Monday, November 14, 2011

more scenes from the weekend and thoughts

at home
Ken was away this weekend, so I had the boys to myself. I wasn't sure how it would go--he is their main caregiver after all, and it was a long weekend (with Friday's holiday), but we ended up having a great time. It was really fun to cozy in with them. We read a lot. I am obsessed right now with the Little House series and so is Dieter. Rainer likes it a little bit and plays close by while I am reading aloud to Dieter. It is fascinating to read about what those pioneers went through. Caroline Ingalls is my new role model for mothering.

Other fun things this weekend--
:: a fun playdate on Friday with new friends we are just getting to know
:: two dinners at Gam and Papa's house on Friday and Saturday nights--it was a treat to get to spend some extra time together. My mom fed us well and the boys got to watch Wild Kratts which they only get to do at the grandparents house
:: a trip to the natural history museum in Santa Barbara on Saturday--it was rainy and cozy there--a perfect day for it. We hadn't been in awhile and the boys were fascinated. Dieter said it is his favorite museum.
:: a trip to the park Saturday morning. The boys decided to dry the whole playground with some towels I had brought. They had a blast and were thoroughly wet by the time they were done. We packed a snack and they talked me into bringing cookies.
:: a walk Sunday morning to Farmer's Market to buy honey and apples (and a tamale and some very expensive almonds at their request).

leaf mobile

Also on Sunday we made some leaf mobiles. I sent the boys outside to gather the most colorful leaves they could find, then we dipped them in wax and strung them on threads. I was thrilled that these turned out as well as they did, given our lackluster selection of leaves in So. Cal. I actually think this is quite pretty.

exploring the natural history museum

We practically had the museum to ourselves. I love this museum and have in mind to pony up for the membership every single year. In this scene they are looking at the salamanders.

cookie in the morning

Early morning in the park. The boys awoke very early that day. And somehow I found myself eating a cookie at 9am. By the way, the recipe for these is here.

marble cake at my mom's house

Friday night at my parents' house my mom served this beautiful loaf cake. She was so excited when I took a picture. She said, "oh my, I'm going to be on the blog!" So here you go mom--your cake is on the blog.

I love spending time with my boys, and I'm still trying to figure out a balance between enjoying them and playing with them vs. rushing around and doing laundry/cleaning bathrooms/making lunches/making dinner and cleaning up the kitchen. It's just so hard to figure that out when you are a working mom. Still, we had fun and we started the week fairly organized, so I think it was a success.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Your wax-dipped leaves are divine! Makes me long 4 Autumn when we're just hitting Spring here in Oz! x

Madame Melville said...

I LOVE the Little House series. When I was young, I wanted to BE Laura!

Loving your mobile. It turned out so well! I will put wax dipped leaves on next year's list.

Running Muma said...

Love the mobile!
I totally agree about finding a balance. I am just transitioning going back to work after maternity leave and have two young boys - I want to spend as much 'waking' time as I can so generally just wait til bedtime to do chores, tidy up dinner dishes, etc.
That's life as a working mom! ;)

Rain said...

Looks like a wonderful weekend. I love the Little House books too. We're currently reading Pinocchio which is a very odd but wonderful read it is NOTHING like the Disney movie.
BTW I saw your request for tea recommendations, and have a few suggestions. For black tea first thing in the morning I love Twinnings Irish breakfast (w/ half & half and sugar) Earl Grey or Lady Grey is nice in the afternoon with a little sugar and lemon.
Herbals-Celestial Seasonings: Vanilla Sleepytyme, Peppermint, Candycane Lane. I also love Republic of Tea but they can be pricier.

morikomidori said...

mmmmmmmm delicious marble cake!
on a blog that is truly wonderful:)

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful weekend, love the wax dipped candles...do you use any type of wax? It's still fall here in the northeast, and would love to do that with my boys. Also, I need to bake some shape cookies my 5yo keeps asking. I am a returning to work working mom, and for some reason I didn't think it was this hard before I had some time off. I got up an extra 15 mins. earlier this morning, and it seemed to help, but getting up at 4:30am everyday is hard,and I'm tired at night. I plan on trying this out to do my laundry, and cleaning..two hugh time consumers for me, this will leave the weekends free for more fun time! I can't wait to see what other suggestions you get..take care!

Unknown said...

I got a little unplanne parenting advice from my husband last week when I was sick and spent the entire day in bed I came down in the evenig shocked to see he was still playing and not cleaning up the days mess. I started to clean and within 15 mins the dishes were done a load of wash was in and the floor was vacumed. I relised that i didn't always need to do it right after the mess was made either time it would take the same amount of work. Just a thought!

Val said...

I think you're doing a great job at the leisure/seize-the-day/handcraft/home management balance. And your leaf mobile is purely awesome, I want to try this!!

morikomidori said...

hello again
i'm a newcomer to your blog and after reading the first (most recent) couple of pages, i got totally hooked and am now working my way through your archives. i can't tell you how much i love the warmth and wisdom of your words or how much i have swooned over your beautiful fabrics and lovely home (we have similar tastes). i don't have small children now, but i do have a 2 year old grandson that i mind for some of the week. this is a fairly new arrangement and i must say the inspiration i am getting from your posts is a godsend (as it's so long ago that mine were littlies) and i also can't wait to try and share your wonderful recipes.
my sincerest gratitude
and warmest wishes to you and your sweet family xxx

sumea

Laura said...

I just started reading the Little House series. I loved the show as a child & wanted to be Laura Ingalls! I even had my mom make me a prairie skirt!

Your mobile came out beautiful! I'll have to try waxing leaves with my boys.

Even as a stay at home mom, I struggle with the playing vs. keeping up with everything house related. I try to remind myself that they're only little once & they'll always remember me spending quality time with them, but they probably won't remember how clean the house was or how much I kept up with the laundry.

Glad you had such a wonderful weekend!

Mary Beth said...

Rain--oh, thank you! That is exactly what I was looking for. Now I have lots of ideas.

Sumea--what lovely nice comments. Thank you so much!

Anonymous--about the wax--we have a permanent pot of wax and it is just paraffin household wax. We never clean out the pot to use it for something else. It is so handy to havea dedicated wax pot for dipping leaves or origami!

Distressed beauty said...

Love the twig and leaves mobile! Where did you get the wax for the project?

I made some black tea (it was flavored with ginger and vanilla) and I added a splash of eggnog and it tasted yum and festive!

I think most teas would taste good with the eggnog...but then again maybe I'm odd 'cause I usually add milk to my teas.