one of my favorite things...

Peaking at a sweet sleeping baby tucked away in a sling.

Neighbors....

Our neighbors are lovely lovely people.  They have big generous hearts, and throw big over the top parties.

These pictures are from the last birthday party a few weeks ago.  We love them.  They have been super neighbors in every sense of the word.  And they are moving.  Most of my neighborhood is moving.  A sign of the times.  

We are going to miss them.

A date with daddy...

 

 

(hot now, time for a change...)

A trip to the park and the library.

Stop by the store so he can pick up what he needs to make us fabulous dinners.

I'm home loving a new baby.

Seriously.

I don't know who I think is luckier.

My children for having an amazing father,

or me

I have an amazing partner.

Gratitude Monday...

What I love today....

~I love getting ready for her birthday party...
(more on that later)

~I love trips to the last baseball game of the season...

~I love a little girl who creates an environment of crafting and love...

~ I love a little fat baby who could sleep all day in bed as long as I am there, and we could nurse...

~I love a little boy who sets up little tigers to nurse their little tiger babies....
(I love that nursing is such a part of his life)

~I love a partner who makes amazing eggplant parmesan and surprises me with halloween candy...

~I love creating birthday surprises...

~I love waiting for crafting supplies in the mail...

~I love watching our new fall garden start to flourish after just one week...

Here's to the new week!

The Art of letting go in Art...

I believe children need to explore.  Art, nature, the kitchen, their world.  

Its has been a teeny bit of a struggle for me to truly let go, to let them just explore.

  I decided to rearrange their art closet the other day.  

Now there is no need to ask before they paint, just please clean up afterward.  

All of the crayons, markers, glue sticks, wet glue, paint pens, glitter glue, brushes, glitter, seashells, sponges, paper, sequins, water paints, tempura paints, and colored pencils are ready for them.  

I let go.  

Its been wonderful. 

I love the results, even the messy floor.  

(I did move their art table so its now over tile)

The table is now one of my favorite pieces of furniture in the house..

I really do love the mess on the floor.

I leave it there as long as possible!

The experience is what matters.

Halloween sneak peek...

Thanks to Etsy.
Thanks to The Crochet Hut!
There's a good chance that this wont fit his fat baby head come October 31st.
Oops.
My bad.
(He's still super cute though)

Brothers...

Oh my.
And a happy birthday to my sister today!

A trip to the Farmer's market...

I Love Farmer's markets.  I love exploring them in any town I visit.  Temecula, Charleston were nice, but my top three favorites are Salt Lake City, Eugene, and Pike Place. (not in that order)  Phoenix has been building their farmer's market over the past few years, and its really grown.  It may not be as grand as others, but the variety is there.  The growers, artisans, musicians, and artists.

 (I think this would go nicely with my trees, don't you think?)

One of  the most important things, everyone is SO nice.  They remember us.  Ask about our children.      Matt and I enjoy having a relationship with the honey lady, or the man who makes my incense.  The products from Emelmahae are there for my family right when we need them.  A soothing foot massage, a baby bath, or an over tired child back rub.  Jorden from the Gardener's Kitchen makes products so delicious that they are sure to wean Matt and I off pizza take out on days we don't want to cook.  We try to make family trips to the market a few times a month.  Hot weather be damn.  I think I say that a lot.  (I think in Phoenix you have to)

Shopping locally has changed the way I shop.  Its shaped my life for the positive.  I hope it leaves a lasting impression on my children also.

Gratitude Mondays...

What I am loving today...

~I love having family over for dinner...

~Fall gardening...

~Fat little baby squeals....
(Best. Sound. Ever.)

~Reading in a bath....

~Peach strawberry cobbler...

~A partner who thinks about me...
(I walked in on him setting up a library hold list for the new series I am reading)

~A little girl who believes in the power of fairy magic...
(I believe in her)

A new book series....
(Yep, more vampires...)

~A little boy who uses words like "wonderful, beautiful, and fantastic"
(He is all those things)

~Exploring new art with my babies...

~Making our own butter....


I'm really looking forward to this week.  For no particular reason.

One moment....

Our garden is made even more beautiful by little helping hands.

Halloween sneak peak...

Our first Halloween costume is here and complete.

Thank you to Etsy.

Thank you to GiGi's dress up closet!

I am so excited to see all my babies dressed up.

This is so much fun!

A reason to ditch...

Matt called in sick today very spontaneously.  We decided to tackle the mess that was our summer garden and start our new fall garden.  I heard Ava asking Matt when her lessons were going to start.  He told her that he thought she had the day off today too.  I interrupted to clarify that we would still do lessons, that we were not going to let this stop our day.  Silly Silly me.  A trip to Baker's Nursery, and a day with our hands in the earth is one of the main reasons we chose to homeschool.  Our day is the lesson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A very beautiful lesson.

Finding Frogs... (or rather, toads)

While exploring in his grandmother's backyard (yes they have a putting green in their back yard) one evening Cyrus had an exciting discovery.

  "there is something moving outside!!!"  

He yelled as he came running in. 

"its moving like this" 

he tried to demonstrate with his frantic hands.

"I've never seen anything like it!!!"

If you live in the desert, and the sun is going down, and if you have a boy who is VERY excited about finding a new type of creature, you go running with him.  

Rattlesnakes,

scorpions, 

black widows, 

tarantulas 

(ok, taratulas are harmless, but still)

 

 

 

 Much to my delight, he had found Toads.  The American Spadefoot was grandma's guess. (I do have photos of her checking the little guys for clues, but the toads look like they think she is rather unpleasant, so I don't want to post them) She sat down and talked with my babies about the Toad's type of habitat, their feet that gives them their name, what they eat, and when they usually come out.  What a fantastic lesson!

Squeals of laughter, in a world of magic. There were six of them.  Six of the most loved wild toads in this region I would bet.  I would like to thank my mother in law for being so well versed in Arizona reptiles, and I would like to thank those 6 little toads for bringing such joy to our day.