This DIY placemat is something super simple I made one day for my 2 year old. I had a scrap of gray canvas and a sharpie. While he was playing restaurant and kitchen,  I drew the place setting and decorative border on this canvas, then stitched the edges. Next time I might actually cut the canvas straight and write the items legibly for a toddler (ha) but for now, this works fine.

MARCH 2013

My boys in matching stripes (by mabo kids) together at the beach. Ages 9,7 and 2.

I rarely ever match the boys’ outfits beyond pajamas at Christmas, but I couldn’t resist these stripes. This was a fun evening at the beach and quite a work out for my husband and I trying to get the boys in one frame. I love casual photos, something more than having everyone gather and smile. That also works really well for three kids at a beach.

We had a gorgeous day here in southern Ohio today! It was the perfect day for some spring cleaning outside. The little one and I headed out to the front porch to spray it down, sweep, pull weeds and water the flowers. We have a massive, beautiful Victorian porch. It is really something. I feel incredibly honored and blessed to be able to enjoy it, and I actually feel this way every time we sit out there. Sometimes I even sit and think of all the people, or families that have lived here since the late 19th century. I wonder what conversations were had out here and who was leaning against the railing, what were they thinking about? Anyways, it was covered in pollen. So my two year old and I spent a few hours outside this morning cleaning it up. I still have the wicker to re-paint and I just ordered new fabric to cover all the cushions. When we moved in last spring, we found a variety of second-hand pieces (on Craigslist!) to fill up this large porch. They all had their own cushions, and I am excited to give those oldies a facelift here soon. Maybe I should call it a veranda. It is like another room outdoors.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have read my comment of how I forgot to plant the tulip bulbs my mom gave me last fall, oops. I ended up popping the refrigerated bulbs into our front planters for my 2 year old to “grow”. He loves to count the growing tulips and water the planters. One has bloomed and it is something pretty magical to him. He always passes it and says “my pink flower” and “water flower please” and “for Mommy”.  He also just started calling me “Mom-meeee” instead of “Ma” which is pretty sweet.

Oh and normally the older boys have the summer chore of sweeping the porch and front walkway, but looks like the 2 year old might steal that fun.

Hope there is some warm, spring weather where you are!

An absolute favorite beach photo is this first one above. I love that all of my boys are in the same frame (hard to accomplish these days). I love that it captures perfectly what I see when I watch all of them together. Going to have to enlarge this one and hang it somewhere special.

Here are a few more of my iphone beach snapshots below.

A few nights ago, my youngest son woke up crying and scratching repeatedly only an hour or so after his bedtime. I checked him out, didn’t see any welts and rocked him back to sleep. He woke up again, and again and yet again, where I  finally plopped him in our bed trying to soothe him. At around 2 o’clock in the morning I turned on our lights, and checked him thoroughly for a rash or some sign of allergic reaction. He had a prickly rash down his back.

Of course my thoughts went to “What did he eat? Anything new?” and I didn’t come up with any definitive cause. After some cortisone cream on the rash and an antihistamine, he still spent the next few hours trying to sleep while tossing, turning, scratching and whimpering. It was a long night.

By 6 am when our alarms went off, my husband and I turned to each other and thought- wow, remember this? This is how it was for months for two of our boys. It was a reminder of how far we have come from those restless, uncomfortable nights.

The rash faded over the following day. I once again have become vigilant about his diet, even though I prepare 100% of what he eats. Parenthood is often keeping watch, isn’t it?

What we have been up to while the weather is up and down and rainy in between:

watercolor painting on any old scrap of paper (raining outside), watering tulip bulbs planted in containers (sunny outside), sweeping the porch (rain or shine), block building (raining outside), playing trains on the porch (rain or shine), sorting seashells (raining outside), drawing faces with new details- straight hair, curly hair (rain or shine)

and of course outside playing soccer in wellies (rain or shine).

and then a snack & a good book:

and then a good rest.

What a messy age of eating! But sort of enjoyable the third time around.

Here are a few of our lunch time meal items. I usually pick three:

(food allergy friendly of course!)

a turkey burger, rice pasta with daiya cheese, lentil soup, rice & beans, avocado rice noodles, peas, broccoli, applesauce, banana or pear slices, roasted turkey and vegetables, potato wedges, sauteed spinach, baked sweet potato, sometimes allergy-free pancakes! and a glass of coconut milk.

From top left:

my daily french pressed coffee, our old-world doorknobs, morning sun through kitchen windows, boots, an apron to match, vegetable soup for another day.

Brothers

Together these two spotted a handsome, red cardinal in the snow out the back door. Another little moment I am glad I captured with these photographs.

Do you have small moments with your loved ones that become part of your routine but somehow seem so special every time? I am going to start writing these down here. I have these moments with my husband and each of my children. Sometimes the moments are shared all together, and many times they are shared individually. Here is the coat moment:

Every day after we drop the older two boys at school, we walk in the front door and my 2 year old makes his way to the staircase. He crawls a few steps up with his coat and hood still on. He waits patiently for me to put my keys down and anything else I was carrying inside the house. Then our eyes meet and he gets an excited smile. Inside I am excited too. I love looking at him eye to eye. I kneel down level with him on a lower stair and say quietly “Ready for mommy to take off your coat?” He replies “YES!” with squeals and a big smile. He helps me undo the zipper and I reach my arms in and say “warm belly”!! He giggles, every single time.

After his coat is off, he holds my hand and takes each step slowly. He walks to get my slippers and asks me to “Take off boots Ma!” and into our morning we go.