First there were just lines. Then a little while later circles developed. Then the lines and circles were put together and there were lots and lots of pictures of jellyfish around the house. And then there were faces.

My husband's

Mine (I'm the one on the right with the crazy hair...)

Pookie's and her sister's.

And now there are faces everywhere...even where there shouldn't be any faces--walls, floors, furniture. Of course I act very upset about this and explain over and over again the drawings are only to be done on paper, but secretly...well I like them. It's always such a suprise when I find one and they bring such a smile to my face...I can't bring myself to wash them away.

I may have to do something about this before the house is covered in murals though!

Two projects completed!

Mimi's dress is done. It wasn't quite done for Valentine's day, but Pookie was patient and only gently reminded me daily that Mimi's dress needed to be finished. Her persistence paid off and it was finished much sooner that it otherwise would have been.

Fig's crib quilt is done. I had planned on hand quilting it, but once Fig learned it was hers she lay on top of it and refused to get off. I settled for tufting it...around Fig. I'm thrilled she likes it so much!

I wish I'd finished more than two projects, or that I had more in the works, but it's taking a bit to settle in here. The girls and I are still working out a comfortable routine for us and I'm still figuring out how to squeeze in "me" time (i.e. crafting time) in between all the laundry, cooking, and other household chores that need to be done. Hopefully we'll have it all worked out sometime soon...

(By the way, if you're thinking that Mimi's feet look very dirty, well they are. It's chocolate, I just have to idea how it got there. Pookie's been complaining about Mimi's "dirty toes" so, if I can remember, the girls will get to bathe their dolls tonight!)

I'm very much done with winter, but unfortunatley winter isn't done with us yet. Friday it snowed...heavily and by Saturday morning we had at least eight inches of snow on the ground. This left me with a strong desire to sit all day on the couch and pout, but everyone else wanted to go outside and play in the snow, so out we went.

We went down the hill a couple times on the sled and Daddy built the girls a "Cinderella snow castle"......we drank hot chocolate, ate sugar cookies with raspberry buttercream frosting, and watched the sun "going to sleep" beyond the woods.

And by the end of the day the snow didn't seem that bad. Of course I'm still anxious for spring to arrive, but I think I can deal with a little more snow...for now.

I'm working on a new bird pattern which is both fun and frustrating--fun to be doing something new (and craft related too!) and frustrating in that nothing is turning out quite right. This little guy is heading in the right direction though.

His eyes are all wrong (the only animal eyes I had were a size or two too large) but I'm relatively happy with his shape.

A bit more tweaking of this and that...and I just might have something I like.

A four day weekend in February was just what we needed. Leisurely mornings with breakfasts we wouldn't normally have time for (some french toast made from homemade Challah bread and crepes with berries and whipped cream!) followed by fun adventures.
A train ride to the aquarium...


where the jellyfish suceeded in winning the girls hearts. (I think Fig would have taken one home as a pet if she could have!)
A chilly trip to a frozen pond, to walk on the ice, chip at the ice, lick at the ice, and enjoy some sun.

And lots of playing with the grandparents and aunts, browsing through bookstores, puzzle solving, singing songs, moving watching, and all around silliness. A weekend that left us all thoroughy happy and thorghouly tired.
But now it's time for Tuesday and for life to return to normal. I'm not sure I'm ready yet...

We've had lots of bad weather and way too much indoors time. Thank goodness we have these to play with!

A while back I began trying to introduce elements of both Montessori and Waldorf education into our day to day lives. Collecting these shells for the girls to play with was one of the first things I did.

The girls love them. They pour them from one container into another, count them, sort them, and size them. It's not unusual for them to play with their shells for nearly an hour at a time. It's incredible how something so simple and commonplace can bring about so much amusement and learning.

We're looking forward to spring and warm weather so we can go to the beach and collect more shells. I'm also saving our empty glass jars for anything else we might find to collect. I can't wait to see what we find!

Meet Flossie, Fig's Waldorf doll.
My mother made her for Fig's first birthday. There was a bit of a time crunch, so Flossie was finished by Fig's birthday, but there weren't any clothes for her. For the last several months she has been clothed in merely a cloth diaper and nothing more. Come Valentine's Day that will all change.
While I'm planning on making the girls some cookies and other goodies for Valentine's Day, I thought some doll dresses might also be a nice little gift. So there is Flossie modeling dress #1 for you. The dress being a suprsie, Fig has obviously not seen it yet, but Pookie has and immediatley expressed her approval...she also immediatley ran off and brought me her favorite fabric for a dress for Mimi (Pookie's Waldorf doll).

So now it is more pattern drafting (Mimi being an altogether different size than Flossie) and lots more sewing tiny seams and struggling with tiny armholes, tiny buttons and what not. Three more dresses before Valentine's Day?? We'll see!