Sparkle Trees

There is so much I have been wanting to talk about here lately, Little V's big 5th birthday party, our many recent creations, the changing seasons and garden plans, but all of that has been set aside for today.

When I woke up this morning and opened the curtains in our living room, I saw the most beautiful sight.  The trees were sparkling!  The other night we had a little ice storm, all of the trees are still covered in a coating of ice.  (Sounds like a great spring so far, right?!?)  The sun was coming up and just lighting the tips of the trees.  With the sun shining on the ice, it really looked like the trees were sparkling.  Of course I made both V's come look immediately!  What a beautiful way to start the day.  Maybe tomorrow will be the day I get to some of that other stuff...

The pictures really don't capture the sparkle the way I had hoped, but I'm telling you, it was a beautiful way to start the day!

Happy Thursday everyone, hope there is a little beauty in your day too!

Friday Favorites

Some time ago Little V, being the girly-girl that she is, wanted to paint her nails.  I did not feel that she was old enough and on that day I arbitrarily picked 5 years old as the age that nails can be painted. (Why 5?  Now that we are here it still seems so young...)  Of course, this is something she never forgot.  As the big 5th birthday approached I searched and searched for a place to find nail polish that doesn't include all of the nasty. (Do you know what is in nail polish?  Maybe you don't really want to!)  I happened upon a very cute website, Piggy Paint (even the name is cute!), that sells nail polish in kid friendly colors with mom approved ingredients.  I ordered all of Little V's favorite colors and some that may be fun for special days (green for St. Patrick's Day!)  I have done more nail painting in the last 5 days than I have in the last 15 years, but we sure are having fun!

The colors are fun and the polish holds up just long enough for a fickle 5 year old.  It is also easy to remove with their non-nasty polish remover.  We are really diggin' Piggy Paint, now we just need them to create a lavender color!

Welcome back spring!

Well it appears spring is upon us.  What a wonderful feeling!  Two days in a row of beautiful sunshine and warmth.  The first crocus has made its appearance, several spring bulbs are starting to poke up and the swingset has had its first "welcome back spring" play session.  The snow is gone, the sunglasses and spring jackets are out and the fall clean-up that never happened in the yard is uncovered, EEK!  What a list of things to tackle in this backyard!  It's amazing how that spring clean-up list just never seems as daunting as any other to-do list.  There is so much satisfaction gained from digging in the dirt.  Along with spring comes so much hope and anticipation, so many garden plans to dream up, backyard adventures to be had...

What are you planting this year?

And, Happy St. Patricks Day!  Are you craving green beer as much as I am today?  I think its all this sunshine!

5

Right about this time 5 years ago, I was packing up and heading to the hospital.  By some grace of God, I began natural labor the day I was scheduled to be induced.  My little bundle of joy was 10 days overdue. (Foreshadowing of her future personality, definitely!)   After several hours of labor and waiting and more labor, Little V entered the world at 12:53 a.m. on March 13th.  That was the moment everything in our lives changed...

So hard to believe that our little baby burrito is about to turn 5.  She is filled with curiosity and wonder, humor and thoughtfulness, creativity and spunk.  She is such an incredible little person that it is really hard to remember what our lives were like before she was the center of our universe.  We are blessed.  She is an incredible kid and she surprises us everyday.  I am equally torn between not wanting her to get any older and eager anticipation to see the person she will become.

Happy 5th Birthday, Little V.  I hope you never lose your wild sparkle.

The Power of Imagination

Yes, that's for real!  A group of scientists, engineers, and balloon pilots launched a 16'x16' house with 300 weather balloons.  (Read and see more pictures here.)  I find myself thinking about this picture alot this morning.  I know there is alot of science and careful planning involved here, but to me it represents following your dreams, believing that anything can happen,  and the power of imagination.  The house was in flight for an hour and reached an altitude of 10,000 feet.  It's really pretty amazing isn't it?!? 

What could we accomplish if we let our imagination guide us?

I really feel as though I have been neglecting the blog the last couple weeks, we are in the midst of our own March madness around the L house.  I am hoping spring will decide to visit, and fill me with new ideas!  Happy Friday!



belated Friday Favorites

This past weekend was filled with another very successful dance competition, and once again I am starting my week filled with pride for my wonderful dancers!  In the hustle and bustle of competition preparation I just didn't have time last Friday to post a favorite, so here it is...

Every morning we start our day in the same way.  Little V wakes me up (yes, it is always me she wakes up, we'll talk about that another day!), we head downstairs, and she goes directly for her crayons or colored pencils.    Somedays she simply colors in a favorite coloring book, sometimes it may be a colorful family portrait, and other days it is a colorful picture of what she has dreamed about.  Regardless of the day of the week, every morning the first thing she does is create something.  I love this habit.  For so many reasons, it gives me the quiet time that this "non-morning person" needs to get a cup of coffee and come to life, it provides insight into her little creative mind, and this is a wonderful thing that we share every morning.  My favorite days are when she wakes up and immediately knows exactly what color to go for to get last nights dream onto paper.

So where is the Friday Favorite in this?  A wonderful website called Stubby Pencil Studio is one of my favorite places to load up on art supplies.  It is an online eco-friendly kids art supply store, in other words, Little V's supplier of color and mommy's supplier of morning time magic!  It is a great website to surf through and find great gifts for the little people in your life.  (Just be forewarned friends, you will probably find your childs Christmas and/or Birthday gift that they received from us!)

Some have stories, some are simple, but they are all wonderful in my eyes.

Does anyone have any storage ideas for artwork?  I just can't bear to part with any of them and there is ALOT of artwork around this house!



Finally!

The sun is shining.

It is above 32 degrees.

It is March, spring officially begins in 20 days.

Little V has her bounce back. 

It is a good day.