Fortunate...

We first took B's picture in this tree when she was a baby and now...
they can get down themselves...

We found a turtle hanging out on the bank of one of the ponds...

The girls call these Teletubby hills and roll and run down them...

Ella takes a pause to watch a wedding. She was hoping to see the

kissing part...

And our Bronwyn of the amazing eye, took this awesome photo of a poppy...

We are so very fortunate that at the end of our street is Dow Gardens. We can go there any old time and have a wander and an adventure and wander the trails and pretend we are someone and someplace else other than at home. It feels like we are always making some sort of discovery when we are there. So today I feel very grateful and fortunate that I live where I do and that my family enjoys simple days together.

Relax and Restore

So today I had a home day. I breathed in and out. I sat on the porch and blissed out to the sound of the windchimes and the feel of the wind. I cradled my coffee mug and devoured my magazines. I took a bicycle ride downtown to restore with some yoga and see friends who love me anyway. I came home and then rode to pick up the Elder Statesman at school. And then I crafted and created a lovely, healthy dinner in the kitchen. I even managed desserts today. I will say today has been exactly what the body and mind needed. A day off. Really and truly off. It made me feel alive again and might I say completely happy!

I want...

Ok so here is a list of what I want...



I want gorgeous blossoms on every corner...




I want breathtaking views or mountains daily....

I want funky doughnut shops...

I want a farmer's market that you can buy a complete

meal, have a snack and be entertained...

I want to have restaurants that serve yummy
responsible food...

I want to be able to wander into the beauty of nature...

I want fabulous coffee that is also art...

I want, no really it is need, to be able to easily get to the sea...

So what I am really saying is that I need to be back in Portland. Who knew that package of everything that brings me joy could be all wrapped up in one place...

Happy Mother's day to all the mommies out there! You all work so hard and accomplish so much! Hoping you get a day all your own!

Can I help?

Ok so just about any time I make my way into the kitchen to sort out a meal...I can guarantee one or both of my lovely ladies will be there saying... "Can I help?" Tonight, I truly wanted to growl and say no way get out of the kitchen...I just need to get this all done...but somehow I found the patience (from way down deep!) to find something for both of them to do and still manage to get dinner finished. They chopped, they stirred, they sauteed, they processed, they spread, they layered, they set the table, and then best of all they ate! So vegan lasagna and chocolate pudding were what the ladies helped put together this evening! I made soda bread and cinnamon scones. It went well with only a few shooings of Ella the monkey child who was trying to hang from the counter by the bubbling pudding...

And our other big update...Ella lost another tooth. This time she lost during the high school play we went to Friday night. The Irishman and I think she is trying to see how many different places she can lose them! And still the tooth fairy was not allowed to have the tooth! I think soon the tooth fairy may do a raid while Ella is out and reclaim her loot, otherwise I am going to be really creeped out with the container o'teeth!

I have so many pictures to post and wee stories to tell but life has just been stepping on me a bit and I am really and truly TIRED. So soon I will catch you up and regale you with stories of dinosaurs, picnics, tea in the parlor, cute babies and friends. But for now I am going to go find my jammies!

Amazing...

So this lady, the one I find myself butting heads with the most (only because we are so very much a mirror of one another), has days like today where she not only amazes me but astounds me. She is just so far beyone what I could hope she would be in her 8 year old self. She connects with us, she eases through a day that could be hard, she is kind to her core, she is wise, and she just gets what you are saying and more. She sees beyond the words you try to instill and actually gets the backstory. Today, on the heels of a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's with all the tiredness that usually brings and with me sicker than I can remember being in recent memory, she pulled together this complete package of loveliness. She "made" us breakfast this morning of apple and pear salad and cereal. She pampered me and checked on me and even offered me an ice pack for a raging headache...she was all things incredible. And to top off all this inner awesomeness, I looked at her today and she took my breath away. She is stunning. Truly beautiful. Isn't it amazing how you can live with your children every day and sometimes still be surprised by something you see everyday. But she is just such a beautiful soul in and out and I am so very lucky to be part of who she is becoming!!

Wibbly

Our friend Wibbly the tooth, who has been quite wibbly wobbly for months now finally came out! Well was forced out by Lady Ella in the car on the way home from Grandma and Grandpa's house just south of the exit for Angola, IN. He may be gone but his replacement was impatiently pushing through behind and is halfway through! Ella is delighted and although she said the Tooth Fairy was not getting her tooth and she was going to keep it forever, the Tooth Fairy did manage to leave her a whole entire dollar! She is very proud and can't wait to get on the tooth chart at school on Monday!! So long Wibbly!!! Thanks for all the smiles!!

Spring!!!

Oh the taste of Spring...the sun, the blooms, the green, the building of Fairy houses...

We made it to Indy for our Spring Break and we were astonished at all the green...the grass, trees, flowers...we are so far from that in Michigan...still brown and the plants just trying to poke through the ground.

So after our day in the car, see the impossible game of Interstate Bingo, and the thumb wrestling in the back seat...we spent the day Saturday enjoying the outside. The girls played in the sandbox, burying dolls, and building a fairy house out front, picking dandelions and playing basketball...the warmth of the sun!!!!!

We have had visit's with my cousin and his family and my Aunt's and a trip to the Children's museum and now the Irishman and I are out for a day of us...so the longer I dwell here the shorter our time out!!

Although our sun was short...it was snowing this morning...but still warmer than Michigan...so Happy Spring!!!!