.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!

May the luck of the Irish be with you today and always!

homemade bath salts

My big girl recently received a book {The Girls' Spa Book by Mary and Jessica Wallace} about homemade spa and bath goodies.  She quickly marked several pages of relaxing bath goodies that she wanted to make over Spring Break.  After a quick trip to the store to gather some ingredients, we begun our little test kitchen.  

The first item on her list was Bath Salts.  I wondered just how complicated some of these recipes might get but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the recipes were to make.  The ingredients for the Bath Salts were simple.  My girls enjoyed picking out food flavorings to make their salts smell.  They picked lemon extract, mint extract and strawberry extract for their fragrances.  After some measuring, dumping, squeezing and mixing, the bath salts were complete.  After trying them out in their evening bath, the bath salts got 3 thumbs up from my girls.

Homemade Bath Salts Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Epsom salts

1/2 cup sea salt

1 cup baking soda

food color

food flavoring (extracts work perfectly) for fragrance

be sure to have a few jars with lids ready for layering and storing your bath salts

STEP 1: Mix Epsom and sea salts with baking soda in a bowl

STEP 2:  Divide the mixture into three equal portions.  Add a few drops of food coloring and scent to the  amounts of the mixture.  Mix and stir well.

STEP 3: Pour or spoon mixture into a jar (or jars).  Layer different colors for a colorful mixture.

USE IN THE BATH:

Add about 1/2 cup to your bath water or use 1/2 cup in a basin of warm water for a relaxing foot soak.